At the top of the cliff, we were told that we'd be informed of our team assignments before lights out that night, and we would be expected at the team christening ceremony the following morning. The ball room would be our sleeping quarters once more that night.

Emilia and I took a rather leisurely walk back, considering we essentially sprinted back to the cliff from the temple. The majority of the trip was spent in silence. Thankfully, it was something mutual, as neither of us were showing any indication of talking.

The silence was broken by a pair of footsteps running up behind us. I heard a second pair trailing a fair ways behind as Giovanni slowed to match my pace beside me.

"How's it going, Nero? Emilia? Getting along now?"

"As well as we can, I suppose," I said in answer to his last question. "I'd say I'm doing fairly well, considering we practically sprinted back to the cliff after getting our artifact."

"About the same," Emilia said.

"Cool." A young woman with platinum colored hair caught up to us, looking at Giovanni with irritation. "Oh, sorry," Giovanni said, realizing he practically abandoned her to race up to Emilia and me. "Nero, Emilia, this is my partner, Phoenyx Kun." Her gaze softened as she waved in greeting. "Phoenyx, I'd like you to meet Emilia Vermi and Nero."

She looked across at me, eyebrows slightly furrowed in confusion. "No last name?" she asked. I guessed she was normally soft-spoken, due to how quiet her question was. Giovanni looked uncomfortable as she asked.

My lips twitched into a frown a couple times, but I still didn't say anything. Emilia apparently took this as her cue to cut in. "His full name is Nero Cadmus. Better known as the Pariah of Madust."

I truly hated that title. Sighing, I bowed my head and looking away from Phoenyx, until I heard her say, "While caution is wise, the son is not the father." I raised my head slightly, glancing over toward her. "In addition, his loyalty to his father is admirable, if possibly misplaced."

"…" I tried to think of something to say. That was better than what I got back home, for sure, but I didn't quite know what to make of it. On the one hand, I didn't like that she thought it possible my father was guilty, but on the other she wasn't outright dismissing that he could be innocent, either. I finally settled with saying, "Thanks, Phoenyx."

I really admired how impartial she was able to be regarding me. She said outright that she would be cautious, but she didn't do anything to suggest that she bought into my status as a pariah, either. I was wholly unaccustomed to that type of marginal acceptance, never mind that Giovanni had blown off the pariah status I had when he learned who I was.

Apparently I had gotten lost in my head as I kept going, because when I next looked at everyone, Emilia was red with anger, Giovanni was looking anywhere but at her, and Phoenyx had an air of serenity about her.

"I am completely missing something here."

After a moment, Giovanni laughed uproariously, and that was the last any one of us said on the way back to the ball room. Emilia remained red the whole way back.

It was fairly late when we made it back, so I headed to the locker room to change into my sleeping pants. I didn't want to have too much dirty laundry in my bags when we made our inevitable move, so I decided to forgo grabbing a shirt.

As soon as I stepped out, several pairs of eyes turned to me, lingering for a few seconds before returning to their previous focus. I wilted, with a particular feeling that I was being judged by many of them. I was certain that most of them had heard Emilia's question just before our launch into the Emerald Forest.

I made my way over to Giovanni, who was with Phoenyx by her sleeping bag. "Hey, Giovanni. Phoenyx," I greeted.

"Whoa, pretty-boy's being all daring now, going without his shirt. Careful man, I think Phoenyx might have a thing for you now," he said, elbowing me in the ribs.

I flushed a rich red and glanced at her, and she turned away slightly and blushed a deep red herself when she realized I had seen her staring at me. 'Damn you, Giovanni,' I thought, shoving him sideways. He merely laughed at our expense, completely unfazed by my action.

I looked at Phoenyx again, having cooled down significantly, and took in her appearance. For many she would just be an average young woman. However, due to her non-hostile reception of me, I already viewed her favorably.

Acceptance, even on the basest of levels, was something I had been craving for some time. That she had given it to me was something I couldn't forget. "Hey, Phoenyx?" I said, catching her attention as she faced me again. "Thanks for not just brushing me off as 'the Pariah' earlier."

"Hey, what am I?" Giovanni asked, indignant that I didn't include him.

She smiled and huffed a small laugh. "You already thanked me earlier."

I flushed once more and rubbed the back of my neck, looking away from her for a moment. "Ah… Yeah, I suppose I did. Heh." I was feeling distinctly awkward, and Giovanni was looking far too jovial for my comfort. "I'll catch up to the two of you later. Have a good night." I turned and headed back to the locker room, now feeling far too restless to sleep.

I grabbed one of my books that I had brought with me, and walked back out into the ball room. I noticed it was getting too dark to read out on the main floor, but I did notice that the same black-haired girl who had been reading the night before was once again set with candles by a wall.

I made my way over, asking, "Mind if I read here?" when I was opposite the candles from her.

I swore I saw her bow twitch.

She looked up at me, taking a moment before saying, "Go ahead."

"Thanks." She nodded in acknowledgement. I didn't open my book yet, instead looking at her book, and asking, "What book are you reading?"

"It's about a man with his mind and soul broken in two, with each half fighting for control." She paused a moment, before continuing. "It doesn't end well for him," she said almost cryptically.

"I imagine it's a story you enjoy, then, if you already know the ending?" At this, I leafed through my book until I found the last page I had been on.

"Tragic as the story is, it's one of my favorites," she said, setting her book down. "What about your book?"

"One of my favorites. It follows a noble family as they leave their home for a new world, having had the fortune to be selected as the next House to govern a highly coveted desert world." At her raised eyebrows concerning my summary thus far, I grinned. "The world truly is nothing but desert, save for the rare oasis. However, despite being a nearly inhospitable wasteland, it is also the only planet where the most valuable substance in the galaxy can be found. This substance is so valuable not only because of the hazardous planet it's found on, but because it lengthens the life of any who use it, and also grants precognitive abilities, as well. However, it is a highly addictive substance, and withdrawals are fatal."

"That sounds like a very interesting story. You must really enjoy it to know it so well."

"Yeah. I would never have even heard about it without my dad," I said, my voice lowering almost to a whisper by the end of my sentence. "I just realized, I never did ask for your name." My voice was back to its normal tone.

"Hey, Blake, who's this?" A tall, blonde young woman (who I recognized from two days prior) had come over by us, seemingly to socialize with the dark-haired bibliophile, who I had just learned was named Blake.

Blake looked at me, expecting me to introduce myself. "I'm Nero," I told the blonde girl, waving slightly. "Nice to meet you. You are?" I questioned, extending my hand for a shake.

She looked at me strangely, as if I had forgotten something incredibly obvious. I hadn't forgotten. "What, you don't have a last name?" That was quickly becoming a trend with my introductions, I noticed. Blake was also looking at me, and I soon felt very uneasy being under their combined gaze.

"Don't judge me. Please." My voice was a hoarse whisper, and I inwardly cursed how pathetic I must have sounded.

"Why would we judge you?" Blake questioned, with her eyebrow quirked to match.

"Most people do, when they learn who I am." My lips twitched into a frown for a moment, before I made them stay smooth, trying to keep a façade of calm. I knew it wasn't working. My lips would keep twitching no matter how hard I tried to make them stop.

"Hey, how bad could it be?" the blonde girl asked, her tone trying to be uplifting.

I smiled, but it was a bitter smile. I made no effort at disguising that. "It's pretty bad, for most people." I took a moment to collect myself, then stood up. "My full name's Nero Cadmus." I then walked away, heading to my sleeping bag to try resting, at the least.

Yang. I remembered that was the blonde's name as I got to my bag. I looked over at her and Blake for a moment, and saw them looking right back at me. Yang wasn't quite glaring, but it was a hard look she was giving me. I didn't quite know what to make of it, but I felt the safe assessment was that she recognized my name for the Pariah of Madust.

I saw pity, from Blake. Somehow, I hated that even more than the usual reaction most people gave me.

I was about to lie down for the night, when I heard people's names being called out in groups of four from one of the entryways. I looked that way, and saw Ms. Goodwitch and the Headmaster in the doorway, the former holding a tablet in front of her. I had almost forgotten that we were told we'd be informed of team assignments tonight.

Eventually, Ozpin called out, "Nero Cadmus, Phoenyx Kun, Giovanni Qil, and Emilia Vermi."

I got up and made my way to them, but my mind was spiraling the whole time on my way over. The entire student body of first year knew who I was now. Then I remembered the ceremony tomorrow, where the whole academy would find out.

I forced myself to focus as I drew near the Headmaster and Ms. Goodwitch. Ozpin told us. "Be in the main hall by nine tomorrow morning. The ceremony will begin at ten. After the ceremony, you will return here, collect your belongings, and move to the first-year dormitories. Any questions?" A moment passed. "Good. I suggest you all try to get to sleep now. It's going to be a big day tomorrow."

When I was walking back to my sleeping bag, I swore I could feel everyone's eyes on me the whole way. I felt completely exposed, knowing that who I was had just become public knowledge once more, and it would be spread further the following morning.

I didn't cry, having forced myself not to, but my breath quickly became very shaky, and I was struggling to stay in control. I couldn't, and soon my whole body was shaking, fearing and anticipating the harsh judgment I knew was awaiting me. I all but collapsed onto my sleeping bag when I arrived there, barely managing to slip inside to try and rest.

A hand rested on my shoulder, and I jerked to turn around and get it off. Giovanni was looking at me with a quirked eybrow. "Nero."

Taking a deep breath, I managed to stop shaking all over, knowing I still had at least one friend. "Yeah?"

"Chill out. Like I said before, you're not your father, whether he's innocent or not. Nor will you ever be. Anyone who's judging you right now, because of your father? Not worth thinking about. Now go to sleep. We've got a big day tomorrow, and I don't want to have to wake you up for the ceremony." Giovanni then flopped over, and was soon fast asleep.

Turning onto my back, I tried the same, but with significantly less success. Uplifting as his words were, I still had enough adrenalin running through me to keep me awake.

Several more names were called while I tried to sleep. I eventually looked, and Ozpin and Ms. Goodwitch were no longer in the doorway, but my other neighbor was on her way over. I realized I knew who she was, somehow.

It finally clicked as she tucked herself into her sleeping bag, glaring at me the whole while. I had been watching her yet again, it seemed. Just before she was about to speak, I quickly said, "You're Weiss Schnee."

Her glare turned into a condescendingly cocked eyebrow. "Glad for the recognition. Any other obvious statements you want to make?"

"I enjoyed your performance of 'Mirror Mirror.' Beautifully done."

My simple statement seemed to have caught her off guard, as her expression quickly changed to one of mild confusion, before she simply said, "Thank you."

"Of course," I replied, turning onto my front to try sleeping that way. I yawned, adrenalin finally wearing off and leaving me all the more tired for it. "'Night."

Thankfully, sleep swiftly came this time.

The main hall was completely filled with students and staff. Considering my dislike of large crowds, I was uncomfortable being in the middle of that alone. That I would be going on stage for the team christening ceremony, with my name announced for the entire school to hear, with a portrait photo being displayed as well only made my unease worse.

Ozpin recited the names of each member of the new teams, followed by the 'relic' they retrieved from the temple in the Emerald Forest, and concluded by naming the leader of the newly formed team. I had resolved to not get lost in my head this time. Instead, I would watch how the people around me reacted, before doing anything regarding everyone knowing my name.

Finally, our moment came. "Nero Cadmus, Phoenyx Kun, Emilia Vermi, and Giovanni Qil. The four of you chose the black knight pieces. From this day forward you shall work together as Team PENG; led by Phoenyx Kun."

Applause broke out through the crowd, as it did for every team before, yet I strained to hear whispers of my name. Ozpin must have noticed how tense I was, because he quietly said to me, "He would be proud, Mr. Cadmus," as I walked off the stage. My mind stuck on that, and I realized the Headmaster was right. My father would be proud.

After Team CRDL was christened, I saw a vaguely familiar mop of blonde hair on the monitor, moments later recognizing him as the young man who had vomited on the orni-shuttle. Jaune Arc was his name, and he was named leader of Team JNPR. One of his teammates, Pyrrha Nikos, sent him stumbling embarrassingly with a friendly punch to the shoulder.

After that display, I was very curious as to how he was named team leader.

I recognized all of the last four to go on stage, with Ruby Rose being the only name I didn't have before. They had retrieved the white knight pieces, which I thought was a curious coincidence. Team RWBY was then christened, with Ruby being designated their leader. As I noticed back on the orni-shuttle, she was much smaller than her other teammates, particularly Yang, who crushed the red-clad girl in a powerful hug mere moments after she was named leader.

I took a deep breath, and looked up at the ceiling, thankful that I had made it through the ceremony without descending into a mental spiral. Professor Ozpin's closing words left me feeling a good sense of wonder and anticipation.

Interesting times were indeed ahead.

A/N: I did not have Team PENG choose the black knight pieces to reflect Team RWBY. That really was coincidence.

Mass Effect's Spectre Induction theme was playing through my head as I typed up the team christening ceremony. Anyone else get the feeling that song would be remarkably fitting for that scene?

Nero has issues with getting close to people once they know his full name. He's gotten use to being judged to the point that he expects it.

Hope everyone's enjoying the story so far!