Chapter 10: The Media and an Interview

Epizon yawned as he looked out the window of the bullhead he was riding in. Yesterday had been a really long night. That was partially his fault though. Drinking until 2 in the morning probably wasn't the healthiest decision he had ever made. Not the least healthy, but pretty stupid of him since he had decided to have the meeting with the headmaster today. He had dropped Torchwick and …Neo? Yeah, that was it. He dropped them off at the nearest police station and immediately left as soon as he got Torchwick's bounty. Neo had no bounty, but they were still happy to take her off his hands since they figured she might be the one who always broke Torchwick out. Leaving was definitely the best choice, after all, the sooner he left, the less chance of paperwork or anything, and the more alcohol he could buy from some bar he had seen nearby called the Crow Bar or something like that. Nice place, pretty cool bartender, and some good whiskey. Definitely a place he would hit up again. The bartender was even nice enough not to kick him out.

He was shaken out of his thoughts as the bullhead hit some slight turbulence. He sighed before grabbing his flask from in his coat and taking a swig of it, before raising his voice and asking the pilot "How long until we get to the damn Academy?"

"5 minutes tops. No need to get cranky on me drunkard. The only reason you're even her right now is because you gave me a good chunk of cash and you were expected by the Headmaster. On the list of people to give free passage, was happy to know you were on your way to Beacon today, and said something about giving me a raise. Very good day for him and I if that's anything to go by. Which brings up the question, why the hell did you even pay me? Not going to complain, but you don't seem like some goody two shoes like the kids who learn here." he heard the pilot, who he vaguely remembered, was an average guy with short black hair, and a decent enough attitude, if a little focused on money. Not that Epizon would judge, given his own focus on alcohol.

"I had some extra cash and I don't use all of my cash anyways, so I figured you could put it to use making the kids who ride this bullhead go through hell. Or invest in a pair of earplugs so you can ignore them. Either or. Not my problem. Just put it to some use, get me to Beacon, and then I can talk to Ozpin, some blonde who might give me slime good alcohol, and then I'll be on my way out of here. If you're willing to wait here to give me a ride back to Vale, that'd be nice." Epizon put his flask back in his pocket and slid his Scroll out, unlocking it quickly before browsing through recent news. Never too early to look for any signs of anyone else who might have the information he needs. Some celebrity, Torchwick and Neo got caught, Torchwick and Neo vanished without a trace, which he assumed was due to the mint haired girl's Semblance or something like that, the police are getting called out for being incompetent and wastes of government funding, the guy he's meeting is supporting the police, new Atlesian mechs. Same old things. Gossip, crime, politics, and Atlas. Nothing new there. He paused as the pilot spoke up again.

"So you're not sticking around after your talk with the Headmaster?"

"Not unless I have a reason to. I expect it'll be some kind of job, and I'll tell him thanks but no thanks, and then be out of here before he can make a fuss about it."

He heard faint chuckling before the pilot responded. "If the Headmaster wants you to take a job for him, why not just do it? He can pay well, he's got power for if you want favors instead, and he is tough enough that he could probably do whatever it is himself if he wanted to. Way I see it, you pretty much get lots in return for doing something that he could probably do more easily than you."

"I don't need money, and I don't need political favors. I also would much rather stay the hell away from politics, and since politicians usually try to get me to do assassination jobs for them, I make it a personal rule not to work for them often. They're just as likely to pay you as they are to try to kill you to tie up loose ends."

"Whatever floats your boat. I still don't really get why he'd need you when he is pretty much the head Hunter in Vale, but that's between you, him, and the Hunters. Anyways, we should be there shortly, so just relax or whatever until then."

Epizon went back to scrolling through the news before scowling as he saw an article from recent news that would be a bit aggravating to deal with. He was actually half tempted to take the time to go to the newspaper company that published the article and deal out some of his... personal grievances against the article. That is, until he scrolled down a bit and saw 2 more articles and 3 clips from local news outlets which included the same basic information, with the 3 clips including a video to go along with it. God. Damn it. He was really starting to wish he had more patience right about now. Also that no one at Beacon that he would have to deal with watched or read recent local news. Sadly, he knew that people always loved having something to talk about. And news was just one of the things that the older ones, as well as some of the more aggravating younger ones, absolutely loved to talk about.

This was the best day ever! Professor Port and some other teachers had ended class early AND cancelled classes for the rest of the day, Yang seemed less bloodthirsty, Weiss was being nice… in her own special way. Of course, Blake seemed to be a bit on edge, but Ruby was sure that was just her imagination! And Uncle Qrow had said something about a teacher conference or something? It was kind of weird that it was only a couple of the teachers, but Beacon was amazing! It was probably just different groups of teachers or something! She looked around team RWBY's dorm room with a wide smile. Yang looked like she was watching funny cat videos again, Blake was reading some kind of ninja book, Weiss was reading up on upcoming subjects in their classes after failing to convince the rest of the team to study, and Ruby herself was getting ready to head to Beacon's student forge to do some maintenance on Crescent Rose. She waved goodbye to her team and reached for the doorknob before she heard a knock.

She looked towards her team in confusion before shrugging at their reactions, or lack thereof, and opening the door. Jaune wasa outside holding his scroll and looking at her excitedly.

"Hi Jaune! What's got you here right now? Do you want to hang out! We could make adjustments to Crocea Mors, maybe add a firing mechanism in here and there, and start training you to shoot whatever gun is most similar to what Crocea Mors' gun mechashift would be, that kind of stuff! What do you say Jaune!" Ruby said as she finished thinking about her many ideas on adding a gun to Crocea Mors. After all, no Huntsman or Huntress had a truly amazing weapon until it was also a gun!

Jaune chuckled and shook his head. "I would rather keep Crocea Mors as it is. It is a family heirloom after all! But anyways, I heard something about some guy who helped a lot of people before just leaving without a reward for it or anything, and when I looked it up, I realized that me and my team met the guy! I mean, he didn't seem as nice back then, but still!"

Ruby's eyes lit up with excitement. "Really?! Who? Where? What did they do? Can you show me what he did! Come on Jaune! It's gotta be a Huntsman! We could meet him and get some advice!" She blurred and tried reaching for Jaune's Scroll.

Jaune chuckled as he lifted it out of her reach above his head before lowering it as Ruby came to a stop in front of him. Pout firmly on her face. "Be patient Ruby! Anyways, my team met him while in Vale a couple months back, and he seemed really upset at something. We never learned his name, but his Aura was kind of weird or something according to Ren, and he didn't really talk to us much, just for like a minute and then he left."

Ruby frowned. That sounded familiar, but she couldn't think of anyone who it reminded her of off the top of her head. "Well what did he do?"

Jaune grinned. "Well, there was this whole commotion in Vale last night, and there were a bunch of people in cars that had been flipped or turned on their sides and things like that. He helped them out by flipping all of the cars back onto their wheels, which people think he did so that no one would get hurt or anything. After that, he didn't even ask to be paid or anything he just turned and talked to someone for a bit before they started fighting! The footage cut off at like the very beginning of the fight, but it looked really cool for the second or two that was shown."

Ruby paused. It couldn't be Uncle Qrow or anyone like that, and there was no way it was Epizon, right? I mean, he did fight someone, and he was there, but he didn't seem that nice. It would be nice though… "Show me the video Jaune!"

Jaune flipped his scroll around and showed her where it was paused and she blinked before grinning. This was awesome! She had to tell her team! "Hey thanks for showing me that, I'll see you later, bye!" and slamming the door in his face, faintly hearing him say something like "But you didn't even watch it." as she turned to her team and blurred around them, tapping their shoulders to get their attention.

She grinned as they turned towards her, with varying expressions of annoyance, curiosity, and what looked to be exhaustion on each of their faces, exhaustion primarily on Blake's. "Guess what!"

Weiss sighed. "What?"

"You guys remember Epizon, right?" Ruby said with a wide grin.

Weiss looked at her curiously as Yang perked up and Blake turned back to her book. "Yes?"

"I have PROOF that he isn't as mean as he claims to be! He helped people yesterday!"

Weiss shook her head with a sigh. "Ok, and? He could have been hired to, or wanted money for it, or any number of things."

Ruby shook her head. "Nope. He was there for Torchwick, remember! And Jaune said that the video doesn't show him doing anything but helping them, talking to Neo, and then fighting her!"

Weiss blinked. "Okay, he could have just forgotten to ask for anything, or Epizon could have been too focused on Torchwick. He did say he was after Torchwick for spite and the bounty at that point, so it was still for money in the end."

Ruby shook her head. "Then why would he help the people for free?! No! He's definitely a good person! We just have to help him show it better!"

Weiss sighed and shook her head. "Whatever you want to do with your free time is up to you. I will continue studying."

Ruby frowned. "What about you guys, Blake, Yang?"

Blake shook her head and continued reading as Yang sighed. "Look, Rubes, I know you like to see the best in everyone, but Epizon didn't seem like he would do much out of the goodness of his heart. It's more likely that Weiss is right. I'm going to sit this out, but I will wait in the lobby with you at Beacon Tower to have my chat with him if you want."

Ruby frowned before smiling. "Ok! I'll prove to you guys that he's a nice person then!"

Yang chuckled weakly. "You do that Rubes. Now, how about we start heading over?"

Epizon looked around the courtyard of Beacon Academy. Nice enough place, lots of kids, not many adults, horrible security, so basically the average government agency in Remnant. I mean really, every single one of them seemed to think they were invincible! Some terrorist organizations had better security than them, namely groups like the White Fang. Sure, that was mainly because their main bases were hidden, but it had to count for something! Not so much the Black Hand, but they had been irrelevant for years now. I mean, their name did kind of show how shortsighted they were. They thought up the dumbest name they could that they could say is "Anti-Faunus and anti-White Fang'' and called it a day. Explains why they were not one of the organizations with good security if their planning was that bad. He shook that thought away as he took out and drained the last of his flask. He'd have to buy more, but he had a feeling he would need a drink for this meeting. That and all the students were loud as hell. He looked around a bit before shrugging and turning back to the large tower in front of him, Lighthouse or Beacon Tower or something like that, and walked towards the doors.

As he entered he noted that it was surprisingly empty, with no one really guarding it or managing it or anything Which did kind of make sense given how it was situated in the middle of one of 4 places where decently to very well trained kids with superpowers, as well as their teachers, resided. Still kind of stupid, but not his problem. He saw an elevator near the center of the tower and shrugged. He either had to go up or he had to go down. Probably up since politicians always like to look down on the world below, or in this case, maybe the guy wanted to be able to look out for those he protected? Who knows. Epizon stayed the fuck out of politics when he could help it.

He walked into the elevator and looked at the buttons before blinking. Really. This place had 12 floors and then 5 basements… What the fuck is wrong with these people. Though on the plus side at least he wouldn't take forever finding the right floor or something. And he knew where the old guy from a couple months ago might be. Or the skinny one. He wasn't sure which. He shrugged before pressing the button labeled Headmaster's Office and leaning against the side of the elevator to wait. Then a thought struck him as he realized he had now met at least 2 kids, and maybe even 4 kids that were from Beacon, and all of them had blown shit up. Was the knowledge of how to wreck property along with your targets a mandatory class in this academy? No. There's no way the Hunter Academies would actually promote the idea of causing huge amounts of damage, right? Right?

Qrow looked around Ozpin's office with a yawn. Oz, Glynda, Peter, and Bart all gathered here today to have a chat with the kid. Sure, Ozpin had explained bits and pieces of why the kid might be important or whatever, but after talking to everyone else in the Inner Circle none of them had really been told much except that the kid was important, and that Salem would either want the kid dead, or the kid was a fake she was using as a spy. Either way they still wanted the kid here, if he wasn't a fake, Oz wanted him on their side. If he was one of Salem's pawns, then she was down a minion and they might be able to get some information or convert the kid or something like that. Or at least, that was what was the general gist of what Peter was saying. It might have to do with him wanting a rematch.

Qrow focused back onto the meeting as Peter finished his spiel and saw the slight glaze on Glynda's eyes clear away. Turns out she wasn't invincible to it either. Interesting. Ozpin spoke up. "As much as having him on our side would be an asset, given what you and Oobleck told us about your short skirmish with him, he could very well use it to spy on us for her, or sabotage us. With the Fall Maiden on the tipping point, we must exercise great caution. The only thing we have going for us is that so long as he truly is an Aconite, he is most assuredly not a pawn of Salem's. If he isn't actually an Aconite and is just using contacts or a Semblance, then we can watch him closely, and follow through with some of our plans we would have put into action either way, such as getting him to stay at Beacon for a more… permanent period. For now, he should be here any-"Ozpin was cut off as he heard a DING.

Qrow watched as Ozpin pressed a grey switch on the side of his desk and camera feed of the elevator popped up. "He will be here any minute. He is currently on the 7th floor and ascending. We should take this time to-"Ozpin was once more interrupted, but this time from his personal Scroll. Ozpin took out his Scroll and unlocked it before quickly looking at the message he had received and Qrow saw his eyes widen. "Well now. This is rather interesting."

Qrow quirked a brow at that. "What's interesting?"

Ozpin turned to Qrow and smiled. "I am almost certain, given some new evidence that popped up, that our visitor is most likely not a spy sent by Salem. He may still be a fake, but I find that unlikely if he specifically searched out the graveyard where the Aconites were laid to rest, if he is indeed not a spy sent by Salem. I also might have a very good idea on how to get him to stay here more permanently."

Qrow sighed. "Oz, on a scale from 1 to 10, how badly is the kid going to react to your plan?"

Ozpin paused before replying. "I would say about a6, but it would most likely be higher."

"Goddamnit. Hey Glynda, do me a favor would you?"

Professor Goodwitch raised a brow. "Cut off your alcohol supply again?"

Qrow quickly shook his head. "No thanks. I was going to say that if this backfires horribly, cut Oz's supply of hot chocolate."

Professor Goodwitch paused before smiling. "Qrow, thank you for that wonderful idea. I will only confiscate half of your stash because of that."

Qrow's eyes widened before his shoulders dropped. "Goddamn it. I can't just keep my mouth shut, can I?"

He jerked up as he heard someone clear their throat and turned to Ozpin, who's smile at the banter had dropped.

"It's time to greet our guest. And please, do restrain yourselves from doing anything to alienate us from him. He already doesn't seem to like your nieces or their team Qrow."

As if on cue the elevator opened behind Qrow and he heard shuffling and a loud sigh. Looks like it was time to get started.

Epizon stared at the group in front of him before sighing in exasperation. "Why is the meeting I was supposed to have with the Headmaster of this place actually a meeting with him and a bunch of teachers?"

Epizon saw the slouching red eyed one's lips twitch upwards before focusing on the man seated at the large desk located near the center of the room. He was probably the Headmaster in question since the blonde chick and the 2 guys he remembered fighting for a bit a couple months back were looking towards. The nameplate on his desk helped too.

The man spoke up. "Yes, hello Mr. Akoníto, or should I say Mr. Aconite. I've been waiting to meet you for quite a while. As for why my associates are here, they are involved with the reason I have asked for you to meet me."

Epizon sighed. Of course this guy had to have more people involved in this than just himself. He thought for a moment. "Can I ask you a question before you get started with all this stuff?"

Ozpin blinked. "Go ahead."

"What the hell does my family have to do with whatever you want? Last I checked no one in my family except for me has much to do with anything but dirt and worms."

Ozpin paused before smiling as he gazed at Epizon. "Who your family was is part of the reason you are here. The other reason you are here is because based on clear facts alone, you are quite the skilled combatant. Adding in rumors and twisted truths that I have been made aware of, you would be a very good person to have on my side. Now, for the next parts of our conversation, I will be ensuring no one attempts to intrude. Is that ok with you Mr. Aconite?"

Epizon frowned. "And how do I know you won't just try to wipe me off the face of Remnant without any witnesses that would go against you? You've got at least a 5 vs. 1 scenario if you want to, not counting any other tricks you've got up your sleeves or all the teachers and students in this place."

Ozpin chuckled as he lowered his hand below his desk briefly and metal began to descend and cover the windows, and the elevator doors clicked as they locked themselves. "I assure you that we do not intend to fight you unless we are forced to. No, the reason I wanted to meet you was to make sure you are, in fact, an Aconite. It was rather hard to believe when I heard there was one who might have survived."

Epizon smirked as he raised a brow. "Well then hi. Nice to meet you asshole. Now what else do you want?"

Ozpin's smile dropped a little and his eyes grew serious. "And why should I take your word for it? You could be a fake, or just claiming to be something you know little of, or worse. No, I would like you to prove you are indeed the last Aconite."

Epizon snorted. "What, you want me to show you my birth certificate or something dumbass? As far as I know we've stayed away from the Kingdoms for generations, only exceptions being travel, necessity, and-"

The blonde chick interrupted him. "You are speaking to the Headmaster of Beacon Academy! Treat him with more respect young man."

He turned to her and snorted before turning back to Ozpin. This should tick her off more. "And why the fuck would that automatically earn my respect. He leads people who I owe nothing to, and is someone I owe nothing to. He hasn't done a damn thing to earn my respect, and neither have any of the rest of you except for maybe the 2 behind you who I fought a couple months back. So what do you want me to do Ozzy?" he smirked as he saw the blonde chick glare at him from the corner of his eye.

Ozpin glanced at the blonde chick. "Glynda, calm down. He is right, as much as that may gain your ire. As for you Mr. Aconite, you will stop being so confrontational or there will be consequences. Now, I would like to know if you have the capabilities needed to use your family's gift."

Epizon sighed. "Sure, I'll be less of a jackass. As for the family "gift", yeah no. It's a curse, not a gift, and I, thankfully enough, am no longer able to use it. Glad to be rid of it too. Is that it? If that's the only reason you wanted me, then I'll be on my way. Got better shit to do than sit around with you, even if-" Epizon paused and narrowed his eyes at Ozpin. "How the fuck do you know anything about my family?"

He focused on Ozpin who continued to sit calmly in his chair. "That is a rather long story. And your family's gift is not the sole reason I wanted to talk to you. As I said earlier, you are known to be a skilled fighter."

Epizon glared at him before sighing. "Ok. So what's the job you want me to do? If it's assassination consider me gone. And I still want to know how you know about my family."

Ozpin shook his head with a chuckle. "No. In fact, I would like to offer you a more permanent residence here at Beacon. You are more than skilled enough at combat, but I'm sure we could help you improve. And while you are here, we can also provide you with information you might otherwise be unable to find."

Epizon stared at him before looking at the people around him, with the red eyed guy looking apathetic, Glynda looking shell shocked, and the two he had fought a couple months back looking curious. He snorted. "Yeah how about no. Every kid I've seen from your school blows up shit, and one time it was my shit. I'll gladly take information from you, and I'll even work for it, but I don't want to spend all my time at your school, where there would be nothing but classes I don't need, and kids who would be even less help with growing stronger. That's my counter-offer, take it or leave it."

Ozpin sighed. "Are you sure? We have Ms. Nikos from Mistral attending. I'm sure that she might be able to give you a challenge. And while you may know all the more practical parts of what you need for your job, I'm sure that you would benefit from some of our other classes. We have a class taught by Qrow based around Semblances and Aura which could be useful, given your unique Aura."

Epizon flicked his eyes to the side briefly to look at the red eyed man, who waved as Ozpin introduced him, before freezing and turning back to glare at Ozpin. "While I might take interest in those, I would like to ask you something."

Ozpin quirked a brow in curiosity. "Go on?"

"Was it the red midget or any of her friends who told you about that, or did you sense it?"

Ozpin paused before shrugging. "Ms. Rose told me of it, and I was able to sense it as soon as you set foot in this room. It is rather hard to miss if you know what you're looking for."

Epizon sighed. "Of course. Look, you don't seem like an idiot, even if some of the people who leave your school are, but I will not attend your school as a student. I'm fine doing missions for you, or maybe security or something, and I might take you up on fighting the Nikos kid or sitting in on Qrow's class, but going here as a student would be a waste of my time, and would probably lead to whichever unfortunate souls got stuck with me on their team dying or quitting."

Ozpin waved his hand at Glynda, who was fuming again, to get her to calm down before thinking, a small smile growing on his face. "Very well then. How would you like to take a position at the school where you would get to watch and perhaps take part in fights nearly every day, and still maintain large levels of freedom?"

Epizon smirked. "I want to get my information too, but I'll consider it. What's the job?"

Ozpin smiled. "It just so happens that Glynda seems to have been a bit frustrated that she has to complete all of hers and… occasionally my paperwork, teach Dust usage and synergy to 1st and 2nd year Academy students, and take charge of combat classes for all beacon Academy students. Am I right in this thought process Glynda?"

Epizon saw Glynda nod as a thin smile grew on her face. He didn't like where this was going.

"Well then Mr. Aconite, how would you like to take over combat classes here at Beacon Academy?"

Epizon froze before sighing and staring at Ozpin in exasperation. "Why is it that me saying I don't want to be forced to learn along with a bunch of kids makes you bring up having to teach a bunch of kids?"

Ozpin smiled. "Well, it gives both parties the most benefits. You get information, some of which you couldn't find anywhere else, knowledge of Aura, and the ability to challenge any students you see as particularly skilled to a fight under the guise of an exhibition match. Beacon Academy gets you as a more permanent solution to some recent issues, Glynda get's to lower her workload, I don't get killed by Glynda, from the smell, Qrow gets a potential drinking buddy, and Peter and Oobleck have been very excited to converse or fight with you again. We also get a different outlook on fighting and life which might be very useful to our students. I see this as a win for all parties involved."

Epizon paused. While he would hate it, it would have it's perks. Wait a second... "Suppose I did take this job, would I have the ability to punish students, and to what degree?"

Ozpin blinked. "You would have free rein so long as it wasn't anything illegal or immoral. Detention, mandatory extra assignments, -"

Epizon interrupted. "Let me be more specific. I want to be allowed to fight team RWBY I think it was. The team with the red midget and the black cat Faunus. It can be an introductory match or something."

Ozpin sighed. "Is this about the warehouse."

Epizon grinned. "Yep."

"Is this also about the alcohol inside it."

"Hell yeah."

"And I'm guessing you won't be willing to agree unless I say yes?"

"Probably not." Epizon lied. He'd definitely take agree for the information, but this just sweetened the deal. This guy probably knew some very important things

"Then yes. Just be sure to follow the rules set up, stop targeting one of them after they hit 15% Aura, and they will do the same."

Epizon began to nod before he paused. "They can continue going after that point."

Ozpin's eyes widened a fraction. "That is highly unsafe for you Mr. Aconite. Is there a specific reason for this?"

"Remember my Aura? Yeah, they would pretty much just have to hit me with a rock. And besides, I heal quickly, so there won't be any permanent damage to me if they do manage to break my Aura. Now, since we've got that sorted out, how about you tell me what I want to know?"

Ozpin sighed before nodding. "Very well. Glynda, Qrow, Peter, Oobleck, stay. I will go ahead and share more of why exactly I wanted Mr. Aconite to join us here as I tell him how I know of this. Noiw, Mr. Aconite, what is your favorite fairy tail?"

AN: 3 Reviews(2 for Chapter 9, 1 for the prologue)

Magi Mari(Prologue): This made my day. It really did. I had to make sure I was thinking of the right terms and it just made it funnier. So first, can confirm he isn't an edgelord. Asshole does not automatically equal edgelord. I mean, Epizon isn't going to start monologuing or some shit like that. I can still see how you might see this, but nope. Second, Epizon definitely has weaknesses. I mean, the first couple chapters would show you that his Aura is pretty much just invisible paper. And he isn't really liked or loved by everyone. He isn't even hated by everyone. Either way, this made my day.

Guest(Chapter 9): Ok… So what you're saying here is that even though Neo got her ass kicked, she is too strong? The part about her only being a threat to Hunters in training or novice Hunters is just bs. She held her own decently well against Cinder in V6 until Cinder used her Maiden powers, so that's a nope on that. Sure, in V2 she runs away from Raven, but we can probably assume Raven was one of the best Hunters. V8 she gets her ass kicked by Maria, but uh… Yeah. I'm going to ignore that both for purposes of: That's years in the future(fanfic wise), and 2, that wasn't Neo fighting how she had been shown to fight more successfully before. So while Neo definitely isn't an endgame boss or anything, she would still do decently well against most Hunters. Especially since in canon Atlas's top Hunters got their asses handed to them by kids, and average Hunters just suck. Finally, Epizon isn't a Hunter. He has trained differently, fights differently, and his Aura is weak as hell. Now, Neo being too powerful is your opinion, and I respect that, so I respectfully disagree while pointing you towards the chapter, where Neo got her ass kicked.

Alduin(Chapter 9): Glad you liked the chapter. I won't say much about anything else from this review, but I will say that it won't be chaos incarnate.

So uh... yeah. This chapter is both a week late and not that great. I apologize. Sadly, between New year's Eve stuff and other shit, time was lacking. And while I still could have gotten it done just with New year's Eve stuff, other shit said no. By other shit, I mean my network card died on me and I just got a new one Tuesday. So yeah, apologies, but I adjusted as best as I could. As for what happened in this chapter, yeah. He was going to be hanging around Beacon either way since that's where pretty much everything goes down, but based on who I've written him as, he wouldn't want to be a student. So teacher it is! And of course the main reasons are spite and the need for information, which I, as the absolutely amazing person I am, have censored. Yeah. I just did that. Sorry not sorry, but I've got to keep some secrets for later. As for why Epizon didn't call Ozpin out about his cane or anything, remember, Ozpin's cane retracts, and Epizon only knows what some parts of the cane look like. He wouldn't have even seen the handle in this chapter, so that's the explanation right there. Anyways, the short story of this chapter is, media shit happened, Epizon gets cranky, Ruby goes Ultra-naive, Epizon gets crankier, Epizon gets a job, the chance for spiteful payback, and information. The end. Could have been better, might have been able to get worse, but it followed some general plans I had set up and plays out according to how the characters would probably act. Because really, Glynda wouldn't have dealt with Epizon's shit quietly if Ozpin hadn't said anything. Anyways, sorry again for the late chapter and the meh quality, begone 2020, hello 2021, and remember, we are out of the prologue of 2020. We're now in chapter 1. It begins with the USA.