Chapter 10: Preparations and Revelations.

Ryler was walking out of the showers and into the co-ed locker rooms. Yes, co-ed. It was beautiful but very uncomfortable. Luckily it was only the locker rooms that were co-ed and not the actual showers. His head might have literally exploded if that was the case. It's a good thing that self control over his emotions was a primary objective for his training at the moment. Having an uninvited guest wasn't something he could handle right now. Unfortunately, just judging from the postures and walks from some of the other guys around the room, he was part of the minority in that prospect. And the girls seemed to also notice. Ryler took note of a pattern forming in the room. It was hard to see but for someone as observant as Ryler was it was as clear as day. Many of the girls seemed to be standing just a little closer to the guys who appeared to be unaffected by their hormones.

Again, it was hard to see unless you were very observant or deliberately looking for the pattern. When a guy and girl passed each other, the women would take a slightly wider path if he was having troubles walking straight. But there would be no change if the guy was calm. This made him a prime target for those women changing. They started slowly gathering nearer to him because it was less likely that they'd be given looks of desire or given crude comments. Ryler wished that it wasn't like this, wished that he wasn't currently surrounded on all sides by beautiful women in various states of dress.

"Hey, Ryler, you listening?" A very topless Yang asked from his right. She had a hand resting on her hip with her other hand holding onto her top and bra while they rested over her shoulder. He tensed up a little from the sudden realization of where he was after he zoned out again in order to save his sanity. Yang noticed him tense up and took that chance to tease him a bit. "You're not thinking something inappropriate are you?"

Ryler, still facing ahead toward the open locker, saw a girl with pink hair out of the corner of his eye. She was standing to his left with her shirt still being pulled on. She froze in place with just her head inside the shirt. Ryler didn't want her or anyone to be nervous around him, so he needed to let them know he wasn't nervous around them. A clear lie to anyone who knew him but a necessary one for the moment.

"No, I'm just thinking about what our initiation is going to be like." He kept his voice as steady as possible while looking Yang in the eye to emphasize his point. The pink hair girl let out an audible sigh as she continued to get dressed. Mission accomplished.

"Really, I wouldn't mind if you took a peek at my body, you know. I'm not shy about my looks, just make sure looking is all you do, cause if you touch my hair then you will die. No ifs, ands or buts about anything." Yang ran her open hand through her hair to really drive the point home.

"Yang, I'm not saying you don't look beautiful, you do but I'm not interested simply in looks. No matter how much I'm struggling right now." Ryler thought that last part to himself. "You gotta really impress me if you want to be taken to a fancy restaurant." Ryler smirked and Yang laughed.

"Nice, now that's the kind of guy I could have fun with." Yang said as she lightly elbowed Ruby, who was standing on the other side of yang, in the arm. She was very red just from being in the room. Ruby looked like the outward appearance to what Ryler was feeling inside. She had gotten dressed in one of the stalls but she was still having trouble being in a room full of half dressed people.

"Yang, can you please get dressed already! I don't want to stay in here longer than I have to." Ruby whined as she fiddle with the sleeves of her combat skirt.

"Relax Rubes, it's not like this is the only time you'll be in this kind of situation. It's better if you learn to deal with it now so you won't be uncomfortable later." Yang finally pulled her top on and reached into her duffle bag that was in the locker in front of her and took out her tan leather jacket.

Ryler tuned out the argument now happening and started getting dressed. The entire time he was talking to Yang he had been standing there in nothing but a pair of boxers. On the way to the locker rooms, which he found thanks to a helpful janitor passing by, he decided to change up his wardrobe for the day. A pair of blue jeans and a hoodie wasn't exactly the best fighting clothes after all. With everyone either out of sight or busy arguing with their sisters, he made a new set of clothes appear in a bag, which he also made appear, in the locker in front of him.

Reaching into the bag, he took out a pair of really comfortable looking pants. They looked like a simple pair of black cargo pants but he made them out of a special fabric that was very durable and resistant to punctures. It was something only made possible with the help of his powers. They had his emblem embroidered in white on the sides near his upper thigh. It was an image of three concentric circles with smaller circles on each ring, symbolic of an atom. This image was overlayed on top of what looked like a spiral galaxy. The two arms of which extended from the top and bottom of the rings and curved around until the ended at the sides of the rings. He pulled on his pants and used a bit of his powers of make them a tad more form fitting.

Next, he took out his shirt. It was made of the same special fabric as his pants. It was a long sleeve shirt that had his same emblem on the shoulders. After that he took out a stiff, metallic and dull silvery vest. The two pieces resembled a slightly thicker and more futuristic version of the chest piece that Terra was wearing when he found her. They were connected loosely by a couple of small hinges at the shoulders and straps made out of the special fabric at the sides. He put his head through the opening and tightened the straps until it was comfortable but not too loose. He got the idea to make something like this after playing Halo. If he was asked why it didn't look like the Mjolnir, his answer would just be, "copyright claims".He

So far it was a pretty basic piece of armor, nothing too special on its back was mostly plain with only a couple of dark lines running vertically from each shoulder until they angled toward the center of his back to a diamond shape. The front was not intricately designed. In the same place as it would be in his back was another diamond. From this diamond sprouted various small, dark lines that looked like roots spreading out at differing lengths. There were four larger main lines extending toward his shoulders and hips. The left side of the breast plate had his emblem emblazoned into it, just over where his heart would be. This version of his emblem was unlike the ones on his clothes. The center circle had the same dimmed out feature as the markings running along the entire suit.

After he was done adjusting the chest piece, he took out two sets of leg armour. They each had four pieces, two front pieces and two slightly smaller back pieces. This made it so that he was well protected but also had enough flexibility and range of motion to keep moving on the battlefield. The upper halves fit together like a shell, just as his main suit had, around his thigh, using a series of straps and clasps. The front half extended just passed his knees so they would be protected while the back half stopped just above them. The lower parts were just meant to cover his shins and calves. They attached together just like the upper parts. The only this left were the gloves.

Ryler took out a pair of black, fingerless gloves made from his special fabric. The center of the back of his hand had a circular black disk with a ring of silver on the edge. There was a thin strip of wires extending from the wrist of his undersuit. He connected this end to a small port on his glove. The other end was sticking out from his shirt near his underarms he connected this end to another port on the main body of the suit. After that he found the other connectors on the leg armor and attached them to their corresponding ports on the suit. He was now fully suited up. He double checked to makes sure all the straps were tightened properly and all the connections were made. He turned back to the girls and realized they had been watching him the whole time.

"Wow! That looks awesome!" Ruby was wide eyed and had her mouth hanging open at the sight of Ryler fully armored up. Yang too couldn't help but to admire the suit he wore. Looking around the room he could see that just about everyone was now fully dressed.

"Uh, thanks. This suit helps he channel my Semblance better and use it in different ways." He said, making sure to continue the lie about what his Semblance was to maintain continuity.

"Thats so cool, is it something like shooting acid out of your fingers? Or maybe super strength? Is it super speed? Maybe we can have a race some time. Oh by the way where are your weapons, I really want you to show Yang, they looked amazing!" Ruby continued her rambling while he spoke with Yang .

"You weren't kidding, she really does do this a lot." Yang just nodded with her eyes closed when he said that.

"You have no idea what it's really like." Yang said in response. A couple of people passed by them, he recognized them as two of members of the future JNPR. Ren and Nora's conversation was a nice reminder of the time. There wouldn't be much more time left to wait before the call came in. This oddly made him a little nervous but in an excited way. Like he was about to be called up to audition for a movie. Their passing by also pulled Ruby out of her weapon fueled rambling and put the show back on track.

"I wonder what those two are so worked up about?" Ruby said. Ryler heard it but he still didn't get why she said it. Yang was about to speak up but Ryler beat her to it.

"Seriously? We're about to be placed into teams for our time at Beacon Academy. Why wouldn't anyone be worked up?" Ryler said as he pulled out a belt with a good amount of pouches and wrapped it around himself, the true final piece of his ensemble.

"Yeah, that's true. I guess I kinda forgot about that when I saw your awesome looking armor... " Ruby nervously rubbed the back of her head at the compliment she gave. There was also a noticeable blush forming on her cheeks.

"So freaking adorable!" Ryler thought. Ryler heard someone talking nearby and looked over Yang's shoulder to see Weiss and Pyrrha. Ozpin may have said to choose a team that was already formed but he never said to ONLY choose a team that was already formed. Having both Weiss and Pyrrha on his side would be a huge advantage. And if he "accidentally" revealed his abilities while their respective teams were present in the room then he would just have to roll with it. Now all he had to do was form the most basic of friendships with them and everything would fall into place.

Ryler realized that he had tuned out of the conversation again. He was brought back into it from Ruby's yelling. "What, I don't need to break out of my shell that's absolutely ridiculous!. What if I told you that you needed to party less? Would you do that if I asked?" Ryler felt something was off but he couldn't quite place what it was. He kept playing this scene over and over again in his mind, then he tried to remember how it originally went in the show. Then the realization hit him, Ruby was the only one talking just then, where was Jaune?

"Wait!" He interrupted the two sisters before another argument could break out. "Where's Jaune?"

They both looked at each other confused and Ruby was the one to voice their question, "Uh, who?"

It didn't make sense, he should have been here. Ryler's breathing was becoming more and more uneven. He looked all around the locker room and saw no one who even remotely resembled Jaune. "This isn't right, he should be here! Something must have happened or changed because I came here..."

"Hey Yang, about the ride to Beacon, anything big happen?" He needed to make sure what he suspected was true and not just a mistake.

"Hey, are you okay? I know today is going to be a bit of a challenge but there's nothing to worry about." Yang said trying to make light of the situation. Ryler wasn't having it right now.

"Answer the damn question!" Ryler said louder than he actually wanted. Yang was at a loss for words or snarky comments so she just answered his question.

"It was okay,we got on the Airship at around 9, made it to Beacon at 11, nothing too special. Oh wait, I did get like on my boots." Ryler perked up at that last part.

"Really?" He asked hopefully.

"Yeah, Ruby over did it at breakfast and had a little accident." Yang said as she gave a half hearted glare at Ruby.g

"I said I was sorry! I almost never get motion sick but it just happened." Ruby defended herself.

Ryler sat on one of the benches behind them in disbelief at what he had just heard. It was like Jaune never existed. Ruby saw the look on his face and dug through her bag and pulled out a red thermos.

"Here, drink some water and try to relax." Ryler took the canteen and instead of drinking the water he splashed himself in the face. "Or, you can do that, I suppose. Now just take deep breaths and think about cookies."

"Ruby, your own meditation rituals don't work for everyone you know." Yang said but Ruby just ignored her and continued anyway. Ruby started taking deep breaths as well and named off different types of cookies.

"Sugar Cookies"

Breathe.

"Butter Pecan"

Breathe.

"Snicker Doodles"

Breathe.

"Chocolate Chip"

Breathe.

Surprisingly, Ryler was starting to calm down. Not form thinking about cookies but from his own training. Ruby comforting him didn't hurt though. His breathing was evening out again and he was feeling calmer.

"You good?" Yang asked. She sat down beside him and place a hand on his shoulder. Ryler's mind was clear now but he was still slightly worried about what was happening. He needed to find answers and the only ones who might have them were at the cliffs right now.

"I need to go." He stood up suddenly which startled Ruby a little. She rushed passed him and placed a hand on his chest to stop him.

"You can't go, we could be called at anytime." Yang said and Ruby agreed with her.

"I'm going to talk to Ozpin about something." Ryler placed a hand on Ruby's shoulder to let her know he was alright. It didn't work because he was still shaking a little. Ruby stared him in the eye with a firm gaze. It softened after a while and she stepped aside.

"Okay, we'll meet you at the gathering area, just make sure you don't take any detours. I don't want you missing out of all the action." She said. Ryler smiled at her caring nature and did his best to reassure her.

"Don't worry, if I do then I'm sure I can just ask to be placed in a later group." Ryler walked away. On the way out he noticed that Weiss and Pyrrha were staring at him now. They no doubt witnessed his little freak out just then. He didn't have time to feel embarrassed right now, he had to get to the bottom of all this. He should have know that something like this was going to happen. Just being there probably FUBAR'd the timeline. He left the building they were in. It was a large one near the back of the campus, South of the CCT with the Air Docka being to the West. It was one of the largest buildings because it held not only the locker rooms but all the training arenas as well.

The fresh, late summer air washed over him as he made his way to the cliffs to the East. He knew that's where Ozpin would be right now. If not him then he'd talk to Glynda about this whole situation. If not, then he would track them both down if he had to, either way, he was going to get to the bottom of all this. A soft breeze blew across his face and he knew he was close. It was only another minute of walking until he made it through the few trees separating the cliffs from the rest of Beacon proper. He saw them both standing there, Ozpin and Professor Goodwitch, his only allies at the moment. They turned to him and greeted him.

"Ryler," Oz said after taking a sip from his mug. "You're quite early, we just made the announcement for the first group to make their way here." He didn't respond to him yet. He didn't want to come off as hostile or confrontational, so he took another moment to make sure he was truly calm. He walked over to the cliffs and stood beside them. He took a few more deep breaths before he felt he was okay to talk. He didn't have a lot of time, about 8 minutes, 6 if the others walked as fast as he did to get here.

"Jaune Arc, I assume you know who he is?" Ryler didn't get a response. He didn't need one. "Why didn't you accept his application?"

Ozpin didn't say anything, he just let Glynda handle this. "We did receive an application under that name, however we soon found out that the necessary paperwork and been forged and we declined it immediately." Ryler thought that was the case but now he knew for sure. "I would've assumed your ability to see the future would have told you about all this? So why bring it up now?" She questioned him, there was an air of suspicion to her words.

He was stuck now. He said he couldn't tell them about their futures, so he never bothered explained how he knew them in the first place. He had to come up with something. "Because this isn't what I was shown. There are things that are drastically different than my original visions." Ryler said. While not actually a lie, it was still enough to convince them. Whether or not they were still suspicious of him was yet to be determined. He took another deep breath and let out out an equally deep sigh. "I feel that my presence here has changed things too much."

Ozpin's decided that now was the perfect time to join the conversation. "Forgive me for interrupting, but you are mistaken Ryler." Ryler have him a look of confusion, did he actually know more about his powers than he originally thought?

"What do you mean? Did I interpret what I saw incorrectly?" He asked.

"I cannot speak to what you saw in our future and I know I shouldn't ask about that. What I am referring to is Mr. Arcs application. We have a rigorous entrance exam that all must pass in order to gain entry to this institution. It takes weeks, months even to screen all possible applicants. Late entries, such as you and Miss Rose, are the exception to this system and happen only in very rare instances." Ryler was starting to piece it all together. "What I am saying, Ryler, is that Mr. Arc's application was reviewed and subsequently declined months ago. Well before you had arrived on Remnant" He placed his hand on his shoulder like Yang had done a few minutes ago. "It is no more your fault than it is any other student at this Academy, I assure you."

Ryler was stunned, he didn't know what to say about all that. He didn't change anything, things were just naturally different than the show. If it was only a little bit like the show them that meant he couldn't fully trust the knowledge he had now. It was entirely possible that he was now just as blind about future events as everyone else in the entire world. That meant that he had more room to work now that the world was once again uncertain. But that scared him more than it put him at ease. Things could end up being way worse than they were in the show. Now that he didn't know for sure what would happen, he had to be extra careful not to trigger any flags or events. Before he could spiral into a mad and paranoid state, Ozpin spoke up.

"Children, welcome, please take a place on one of the pedestals." Ryler saw everyone coming through the trees and fell in line with them. Everyone filed in and took their places. Ruby and Yang were at the end like before but there was an empty place beside them. Ryler walked up to it and waited for a moment. Ryler thought about Jaune. He will never know what its like to be on a team. To make friends with everyone here, to learn how to be a better Hunstman, and to be launched through the air from this very launch pad. He'd probably be happy about that last one actually. Ryler smiled and he stepped onto the platform. Yang and Ruby saw his smile and wondered what had changed from when he was about to go insane to now. He saw them looking at him and just have them a thumbs up.

Ryler would have to find him and show him everything he's missed out on. He would also have to train him so he can be a part of their journeys as well. He deserved to have that at the very least. Which meant he had to experience life with Team JNPR for him so he could tell him later. This was just another reason to be here at this Academy.

Ryler reached into one of his pouches and pulled out four large dust crystals. Two were fire crystals and the other two were ice. He was pretty sure the entire Kingdom of Atlas wouldn't miss a crystal or two or fifty. Ryler tapped the center of the emblem and a compartment opened from beneath it. There were four cylindrical slots in a row. He placed the two red crystals in the two left most slots. The lines glowed red for a second before fading back to black. He put the two ice crystals in the remaining two spots and again the suit glowed with the same color. When He was done he closed the compartment and his entire suit came to life. The center diamond shape glowed brightly with his powers, now full of his energy. The once dark and dim markings were slowly filled with the same blue energy. The smaller lines pulsed at a steady rate, alternating between the red of the fire crystal and the pale blue of the ice crystal. The entire suit really took to the futuristic look at this point. Even the metal seemed to be more shiny.

"Okay sis, now I understand why you like weapons and armor so much. That's pretty cool!" Yang said while Ruby was almost falling over herself just to get a better view of Ryler's suit. Ryler decided she had waited long enough and wanted to give her what she had been asking for all this time. He activated his "Semblance" using his suit to enhance it a bit. The sleeves of his under suit glowed a bit before a pair of hard light arm shields formed. They were the same basic angular shields he had when he was in the hotel room. Ruby was smiling and jumping with not because she was able to see these again. He then took it a step further. The blades extended downward into a rounded shape. They kept going until they were about as long as he was tall. He could reach Yang from where he standing on his platform. From simple arm shields with blades to now literal Wings of Light.

Ruby shivered as she looked upon the new set of weapons, she thought the ones before were cool. Yang was a little concerned for her little sister but even she had to admit that Ryler was looking very cool right now. They weren't the only ones to see what was happening. Everyone down the line of students and even Oz was staring at him. Glynda was busy looking down at her tablet scroll preparing the launch pads to see what was happening.

Ozpin somehow delivered his speech but kept taking glances over to Ryler. He had no idea that he had something like this. If he was hiding a suit that looked as powerful as this did, then what else was he hiding from him. He knew to be wary of Ryler the moment he met him in his hotel room. There aren't many people that had as large an aura as he did, and some of them had turned to using their abilities for evil. He knew he had to keep a close eye on him, so he let him enter his school. That would be the best place to have him in case he was discovered by Salem. He would also be that much closer in the event he needed him to use his powers. There was still a great risk of what Ryler told him was true. If there really was a great evil lurking within him already then he would have put the entire school at risk just by letting him in.

Ozpin gave the signal and one by one each student was thrown from the cliffs and into the Grimm infested woods of the Emerald Forest. Ryler was ready to go back. He may have been beat by a couple Beowolves back then but he wouldn't let that happen again. He was ready to take the next step on his journey. His mind flashed to Jaune. He'd make sure his team was taken care of until he enable to join them. He saw his old home being a wasteland and then turned into a safe haven for nature. He'd never let destruction of that magnitude happen again if he could stop it. He saw Andrew, he'd always remember his dedication and resolve to make the world a better place.

Yang was launched into the air, screaming with joy from the rush of flying through the air. Ruby readied herself and jumped as she was launched to give herself a little extra push to go further into the air. Next it was Ryler's turn. He heard the gears click into place beneath him. Just before he was launched, he saw Sarah. Out of all the lessons she had tried to teach him, the one he would always treasure wasn't even about his powers. It was a core aspect to her personality, something that made him respect her . He would always keep her near his heart and remember, "You gotta have a little fun every once in a while." Ryler's words were the last things the two administrators heard before he was gone, blasting off higher into the sky than anyone else.

"Truly a strange one, that boy." Ozpin said as he took another sip from his mug.

Ryler let the momentum of the launch pad carry him high into the air. When he felt himself start to slow down, he activated his suit. The wing like arm blades were very much practical and he was about to take full advantage of them. The blades extended along the length of his arms until they attached themselves to the main body of his chest piece. If someone without knowledge of his suit saw him, they might have assumed he was some new type of Grimm never encountered before. Ryler glided through the air using small thrusters near the bottom of the back of his suit. He felt just like Falcon when he flew by a few other students still flying through the air as well. He surveyed the area and made sure he would land in a good place. if he was going to try to be on the former team JNPR then he'd need to pair up with Pyrrha to make things even. He felt like he had enough information about where each student landed to make his decision, so he did a very Falcon like maneuver by tucking in his wings and rolling into a free fall. He was getting closer and closer to the ground and just when he was about to reach the leaves of the trees, he reopened his wings. He blasted the thrusters at full power and caught himself before impact. He hovered just above the ground, about three feet, before he cut his engines, dispelled his wings and landed safely on the ground.

He looked around the area and saw that he was in a clearing with a single massive tree in the center. He recognized it as the tree Jaune was pinned to after being saved by Pyrrha. She would be passing through here soon. He heard some bushes rustling behind him and he turned to face his new partner. He was ready to greet Pyrrha but he wasn't going to get the chance any time soon. Out of the bushes stepped a white haired, pale skinned young woman wearing a white combat skirt. Ryler's face fell from the cheerful smile he had to one of mild confusion. "Wait, you're Weiss."

"Yes, and you're the guy who was freaking out in the locker rooms earlier." Weiss said in her usual haughty tone. She noticed the confused look on Ryler's face and narrowed her eyes at him. "What's with that look? We're you expecting someone different?" She asked.

"Don't take this the wrong way but yeah, kinda."

"Hmph, well you're not my first choice either. But you do look like you're capable of combat at least. It could've been worse I suppose." Just then they heard someone yelling from behind Ryler. He again turned around to greet the person approaching them. Ruby burst through the foliage and skidded to a stop just inches from Ryler. She looked up and they met eye to eye. A ridiculously wide grin formed on her face and she spoke.

"Ryler, yes, oh it's a good thing I found you. I was afraid I would have been paired with someone mean. Like this one girl I met yesterday who was really mean and crabby just because I bumped into her luggage. She started yelling and I was so embarrassed and I really wanted to say I was sorry but she just kept yelling about Dust and her company..." Ryler could sense the angry aura radiating off of Weiss behind him. He was about to stop Ruby from saying anymore but it was too late.

"I'm standing right here you know!" Weiss shouted. Her shout scared Ruby so much that she yelped and jumped into Ryler's arms.

"Why does this keep happening to me!" Ryler whined, this was going to be harder than he thought. He set Ruby down and kept the two quiet before they started tearing each other's faces off. Once they were settled, he spoke to them both about what they should do next.

"Look, it's obvious that you two got off on the wrong foot. But right now is not the time to settling the score. We have a mission to complete and all this negativity is just going to make that harder." Ruby and Weiss looked at each other and agreed with what he said. "Now we can take you along with us for now, Ruby, but only until you find your sister or a partner. Got it?"

"Okay."

"And no complaining, fighting, bickering, squabbling or anything that can be considered causing a ruckus. Got it?"

"Okay!"

"Can we please get going already? We're wasting time just standing here."

"Weiss, he said no complaining."

"I was not complaining, I was simply pointing out the fact that we are not using our time in a productive manner."

The arguing started up again and Ryler just sighed in defeat as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. This was going to be a lot harder then he first thought.