Mistakes
Chapter 3: Assimilation
(Insert Music: RWBY- This Will Be The Day-Acoustic Version)
Ballroom, Beacon Academy, Vale
Kiran and Byron had been waiting in the ballroom until nightfall, having had nothing to do when Ozpin had adhered to his promise of keeping the initiation ceremony as brief as possible. As the most important person in Vale, just beneath the Council, Ozpin was extremely busy, so it was understandable for his want to keep the ceremony brief, but a single paragraph of speech wasn't exactly what most students expected from the grey haired man.
Once nightfall had come, the Gopaul brothers had taken the bags containing their clothing for the night and the following morning and changed into their pajamas. Byron had stuck to just sleeping in his boxers, but used the white t-shirt in his bag. Kiran had decided to use the clothes Ozpin had picked out for him in its entirety, wearing a white t-shirt just like his brother, but had on a pair of blue, plaid patterned cotton pants. As the boys walked out of the ballroom's bathroom, they made their way across the massive black and white tiled floor, said tiles feeling cold against their bare feet.
Laying on the massive black and white tiled floor, looking very much like an over sized chess board as a result, numerous sleeping bags were present for all the to-be-first year students. Due to not doing well with a large crowd of people unless they contained people he knew, Kiran had taken a liking to the sleeping bag in the corner nearest to the massive glass windows.
"You really need to get over your anti-social behaviour." Byron chided as he watched his sibling glance over the relatively secluded sleeping apparatuses. Kiran turned and glared at his brother.
"Yeah well, you need to get over your need to continuously criticize me for everything I do. If you didn't keep doing it when we were younger, then maybe I would have more self-confidence outside of fighting and I wouldn't have had to continuously overthink the idea that every word that comes out of my mouth could have a negative result in the situation in its entirety."
"Hey." Byron met his younger brother's glare with his own. "It's not my fault you suck at personal relations. Don't blame me for your shortcomings."
'I can if it's true!' He thought. He held back his words for in spite of being a soldier, an assassin and a fighter, he was a pacifist at his core. He despised verbal conflict and usually whenever he and Byron argued, things tended to degenerate into fists and Aura use. They would end up destroying the ballroom if they let that happen, so deciding to be the bigger person, Kiran took a deep breath, holding back the rage that bubbled within his chest.
"Shut up." He muttered.
"That's what I thought." Byron replied. Kiran clenched his fists tightly. He wanted so badly to tell off his brother, to vent for everything that happened when they younger and training with Ozpin...but he remembered the words his mother told him when they left on that day to train with the headmaster of Beacon.
'Don't let him get to you.' He thought before turning around and walking off. The bespectacled student of Ozpin could only smile as he saw the moonlight had shone through the glass and fell upon the sleeping bag as if it were a spotlight. He dropped his bag beside the sleeping bag and sat atop it. "And the moon has chosen my sleeping bag for me. If I believed God was real, I would say He was at this moment."
"Don't be ass to religious beliefs." Byron said as he sat down on his sleeping bag beside his brother's. He reached into his bag and gained a small smirk as he pulled out a pack of playing cards. "Master really knows me. Up for a game of War?"
"Sure." The weapons specialist replied as the close combat using Huntsman began dealing out the cards. "And I'm not. Everyone has the right to believe what they wish, but I don't believe in God. I do believe that there was the possibility of a omnipresent, omnipotent being that forged the universe through the use of scientific processes, but I do not believe in God in His entirety. Besides, you and I both know that prayer does not keep you alive on the battlefield. It helps give you a morale boost, but that's the reality of it."
Byron sighed, scratching his head of curly black hair. "I can't really argue with that as much as I'd like to because then it'll degenerate into our arguments about our own hypocrisy."
"Indeed." The glasses wearing Huntsman nodded, flipping over a Queen and winning the round to beat Byron's Nine. The brown eyed boys then glanced out of the corner of their eyes as they caught sight of the other beginner students of Beacon beginning to file into the ballroom, already changed into their pajamas.
"We followed our orders to be removed from the Atlesian Black Ops, joined Beacon Academy and did our best to mingle with the other students." Kiran muttered. "Master could have at least given us the courtesy of staying in our rooms."
Byron shrugged. "Well, what are you gonna do?"
"Get out of here, break back into the house and sleep in my bed like I intended to." Kiran replied bluntly before pouting. "Or at least I would if I wasn't aware of the fact that Master would have the Munchkins on 'round the clock watch to alert him. He drinks so much coffee he rarely sleeps too."
"Suck it up, you're supposed to be the indifferent one while I wear my heart on my sleeve most of the time. Not the other way around."
"Hey...I have emotions too, ass." He roughly slammed a King down on the floor.
"I know." His older brother smirked as he flipped over his card to show an Ace. "Especially the emotion of disappointment since I won this round." Kiran stuck his tongue out like the mature Huntsman that he was. The boys continued going through the motions of the game, though being boys-teenage boys at that-they did glance up every now and then to look out for the rather attractive members of the opposite sex.
"People seem to be giving Pyrrha Nikos a wide berth." The weapons specialist commented. The seventeen year old red head was quite attractive, hence it was partly the reason her fit and curvaceous form caught their eyes. Said form was only made out to be much more so due to the way her red tank top and gold boy shorts clung to her as if it were a second skin, but the green eyed girl had a wide area of space between herself and the other to-be-first years.
She didn't seem to be bothered by it, but years on a battlefield gave one the ability to see through stoic expressions by a simple glance at body language. She sat atop her sleeping bag, her knees hugged towards her chest as she glanced out the window to stare at the broken moon, but her body and eyes twitched and shifted ever so often, looking at the other people in the ballroom as if waiting for at least one of them to come and talk to her.
"Well she is a combination of brains, beauty and brawn." Byron replied to his brother's words. "You can't expect people to approach someone placed upon the throne. It's like the same thing with you and girls."
"I talked to Ruby." He argued.
"Yeah, but that was out of the need to prevent her from being blown up. Not out of actual choice." The close combat specialist sighed. "You know I only want you to break out of that shell of yours."
"I don't need to and I don't want to break out of my shell." Kiran's eyes narrowed. "I've been fine in my shell, and my shell has been what kept me alive."
"I know, Kiri...you know I do." The shorter Huntsman placed a hand on the taller boy's shoulder. "But you can't be cautious with everyone you meet, Kiri. It's one of the reasons why Master sent us here...to get it out of us, to give us the feeling that we can trust people."
"Yeah I know." He adjusted his glasses before laying down his cards, having given up on playing such a repetitive game. "But it's gonna take more than a day to fix that for both of us."
"Helloooo!" The boys glanced up and looked at the sing-song greeting. They were actually a bit surprised to find that the person who was speaking, was speaking to them. The approaching voluptuous figure was a girl clad in a bright orange tank top emblazoned with the image of a flame in black on the front, and a pair of black boy shorts. She had wild blonde hair that was unnaturally bright for some reason. It was almost like sunlight had been stored in her hair, and it looked rather fiery in terms of its style. Her lilac coloured eyes were bright with happiness as she waved quite vibrantly at them. Though, they raised their eyebrows in confusion as they saw the girl dragging along a rather distressed looking Ruby Rose.
Ruby was dressed in a black tank top that had the image of a heart-shaped Beowolf on the chest and white long pants decorated with pink rose petals. Strapped to her head was a black sleeping mask that had two triangular shapes on it, reminiscent of a Beowolf's eyes. Geez, for a girl who wanted to be a Huntress, she sure had a rather odd obsession with Beowolves.
"I believe you boys are familiar with my adorable little sister, Ruby." The blonde stepped aside to reveal the shy weapons fanatic. The black and red haired girl groaned.
"Sorry. My sister Yang can be so overbearing." Ruby sighed as she looked at Kiran.
"Older siblings suck." Kiran absentmindedly commented as he glanced to his fellow Huntsman.
"I hear ya." Ruby nodded in agreement, and held up a fist. The brown skinned boy's fist met with her own, the silver eyed girl laughing a bit at how readily the older boy acted. Said older siblings frowned slightly before moving to lightly flick them on the ears. Ruby yelped in pain, but Kiran had made a successful dodge as he tilted his head out of the way.
"So, why are you two here?" Byron asked.
"Since Blake..." Ruby pointed over to the amber eyed girl, her nose buried in the book she was reading. "...wouldn't give us the time of day, Yang decided to become acquainted with you when she saw me enter the orientation ceremony with you and Jaune." Ruby replied with a groan. "I told you we would be bothering them, but noooooo."
"...Then would it not be best to affiliate with Jaune?" Kiran asked.
"Well, when Ruby told me she made some friends and one enemy..."
'Weiss.' The boys immediately thought.
"...well, I saw Jaune. He seems like a nice guy, but...out of the two of you, you seemed like the better one to socialize with." The brown skinned Huntsman raised an eyebrow at that, but then saw Yang shudder a bit before pointing over to a different part of the ballroom. The brothers followed her finger's direction, blinking a few times when they saw the boy was dressed in full-body blue pajamas and a pair of matching bunny slippers. The boy was obviously either very sheltered or very comfortable with who he was, and though the former assassins never liked to judge by appearances, the bunny slippers did not help the boy's case when it came to the latter choice being the most likely option.
"I see."
"So anyway, as you may have been recently informed by my disrespectful little sister..." Yang ruffled Ruby's hair roughly. "...I'm her older sister, Yang."
'Older sister?' The boys thought. 'Most likely stepsisters at a young age, but there is the possibility of half-siblings due to their similar facial structure. Sharp, very strong jaw lines...same father?'
The boys were knocked out of their thoughts as Yang suddenly pointed at the younger Gopaul. "And you are said to be the one who saved Ruby from exploding. Keron, right?"
"Kiran." He corrected. "Short 'i' and 'a' sounds. 'Ki' like in 'kill' followed by 'run'."
"Oh. Sorry." Yang scratched the back of her head, laughing nervously. Kiran waved her off, though he did release a sigh in mild exasperation.
"It's happened to me far too many times to actually believe people will be able to pronounce my name correctly. I was actually quite surprised when Ruby got it on the first try." The younger Huntsman stated. Ruby seemed to swell with pride when she was notified of that fact.
"Name pronunciation is my specialty."
"I'm sure it is." Yang rolled her eyes before firing a flirtatious smirk Byron's way. "So, you're cute."
"Yang!" Ruby stared at her sister, her face the very definition of embarrassed.
"And you're blunt." Byron replied instantly before pointing at himself. "Byron. Kiran's older brother."
Yang's eyes widened slightly. "Really? I always thought older siblings were the taller ones." Byron's eye twitched at the jab at his height, but he didn't react beyond that. "Wait, but...if you're older than him, then that means you're older than all of us."
"Correct." He nodded. "I'm nineteen."
"I do like older men." Yang stated.
"Yang!" Ruby exclaimed, slapping her sister on the arm. "Stop that! You're embarrassing yourself...and me."
"It's what I do, and I do it all out of love." Yang replied, patting the shorter girl on the head. "So, Byron?" The Gopaul brothers looked up at the busty blonde before following her path as she sat down on the floor, roughly pulling Ruby down with her. "Just asking, if you're nineteen, then why are here with the first years? You should be a third year by the system of the school. Did you fail to pass so you're stuck with us?"
Byron shook his head. "I have never applied to Beacon Academy before."
"Why?" The sisters asked.
"Never saw the need to." The older Gopaul replied curtly.
"Huh?" Was the intelligent reply.
(Insert Music: Two Steps from Hell- The Ancients)
"I knew I could fight, and our master taught me everything he knew regarding close quarter combat. I can fight the Creatures of Grimm and I can kill them. I have fought to defend the kingdom of Vale, and, by extension the world of Remnant, beside my brother for longer than you can imagine. You are children in a world of adults until you graduate from this combat school."
"Hey." Yang narrowed her eyes. "I don't know why you have to talk to us like that, but we're not kids and since you're not that much older than us, I'm quite sure you don't have the right to call us kids. Besides, we can handle our own, and we've fought the Creatures of Grimm before too. Hell, Ruby took out a pack of Beowolves by herself."
"The Creatures of Grimm are not the only monsters in this world of ours." He replied. "The Great War ravaged the entire planet for over eighty years. A war which did take place between the Grimm and the conjoined armies of human and Faunus...but they had their own civil wars in between. It took that long for people to forge peace. Even then, peace is relative. The discrimination between humans and Faunus, the dark dealings done by corporations that people see as just and fair, politicians who swear to uphold the law yet fail to do so all for the sake of remaining in their positions of power...we have seen it all, and it...it takes its toll on the soul."
The shorter Huntsman suddenly looked very tired, appearing much older than he actually was as he glanced away from the sisters, and they suddenly had looks of pity mixed with confusion as they saw the expression had been mimicked by his younger brother. A period of silence passed between the four, but that silence was effectively broken when Kiran adjusted his glasses. The younger Huntsman blinked and the two girls flinched as they saw his gaze harden, almost as if it had been replaced with tempered steel and coated with Dust.
"You will soon come to realize that you need to harden your heart and crush the emotion within yourself to overcome what can be seen as the black and white outlook of good and evil. Heroes and villains are interchangeable for the boundary line is thin. Beowolves and Ursai are not the only beasts of prey, for even those whom you call your friends can be seen as monsters."
The atmosphere suddenly felt as if it had dropped a few degrees and Yang and Ruby watched the Gopaul brothers with a mild amount of fear as they looked into their eyes. Cold, unforgiving and merciless. It was as if they were looking into the burning red eyes of a Grimm, but only far more deadly since those were eyes that seen what could not be unseen.
"I don't believe that to be true." Ruby stated. The brothers looked to the fifteen year old, and the cold atmosphere vanished in a heartbeat.
"You are just a child, Ruby." Kiran replied. "You don't understand..."
"That's true." Ruby nodded in confirmation, but her silver eyes were still blazing with a fiery determination that made the brothers captivated as she continued her speech. "Yes, I am a child and yes, I don't understand the world around me in its entirety. I don't know what happened to you guys because it must have been terrible to turn you into such pessimists...but it's because I am a child in both heart and mind that I know that while there is darkness in the world, we at Beacon are supposed to be the light to counteract it and be just that. A beacon. You aren't the only ones to have seen a world without light in it..." The image of a woman dressed in a white hood came to the forefront of the young Huntress's mind. "...and it's...pretty lonely, I'll admit."
"Ruby..." Yang wrapped her sister in a one-armed hug, an act of affection the scythe wielder accepted with a smile.
"Blake told me that the world is not like a fairy tale. However, we fight the bad guys, we kill the Grimm, we save the innocent and defend the weak. We help people who are unable to help themselves because that is what we do. We fight so they won't have to, and Huntsmen and Huntresses are bound by duty and by obligation to protect the kingdoms and the world that we live in." The dual hair coloured girl paused before giving the brown eyed boys a small smile. "The world sucks, it's true, but...it's why we're here aren't we? To make it better?"
Byron and Kiran were taken aback by the younger girl's words. To have such a bright outlook on the world was...unheard of for them after spending so many years soaking the very earth with blood. Not to mention Ozpin was a realist, he shoved it down their throats that the world was always going to have shadows that formed even when the light would be at its brightest. It's because of that realistic outlook that the two managed to reply to what would have normally been a speech to silence negativity.
"Your words are truly inspiring, Ruby...truly they are. And if you continue to follow that ideology, I'm quite sure the world will be on a path to a better position that it is now, so you continue to wield your weapon for the sake of doing so." Byron had a small smile on his face. "A pure and young soul such as yourself can spark quite a bit of change in this world of ours, make it better." The smile dropped once more and a far more serious expression appeared. "But know that your actions will have consequences."
"It's like the saying goes." Kiran added. "The road to hell is paved with good intentions."
"Then I'll just put up a detour sign that goes straight to heaven." Ruby grinned widely. The Gopaul brothers were once again made speechless by how the young Huntress-to-be was able to be such an optimist. Raised to be fighters, assassins, people who fought with the intention of making the darkness a part of them in order to help push it aside for those who didn't have to walk through it...it was taxing for the two boys, but Ruby, despite having seen a bit of that world managed to remain an optimistic and bright young girl through it all.
'Maybe...Maybe she really can change the world.' The two thought.
"Awwww, I'm so proud of my baby sister!" Yang exclaimed as she hugged the younger girl tightly. Ruby's eyes nearly bugged out of her head as Yang had unintentionally put her in a headlock. The boys couldn't help but be a bit amused as Ruby frantically patted on her older sister's forearm, her face turning blue as oxygen was no longer getting to her brain.
"Yang...stop." She gasped out. "Choking...not breathing."
The Next Day
Headmaster's Residence, Beacon Academy, Vale
They had woken before the sun had even had a chance to rise-4 o' clock in the morning-as the life of a solider required one to be ready at all hours of the day. Plus, the brothers wanted to return to their quarters in the Headmaster's Residence where they had been told they would be staying as compensation for their coming to Beacon on such short notice after having been discharged from the military. The Munchkins did not prevent them from entering the large emerald household, proving either that Ozpin had either remained true to his word that they could come back in to the Headmaster's Residence...or that he had not even made the Munchkins activate their defensive capabilities and was just being an asshole.
The other members of the school had all still been asleep during that time and so they were able to leave unnoticed. After they had showered and changed into the clothes that they saw as their uniforms, they adjusted the articles that were armoured and proceeded to head down to the kitchen where Ozpin was already waiting for them, coffee in hand as per usual.
"Good morning boys."
"Master." The two bowed their heads to their teacher.
"Take what you like. I know you were just following orders, but I believe that after being brought back here after your time in the Atlesian Black Ops and then being sent to sleep in the ballroom, you deserve a bit of a reward. So..." Ozpin gestured to the lengthy table where all manner of breakfast foods were available for them to eat. "...enjoy." After a hearty breakfast of eggs, toast, bacon, sausages and orange juice, the time had become half past five, and the boys were now full and prepared for the remainder of the day.
"Now that you've eaten and freshened up, I believe it is time you come with me to collect your weapons." Ozpin said as he looked over his Scroll. He closed the device and pocketed it before rising from his chair at the head of the table, leaving the Munchkins to do their duties of cleaning up.
"Would you be willing to tell us the surprise concerning our weapons, Master?" Kiran asked.
"Ever the curious one, Kiran." Ozpin chuckled as his cane clacked against the tiled floor of his home. "But, I will not be telling you. After all, what's the point of a surprise if it fails to hold up as such?" Kiran and Byron glanced at each other, but sighed softly in resignation.
"As you wish, Master." Ozpin nodded and then pushed open the doors, leading his former students down the yellow brick road towards his school. They walked around the massive grounds, stopping for a while when Ozpin took the moment to appreciate the golden glow of the rising sun and the changing of the sky's colours. "A magnificent sight is it not, boys?"
"It is just the repositioning of the sun due to the planet's rotation, Master." Byron stated. "I fail to see the major significance in seeing the process as aesthetically pleasing."
"The aesthetic is great, I will admit, but the sun rising is far more than that." Ozpin took a sip of his coffee as he turned away from the sun's slow ascent above the horizon. His former students followed dutifully after him as he turned to walk towards the dormitory buildings. "It has been a sight that many cultures have seen to be the representation of new beginnings, the start of something new, a period of change, the sight of light breaking through darkness...the list can go on indefinitely I can assure you. A sunrise is a sight most people tend to take for granted and not many are capable of living long enough to see one. The Great War ended with the rising of the sun...and I'm quite sure that by the time you boys are ready to leave Beacon, you will come to appreciate the sunrise as more than just an astronomical process."
Silence passed between the three as they continued their trek across the academy's grounds.
(Insert Music: RWBY- Episode 15 Score)
Dormitory Buildings, Beacon Academy, Vale
Ozpin continued to lead his former students around the school until they came to the large and very elegant looking building that was currently the dormitories. Beacon's dormitories were originally the low to the ground and very well kept barracks. The Huntsmen and Huntresses that had been stationed in Beacon during its days as a stronghold needed a place to sleep after all as Beacon once housed multitudes of human and Faunus alike, numbering in thousands which acted in the Great War against the Creatures of Grimm and during the civil wars that took place during and after it. However, after the eighty year conflict had passed and Beacon turned into an academy to train only the best and brightest of young men and women to protect the kingdom of Vale, the barracks had been demolished and replaced with large, 300 foot tall towering pieces of architecture.
There were four dormitory buildings, each one to be used by a certain student level. As such, there was one building for the first years, one for the second years and so on and so forth. Each building was painted white and grey with a few black accents to match the colour scheme of the castle-like main building, and consisted of titanium skeletons to give them strong and stable structures. Their walls were composed of thick concrete that was capable of surviving a shot from a bomb of Fire Dust at close range with barely a crack, and the windows were bulletproof and element-proof to protect against any Dust or weapon related accidents or acts of vandalism that could go out of hand.
Ozpin tested it himself after all. The vandals were expelled from the academy and given quite a good lashing via Goodwitch's riding crop.
Each dorm building consisted of thirty-four floors that had a large number of rooms capable of housing up to four people per room-after all, teams were comprised of four-and also contained lounging areas instead of dorm rooms in the first five floors. Beacon allowed hundreds if not thousands of applicants to take the chance to take part in their curriculum, but since a large majority of those applicants never made it beyond the team formation trials in the Emerald Forest, all 34 floors of the dormitory buildings were not...up to full capacity, so to speak.
The least occupied building, and the one which Ozpin, Byron and Kiran were currently walking through, was the one dedicated to the fourth years. A lot of students underwent changes as they moved up through the curriculum of Beacon Academy. The training got harder, the patrols got deadlier and the paper tests-information is power in many contexts after all-were made to be a lot more challenging. All of these elements combined made many a student cave under the pressure to the point that they either dropped out or they died in the field from overthinking things. It was truly a disheartening thing to see young people undergo such trials, and yet not see their goals through to the end. Beacon Academy accepted only the best, but if you could not meet the standards, then what good were you as a Huntsman or Huntress attending the best school in the kingdom?
It was due to this lack of students in the fourth year building that a large portion of the building had been allowed to be converted into a laboratory that had once started off as a single student's dorm room. And currently, the three Huntsmen were headed for the entrance to that dorm room as they traversed the lengthy hallway, pushing open the doors that acted to section off said hallways.
"Master..."
"Almost there, Byron. Have some patience."
"I've had thirteen years to develop my patience, Master."
"And you still haven't been able to completely master it." Byron was effectively silenced at that reply from the brown eyed headmaster. The shorter Huntsman turned and glared at his brother when he heard the snort of amusement. Kiran raised his arms in a mockingly feeble defense as Byron punched him in the shoulder, but the amusement never left his mahogany coloured eyes.
The three then came to a stop at the door to the dorm. Everything about the room screamed 'not normal', and even the most mentally challenged student could tell that. The door, rather than having a number like most, it just had a capital 'A' hanging above the peephole in gold. Its surface was painted to look like the normal wood of the other dorm doors, but the way the light reflected off of it showed that it was actually made of metal. Well that, and the screws which were used to construct the door and make it stable. Beside the door was a 10-digit keypad which also had what looked like a small speaker placed above it. Above the door was a black orb embedded in a circular-shaped socket, a red dot shining in its centre. Also, a rather plain looking doormat was present before them, though the mat was shifted at an angle.
Due to his OCD, Kiran moved his foot forward to put the mat back into its usual position...only to pause when he noticed a black scorch mark beneath the mat. His eyes narrowed curiously when he flipped the corner of the mat over to reveal that the scorch mark appeared much larger than how it was made out to be. Ozpin then lightly pushed Kiran away from the door and fixed the mat with his cane.
"Now, now Kiran, you shouldn't touch people's property without permission." He chided. Ozpin picked up his cane and tapped the curved end against the door. The loud banging sound seeming to reverberate through the halls. Suddenly, the walls seemed to come alive. Panels opened up and what looked like large mini-guns protruded out of the walls by hinged arms. Hell, two of them were shown to have descended from the damn ceiling. Red beams of light were pointed at them from all directions from the door's perspective. Kiran and Byron had already sprung into action, grabbing Ozpin and standing in front of the laser sights directed at him and were about to move to go and disable the cannons aimed at them and their master. However, Ozpin quickly stopped them before sighing.
"That boy, so over dramatic with his inventions and his security..." The grey haired man clicked his tongue. "Arthur, please call off your guns would you. I would hate for my boys to dismantle them."
Suddenly a whirring sound echoed through the halls as they guns stopped moving. The electric eye located above the door suddenly shifted, the red dot expanding and shrinking as it focused on the three of them.
"Oh dear, I do apologize Professor Ozpin." The voice spoke with a rather sophisticated tone and spoke with a noticeable accent that was usually found in the northern and eastern countries where ice and snow reigned supreme. In those countries, the people were raised to recognize strength and intelligence, but mostly strength. It was the true definition of dog-eat-dog in those countries, and in those countries, Kiran and Byron had once had the alleged pleasure of taking part in an information gathering mission regarding the use of Dust to produce ballistic missiles capable of wiping out a small city with one strike. They had successfully ended the arms dealings and destroyed any evidence regarding the plans when the demolitions teams were sent in alongside them to take out the dealers. However, it was far from easy. The workers, leaders and even their scientists, were all combat efficient. In those lands, there was a saying; "You do not fear death in the Mother Country, death fears you.", and to be honest...the Gopaul brothers were inclined to believe that death would indeed fear those men and women of that nation.
"Oh and you brought Kiran and Byron as well." The boys were knocked out of their thoughts when they heard their names. "You're here to pick up your weapons I'm sure, don't worry, I have them all prepared and combat ready. It was an amazing task for me to upgrade them and I'm quite sure you both will like what I have done. Well, no point in just standing there outside, come in come in."
The loud sounds of gears and hydraulics in action echoed throughout the halls before the metal door released a few hisses. The door was pushed out of the frame slightly before rising upwards to reveal a rather messy looking teenager, about nineteen years old. He stood at a height of 5'11" and looked to be quite skinny, but that was probably due to the baggy looking, white lab coat he wore over his clothes. He was a wolf Faunus and had rather wild, messy white hair, with slightly spiky sideburns that ran down the side of his head to cover his human ears. His eyes were as if someone took liquid silver and poured them into his irides, vertical, slit pupils laying within them. Beneath his lab coat, Arthur wore a standard Beacon Academy uniform in addition to a pair of black, fingerless work gloves and a pair of magnifying goggles which were currently resting atop his head and covered the wolf ears which would normally be viewed openly. His upper canine teeth were shown to be much larger and sharper than regular Faunus and human canines, thus they protruded slightly from beneath his upper lip. The intellectually inclined Faunus also had two sword sheaths strapped to either side, the tips of said sheaths peeking beneath the hem of his lab coat. One sword was a Q-handle and the other was a D-handle.
"Do come in, and please don't take the mess into consideration. I am an extremely busy person and am often quite engrossed in completing my projects." Arthur said as he led Ozpin, Kiran and Byron into his room. True to his word, the room was indeed messy. It was the size of a regular dorm room, but almost all normally provided furniture and decorations had been effectively removed from the premises.
There were a large number of desks that outlined almost the entire perimeter of the room, with a much larger desk with a workbench in the centre of the room, which may have been Arthur's primary working place since there were more tools and mechanical parts located on that desk. The others were covered in blueprints, robotic arms, and a myriad of parts that one would normally find to be used in creating the multi-purpose weapons of today's Huntsmen and Huntresses.
Attached to the walls were conveyer belts that acted as shelves, each one containing tools and parts that were well organized in comparison to the rest of the room. There was also a few panels located throughout the room with a small box drawn on it in red paint. The box contained a picture of a burning flame with an X running through the flames. Most likely a fire suppression system made for his more flammable and explosive creations.
There was a bunk bed located in the upper left corner of the room and the curtains were closed shut to let in as little light as possible.
"I see you still like working in the dark." Ozpin commented as his cane clacked against the carpeted floor.
"I'm a Faunus, Professor Ozpin. I take in sunlight a lot, but sometimes I see the light as bothersome when I work. It is of no hindrance to be a dark environment, especially to a wolf Faunus such as myself, since I am equipped with night vision." Arthur replied as he moved over to one of the desks. "Please wait here for a moment, while I look through the clutter for your weapons. I had finished them within a matter of hours, but like I informed you all earlier, I am very busy."
The wolf Faunus then paused to adjust the carpet when it folded upwards, revealing a black scorch mark not unlike the one outside.
"Forgive my curiosity, Arthur, but...why are there scorch marks on your floor and underneath your doormat?" Kiran asked. Arthur didn't turn around as he moved aside piles of paper, pens and pencils dropping and rolling underneath the desks.
"Oh, yes, well as you are aware, I am a Faunus and I often had break-ins. Bullied and tortured, I decided to use my genius to create a machine that would be capable of emitting light through a process of optical amplification based on a stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation."
"...You made a laser." The brothers stated in a deadpan tone.
"Didn't think you two would know the definition of a laser other than giant beam that vapourizes shit." Arthur chuckled lightly. "But...yeah, I made lasers to protect me and my work since again, I was bullied. I used to have roommates, three of them since it was required to be a team of four. The scorch mark on the floor...that was all that remained of two of them after my motion-sensor activated lasers were full functional. The one under the doormat was what happened to my last roommate and team member. After that, no one bullied me and they left me alone to let me focus on my work."
Moving aside a few of his notebooks and papers and tossing aside a robotic limb that was very similar to that of the Atlesian Knight-130, Arthur pulled out the armoured gloves and the twin swords. He had a wolfish grin spread across his face, his body straightening as he held himself with pride. He placed the two sets of weapons on his larger work desk for the former assassins to look at, Ozpin remaining in the background as he took a sip of his coffee.
Kiran's weapons didn't look that much different, but Byron's were noticeably different as attached to the wrist area of the gloves were five large rings made up of the same type of black metal that his gauntlets were made of. Each ring looked to be larger that the one before it, thus making a somewhat conical shape.
(Insert Music: RWBY- Extracurricular)
"Your weapons have been outfitted with my new and improved high frequency model metals. What makes this better than your regular Dust infused weaponry and regular steel or titanium weapons is that high frequency, or HF for short, reinforced metals are capable of being infused by a powerful alternating current and resonates at extremely high frequencies." Arthur gestured to his own swords. "X-Caliburn is outfitted with this same type of metal, and I will explain to you both why it is better than your weapons before I upgraded them. He gestured to the armoured gloves as Byron picked them up and slipped them on.
"Now, Byron, while your normal gauntlets were durable and strong, the high frequency models I created for you allows the oscillation of the metal to work in tandem with your Aura. Your Semblance works to give you the ability of hyperspeed combat and so your old gauntlets would often create friction with the air around it as you threw your punches and kicks. By using the HF models, your gauntlets are much more impervious to being heated from friction and due to having a vibration effect when you hit the opponent, it will break their bones far more easily as well as rupture their internal organs. I also used nanofold technology to make the HF metal easier to store within the rings as well as prevent any sort of chink in the armour, or so the saying goes. Those coating sheets you used in your old ones were far too impractical and weak in comparison to what you have now." Byron nodded and then he twisted his wrists to turn his armoured gloves into the gauntlets, metal folding out from the first and smallest ring. Byron eyed the other four rings curiously.
"And what do these do, Arthur?"
The wolf Faunus's silver eyes brightened at the mention before making the same wrist motions as the gauntlet user. "Ah, yes...the rings. Twist your wrists again just like how you normally do to turn the gloves into gauntlets and you'll see something truly spectacular, my friend. I'm sure you will be very impressed."
Byron raised an eyebrow at the rather excited looking genius, but he did as he was told. He twisted his right wrist to the right and his left wrist to the left. Ozpin watched with noticeable fascination as the eyes of his older student widened in amazement. From the second ring came an additional layer of nanofolded metal, making the gauntlet slightly larger, thicker and allowed it to take on a much more menacing, spiked appearance at the knuckles.
"Each ring contains another sheet of nanofolded HF metal that makes your gauntlets larger and enable you to hit harder. True, you and your brother use Aura to allow you to enhance your physical prowess, but this way, you'll be able to hit harder without consuming too much Aura as basic physics tells of force equaling to mass times acceleration. Since your Semblance will allow you to move extremely quick, the acceleration in addition to using your layered gauntlets will allow you to strike with much greater force. The downside is that the gauntlets are noticeably heavier with each additional layer, I put five just for the sake of five being so wonderfully evenly odd, but from what Professor Ozpin has shown, your strength is much greater than that of normal humans and normal Huntsmen. Why, the files show that you've broken the skulls of Nevermores and Ursa Majors with your old gauntlets, so I'm sure you won't be hindered very much. You normally turn your left wrist to the left and right wrist to the right when you activate your gauntlets, so the same action can be used to activate the other ring layers. To turn them back to normal, just a single twist of your wrists in the opposite directions will suffice."
The engineering genius then turned away from the older brother as he did as he was instructed, the double layered gauntlets turning back into armoured gloves once more.
"As for you, oh Kiran, being a weapons specialist such as yourself, I had a great deal of fun in upgrading yours. I must say that your design for your weapon is truly spectacular. A pair of twin blades which join at the hilt to form a double-tipped spear which can further be turned into a long range shotgun is very, very cool." Arthur gushed, stars appearing in his eyes as he watched Kiran look over them. "If only you were more of an intellectual than a fighter, I could use your imagination to create so much more amazing machines and weapons."
"...Thank you?" Kiran replied, unsure if whether or not the genius Faunus was insulting his intelligence or not. Arthur adjusted his lab coat and cleared his throat, calming himself down as he then pointed to Kiran's swords.
"For the blades of your swords and spear, Kiran, the HF model functions such that the oscillation of the blades weakens the molecular bonds of anything it cuts, thereby increasing its cutting ability. Striking, cutting, and thrusting attacks are performed with the blade, with the sharpened edge and point used for lethal attacks, and the blunt edge used as a clubbing weapon. Also, you are a very speedy and agile fighter so when in a fight involving long range weaponry, such as guns or arrows, you tend to do the sensible thing such as moving quickly out of the way. Your files showed that you were capable of moving fast enough to move through waves of gunfire headed your way, but you were forced to use your Semblance to block the bullets that would have normally hit you had they not been present. With your great reaction time and proficiency with your weapons, the HF model weapons you hold in your hands will allow you to be able to wield the blades with such accuracy and speed that they will be able to deflect bullets without damaging them."
"I can deflect bullets easily?" Kiran asked with wide eyes. "What about cutting them straight down the middle?"
"Oh..." Arthur's grin grew large enough to the point that it was almost about to split his face. "...you can cut those bullets alright. Almost as if it were a hot knife through butter. And I say 'almost' because HF is much more effective than that." Arthur turned to Byron. "You've been able to block bullets yourself with your old gauntlets Byron, but the HF model will make it much more effective when used by a proficient combatant such as yourself."
"Any changes to the shotgun?" Kiran asked as he turned his swords into the the twin-tipped spear and then into the shotgun. Arthur nodded in confirmation.
"Before you had the regular makings of a shotgun. Capable of holding a single cartridge containing 8 Dust bullets, however, I enhanced your shotgun's storage capacity by tweaking the internal mechanisms. You are a fast paced fighter, not so much as your hyperspeed using brother, but still fast paced. Your fighting style mainly uses your twin-bladed sword style, but there have been moments in much more pressing challenges where you use your true techniques, moving through your three weapons with amazing grace and without missing a beat."
Arthur made a motion for Kiran to hand the shotgun to him, and the brown skinned boy handed it over to the peach skinned Faunus. He gripped the barrels of the gun and the handle before bending it to reveal a large circular chamber where three bright Red Dust cartridges were sitting, waiting to be used.
"When you used your shotgun, you often ran out of Fire Dust bullets quickly so in order to prevent you from having to pause in combat to replace the cartridges, I installed a cartridge chamber in the shotgun. Like a revolver which has a revolving chamber to prepare the next bullet to be fired once its predecessor has been used, I installed a three cartridge revolving chamber for your Dust bullet cartridges. Once all the bullets are used, the next cartridge will take its place within the second. I've timed your ability to fire bullets in succession and you are very proficient to the point that with this new revolving cartridge chamber, you can now fire all 24 rounds within a time frame of 60.142 second." He then pulled out each cartridge to reveal each cartridge had its own alternating stripes of colour. One was red and green, the second cartridge was white and yellow and the final cartridge was blue and orange. "Also, since the shotgun is double barreled, placing the bullets into the position to fire two rounds simultaneously, I took the liberty of having each Dust cartridge in your gun to have different, yet effective combinations. The first cartridge has Fire and Wind dust for explosive shots which you are commonly known to use, but with the Wind Dust, it is now capable of being far more destructive. The second cartridge is a Concussion and Lightning combination to use for more paralytic methods against your opponents. The final cartridge are Ice and Lava Dust which can be used to bind an opponent as the Ice Dust will flash freeze the Lava Dust upon making contact to form solid earth."
"Interesting." Kiran muttered. "So I have Kill, Paralysis and Binding shots at my disposal."
"That is correct." Arthur nodded. "Of course, you can always create your own combinations or simply use a single type of Dust bullet like the Fire Dust you've been using most commonly. Also, you can alternate manually with the press of the switch right there on the handle." The bespectacled Huntsman spied the bright green switch on his weapon. "I've also improved the range to cover 900 metres; your older model shotgun which was used to kill those cult followers of the Creatures of Grimm having a firing range of 600 metres."
"That assassination was highly classified." Byron said. "Even if you are General Ironwood's supplier of newest models of technology and their designs, you should not have had access to those mission files."
"Classified?" The silver eyed Faunus snorted in haughty derision before taking out his Scroll, which looked far more technologically advanced than the ones they and Ozpin possessed. He tapped a few buttons on the holographic screen and he held it up to the faces of the brown skinned boys. One by one, pages of each and every one of their missions was shown. From their battle against the White Fang battalion to the recent assassination of Singra. "Just like the AK-130s, those security systems in Atlas were designed by yours truly. I have access to any and every piece of information within Vale and Atlas. Vacuo is still out of reach, but I'll work on that when I'm bored and not afraid to spark a war between the kingdoms for eventually breaking through their firewalls. Also, not that I needed them, but when Professor Ozpin asked me to upgrade your weapons, he gave me a few videos that showcased your abilities and skills, some of which were recordings from your first missions after you both were deemed fit for battle."
The brothers looked at Ozpin who merely shrugged.
Arthur pocketed his Scroll and then watched as Kiran turned his weapon into its original dual blades, sheathing them onto his back. "So...care to give the names of your new weapons?" He looked down at his own swords with a toothy grin. "X-Caliburn is, and always will be, my greatest creation, but it has been a method since the days of old, even before the Great War, that great weapons are given names."
"Brahma and Shiva." Kiran pointed to the right and left swords respectively. "I primarily use the swords so it would not make much sense to name their spear and gun forms."
"Indra." Byron named his gauntlets.
"Interesting names." Arthur commented. "And very cool sounding, like as if they were deities or something. I approve...now then, I believe today would be the time for you to display my creations in action seeing as how today is the team formation trials in the Emerald Forest for this year's first years...should they survive of course."
"That is correct." Ozpin nodded.
"Your work is as impressive as always Arthur. You have truly done a fine job with these weapons." Kiran complimented Arthur. The genius pulled his goggles over his silver eyes, grinning widely, his wolf ears twitching happily though they were invisible beneath the mane of white that was his hair.
"Always a pleasure to impart my genius unto others." The three Huntsmen then left the wolf Faunus to his own devices as they turned to around to leave. "If you need anything else, you know where to find me."
Beacon Cliffs, Beacon Academy, Vale
The long line of students stood near the edge of Beacon Cliffs that overlooked the expanse of greenery that was the Emerald Forest. Home to many a Creature of Grimm, this served as the testing grounds for the team formation trials of any and all beginner students who wished to continue their time in Beacon as fully fledged first year students.
"Now many of you have brought up the question as to how teams will be decided." Glynda spoke as she held her Scroll in her arms. "Well, those question will end now as you will be getting your teams...today."
Many began mumbling in excitement at the prospect of receiving team members to take on the forces of Grimm, but for those like a certain red hooded Huntress who was still new and somewhat alone in the school, it was nerve wracking and disappointing. Socializing was so...ugh.
'You're all I need Crescent Rose.' She thought as she patted her folded-up battle scythe.
"You will go through the Emerald Forest to head for the forest temple where, in the process, you will find your partner. Your partner will be the first person you make eye contact with and will continue to be your partner for the next four years at this institution." Ozpin explained. "As you arrive at the temple, you and your partner are to retrieve a relic and return safely back here. You must tread with extreme caution for if you do not...you will die."
The way he said those words with such certainty made many become overwhelmed by a feeling of dread.
"Any questions?" Ozpin asked. Jaune raised his hand meekly. "Good, then you may begin." Suddenly, the platforms that the students were standing on, began to lift forcefully, acting like catapults to send students zooming through the air towards the forest below.
"Ummm, Professor Ozpin...sir. I have a...ummm question." Jaune was so focused on the grey haired man that he was completely oblivious to how his fellow students were being hurtled through the skies. "Will we be receiving a landing strategy or will we be lowered down...or something?"
"Oh no, Mr. Arc...you will be falling. And you will be devising your own landing strategy." Ozpin's eyes gained a mischievous light in them. Jaune's blue eyes widened as he saw Ruby, who was standing to his immediate left, suddenly give him a small smile before she disappeared in the blink of an eye. The blond turned to Kiran and Byron as they were standing to his right, but they didn't even offer him a glance.
Jaune gulped as he heard the click of his panel catapult preparing to launch him. "Oh dear...AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
Ozpin sipped his coffee, Glynda looked at her scroll and the Gopaul brothers stood as stoically as usual. Once the rookies all became dots in the distance, Ozpin turned to Glyna and gave her a mere nod of the head. The blonde woman looked at the headmaster with a small frown, but she sighed as she obeyed her silent request. She turned and walked away from the grey haired man and his former students to go to a much further area along the cliffs. Once she was deemed to be out of earshot, Ozpin turned back to the Gopaul brothers.
"Now, you two have been personally trained by myself thus you have no need to take part in such a menial task as going through these trials in the Emerald Forest. You two would just end up managing to find each other and return in record time and any regular teammates would hold you two back in the field despite my point of bringing you to Beacon was to make relationships. After all, second semester work involves working in the field under the supervision of a professional Huntsman or Huntress. As a result of the fact that you boys are already professionals, you will still need professionals as competent team members...which is why when I was looking through the list of applicants who wished to join my school, I happened upon these two." Ozpin tapped his cane on the ground, and in blurs of speed, two young teenagers, no older than seventeen appeared before the former assassins.
"H-H-Hey guys, long time no see." The wolf Faunus waved shyly at the brown eyed brothers.
The wolf Faunus was male, with pale white skin, as if he had not seen sun for quite a while. He stood at a height of 5'11" and made him the tallest amongst the four teenagers. He wore a long sleeved, white t-shirt, blue jeans with armour located on the knee area and a pair of white sneakers. The young man had spiky white hair, but unlike Arthur's, his wolf ears were capable of being seen through the spiky mane. A pair of silver gauntlets were worn over his forearms, the sharp claws glinting in the sunlight. Two spikes protruded from the radius side of the forearm area, facing towards their user's body, while a ring of similar spikes decorated the wrist area of the gauntlets. Each gauntlet bore a wicked looking, curved blade of gold on the ulnar side of the forearm. The wolf Faunus had sharp, piercing blue eyes with vertical slits for pupils. His nails, hidden beneath the gauntlets, were like claws and his teeth, fangs, being far more pronounced than any other normal Faunus. This was revealed by the fact that he had a furry wolf tail protruding from his tail bone area, swishing slowly through the air, and a marking on his left cheek in the form of a black paw print.
"Michael Bloodmoon." Kiran turned to the blue eyed teenager and suddenly, the taller Huntsman flinched as if he were a dog about to be beaten. "You still are quite shy it seems, but you do seem stronger."
"Thanks." Michael's mood seemed to brighten a bit as he heard the compliment from his former work partner. His tail wagged a bit as he offered the two Gopaul brothers a small smile. "I...I did a lot of training with the pack after our assassination together with Lora five years ago. I'd like to think I got stronger, but I hope that when we work together again, it will please you all to see how much better I've become."
"Your family is one of the few families of Faunus that still follow the old traditions regarding the formation of packs and clans. While harsh and very strict with not wishing to change their ways in keeping association and techniques within the Bloodmoon clan, you would have surely benefited from learning from your family. You were not a hindrance during the assassination mission five years ago, and I'm quite sure you will not have degenerated to a lesser warrior over the years." Kiran replied.
The bird Faunus's black eyes widened as she looked at the Gopaul brothers before a wide grin spread across her face.
"Byron! Kiran!" With speed that matched their own, the girl rushed forward. However, unlike with most fast paced actions, the brothers did not make any move to stop the girl as she wrapped her arms around them to put them in a tight embrace. "It's been so long since I've seen you guys!"
"Lora." The two boys acknowledged her presence. The girl, now identified as Lora, pouted as she released the two, backing up a bit.
The elated bird Faunus was a white skinned girl who stood at a height of 5'5", thus making her shorter than Byron's 5'6". She had shoulder length, raven black hair and matching coloured eyes. She wore a sleeveless, striped, dark grey top, a combat skirt which was outlined by black feathers, and steel armour which covered her legs and footwear. Strapped to her hips were a pair of rapiers, each one being equipped with revolving dust cartridge storage units just beneath the hilts. One rapier was armed with Green Dust and the other stored Blue Dust, thus showing the young woman wielded the elements of wind and ice. Around her neck, she wore a necklace bearing a raven's feather made of onyx as a charm. Her most eye catching features were the ebony raven feathers which grew from her upper forearm, elbow and her lower arm.
"Geez, you two are still such stiffs. Michael and I haven't seen you guys in five years, and yet you still talk with the same robotic tones and stuff like when we worked together." The bird Faunus complained and the boys glanced up from their shorter companion to look at the wolf Faunus. The clan Faunus shifted nervously under the stoic gazes of his once former assassination partners, his tail and ears dropping as his shy demeanour came to the surface. "Though, to be honest, when Michael and I chose to leave the White Fang a few months ago, I didn't think I would have run into you boys since I thought well...you'd be busy doing actual hunting."
"We had been, but Master deemed it necessary for us to build social relations." Byron answered.
The former Atlesian Black Ops members then paused in talking as they observe Lora was looking up at them with wide eyes. "Woah! You guys actually got taller than me! Five years ago, you were still so short and tiny. Looks like puberty did wonders, huh?" Michael and Lora laughed a bit, but they were not joined in by their fellow former assassins.
'I always thought those two would have a beneficial impact on the boys. Not even five minutes, and already they're holding a conversation, but...'
(Insert Music: Two Steps from Hell- Wrath of the Sea)
Ozpin stamped his cane on the grassy cliffs and all four of them immediately stopped talking. They turned and dropped down on bended knee before the brown eyed headmaster.
"Michael Bloodmoon and Lora Ravencroft, you two are by far the most capable candidates I can ever hope to pull out from the list of new applicants to be the teammates of my former students. However, before you four can be officially instated as a team of my academy, you will have to act like a team. Despite what I have done to them to make them as strong as they are now, I will not have my boys be hindered by weak teammates, understood?" Ozpin spoke with a serious tone, eying Lora and Michael as they nodded stiffly in response.
"Yes, headmaster." Michael's nod was extremely more so due to his constant need to please others. Being the youngest in a clan of wolves who, despite his best efforts, would not see his best as not good enough, rendered him with the constant need to please.
"Due to your past experiences in the professional worlds of being fighters on the continent of Vytal, you will be performing an original mission that I forged myself, and one which I will be supervising personally. Professor Goodwitch will be helping me keep an eye on the other students in the Emerald Forest, so you have no need to worry about my ability to multitask." Ozpin informed the four. "You will be tested on your ability to complete the mission as efficiently as possible along with your ability work together as a single unit, for I am well aware of your calibre of skills as individuals. Or as a two-man team in the case of Kiran and Byron."
"What is the mission, Master?" Kiran asked.
"Guardian mission. All four of you have been required to mainly do missions involving undercover work and ones involving a large amount of fighting. Intelligence gathering, front line battles or assassinations that sometimes became full flown fights for survival upon being discovered." Kiran and Byron knew their master was referencing to their recent encounter with Singra, but the powerful headmaster would not say it out loud. "With that in mind, I decided that one of the best types of assignments to give you all is one involving protecting both your client and the important package that they will be transporting with them to a secure location." Ozpin replied as he sipped his coffee.
"That's...not much to go on, headmaster." Michael said.
"Most of the information regarding the mission is on a need-to-know basis." The experienced Huntsman replied. "There is a small airship already prepared for you all at the air docks to lead to the kingdom's docks for seagoing vessels. That is where you will meet the client. Your client and the package are the top priority. If they die, then you fail. If you die, you fail. Am I clear?"
"Yes!" Was the unanimous reply.
"Move out." The four vanished in blurs of speed, heading towards the air docks. The green clad man sipped his coffee before walking towards Glynda as she looked down at her Scroll to survey their newest generation of students. Things were shaping up to be a very interesting year.
(A/N: And that's it for this chapter. Michael Bloodmoon and Lora Ravencroft are both OC characters of my own design and will be highlighted in the next chapter when they go through their mission. Arthur Asimov is an OC character who was graciously suggested to me to use by one of my fellow authors and a friend on this site, NeoNazo356.
Also, now that I've adjusted Kiran and Byron's weapons, I can finally say that on my deviantart account, DrawerofAnime, I have posted up drawings displaying the profiles of all five of these OC characters. Appearances, likes, dislikes, hobbies, their weapons and how they work, I have sketch drawings showing all of those things for those of you who wish to check them out. The link to my DA profile is on my profile.
Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter despite it still be exposition. Action will take place in the next chapter and I believe I won't disappoint. Thanks for reading and remember to review, review, review!)
