Chapter 3 - The Gears Begin to Turn

"Wh-what if s-something goes wr-wrong?" She asked quietly, absolutely terrified as she absently played with her hair. Perl was nervous, it was an important moment for her, after all.

The day had finally come. It was now or never. This would likely be one of the most difficult days of her life. She might not make it out alive, but she would try her best… maybe. It was her first day at Beacon Academy. Well not her first day… but her first day as a student. She felt sick just thinking about it.

"C'mon kid, you'll be fine. You're cool, I'm sure you'll make plenty of friends." Coco reassured her, smiling as she sat down on the bench next to her.

Perl sighed softly, curling up as she asked, "B-but what if I m-mess up?" Seriously! There were ten billion possible ways it could go wrong and she was obsessing over every single one of them!

Coco sighed, shaking her head in mild frustration. "Seriously, Perl, you'll do fine. You're an amazing kid, and everyone is gonna like ya."

"But—"No buts!" Coco interrupted her attempt to get out of her situation. "You got a lovely new outfit, you're awesome, you're… not a bad fighter, and you're a good kid. So trust me when I say that you'll be fine."

Perl nodded softly, she had a point… her new outfit was nice. It was a little bit different from her normal outfits, having a dark blue jacket with pearl colored accents instead of her normal hoodie, it even had her emblem on it! Other than that? Just a pair of black pants with some light blue accents.

Her top was also nice, a pale short sleeved shirt with both gold and black accents. Not to mention the weird circuit like design it had on the back of it. She thought she looked cool… ish. But what if other people didn't like it? What if they thought it was weird or ugly!?

Wait, Coco picked it out. She could trust Coco, right?

The fashionista was very adamant on fixing her clothes, so over the break she took her down to Beacon to go clothes shopping… it was… awful. It made her feel weird and gross in some way if that made sense. It also baffled her how she could get covered in Grimm guts and be fine but as soon as she's in a shopping mall everything feels unsanitary.

It made absolutely no sense, none whatsoever. Still, the trip was horrifying.

Perl shuddered as she remembered the shopping trip in which she gained this particular outfit. Running around through the crowded stores, trying on everything Coco thought would look good on her. It was a horrifying experience, but if she could get through that then surely she could get through this, right?

Yeah, she could get through a single day at least… Maybe. Hopefully.

"O-Okay Coco, y-you're r-right. I can do th-this." Perl smiled with weak determination as she turned to face her friend, only… to discover she had already left.

"Oh come on!"


Well if she didn't want to interact with anyone, maybe she could research them to see if they would make good friends? Doing background checks on random strangers wasn't weird at all, right? Yeah… she was just being… thorough. The repetitive tapping of her foot said otherwise.

She knew it was weird. Well, she thought it was strange at least.

Perl nodded to herself sharply, trembling with her small spark of determination. Reluctantly, she tapped the sides of her glasses, activating the screens.

"Yes, Perl?" Eve asked, ready to follow any given command.

"C-Can y-you pu-u-ll up all b-backgr-r-ound in-inform-m-mation on some p-people for me?" She whispered under her breath, trying not to look crazy because she was talking to herself. Well she was talking to Eve but it looked like she was talking to herself.

"Of course, no one can hide from me, after all." Eve replied, information flooding the lenses as the people passing by were scanned. "All the details will be stored on Apocrypha, but I will give you the basics."

"Blake Belladonna, while she doesn't have an official criminal record, she definitely has committed crimes before due to her White Fang affiliations. She is the daughter of Ghira, the chief of Menagerie, and Kali Belladonna, his wife."

Perl raised an eyebrow at the girl sitting on the bench just across from her. While her bow was an… okay disguise, matching with her black hair and, what was presumably a set of ears, anyone could find out who she was by searching her name on the RemNet. She could've at least used a fake name!

"Cardin Winchestor, a student hailing from Pharos Academy in Vale. While he has no direct criminal record, he has a history of Violence and Aggression. It would seem the only reason he has not been arrested was because of his father's influence, I recommend avoiding this one."

"Y-Yeah… I think I'll k-keep that in m-mind…" Perl whispered, eager to avoid the orange-brown haired student. She wasn't fond of bullies, she didn't think anyone was.

"Ruby Rose, a grade-skipper arriving from Signal, a school on the island of patch. While not the best students, she has shown extreme talent in combat and forging. She was allowed into Beacon early when she foiled one Roman Torchwick's attempt at robbing a Dust shop downtown."

A grade skipper!? What was Ozpin thinking!? Then again she was here as well… so she couldn't talk. Though the Rose girl did seem interesting. "A weapons prodigy, huh. Maybe we could get along?"

Perl sighed, shaking her head as she stole one last cursory glance at the silver eyed girl. Yeah, she was way too bad at making friends for that to ever happen. She bit her lip softly, frowning as she moved on to the familiar girl in white and blue next to her.

"Weiss Schnee—-"

Perl stopped listening right then and there. She knew that name. And not in the 'Oh I've heard of her' way, she knew Weiss Schnee.

Of course, she had never met the girl personally… but remember when she said she had pen pals? Yeah, Weiss was one of them. They had known each other for a while.

"Oh what do I do? Do I introduce myself? Do I tell her my secret identity? Or do I lie and just use my name?! But what if she doesn't care then!?" Perl began to breathe in and out heavily, she knew that Weiss was coming to Beacon. She just… actually that was it. She knew Weiss was coming, she was just over reacting.

Perl shook herself out of her stupor and sat up, slightly nervous. She could do this, like Coco said. She was awesome. She could do this. Probably.

Smiling weakly, Perl stepped towards her "friend" and… almost immediately tripped as a girl in a red cloak fell in front of her.

""Oof!"" Both Perl and the girl landed on the ground in a cloud of dust, sprawled over a pile of luggage. "Oh no…"

Perl had landed on top of the girl, Ruby, she thought it was. Her red streaked, ebony hair was a complete mess and her red and black dress was just as dirty. She had just ruined a poor girl's outfit and fallen on top of her, which probably hurt!

She was fairing slightly better, while her outfit was a mess her hair was left relatively untouched. She was lucky for that, her hair took a long time to maintain. It was annoying at times, but she thought it was worth it.

Perl wasn't upset that she had fallen onto someone, well she was, but she was mainly freaking out because she had just fallen into Weiss' luggage. It also didn't help that there was that weird unsanitary feeling again. She just felt gross.

However that fear briefly disappeared as she stared up at the icy blue eyed figure standing above her. It wasn't that she was relieved to see her, if anything that made her nervous, but the blue scarf she was wearing around her neck was another story.

It was a deep dark blue, with a white snowy wind like design embroidered onto it. The flecks on it made it obvious that Dust was embedded into it.

She made that scarf, it was a gift for Weiss' birthday. She made that, and she was glad to see Weiss wearing it. Now the question was… Her gaze turned to the long black elbow-length glove on Weiss's left hand. Actually she wasn't sure why she even checked, of course she would be wearing Glatteis. It was practically a part of her weapon.

"Are you two even listening?" Weiss asked, sounding only slightly frustrated. Her cold glare accentuating the scar going down her pale face, cutting across her eye.

Perl shot up, Ruby doing the same. She looked around nervously, trying to find an out. She then sighed and slumped her shoulders slightly. "Y-Yeah…" She whispered meekly, glancing at her neighbor. Why did talking feel so terrifying?

Ruby was in a similar state, confused and nervous. She quickly dusted off her red and black dress, fixing the clasps of her blood red cloak. "Oh my gosh, I am so sorry. I really didn't mean to cause an accident." She said quickly.

"Well of course you didn't mean to cause an accident, that's what makes them an accident." Weiss pointed out sternly, tapping her foot impatiently as she flicked her white off-center ponytail back.

"I-I a-also a-ap-apologize." Perl stuttered, still meek and quiet as she picked up Weiss' luggage. She was especially careful with the vials of dust, particularly the dark red ones, as Combustion Dust was… well, combustible.

"Well that's not enough, you two were foolish and would have hurt someone. Dust is highly volatile, you know?" Weiss practically snatched the vile of Combustion Dust from Perl's hand, causing her to yelp.

"O-Of c-course!" She replied shyly, practically squeaking her words out in a hushed tone. Perl began to toy with her golden hair, getting anxious as her heart rate quickened. She was doing so well, why now? Or was she actually doing super poorly and embarrassing herself earlier like a failure?

"Hey, stop it!" Ruby seemed annoyed, frustrated even. She stamped a black and red boot down as she pressed forward. "We both apologized so would you calm down?"

Perl began to take deep breaths, trying not to make a scene. "Of course I'm upset! This is highly dangerous Dust, if something went wrong we could've exploded!" Weiss argued, starting to get ticked off.

Perl bit her lip softly, trying to distract herself from the attention they were grabbing. "H-Hey… Quiet d-down…" She whispered weakly, too quietly for either of them to hear.

"And aren't you a little too young for Beacon? This is no place for a child!" Weiss added onto her assault, clearly upsetting Ruby, and confusing Perl.

This was nothing like the Weiss she knew, or at least, the Weiss she thought she knew. The heiress seemed so polite and kind in the messages they exchanged, she was so open too. Did something happen?

"I'm not…" Ruby seemed to mutter something, her fists turning white as she clutched the ends of her crimson cloak.

"What was that? I couldn't hear you? Try annunciating this time." Weiss said rudely, beginning to raise her voice.

"I already apologized!" Ruby yelled, clearly done with Weiss.

Perl leapt back a little, breathing heavily as she struggled to calm herself. She wasn't sure she could take much more of this. It was kinda stressful. Maybe Coco was wrong… this was clearly a bad idea. She was going to have a heart attack if this kept up. She just couldn't take it! Every footstep, every voice in the crowd, Weiss' yelling, even the light from the sun... it was all just so much!

She just couldn't take it! But… she couldn't do anything about it either… she was weak...

"Well, as I said, Apologies aren't enough! You need to go back to a training school like the child you are!" Weiss was absolutely fuming at the younger girl. Her eyes were hot with anger. She was really ticked off.

Perl began mumbling under her breath, she probably looked like some sort of psycho right now but she needed to calm down. All the eyes staring at her made her feel small and gross. It was a horrid sensation that drowned her, dragging her into the depths of fear.

"'Child? You're the child, you stuck up princess!" Ruby stomped forward, absolutely furious with the heiress. She nearly reached for something behind her cloak but stopped herself before she did something rash. "A prissy jerk like you could never cut it as a huntress!"

The odd eyed girl simply watched in concern and worry as she took in the scene. She was paralyzed in fear, besides her constant hyperventilating. Her head throbbed in pain, she wanted to look away but she couldn't. She wasn't even sure what was going on at this point.

"Say that again…" Weiss seemed different from before, rather than red hot with anger, she was ice cold. It was dark and menacing. Ruby had clearly struck a nerve. It frightened Perl.

It was not unlike a blizzard. Her wrath was sharp and cold, a frozen knife. Weiss Schnee was absolutely furious. She didn't know Ruby very… actually she didn't know her at all, but she was sure that Ruby was in trouble. Perl had wandered into a fight she wasn't sure she wanted any part of. Scratch that, she was sure she didn't want to be involved. She definitely would've ran away if her body didn't feel like jelly.

Ruby was about to retaliate, but was stopped as a much smoother voice spoke out, one with plenty of wisdom. "Stop it, both of you. It's unbecoming, and besides, you're clearly bothering your friend."

The new speaker stepped in, clearly disappointed. Her dark amber eyes showed a cut of knowledge. With wavy black hair and a bow that matched her white and black outfit, it was a mysterious look. One that Perl recognized from earlier.

"Blake Belladonna…" Perl took a deep breath and straightened herself out, fixing her large braid and her outfit. "I-I'm f-fi-i-ne. D-Do-on-n't w-worry abo-out m-me." This was clearly a lie as she was practically shaking.

Slowly, Perl began taking deep breaths in, holding them, before releasing them. It helped calm her somewhat.

Blake ignored her, glaring at Weiss with a sharp gaze. If looks could kill… "Weiss Schnee, Heiress to the mighty Schnee Dust Company. You're as bad as the rumors say."

Weiss stepped back, her eye twitching with unbridled rage. It felt as if the entire courtyard was frozen. Another nerve had been struck. It was like a pressure of over several thousand metric tons had been dropped on top of them. Or maybe Perl was the only one who felt that way. That was also a possibility.

"You're rude, full of prejudice, and your ego is far too large for a place like this." Blake said, almost lecturing her. This argument was personal for her, that much was obvious. Why? That was something only Perl and Blake knew. Well… she didn't know… but with what she knew she could take a pretty good guess.

"H-How dare you!?" Weiss seemed utterly shocked, taken aback by the girl's attitude. The pressure multiplied.

Perl hadn't heard any rumors about Weiss herself, then again, the Weiss she had met was nothing like the one before her. They were like two separate people. One was gentle like snow, the other was frigid like ice. What happened to the Weiss from their letters and emails?

"You want to act all prideful? Then maybe you should take a better look at yourself first." Blake walked away without another word. Leaving Weiss stammering to herself in a daze.

"I-I won't forget this!" Weiss yelled, storming off with her white and black coat trailing behind her.

She was nothing like the Weiss she thought she knew…

Perl let out a sigh, releasing the breath she hadn't even realized she was holding. She really needed to figure out what was going on. She knew that Weiss' father was being tough on her for wanting to go to Beacon but… was he really that bad?

I mean it couldn't be that big of a change could it? And if Weiss was like that then what was—"Hello! Anyone home!?"

Ruby waved her hand back and forth in front of Perl's contemplating gaze, trying to grab her attention. "Are you alright? You seem kinda pale…"

"Oh-h y-yeah… I uh— I'm f-fine… j-just… a little nervous… and sh-shy?" Perl replied weakly, whispering softly. Lovely. Now she looked like an incompetent fool.

Ruby giggled slightly, nodding in understanding. She rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly, smiling wryly. "Yeah… I can be kinda shy at times too."

Perl doubted that, Ruby seemed open and friendly. Socially inept? Awkward? Maybe, but shy? Maybe not… Then again, maybe she was wrong. It wasn't hard to tell that she was bad with people… so it is totally possible she was shy.

"S-so… I-I'm uh— I'm P-Perl, and y-you a-are?" Perl asked nervously, still refusing to meet the girls eyes. She already knew the answer, but Ruby hadn't introduced herself and it would be weird if she already knew that. And to avoid her anxiety, she was distracting herself by taking in Ruby's appearance.

Originally she didn't care about looks but Coco engrained the idea that fashion mattered into her mind. Though that doesn't mean she was obsessed with it, she just made sure her outfits weren't entirely hideous.

Ruby… made a poor choice in clothing, at least in her opinion. Perl would never be caught wearing a skirt. What if someone saw under it while they were fighting!? Skirts were bad. Not to mention she only wore black and red, she needed some flair… She was getting side tracked, she did that a lot. Okay maybe Coco was rubbing off on her more than just a little bit.

"Oh, I'm Ruby! And today… has not been a good day." Ruby proclaimed, smiling brightly. Sitting down on the nearby bench, she sighed softly. She seemed happy and sad at the same time, it was a little weird. Emotions made no sense, sometimes they just made her feel icky and gross.

"Y-Yeah… my b-best f-friend kinda d-ditched me and t-told me to m-make some n-new f-friends…" Perl slumped down on the bench next to Ruby with a very similar sigh.

Ruby giggled, laughing at their odd situation. "No way! My Sis did the same thing!"

Perl practically snorted, giggling silently at the coincidence. "W-Wow… neat, huh." She whispered in mild amusement.

It was a coincidence, a really interesting one. Ruby was actually kinda similar to her, in some small ways. Mainly that her sister, and her own sister figure, were kinda rude…

Well maybe she was overreacting, but she was still kinda annoyed at Coco for ditching her.

A new voice interrupted her, grabbing both of their attentions, "H-Hey ladies, how are you gals?"


Jaune Arc was, in a word, weird. He opened up with flirting, which did not go well for her. Well technically he wasn't flirting. To flirt means to entertain an idea or a person with non-serious intentions. Since Jaune intended to… court… Ruby or herself, he wasn't flirting.

Still, she totally didn't silently flip out and hyperventilate for one minute and thirty-two seconds before calming down. Completely baseless accusations.

Now, back to Jaune.

He was also taller than both of them, he was… tall, blonde, and scraggly. He was like a very lean beanpole, he had practically no muscle on him, but he wasn't quite skinny, if that made sense. She was talking gibberish again, wasn't she?

Anyways, moving on!

Despite his appearance, he was still rather frightening for… someone like her. Yeah… Coco had a point, she really needed some self confidence.

Perl sighed, walking slightly slower than her new acquaintances. She was slightly intimidated, having to hang out with two strangers.

"Calm down Perl, both of them seem nice and I'm sure you'll be fine. Nothing bad will happen, I'm sure of it." Eve's reassuring words barely helped at all, as they were literally coming from a computer.

Jaune once again pulled her from a daze, his words catching her attention. "All I'm saying is that motion sickness is a surprisingly common problem."

"Look, I'm sorry but you still puked on my Sister." Ruby teased, smiling while occasionally glancing back at Perl.

"A-Actually… motion sickness, while c-common, still only affects the m-minority, roughly thirty percent. Take our age g-group and Aura into account, motion s-sickness would actually be k-kinda rare." Perl explained quickly, surprisingly confident despite her situation.

Both Ruby and Jaune stared at her like she was an alien or a robot of some sort.

"O-Oh… I j-just— uh, I just l-like fu-f-fun facts…" Perl said quickly, eager to explain away what had just happened.

Both Ruby and Jaune looked to each other with doubt, both raising an eyebrow. They then turned back to Perl and simply shrugged in unison. They didn't believe her lie for a second did they?

There was a thick layer of tension, an awkward silence that hung around them. They all glanced around, unsure of what to do, but Perl was freaking out slightly. Although that was kinda obvious due to sweaty palms and shaking hands.

"This is getting really weird." Per tapped her foot absently, her heartbeat thumping loudly. "Great, Heart palpitations…"

Ruby, however, decided to alleviate the silence. "So… I have this thing." She whipped out a massive scythe, slamming it into the ground in demonstration.

"That looks like, maybe fifty, or even fifty five caliber. Possibly sixty but I doubt it, the recoil would be too difficult for her to handle. I might be over estimating, she could be using something similar to the .416 Barret, or my first guess; the .50 BMG. It could also be custom designed, not using any specific gun blueprint. The craftsmanship is really good, she poured her heart and soul into it, literally. It looks like the alloy had aura imbued into it during the forging process…" Perl examined the crimson scythe carefully, she was a little impressed. The girl really was a prodigy, huh.

"W-Woah… What is that!?" Jaune exclaimed, his sapphire eyes widening in surprise. He stepped back slightly, seemingly fearful of the large blade.

"It's a customizable high-impact sniper-scythe!" Ruby quickly transformed it into its rifle form, pleased with her weapon.

"Wh-wha?" Jaune seemed absolutely clueless, much to her amusement.

"I-It's a-also a g-gun?" Perl added softly, almost asking herself the question. If that didn't demonstrate her low self-confidence she didn't know what did. Unfortunately she did have to stop herself from berating Ruby with questions.

"Exactly!" Ruby cheered, surprisingly chipper as she folded her scythe away.

"Oh… well I got this thing?" He said, raising a long sword in what appeared to be a compressed scabbard, implying that it transformed somehow.

Perl could appreciate the simple weapons, she had designed some simple ones before, but the way he handled it… it was unnatural. Maybe he switched weapons? It was possible… but unlikely, he would have to be stupid to change weapons just before Beacon started.

She supposed there could be some sentimental reason, that was possible. She would have to do some digging later. Okay that was a lie she would have Eve do the digging while she worked on research or something like that.

"It's also a shield!" He demonstrated by expanding his scabbard, proving Perl's theory. It was an ornate shield, white with gold linings, which matched his armor.

"Woah… gotta love the classics, eh?" Ruby said with admiration, leaning up close to examine the weapon. She smiled, turning to Perl with curious silver eyes. "So, Perl, What are your weapons?"

Perl's odd eyes brightened, her nervousness nearly fading. Nearly. She smiled and held out her hands, showing off the black gloves. They were simple gloves with silver tips, gold accents, and digital screens on her arms. They seemed to be high tech devices of some sort, but they weren't actually that advanced.

Sure they could connect to most systems but that wasn't even their primary use. They were also Foci for her Dust Casting. The Aurum piping helped a lot by making it responsive to her own aura.

"These are for Dust C-Casting, I call them Origin." Ruby looked on with awe, curiously gazing over them. She was about to tap at the screens but Perl pulled them back. She was surprisingly quick about it too, she barely gave Ruby a chance to examine them.

She didn't want Ruby to accidentally activate them. While that could do many things, there was the risk that she would accidentally cause Dust to flow.

She then immediately whipped out a pair of pistols, with what appeared to be a clockwork theme. One had a zero on it with a black and gold theme, while the other had a one with a dark blue and pearl theme. And despite their steampunk appearance, they were actually advanced dust pistols, though they were practically hand cannons with the amount of force they held. Seriously, they packed a mean punch. They used custom rounds that were utterly massive for your standard handgun.

"Ooh, What are these?" Ruby asked, looking over them with extreme intrigue. The cloaked girl was practically drooling over the guns, but Perl made sure to hide a certain symbol from her.

Perl smiled, "These are my guns, Tick and Tock. They use D-Dust rounds and the bullets are enhanced with Gravity Dust, well there's more to it than that, but I c-could go on for ages." Perl holstered her guns and pulled out her final weapon.

She wasn't lying either. She really could go on. She used Gravity Dust, Force Dust, and Inert Dust to make a barrel that would drastically increase the force, while reducing recoil, depending on the charge given. It was like holding a rail gun in her arms. That may or may not have been a large exaggeration.

"Last but not least, G-Genesis, It's a simple hard light projecting staff. It uses segsegmented projectors in a tw-twisted copy c-circuit." Perl gave a small demonstration, forming a hammer before deactivating it and putting it away. "And uh— That's r-really it."

She definitely didn't stop herself before she went on a massive rant about the intricacies of her weapons. Entirely baseless accusations.

"Wha? I have zero clue about what you two just said." Jaune, who had been watching in confusion the entire time, muttered.

"O-Oh… I'm s-sorry, I didn't m-mean to g-go on a r-rant." Perl apologized, losing all of her previous confidence. She subtly tapped her glasses, wincing when she saw the time. "Shoot! We're g-gonna be l-late!"

"We are!?" Jaune seemed worried, confused even. "Is there some map, something like that?"

Perl snorted, shaking her head slightly. "J-Just f-follow me…"


"Ruby! Over here, I saved you a spot!" A voice called out over the murmurs of the crowd, quickly drawing the girl's attention.

Ruby peeled up brightly, turning to Perl and Jaune with an apologetic smile. "Sorry guys, that's my sister, I have to go."

"I-It's Fine…" Perl nodded in understanding, smiling softly as she gave a soft wave. She tried to ignore the hundreds of students around her. It wasn't working…

She was constantly eyeing her surroundings, as if there was something out to get her hidden in the crowd. Or rather, it was as if she was afraid the crowd itself was out to get her.

"See you later?" Jaune waved as well, though he seemed to question his own response. But it was too late, Ruby was already gone, too far away to hear their goodbyes.

Perfect! Now it was just Jaune and herself in a very crowded auditorium!

Oh gosh she already felt sick, there were so many people! It was suffocating, she felt like she was sinking somehow! It didn't even make sense but it hurt! A lot! Every sound stabbed into her head like needles, it was awful…

She needed to go somewhere safer, and not alone either. She couldn't be alone, not with so many people around. No she couldn't handle that.

"Perl, calm down. You are safe, you are sound. Simply count by the powers of two and remain calm and relaxed. You are okay, you will be fine. Nothing is wrong."

She ignored Eve's words of reassurance and pulled Jaune, literally, where she sat down in the corner trying not to freak out. She was trembling in fear, there was no way to describe the panic she felt.

Hiding in the corner helped but not a lot, she was still taking deep breaths while counting the powers of two. What? Everyone has their own ways to calm down, her's was just a little nerdy.

"2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512…"

"Woah, what?" Jaune exclaimed, confused at first before his look turned to concern. He must've noticed something off about her. Yeah she must've done something stupid… "Are… Are you alright?" He asked, confusing her.

"See, everything will be alright. Just as Adel said, you already have a friend who's concerned for you." Eve once again attempted to reassure her, doing her best to assist her charge while doing the countless other tasks she was given. She was awesome like that. "Now, remember, deep breaths in for approximately four seconds, hold the breath for seven seconds, then breathe out over the span of eight seconds."

It was a neat trick that was especially effective for calming people down, and always seemed to help Perl. It tricked the body from leaving a sympathetic response, fight or flight mode, into a parasympathetic response. After repeating the process several times she looked up at her taller friend. Her mismatched eyes were tearing up slightly and she was still trembling.

Immediately Jaune's gaze widened, with what seemed to be recognition or familiarity. That only seemed to confuse Perl even more. "Hey, you alright?" He asked tentatively, hesitant to do anything but eager to help.

She simply frowned, looking away from his gaze. "...N-no-ot re-re-ally…" She mumbled softly, feeling ashamed and embarrassed.

"Hey, it's about the people, right? You remind me a lot of one of my sisters in that aspect, just… a little more extreme. Just take some more deep breaths and count to ten or something like that." He said softly, trying to calm her down. Which she definitely appreciated, Jaune was nice. If she had a team she would want him on it.

Still, she took his advice.. Deep breaths… Perl clenched her fists and went back to counting, just not to ten. "131,072, 262,144, 524,288, 1,048,576…"

Why did life have to be such a pain… why was everything so terrifying? Why was she so weak and pathetic… she couldn't even stand strong in a crowd full of people…

She really wanted to be normal, to just go about life not having to deal with being a kidnapping victim. To just have friends and nerd out at times. Normal. To be able enter a crowded room without starting to cry.

Yet that was who she was, she was a scared little girl who freaked out at loud noises and lots of people.

After a moment that felt like ages to Perl, she looked up at Jaune once again. "...Th-tha-anks…" She whispered meekly. Though it was barely audible, Jaune seemed to understand her.

"Now, I want you to keep taking deep breaths and just… stay calm." Now, that was easier said than done but Perl complied, shutting her eyes tightly and taking more deep breaths. She could really use a distraction right about now.


As if answering her prayers, Professor Ozpin walked onto the stage. He silenced the crowd with a snap of his fingers, literally, as he stepped up to the microphone

The silence helped Perl immensely, as the noises were driving her crazy. According to the research she did on the topic, it was some sort of sensory overload that came along with her anxiety. It made her head pound but thankfully it was slowly fading.

"First, I would like to Welcome you all to Beacon Academy. Tomorrow you will take your first step to being Hunters and Huntresses, it will be a new day for many of you." Ozpin bowed slightly, resting his cane as he began a strange speech. Or at least, Perl found it strange. At least it was a distraction from the fact that she was sinking into an endless abyss of people.

It wasn't a good distraction though…

Perl was still trembling in her seat, but she had actually started calming down which was a major improvement. She was fairly certain that without Jaune's help she would've ended up sobbing in the corner. Still… she calmed down unnaturally fast. She was still freaking out a little, but she was calming down quickly… was this a sign of progress? She certainly hoped so.

She would have to find a way to thank him later.

"Despite that, you all are not ready. You are simply absent energy awaiting purpose." Ozpin began pacing back and forth upon the stage, a wise yet intimidating look in his eyes. Or rather, Perl found it intimidating. "But why did you come here?"

She felt like he was staring into her soul.

The crowd began to whisper, confused, and even a little offended, by his words. Which was fair, he essentially called everyone useless. Still, the whispers made her head hurt. "Please tell me he's not going to give a unity speech…"

"Some of you are running from the past, others are running towards something. Maybe you're just here supporting your friends, avenging someone you've lost, or maybe you're the victim." Perl could've sworn that Ozpin looked right at her when he spoke that last line. That only served to worry her more.

She also noticed the worried or confused glances other students were giving her as she sniffled softly. They probably thought she was weak and pathetic…

"You better not be thinking poorly of yourself again." Eve said with a stern, almost motherly tone. Of course, Perl couldn't respond because she was stupid and didn't make herself a scroll to use as communication with Eve.

No! Bad thoughts! Just… focus on the speech…

"Whatever the reason may be, you are here to become Hunters, but you have a long way to go." Ozpin's grim stare changed to a solemn, yet slightly optimistic look. His dark brown eyes pierced everyone in the crowd, like blades of wisdom. "Here at Beacon, we will unify you all and take you there. We will take your energy and make you into the finest hunters you can be."

With that, Ozpin walked off the stage, a tall blonde woman replaced him. Glynda Goodwitch had walked onto the stage. "All first years will report to the ballroom tonight; your initiation begins tomorrow. You are dismissed."

Perl frowned, Ozpin's speech seemed off. It was personal. While he was talking to everyone, he was also talking to a few select people, including herself. Well, on the bright side, at least it was over! People were leaving!

"So, are you, uh, feeling any better?" Jaune asked softly, seemingly a little awkward. He probably didn't know how to deal with her.

"A l-little…" She whispered in return, refusing to meet his gaze. She still felt shy and awkward.

"Well that's good, I think. Hey, how about we meet up with Ruby?" He suggested, probably trying to find something to distract her. Fortunately it seemed to work somewhat

"S-Su-ure…" Perl nodded, slowly calming down as students left the room. Don't get her wrong, she was still having an internal panic, it was just less severe. Besides, Ruby would help take her mind off of her nervousness a little, hopefully. There were only fifty two students left in the Auditorium, so that was much better than before.

Perl was still a bit hesitant, especially when she saw Weiss hovering over Ruby. She seemed… disappointed if anything. "536,879,912, 1,073,741,823, 2,147,483,648…"

Stop judging her. She was panicking and it calmed her down.

"...Look, I apologize for being rude earlier, but if you think we're going to be besties and talk about cute boys like tall, blonde, and scraggly over there, then you're sorely mistaken." Weiss said sternly, frowning as she thumbed towards Jaune. "Now, if we're done, we're supposed to head to the Ballroom."

"Oh… okay then…" Ruby said sullenly, a taller blonde girl comforting her as Weiss walked away.

"It's okay Rubes, you don't need her. You're awesome by yourself!" The older girl told her, genuine warmth in her lavender eyes. She was loud and scary…

"H-Hi R-Ruby…" Perl greeted, waving softly as she approached. She was a little bit more nervous than usual, mainly because there was another new person.

The blonde girl stood up, looking towards them with curious eyes. She looked them up and down before turning to Ruby. "Are these the friends you were telling me about?" She asked.

Ruby looked up in surprise, "Perl! Jaune!" She seemed shocked that they were here, almost as if she expected them to leave without her. Still, the yelp caused Perl to flinch imperceptibly.

"Hey!" Jaune greeted simply, giving a small half wave.

"I'll take that as a yes… and hot damn, you weren't lying when you said she had long hair. Nice clothes though."

Yeah, Perl may or may not have run away immediately.


Perl frowned softly, tapping her foot nervously. She was anxious, extremely so. Not only did she feel guilty about running away, she had a decision to make. She was given two options, and she had to make a choice. It was a big decision, for her at least.

She could either sleep in her own room, or she could go with everyone else. The obvious choice was to hide in her room, avoiding everyone… but she could also hang out with her new friends. Mainly Jaune or Ruby, as they were the only people she actually knew about.

Perl took a deep breath, nodding softly, "Coco said I need some confidence, so let's do it."

She grabbed the school issued sleeping bag with a shaky smile. She could do this, she knew she could… she just wouldn't get a wink of sleep and would be counting the powers of two all night.

Perl entered the ball room with her head hung low, hidden under her large blue hoodie. She didn't exactly feel comfortable but there was no going back now, she just needed to find Ruby or Jaune. She tried to ignore the gross disgusting feeling that washed over her but she failed miserably. It probably had something to do with the unsanitary, crowded, and disorganized ballroom.

She just… didn't like it. It was scary, yet at the same time the fact that many people were asleep reassured her just a little. Still, even then she was surprisingly calm, at least, calmer than most would expect her to be.

"Why are there so many students!" Perl wondered, speed walking by them to avoid interaction. She rushed through the crowd, blushing furiously. She felt like everyone was staring at her, despite the fact that almost nobody was. Once again she was grateful that a fair portion of them were asleep.

Perl froze, letting out a sigh of relief as she heard a familiar voice call her name. "Perl?" Ruby asked curiously. Well, at first it was relief then it was just a different kind of fear.

"R-Ru-b-by!" She practically exclaimed it, albeit quietly, glad to have run into someone she knew. Even if Ruby was wearing… a strange outfit. Seriously she was wearing pajama pants with strawberries on them and a Grimm eye mask. It didn't exactly scream huntress material. "Uh- d-do y-you m-mi-ind if I r-rest he-r-re t-too?"

"Sure? I don't understand why you wouldn't be able to." Ruby frowned, seemingly confused and concerned. "But uh… why did you run back there?"

Perl let another sigh of relief as she rolled out the plain sleeping bag. She made sure it was all neat and tidy before laying down. She really needed to figure out this whole social thing. "I um… ju-ust g-got sca-ared…" She whispered.

"Oh…" It seemed like it finally hit Ruby just how much people scared her.

"So… Perl was it? I don't think I got to introduce myself." Another voice asked, it was familiar. She was pretty sure that it was Ruby's sister, despite the fact that they looked nothing alike. "I'm Yang, Ruby's older sister."

"N-Ni-ice to m-meet y-you, Y-Yang." Perl whispered nervously, avoiding her gaze. Yang was confident, similarly to Coco, and it was just a little intimidating.

"Wow, you really are shy." Yang raised an eyebrow, looking Perl up and down.

"I-I Kn-Know…" Perl admitted nervously, looking away in embarrassment. She really needed to get over her social anxiety. Then again, that was much easier said than done.

"That's Okay, I'm a little shy too!" Ruby added, writing something down on a sheet of paper. She seemed sentimental about it so she was probably writing a letter.

Perl wouldn't lie, Ruby's messy handwriting made her cringe a little. Which only made her feel guilty about cringing, which made her cringe at herself… it was a vicious cycle.

"Yeah, I know you are Rubes. Now, Perl, I have an extremely important question. It's a matter of life and death…" Yang said dramatically, causing Perl to shrink back slightly.

"Wh-what i-is i-it?" She asked anxiously, looking around in a panic. She wasn't sure if she could handle something so important, what if she messed it up? Then people could die! Wait, what was she even supposed to do?

"How do you take care of your hair?" Yang asked simply, causing Perl to deadpan. She was that serious about hair? That was utterly ridiculous! Yang leaned in forward, pressing towards Perl with urgency. "No, seriously, I have a hard time taking care of my hair and you have like twice as much hair as me, it looks amazing too. What's your secret?"

Perl looked to Ruby for help, but she simply shrugged. "Yang's not going to give up, Y'know that, right?"

Lovely, she had a very frightening girl interrogating her about her hair. Her stomach felt like it was tied in a very complex knot.

Perl sighed, she would ask Eve to give her a distraction to get away from the girl who was literally five centimeters away from her face, but she couldn't exactly contact her. Why? Because Yang was five centimeters away from her face.

"I'm not coming to your assistance unless directly ordered to, socializing is necessary." Eve's voice whispered into her ear, not even needing Perl to call her to know what was going on. Which was another reason she didn't contact Eve. Apparently social interactions are "good for her" and all that junk. Which was true, she just didn't like it.

"I-I U-Use n-nice pr-products and I uh… j-just take r-really g-good c-care of it?" Perl squeaked out, literally hiding under her hoodie. This girl was really intimidating.

"Really? That's it? Damn, you're gonna have to let me use whatever jazz you're using." Yang leaned back, getting out of Perl's face.

Perl, not wanting to upset the… rather aggressive blonde, quickly nodded. "Y-Yeah… sure." Or, rather, that's what she tried to say. Instead it was silence.

"Try not to scare her, Yang." Ruby looked up from whatever letter she was writing, frowning at how Perl was acting.

"Oops, Sorry blondie." Yang grinned sheepishly, looking guilty as she apologized. She glanced over at her sister as she stepped away from Perl, giving her some space. "Well then, whatcha got there Lil' Sis?"

"Just a letter to the gang back at Signal. Telling them how you ditched me and that I have no friends." Ruby said, clearly a little grumpy.

"Oh come on, don't be upset. Mother lions throw their kids off of cliffs. I was just helping out, and you gained three friends because of it!" Yang argued optimistically, trying to be positive. It was a mute point as optimism was often just that, optimism. Realism is where it's at, or at least, that's her opinion on the subject.

Ruby raised an eyebrow with doubt. "Well you dropped me off of a large cliff, cause I can hardly call them friends."

She then quickly glanced back to Perl and smiled, "No offense, by the way."

Perl gave her an understanding smile, "Y-Yeah, It's f-fine. We j-just m-met after a-all."

She meant it too, she would hardly call Ruby a friend. As she said, they just met. She barely knew the girl. Though that didn't mean she didn't hope they would become friends. Only if they wanted to be her friend of course!

And now she made herself feel sick again. Perfect.

Honestly she just wanted the whole nervousness thing to be over, but… as she said earlier. It was far easier said than done.

"Oh cheer up, maybe they'll become your best friends!" Yang continued to look on the bright side, trying to make things better. Perl thought that an outlook like that would eventually get you killed but… well, she wasn't just going to say that.

"I doubt that, the annoying girl who was being rude earlier? Yeah, apparently she's some kinda big shot heiress or something." Ruby rolled her eyes, collapsing back onto the ground.

"A-Actu-tually sh-she is. She's th-the h-heiress to th-the Sch-n-nee D-Dust Company…" Perl pointed out, nervously whispering as she glanced behind Ruby. "S-She's also r-right b-behind you."

Ruby froze, slowly turning around. She blanked when she saw Weiss standing there, her snow white hair let down and in a white gown.

"What are you doing here! Why did you bunk next to me!?" Ruby leapt back, practically hiding behind Yang. She seemed genuinely frightened by Weiss, which was a little amusing. It probably would've been funnier if she wasn't terrified as well.

"Well I was coming to apologize once again for being rude earlier, but if I'm so annoying I might as well leave." Weiss told her, glaring down with ice cold blue eyes.

"Ugh, would you two stop arguing. You're like cats and dogs." Another familiar voice interrupted, a book snapping shut. More people, just what she needed…

"Blake Belladonna…" Perl turned towards Blake with intrigue and fear, curious about her hostility to Weiss. While she knew Blake was a former White Fang member, Weiss wasn't her father. Someone who was fighting for equality should know that.

"Ugh, You again!? You know I should—"C-Could e-everyone please c-calm down?" Perl requested softly, she didn't like interrupting people but she wasn't sure she could handle the fighting.

Seriously, she had shortness of breath, heart palpitations, sweaty palms, the complete set. She was extremely nervous if the mild nausea didn't make that clear. It didn't help that every little noise felt like someone scratching a chalkboard up against her ears. The chaos was going to drive her mad.

"Perl's gotta point. Clearly Fate had brought us together, so why don't we all make up and get along?" Yang cheered loudly, ignoring the annoyed groans of the other tired students.

"I'm Yang, this is my sister Ruby!" Yang gestured to herself and the girl hidden behind her before pointing a thumb towards Perl. "And this here is Perl."

"H-hi th-er-ere," Perl greeted weakly, giving a small wave. Just waving and saying hello made her feel ill, it was just stressful… she was starting to feel better at least. Not that she knew why.

"You must be Weiss, right? Gosh, you're like a real life princess, it's adorbs." Yang then turned to Blake, who was nose deep in her book. "And you are…"

"Blake, Blake Belladonna." She said simply, sighing in annoyance. "If that's all then I would like to get back to my novel."

She liked her. Blake was antisocial and she seemed to be smart. Perhaps they could be close friends one day… wait that's not how that works. Introverts don't magically get along, do they?

Yang simply ignored her, smiling brightly. "Great! Now we're all friends!"

"I-I Don't th-think That's h-how it wo-orks…" Perl pointed out, not that anyone noticed. She was far too quiet and meek for anyone to pay attention to her. For some reason even that made her feel bad about herself…

"Your younger sister? That means… you're the grade skipper everyone's been talking about." Weiss sneered at Ruby, clearly bitter about the topic.

"What about it?" Ruby retorted, surprisingly confident despite still hiding behind Yang.

Again, it would be amusing if she didn't feel so terrified like she was being swallowed up by a black hole. Her stress was returning alongside the aggression, lovely.

"I just think it's silly that they would allow a dim witted child into Beacon." Weiss continued arguing, clearly upset at the idea of Ruby entering Beacon early.

It kinda made sense to Perl though. Weiss had a hard time getting into Beacon because of her father, then discovering someone got in two years early… well of course she would be bitter. Ruby had it easy compared to her, she was probably upset, maybe even jealous. Then again, what did she know?

"I bet you don't even have a reason for being a huntress. You're just some brat who got lucky and is in it for the fame." Weiss didn't relent.

"Cut it out you two." Blake looked up from her book in annoyance. Frowning at all the fighting, she clearly wasn't amused. The sense of maturity and authority she gave off, unfortunately, did nothing to stop them.

While a little intimidating, Blake was pretty cool in Perl's opinion. She hoped they would get along. Though, that would be difficult because the two of them weren't exactly sociable. Oh yeah, they were talking. She definitely didn't forget about that. Okay, yeah she forgot about that and for some reason that made her feel really guilty and it made no sense!

"Actually, I do have a goal. A Dream, really." Ruby's gaze hardened, silver eyes sparkling with determination. They were like beacons of hope… "I may only be fifteen. I may be a child. But I don't care what you call me because I know what I want to be. I want to be a hero, to save everyone. Just like in the storybooks."

"Aww, Ruby! You're so awesome!" Yang exclaimed, pulling her into a hug.

"Hmph, talk is all cheap." Weiss dismissed Ruby's speech as childish Dreams. It was clear she was bitter about Ruby's early entry. Which, again, made just a little bit of sense in some skewed messed up way. Or she was being stupid and complete overthinking everything, that was also a possibility.

Blake simply sighed, a little bit tired of all the chaos. "Well just remember, there is no such thing as storybook heroes."

"I-I Th-think it's sweet. She's only a y-year y-younger than me and a-already h-has huge ambitions." Perl smiled weakly, not that she didn't have huge ambitions. Though that was a story for another time. Or preferably, never. Seriously, that was a dream that should never be spoken aloud because it's a stupid and pointless dream!

Okay, sure she was embarrassed by it but she would succeed! Probably! Maybe… Hopefully…

"Wait, you're sixteen?" Yang asked, having connected some dots. She was extremely confused, as was everyone else. It made sense,, for no one had heard anything about two grade skippers, just Ruby.

Perl shrunk back slightly, mentally slapping herself for what she had just said. "W-Well I-I-It's k-kind o-of a l-lo-ong S-Sto-ory b-but I'm a W-Wa-ard?" She whispered in a frantic panic.

Perl mentally slapped herself once again, she was so stupid sometimes. Herself and her big mouth. She looked up at the mixed expressions before her. Sympathy, pity, sorrow, and curiosity. All familiar gazes she'd seen before. All gazes that she hated.

They made her feel funny inside. The bad kind of funny, they made her feel ill.

Yeah… this was going to be a long night of counting for sure.


The figure frowned softly, their face hidden by the cloak that wrapped around them. The cloaked person's frustration became apparent as they traversed the dark corridor, practically stomping as they went. They clenched their fists tightly as thoughts wormed deep into their mind. They were in trouble.

Zero, while beneficial to associate with, was not one you upset. They had made that mistake before. You didn't mess with a man who could alter your anatomy. A semblance like that was effective for torture. They knew first hand.

The memory of when they first experienced it was burned into their mind. It was the day when they reported the project's… escape. They were using that term loosely but they supposed it was somewhat accurate.

Of course, they did quickly make up for it with other projects, especially with their latest one, but that memory would never fade. It was worth it though. The goal had been met. That was all that mattered.

Despite the fact that they knew their fate, the cloaked figure couldn't help but shiver at the thought of what Zero would have in mind for them. He was a cruel and arrogant boss, but he had reason to be so. They despised the man but were unable to deny his brilliance, but unfortunately it was only matched by his stern attitude.

Still, those who worked for Zero were only tortured for mistakes. They were pretty sure she could do far worse. The cloaked person didn't even want to imagine what that would be like.

Still, they had made a careless… mistake, though that probably wasn't the best term. They had "slipped up," and would be punished dearly for it. They would need to demonstrate the new weapon's worth if they didn't want to suffer. Well, they said "New" when it was more accurate to say they were revealing something old. Still, If they didn't want to lose the resources Zero gave them access to, they would have to impress him.

They needed a test run. The question was just when and where?


Kat. That was what she went by. She knew that was her name because it was carved into her arm. She was pretty sure it wasn't her real name but it was the name she gave herself. She still remembered the day she cut the name into her arm, though… she would rather not say why… it was a very fuzzy memory anyways.

She actually had a hard time remembering a lot of things, especially as of late, but she wasn't too bothered about that either. She couldn't even remember what she did before working with the funky number people. She did remember a weird snake and some sparky jazz, but besides that? Nothing.

Kat was simply happy to help, even if she wasn't sure what she was doing at times. She knew what she was good at and so did other people. She copied them.

It was just what she did.

"This is who you're supposed to Copy." The grumpy teen said bitterly. She was pretty sure they called him Vampire, though she wasn't sure why.

Vampire held up a photograph of an old man and shoved it in her face. He was wearing some fancy suit, he appeared wealthy and grumpy. Like Vampire!

Oh well, it was simple enough.

Kat smiled brightly, nodding as her appearance shifted. Slowly her body began to reshape itself into a carbon copy of the man. The silver scales of her suit rippled and glowed, changing to match the outfit shown in the picture. She couldn't explain how it worked because she didn't really understand it either. It was some fancy dancy tech stuff.

It didn't matter though, now she looked identical to the business man. She hadn't met him so she couldn't copy his mannerisms but that didn't matter too much.

"Got it Grumpy!" She said chipperly, her voice now rugged and gravely. It was just a guess on the man's voice as, once again, she hadn't met him.

"Still freaks me out…" Vampire shook his head with a sigh, he was clearly frustrated at something. Though Kat wasn't sure what that thing was. Maybe he was Hangry.

"Now what?" She asked, tilting her head. She probably didn't look nearly as cute as she normally did but she didn't care. She was just having fun!

"Now, Marionette should be disabling the systems or some tech stuff like that." Vampire shrugged, his ears twitching as he picked up noises. He turned to a child next to him, one with light blue hair.

Kat was pretty sure that was the boy one, but she had a hard time telling them apart. She didn't care though, she just thought they were cute!

"Castor, tell Polly that we're ready." He said seriously, though his general annoyance didn't slip by Kat.

The cutesy child nodded calmly, shutting their eyes and concentrating on something. Kat wasn't too sure about it but she was pretty sure that the twins had some psychic bond or some freaky magic stuff. Whatever it was, she thought it was much cooler than her power. She just copied people.

Castor opened his eyes with a weak smile, he clearly didn't like being separated from his other half. "They know."

"Ohhh! He's just so cute!" Kat did a small little happy dance, though she supposed it probably looked weird given that she was an old man.

Vampire let out a sigh of exasperation, shaking his head in annoyance. He was definitely frustrated with someone or something, though Kat was still clueless about that. After all, she had already forgotten why they came to the big old building.

Well, she said old but that wasn't true. It was rather nice looking, quite expensive too. The businessman who owned it must have been quite rich.

The electronic door that they were all waiting in front of clicked open, a distorted mechanical voice echoing from inside the building. "You have an estimated time of ten minutes, get in, get the target, get out."

"Is that Marionette? I kinda forgot about her. Again. She seems… funky. Oh well, simple job!" Kat shrugged as she waltzed into the building. She had… something to steal. Whatever was in that case.


Perl frowned softly as she rolled around in her sleeping bag. She was grumpy and exhausted, not to mention terrified, she barely slept at all. Or at least, it felt like she had barely slept at all. Her estimate? Two hours, twenty seven minutes. Making it two O' five. Damn… she was up early. At least she woke up at a nice round number.

With an annoyed sigh she sat up slowly, looking around the dark room. People were sleeping, though she did spy the occasional person awake. They probably couldn't sleep, just like her. Hopefully she wouldn't have to interact with them, the mess around her already bothered her enough. Still… she was oddly calm. Well, she was still nervous and frightened just not as much as she thought she would be.

Perl frowned softly, groaning as she sat up. She was tired, but she knew she wouldn't fall asleep. She had mild insomnia, it only became really bad when she was stressed. As of right now? She would say she was stressed, she was about to be sent into the Emerald Forest for Initiation! What kind of madman does that!? Ozpin. That's who!

Okay, yeah, maybe she was more than just a little grumpy.

She rolled up her sleeping bag with a pout, grabbing her things with shaky hands. She might as well get ready, there was no real downside to doing so. It wasn't like she could work or sleep with all these people around her.

Besides, taking care of her hair took a long time. She needed to get a head start on that. Maybe once she was ready she could head back to her room and get some work done. "Working on that project I was requested to do might calm me down a little. Hopefully."

Perl nodded shakily, sighing as she carefully stepped around the many people sleeping. She didn't want to wake anyone up. Oh gosh that'd be genuinely awful if she woke someone up…

She needed to get ready. She had a big day ahead of her.


Getting ready took ages for her. Especially taking care of her hair. She knew she didn't need to take such good care of it but she liked to. It made it look nice and neat. She also had to make sure to upkeep her hygiene, to get dressed, do the proper stretches for a day of fighting. It was a lengthy process, but an important one nonetheless. Was she overpreparing? She didn't think so, she did this stuff every morning after all. It was routine.

Luckily Perl finished getting ready in time to get a little bit of work done, just a few hours worth. Mainly just some research and schematic design, nothing important. She did background checks as well, she was a little surprised to find out that Ruby and Yang were the nieces Qrow always mentioned. She didn't exactly see the resemblance. Then there was Jaune… he… she… she decided it would be best to leave his stuff alone, she would leave it at that.

While telling someone about what she discovered was the right thing to do, she wasn't sure she could do it. It was a scary thought, besides, she wasn't exactly qualified either. Not only did she owe him, she was fairly certain the teachers already knew about it. There was no way they would fall for such a thing, right?

Wait, she said she was going to forget about it. Yeah, she never even thought about it. Baseless accusations.

On another note, she also worked on the blueprints for another weapon design, a request as usual.

She would rant about the weapon types and the complicated mechashift capabilities it had but that would take ages. The short story, she didn't like short stories but she was giving one anyway, was that it was an Uzi that turned into a war hammer.

She wanted to go into more detail, Such as the various Dust types infused into the metal, or the Dust circuits she engraved into it, that when used with the dust infused in the metal it would alter the mass of the hammer, but she was a little preoccupied. All she would say is that Dust Circuits are awesome.

Now she just had to deal with an awkward locker room situation until it was time to go to the designated launch site where they would… be launched into the emerald forest.

She was anything but excited.

Perl sighed as she entered the locker room, already missing the safety of her large hoodie. Alas her combat gear was, while very nice, not nearly as cozy as her hoodie.

She kept her head low, refusing to meet anyone's eye as she walked to her locker. Distantly she heard someone muttering something about sloths and not being "Together-Together."

She was pretty sure that she saw Ruby and Yang but she wasn't going to risk an awkward conversation. Yang frightened her just a little bit after all. She did overhear something about drinking milk though, whatever that was about. She would much rather get it all over with. While she didn't have to participate in initiation, Ozpin was very clear about that, she felt like she needed to. She needed to prove to herself that she could do it. She even planned to silence Eve, so she would be doing it all by herself.

It was a test. Both literally and figuratively.

As Perl walked by with a shaky sigh, she froze as she spotted two very familiar figures. She was heading to her locker but these figures caught her eye enough that she actually paused. Or rather, she froze in fear.

Weiss Schnee and Pyrrha Nikos. To find both of her pen pals were in the same place, it was a terrifying thought. Oh yeah, she had exchanged a couple letters with Pyrrha as well. Though she knew Weiss, through the letters, much better than Pyrrha.

"So… Pyrrha," Weiss began eagerly, clearly excited. Though Pyrrha seemed anything but. "What do you think they are going to do about initiation and the teams?"

"I don't know really, I heard that the teams will be random though." Pyrrha told her, toying with a long scarlet ponytail. Her emerald green eyes glowing with an emotion Perl couldn't place.

There was really only one thing that Perl noted about her attire. The armor. Pyrrha wore a lot of armor. It wasn't full plate but she did have plates on all the joints, a breastplate, as well as gauntlets and grieves. All with a red and gold color scheme.

Perl simply stood there, fidgeting nervously with a thin layer of blush dusting her face. Should she introduce herself? If so, as Perl or Charlotte?

.

..

...

Ugh! Why do decisions have to be so hard!?

The blonde girl shook her head nervously and quickly walked away, but she could've sworn she met Pyrrha's eyes for a brief moment. It was a little scary but the curiosity her gaze held didn't go unnoticed.

Taking several deep breaths to calm herself down, Perl rounded the next corner in an attempt to rush to her locker. She could still hear their conversation, something about teaming up. She wouldn't mind being on a team with them. It would only be slightly less terrifying than being on anyone else's team, or would it be more?

Agh! Things made no sense…

She Definitely wasn't pouting and she would be angry at anyone who said she was. Okay she probably wouldn't be upset but her point was made.

Perl brushed the thought aside as she continued towards her locker. It was a stupid thought, the chances of it happening were miniscule. She didn't even know if she was getting a team or not!

It was one of the many things Ozpin refused to tell her, and she would admit, that frustrated her a little. Of course, she was far too scared to actually do anything about it.

As Perl arrived at her locket she froze in place. There was a stranger standing in front of her locker. What was she supposed to do? She didn't know them and they looked rather intimidating!

The girl was fairly pretty, despite her androgynous appearance. With silky shoulder length hair that was black on one half and white on the other, sharp amber eyes that stared into your soul, and smooth fair skin that was like porcelain, she was easily considered attractive.

Her black and white outfit had a militaristic style about it that made her seem professional, not to mention the rifle on her back and the weapons strapped to her waist. The passive face and sharp gaze only reinforced the feeling. She was extremely intimidating.

Shoot. Oh gosh, she was starting to feel a little nauseous again. She hated it… why did she get so sick like this sometimes? Well, she knew the reason but it was stupid! The human body is flawed!

Okay maybe she was a little salty, but what else was she supposed to do? Oh yeah, talk to the girl… oh but she didn't want to do that! But she was in front of her locker… ugh, why did it have to be so frustrating.

"Umm… M-Miss?" Perl whispered nervously, unsure of what to do about the girl leaning against her locker.

The girl turned to her quickly and scowled, but she didn't speak. She simply glared at her with a questioning gaze as she inspected Perl. She then seemed to make some hand gestures causing Perl's odd eyes to widen in realization. She wasn't quiet, she was Mute.

Shoot! Oh dammit she embarrassed herself again! Seriously, was she being inconsiderate? Oh she really hoped she wasn't accidentally rude to the girl…

Knowing her she was probably doing something stupid or mean… why does she suck so much?

"Oh… I'm s-s-sorry. I don't u-understand s-sign language…" Perl admitted shyly. She was a bit ashamed about it actually. She could Speak Auran and old Valean, two Mistralian dialects, a few Atlesian and Mantelian dialects, her old Vacuean was a bit rusty though. All those languages, and she didn't know sign language. Despite all that, she understood what the girl was asking, it was in her eyes. "What do you want?"

The Mute rolled her eyes at Perl's statement, causing her to look away in embarrassment, her cheeks tinged red. She was definitely doing something to embarrass herself. "Y-You're in f-front of m-my locker."

She raised an eyebrow and slid over slightly, still glaring at Perl as she typed in her code and opened up the locker. It was a little unnerving to be honest. Okay that was a lie, it was extremely terrifying.

Why was the girl staring? What did she do wrong this time?

She pulled out her weapons nervously, occasionally glancing at the amber eyed girl in genuine terror, well, she hid that emotion. Perl slid her gloves on and connected the piping, holstering her pistols before finally sliding her staff into its grip on her lower back.

The Mute continued observing her with what seemed like a strange mix between curiosity and annoyance. Whatever it was, it intimidated Perl.

"I should learn sign language, She is a classmate after all." Perl thought to herself as she shut her locker, the piercing gaze finally leaving her. "It shouldn't take too long as it's pretty much just memorization, I can do it in a day or two Maybe. Wait, that wouldn't be weird or creepy would it? Nah, it's not creepy. Hopefully."

Perhaps she was over simplifying what it took to learn sign language, but to be fair, Sign Language is very different from a normal language, mainly due to the lack of a written form. And with her brain? It should be relatively easy… and she just jinxed herself.

Perl glanced towards the Mute girl, who looked away in response. However, as she did so something caught Perl's eye. Feathers. Going down her neck were several feathers split into black and white halves like her hair.

She definitely wasn't being weird and observing pointless details. Baseless accusations. Although, by her conclusion, The Mute girl was a bird faunus of sorts.

"Interesting, Avian type Faunus are significantly rarer than Mammal types." Perl tilted her head, observing her. However, she froze with a small Yelp when the girl whirled back around and silently snarled at her.

"S-Sorry!" Perl leaped back, looking away with embarrassment. She should've known better than to stare at a Faunus' traits. It was rude and insensitive but she couldn't help herself. It was curiosity…

The Mute girl pulled out a notebook and seemed to be writing something when the intercom interrupted her. Glynda Goodwitch's voice echoed through the locker room. "Would everyone please head for their designated sites? Initiation will begin in fifteen minutes."

Everyone's scroll simultaneously pinged, a location popped up in the corner of her glasses. Beacon Cliff. Lovely. She just had to be launched off of the highest cliff surrounding the Emerald forest.

She noticed the Mute girl leave, not even giving her some form of goodbye. She thought it was a little rude but she wasn't going to judge. The girl probably had her reasons for being antisocial.

Or at least that's what she told herself.

Perl jumped in surprise as Jaune slammed into the wall not too far away from her, held in place by a familiar spear. "Oh come on!" He yelled in annoyance.

"Sorry!" A girl's voice called out, the spear being pulled back. She assumed that was Pyrrha, mainly because it was her spear that sent Jaune flying.

Perl approaches the scraggly blonde nervously, "Are y-you alri-right?"

"Yeah… I just don't get it. I thought Girls liked confidence…" Jaune sighed sadly as he sat up from the ground.

"Yeah, flirting with Ice Queen Probably wasn't the smartest idea." A familiar voice spoke from behind her, scaring Perl.

"Ahh!" Perl whirled around, glaring at Yang. "D-Don't s-scare me l-like that!"

"Sorry Blondie." Yang chuckled, looking away guiltily for a brief moment. She rubbed her neck sheepishly as she waved an arm and began walking away. "C'mon, we have initiation."

"Yeah!" Ruby cheered, zipping up to them in a flurry of rose petals.

Perl jumped once again, pouting at Ruby. While she wasn't very intimidating, she still glared at the hooded girl. "Why do people keep on scaring me!"

Ruby simply frowned, tilting her head in confusion. "What? I'm just excited."

"It's F-Fine…" Perl said weakly, still pouting. She didn't like being scared, though she didn't think anyone did. Except the mentally unstable people who watched horror movies.

Perl followed them out of the locker room, albeit nervously. It was time for initiation, and she was anything but ready for it.


Beacon cliff. An elevated peak with beautiful green grass and flowers everywhere. It oversaw an incredible sea of green known as the Emerald Forest. It was a beautiful sight to behold.

Or at least, it was for some of them. Perl could appreciate the view… if she didn't know that she was about to be launched off of the cliff.

Professor Glynda Goodwitch paces back in front of them, her emerald eyes holding a stern gaze. "Today you shall all be participating in initiation. It will be simple and in the process teams will be formed."

People began to mutter and whisper, but Perl was frozen in place. She was actually shaking a little, out of fear of course. Mainly because Goodwitch was one of the more intimidating teachers, and unfortunately was the one assigned to her launch site. Of course, she knew Miss Goodwitch didn't mean to scare her, and at times she even was nice to be around, but other times she was really scary.

"According to our esteemed headmaster, the first Person you make eye contact with will be your partner." Goodwitch said with distaste, it was evident that, like some of the students, she wasn't pleased with the headmaster's way of going about things.

Perl his her face away from her at her words. It wasn't hard to figure out that Goodwitch was talking about Ruby and herself.

"At least I know I'm having a team now…" Perl tapped her foot anxiously, beads of sweat dripping down her forehead. She was terrified.

"Now, are there any questions?" Goodwitch said sharply, in a tone that made it clear that no one was to raise their hands. Despite that, Jaune raised his hand anyway. "No? Good."

Goodwitch ignored him entirely. Perl felt a little bad for him, but she was much more worried about herself.

Her anxiety only worsened as the people next to her began getting sent flying. It was clear that she wasn't the only one prepared for this as cries of confusion could be heard.

Her palms grew sweaty as her turn approached, she looked for any way out but she knew she wouldn't find one. She had to do this.

The person next to her was launched. "Never mind! I do not need to do this! I will definitely die!"

Her heart rate quickened as she began to hyperventilate, she was panicking. She was about to move when she felt her platform lurch. "This is not good! This is anything but good!"

As her feet left the ground, she flinched, screaming as she felt herself soar in the air. She was having a really bad day.


AN: That was another chapter of Mind & Soul! As you can see, many things have changed and I have big plans. There was misdirection! World building! Even more OCs! Also, Apologies for the utterly massive chapter, I'll try and make them shorter from now on. I just didn't feel like there was a very good cutting point.

Now on a serious note, Perl in the Auditorium. This is one of the moments that I wanted to use to demonstrate just how serious her fears are, and I felt guilty even making Perl go through that. Jaune was the perfect person to help her out. In the show, he demonstrated that despite how dorky and foolish he can be, he is empathetic and kind. He wouldn't be anywhere else at the moment so he could help her out, that's all there is to it.

There will, unfortunately, be other moments like this where Perl freaks out. However, she will grow and hopefully overcome her fears.

Now, onto a lighter note. So yeah, as you can see, I'm hyped. I also really like Kat, she's a little nutty if you know what I mean.

I wonder if anyone has a guess about the Little Mute Faunus that Perl met. I have some big plans for them.

I won't say anything more because I don't want to spoil the story. Just leave a review and tell me everything! Ask me whatever you want, and I'll try to answer as best as I can.

Now to the Guest reviewer who suggested Elemancy. Are you referring to Final Fantasy or did you mean controlling the elements? Both are interesting prospects but I'm unsure of how to link that to her personality. Well, I can kinda see FF Elemancy but I'm thinking how that would work in Remnant.

Another reviewer, ImprisonedHuman (-you need help with that imprisonment?) suggested a sort of virtual interface of sorts(?) as a semblance which is another interesting concept. She would be able to scan for weaknesses and stuff like that. There are several ideas similar to this that I've thought of as well.

Finally, to Don'tMindMe, your PMs were turned off so I couldn't reply. Now I'm absolutely ecstatic to have Perl compared to Futaba, because she's awesome. I'm kinda surprised I didn't notice the similarities until now. I'd also like to thank you for reviewing. Team Coffee will be active in this story at least somewhat, they won't be the most active in the next few chapters because of getting the school year set up and initiation but after that I'll try to fit them in a bit more.

Whew! Reviews are done, and I'm tired. So that's all for now folks!

See ya later, Void Out!