A/N: So sorry for the year-long wait for this chapter. Massive thanks to those of you who have stuck around long enough for this update. Just keep in mind that there is absolutely no schedule for this story anymore and future chapters will come out when they come out. Hopefully it won't be another year, but it's not totally out of the question.

The next morning, everything was going well. Ruby sat across from Robin, telling him about the epic food fight from the previous day. He was hanging on her every word. Ruby's red sleeves slid around her wrists as she was describing how she rode a tray like a skateboard.

Next to Robin sat Azure, across from whom was Weiss. She didn't look particularly happy to be sitting across from him, but they were talking about the songs and concerts they had sung and been a part of. They seemed to be having a contest about it. To Azure it was great fun; he hadn't really had a person on Earth to talk about things like this with.

Every once in awhile, Nero would interrupt to remind Azure of something stupid he did at that particular event, snickering, "Half eaten, half price."

Azure's face turned bright red after a couple other times Nero had interrupted. "Hey, it's not like you haven't done anything stupid."

"True, but nothing to the par you have," Nero's reply was quick, and he waited for a response. He was given it just as expected. Azure wasn't one to leave things like that. He always had to retain some form of pride.

"Oh, so the 'Disney Dares' aren't stupid?" Azure was sure he had hit a nerve when Nero looked away.

"Oh, god, we're not bring those up are we?" Robin had a wide smile on his face. It was obvious to Azure that Robin wanted him to continue.

The whole table was looking at him expectantly, except Yang and Breeze, who were sitting at the end of the table talking to each other. Weiss motioned for Azure to tell the group. Ruby had put her head in her hands. Robin was still grinning and there was a twinkle in his eye. Blake was looking at Azure with curiosity. "What are these 'Disney Dares'?"

"Something that…"

"Okay," Azure interjected, "so Nero here was dared to walk up to some random girl in the mall and sing for her. He was supposed to sing a song from the movie Aladdin, which is a Disney movie. We were all sure he wouldn't go through with it, but we set it all up anyway. Someone picked out this cute girl in the middle of a group. We told Nero and as he was about to chicken out. Their group broke up; the cute girl went off on her own. Probably to the bathroom or something, but Nero walked up behind her. Tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around…"

Blake felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around to see Nero kneeling on the ground. She was surprised to see him there. His armor was so heavy-looking that there was no way he could have moved that quickly without making a noise. His eyes were locked on hers. Both his arms were spread out as if offering a hug. He looked so cute kneeling there, the scar in the middle of his left eyebrow. Then she realized he was singing, "I can show you the world. Shining, shimmering, splendid. Tell me princess, now when did you last let your heart decide?" Nero stopped singing. He stood and finished the story. "The only problem was that she slapped me about 10 words from the end."

Ruby and Weiss were laughing as Nero took his seat across the table from Blake again. Azure was mystified that Nero actually just did that. He had certainly misjudged Nero's embarrassment about it. Robin was laughing with Ruby. Yang and Breeze still weren't paying attention.

"It sometimes hurts thinking about it though," Nero said. He rubbed his cheek. He was startled when felt someone else's hand on his cheek. He looked up from his food. It was Blake. Her eyes looked almost sad. Those yellow orbs captivated Nero the instant he looked into them. Her smile was perfect, full lips slightly curved upward. Her hair cascaded down her face, framing it magnificently. Her thumb rubbed his cheek slightly. Nero closed his eyes and leaned into her hand. He never wanted the moment to pass.

Without warning the hand was gone. Nero heard the shifting of the bench and Blake's high heels. When he opened his eyes he saw her leaving the mess hall entirely. Weiss was looking at him quizzically. Nero blushed for the first time.

Yang and Breeze got up to leave. Nero was now telling Weiss about the other "Disney Dare." Azure was remembering the first time Nero had told him about it. Soon Azure's thoughts shifted to the past few days. A week ago he was at Mt. Spokane High School, but now he was at Beacon Academy training to become a hunter. Before, he wore a t-shirt and jeans; over his t-shirt he always had a jacket with the words drum major down the sleeve. Now he was decked out in the same clothes he had styled his OC in, and as much as he thought the outfit made him look like a badass, he still missed that special charm that came from his personal wardrobe on Earth.

He began to dwell on his experiences during initiation...

Azure was launched from the pad on top of the cliff just as all the others were. As he flew through the air he noticed just about everyone. Robin was above him with his cone of energy. Breeze was off to his left avoiding trees like he would dodgeballs. Nero was below him and a ways ahead, being the first one launched. Just as Nero was about to hit a tree, Azure saw a small flash and his friend was gone.

Azure sailed comfortably through the air, wind ruffling his hair. He hit a hodgepodge of leaves and branches. It wasn't his original intention, but it slowed his descent and forward momentum. Azure began to slide down the tree. He landed hard on a branch, his boots absorbing most of the shock. He steadied himself on his branch. As he began to look around, he heard a snapping noise. Azure looked down to the ground, expecting to see a Grimm. There was nothing. He heard the snapping noise again. It wasn't until it was too late that Azure understood. The branch snapped out from under him.

Azure fell again. His foot caught a root on his landing. His momentum carried him forward but the root held his foot back. His face hit the ground for the ninth time since arriving on Remnant. Honestly, it was like there was some malevolent force that just wanted to watch him fall.

Azure picked himself off the ground and dusted off his clothes. He looked around. He couldn't see anything in the way of other people. Off in the distance he could see the cliffs. Concluding that the relics must be in the opposite direction of the cliffs, he started to run.

"If I'm cold, then you must be an Ice Empress," Nero said. It broke Azure out of his thoughts.

Ruby was having a hard time suppressing her laughter. Robin did nothing to conceal his. Azure was irritated by Nero's statement. He had already promised Ruby that Nero wouldn't make fun of Weiss anymore, and yet he was doing just that. It was almost scandalous.

"Nero, don't talk to Weiss like that," Azure rebuked Nero. Nero's eyebrow shot up in response. "It was…"

Weiss cut across Azure. "I don't need you to defend me. I have my own honor, thank you very much."

Azure was bewildered; all he was doing was upholding his end of the bargain. "I wasn't implying that…"

"I have been treated like a helpless girl my entire life. I don't need your help." Weiss got up and stalked off. Her skirt bounced with each of her sass-filled steps. Her heels clicked the entire time. The table was silent for a minute. Ruby got up and followed Weiss.

"Wow. That just got intense," Nero said. No one left at the table really understood what had just happened.

Robin looked around. "Hey, where did Yang and Breeze go?"

Nero looked at him with a mischievous grin on his face. Robin knew exactly what was going to happen. "Gone with the Wind."

"Gosh dang it, man." Robin just shook his head. There really was no stopping this guy from making jokes. "That was bad."

Nero laughed. He was dressed in his armor again, despite the fact that he had bought new clothes. Robin thought to himself, Either he's really paranoid or he just likes to show off. Maybe a little of both.

"I'm going to go find the Wind," Nero waved to Azure and Robin.

Azure was heading north to his friends. The forest was thick, underbrush everywhere. His feet snagged often. He didn't trip again, which he was thankful for. His pace slowed down greatly as he started to tire. Azure needed a rest and he knew it. His clothes were starting to chaff from the sweating. The sun beat down on him. It was almost oppressive but not quite. The rays of light shone through the canopy like spot lights. Even the shade of the massive trees did little to lower the temperature.

A minute passed as Azure squatted to regain his composure. When he looked up, he was perplexed. He was sure that hadn't been a clearing in front of him before. In his curiosity he advanced. Off to the side of the center was an impressive rock formation. It stood tall and proud. It was wide, wide enough for a tree to grow on it. In fact, there was a tree growing on it. Azure approached and corrected himself, Growing though it.

It was so much like his backyard. Absolute and total confusion washed over him. None of it made sense anymore. How could he be on Remnant if this was his backyard?

Azure's head began to swarm with uneasy thoughts. His stomach began to churn uncomfortably. None of it made sense. Why was he going through this? He had always wanted to be in one of those fantasy books; sure, who hasn't? But he liked his life. What kind of sick twisted game was he playing? Was he dreaming? How could he be dreaming? None of it made any sense.

Azure stumbled forward a few paces. He collapsed onto the rocks. He sat there for what seemed like hours.

"Hey, Azure. We're being requested to go on a hands-on field training exercise." Robin shook Azure out of his thoughts.

"Where are the others?" Azure took a second to get his bearings straight. He had been talking to Robin the entire time; about what, he had no idea. Robin and he had been walking through the corridors of Beacon.

"Not a clue. I'm sending them a message to meet us at the Bullhead pad." Robin and Azure walked in hurried silence. Robin's clothing rustled ever so slightly as they walked. The two reached their dorm as quickly as they could. Robin threw on his combat gear. Azure, already being outfitted, grabbed Nero's book, In the Forest of the North. He knew that his friend would want it.

In about 30 minutes, everyone was on the pads. Team RWBY and Team ABRN. The two teams were apparently picked to train together. Off the Bullhead flew. Within the Bullhead, the two teams mingled. Sort of, anyway. Yang and Breeze were still hanging out. She was laughing, then he was laughing. Robin and Azure were talking to Ruby and Weiss. Blake was sitting in a corner. Nero was hanging out of the Bullhead.

Nero held on to the door frame as the rest of his body was buffeted by the wind. His armor whistled as air rushed through it. Strips of light were reflected from his breast plate into the rest of the airship. He was on top of the clouds, literally and metaphorically. Blake had rubbed his cheek with her hand. Her warm, soft gaze transcended his very being. Nero closed his eyes. His whole body felt so light and he had a smile on his face. Fate was smiling upon him.

In his absent-mindedness, Nero's grip was loosening. Before he could stop it his hand slipped from the frame. He was falling from the airship. It was an odd sensation. Adrenaline pounded in his ears. He could hear the others yelp in surprise. Nero opened a portal below himself and one in the Bullhead. He landed back in the airship rolling to absorb the shock. One cannot imagine how difficult it is to roll in armor. Breeze was already out the side when Nero landed. Relief and irritation flashed across Breeze's face at once. Nero stood up.

"So that's what your Semblance is." Robin had a look that so clearly said he understood everything now.

Azure punched Nero in the shoulder. "What did you fall out for?"

"It wasn't on purpose. We hit a patch of turbulence and I lost balance. That's all." Nero's face felt hot but he wasn't yet blushing.

Azure followed Nero's gaze. It was predictably on Blake, who was doing all she could to not draw attention. "Man, just go over and talk to her. You have been staring at her ever since we arrived."

Nero stood, pushing Azure's outstretched hand away. He grabbed the top of the opening again. He looked off in the distance longingly. "Azure, you don't understand. It isn't that simple."

"What do you mean, of course it's…"

Nero interrupted Azure with a hand. His head sagged as he looked back at Blake. She caught his eyes and quickly looked away. Nero continued to look at Blake as he spoke, "It's not that I can't talk to her; that is pretty simple. The thing is... I still have feelings for another girl. You see, if we never get home, I can accept it and move on. However, if I ask Blake to be my girlfriend, and if time permits my wife, should we ever go home I could never forgive my faithlessness to her."

"Who is 'her'?" Azure looked puzzled.

"Nichoel Grace," Nero replied. The way he said the name there was power behind it. Longing and hope, but there was also hints of great sadness and hurt.

"Nero, you are certainly an honorable man." Azure patted him on the shoulder as he walked away.

"If I were so honorable I would have already accepted her wish." Nero whispered under his breath as Azure walked away. He went back to thinking. His thoughts wandering ever deeper. The longer he thought, the more he hoped and longed for the impossible. Nero began to inwardly pray for guidance.

Before long, the Bullhead reached its destination. The two teams jumped out and hit the ground. Professor Port and Glynda Goodwitch also climbed out of the airship. The two professors addressed the teams. The warehouse they had come to was recently vacated by the White Fang. It was their job to scour the warehouse, find any traces they could to point to its purpose, and report anything they found.

Team RWBY and Team ABRN choose pairs between each other. Breeze and Yang was an obvious pair. They had spent so much time together lately it would have been a real surprise for them not to be a pair. Robin and Ruby was the second pair. They were assigned to the loft. The other two pairs were a little harder to be chosen.

"I will not go traipsing around this place with him," Weiss said, pointing at Azure. He looked hurt, by the way she said "him".

"So you will be Nero's partner, and I will be Azure's. Is that okay?" Blake was looking at Weiss.

After a few seconds Weiss agreed. Azure looked at Nero with jealousy. Nero walked off with Weiss to their assigned section. Azure and Blake to theirs.

Robin and Ruby weren't having much luck with finding anything helpful in the loft, much to the disappointment of both. Neither one, however, wanted to give up, so they kept searching. After a few more minutes of failure, it became increasingly clear that both were getting pretty frustrated.

On their way back to the professors, Ruby asked Robin what Nero had meant when he said, "Half eaten, half price." Robin chuckled and started telling Ruby about the time Azure had terrified some poor child while visiting a college campus. To any onlookers, he was having just as much fun recounting the story as Ruby was just listening to it.

He had just finished the story with Azure's infamous line, "Half eaten, half price!" and was met with a giggling Ruby. Not a moment later, he could have sworn he heard his name, his real name, being called out by someone, but when he turned around, he couldn't find anybody.

He turned back around in confusion, not entirely sure who could've shouted his name or if anybody shouted it at all. Ruby gave him a look of concern, but he merely waved it off and reminded her, "We should probably get back to meet the others now."

"Drum majors Travis Widmer, Thomas Drake, and Barrett Sooth…" Jeff couldn't help but snicker at that. "... is your band ready?" The familiar action was displayed on the podium on the sideline of the football field, Travis turning around and lowering the hood of his cloak, revealing a white-painted face with dark circles around his eyes. Giving his salute to the judges, he turned to face the band, guitar on his back and hands ready to count the lead baritone off.

It was so familiar. Jeff remembered going through this at least a dozen times before, and yet, he was never used to it. The adrenaline coursed through his veins; nothing could compare. Four duts, and the entire band played the opening impact. Yep. He thought. Nothing will even come close.

...

"Hey! Dumbass! Pay attention!" The crowd's cheers faded away, replaced by the voice of none other than Mercury Black himself. Cen blinked and found his way back to reality. "We're looking for weapon crates. Now quit daydreaming and start looking!"

Cen glared in Mercury's general direction. "I can't exactly look!"

He was sure that Mercury smirked at that. "Well that's not my fault now, is it?"

Tired of the verbal assault, Cen turned toward the door. "I need some air."

"Try to run away and I'll have to kill you."

"Whatever. I'm already dead." With that, he walked out, catching the pack of cigarettes that Mercury had lobbed at him.

"Nice catch."

Things were changing quickly — more so for worse than for better — and some… unconventional habits were being adopted. Before falling into Remnant, Jeff had never touched a cigarette, but now, as Cen, things were different; they were stressful, worrying, and, often, depressing. Mercury, gracious gentleman that he was, took Cen outside for a smoke when things got frustrating during training. At this point, there was little to no reason not to.

Flicking his spent cigarette into the street, Cen was about to walk back inside, but something familiar caught his ear. "Half eaten, half price."

No. Way. Turning around, he activated his Semblance, trying to identify the source of that familiar phrase. He spotted him, noticing the familiar outlines of one of his closest friends next to someone who looked slightly familiar. "John?" He took off in a sprint at the pair, yelling as loud as he could. "John! Stop!" He was so close, he even noticed them turn around to try and find him. He couldn't believe it. He was about to leave.

"Not so fast." A sharp pain hit him in the back of his head, and everything faded away. The last thing he saw was his friend turning back around in confusion and walking away.

Yang and Breeze were off in their area, talking about anything and everything. They were getting along so well. Earlier they had been talking about Yang, her experiences of adventure, how she came to Beacon, her choice in weapons, her talents, if either one of them thought about it they talked about it. "So, Breeze, what instrument do you play?"

"I play the Tenor Sax. Though during marching band I was a drum major."

"What's a drum major?" Yang inquired. She pulled a cloth of the top of a box. She looked in to find nothing.

Breeze was moving more empty boxes into a large pile. "He keeps the entire band across the field in time."

"What did you do for a pastime on Earth?" Yang began searching through a pile of papers on a desk.

"Well for pastimes on Earth, I was on my phone a lot, which is Earth's version of a scroll. I played games on it and watched a lot of videos. Besides using my phone, I mainly relaxed and worked on my drawings. I've been drawing quite a long time too. I even taught myself to draw!" replied Breeze as he thought back to his old life as Thomas.

"What kind of drawings have you done?" Yang seemed particularly interested about that for some reason.

Breeze continued to search for anything. The two weren't having much luck. They were supposed to be looking for evidence of the White Fang's presence. So far they hadn't found anything. "Mainly little characters, but I've drawn a variety of other things like sailing ships. I've even made a self-portrait! You'll have to see it some time, it's pretty cool... or at least I think it is," Breeze answered with enthusiasm at the thought of his artwork, showing a smile for the first time since his dream a few nights ago.

"I would love to see it. What do your other friends do? Are they all interested in the same kinds of things as you are?" Yang switched the topic so easily. Breeze wasn't phased by the direction the conversation had shifted. Honestly, the two could talk for hours upon hours, and, truth be told, they probably have already.

"Not really. We're a pretty diverse group. Azure is much more into music than any of the rest of us and plans to become a dentist later in life. Robin hopes to be a programmer for a game development company. Nero will be in air traffic control after the Air Force and…" Breeze cut off when he noticed an oddity in the room at last. On the wall were peppered holes. A shotgun had no doubt been fired. Breeze leaned in closer to examine the irregularity. "Yang, come look at this, will you?"

"Sure thing, Breeze," Yang said cheerily. Yang stopped in her tracks. Not only did she notice the holes in the wall but also the other signs of a battle. It was evident to her that a few people had recently engaged in a skirmish. "Let's go get the others."

"Good idea." Breeze and Yang walked away from the scene.

They returned shortly afterwards with the entire group. Goodwitch complimented Yang and Breeze on their finds. Robin offered his friendly sentiments as well. Nero was a little less open in his compliment.

"Guess you aren't as up in the clouds as you seem." Nero had a smirk on his face. Yang laughed. Breeze was slightly offended but took it silently. He knew Nero meant no harm.

"What is your assessment class?" Goodwitch proposed the question to draw the hunters in training back to the task at hand. All looked at the scuffs and scratches.

Ruby was the first to answer. "There was a fight here between three people, two against one, and it didn't last very long."

"What tells you that?" Goodwitch was obviously impressed.

"There are three different styles of tracks…" Robin began the statement but was interrupted quite flawlessly by Azure. "And they are in a confined area."

"Teamwork is often the best solution. When answering a question, I would prefer individual work, but yes, that is correct." Goodwitch seemed baffled by the two newcomers, as if she had never witnessed such an interaction before.

After answering a few more questions, the students were excused for the rest of the day. While ABRN chose dinner as their next course of action, Weiss elected to confine team RWBY to a study session at their dorm, leaving the four boys to eat alone.

A sigh of exhaustion sounded from Azure as he sat down. "I'm glad that's done with. I'm gonna sleep so much tonight."

"I wish." Everyone was looking at Breeze now. "What? I'm not exactly taking this without any problems right now!"

"Well it's not like you're the only one." All eyes were on Robin now. "Jeff is still missing."

The groups eyes widened. Azure spoke next, "I completely forgot about him."

Robin's eyes narrowed, and his tone went sarcastic. "I'm so very surprised."

Azure's eyes followed a similar motion. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"We've been here for how long, and you're carrying on like nothing bad happened." All the while, Nero and Breeze were shocked into silence. "We can't just forget about Jeff. What if something happened to him?"

"Well there's nothing we can do about it right now! We hardly have time to look for him with classes and missions!"

Robin's gaze never faltered as he stood up to yell at his friend. "Do you honestly believe that classes are more important than our friend?! He could be dead, but you don't seem to give any semblance of a rat's ass!" The blond fell silent, and Robin lowered his voice. "This hasn't been easy for any of us, but it's probably been a whole lot worse for him."

Azure finally spoke in return. "I hear you. I really do, but I just don't think there's much we can do. I mean, if we're being honest with ourselves, we probably wouldn't do much good considering how little training we have." Robin had no words to deny Azure's claims. "We need time to get stronger and find more info on him."

Robin perked up, remembering something promising about their training exercise in Vale earlier. "I might have something." Sure that he had all of their attention, Robin began to explain. "When we split off into pairs, I thought I heard someone yelling my name—my real name—but when I turned around, there was just a crowd of people, and the yelling stopped. Maybe it was him. There probably aren't very many Johns here."

Azure seemed skeptical. "Are you sure they weren't yelling for Jaune?"

"It was clearly 'John'."

For the first time in the entire conversation (a rarity, really), Nero made himself heard. "We gotta go tell Ozpin right now." The team nodded, then disposed of their garbage and departed for the headmaster's office, reinvigorated by their newfound determination to find their missing friend.

(...hey!)

Huh?

(...Hey! Wake up!)

Who's yelling at me?

A harsh slap shot across Cen's face, followed by a slight burn. "WAKE UP!" He groaned and blinked his eyes open, once again being reminded of his eyes. At this point, he was just annoyed by it. His thoughts were interrupted by a deceptively calm, but obviously hostile voice. "Mercury tells me that a certain someone tried to run off." Cen's blood ran cold. "Now why would that be?" The question was obviously rhetorical, but Cen was more concerned by the fact that his hands were bound and suspended above him, and his shirt was missing. "Oh? Someone doesn't seem to have the politeness to answer my question."

A hand pressed to Cen's chest, bringing about an unbearable burning sensation followed by Cen's screams of agony. Struggling to catch his breath, he answered the question. "I… found out… who you really are…"

"Oh?" She pressed a finger to his arm, causing him to grunt in pain. "And who am I?"

"Cinder Fall! Torchwick's boss! Psychopath!" Another scream echoed through the building as Cinder grabbed his neck, and the smell of burning flesh became apparent.

"You would be wise to watch your tongue. You wouldn't want me to find the people you love and… well, you can probably guess the rest."

Cen looked directly into Cinder's eyes (at least where he thought her eyes were) and prayed that he was somewhat intimidating. "You don't even know who I am."

After a bit of pause, Cinder began to cackle. "That's… that's adorable! You really think that you have any kind of power just because you're not from here!" Terrified, Cen froze. "Honestly! How do you think I found you to begin with?! I didn't just stumble through the woods and find you!" How? "It's obvious that you came from another world entirely! Nobody just ends up thousands of feet in the sky! And if you came here from your world, then the reverse is entirely possible." Tightening her grip, Cinder's tone somehow grew even more ominous. "And I'm certain that you aren't the only one who made it here." Cen began to panic, his breathing growing rapid. "And I can bet that you'll do exactly as I say, or something might happen to them. We don't want that to happen, now, do we?"

Cen couldn't even speak, but this changed when Cinder put her hand on his face, eliciting another pained howl. "I'll do anything! PLEASE! JUST STOP!"

Granting him some relief, she stopped torturing her victim. "That's what I like to hear. Tomorrow, you'll begin training again with someone whom I'm sure you're a match for." With that, she walked away, leaving Cen panting and weeping to himself. He was broken.

A/N: So now you know about Azure's experiences during initiation. And in terms of instruments, we're assuming that they all exist in Remnant; after all, Jaune did play the guitar for Weiss.

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