"Damn, it looks like a tornado passed by this place."

Indeed, they saw that from miles away, yet only after getting this close they were able to see the destruction in all of its glory - tents torn and levelled with the ground, some even bearing black scorch marks after being presumably set on fire, there also were a couple of military vehicles, albeit with removed wheels and most likely also batteries.

"Not a tornado-

-This display of violence-

-Is a man's doing"

As Zero spoke in his language, Axton kneeled down, as his eyes caught a glimpse of something shiny partially buried in the sand he was standing on. He picked it up and inspected it. It was a used bullet shell, already cold. Its bottom didn't have any serial number, or any company logo for that, meaning it was either from black market or homebrew.

"Yeah, I know… Bandits got to them first… Damn, this means the place is probably looted already…"

Axton said with voice clearly disappointed.

"Unfortunate."

"Heh, so we're not so different after all, huh?"

Axton tossed the empty shell aside, and stood up, pulling out his PDA.

"I'll call Lilith, you can look around the place in the meantime."

A robotic hum was Zero's only answer. As Axton started calling their leader, he himself set his sight on the cave's entrance. It looked like the deeper inside you went, the more destruction could be seen.

Everything seemed to indicate that the vault was buried deep inside this cave's depths, and whatever monster was sealed inside was too much for Vladof's small army, and the bandits' attack while they were distracted definitely didn't help. Looks like they severely overestimated their strength. A fatal error indeed.

That however, raises a question: If they did manage to open up the vault, but didn't kill the monster, then why hasn't it left the cave yet?

Zero had a couple theories on what could have happened already, but for now he decided to actually go inside and see. Still wary of any surprise attacks, his holo blade ready to strike in his right hand, and blue light materialising another gun in his left.

A Jakobs revolver, pinkish in color, and with a pretty long bayonet attached to its barrel.

Meanwhile, Axton's call had finally been answered.

"S'up, Killer."

"Hi Lilith, me and Zero arrived at our destination, and the site seems pretty clear."

"Were there any survivors?"

"I don't think so, the place is completely ruined."

"Well, that sucks… Anyway, was there any monster there? Or did you take it out already?"

"We're about to get in and see. I'll update you once we get to the thing."

"Alrighty then, Maya is on her way with our Vault Key, you guys just hang in there and don't get killed."

"That's the plan."

As he said those words, some gunshots and beastly roars could be heard from the cave.

"What's that?"

"..Eh… I think Zero found some skags or something… "

"You better get rid of them then, we don't need such annoyances."

"Sir yes sir…"

"Also, be on the lookout on Vladof's vault key. If it's still there, we want to keep it to ourselves."

"Okay, but don't get your hopes up, it looks like some bandits ransacked this place already."

"If that's the case then we'll worry about it later. Now, last thing: Did you find anything related to the betrayer?"

"The guy who is responsible for Vladof fucking up this badly?"

"Yeah, he can be useful for us, so don't kill him on sight. Try to either make friends with him or at least capture and bring him to me if that fails."

"Yeah, but how are we supposed to recognise them, huh?"

"You have the 'wanted' poster don't you?"

"'Young man in a psycho mask'... Do you have any idea how little it narrows it down?"

While they were talking, Axton managed to get slightly closer to the cave's entrance, and was now able to see Zero fighting with a much higher amount of skags than he anticipated. It looked like an entire pack made this place their home, with even elder specimens and a singular Alpha present. However, instead of helping him out, Axton stayed calm and continued his conversation.

"Besides, the guy could be dead for all we know…"

"Maybe, but I'm telling you this just in case you do find him. He can become a great asset to us… Unless he won't want to cooperate."

"...Alright, but again, don't get your hopes up."

"Thanks, killer. Also, it sounds pretty messy out there… You sure Zero doesn't need help?"

Lilith referred to the fighting noises that she could hear in the background that only increased in volume and variety.

Axton raised his eyebrow and looked at his fighting companion.

Right at that moment, an adult skag jumped at Zero with intention of biting his head off, but before it could even reach him, Zero dashed and sliced right through it, splitting its body in two perfect halves with his holo blade.

"A singular strike!" - his robotic voice echoed

"Nah, he's got this… It's Zero, remember?"

"Yeah, silly of me to even doubt him… heh, alright then, take care, killers."

"Later."

Pandora's sun was slowly rising, as indicated by the light coming off from the bar's windows, weak at the moment, but growing stronger with each passing minute. And yet, despite the very early hours, things were far from quiet inside, with a surprisingly large amount of people already enjoying their drinks and food. There were many shady types here, as expected of this wasteland of a planet. Most of the people here were either bandits, or mercenaries.

'Which of these am I?'

A certain man asked himself as he sat next to the bar, his head lowered, eyes locked on his now empty glass.

'A couple of years ago I would call myself a soldier…'

The man wore something that used to be a crimson lancer's combat armor, albeit from a long time ago, as indicated by countless imperfections gained after having to repair it from all the fights the man got himself in the past.

'Months ago, I guess i was nothing more than just a bandit…'

On the bar table, on his left, a lancer's helmet layed. Battle-scarred similarly to the chestpiece, with visor slightly cracked, but still usable nonetheless.

'...And because of HIM… I am here, drinking my problems away and having an existential crisis…'

On his right, a psycho mask was lying too. But it wasn't your common, white mask with blue eye visors. This one was black, with visors of a bloody red color.

The man looked at it, with mixed emotions.

'Are you really gone?'

…

"What do you mean you're out of meat!?"

A shout could be heard from somewhere within the hall.

'Finally. It had been peaceful for way too long.'

The man looked over his shoulder to see a shirtless psycho, with a buzzaxe in his hand, staring at the bartender, clearly enraged. Or at least his rage could be felt even from below his mask, that is.

"How am I supposed to build a bicycle if I don't have any meat, eh!?"

"Sir, you're drunk. I will have to ask you to leave." - the bartender replied.

He was a man, presumably in his forties or fifties. Either way, he was one ugly bastard - fat, with a triple chin, long but unwashed brown hair, and a pathetic excuse of a mustache on his upper lips.

"I'm NOT drunk! I'm just fucking crazy, alright!?" - the psycho protested.

Before the bartender could respond, the psycho jumped on top of a table, and shouted for all present to hear.

"We live in a society where a dishonest, not-working psycho can't even make himself a meat bicycle! What kind of a world is this!? A disappointing one, I say!"

The senseless babbling managed to make the lone man chuckle, but he refrained from doing anything, and remained on his seat.

"Ai!" "This man speaks the truth!" "He's right and I hate it!" - these, and a couple of other approving voices sounded, coming from other customers, who were either drunk like fish, high on some indefinite narcotics, or both. Or simply just as insane as the original speaker.

"This will NOT continue! We must take a stand and abolish the non-existing government! We will create a new world! A world where everyone will be able to have the meat bicycle of their dreams!"

"Yeah!" "That's right!" "We can do this!"

"...But what about tricycles?" - one almost dead-drunk goliath bandit asked.

"Tricycles! Unicycles! Motorcycles! You name it! In our new world, everything will be made of meat!"

"YEEAAHH!" "LET'S FUCKING GO!" "That's what I'm talking about!"

"VIVA LA MEAT-OLUTION!" - the psycho instigator shouted while raising his buzzaxe into the air.

"Okay, that's enough."

*BANG!*

As a powerful gunshot echoed throughout the hall, the psycho's body was launched, landing on a table where some other customers sat, knocking it over, as well as any things on top of it, and also the people that previously sat next to it. Add a big blood splatter to all of that as a dressing, and you've got yourself quite the scene to either watch with disgust, or admiration.

The previous shouts of approval died down, and the only sound that could be heard afterwards was the bartender cocking his shotgun.

'Jakobs, white rarity…'

"Anyone has anything to say?" - he asked everyone present

Mostly unphased, everyone returned to their previous activities, completely forgetting about the scene that played out before their eyes.

"Good. Outside you can cause as much havoc as you want to, but here is a different world."

'...Different world… That's what he always wanted…'

…

The man gritted his teeth and groaned. Drinking his problems away like this wasn't for him.

'That damn asshole… I refuse to believe he died. He's too stubborn for that. I must go look for him.'

He stood up, and put his helmet on. He also grabbed the psycho mask, and stared at its face.

'I still have a debt to repay, after all.' - he thought, while turning towards the exit.

"Where do you think you're going!?" - the bartender's voice could be heard from behind him. - "You still haven't paid!"

'Correction. I have TWO debts to repay…'

The ex-lancer didn't respond, nor did he say anything aloud.

"Well, how will it be?" - after those words, another shotgun pump sounded, followed by the sound of a perfectly fine shell hitting the ground for no reason.

Instead of responding, the man activated a certain device that was attached to his waist, on his left hip.

An old model of Atlas ECHO-PDA.

"You mute or something!?"

…

The man rapidly turned around, while raising his hand, with a finger-pistol aimed at the bartender.

"Listen, you have ten seconds to pull out the cash or I'll blow your brains ou-..."

A bright flash of blue light emerged from the finger-gun, slowly taking the shape of a real gun.

Although taken by surprise, the bartender was quick to react, and wasted no time, pulling the trigger. Another bang echoed, and bullets hit their mark before the armored man's gun finished digistructing.

...And yet, the man took the buckshot, without much reaction, as if it was nothing.

"You'll need more than that to pierce this armor…"

By this point, the gun had fully materialised, revealing the form of a Torgue-made revolver, black in color, with yellow stripes and a white star on the side of the cylinder.

The legendary Unkempt Harold.

"Wh-whoah! Okay! Okay! I give! It was just five bucks anyway!"

'And back to just one debt.'

"So…"

Jacob started the conversation while making himself comfortable on his chair. Right now, he was in Ozpin's office, sitting right before his desk, while supporting his head on his fist.

Or at least it was supposed to be an office, and yet Jacob felt like he was inside of a giant clock, courtesy of all of these giant gears around them, that served some indefinite purpose. In all honesty, at this point he wasn't even going to question it.

"...You wanted to talk, right?"

"Yes, indeed."

…

Jacob looked around, wondering if he wasn't missing anything in this situation.

"Then talk." - he said while shrugging.

"Very well. Let's talk your way - with no unnecessary formalities, just straight to the point."

"Alright-"

"Tell me about yourself."

"Huh?"

"If you want our deal to continue, it would be great if I knew a thing or two about you. You've been really mysterious so far."

"Heh, if you say so. Fine, what do you want to know."

"For starters… Where do you come from?"

Jacob smirked, and raised his head from his fist, tilting it slightly in the opposite direction.

"I think you already know the answer to that. Do you really have to make me say it aloud?"

"What makes you say that?"

"C'mon Ozzie, you are a smart man. Respect yourself at least a little and stop pretending to be oblivious."

A short moment of silence followed, ended by Ozpin smiling lightly and pushing up his glasses.

"Is that so?"

'I'm sure I could manage here on my own, but staying here with him does have a lot of benefits. Plus, so far he's been only good to me. Almost too good I'd say.'

"I am… was a wanderer of the lands. There, you happy?"

"Hmm. Indeed, it is as you said…-"

"No way."

""...-If that's the case, what made you come to Vale? From what I understand you could handle yourself just fine out there."

"...Maybe curiosity, maybe I saw a chance to profit here, or maybe I am looking for a better life?"

"...Which is it, then?"

"That's the thing, Ozzie…-"

Jacob spreaded his arms and smiled at the ceiling.

"...-I have no idea."

…

"So… Boredom, is it?"

"No, no, I wasn't actually sarcastic, you know. I believe I suffer from some type of amnesia."

Now, that picked Ozpin's interest.

"Elaborate."

"Well, I don't remember shit from what happened recently."

"Please, refrain from cursing here. And in general, too."

"Yeah, yeah."

"But if that's the case, what is the last thing you do remember?"

"...Hard to say actually. All I remember was that I was a lowly stray dog living for the sake of living. I have no idea what could have brought me here."

"Hmm… Interesting."

"Oh, and I have to warn you."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, I'm not sure, but I wouldn't be surprised if I had some enemies on my back that would come to get me here. The lands, as you call them, don't have the friendliest of people there, ya know?"

…

Ozpin remained silent for a minute, while giving Jacob quite the glare.

"You're not sure, you say?"

"I vaguely remember that sometimes people I pissed off later came back for revenge. But again, I have amnesia, so I don't remember if anyone's tailing me right now."

"...And yet, you think it's probable enough that you felt the need to tell me about it."

"Hey, If ya don't want me anymore, I'd have no problem leaving, kay? You'll say that I got fired for flirting with the nurse or something."

Ozpin shot him a glare.

"Did you?"

"Uh… I mean… Don't change the topic!"

"Right, sorry."

Ozpin then leaned back in his seat, while grabbing his chin.

"...What kind of people would want to tail you here, assuming someone is tracking you?"

"Nobody more than common bandits, I'd say."

"...Do you fear them?"

Jacob chuckled. "Personally, not at all. But they could do something to your precious students."

'...Or Rem…'

Ozpin widened his eyes slightly looking at him with something akin to disbelief, causing him to raise his eyebrow in response. And yet, Ozpin smiled shortly after, his eyes saying he already made his decision.

"It's a good thing Glynda isn't here."

"Oh yeah! She would have me hanged by my balls if she heard that!"

Now that… That caused Ozpin to do something he did very rarely.

Ozpin laughed.

It wasn't a weak chuckle, nor an over exaggerated snort. It was a genuine, albeit short laugh.

And Jacob smiled with him.

"Yes, she probably would."

They then looked at each other, smirking. Perhaps they could get on well together after all?

"With all of that said, I don't think you have to be worried. No common bandit should be able to get here."

"You say that, yet here I sit."

"Perhaps, but you have been invited here, weren't you?"

"I guess so."

"So don't worry. Our deal is still active, I'm not going to exile you or anything like that."

'Oh really? I did not expect that… But that means…'

"What is it, Ozzie?"

"...I beg your pardon?"

"I may not be the smartest person around, but I'm no fool. What do you have to gain from keeping me around? Feels like so far you only lost money and gained problems because of me."

Ozpin grabbed his chin and looked at him with an inspecting eye.

"Well, let's see… My teachers gained a great assistant to help them teach... Beacon gained a great security guard, since that's your job too… And a butler to help Rem and Ram out with houseworks."

"What!?"

"I was joking with the last one. But that aside, to put it simply, you are a great asset to have. Teachers here are great people with equally great knowledge, but none of them have as much experience with outside lands as you. After all, you've spent your entire life out there, and you're still in one piece…"

Ozpin then looked at his left, silver arm, that was now almost completely exposed, since Jacob left his new cloak in his room.

"...Well, mostly, at least…"

"Hmm… I see…"

'Is that really it?'

…

"...Let's talk about your amnesia…" - Ozpin attempted to reanimate their discussion

"Yeah?"

"You say you don't even know how much you forgot, correct?"

"...Yeah, I guess…"

"And you said your real age was seventeen?"

"...Yeah…" - Although at first Jacob had no idea why bring his age up for no reason, the gears in his brain quickly started grinding.

"So it's possible you're actually older than that, right?"

"...I suppose…" - Jacob grabbed his chin, while thinking about it. And when he did, he finally noticed something about himself that he wasn't even aware of up until now.

Facial hair was slowly starting to grow on his chin, still short for now, but the feeling was definitely different to his mostly smooth skin he had until now, albeit with a couple small scars in certain spots.

"That means you only remember your life up to your seventeenth year, no?"

"...Yeah, but then there's no telling of how old I am actually…"

"Well, clearly, you're still young. I wouldn't give you more than twenty years… It would be quite funny if the fake age we came up with turned out to be true."

Jacob merely hummed in response, while still getting the feel of his growing facial hair.

'I wonder if I'll have a beard like Simon did… he looked cool with it.'

"About your facial hair… I'm not a beauty expert, and frankly speaking it's none of my business, but I think you'd look more… presentable if you were to shave yourself." - Ozpin said, seeing his behaviour.

"Is that so?"

"Yes. Although, I assume you don't have a razor of your own, no?"

"I mean… I have a knife…"

"No, this will not do. You'll only end up all cut up."

"You mean more than already?"

"Yes. Even with that scar on your cheek, I'd say your face still looks friendly enough for students to not get scared. As long as you put a smile on it, that is" - Ozpin said, while smiling at the end himself.

Jacob put on a clearly fake smile in response, with a derisive look in his eyes.

"With that said, if I recall correctly, you still have some of the cash left from the time I bought you the clothes you're wearing, no?"

"I still have some…"

'Way more than I should, in reality'

"In that case, next time you go to town consider buying yourself one, along with any other things you may need. I trust you to not be too wasteful."

"Yeah." - while saying that, Jay looked to the side, thinking about his cloak that was way too expensive for its own good. But hey, he didn't know the exact value of lien in dollars, so he didn't know that it was a scam at the time.

At that moment, a certain beeping noise could be heard. It came from Ozpin, or, to be more specific, Ozpin's scroll. He grabbed it and looked at it.

"It appears we are out of time for today. This conversation will continue some other day." - Ozpin said while getting up, and turning towards the exit.

Jacob stood up too, and followed him with his hands in his pockets.

"The students will have their initiation right now, won't they?"

"Yes. As for you, for now you can have some free time. Do what you want, just don't burn my school down."

"Heh, I can try. But I want to ask about this initiation thing."

"Sure, what about it?"

"I heard it's different each year, what will they have to do today? Surely, you wouldn't just throw them in this emerald forest or whatever like you did with me, right?"

Ozpin didn't say anything, only smirked and looked at him from the side.

"Pfft. Figures." - Jacob took the memo.

'That's perfect, actually. I'd love to go hunt more of those Grimm to gain some levels and unlock more Glutton forms, but…'

"...I'm assuming I can't go with them, huh?"

"No, I want to see what they can do by themselves. Giving them outside help would make it pointless. With that said, why would you even want to do that?"

"I just… feel like I didn't do my best the first time. I promise much better results next time."

"Quite the fighting spirit you have, but I suppose it's to be expected of a wanderer. If you like hunting Grimm that much, you should go speak with mister Port. He could have a job for you."

"I'll think about it."

By this point, they had already left the office, and were now taking the elevator down.

'Now that I think about it, it's the first proper elevator I've seen in my life. Makeshift cranes in bandit camps don't count.'

"Oh, and one more thing while we're still at it." - Ozpin said after a short while of standing next to each other in silence

"Yeah?"

"Do you want to hide your origins?"

"Huh?"

"As for now, only I know that you are a wanderer, everyone else thinks that you come from Atlas. We can keep lying about it, which will use up a lot of my resources, trying to forge all the necessary documents, or just tell the truth, and lie only about graduating Atlas academy. We still need Ironwood's certificate if you want to continue working here, after all."

Jacob grabbed his chin while thinking about the subject, becoming once again weirded out by his growing facial hair.

"I don't have anything to gain from lying like that. You'll only lose. And it can bring problems in the future. So no, let's not lie more than we have to."

"Great decision. It will make things much easier."

'Let's not lie more than we have to… A hypocrite I am, no?'

At that moment, the elevator reached the ground floor, opening its doors with a beep.

"I look forward to working with you."

"Same."

They said to each other, while taking their respective turns.

Peter Port was currently in his office, packing up his freshly finished paperwork in haste. The initiation was coming, and it was worth seeing what this year's students could bring to the table. He already looked at the list, and noticed a fair share of very interesting last names. Add that atlesian boy, Jacob, to the mix and the result was something that had the potential to become one of the most exciting academic years he had seen so far. And he had seen quite a number of them, too!

As he finished his work, he stood up from his desk, eager to go and see what Ozpin prepared this year. He had received proper information before, but since he himself wasn't responsible for preparing it, he never read it in order to turn this into a surprise for himself.

Although, if he had to guess, he would say it would be the same thing Jacob went through, probably for Ozpin to have a point of reference when judging students, but then again, there was also a possibility he would do something completely different. It's Ozpin we are talking about, after all. You can never be fully sure with him.

"Yo."

The sudden voice coming from behind caused Port to wake up from his thoughts, and turn towards its source.

Speak of the devil.

"Jacob, my boy! What brings you to me at this time?"

The young adult stood in the doorframe, leaning against it. He was wearing a pitch-black button-up shirt, and a pair of jeans. While not completely formal, it was probably good enough, seeing his job's nature didn't require as much formality as his.

"Ozpin told me you may have a job for me."

Port raised both of his eyebrows in surprise at that. He didn't recall planning anything for Jacob as of yet.

"What did mr. Ozpin say exactly?"

"That if I wanted to go hunt some Grimm, I should talk to you."

"Oh… In that case, let us talk on our way. I wanted to see the students off before the initiation starts."

With a smile, Port walked past him, leaving the room, while also giving him a sign to follow.

"...Alright."

Jacob nodded, and soon followed the older man, while keeping his hands in his pockets.

"So… Grimm hunting, yes?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I was actually planning an expedition into the Forever Fall forest to catch some Grimm so that our students can train with them…. -"

'Forever Fall! That's perfect!'

"...- so what do you sa-..."

"I'm in."

Quest Accepted

The Huntsman's Apprentice

[ ] Assist Port on his expedition.

…

Lost Traveler - Update!

[ ] Search for clues in Forever Fall forest

[ ] Find a way back to Pandora

…

"...That's the spirit! Although, I want to put an emphasis on the fact we are there to capture Grimm, not necessarily exterminate them."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. But keep in mind the Grimm we catch are supposed to be fought with by students. So we'll be looking for the weaker ones."

"Like a beowolf?"

"Well… I was thinking about something along the lines of a boarbatusk, but I suppose we wouldn't say no to one or two beowolves, too."

"...If we find something bigger, can I ki- hunt it?"

Port looked at him from the side, with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, If we do come across something too big to capture, I suppose it would be our duty as huntsmen to get rid of it. Why do you ask?"

"...No reason."

By that point, they have already left the main building, and were now walking on one of the many cobblestone paths that were scattered around Beacon.

"So when are we leaving?"

"How about tomorrow morning? Five o'clock, we'll fly with Sarius."

"Alright, I'll be there."

"Are you used to getting up early?"

"Yeah. I barely sleep anyway."

"Why's that? Insomnia?"

"In a way, I guess… But I'll be fine."

"I'll take your word for it then…"

And so, they continued to walk in silence, until silhouettes of students lined up at the edge of the cliff that the beacon stood on entered their fields of vision.

"Well, I suppose it is settled, then… Is there anything else you want to talk about with me?"

Jacob didn't respond immediately, instead, he focused his eyes on the distant figures. Amongst a big number of strangers, a couple seemed familiar even from all the way from where he stood. One, in particular.

Black silhouette, with gray hair, separated by a green cowl.

"Ozpin…"

"Yes? What about him?"

"...Is he… trustworthy?"

"Where did that question even come from?" Port looked at him, amused slightly. "It is true that he likes to be mysterious, and while some people call him 'morally gray' I personally don't know anybody else with as good of a heart as him."

"...Oh really?" - Jacob asked sceptically, thinking about how crude his initiation has been.

"Yes. Bold and decisive, yet with a heart of gold. He truly is the paragon of a huntsman. Whenever I have doubts, I wonder, what would he do if he was in my situation."

"...I see…"

"Now, with all that said, it looks like the initiation is just about to start. Let us come closer while we still can."

And so, Port started walking towards the cliff where everyone was gathered, but Jacob stood still, just staring at the scene.

He lowered his head, and looked at his hands. Rough. Covered in lots of small scars. Marks left by pistol grips practically engraved into his palms. Well… His right one, at least. Left one was practically flawless, as if it was brand-new. Which, in a sense, was still brand-new to him.

He frowned and gritted his teeth.

'My ass! Nobody's perfect!'

Whatever. He turned around, and walked away.

He wasn't planning on staying here forever, after all.

…

'Right?'

Author's Notes.

Heya, as you can probably see I want to gradually reduce the unnecesary 'edge' of this story, as I'm afraid I grew out of my edgy phase IRL. Stuff that seemed cool before now just seems unnecessarily cheesy, you know?

Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter, and I hope I won't disappoint you all in the future.

If you want to ask for anything, or perhaps suggest on how I could improve, you know the drill. Reviews are here for a reason, after all.

With all that said.

Cya next time.