It was close to midnight when professor Ozpin decided to step into the teachers lounge for a cup of coffee. The room was dark, and quiet, and it was taking him a long moment to find the light switch.

It was uncommon for him to visit this side of the tower complex as it sat further from the entrance, and the towers elevator that led to his office. But after discovering the cleaning staff had already locked up the main teachers lounge for the night, he had decided to venture further into the building.

It took a moment for the lights to flicker and buzz to life over head, but when they did, it become apparent to him that it had been many years since he had visited this room, and the hallways leading to it.

Perhaps even not in this life time.

The air stunk of old coffee, and the white walls had faded over the years to an undesirable yellowish color. Near the windows at the far end of the room was the coffee maker, which sat next to a basket of snacks and a fridge.

Who it was that had been restocking the place was unknown to him, but as much of a waste of the annual budget as it seem ed to be, he could not find a reason to complain at the moment.

Coffee was coffee.

Stepping into the room, the floorboards squeeked as he passed plastic tables that clashed with the rooms aging architecture, before stopping at the coffee maker and getting to work.

The darkness outside was dead and lonely, only broken by the occasional campus street lamp, and he could not shake the feeling of uneasiness.

It had been many years since he had been a child, but the darkness had left an impression on him in his younger years that rarely crept into his mind on occasions like this.

He dreaded lonely nights such as tonight, but he could not deny his faculty, nor his students of their precious sleep.

In the hallway he heard a thud.

With a hand gripping his cane, and a newly brewed cup of coffee in the other, he slowly looked over his shoulder.

"Is someone there?" He asked.

There came no reply.

Shaking his head, he poured the bottle of creamer he had fetched from the fridge into his cup before stirring it into the coffee. Taking a sip, he sighed with a smile on his face as he turned and walked to the door.

But as he reached the doorframe, he paused with one foot out the door. The little light the room provided leaked into the hallway, illuminating the immediate area in a dim white light. The hallway led off into darkness, only illuminated by the occasional slivers of moonlight that peaked through the windows.

Finding the light switch with his cane, he carefully flicked it off, plunging the teachers lounge into darkness.

As he began to walk back to his office, he took a sip of his coffee and adjusted his glasses with his right hand that held his cane.

Then he heard buzzing.

He blinked, and turned around to discover that the light of the teachers lounge had come back to life.

Rubbing his drooping eyes with the sleeve of his suit, he walked back towards the room and looked inside.

It was empty.

He turned it off again and began to tap his cane against the floor as he again walked down the hall.

He was getting dreadfully tired, and his coffee would only provide the energy he needed for so long.

As he began to make progress down the hall, away from that dreary room, he found himself hearing the sound of footsteps as he passed through an intersection of hallways. He paused, and so did the footsteps. His head swivled around him, checking each and ever hallway, but he saw nothing.

He was very tired now.

He began to walk down the hall again, his legs working a little harder as he turned corner after corner, until he finally spotted the blue glow of the elevators control panel down a long corridor.

The sound of footsteps returned, and he found himself pushing his tired body to jog. They grew closer as he neared the elevator, his breath quickening as his hand began to frantically tap the call button.

The doors opened and he slipped inside, flinging himself around toward the hallway, his posture tight and ridged, and his cane risen in a protective manner.

But there was no one there.

Using his cane, he swiped at the highest button on the floor list, closing the doors with a thump.

Leaning against the elevators far wall, his shoulders slumped as he rubbed his eyes, yawning. The sound of whirring machinery was familiar and pleasant to his ears.

"I simply need sleep." He said in a mumble as he straightend his posture and stood up straight.

But as the elevator rose higher and higher into tower, he could not keep his eyes away from the window as they wandered down into the court yard, along the buildings interior, and towards the windows of the old teachers lounge.

The lights were on.