Headmaster Ozpin looked down at the Kingdom of Vale from his office at the top the central tower at Beacon Academy, and above his head was a kinetic sculpture of moving clockwork parts that denoted the never-ending, unrelenting passage of time, the grind of years and eras, and eons; beyond the tower, the Kingdom of Vale was considered to be a safe haven from the Grimm, and a beacon of civilization, hence the Academy's name. Gazing down upon the city, he could see lights, and people happily walking through the streets.

"They seem to almost have forgotten that we are in a constant struggle for survival," Ozpin thought. "They live in blessed ignorance, for they are not the ones who stand against the horror and the harbingers of human and Faunus extinction. Instead, they are the ones who reap the benefits from the losses of many Huntsmen and Huntresses that came before them. No one could blame them, however, as the life of a Huntsman is full of hardship, and many have sacrificed all they had to better the lives of everyone else. It takes a very special kind of person to be a Huntsman; let them live in this blissful ignorance, as this is the only delusion that they have that gives them hope. It is also what Huntsmen and Huntresses work for: to give life to this delusion and make it a reality."

Standing with his signature coffee cup in hand, which bore the crossed axes that were the symbol of the Kingdom, Ozpin looked down and watched as the city zipped along with its usual business. With trucks carrying produce to the part of town that contained the farmer's market, and friends walked together along the sidewalks where most of the cafes were set up; some were sitting down and enjoying lengthy conversations, while others walked past them hastily on their way to meet friends and loved ones. His gaze then turned to the docks, where he watched as shipments came in from the other Kingdoms, cargo haulers that brought in luxury goods as well as other necessities and contributions for the upcoming Vytal Festival, and most importantly, Dust.

Ozpin watched in admiration, and with a hint of sorrow before his thoughts were then interrupted as Glynda Goodwitch entered his office. His mind was forced back into this harsh reality and as she approached him, he was no longer looking out into Vale, but at his own reflection. As he made eye contact with himself, Glynda continued to make her way across the office as she inputs some things into her Scroll. She stopped in front of Ozpin's desk while she entered in the last commands and keystrokes before putting away her Scroll and looking up at him.

"How are they?" he asked her without turning around to face her; instead, he looked at her reflection in the window. Her face expressed the usual perturbed look she almost always wore.

"Fighting, as usual. I swear, they are completely incompatible with each other, sir," she responded with as much respect she could muster through the frustration she felt for Team HAVC. With her Scroll in her grasp, she kept her hands together in front of her. "In fact, a lot of the team's members are generally incompatible with each other: personality, their fighting styles as well as backgrounds."

"They will grow out of it, Glynda. I wouldn't worry about the students," Ozpin said to her before drawing his cup to his mouth in order to take a sip but was interrupted by Glynda just as it reached his lips. He was only able to get a whiff of it, the scent tickling his nose and teasing him slightly with its succulence; it was a rare and rich brew, loaded with heavy cream and sugar.

"That may be, but it doesn't change the fact that this incompatibility is affecting them now." She brought up her Scroll again and looked down to read the notes that she had been making.

"With team RWBY, Miss Rose and Miss Schnee, for example, Ruby's inability to sit still and think, while Weiss's more calculating and serious nature don't go well together." She pressed a final button on her Scroll and looked up with a smile. Ozpin's computer lit up as it received the notes Glynda had been making. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a few moments before turning around to sit at his desk, and studied the information. He took a long draught from his cup, then set it down next to four folders that had been previously sitting on his desk. His eyes were scanning over the information; he took some time to process what he was reading before looking up at Glynda with a quirked brow.

"Is this the list of teams you would have made?" He asked her as he put his hands together over his mouth and leaned forward in his seat with his eyes trained on Glynda's.

"It's the best I can make of them, sir. Each of their abilities, their fighting styles and personalities would complement each other, thus improving their combat performance." Ozpin kept his gaze upon Glynda for a few more moments, and her smile slowly disappeared as she awaited an answer.

"You are making a situation where they would be most comfortable. No internal struggles or adversity." Ozpin responded after a few moments of silence.

"Of course, sir. We don't need the students bickering amongst themselves when they need to be working together to fight a greater enemy," she replied. He began to ponder to himself for a few moments as he leaned back in his chair. He thought for a bit as he smiled at her, before chuckling to himself as he was not able to keep his ordinarily stoic demeanor with her.

"You were always the calculating and efficient one, Glynda, which always makes me glad that I have you working with me," Ozpin complemented her as he tilted his head to the side, a slightly lopsided smile upon his face.

"Thank you. So, will you consider this? It isn't too late, sir." Her eyes lit up as Ozpin praised her, but was also feeling a sense of confusion since it wasn't a reply to her point.

"No, the teams stay as they are," Ozpin answered as he placed his hands on his desk. With one hand over the pile of folders, he did not notice that he had slightly pushed it to the side as he lifted himself from his seat. The folders were disturbed and revealed one specific folder with the words "CLASSIFIED", in big red letters. "They need this adversity. For example, Miss Rose and Miss Schnee, as you so eloquently put it, are in fact different, but it is that difference that will help them grow as a team, as well as individually. If I remember correctly, they have already reconciled their differences and they seem to be working better together now."

"What about JNPR? I still stand by my assumption that Jaune has fabricated his credentials and transcripts, which is evinced by his inability to fight." She pointed out and waited silently to hear what Ozpin's justification would be.

"It's true that he is performing below standards, but that will be easily remedied. He has the heart to lead his team and to keep them together, which in the end will make them stronger, and in return, will allow them to grow to become better Huntsmen." Glynda turned away as she thought to herself, her eyes scanning from side to side as if she were reading something in her mind that was visually manifesting itself in front of her. After a few moments, she stopped herself and looked up with her eyes narrowed, but with one brow raised. She felt like she had been challenging him on several of his points, but was curious to his justifications.

"What about HAVC?" she asked, and Ozpin knew that the topic would have been raised eventually, but it still left him speechless nonetheless. He knew the answer but was lost in thought as he tried to find the right words to best convey his reasoning.

"HAVC is different. They have faced adversity all of their lives, and in turn, it has made them strong, but," he responded slowly, then trailed off. He had asked himself many times about HAVC and was slightly unsure of the answer himself, until now.

"Some of them are still in resentment over Haiiden leaving," Glynda interjected, but then tilted her head to the side as Ozpin responded with a quick shake of his head.

"They are strong," he continued as he started again from where he left off.

"Their fighting ability demonstrates that well enough, but what about their spirit?" he asked her, then looked down at the pile of folders and caught a glimpse of the big red lettering.

"They are broken, Glynda, still haunted by old demons that have prevented them from healing."

Glynda thought for a moment as to what Ozpin meant by "demons", then her mind wandered to Haiiden's past. The thought made her wince to herself as she imagined it with sympathy, the loss of his mother and how he was alone until he met Zed. Then she began to wonder if there was a hidden meaning behind what Ozpin said, and if these so-called "demons" were why they were put together in the first place. Then another thought sprung to mind: was there anything that the rest of Team HAVC suppressed? What did each individual member hide, and what were the hidden motivations that had made them want to join Beacon, to become Huntsmen? Cecilia and Haiiden had gotten along when they first started their time at Beacon. There were some disagreements, of course, but it was always resolved with a few punches. However, after Haiiden left, it all changed; something had already grown like cancer inside of Cecilia that made her hate him, especially after his return.

Their discussion was then interrupted by a knock on the door, Glynda turned and straightened her dress while Ozpin took a deep breath. "You may enter."

The door slowly opened as Cecilia peered tentatively inside, and saw both Goodwitch and Ozpin looking back at her. She hesitantly walked in with her brother following behind her, his face expressing worry. They stopped in front of the door as it closed shut behind them.

Cecilia stopped, putting her hands behind her back and nodded in greeting.

"Headmaster. Professor Goodwitch. May I have a word, please?"

0-RWBY-0

In the northern part of Vale, Fox and Haiiden were sitting next to the fountain in the central plaza; the breeze gently blew the mist from the fountain against the back of their necks. They both sighed, as this was a good break after walking around all day with Team CFVY. Next to them was Yatsuhashi, who was leaning forward with a plate of food on his lap from one of the nearby restaurants, and was trying to keep it warm by keeping it out of the wind. They were silently waiting for Coco and Velvet to return from shopping, and hunting for materials to make their outfits for the upcoming Vytal Festival. Even with it being over a semester away, travelers from the other Kingdoms were visiting to help with its preparations. Banners were already being hung all over the city as they welcomed visitors since the Kingdom of Vale would be hosting this year's Festival.

Not only were they waiting for the girls, but they were also waiting for Zed. He had asked Team CNBR to join them and wanted everyone else to wait up for them. They usually tried to find time to study in the school's library, but after what happened with Zed, and the stress of school, everyone decided to take a day off and to just set aside some time for themselves: no talk of schoolwork or anything school related. However, Fox was sitting restlessly, which was unusual since he was usually calm and collected.

"So, what exactly happened with Zed?" he asked Haiiden, who responded with a confused look for a few moments. Haiiden came to the conclusion that Fox had been holding off from asking, but who could blame him? Zed's sparring match with Cardin, news of which had spread throughout the school, was, in reality, an old-fashioned beat-down, and a brutally savage one at that. Since then, a lot of the senior teams and newer students had been afraid of approaching him. Zed usually never showed this side of himself; he had grown used to hiding it, and he usually hid it very well. What had happened had come as a shock to everyone, especially to those who knew him. As usual, Yatsuhashi would not add to the conversation and would just occasionally look up when a point was made; he turned his head and looked at Haiiden as he awaited an answer, as did Fox. Yatsuhashi never directly got involved unless he was brought into a discussion, and when he was directly addressed, he would only respond with grunts, some hand gestures, and the occasion one-word answer.

"Nothing happened. He was just upset, and he doesn't like thugs or bullies," Haiiden responded and shrugged it away as he tried to play it off as if it was nothing, but the nagging feeling inside him had reminded him that he knew that it wasn't. Far from it.

"So the fire-orange eyes and flaming fists were nothing then?" Fox asked again as he persisted in trying to get the truth. Haiiden swallowed nervously and breathed in deeply; he had hoped that his first answer would have been enough to get Fox to drop the subject. Instead, it had only made Fox and Yatsuhashi more curious, as they leaned into Haiiden in the hopes that he would reveal more to them.

"You didn't hear it from me, but what you saw was his Semblance," he answered in a hushed voice, at first the two didn't know how to respond and just looked back at each other.

"While it makes him strong... he loses himself," Haiiden added, rubbing his thumb on his nose out of nervousness as he remembered the dark and cold feeling he had felt from Zed.

"What, you mean like he goes crazy?" Fox joked with a raised eyebrow, shaking his head at the thought and turned back to Yatsuhashi, who only responded with a shrug. Haiiden scoffed and laughed ironically at Fox's attempt at humor, as he didn't find the joke to really be funny in the slightest.

"Yeah, 'crazy,'" Haiiden replied coldly.

"No offense," Fox added and his expression changed to express concern as he wondered if he had offended Haiiden. "Just thought it was cool."

Haiiden only looked at him with his jaw open, and was speechless; then he shook his head while he shifted in position. He paused for a moment as he tried to find the right words to say in reply, and finally turned back to Fox when he finished, then leaned forward.

"Fox, you know what my Semblance is," Haiiden said coldly as he flexed his right hand, and the leather on each finger of his glove rubbed against his palm. Fox swallowed and leaned away while keeping his eyes trained on Haiiden's right hand; his face not showing anger, but rather apprehension as he thought back to what he felt from Zed. Then Haiiden thought of a better way to convey his point to try and show them what he meant.

"It's not him when he's like that; what is the first thing you think about whenever you hear the name 'Zed?'" Yatsuhashi swallowed the last of his food and cleared his throat. Haiiden looked up at him from around Fox, who also turned to face him as he set down his plate at his feet and traced his fingers along his cheeks, imitating a smile.

"Exactly, Yatsu. Thank you." Haiiden let out a sigh of exasperation and he leaned back towards the fountain, wishing to feel the mist again, but the gentle breeze was gone. He tried to calm himself as he knew he shouldn't be upset with Fox. It wasn't his fault that he was curious, and Zed always hid a lot behind that cheesy, stupid grin.

"He hates his Semblance, as he knows that it isn't really him when he uses it, and after seeing it, I'm sure you agree," Haiiden pointed out and with the help of Yatsuhashi, he felt he had managed to show the contrast between the normal Zed that they knew, and the one that they had seen in the sparring arena.

"However, he uses that feeling to push himself, as he wants to be a better fighter so that he wouldn't have to rely on it." Haiiden sighed, but then jumped in his seat upon noticing Zed in the distance and turned to Fox and Yatsuhashi, putting a finger to his lips to signal to them to keep quiet. They both replied with a nod and stood up together and walked forward to meet with Zed, who was accompanied by four other students who they believed to be Team CNBR.

CNBR, whose leader was Celise, was a rather outgoing person, who usually gets close to people when she speaks to them, and always in a flirtatious manner. Next to her was the Faunus that fought against Cardin, named Byeli, who had a skip in her step as she followed next to her leader. On the other side of Zed, was the more reclusive member of CNBR, Nadira, and next to her was the rather lazy, Raine.

"You guys were just sitting here the entire time?" Coco asked with a smirk as she appeared out of nowhere, and came up from behind Haiiden, Fox, and Yatsuhashi. With her was Velvet, the both of them weighed down by multiple shopping bags. Upon closer inspection it seemed Coco's trademark handbag was missing from the pile and Velvet was wearing a newly acquired gold and scarlet purse. The trio just shrugged in response as they were trying to not make it a big deal; besides, they agreed to try and have fun while they were here but they all knew it was mostly for Coco and Velvet to go shopping together. Everyone else just tagged along to spend time with one another without being bored over at Beacon by themselves.

Coco then responded with a shake of her head before turning to Velvet. "Thanks again for the help, can't believe I forgot my bag at the dorm." Velvet just tilted her head and smiled at her as she set her bags down on the ground, only for them to be picked up by Yatsuhashi. Coco then noticed and handed her bags over to him as well. He took them with the same hand that he used for Velvet's things, and bowed.

"So, you didn't take the time to look for something better for yourself, Haiiden?" Coco asked, and the question made Haiiden quirk a brow. He then spread his arms wide to look at himself: He wore all white, with pants that went down to his knees and were tucked into his metal greaves, as well as a coat that extended past the knees but was tied around his waist. The sleeve on his left arm was tucked underneath his gauntlet and he wore a leather glove on his right hand. Topping it off was a white shawl around his neck, which he never left his dorm without.

"What's wrong with this look?" Haiiden asked with a chuckle as he tried to dismiss it as a playful joke.

"Yeah!" Zed jumped in as his group finally met up with everyone else with his hands in his pockets, and skipped in between Coco and Haiiden. Standing to Haiiden's left then putting a finger and thumb to his chin to mimic someone in thought.

"I kind of like the 'mysterious warrior' look. It makes you wonder: 'Who is Haiiden'?"

Velvet giggled at the remark, while Coco just rolled her eyes. "It's clichéd, Zed." Zed seemed to be better than he was a few weeks ago, his grin had returned as well as his playful and joking nature. He just waved off Coco dismissively and turned to CNBR to introduce them. At that moment, the bells from a nearby clock tower began to ring, the signal that it was late and the group groaned with disappointment as they knew that it was time to return to Beacon for the night.

"We just got here! Come on!" Zed said with a sigh of frustration as he had spent most of the morning trying to convince Cecilia and Vaughn to join them for the outing. She had been reluctant, however, and in the end, she refused to go; Vaughn had stayed behind with his sister.

"Awww. It seems as though the big baby doesn't want to go to bed," Celise said while showing off a grin similar to Zed's and patted him on the cheek.

"I'm serious, I brought you guys here so we could have fun and get to know each other," Zed then swatted away Cerise's hand and looked back with his own grin, but it wavered a little.

"We can do that while we head back," Velvet said as she waved at Haiiden and Zed as CFVY and CNBR begin to walk away, side by side.

"Nah it's alright. We will see you tomorrow," Haiiden said as he waved back to the group as they disappeared into the night.

"You still got that fake ID, Zed?" he smiled back to Haiiden as he put an arm around his shoulder as they walked towards one of the nearby bars.

"I do," said Zed. "And great minds think alike. Let's get completely bladdered."

They had stopped by an outdoor bar as they sat together and ordered a couple of drinks. Glynda would kill them if she ever found out, so at least Haiiden had Zed with him to help make up an alibi. Zed droned on, bragging about the ladies that he had met, and his attempts to hook up with them. With every story, Haiiden just quietly listened to his friend and smiled as he knew how the stories would end, always with failure, but he was glad that his friend had returned to what he considered normal. A few hours went by, and the night had begun to roll in, which in turn darkened the streets until they were illuminated by the streetlights. Haiiden and Zed both went quiet after a while as the alcohol finally set in, with Zed keeping his elbow on the table and his head resting on his palm.

"Haiiden, have I ever told you that I think of you as a better person than I am?" Zed asked him out of the blue, then took a deep breath before leaning back in his seat. Haiiden sighed as he had been asked that question before, on multiple occasions, and he knew that it was merely the drinks talking. In his mind, he felt that even though his friend looked like he was back to normal, he still felt guilty about his actions. Haiiden looked down and swirled his drink slowly as he tried to remember the last time Zed had asked him that question.

"Once or twice, I usually don't pay attention to it, nor do I think about it," He replied while looking back at Zed.

"You should." Zed patted him on the back and leaned in closer to his friend.

"I have always been angry at everything. I hate everything and you of all people should know that." Haiiden continued to sit and stare, looking down at his drink as he swirled it in his hand with a sigh. Zed shook his head and sat back in his seat.

"I'm sorry for what happened, I know you can feel these things, and I didn't want you to see that side of me again," Zed continued as he slammed a hand on to Haiiden's shoulder and he could feel Zed trying to keep himself from falling over.

"It's just that, I often wonder as to why we fight, and if it's worth it. If it's not the Grimm that is killing us, then it's us killing each other, and so I look at you and wonder. From what you have told me and shown me of your Semblance, I often wonder how you can continue on, knowing that things aren't so bright right now. From what I have noticed, you take what you see and feel and that makes you compassionate to those around you. You use it push yourself forward, despite all that has happened to you," Zed was panting as he tried to finish it all in one breath, and was rocking back in forth in his seat as his lack of breath, coupled with the alcohol, made him feel dizzy. Haiiden looked over at his friend and shrugged at him, then he put his hand on Zed's shoulder.

"I envy you. I wish I had what you had," Zed said in almost a whisper. Upon hearing that, Haiiden shook his head and moved his gauntlet up to his face to hide.

"Trust me. You shouldn't envy me," Haiiden stopped himself and shook his head after he realized what he had just said. However, when he shook his head it caused him to lose balance and fall over. Zed tried his best to catch himself, but failed and fell on to his bottom.

"That is enough for the night. Maybe coming here wasn't such a good idea." He stood up while pulling his friend up as well and put an arm around him before helping him back to the dorm.

0-RWBY-0

The next day, Haiiden and Jaune had another sparing match in Glynda's class. Haiiden decided to take it slow and to go easy on him, keeping his strikes wide and slow to give Jaune an opportunity to learn when to counter, but every time Jaune failed to take the opportunity and went down anyway.

"Come on Jaune, I can count at least ten times off the top of my head where you could have won." He reached down to take Jaune by the hand and pulled him up, patting him on the back and sliding his hand to Jaune's shoulder as they both walked off the stage.

"No. You stay here, Haiiden," Glynda almost whispered to him and Haiiden looked back at her with a confused expression. He let Jaune go on alone and as he left the stage he noticed someone else walking up the steps and onto the stage with her claymore in hand and her eyes glowing blue like ice.