Alright, no lengthy intros or outros here, just pure story. I went ahead and rapid fired this chapter so I can get back up to speed with the story. Tell me what you think! I NEED REVIEWS!

"Miss Irino said your weapon should be completely finished in a year. A bit odd if you ask me, but she does know her stuff… Are you okay? Your face is rather red."

Mato reached up and touched her face, surprised to find how warm it was. After a moment, she nodded. Yes, she was fine.

Ironwood checked his watch, considering something, "Hmm… I suppose we have some time to get some ice cream. We can talk a bit more about your mother there…"

Mato nodded, trying hard to keep a smile off her face. She was getting to know about her mother, made her guardian proud(?), and possibly made a friend or two. Who knows, maybe she really would see Neo down the road. She quickly followed Ironwood down the street, a small smirk on her face. Maybe her life was looking up?

One Year Later

Mato looked down at the package, wrapped neatly in a deep blue wrapping paper with a white star pattern. She had all but forgotten about that day, too busy with training. Combatives, marksmanship, terrain navigation. The only thing keeping her from being a specialist was her age. A stray thought crossed her mind, and she mentally grinned. In retrospect, she would probably have a leg up on the competition when she did become a specialist.

"Mato, are you okay?"

The blue eyed ravenette blinked slowly, looking up at her legal guardian, General James Ironwood. Six years ago, her mother was killed, and she was left in his care. Or rather, the care of his personal soldiers, Blue Team. She supposed his attitude towards her had softened considerably in the last year, but it still seemed forced at times. He did try though, she had to give him that. But he just seemed lost when it came to people her age.

Children… But then again, you aren't really a child. Never had a childhood to begin with.

Mato's eyes widened ever so slightly, and she cut that train of thought off before it could go any further. For the last few months, she had been having dreams. Dreams about herself, but it wasn't her. This version of her. Her eyes were purple for starters, with bright red pupils, and an insidious purple aura hovered around her. She whispered to Mato in her sleep, telling her to do strange, horrible things. At first, it was just in her sleep, but recently she had begun hearing her during the day. Her reflection changed yesterday, nearly making her grateful she was mute. That had been a rather terrifying way to wake up fully in the morning.

"Mato?" Ironwood peered closely at her, taking note of the bags under her eyes. "Mato, are you sleeping well? You look tired. If you want, we can wait to open this tomorrow."

Mato shook her head quickly, turning her attention back to the box. It was about six feet in length, and actually took John and Fred working together to wrestle inside. She hesitanty began unwrapping it, wondering how the hell she was going to use a weapon this large, if a grown man five times her size couldn't lift it on his own. Underneath the paper, was a plain black case, with a note taped to the top. She peeled it off, reading the flowing script:

It's called the Black Rock Cannon. Don't worry about the weight, your semblance will be able to handle it easily.

Love,

Saya.
PS: The weapon is fully capable of mechashift into four different forms. Never use the forth unless you're about to die.

Mato frowned ever so slightly, trying to figure out what the warning meant. She knew that her handgun, Seven Shot, drew directly from her Aura to produce ammo from concentrated Dust, but the draw was rather low unless she put as much as possible into it. Maybe the different 'forms' had different draws? She did say that Seven Shot was the base of the weapon, after all. With that in mind, she opened the case. Anyone who passed by could have heard a pin drop as Ironwood, the Blue Team, and Mato stared at the gargantuan gun, no cannon that Saya had made.

John coughed softly, "Umm… General, your weaponsmith is insane. How is Mato going to even fire that thing, much less lift it?"

Ironwood frowned, wondering exactly the same thing. Sure, Sing used an absolutely massive weapon system as well, but her Semblance was rather… unique. Even he knew that no two semblances were alike, barring the Schnees and their hereditary semblance. He opened his mouth to mention that to John, but was shocked into silence when Mato reached in and plucked the weapon out of the case as if it were a feather. She turned it over in her hands, scrutinizing every inch without realizing what she had done.

"Er… Mato, have you been working out?"

Mato looked up at Kelly, who didn't know whether to laugh or run away in terror at the sight of the pencil thin Mato holding a half tonne steel cannon. She frowned, shaking her head silently, before drawing her massive sidearm and sliding it into a slot at the… bottom(?) of the cannon. Almost immediately, bright blue lights lit up along the cannon. Mato stood up, gripping the cannon by its new grip and aiming down the barrel. The cannon didn't have any iron sights, thought with a barrel that big, she could probably aim in the general direction of the target and fire. She marvelled at the weapon, realizing it fit perfectly in her small grip. Mato looked up at Ironwood, her eyes shining with an unspoken question.

James cleared his throat, "I think we should test this… thing in the arena."

Linda coughed, giving the weapon an odd look, "General, that thing should be fired out on the tank range!"

Mato nodded towards Linda, agreeing with her. She could feel the power humming through her new weapon. She didn't see a single way to load ammo into the massive object, though there were… intake ports? Maybe it drew on minute amounts of Dust in the air? What even was this thing? Ironwood seemed to pause, before reluctantly agreeing that it should be tested outside.

"We aren't going to the tank range though. They're testing the new Paladin prototypes there." the general lead them outside the front gates, pointing at a tree some several hundred metres out. "Mato… See if you can hit that."

Mato nodded, leveling the Cannon at it before raising the barrel to roughly 30 degrees. No wind… 1200 metres. Barrel size, 280 mm (what the hell was she going to use this thing against?) With a barrel this big, there should have been massive projectile drop. But when she pulled the trigger… there was nothing but a sharp whine that died out quickly. Everyone looked at the weapon in confusion, including Mato. Maybe the weapon didn't work? Fred snapped his fingers, "Mato, it's a bigger version of Seven Shot. You need to actively put aura into this one."

Mato considered his words. It made sense… sort of. She didn't really think about using Seven Shot though. It just fired. But it couldn't hurt to put a little effort into firing it. She let out a silent snarl, pullng the trigger again. SHe felt an odd twinge in her body as the whine began again, this time growing stronger. WIth a deafening boom, the cannon bucked in her hands and send a bright blue blast blazing through the air. It shot over the tree and kept going, never even slowing down or dropping. A DEW? Everyone looked at the weapon with a shocked expression.

"General, we need to get this Irino woman working for our R&D department!"

Ironwood nodded in agreement with Kelly's statement, gesturing at Mato to try again. Mato, who was irritated with herself for not guessing that firing this weapon would be different than a regular gun, gladly agreed, pouring another round of Aura into it. SHe had expected a massive drop, but was surpised when it felt like simply firing a full seven burst at low power. SOrt of. There was a massive draw, but it didn't feel massive. She felt the twinge again, this time heavily concentrated in her left eye. With a roar, the cannon spat out another blue ball of energy, making a beeline to the tree. This time, it detonated with a shockwave that obliterated the small tree, leaving a smoking crater. The entourage stared dumbly at the remains, until Kelly let out a loud yelp, "Mato, your eye!"

James whirled around to see Mato staring at Kelly in confusion, with her left eye blazing with a brilliant blue flame. Just like her mother. Ironwood realized that Sing's semblance must have been hereditary, and Mato had just unlocked it completely. He didn't know if he should be congratulating her, or cursing his luck. If she had inherited the semblance, then there was another thing she may have inherited. The entire reason Sing had retired as a specialist. He would have to keep an eye on Mato. He knew that he could never convince her to not be a Specialist at this point, she had been through too much training, and now this.

"Alright, Mato. I think we should put the cannon away. You can practice with it later, when we aren't doing anything on the tank range." James put a hand on her shoulder, calming her down enough to extinguish the flame. "I'll see if Saya has anything that will allow the weapon to be carried while keeping your hands free."

Mato nodded, heading back to the weapon case. SHe was about to put the cannon back inside, when she realized there was a second part to the gift, a black harness. She set the cannon to the side, lifting the harness out. She didn't see any clips on the harness, but maybe… she hovered the largest part of the harness, the part she pressumed to be the back, over the cannon. It took a bit of searching, but eventually the cannon latched on with a sharp click. She tugged on it, noticing that it held firm. If her ability to lift the cannon was any indication, that meant the harness was pretty damned strong. She bit her lip, thinking carefully before putting a bit of aura into the cannon. ALmost immediately, the harness released the cannon, falling limply to the floor. INteresting. She grabbed the harness, carefully putting it on over her uniform. THen she picked the cannon up and hesitantly swung it over her back, grinning ever so slightly when the harness stuck to it. SHe still had about three foot of cannon sticking out over her shoulder, but it wasn't dragging on the ground.

She rolled her shoulders, not used to the weight on her back. As she did so, the cannon suddenly shuddered, collapsing in on itself until it was about the lengths of a short carbine. Seven Shot popped out of its slot, nearly falling to the floor if it weren't for Mato's reflexes. She turned to the General, who was watching her carefully. After a moment, he nodded, "Well, I suppose that solves that problem. Go get ready for dinner, Mato. Er… find somewhere to put the cannon that isn't going to get in the way." He sighed as Mato darted off to do as she was told, sinking into a chair.

John raised an eyebrow, "You look like hell, General. What's going on?"

Ironwood remained silent for several long moments, considering his words carefully. Before he could be prompted again, he shook his head, "John, do you remember why Sing Love retired early?"

The marine frowned, obviously not expecting the question. He glanced at Linda, who nodded. The sniper thought back to her academy years, recalling what she knew of Sing Love, "She was a rather sickly woman, kept to herself mostly. She loved to sing though, which her team considered ironic due to her name. The Apostles. That was her platoon's codename. It was strange, seeing a woman of her stature ordering some of those behemoths around. She was an excellent specialist though. I got a chance to look at her files, since I was the one who was on duty when she was being outprocessed. It was a mental illness of some sort, right?"

James nodded, "It was her semblance. The technical term for her Semblance type is 'Overdrive.' She produced massive amount of aura, too much for her body to handle, which is why she always looked rather sickly, much like her daughter does now. She was wickedly strong, and so long as she had aura, you would have been hard pressed to stop her. But once she ran out… She was a glass cannon." The general stopped to recall his friend, sorrow clouding his eyes. "But that wasn't the only price. The semblance put a strain on her mind, splintering it. The real Sing was kind and considerate to her allies, and an absolute terror to enemies. But her… other half… She was a monster. The more she used her semlbance, the worse the splintering became."

Linda nodded, understanding dawning on her face, "So she got out of the military, to stop from using it."

The general nodded, "Yes. Sing was terrified that she would hurt someone if she lost control, so she got out of the military, and quit using her semblance altogether. I heard rumors that she underwent a procedure to seal her aura, removing any chance that she would lose herself."

Fredrick cleared his throat, "Er… General, why are you bringing this up now?"

Ironwood gestured in the direction that Mato went, "She talks in her sleep."

Kelly nearly spit out the water she was drinking, "Wait, Mato, little miss silence, can actually talk?"

James nodded, "Yes… and no. It isn't Mato talking, it's her other half. Just like her mother. It's telling her to… do things. On her own, Mato would never hurt anyone, I think. But she's starting to lose sleep, and I think she's hearing her other half when she's awake. She came out of the latrine one morning looking like she had seen a ghost."

John crossed his arms, furrowing his brow as he thought about the situation, "James, this sounds almost like she has two souls. Did you ever see the other side of Sing?"

Ironwood nodded, "Her eyes were pink, but they turned blood red when she lost control, and her… eye flame turned a similar colour. It was normally a bright pink, but turned a deep red. But two souls in a body is impossible."

John shrugged, "I've heard stories. She has too much aura, remember? What if both souls are bound together, but she can draw on both auras? When her own aura runs out, the other half takes control."

James scowled, about to reprimand John for making such an outlandish suggestion, but was interrupted by Linda, "That actually makes sense. It's like a Dissociative Identity Disorder, but based around Aura. If it's hereditary, that would also explain why it's so rare. I mean, up until recently, how many people with that sort of problem would survive to adulthood?"

The general sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose, "Okay, let's say you're right, and Mato has this… second soul. How do we help her? I'm not going to stand by and let my daughter deal with this on her own."

Fredrick nodded, "First things first, we need to build up her tolerance for Auric usage. This is all going to be useless if she can't use a bit of aura without losing control. Once we know where she stands, we need to focus on keeping her mind in check. A semblance is generally linked to a person's emotions anyways, but it sounds like this other half could come out during times of emotional duress, like a normal case of DID. I suggest martial arts as a sort of vent and a way to keep her mind sharp and disciplined."

Kelly scoffed, "Of course you would suggest that. But, sir… You know what this means, right? Mato can't be a specialist. The academy would never allow someone with DID in."

Ironwood blanched, "Hold on, I'm the headmaster and General of the fleet. That has to count for something, right?"

Linda shook her head, "Sorry sir, but you're technically in charge of Atlasian FORSCOM, not TRADOC. And to be perfectly honest, I wouldn't want to risk her waking up from a potential episode after doing something terrible, or getting killed during one."

The rest of Blue Team nodded in agreement, making Ironwood realize how worried they were. Whether it was for the safety of their own soldiers, or for Mato, he didn't know, "So… Mato can't be a Specialist."

"No, sir," John sighed, hating himself for saying it. He and blue team had practically raised Mato for the last five years, with Ironwood only recently becoming more involved. "I don't know what to s- Shit."

All eyes turned towards the door, where John had suddenly directed his attention. Mato was standing there with a shocked expression. And from the look of the tears in her eyes, the mute girl had heard everything. Ironwood shot to his feet, "Mato, wait I-"

It was too late. Mato took off at a dead sprint, leaving the general and his team standing in a terse silence. Linda scowled, "Great… I was hoping we could break this to her gently. Now what the hell are we supposed to do?"

Ironwood gestured towards the door, "Find her, quickly. We have to make sure she doesn't hurt herself!" The soldiers watched in stunned amazement as the general took off at a dead sprint, chasing after his adoptive daughter

Kelly let out a low whistle, "Damn… I guess he really does care. I was wondering about that."

"Can it, Rabbit. Take the gardens. Fred, Linda, head to the firing ranges. I'll check the library. Courtyard is the RP. Meet in one hour. Go!" Blue team scattered, moving to follow the team leader's orders.

Ironwood's mind was racing as he sprinted through the corridors. His immediate thoughts held fear and concern for Mato. Was she going to hurt herself for this? No, she was too young to think like that… No, she wasn't. He had to remind himself that she wasn't a little girl anymore. She was 14 years old. In three years, she would be old enough to be spec… No, she couldn't do that anymore. He felt an odd pang in his heart as he realized that Sing's little girl wouldn't be able to follow in her footsteps. He slid to a halt as he approached Mato's room, his cybernetic body carrying him the last few metres. He knew that the floor would be severely scratched, but he didn't care. Mato could potentially be in danger. He noticed immediately that her door was cracked open, something that was odd for the usually very private girl. After taking a moment to compose himself, Ironwood carefully pushed the door open, looking around. He didn't come inside often, so it always amazed him that she kept her room so clean and orderly. Her clothes hung in the closet, boots and shoes were under the bed, neatly arrange, and her bed was always made. Though right now, she was curled up on top, wrapped in a heavy white, faded duster, "Mato… Are you alright?"

He silently cursed himself as she looked at him with a broken blue gaze, not making any effort to respond. She had just heard that she had something intrinsically wrong with her aura, and that she would never be a specialist. How was that okay in any way? He sighed, sitting down next to her on the bed. "Mato, I'm sorry. You weren't supposed to find out like this." He cautious reached out, placing a hand on her back. "Please, Mato… I just want to help."

The teen shot of the bed, clutching the duster around her shoulders and glaring at James. Her eye flame flared up, showing just how upset she was. She pointed angrily at the uniforms, then at the trash. Ironwood had never really had the patience to learn sign language, so she had to create her own little method of communicating with him early on.

"Mato, please calm down. I-"

The girl snorted and tapped her head with a sense of sarcasm that only a teenager could invoke. Oh yes, settle down so that her crazy side didn't come out!

"Mato, that isn't what I meant, and you know it!" Ironwood nearly winced as he raised his voice for the first time at the girl who had been living with him for six years now. But it worked. Mato took a hesitant step back, her eyes widening in shock. "Mato, I don't like this anymore than you. I would have been ecstatic to have you as a specialist, but your semblance… They would never let you join as a specialist in the Atlasian army, and… Linda's right. I don't control who gets to join."

Mato grit her teeth, struggling to communicate her frustration. Ironwood stood up after a moment of watching this, and pulled her into an awkward hug. Mato froze, not sure how to react. Once she had time to recover, she burst into tears, clinging to her father and crying her eyes out. This is what surprised Ironwood the most. She hadn't even cried at her mother's funeral, though that may have been from the shock. Broken bones, cuts and scrapes, even bullies… Mato had never cried once. To be fair, she made the bullies cry, but Ironwood was actually scared when she began crying in his arms. He slowly backed up, sitting down on the bed and just letting her cry. It was eerily silent, which was normal for the mute girl, but he could tell when she was starting to let up fifteen minutes later. He pulled a hankerchief from his breast pocket, lifting Mato's face and gently wiping her eyes.

"Mato… I know you wanted to be a specialist, but there are other options out there." He looked at a nearby clock and sighed. "We can talk about this after dinner, okay? Mr. Schnee is coming over with his children, and that man… hmph."

Mato made a slight face, mimicking a mustach with her finger. James chuckled and nodded, "Yes, Mato… The man with the walrus mustache. Are you going to be okay for dinner?" Before she could answer, her stomach let out a loud growl. James had to stifle his laughter at Mato's indignant glare at her stomach. "I'll take that as a yes. Come on. Maybe a solution will present itself sooner than you think."

Fifteen Minutes Later

"Ah, good evening, General Ironwood!"

Mato twitched as the iritating, grinding voice of Mr. Schnee reached her ears. She could hear her 'other half' begging her to kill him, and for once she was in agreement. But she couldn't do that. She forced herself to concentrate on the three children, two teen girls and one boy, standing behind him. She had met the eldest, Winter Schnee, several times already, as she was her father's protégé. She liked Winter. The teen was like an older sister to her, and gave her tips on her swordplay. It was strange, too. Despite being a fencer, Winter was exceptionally good with most blades, rarely keeping to any patterns or katas. Then there was her younger sister, Weiss. She had seen her once before, the last time the Schnee's had come to have dinner at Atlas Academy. She was around nine or ten when that had happened, and had refused to see them. She watched from an alcove, too nervous to show her face. She seemed, just like her father, but with a bit of her sister mixed in. Like she cared, but didn't know how to actually show it. Then there was the brother, Whitley Schnee. He was a few years younger than her, and yet he gave Mato the creeps. It was like seeing a miniature version of Jacques Schnee. Speaking of which, she noticed that the elder Schnee was watching her intently.

"So, you must be the General's charge!" Mr. Schnee gave an approximation of a 'merry smile' to the teenager, chuckling awkwardly. "You know, I was sure James was going senile when he said he had a daughter. What's your name?"

Mato merely watched him silently, not even bothering to acknowledge the man's attempts at interacting with her.

Jacques frowned, "Now see here, young lady. It's very rude not to answer your elders when they ask you a question."

Winter cleared her throat, looking slightly embarrassed as she spoke up, "Mato is mute, father. She can't respond. I thought I told you that."

Jacques raised an eyebrow, "Did you? It must have slipped my mind. I never expected the General to take in someone with such a… handicap."

Mato narrowed her eyes, tempted to tell him to fuck off. Winter cringed, mouthing an apology to Mato behind her father's back. Ironwood however, did not hold his tongue so tightly. He crossed his arms, "Jaq, I am going to pretend I didn't hear that for the sake of our continued friendship. You came here for a reason, did you not?"

Jacques seemed to either not notice that he said something wrong, or simply didn't care. He waved Ironwood's anger away, "Yes, yes… Children, go… well, do whatever it is you do when the adults are talking. I'm sure dinner will be ready by the time James and I are through conducting business."

Mato glared at Jacques, trying to burn a hole in his head as he was lead away by Ironwood.

"Erm… Mato?"

She blinked silently, turning to face Winter and her siblings. A small, but tired smile appeared on her face as she gave a small wave.

Winter smirked, shaking her head, "I apologize for my father's actions. He-"

"Why should we be apologizing? He's right, after all." Whitley crossed his arms, looking up at Mato imperiously. "She can't even speak, and yet she's wearing that uniform you love so much, Winter. Is she slow in the head, too? A mute can't be a soldier. How would she communicate?"

Mato's small smile turned into a nasty grin as she glanced at Winter and sent a rapid fire message, I just got my weapon from Miss Irino. Do you want to see it?

Winter covered her mouth, trying to stifle a small giggle as she realized what Mato was doing. She nodded, sending her own message. A new weapon? I'm sure you had a blast today.

Not really. Well, in a literal sense it was a blast. But… I'll tell you later.

Winter frowned slightly, but nodded, gesturing for Mato to lead the way, "Mato just got her weapon today, and she wants to show it to us."

As the Schnee trio followed Mato out of the main foyer, Whitley looked at his eldest sister in confusion, "Wait, what was that? How do you know what she wants?"

Weiss, who had been quiet up until now, scolded her brother, telling him to be quiet, "It's obvious that Mato knows sign language. She was communicating with Winter. Honestly, how dense can you be?"

"Well, obviously not as dense as you, Miss-I-want-to-be-a-disgrace-to-the-family-and-go-to-Beacon-Academy!"

Mato paused ever so slightly at hearing that, glancing up at Winter with a silent question. The girl sighed, looking concerned, signing a message so her siblings couldn't understand what she was saying, Weiss wants to go to Beacon Academy in Vale instead of staying at home to be raised as the Heiress. I'm all for her making something of her life, but why Beacon? Atlas has plenty to offer, too.

Mato thought quietly to herself, before hesitantly responding, Maybe that's just what she wants. I'd probably want to get away from your father as well, no offense.

None taken.

Mato smiled at the older girl, opening the door to her dorm room. Winter immediately began a cursory inspection of the room, nodding with approval, "It looks nice, Mato. I can see you want to follow in the General's footsteps. Now, where's your… what in Oum's name is that?" Her eyes landed on Mato's desk, or rather, next to it. She walked over to the harness and the massive, collapsed cannon, attempting to pick it up. Even when she pushed her aura into her limbs, she couldn't even budge the monstrous weapon.

Mato tried not to laugh as she walked over, picking the weapon up with only a little effort. Once she had inserted Seven shot, she ran her aura through it to detach the harness and extend the weapon. All three Schnee siblings backed away with varying expressions of fear, amazement, and mild disgust. Weiss scoffed, "Ugh… Why would you have such a brute of a weapon? You're supposed to be a lady, not a… a… walking tank."

Whitley nodded, "As much as I hate to say this, I agree with my sister. A lady should not have such things. However, I think there's a more important question here… how on Remnant are you holding that… thing? Winter has monstrous strength, and even-ACK!"

Winter grabbed her brother by the head and began scraping her knuckles across his scalp, "What did you just say, you little runt?"

Mato laughed silently at the scene, while Weiss looked on in disapproval. Speaking of Weiss, she tapped the heiress on the shoulder, trying to get her attention. Knowing she relied on Winter to translate, she pointed at the older girl and then at her own mouth. Weiss frowned, but nodded in understanding, "Winter, I think Mato wants to ask me something."

Winter looked up, releasing her brother, who quickly began trying to straighten out his hair, "Oh, what is it?"

Weiss said something about going to Beacon Academy. But she's the Heiress to the SDC. How can she do that? I didn't think an academy could accept people with foreign interests.

Winter nodded, a slightly irritated look on her face, "The headmaster of Beacon Academy is much more… accommodating than we are in Atlas. Because Beacon trains Huntsmen and Huntresses, they have much more leeway than Atlas and other academies when it comes to choosing who they let in. Of course, their initiation tests are much more dangerous because of it. While Atlas trains soldiers, Beacon trains warriors."

Mato's eyes seemed to shine as she rapidly began signing, So, if I wanted to go to Beacon Academy, do you think I could get in?

Winter's face changed from mildly irritated, to confused and a bit shocked, "I'm sure you could, Mato. But why? You're training to be a Specialist already, and I'm positive that the General is grooming you to be his successor when you're old en- Mato, what's wrong?"

Mato, who was trying with extreme difficulty to hold back tears, lowered her head and reluctantly signed, There's something wrong in my head. I want to be a Specialist like you, but TRADOC isn't going to allow me to be one.

To say Winter looked shocked was an understatement. She had known Mato for the last two years now, and she had met her several times before that, as the General asked her to watch Mato when he and Blue Team were out on diplomatic events and council meetings. The girl was quiet, obviously, and had been nothing but polite. She did have a rather dry sense of humor, much like Ironwood. In fact, Winter had to say that Mato acted and moved like a young soldier. And now she was learning that Mato couldn't be what she was. "Mato… I'm so sorry. I didn't know. I think Beacon would be very lucky to get someone like you and Weiss. Maybe the two of you could bring some discipline if you make it over there. However, this is probably something to bring up to th-er… Your father."

Mato nodded, wiping her eyes. She had been crying more often as of late, which irritated her to no end, though she attributed it to a lack of sleep. Thank you, Winter. I bet father could easily make Beacon's headmaster at least let me have a chance. I think John and his team are about to work me into the ground to try and control whatever's wrong with me, so that's good…

Both girls shuddered slightly, well aware of what Blue Team was capable of when it came to hard work. Wiess was surprised to see the two of them interacting so well, and made a mental note to learn Sign Language as soon as possible. Maybe it would impress Winter… She checked her watch, "Uh, Winter. I think dinner is about ready. Should we go back down?"

Mato's eyes flashed to the clock in her room, and she nodded in agreement, gesturing out of her room as she collapsed the cannon and set it down gingerly next to her desk. Beacon Academy. She had never considered going to another academy, but with the events of today, it might be her best option. She wasn't sad, not really… Just disappointed. She loved Atlas. The Specialists… This was what she knew best. But she had to get ready for the next step, along with everything else in between. Training with her weapon, her semblance, controlling the monsters in her mind. So many things to do. As the four teens left Mato's dorm, Winter couldn't help but smile at Mato's expression. She had seen the same expression on the General's face when he was plotting his next fifteen moves against an unknown, potentially nonexistent enemy.

Alright, so I hope you were able to keep up with this chapter. Mato got her weapon, the Schnee's were introduced, with a brief show of Papa Schnee being the assholish bigot he is. I think I nailed him in that aspect. A younger Schnee trio, with Winter acting like a typical teenage soldier, Weiss acting like Weiss, and the sibling rivalry between Whitley and Weiss was hinted at. Mato has her Semblance unlocked, and her weapon is ready to go! Next chapter… Well, I'm not sure if I want to jump to Beacon or have another chapter of young Mato. There isn't much else to cover, really. Just some training… Tell me what you think in the reviews!