DISCLAIMER: The RWBY series is a property of Rooster Teeth and its affiliates. In no way am I receiving any profits from writing this fanfiction. After all, the playground is theirs. All music mentioned in the chapters is property of their respective owners.

A/N. The last chapter was a punctuation mess—my LibreOffice apparently decided to suddenly delete all punctuation and spaces from the finished chapter, so I tried my best to fix it. I apologize for the missing apostrophes and stuff—I was eager to release a new chapter for you to appreciate. Anyways, on with the story! Oh, and note that I'm not a native speaker, so my grammar might be a little… off the mark sometimes.

Chapter 4: Of Signal and Battle Training

== June the 18th, 2009, 8:04 AM. ==

Ah, this blissful feeling of waking up after a long uninterrupted sleep, how I missed it those days! Always on alert, always up and running at the barest hint of danger burdens me a great deal. Not even mentioning the constant fear of being found out. Of course, I had a contingency plan just in case, but I'd rather prefer remain where I am.

And speaking of which, I haven't ever heard about my bank robbery in the time I was at the hospital. I might have missed the news report. More information to mine from the local equivalent of the Internet, then. I should say, the Scroll is a very versatile device. One moment the size of a smartphone, the other moment it's as big as a tablet. And don't even get me started on the connection quality! For the city as big as Vale, one might think four CCT towers is not enough to ensure stable network connection, but somehow it works perfectly! And Beacon houses one of those technological miracles!

But enough nerding, it's time for me to wake up, unpack (not that I have much to unpack, mind you) and go meet the local officials. I need to make my stay here legit, after all. I sighed, but nevertheless continued my arduous task of making the room habitable at least at first glance, so I can leave at a moment's notice, leaving no possessions behind. Exiting the room and closing it behind me, I proceeded to walk to the principal office, when suddenly a voice boomed through the intercoms, most likely concealed somewhere, since I didn't notice any yesterday. "Mr. Saffron, please proceed to the training field at your earliest convenience! I repeat, at your earliest convenience!" I scowled. Oh, this confirms it. I have a tail. Someone who saw me walking out of the door and informed his superiors. And my Danger Sense was pretty much useless—there was no hostile intent behind simply monitoring a student, so… I scowled even deeper. Ugh, why my mornings always begin with something that manages to ruin my mood for the entirety of the day? That's so unfair.

Walking to the waypoint, I noticed Qrow and a blond man I identified as Taiyang standing behind two long tables littered with various weapons—the table on the left was all melee, while the right table was all ranged. I was surprised, to say the least. The weapons were all replicas, of course, but I could tell from Observing them that they were balanced exactly like their real counterparts. That decided it. I was here to find the best melee-ranged combination for my future weapon. Well, from the likes of things, me attending the Signal Academy is already a sealed deal, huh? I'm not the one to complain here. I could've spent weeks getting my documents otherwise, if the level of bureaucracy here is comparable to Earth.

Walking up to the men, I curtly greeted Qrow, since I've already met him, and then asked who Taiyang was. Ugh, this is so lame. But my cover is more valuable. I. Shall. Endure.

After we all exchanged polite greetings and introductions, Qrow literally pulled me away from Taiyang to "his" table, filled to the brim with anything humanity could devise to stick its pointy end into Grimm's (or human) hide. Lances, maces, halberds, swords, sabers—just name it! And so I began from the variety most familiar to me—a straight, one-handed sword. Waving it around to feel the balance, I found it impeccable. But something nagged at me, causing me to put the sword down and continue down the line. Choosing blade after blade, I found something in them all, something that faintly whispered: "Not the right choice." And so I exhausted the choice of one-handed weapons, again continuing down the line, trying my best to find a perfect match. And I surprisingly found it almost in the middle of the table—a wakizashi. While being curved, like a katana, its slightly inferior length will allow me to wield it with only one hand, essentially giving me the opportunity to attach something to my left arm. And its stabbing capabilities are also nothing to laugh at—due to being curved, the tip of the wakizashi is sharper than the tip of its European counterparts. I nodded to Qrow, who was actually expressing his interest in my choice of weaponry. "Oh-ho, so you're for the "up close and personal" approach, huh?" His eyes glinted in amusement. "So, now we go to that bag of hay over there… No, no, no, I meant this bag of hay," he pointed at Taiyang, who wasn't amused at his former teammate's antics. Qrow was seemingly trying his best to contain his laughter. "Oh, come on, Tai! You know your hair in the mornings do in fact resemble a haystack!"

"Don't remind me, you dusty crow, I'm still baffled over this," Xiao Long grumbled good-naturedly. "So, kid," the good mood evaporated, replaced by professionalism. "Come up here and we'll figure you out."

I approached the now intimidating-looking Taiyang, who was checking me over with visible criticism. Then, seemingly satisfied with the results, he gave me asniper rifle with a magazine. I, not being accustomed to the weight, tried to stay upright with the thing relentlessly pressing on my hands. Then the Xiao Long patriarch simply walked away to the shooting range, prompting me to walk after him. After putting some effort into the movement, I managed to make some steps forward without wobbling on my feet.

...

Due to exercising under arduous pressure, you have gained +1 STR!

…

By raising your physical stats to 50, you have gained an inactive status effect "Grimm Body"!

...

Due to exercising under arduous pressure, you have gained +1 STR!

...

Due to exercising under arduous pressure, you have gained +1 STR!

…

And so the torture continued, my body already switching to autopilot simply to conserve what scarce energy I had. By the time we got to the range, my STR shot up whole 8 points—that's how heavy this thing was. And Ruby waved a similar one around like a wooden stick! Just what kinds of monstrous training the children here in Signal endure? And the recoil was enough to send her flying! A fifteen-year old girl! My future here suddenly turns so much bleak I can't see my hands.

"So, you're not from the weak kinds of kids, I gather?" Taiyang asked offhandedly. Ugh, no, stop talking, you provoke my headache!

"Yeah, if he could carry a rifle you so shamelessly weighted, Tai, I doubt he will have problems with the real thing," Qrow joked, raising an eyebrow at his teammate.

…Wait, the thing was weighted? I released it and sure, it fell down with the force enough to leave an indentation in the ground. But its size told me otherwise! It couldn't be weighted, unless… Oh right, they never mentioned his Semblance, only saying he taught Yang how to fight. Gravity? Nope, or I would've been affected too. Magnetism? That's Pyrrha's Polarity for you. I just bet it's something really simple.

"Well, hehe, never hurt to check," Taiyang sheepishly scratched his head. I stared up at him, question in my eyes. "Yeah, that's because of my Semblance: manipulating an object's mass. I can basically make this rifle as light as a feather!" he jovially answered, not phased by my gaze in the slightest. Ugh, should've known. I guess he taught Yang by liberally using his Semblance on her, no wonder she's so durable. Like father, like daughter…

"Alright, the tricks aside, try to shoot these targets with the thing. I trust you won't hit your eye with the scope?" Qrow asked, seemingly concerned. But I could see slivers of mirth in his eyes, like he expects me to keel over from the recoil or something equally embarrassing. My inner drive ignited, I lowered my center of mass a little, put my right foot backwards, spread the feet shoulder-wide, put the rifle to my right shoulder. Finger parallel to the trigger so to not accidentally press it (the safety was off already, so I clicked it on-off, to show them I noticed it), I inhaled, shortly stopped the breath and shot upon exhaling. The recoil was enough to push my shoulder slightly backwards, disrupting the accuracy of the follow-up shot, but both bullets hit the target, so I assumed that a success. Clicking the safety back, I hoisted the rifle on the shoulder and turned to the men…

Only to find them dumbfounded. I cursed internally. That's what I get for being fired up like a teenager (which, in technicality, I was). Qrow whistled a long sound, "Wow, that was… Humbling, I guess..." Wait, what? Humbling? He uses a shotgun, for Oum's sake! That's as far from a sniper rifle one could get! "I guess you have some uses, kid," he patted me on the shoulder. "At least as an inspiration." And the man promptly walked away, whistling a tune suspiciously reminiscent of Weiss' theme song, Mirror Mirror. Or it is my mind playing tricks with me. I opt for the latter, or else my brain will shut down trying to figure where did he hear it.

And what the Oum did he mean "as an inspiration"? I fumed, unable to control my anger.

"Oh, don't pay attention to that dusty crow. He has his own quirks, just ignore him," Taiyang gave me a piece of advice. I decided to ask on the off chance he knew what the man meant by "inspiration", but the blond patriarch just shrugged, apparently unconcerned. So it remains a mystery.

"Well, back on topic. Do you feel alright with the rifle or we should choose something else entirely?" Tai, as I began to call him mentally (no doubt the poisonous influence of Qrow, he surely rubbed off Ruby), asked me. I shrugged, not really familiar with the guns offered, despite my gun-handling skills. Tai apparently sensed my predicament and we walked back to the tables and began testing the weapons.

By the time we finished, I apparently received five level-ups for Sharpshooter, making it Lv. 6, and a completely new skill, Sniper Mastery, as a result of me attuning to the rifle Taiyang gave me as an example of strength-centered weapon, in contrast to the agility-centered ones, like SMGs and pistols. Apparently in terms of accuracy my earlier assumption of shotgun being an opposite to the sniper rifle was quite correct, but in terms of prevailing stats (DEX or STR) rifle was the neighbor of the shotgun, and the latter system was more popular due to Hunters choosing the weapons that fit their style—all-out or hit-and-run tactics. That made an inkling of sense about Qrow's earlier exclamation, but I still felt I have a lot of puzzle pieces missing. No matter, this is unimportant right now.

After wrapping up my selections, Taiyang offered to show me the Forge, where the students made their own weapons, either unaided (like I suspect Ruby did) or with teacher's supervision and counsel. Apparently the students were allowed in the Forge after undertaking a special class, called (surprise!) Forging and passing a paper test. I asked if I could give the forging a shot right now, which elicited a reaction from Tai – he raised both his eyebrows.

"Well, nothing prevents you from giving it a try, since the rules explicitly state only students assigned to a class are to undertake the test, but another paragraph says all students should create their own weapon. I guess the test has become somewhat of a scale to determine whether the student is up to the task. But, since you're not yet assigned to a class, I guess..." His facial expression softened. "But you pay for the materials you rendered unusable, you understand me?" He mockingly held his finger pointed at me. I equally mockingly snapped at attention. "Sir, yes sir!" Tai heartily laughed at my antics, leaving me to my own devices. I pulled up a control panel for the machine and began working on a detailed 3D models for the weapon parts, assisted by my steadily growing Forging and my past life experience.

Disassembling the gun, I carefully began Observing every single piece of metal, plastic and occasional speck of Dust, skyrocketing the skill level. Filing the results away, I then proceeded to add them to the machine's database, as well as my wakizashi. Abandoning the circular hand-guards of the traditional Japanese blade, I made the hilts sleeker and more likely to shift into what I wanted.

My idea was to embed two sniper rifle mechanisms in the wakizashi handle, ditching the other rifle elements, but retaining twin barrels along the blade and essentially making a very lethal weapon. I didn't choose the sniper rifle for its accuracy, instead opting for its overwhelming recoil aiding in battle, like with Blake and Ruby, and the sheer amount of damage this can bring upon the enemy, Grimm or not. It is common among Hunters to assume the melee form was like that—melee. Apparently, when you try to evade a piercing strike, you don't also expect a pair of armor-piercing bullets from the thing. The problem with the setup was the reloading, but I could actually make my own bullets using Aura. As for the elemental properties, I might have an idea from the Myrtenaster. A small revolving cartridge at the base of the blade, right at the top of the handle between the barrels. But instead of putting powdered Dust inside cartridges, I will use the Crystals. After all, augmenting an occasional Aura bullet is not worth an entire Dust cartridge, and crystals can last for quite a while, also augmenting my blade attacks, if I manage to attune the damned thing to my Aura.

After all, if Gambol Shroud will soon be a reality, why couldn't my idea be true too?

== June the 19th, 2009, 3:26 AM. ==

Forging's level has increased by 17!

I finally managed to make the blade. Oh Oum knows, how much materials I've scrapped so far, but I haven't used a single piece of metal from Signal—I put the weapons I've scavenged to the task. In the end, I was left with my weapon, but also with a HUGE pile of metals, Dust and the stuff. The metals weren't a problem: the forge had a recycling function, so it could smelt the unfinished or failed projects back into their initial components. If anything, I've just done a huge service to the Academy by donating three and a half tons of steel, titanium, aluminum and tungsten. The Dust found refuge in my lightened Inventory. But the most rewarding was…

I was done. The weapon was completely finished and attuned to my Aura. I actually added a small attachable scope in the process, as well left the rooms for the bullets, just in case I needed to load any Dust bullets of .338 Lapua Magnum caliber, as opposed to Ruby's .50 BMG rounds – the barrel for those monstrosities simply wouldn't have fit. The aforementioned barrels were protruding six centimeters from the hilt, essentially making a possibility of a literal point-blank kill. On a whim, I also made a second version, not able to think of a secondary. And besides, the more, the merrier, right?

I actually managed to fall asleep right there shortly thereafter. Waking up in the morning from the sounds of students doing maintenance of their prized possessions, I made haste to the training grounds, where I was already awaited by Qrow and Tai. Giddily hiding my new creations behind my back, I lazily strolled to them, not a single muscle telling I was anything but calm. And I was not disappointed. "Did you manage to make anything even resembling a blade? Or is it in the recycler now, I wonder?" oh, so Qrow rubs the wrong way on anyone he meets. Good to know. I cocked my head sideways, allowing a small smirk to leave my lips. The smirk did not go unnoticed by Qrow, who narrowed his crimson pools of blood at me, saying "Continue". I ever so slowly got the weapons from behind my back. Qrow was suitably impressed, while Tai was… speechless. Yeah, just speechless. He stared at my Merry Dancers with a textbook expression of disbelief, confusion and… Admiration?

"Kid, I demand you show me how the hell you would be fighting with those!" Tai was already on his feet, bringing a steel training dummy from Oum-knows-where. Still, I came here just for the test ride, and I wasn't the one to deny myself the chance. Jumping high in the air, reorienting myself for a flip and pointing the blades forward, I shot all four barrels at the dummy, using recoil to add speed to my somersault. Landing behind the metal construct, I shamelessly copycatted Ruby's ending move—bringing the left blade to the dummy's neck, I shot the guns of my right blade into the dummy, making two more nice little holes in it and beheading the thing because of recoil. Rolling away from it, I noticed all my opening bullets pierced the dummy cleanly. So, six holes in its chest area and lacking a head? Even I can't recover from injuries this serious. And the whole encounter took less than three seconds. Sure, I could just slice it in two, what with the showing off, but I felt the need to do so.

...I think I broke those poor men. Taiyang in particular. He just stares off in the distance, probably wondering, where did the universe go wrong. Qrow, meanwhile, had settled for simply observing me, scrutinizing my every inch, like I was an exhibit. "Say, kid, what inspired you to make that particular move in the end?" Qrow asked me, not releasing his gaze. I involuntarily gulped, realizing I screwed up again big time. This is not a move intended for swords, this is a move for scythes! And Qrow here is the best at handling the thing, according to Ozpin. How could I possibly forget that? Stupid, dumb idiot! Think! "U-um, I saw my uncle cutting off a head with his sword, but I'm nowhere near strong as him, and I felt I should honor his memory by trying the same, but I'm too weak for that, so I decided to compensate with recoil, but it was too strong and I..."

"Oi, oi, oi, shut up, please! You sound just like Ruby!" Qrow scowled at me. Both men shuddered. Is this the power of babbling women? It must be so cute and infuriating at the same time for them to react like this… Wow, my respect for the girl went up a few notches. And my own head will probably sit in its place for a little longer, according to the facial expression Qrow and Tai adopted. Seems like my child appearance adds credibility to my BS hidden skill… One more thing to file away.

And so began my not-so-dull summer at Signal.

====TIMESKIP====

==September the 1st, 2009, 8:00 AM==

So. Today's the day. The day I enter Signal Academy nice and proper. The day I begin my studies in order to become stronger. For the sake of survival and for myself to build my own fate.

I've been self-training and occasionally heisting for the remainder of the summer, since Qrow began to prepare Ruby and Taiyang was finishing with Yang. I did not dare interrupt them, lest I become a punching (for Tai and Yang) and slashing (for Qrow and Ruby) bag of meat. The whole summer was spent raising my level to 27, STR to 65, DEX to 100 (I lost count how many bruises I received from hitting a random tree after shooting my barrels), VIT to 75 and WIS to 150 proper (15 WIS from the SP I gained and 4 from some actual studying), getting a skill cookie for my efforts, a Magician title, evolving my Wizard one, and granting me 75% increase in MP regen, instead of 25% by Wizard, and a 40% mana pool increase. Compared to previous 15%, that was a surefire way to make even the best Schnee casters jealous. That propelled my buffed MP reserves to astonishing 1916 MP and my buffed HP leveled out at 625. But the best cookie?

My Aura reached Level 25. And that meant its bonuses almost doubled. As in doubled doubled. But so did the cost. A 90% augmentation of my stats, 25% decrease of the damage, and the best: EXP gain went from 150% to 200%! Not a double, but then it would've been too imbalanced otherwise, I guess, and all this at the cost of 28 MP/second! Hoorah! Making my HP and MP at 732 and 2231 respectively! The very definition of Insanity!

And now I, probably the strongest in this sorry bunch, was standing in the main hallway with other children my age. They were glaring at each other defiantly, eager to tear each other throats open. The level of bloodlust from them hit me like a truck, and I couldn't help but feel dizzy from the intoxicating feeling. It was… invigorating. I couldn't wait until the first sparring matches…

I felt a familiar presence behind me, ready to pounce. Acting on instinct and still being on a bloodlust high, I grabbed my blades, turned around and… met a grinning face of a very familiar blonde.

"Damn you, Yang! I could've cut you open! Don't creep up on me like that!" she still had that infuriating grin on her face, as if she hadn't been at a literal sword point mere seconds ago at all.

"Oh, come on, Wulfie, we both know it's a lie, right?" she leaned in, her smile not faltering in the slightest. "Right, Wulfie?"

I growled at her in defiance, my heightened mood deflated again. She came up with that exasperating nickname three days after I was cleared from the hospital and went to their house in the woods of Patch. It somehow stuck, and now the entire Xiao Long household called me only like that. How could Yang derive a Wulfie from Fulvus, I can't even fathom. It's all her legendary puns.

"So, how about a friendly spar, Wulfie? You up to it, or you have a headache again?"

I groaned again, remembering the incident.

Yang tried to ask me for a spar, while I refused for what seemed like a thousandth time. And she asked in her sniffy and pouty voice, why didn't I want to spar with her. In all honesty, I was afraid I hurt her, what with the level difference and all that. But Yang's pride as a fighter was only shadowed by her… repuntation. And I curtly answered with a generic answer "I have a headache, Yang. Go pester your dad, he is more than willing, I bet". She promptly ran to her father and asked a question that sealed my fate. "Dad, what does it mean when someone refuses, claiming he or she has a headache?" Taiyang choked on his drink, Qrow did a wonderful spit-take of his liquor, and me? I was facepalming so hard my face must still have that indentation on it. Anyway, they explained it. In detail. After that I was subjected to so much teasing I doubt even Ruby was teased so hard in the original timeline.

Back to the present, the massive doors into the canteen, which was now doubling as a stage, promptly slid open, and the huge mass of living bodies streamed inside. I pulled Yang behind me, pushing my way through the children up ahead, closer to the stage. Me and Yang occupied the seats in the third row, near the center. Not a really obvious advantage in hindsight, but I already could feel many hostile glances on my back from the children who wanted to occupy the places instead. So it seems I have a "fan-club" of sorts already. Oh joy. Bring it on, kids! I can sense them wishing to tear my heart out of my chest, crush my guts and grind my bones to dust… Oh. I again lapsed in one of my sudden bouts of empathy. And what an empathy it is—sensing the most vile, the most atrocious thoughts in their minds, bringing them to the forefront, and promptly feeding on those feelings. Well, what can I say? Blame my Karma. It actually happened after I reached -1500 Kr. I've received a status effect "Empathy: Negative", allowing me to do the things I described. And in fact, the act of basking in their negative emotions did give me a boost in regeneration for my MP and HP. I totally love this Karmic system.

While I was indulging in the negativity, Yang began to stare at me in confusion. After some time, her confusion suddenly turned into slight fear. And after some more time she shivered, tearing her glance from me. I couldn't fathom what was wrong with me, until I turned to other students. And they too began backing off, shivering and pointing their fingers at me.

WARNING: Due to absorbing a lot of negative emotions of humans, your inactive status effect "Grimm Body" has been activated.

Time until deactivation: 5h:59m:47s

Added inactive status effect "Grimm Mind"

Added inactive status effect "The Grimm"

WARNING: Continuing to absorb negativity will provoke "Grimm Mind" to activate.

WARNING: Due to having "Gamer's Mind", "Grimm Mind" status effect has been deleted due to contradiction. Further absorbing negativity will provoke activation of "The Grimm" and subsequent full Grimm transformation.

Note: due to Grimm not having souls, your Aura will be inactivated and replaced with "Grimm Dragon's Blessing" of the same level. All benefits will be kept.

… OH SH**!

A/N 2: Yup, just another cliffhanger and a lot of questions to be asked! What kind of route will Fulvus follow: run away and hide from the Hunters? Killing all the children inside, leaving no evidence? Or simply explaining himself to Yang, Ruby, Qrow and Tai? Oh, so many different variants! I now even consider him leading a big pack of Grimm to attack Vale :D

With great power comes great responsibility! And in this case, a big burden. Will this turn of events sever his last ties with the proper society as a whole? Or will a miracle (again?) descend upon the Chosen One?

Also, to note: Just so you know, the name Merry Dancers is a Scottish name for northern lights (aurora borealis).

My offer of plot suggestion still stands! So far I've received only one message from M.J. with his ideas! Be more active, and the fic will be more active too!

Next chapters will probably slow down, because right now I've laid down the foundation for the story. And the next chapter will feature more heroes from the main series! *Clap clap clap*