Here comes chapter 2! To be honest, I'm pleasantly surprised by the amount of followers just the first chapter earned, I wrote it on a whim, but I'm glad so many people found it interesting. Thank you everyone!

Now, without further ado, MAPL 始まります!

Episode 2: Welcome to beacon

Lily has seen better days. Sure, it all started nice and good. After all, what's cooler than a flying machine landing in front of home to pick you up? Her friends Wriggle and Yamame were appropriately impressed by this, and she had spotted that meanie Cirno spying on her from a window, biting her own dress in a fit of jealousy.

Then she discovered flying machines tremble, rock and shake. They are noisy and kind of stink, not like poo or the yoghurt she once hid under her bed so she didn't had to eat it. It was… odd. Like that smell the older girls had when they arrived late, only stronger. It forced it's way up her nose, and seemed to strangle her brain, making her kind of dizzy.

There was the problem with flying too, there was no space for her wings to move freely, and she wasn't used to stay still for so long. Dizziness and restlessness make a mean combo and, by the time she landed to join the regular flight, she couldn't tell right from left.

In that state, she had bumped into someone while trying to read her memo about the travel, and an opportune gust of wind had taken it away.

-"Calm down Lily, the plan was easy… Just find the the airship with Beacon's insignia on it and… board… it…" -That's when she realizes she has no idea of how Beacon's insignia looks like. She hangs her head down, disheartened- "Awww… What do I do now? Keine-sensei is gonna feel so disappointed if I get lost…"

After looking around in despair, she approaches the closest person. A lilac-haired girl with her nose stuck in a book

-"Excuse me" -She starts with a polite bow- "Would you happen to know what's the airship with the Beacon emblem on it?"

-"The ship to Beacon won't depart until four" -She answers without looking up- "But you can board it already, it's that big one with the axes and laurels."

-"Thank you, but… did you say four?"

-"That's what I said." -Her tone was monotonous before, but sounds now a bit annoyed- "Now, if you don't mind, I'm trying to read."

-"Well, it's just that now's 15:59…"

-"What!?"

[...]

A minute, and a lot of running, later, Lily offers a glass of water to the girl, who seems to have trouble catching her breath.

-"Oh... thanks..." -She takes the glass with both hands and drinks it in small gulps while the faunus holds her book. "Hmm… I guess I'm in your debt, Remi would've killed me if I dared to lose this flight. My name's Patchouli Knowledge."

-"Oh, pleased to… make your... ac-quaint-an-ce" -Lily stutters with the words. Keine-sensei insisted in politeness and she knew the basics of pleasantries, but never was too good with it- "My name is Lily, Lily White."

-"Nice to meet you too, and if you don't mind me asking… are you an insect faunus by any chance?"

-"I guess carrying you flying the last meters gave me out, right?" -She scratches her head in embarrassment- "Yup, I'm a fairy."

-"A… fairy?"

-"Keine-sensei told me that people outside will give me mean names, so I should make sure to co-un-ter-ba-lan-ce."

-"'People outside'?"

-"Well, you see…"

And Patchouli saw. She couldn't help but appreciate the irony of a social mess like herself spending the whole travel talking with another person. But, didn't Remi ask her to experience things? Well, listening to this energetic girl sure was an experience.

Alice is already leaving the port, feeling conflicted about her companions-to-be. On one hand, feeling people so close was somewhat heartwarming. On the other hand, a swarm of squeeing fans surrounding her from every direction didn't exactly made her feel comfortable.

She had barely kept her dignity, thanks to Shanghai and the other girls forming a circle around her, giving her enough space to not panic, but that was hardly "elegant". Before, the people of her agent would take care of this kind of situation, but now she needs to figure how to deal with it herself.

Even immersed in thought as she was, the sound of an explosion behind was enough to trigger her battle hone reflexes. Four shieldmaidens and two spear dolls quickly formed between her and the sound before she even had the time to think. That was absurd, they were obviously too tense.

-"Thanks for your good work, girls" -She says, patting one of the doll's head- "But we are safe here. I'll go check what was that sound."

[...]

-"Finally! Some recognition!"

-"The same company infamous for it's controversial labor policies and questionable business partners."

-"Wha..! how dare...?" -There are three girls in the middle of a mess of white luggage. Two of them argue each other, while a third one that seems unsure of how to act- "The nerve of…!"

Finally, the first one (long white-haired in a slightly off-centered ponytail, wearing a combat dress with the colours of the Schnee family) rudely takes something from the third one's hand (Short dark-red hair, black and red combat dress under a red hooded cloak) and leaves stomping furiously.

The black one (Long wavy black hair, yellow eyes and a questionable fashion sense) walks away too, leaving the little red one all alone. She seems desolate…

There's only moment of hesitation, and then Shanghai leaves Alice's side to approach the disheartened girl, who just sprawled herself on the floor. The puppeteer quietly follows.

-"Oh, hello, little girl," -Red says softly, upon seeing Shanghain over her- "who might you be?"

-"That kid's name is Shanghai, and she doesn't like seeing sad people. I'm Alice."

-"Oh.. I'm Ruby" -She says, while standing up- "Aren't you the girl who got swarmed back there? What was that about?"

That question paralyzes Alice. This Ruby girl seems nice enough, but who knows how she'll react if she realizes who's her? Sure, she'll most likely be able to manage a single fangirl but, does she want to deal with that again so soon? She's still pondering when Ruby talks again.

-"Wait, did you say Alice? Like in Alice Margatroid? THE Rainbow Puppeteer?" -The sudden sparkle in her eyes says it's too late to hide it- "Oh, I always wanted to know more the Dolls of the Round Table!"

Alice blinks at the unexpected comment. Sure, there's people who ask about her girls, but only after fawning around her for a while

-"Yes?"

-"Aha! I thought Shangai looked familiar! But they never released the official names of the individual dolls!" -She continues, before realizing Alice's surprise- "Oh, sorry! I'm kind of a dork when it comes to weapons."

-"No, it's… fine" -She answers- "It's just… most people suffocate me with personal questions before even noticing my children. This is a nice change."

-"Oh, I see… Then, how about I tell you about mine first?" -Without waiting for an answer, she takes the tool at her waist, which quickly unfolds into a big scythe- "This is my sweetheart, Crescent Rose."

-"Quite a big weapon for someone of you frame…"

-"Right? A lot of people don't know how to react! It's a combat scythe. Well, that's obvious! But it's also a customized-bolt, high-impact sniper rifle!"

-"It's… beautiful..." -Alice's sincerely impressed. Both functional and stylish, and it combines quite well with her wielder's own fashion- "Did you design it yourself?"

-"Hehe, thanks! And yup, most people do, back at Signal. How about yours? That weapon looks awfully complex. Do you have a sponsor or development team making the dolls for you?"

-"Oh, no. At the start it were just Shanghai, Hourai" -A second doll peeks from behind Alice, but hides again as soon as Ruby waves her way- "And me. And they were way simpler. When I began winning fights, [...]"

Almost without realising, Alice slips into narrator mode, and her dolls form up before her, enriching with their actions a tale about a girl who loved dolls and was loved by them in return. About her humble beginnings, and how she attracted sponsors with her victories and artful fighting style.

-"And that's how, little by little, I could afford more and better materials, and this children's family grew so big."

Ruby claps enthusiastically, and the dolls bow with precise elegance. She opens her mouth to ask something, but the sound of a bell interrupts them. The welcome speech is starting!

Already inside the hall, Lily and Patchouli are trying to get a better view of things around them. Well, to be honest, only she is. Patchouli seems completely unaffected by both the new place and the crowd around them, nose back in her book. Lily finds it funny how they can be so different. Back in the school, only Keine-sensei seemed to read half as much as this girl. Maybe that's why she feels… not older exactly, but more like cool? collected? elder-sisterly?... was that a real word?. She seems nice too, so they sticked together.

Incapable of restraining her curiosity any longer, Lily flaps her wings, rising above the ground.

-"You might want to get your feet back to the ground, Lily"

-"But I can't see!"

-"You know how people is mean to faunus, right? Maybe you shouldn't let them notice you so easily…"

Yeah, she knows. But...

-"No! I want them to notice me, and ask me things and get to know me! If I'm nice to them, they won't be mean!"

-"That's… not quite how society works, Lily. Many people get cruel with whoever stands out."

-"Nanana…! I can't hear you! Nanana…!" -She's expecting the other girl to get mad and yell at her. That's how they interact back in school. But Patchouli simply deadpans for a second before letting out a scoffing snort. Confused by that reaction, a slight worry forms in her mind- "Unless you hate me for it, do you hate me?"

The worry grows as she sees her new friend hold her forehead with a hand, and quickly deflates when a smile -a bit awkward, but the first smile she sees on her- surfaces in her face.

-"No, Lily, I don't hate you. But please get back here, I'm sure flying in the hall during a speech counts as an infraction."

Feeling a bit sheepish after the scare, she slowly flies down. Maybe she's right, she should be a bit more shy and don't force herself into others. People find that annoying, right? She's steeling her resolve when the already closed door violently slams open.

-"Sorry we are late!"

Before anyone else can even turn around to look, Lily's hair is already gracing the ceiling, and her eyes gleam with unrestrained curiosity. Truly, the attention span of insect faunus is not to be trifled with...

Marisa sits on an arc over the hall's entrance, trying to decide about joining the welcome speech or not. She has never been one to stick by the rules, and feels a repulsion towards authority that's almost physical in her bad days. On the other hand, this is class. Actual school where she would learn with the leisure of her life not depending on her performance.

As she hears the bell announcing the starts of the meeting though, she finally decides to skip. She has wasted too much time and now's too late. It won't do to cause a scene even before the year begins, she'll have more than enough time for that later.

-"And if I was waitin' for the right time… it just passed."

Well, she already has a memo of today's plan and there is nothing interesting going on. She might spend the day setting some traps in the Emerald Forest… wouldn't it be hilarious to see people stumble into them tomorrow?

A couple of moving specks catch her attention. Looks like two students are running late. Hey, that could be a nice chance! She won't draw attention to herself is she goes in with them! To be honest, now that she has assumed she won't be assisting the welcome speech, she has the sudden itch to do it.

-"Sweet as honey (ze)!" -She grabs hold of Broomstar with one hand and secures her hat with the other before jumping to the void. She freefalls until the last second, where she corrects her trajectory right on time to cross gazes with one of the students. A blonde girl who looks satisfyingly startled about someone's face suddenly appearing upside down in front of her- "Hey cutie pie! Name's Marisa (ze). Mind if I tag along?"

-"Look, Patch!" -Even after the light's out, Lily seems incapable of settling down, and is excitedly jerking her shoulder while pointing with her finger- "That girl is reading too! You could be friends!"

She tries to ignore it, but Lily doesn't seem about to give up soon, so in the end she looks up.

-"You won't stop pestering me until I go talk to her, right?"

-nod-

-"Okay, Lily, First: People doesn't appreciate it when they are reading and you interrupt."

-"But you're always…"

-"Hush!, I'm the one talking! I don't mind, but you shouldn't go around poking on people, okay?"

-"Ok…"

-"Second, Patch sounds horrible, stop calling me that." -The way Lily gulps down, before nodin, looking all serious, it's almost hilarious- "Now, promise to let me read afterwards and I'll go talk her"

-nodnodnod-

So Patchouli stands up with a sigh and, putting her book under her arm, walks up to the girl that's "reading too". She wears a black pajamas, and the fact that she hasn't untied the ribbon that holds her long and wavy raven hair strikes her as odd. But she wears a nightgown and sleeping cap at least three centuries out of date, so she's not one to judge.

Now let's see… If I were to tolerate and interruption while reading, what words would feel less unwelcome?

-"What's it about?"

The girl looks up, more surprised that displeased, and eyes her with suspicion for a moment before answering in a calm tone.

-"It's story about a man with two souls, each fighting for control over it's body."

-"Oh, that sounds interesting!" -Quite the phenomena, if she can say so herself. Maybe talking to this girl will be worth after all. She has to remember to thank Lily later- "It's based in some known event?"

-"Well… no, not that I know. It's just a novel."

-"Oh, a fantasy story then?" -Patchouli has a hard time hiding her disappointment, but she tries to keep a friendly tone- "I guess they are good from time to time, to take a breather from real books."

-"Excuse me?"

-"Have I said something wrong?" -The girl's voice sounds aggravated now- "I only meant to have some small talk."

-"'Real books?'"

-"You know, treaties about they ways of the world, studies about the human nature, historical analyses, essays about chemistry or physics. My, even fables with a base of truth that can teach us about the past. Real books who actually tell you something."

[...]

-"And Lily, a third thing, come to think about it" -Patchouly says some minutes later, with her face still red from a heated discussion- "There's no such thing as 'People who likes books'. Each and every reader is different, and they don't necessarily share values."

And up to here we reach! I could've extended further, but then I wouldn't fit in my bed. And my head would hit the doorframes.

Seriously now. It's gratifying to write a re-telling. You got an already established story to hold into and make sure you don't screw up too much with continuity, but you still can deviate as much as you want when there's something you absolutely must write. All in all, I find it easier than my normal kind of fic, which only borrows the settings, or maybe the mechanics of the world, to tell a mostly original story.

Sometimes I feel like the tale writes itself, and not necessarily the way you had planned. Does this happen to you guys too? This happened with the Lily-Patche relationship. Originally I only planned for them to briefly cross paths in the aircraft, but they ended up sticking together. Fun how things work sometimes.

Also, you might have noticed that the girls personality don't match too closely with the fanon. They reflect my personal perception of them, altered by the circumstances (They aren't nigh-almighty youkai with centuries on their back, just exceptional teenagers.) I hope no one feels disappointed or aggravated by this.

Well, I'm sure I'm forgetting a lot of things, but this is already bricky enough for an afterword.

Bidding farewell: