A/N: Okay fellas, new chapter! This had been going pretty well! Makes me very happy! Please, read and review, so and so, and forewarning, sorry about chapter length. Hopefully the next few will be a little longer.

Chapter 2: Academy

I stared out of the window of the Bullhead, looking at the city, seeing where I'd been before: the slums, the ghettos, the richer parts of town. I thought to myself just how far down a path I was going. Where it could lead, I had no idea.

After I had left with Ozpin, his colleague, a lovely lady by the name of Professor Goodwitch, gave me an once-over, and decided I was in drastic need of new clothes. She tried her best to get me out of the clothes I was in, but I flat-out refused to cooperate, not wanting to get out of the only clothes I had, so she had me dress down, turn out every one of my pockets, and seized up my clothes, washing and fixing them, and after I had cleaned myself up, returned them. The clothes were extremely cleaner and lighter without the caked-on mud and dirt I had had before. The only problem was what I had to put back in my pockets. I still had some Lien, the still-stolen disks, and dust cartridges for my weapon, some food, and my lockpicks all had to come out so my clothes could wash. Putting all of that back in was harder than it sounds.

Anyway, back on the Bullhead, I could already see Beacon Academy, and it looked amazing getting closer. The tall spires, sprawling grounds, all incredibly ornate and massive. I was sure I could find myself plenty of hidey-holes. Hmmm…

"Hi!" spoke a chipper, bubbly, female voice from behind me. Whirling around, I saw a smiling blond little girl, with a short red skirt, a blue blouse that covered up her chest with plate guards on her arms and legs. "I'm Samantha! But you can just call me Sam. What's your name?"

I simply gave her a glare and looked away. But instead of getting the hint, she bounded in front of me, saying extremely loudly, "Not very friendly? Well, I wanna be your friend!

"Samantha, come back here." came a soft, alluring female voice. I turned and saw a sad, pale-looking young girl, with raven black hair, soft gray eyes, and a sad, almost mourning smile. She wore black jeans, a dark red long-sleeved shirt, and had a small mechanical box hanging behind her on a strap. "I don't think he wants to make friends with anyone."

"Awww, but he looks so lonely!" Sam wailed. "And I wanted to talk to someone else!"

The black-haired girl pressed her fingers to her temple. "I'm so sorry about her." she apologized. "She's just … a little too friendly. I'm Bella, by the way."

"Nerik." I replied, nodding my head, holding on to the handrail as the Bullhead landed at Beacon.

"Oh!" Sam yelled in my ear. "I heard that Beacon will let people team up! Maybe we'll be a team!"

"No." I said walking off the ship, and passing a guy who was hunched over a trashcan, hurling. Dude probably had motion sickness. Poor bastard.

"But Neeerik!" Sam wailed after me. I kept walking, until I heard an extremely loud explosion, and rushed towards the sound. As I got closer and closer, I heard a voice screaming at someone, and when I rounded a pillar, I saw a white-haired girl, wearing a dress of the same color, and shaking a vial of Dust at another girl, this one wearing a red cloak, leggings, a skirt, ruby-soled combat shoes, and a strange mechanical contraption on the back of her waist. The latter girl, I had no idea who the hell she was, but she looked like she was too young for something like this school. The former girl, however, I knew all too well. Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, and the CEO's daughter.

Weiss kept shaking this vial of dust in her hand, and suddenly, after a small sneeze, maybe from the other girl, an explosion of flames, lightning, and icicles rocked the earth, and then Weiss was heard angrily screeching, "You DOLT!"

I did not want to talk to Weiss, even though I wanted to defend the girl, but I don't think that the Weiss Schnee would be too happy to see me after what happened at her father's Tower. So, I simply walked away, and walked back into the auditorium.

The place was huge. There were countless places to hide, or to just relax. Thousands of others, all soon-to-be Hunters and Huntresses were crowded around each other, murmuring and chatting to each other.

Someone bumped my shoulder, and as I turned to snarl, "Watch it, ass!" I saw who it was, and my breath caught in my throat as I saw the guy who bumped into me turn and observed me with his golden eyes, devilish smirk, and his long trench coat, hiding his weapon behind him, and his battle ready stance.

"Well, well," he said, his voice smooth as silk. "How's it going, Nerik?"

I snarled right back, "Rilek."

A/N: WHOOOHOOHOOOO! How about that cliffhanger?! Don't worry, Rilek will get explained more in the next chapter. Thanks for reading!