I know this is really late. Super sorry about that. The epilogue to my RWBY short has been taking up waaay too much of my time.

Progress is going to be long and slow, so there will be several months' worth of time skips coming up soon. The human body can only take so much, after all. Thanks to those who reviewed, all questions which don't involve spoilers will be answered up here.


CHAPTER 7

THE PLACE OF NIGHTMARES

"You're kidding, right?" Susan asked, too horrified to think. This was so not happening. She had been there once. Never again.

"Nope! It's really important, actually. Helps in a lot of ways, and it's quite necessary for your personality development." Leo replied.

"I don't want to develop my personality!" Susan protested.

"Either way, school is supposed to be fun! Try and enjoy yourself!"

"Hell no! Did you have fun at school?"

"I was tortured at most of my foster homes, so school was definitely the high point of the day back then."

"I kinda-sorta want to ensure my survival while fighting gods, so I'm gonna busy myself with training."

"And you can use school as a rest break from training. Even though you're a demigod, you still have limits. Besides, bullies use some pretty interesting techniques, if I do say so myself. There's a lot to learn, even from mortal assholes."

Susan tugged at her still uneven hair. She hated school! All that pointless blabber about numbers and everything. And of course, the teachers who didn't know the meaning of dyslexia.

"Trust me kid, you want to go. Living a normal life can be surprisingly relaxing on the mind."

"Yeah, not happening when I know I'll be fighting gods before I can get my driver's license."

"Oh come on. Just loosen up! For just one day, at least! And if you ever get bored, at least Rick will be there. I hacked into the school database and put you in the same class. It was hard getting admission for you guys after most schools have already started, but I managed it."

"I've dropped Maria and Sunny off. Time to go." Calypso said, appearing out of thin air. "Where's Rick?"

"Here." Rick said hesitantly. He was carrying an ordinary backpack, and was wearing a simple T-shirt and shorts, much like Susan. "I'm not sure I want to do this." he muttered. He wasn't a people person, whether he was in serious mode or not.

"Oh hush, you'll be fine. School is rather enjoyable."

"Oh yeah?" Susan retorted "How would you know? You've never been to school!"

Calypso raised an eyebrow. "I helped invent school. Now come on, let's get moving."

"Oh. Okay." Susan said, before reviewing Calypso's sentence. "Wait a minute, say that again."

"I helped invent school." Calypso said nonchalantly, unaware of the horrors she had brought upon children for millennia. Even Leo had not known this.

"Mamacita, you what?!"

"Huh? What's wrong?" Calypso asked, truly unaware of her crimes against childhood.

"Ugh, sunshine, when we get back, we're going to have a long talk." Leo said with a dark expression on his face. "But now, let's just drop them off for their first day of second grade."

Calypso nodded, and a rift in space opened up in midair. Susan and Rick entered, still aghast by Calypso's statement. Leo made a mental note to teach his wife a thing or two about what school meant.

The four stepped out of the void, and into daylight, in Bullhead city.

"Hold up, I know this place. I've spent a night here." Rick said, scrutinizing the alleyway they'd appeared in."This is Bullhead city! How in the- oh, right. Magic."

"Yep. But you can't just go around giving everyone details about gods and stuff. The more people know, the easier it will be for gods to find you, and that means more monsters trying to kill you." Calypso warned, as they stepped out of the narrow alley.

The school was only three blocks away, and the walk was quick and silent. Leo was silent, thinking up new plans for Festus now that he'd restored his hard drive. Calypso was silent, because she was pouring all her attention into staying on guard, at which point she could hear the footsteps of ants half a mile away. Susan was silent due to receiving knowledge that she was living with the witch who had invented schools. Rick was silent because he was Rick.

"Okay, now I want you both to be on your best behavior. Pay attention in class, don't make fun of your teachers, don't be annoying, and please don't fight!" Leo said once they reached the school gates.

"Sure thing, Uncle Leo." Susan said sarcastically.

"You could at least try to sound convincing." Leo admonished.

"He's right. That was too obvious. You stink at lying." Rick interjected.

"Thanks for that, partner."

"See? It's obvious."

"It was intended to be obvious."

"This is the point where you stop arguing." Calypso said firmly "You're in school now. This is not a place to fight." Leo facepalmed and Rick shook his head.

"Okay, how many centuries ago was it that you visited a school?" Susan asked.

"I'd say something about forty. Why?" Leo reached up and placed his hand on Calypso's shoulder.

"I'll explain later, sunshine. Kids, I'll be here to pick you up at four."

"See ya later then, Uncle Leo." Susan said, while Rick just waved. And then, just like that, they were gone.

Leo grabbed Calypso and dragged her away by the arm.

"Whoa, Leo! What's the matter?" Leo gritted his teeth.

"Sunshine, you and I are going to have a looooong talk about school."


Susan and Rick walked into the classroom they had been directed to. Susan had asked a teacher where their class was supposed to be. School had started a week earlier, but they were a special case.

The welcome they received as soon as they stepped over the threshold of the room wasn't exactly welcome.

"So you two must be the new kids." This came from who Rick observed was the largest boy in the room. Had he known the word, he would have described the boy as a stereotypical bully.

"Yep." Susan said nonchalantly, standing in between Rick and the boy, having to tilt her head slightly upwards to look at him. She wasn't exactly tall.

"I wasn't talking to you, girl." He snapped.

"Well, you did say 'you two', so you were talking to both of us." Rick pointed out, before glancing at Susan. "By the way, what's your name?"

"John. Why?"

"Now I know what to put on your gravestone when Susan here kills you." Rick said simply. "No one says that to her and gets away with it."

"Heh. I'd like to see her try." John said, looking down at Susan. Rick prepared himself to stop Susan before she went too far.

"So, I have your permission, then?" Susan asked sweetly. An air of danger surrounded her, and everyone except Rick took a step away from her. "You actually asked for this. Don't come crying to me later."

If he had known the word, Rick would have called the situation a cliché.


Calypso was hunched over in a chair, drinking her third gallon of beer. The lecture she had received at the hands of Leo had drained her more than any training session could have.

"I…..I don't believe it." Calypso said for what was probably the hundredth time. "How…Who did this?!"

"Teachers, politicians, bad parents, people with money, et cetera et cetera. Do you want me to go on?" Calypso shook her head.

"I never imagined… I helped make school a place of learning, where people could discover their purpose in life, not…this!"

"Well, it has. Deal with it."

"Oh I swear, when we beat him, I'll remove every school from the face of earth!"

"Uh, sunshine? That's a little too drastic." Leo's phone began to ring. He looked at the screen. "Hold that thought. It's Bullhead elementary." He took the call and put his phone to his ear. "Hello, Leo Valdez speaking…. Oh, hello principal Adams…. They did what?!"


"The good news is that Mr. Smith's nose isn't broken, and his limp is only temporary. So far, they haven't pressed any charges either." Edgar Adams, the principal of Bullhead elementary said. Susan and Rick were sitting in chairs next to the wall, while Leo and Calypso sat directly across the table from the principal.

Susan looked completely normal, save for her shirt which was now quite wrinkled. Rick, on the other hand, had a swollen eye and a few bruises on his arms. But he seemed far more relaxed than Susan.

"Tell me again, what happened?" Calypso asked.

"That John guy made Susan mad by refusing to notice her because she was a girl. Then she tried to beat him up, and I had to stop her. And all this was accidental." Rick said, gesturing at himself. In three sentences, he finished a an argument which would have normally lasted for half an hour.

"I thought we told you not to fight." Calypso groaned "Seriously, you got sent to the principal's office before your first class even began. That's probably a record."

"Not true" Leo piped up "I once got sent to the principal's office before I even stepped foot into school grounds." Principal Adams' jaw dropped, and Calypso shot Leo a death glare. Leo gulped "I'll just stay quiet."

Calypso's eyes flashed, and a dazed look came over principal Adams' face.

"I am so not in the mood to listen to another lecture today." she said. "Susan, Rick, you two have detention after school. I'm outta here." She grabbed Leo's hand and just disappeared, leaving behind no trace that she had been there in the first place.

"I suppose that settles it. You two have detention after school." The principal said, still in a daze. "Go to your classes."

"What just happened?" Susan muttered as she walked out of the principal's office.

"Don't ask me." was Rick's deadpan response.

"Seriously, Valdez. How do you get in trouble before you even enter school grounds?" Calypso berated.

"Well, I…."

"Don't answer that."

"Hey, you asked."

Calypso groaned internally and clutched her head. Honestly, what had she been thinking, marrying this annoying, yet lovable idiot. Actually, that was exactly why she had married him. What in the world had been wrong with her?

"Time to train." Calypso declared. Her thoughts were far too chaotic at the moment, so it was best to forget it all for a while. She instantly transported herself and Leo to the underground sparring chamber.

"Hey, what's the sudden urgency?"

"I just….. want to clear my head. Ready? Go!" Calypso said, before reappearing at the other end of the room. Leo barely had enough time to draw two hammers from his tool belt to block Calypso's deadly fists, and the hammers shattered. Leo had to duck to avoid the attack, which would have surely killed him, but that was the point: If Leo was so weak that he would fall here, then there was no point in him being there for the final fight.

Leo charged forth, slamming his knee into Calypso's stomach, but it felt as though he hit a wall made of solid steel. Which probably wasn't that inaccurate. He ignited his palms and leapt into the air, blasting Calypso at point -blank range when she turned around. He drew two more hammers, and took a defensive stance. Calypso charged with such force that the specially toughened floor shattered under her feet.

Calypso was going all-out, and the only thing preventing Leo from dying on the spot was the fact that Calypso had not yet regained all her power. Sure, there was the occasional glimmer of titanic energy, but it was nothing compared to the real deal. But still, Leo was no match for her sheer power. Flames surrounded him, and he met Calypso head on. Unlike the first two hammers, which were made of steel, the ones he was using were made of pure celestial bronze. Calypso's fist was crushed the moment it came into contact with the hammer. But she either didn't notice the pain, or just chose to ignore it.

Her knee came up into Leo's stomach. He could feel his organs malfunctioning, but he knew better than anyone, even a moment's opening spelled defeat. He swung both his hammers into the sides of Calypso's head, effectively crushing her skull a moment before he was sent flying.

A smashed skull wouldn't kill Calypso. Sure, her healing powers were a far cry from what they had been in her heyday, but repairing her own skull was not too hard.

Leo crashed into the wall and landed unsteadily in his feet. Calypso's head was glowing gold, returning to its original shape quickly. He had a second to down a piece of ambrosia, before they were clashing again. Leo was entirely on fire now, swinging the twenty-five pound hammers circularly in defense, before breaking both of Calypso's arms simultaneously. He jumped, an necessity to make up for the significant height difference, and brought both his hammers down on her head, at the same time energy exploded around the entirety of her body, launching Leo into the roof.

And thus, the spar ended with a broken spine and a dozen broken ribs, much like it always did.

The fight had been short, intense, and had needed an unbelievable amount of power.

But it was not enough. It was nowhere near enough. Not if they wanted to win.

Leo shakily extracted a flask of nectar from his tool belt and drank it, while Calypso focused on healing her own body.

Both of them had improved by leaps and bounds over the past six years. Now, only nine remained.


"I hope you learned your lesson in detention." Leo said jokingly to a scowling Susan.

"That was hell!" Susan yelled "You're not sending me back there."

"I won't. Calypso will." Leo said, earning a punch from Susan to his ribs, which had yet to completely heal.

"Oy, quit it. How was it really?"

"I suppose someone decided to change the name of the meditation room to detention hall to make it sound more intimidating. Personally, I'd rather spend all day in there."

"Wow. Never thought I'd hear that." Leo muttered, leading Susan and Rick towards the parking lot.

"Wait, you have a car?" Rick asked.

"Sure. I built it."

"Wait, you built a car?!" Susan asked incredulously.

"Of course I did! What do you think I do all day besides training and cooking?"

Anyone who knew Leo Valdez would have been able to immediately recognize which car was his. It didn't stick out like something from a sci-fi movie, but it did have a fiery paint job. Leo had used the frame of an old BMW to start with, and had reconstructed it all. On the outside, it looked completely normal, but the insides were a completely different story.

Leo had built the car considering the fact that he was a demigod, destined to be hunted by monsters. The car was packed with buzz saws, grappling hooks, and even a 20 millimeter minigun. Of course, it also had multiple other defensive systems such as an electric field generator and a short-range shockwave pulse system. Not to mention radar, sonar, live satellite connection, courtesy of an old friend of Leo's who now worked at Google. And most important of all, a little red button. Leo hadn't been able to resist the cliché of putting an extremely important button right out in the open where anyone could push it.

Sure, there were plenty of improvements left, but it would be enough for a small army of monsters.

Rick let out a low whistle. "Sweet ride, uncle Leo."

"Ohohoho! She's more than just sweet. Get in!" Leo said, sporting a look which immediately warned everyone to get away. Pity that Rick and Susan didn't notice it. As soon as Leo hit the highway 93, they wished they had.

Leo hit route 68 at seventy miles per hour, which wasn't too out of the ordinary. But within seconds, he'd passed a hundred, and was practically begging to be pulled over by the cops. Susan was cheering for Leo to go faster, while Rick tried to get her to settle down.

"You want fast?" Leo asked.

"Yeah!" Susan yelled. Rick sighed. Leo grinned and swung onto route 93, and pushed the accelerator as far down as it could go. The sudden acceleration put immense amounts of g-force on the car's occupants, forcing them into their chairs. The car leapt forward. One-fifty, two, two-fifty, three hundred miles per hour! And it was still speeding up!

"Too fast!" Susan screamed. Leo ignored her, and continued to speed up. He didn't have to worry about the police. No car in the world could keep up with his baby, save for the SSC Thrust, which the last time he checked could only reach top speed in Africa.

"I totally agree! This is too freaking fast!" Rick yelled, his calm and cool demeanor shattered.

"You haven't heard the best part yet!" Leo said, laughing maniacally.

"What's that?"

"This baby doesn't have any brakes!" Leo's proclamation was met with exactly two seconds of silence.

"WHAT?!" Susan and Rick screamed "What the hell do you mean there are no brakes?!"

"I mean that I didn't install any." Leo said as if it was the most normal thing in the world. "Relax, guys. I got this." Leo continued accelerating, hitting the normal top speed of five hundred and thirty-seven miles per hour.

"Rick, if I die, I want you to know that you've always been my best friend. Thank you so much for being there for me when I needed you!"

"If I die, I want you to know that I gave you that horrible haircut last year while you were asleep!" Rick said.

"YOU WHAT?!"

"I'm sorry! But we're gonna die anyway, so what's the big deal?"

"The big deal is that I actually made an emotional and heartfelt speech, and you tell me that you practically shaved my head bald? Are you trying to make fun of me?!"

"No, I am making fun of you."

"If we survive, I'll kill you myself!"

The argument was halted when Susan and Rick were thrown forward, saved only by their seatbelts, accompanied by the screeching of tires. Rick glared at Leo accusingly through the mirror.

"I thought you said this thing didn't have brakes."

"Oh, you believed that? Of course I installed brakes, how am I supposed to drift without them?" Leo said, laughing openly. It had been a while since he had been able to pull a prank like this, his previous victims being Maria and Sunny a few years ago, and Calypso a decade before that.

"Change of plans, Rick." Susan said darkly, which was impressive considering her squeaky seven year-old voice "Let's kill this guy first."

"Agreed."

Leo simply laughed as he slowed down to forty and drove to the resort. He drove into the parking lot, which was basically a three-storied building right next to the resort. For a split-second, a part of the ground opened downwards, allowing Leo to drive into the unknown depths of the ground. Then the secret entrance closed, leaving behind no trace of anything being out of place.

Lights flickered on in the underground tunnel, as Leo drove through. It was a large curve, and it eventually ended in the lab/ hangar/ engineering department hybrid on level -11. Leo stopped the car and turned it off. Susan and Rick got out shakily. Never had they dealt with such speed before. Susan turned to glare at Leo, but something above her caught her eye.

"Whoa…."

"Susan? What's….whoa….." Rick forgot how to speak at the sight of the massive construct hanging in midair, suspended by multiple cables.

"Uncle Leo, what is that?" Susan asked, never looking down, unblinkingly.

"Oh." Leo said, looking upwards "That's Festus, my automaton dragon. Well, what fraction of him I've reconstructed, anyway. He was almost completely destroyed, save for his central chip." He said, gesturing at a cube which sat on a table. It was about six inches by six inches by six inches, and it had multiple openings for connecting cables, and even a dozen USB ports.

Festus had also changed significantly from his old days. Now, he was just a bundle of wires with a basic skeletal frame. Another difference was that Leo was planning on making him bigger. Much bigger, and far more powerful.

Leo's gaze fell on the numerous portable blackboards, which were completely covered with failed calculations. His new design for Festus needed far more power than the old energy core could supply, so he had to redo everything from the beginning. The mathematics for the energy core were the hardest of all, and nothing was working.

Leo shook his head to clear those thoughts. Now wasn't the time. He called down the elevator while Susan and Rick were still staring. It descended within moments, and Leo dragged the two young demigods into it.

"How….How did you build all this stuff?" Rick asked in wonder. Susan was too tongue tied to speak.

"I'm a son of Hephaestus, god of fire and machines, so it comes naturally. Sometimes, if I'm lucky, I can build stuff in my sleep."

The elevator continued to climb rapidly, all the way back up to level 4.

"Hey Cal, we're back." Leo announced.

"You wouldn't happen to know about a police alert regarding a car which was travelling eight times faster than the speed limit on route 93?" Calypso called out from another room.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Leo said plainly. His voice betrayed no emotion, and he didn't react one bit even when faced with the combined glares of Susan and Rick.

"Now, you two go and do your homework, and then we'll do some training in an hour and half." Leo said, pushing the two out of the elevator, and pressing the button for the control center on level -1.

"Darn it! He escaped before I could kick his butt!" Susan complained.

"Don't worry, we'll do that during training." Rick said, walking into his room and closing the door behind him, leaving Susan alone in the hallway. She grumbled to herself, entering her own room, not at all looking forward to doing her homework.


Training was in interesting break from homework, but it was also insanely tiring. Susan had fought several people, and had run entire marathons' worth of distances, but it didn't matter in the gravity chamber. Just activating 2 G's was enough to make her struggle, and 3G's were enough to bring her to her knees. She grunted in effort to merely lift her arms. At long last, she managed to stand, which needed and incredible amount of effort. The air was heavier, and the increased air pressure was getting to her.

"You good?" Leo asked.

On the other hand, everyone else apart from Rick was handling the extra gravity with minimal effort. In fact, Calypso and Leo looked as if they didn't even notice the change.

"I'm cool." Susan said through gritted teeth, summoning all her strength just to stand. It was like wearing weights, equal to twice her body weight, everywhere on her body. Rick, who lacked Susan's strength, was down on all fours as he struggled to breathe.

"Don't worry, you two, you'll get used to it in a month!" Sunny said cheerily.

"Yeah, it's hard at first, but it becomes really easy over time." Maria added, her curly hair straightened by gravity.

"You're telling me…. that I have to get used… to this … in a month?" Rick said between gasps.

"Well sure, if you ever want to catch up with us. We're currently on 7 Gs."

"Seven?! How the hell can you handle that?" Susan exclaimed in shock, trying not to collapse.

"They've been doing this for years, and this is only your first day." Calypso said. "Leo can handle fifteen, and I'm working at seventy."

Susan had to forcibly prevent her jaw from dropping, because if she didn't, it would be ripped off her face. She reminded herself that Calypso was a titan, so it was useless to compare her to human standards.

The training session in the gravity room lasted an entire hour, during which Susan and Rick had done nothing more than walk and move their arms around. Meanwhile, the others had been performing acrobatics and aerobics. Then Leo had sent them out before turning up the gravity to 7 Gs. They collapsed on the floor, panting and covered with sweat. Their normally abnormally pale skin was flushed red.

"Hey Rick, can you move?"

"Nothing apart from my mouth." He groaned. "It feels as if I've been running all night."

"Heh…. Now that you mention it, this does feel like that."

The two remained on their backs for a while, until Maria and Sunny exited the room half an hour later. Sunny was sweating heavily, while Maria only looked slightly out of breath. Calypso poked her head through the door.

"Sunny, you know what's next. Show them how to do it." Calypso said, before closing the door. The gravity wave generator under the gravity room hummed as the gravity was increased greatly.

"Wait, what did she mean by 'what's next'?" Susan asked with dread in her voice.

"Training isn't over yet." Maria grumbled, and Rick fainted. "The gravity room was just the warm-up. The real training begins now." Susan fainted. "Oi, you two! Wake up! If I'm doing it, you're gonna do it as well."

Sunny poured cold water onto Susan and Rick's faces, effectively bringing them back to the world of the conscious.

"You've had a half-hour break, you'll be fine once you start moving." Sunny said comfortably. Susan and Rick foolishly fell for it.

Susan's shin ached as she delivered another kick to the wooden dummy. The rotating arms swung around from the momentum of her kick, and she had to jump to avoid it. She stumbled and landed on her knees, and had to bring her arms up to block the rotating wooden rod. Her forearms throbbed from the repeating impacts, and she was beyond exhausted.

She looked around to see how the others were doing. Rick was doing significantly better than her, being able to accurately predict the motion of the rods and time his movements correctly. Sunny's movements were slow, but smooth, never stopping. Every rod coming towards her was stopped efficiently, and then its direction was reversed. Maria was another story entirely.

Until this moment, Susan hadn't truly understood how powerful Maria truly was. She was using two dummies, striking the wooden rods at impossible speeds, each strike precise and deadly. She was already on a level that was unheard of by human standards. It was physically impossible for a six-year old to do what she was doing.

CRACK!

With a particularly powerful kick, one of Maria's dummies broke into splinters, and when Sunny turned to look, one of the rotating rods hit her in the back of her head, sending her stumbling.

Maria stopped the rotation of the other dummy with one hand, before surveying the destruction she had caused. The dummy had been broken into several major pieces, and a multitude of splinters.

"Tch." Maria said under her breath. She was already too strong for standard equipment. Why on earth did she still have to do this?

The door to the gravity room opened with a hiss, and Leo stepped out, his skin steaming. He was clearly tired, and he leaned against the door as he closed it.

"How's it going?"

"You need better dummies." Rick said, gesturing towards the broken one. Leo looked at it and whistled.

"Nice work, hija. I guess I'll have to replace them with metal ones now." He looked at the four kids in front of him, two of which looked dead on their feet. "That's enough for today. Take your baths, dinner will be ready in half an hour."

"Sure thing, dad!" Sunny said, giving Leo a quick hug before dragging Susan and Rick after her. Maria was right in her tail, and Leo was left alone in the training room, with only the continuous hum of the gravity wave generator for company. He gave the broken dummy one last glance, before deciding that he'd repair it the next day when the kids were at school.

Leo could feel himself growing stronger every day. Calypso too, was undeniably unlocking more and more of her power every minute. Leo glanced down at his trembling hands, and clenched his fist to stop it.

He was afraid.

Afraid if what might happen should he find out about Maria's existence. He could still recall the events of seven years ago with frightening detail.

Leo didn't know why he hadn't accepted Hestia's offer of escaping the Greek pantheon when he had been offered the choice. There were several other gods he'd befriended, and finding a place in ordinary society would've been easy. Maybe he'd done it impulsively, seeking revenge. Maybe it was that small heroic part of him that wanted to stop his reign of terror. Or maybe it was anger.

Whatever the reason, looking at his daughter, he had realized that he didn't want his daughter to fight. He didn't want to see his baby girl risk her life due to her parent's grudge and a prophecy.

Leo also felt immensely disgusted when he realized that he was doing exactly what the gods did- raise a child for their own selfish purposes.

"You're thinking too much." Calypso said, putting her arm on Leo's shoulder. She had exited the gravity room a minute ago, and he had been so lost in thought that he had failed to notice her presence, as well as the fact that the gravity wave generator had been shut down. "I don't exactly feel great either, but we have to do this. But right now, you're supposed to make dinner. Focus on that for now."

Leo shook his head vigorously. Calypso was right, of course. Overthinking things wasn't going to work. He needed to relax.

Besides, he had tacos to make.


A/N:- Well, here you go. The gravity room is by far the best way to train, but it is going to take a long time to increase gravity. Maria is part-titan, and thus has superhuman adaptability. Her body is far superior to that of a demigod, so she has the advantage there.

Do leave reviews, constructive criticism is more than welcome. Half the reason as to why I do this is to improve my skills as an author.

Next time:- Breakout- Twenty years after escaping.

-Phoenix.