A/N Alright! So I finally got this done! Sorry for the wait, but this was most likely the hardest chapter I had to write. My god I can't believe I was able to come up with something! That's how bad it was. As keeping with the whole theme of A Prof's Perspective, this chapter will be about Ozpin… and sorta not really. The past three chapters have been about the memories of the staff, or their past experiences. With Ozpin, I did the opposite: instead of past events, I decided to write about events yet to come. I had originally planned 3 different instances, but decided to cap at 2, cuz the 3rd one was sort of mediocre as compared to the other two. Anyways, I'll let you read and find out.

Chapter 4: A mug of Joe to look to the future

This place… was not familiar to him. He could not remember such a magnificent colosseum as belonging to him, nor could the fighters in the pits bring any memories to him. He could not remember why the drink in his hand tasted so bitter, unlike his usual wine, nor why his solid gold laurel felt clunky upon his head, weighing him down. He remembered ruling though, and strategy, and entertainment. He knew why he was here: as Caesar, he would pass judgement upon the worthy.

He looked over his throne to see the monk and black Samurai back-to-back against albino wolves atop a lone stadium, surrounded by a moat. The wolves were pure white with red eyes, yet they still held the same ferocity and hatred he knew very well. At least, he thought he knew well.

The wolves closed in slowly, then stopped feet away. Four silver griffins screeched from the Cardinal points, boxing them all in the colosseum. None would escape without their help.

Metal clanged from below his booth. Leaping from a lower platform, a giant bronze figure descended upon the monk and samurai, forcing them to dive away from each other's company. The gladiator wielded two large torches in each hand, standing between the monk and samurai. He watched as they were surrounded by the wolves with their growling and gnashing teeth. Both defended valiantly, holding their would-be predators back.

The monk held his own with naught but nunchaku and drunken fist, mixed in perfect harmony. A third of the wolves went down before the rest backed away to a safe distance.

The samurai cut through the wolves using Nito Ryu form, his swords staining the sand with the blood of the slain. He did not stop his momentum, even as more wolves ascended from the pits.

The gladiator lumbered towards the monk, battering the wolves away to get to his target. As the left torch came down, the monk turned and swept it away with a roundhouse kick. However, the gladiator just followed his momentum, spinning around. The other torch smashed into the monk's side, throwing their whole body to the ground. The gladiator didn't even look to the throne for confirmation as he raised the torch for the killing blow.

Just then, the Legion curtain could be heard tearing. From across his throne, Caesar looked to see Thanatos, cloaked in the blood of its victims, silver eyes glistening in the dying sun's light, just like its scythe. To the side, he saw the knight Gawain encased in impregnable wooden armour, dozens of string-like vines sprouting from different places.

The gladiator threw one torch like a javelin in response. Thanatos consumed the entire projectile into its body without even a flinch. Gawain took action immediately after, leaping from atop their perch to deliver a shockwave as he impacted the ground. From his feet, roots and greenery spiked up, impaling many of the wolves and denting the Gladiator's armour. The silver griffins buffeted their wings, slowly lifting off the ground and circling around the chaos. Their talons picked up many of the wolves, most likely to return them to the safety of the cages. The Gladiator had grabbed one of the griffin too. Gawain would have none of that. Stretching his hands outwards, the vines from his armour flew towards the griffin and entangled their feet. The gladiator raised his torch, burning the vines and setting his griffin free, leaving the other three to meet their fate. Neither Thanatos nor Gawain did anything as the last griffin flew away.

Trumpets blared to conclude the tournament, but their noise grew louder every moment. He covered his ears to stop the painful noise, but it only kept growing. The fighters seemed unaffected, even as the stadium shattered under their feet. The performers fell into the cracks below or floated into the broken sky above. Even Caesar was not immune to the effects of gravity, as he fell farther, past the realm of Hades, until he could see a light fast approaching him.


*ring ring ring ring ring*

He shot up rigid as a board. He turned to his scroll to see the caller identification.

"Answer." He said, before turning back to his desktop and taking a swig from his mug.

"Ozpin, it's Glynda. I'm at the police station right now with a Miss Ruby Rose. I assume you've already seen the security footage?" The blonde asked with an inflection of irritability.

"Rose… that's Qrow's niece, correct?" Ozpin asked. On the screen, Glynda nodded in response.

"I'll look at the footage on my way there… How is Miss Rose?"

"Extremely uncomfortable. My reputation as a disciplinarian safely remains intact." She smirked in amusement.

"Good. That's good to hear. I'll be there in fifteen." He replied absently before viewing the sent footage.

He froze at the sight of the teenager in action. It wasn't her prodigious skill that shocked him.

The flashing crimson cape drew his attention. It seemed similar to someone, or something, but he couldn't remember what, nor why it seemed so important. He stared into the silver eyes frozen on his screen. It shook him to his core.

"I'm going to enroll her in Beacon." He stated.

"What?"

"I'm going to enroll her in Beacon." He repeated.

"That's absurd! She's very talented, but think about how it will affect her: socially uprooted from her class, pushed two years ahead, expectations thrust upon her from everyone. She won't make it far Ozpin. Not with the training that she's had up till now."

"Qrow trained her personally. If he trained her anything like he trains himself, I have complete confidence in her abilities."

"But if she fails?"

She was right, of course. There would be lots of pressure on a fourteen year old. Or was it fifteen? Sixteen? And no guarantee that she would succeed every time.

"It's important Glynda. I just know it."

Glynda sighed, "Fine. But she has to accept it too, you know."

He smiled, "I can get her to do that."


"Ozpin, that's your fifth cup in the last three hours. Even I don't take that much caffeine. And that's saying something."

"I'm fine Bart. I need to focus on this." He turned back to view the live feed on his scroll.

He first heard about it on the news, then proceeded to look out his window to see smoke billowing into the night sky from the docks. He figured a hunter or two would be needed, so he dispatched Port, who was lively as always, but at the same time took a very disciplined and serious approach. He went without questions, ordered only to observe and report. That's what he was viewing right now.

"If I might say so, Ozpin, it seems that one of our first year teams was involved in this predicament!" The Portly professor stated from the other end of Vale. The live feed zoomed up on a petite figure in a red hood. There was no doubt who that figure was.

"Ruby Rose…"

"Ahem. I'll inform Glynda that we'll need to uh… subsidize some unexpected finances. We'll have the papers ready in the morning for delivery." Oobleck turned and walked, as in walked like a normal man, out of the room, leaving the headmaster alone with his own thoughts.

Cloaked in red, wielding a scythe, two black swords, nunchaku, Torchwick. This… This has happened before… I know it. The headmaster reasoned. It wasn't here though… Where did this happen? Why can't I remember?

Frustrated, he finished his coffee and got up to take a walk. He walked silently, save for the clacking of his cane and oxfords on the marble floors. Before long, he found himself in the gardens, staring at the multiple plants and trees in place.

A creaking gate caught his attention. Ozpin turned to the left to regard a small alcove, surrounded by rusted iron gates. The outside looked decrepit and out of date. However, within stood four trees full of life, shining vividly beneath the shattered moon.

He slowly pushed the gate open, taking tentative steps into the peaceful area. A small stream could be heard bubbling somewhere. Fireflies were buzzing about the four trees, giving an ambient glow. The trees were each a different species. To the right, swaying in the wind, was a palm tree. Next to it stood a pine tree, towering a little over it. To the very left was a fig tree. To the right of that was a maple tree, its leaves healthy and firm. The trees were planted close together, so much so that vines interconnected the trees together, like a large web.

Ozpin approached the maple tree, observing the surroundings carefully. He could see the light of the fireflies being reflected off something engraved in the trunk. He moved closer to get a better look. The object glinted in the yellow bioluminescence. He moved until he was under the branches of the maple, where he was able to clearly see what the embedded object was. It was a heart shaped out of clear crystal. It was odd for something so clearly man-made to be a part of something that occurred naturally.

He reached out to touch the crystal, only for it to crack in two and split in half. His disappointment turned into fear as the broken pieces burst into flames at the base of the maple, spreading quickly up the trunk, to catch the branches alight. He stepped back for his own safety, but it was all for naught, as the grass caught fire around him, trapping him inside the alcove. He could only watch in horror as the vines connecting the trees caught fire too, spreading fire form the maple to the other three trees. It was both magnificent and terrifying at the same time.

Despite his training, he froze in shock and fear. The whole alcove had become a roaring forest fire, spreading to everything and everywhere. He helplessly watched as the three other trees tumbled to the ground, burning to ashes and charcoal. He looked at the last standing tree, the maple tree, and saw it pitch forward, towards him. He did nothing but stare, even as it fell down. He closed his eyes, and waited for the inevitable.


*Ding*

His head shot up as the percolator chimed. He looked around to see his same office space, cogs turning and gears grinding, as per normal. He could still feel the heat from the fire, singed into his memory. He shivered involuntarily before checking his scroll. 0:14 am. It had only been five minutes since Oobleck had left. He returned to the live feed Port was streaming. It was still focused on the young prodigy.

The message button blinked on the top right of his scroll. He opened the new message, reading the text as it formed on the screen.

Qrow

Team: _ _ _ _

MSG: QUEEN HAS PAWNS

A/N And we'll end there for the time being. If you didn't guess, I'm going off the premise that Ozpin has a Seer-type semblance: he can see the future. However, not the specifics of where, when, and how. It alludes to the events with metaphor instead of just copying and pasting the events from the potential future into his mind's eye, which I feel is a cop-out and more than a little OP. It seems cliché and it's not as poetic to me either. So, he sees the future, just in metaphor. I said a little about it earlier, but I wanted to go all the way to the end of Vol.2 with the Breach, but that last future-dream was so good I couldn't really top it. Not to mention, it wouldn't be as interesting either. To the person who can guess the event the last future-dream was about, I'll give cookies! Or a whole fic idea for them to use. Or an honourable mention. I'm not sure. If you have a preference, I'm all ears. And, as always, drop a review or PM your thoughts on this fic or stories you'd like to see written! I'm always open to ideas and feedback!