Noticing that all four teens had their jaws on the floor, I smirked. Time to make a good impression.

…

…

"Sup."

Red was the first to recover from her shock. "Wow! That was so awesome!" In a flurry of speed and rose petals, causing me to jump back as she appeared next to me, having crossed the thirty foot distance in an instant. "I mean, my sister is a brawler, so I've seen that style of fighting before but what you did was just so amazing and cool and I've never seen someone use a piece of a Grimm against itself, where did you learn how to fight like that!"

"Uuhm..." my heart was torn as this girl reminded me of Nudge, with the way she energetically spoke, but I managed to push those thoughts aside, I could contemplate such things later.

"Ruby!" The girl in white yelled, causing the girl in front of me to wince. "Give her a moment to rest! She just fought an Ursa Major you know."

So… I thought, watching as White walked towards us, an air of self importance hanging about her, the other two teens glancing at each other before following. Little Red here's name is Ruby... And apparently that creature was an Ursa Major...But who are they?

"And shouldn't we introduce ourselves before you're asking her the endless questions you always have?"

For a moment I suspected White was a mind reader, but I mostly disregarded that theory (I did know of a certain six year old telepathic after all). By this point she had reached us, along with the other two who had caught up, and I noticed the sword, a rapier if I'm not mistaken, strapped to White's side.

Subtly I tensed, my eyes quickly running over the other three teens, and I saw that all of them were carrying a weapon. True, I couldn't exactly see what Ruby's weapon was, but the slight bulge I saw in the back of her red cloak was most probably her weapon.

By that point, all four of them were standing in front of me, and I saw Red two's eyes narrow, before widening in shock as she looked at me.

"That needs to wait moment Weiss." Red two stated, before turning to me while pulling a small container off her belt. "Besides your arm, were else are you hurt?"

"My hand was cut by that spine I broke off, I think I may have sprained my ankle, and I know for a fact that I broke my other hand."

The rest of the group looked at me in with varying degrees of shock, apparently only just noticing my present condition, the worst being Ruby, who's eyes widened, hands covering her mouth as she gasped at the sight of my blood soaked sleeve.

The boy in white armor stepped forward, also pulling a container off his waist, which I figured was his medical kit based on how Red two was pulling gauze and medical tape out of hers.

"Ruby," the boy glanced at her, "you're the fastest among us. Go help the others get here, and be sure to tell Professor Goodwitch what's going on."

She gave a quick smile. "Good idea Jaune, I'll be back soon." And in another burst of rose petals, she was gone.

"How did she-" I was cut off by the girl who's name I had figured was Weiss.

"Later, take off your jacket so we can treat your wound."

"As I mentioned before," I said with a smirk, "my other hand's busted." I motioned with my head towards the offending appendage, "Just cut off the sleeve."

Red two didn't even wait for me to finish as she pulled out a small knife, getting to work cutting the fabric away from the wound.

"Hold out your broken hand," the boy, Jaune, said, holding a strip of cloth and some sticks, "I can splint it for you."

Figuring I had nowhere else to go, I let the two of them start treating my injuries, but noticed Weiss had her arms crossed, glaring at me.

I cocked an eyebrow. "Something wrong?"

With a huff, she pointed towards me. "Why didn't you use your Aura?! What could you possibly gain by not using it to protect yourself? There isn't any reason why you shouldn't-"

"Weiss." Red two said, a little steel in her tone. "I don't think she has her Aura unlocked."

At that, Weiss stopped glaring at me, understanding flooding over her expression. "...Oh."

Ignoring Weiss' rant, I decided to introduce myself. "I'm Max by the way, and from what I've heard you're Weiss,"I looked at the girl in question, who nodded in confirmation, "and your Jaune," the boy, nearly finished with my splint, nodded as well, "...But I didn't catch your name." I looked towards Red two, who gave me a small smile before turning back to tightening my bandages.

"Pyrrah, though I wish we had met under better circumstances."

"You can say that again," I chuckled, before asking. "So... Based on the way you talked about it," I looked between Pyrrah and Weiss, "I figured it must be important somehow, so would you mind explaining to me just what this Aura is?"

Seemingly taken back by my question, the three took the next several minutes to explain to me what Aura was while bandaging my wounds, and to be honest, I was skeptical. Scratch that, I thought all of it was BS, as what they were saying was impossible.

Basically, they told me that this "Aura" was generated by a persons soul, and acted as an enhancer for the persons strength, speed, and response time. Not to mention the protective barrier (aka force field) they claimed it also functioned as. Oh and I almost forgot, everyone who used "Aura" also had a "Semblance" that reflected their personality.

As I was listening to their explanation, I was becoming more and more convinced they either are or were Whitecoat experiments, and that they were heavily brainwashed into believing all this.

I mean seriously, with everything I had seen at the School, all the abilities they were describing this "Aura" granted could be replicated with implants and DNA splicing (though I will admit Ruby's burst of speed/rose petals trick was something that I couldn't explain, but I'm not a Whitecoat either).

Instead of butting in on their explanation and calling out the clear BS, I calmly listened (or at least, pretended to) while trying to figure out the conundrum sitting in front of me.

They clearly weren't Itex experiments, since that company had not only been mostly destroyed by the flock (not to mention lots of angry fang-blog readers around the globe), but even if they were they wouldn't be brainwashed, as the Itex Whitecoats seemed to have a fondness (read: psychotic fixation) for physically and mentally torturing their "subjects," if only to see when they broke.

These teens, other than their apparent brainwashed belief in "Aura," appeared fine physically, and weren't acting irregularly as I had seen mental torture cause, so I ruled out Itex for the moment. If I had learned anything over my "exploits" it was that whoever was behind all this would no doubt show their hand if I played along, so I'll just have to wait and see (fun...the one thing I hate almost as much as the Whitecoats, waiting for them to make a move)

Just as I reached this conclusion, having been nodding my head at appropriate intervals so the other three wouldn't think I was ignoring them (which at this point I was), Ruby appeared next to us in another flurry of rose petals, I having jumped onto my feet and into a defensive stance before realizing who it was.

"Uhh, sorry, nerves still jumpy from the fight." I said, all of them giving me curious looks.

"I brought the others here, though I came ahead to warn you," Ruby said turning towards me at the end. "Professor Goodwitch is pretty strict when it comes to non Hunters/Huntresses, I should know." At which point Ruby winced before straightening. "Here they are."

Looking south, I could see the rest of the group I saw from the air, the bland colors of the bully's group standing out against everyone the rest's brighter hued colors. I made sure to glare in the Bland Band's direction, before quickly glancing over the rest.

Instantly I spotted the one who must have been this Professor Goodwitch, as she was the only one I didn't remember seeing from earlier. Catching glimpses through the treeline as the group approached, I saw she was a mid-thirties looking woman, wearing a white blouse, tucked into a black button up skirt paired with black leggings and… Are those high heels? In a forest!?

Getting a better look as she entered the clearing, I saw she had light blonde hair, with green eyes behind cat-eye glasses, holding a riding crop in her hands.

Sweeping her gaze across the small clearing with a seemingly permanent stern expression on her face, her eyes landed on me, slightly widening at the no doubt bloody spectacle that I was, before the millisecond was over, her expression hardening as she quickly approached me.

Out of the corner of my eyes, I could see the others who had been with me back off as the Professor approached, not wanting to get in the line of fire as she started.

"You! What is your name." It was said more as a command than a question, and that grated on my anti-authority nerves hard.

"You know, demanding information from someone who mostly likely just saved some of your students lives is no way to thank said person." I stated, a smug grin stretching across my face as I saw her face grow red in frustration. "But by all means, go on with your demands."

Based on her expression I thought she was going to verbally explode, but instead she took a few deep breaths, her expression becoming more controlled if still frustrated.

"Fine. Will you please tell me who you are, and why you felt the need to injure yourself defending my students." I held back a snicker as I could practically hear her grating her teeth.

"Now isn't that better?" I asked, flexing my sarcasm muscle. Watching her grow frustrated again before answering her questions. "As for who I am, the name's Max, and I just happened to be wandering the woods, lost, before coming across your student's, eh, predicament." She gave me a disbelieving look (which I can't blame her for being so, it is a far fetched story I claimed, but I was on the spot and didn't have any other ideas ok?).

"And what about your Aura? Why, for one, did you fight with it still locked, and two, how did you manage to get this far into the Forever Fall forest without being torn to pieces by the grimm that infest it, due to your lack of said Aura?"

Darn, I thought, trying to figure out how to fill the rather significant holes in my story the Professor was poking at. What to say, what to… I got it!

"My father and I lived alone, not far from here, I think, but anyways he was a game hunter, and if he knew about Aura he never told me, but he did teach me how to fight if I needed to. I was actually looking for him when I got lost, as he's been gone longer than normal." The last part I said solemnly, trying to hint at this fake parent's fate. Hey if nothing else, a sob story might work, it's worked in the past.

Everyone looked at me with varying degrees of either sympathy or empathy, everyone except Professor Goodwitch.

For a few moments, I worried the Professor was going to call me out, but surprisingly she didn't, instead her face taking on a fake look of sympathy.

"I'm sorry to hear that your father is missing, but I don't think you will be able to find him on your own…"

WHAT! To say I was surprised she wasn't revealing me as a liar is an understatement, not to mention actually supporting said lie, but my disbelief at her actions was blown out of the water as she continued.

"...That is why I extend this offer, return with me and my students to Beacon Academy, and there we will send out search teams for your father while also providing you with some temporary housing on campus…" The Professor looked expectantly at me over her glasses, and for a split second her expression looked to be one of…understanding. But perhaps I was mistaken, as with a second glance, her expression was that eternal sternness once more.

"Whether or not you decide to accept my offer, you will be coming to get some professional medical attention for your injuries, no exceptions."

I ran through my options, and figured that whatever Whitecoat devilry was going on here, the Professor was more than likely a part of it, and since she didn't recognize me on sight, my chances of being able to scope out their facility had significantly increased. However, I would need to try and delay any sort of medical attention, as that would no doubt lead to them discovering my wings, and thus my cover would be blown.

Then again, perhaps Goodwitch had recognized me (infamous as I seem to be in the illegal evil scientist circles), and that was why she didn't reveal my lie, hoping to draw me into the spider's den.

Ah well, I thought, tapping my chin, before sticking out my hand to the Professor while plastering a fake smile on my face. I'd end up in the facility as a captive eventually anyways, knowing my track record. Might as well skip the cat and mouse chase when I can.

"I'll accept your offer, thanks," I said, gripping her hand in a firm shake with my non-broken hand.

"That is good to hear, now, it's nearly time to head back to the bullhead landing zone," she stated, looking at her wristwatch, "might as well start out now."

Nearly an hour later, all fourteen of us were strapped into the seats of an aircraft the likes of which I'd never seen before, with a rotating turbine on each wing, allowing for both vertical and horizontal maneuvering of the vehicle. The bullhead's strangeness only solidified my theory that this was some Whitecoat organization, as they always had the best stuff, but there were still to many holes in said theory. Such as, how come would they (The Whitecoats) go to all the trouble of creating mutated/dangerous versions of animals, just to turn them loose? The organizations I had taken down all had the main goal of keeping their projects secret until they were ready to reveal their hand, usually with the intent of causing doomsday.

Another thing was the terrain, I didn't recognize it, and before you start yes I know that isn't necessarily viable evidence against the theory, as I've only traveled a comparatively little bit in regards to the Earth's surface, but the Whitecoats almost always took the easy way out if they could, and I didn't see how transporting me acrossed the globe from the U.S. before dumping me on the ground in the hopes I found my way into their trust trap was easy, although…

Another theory popped into my head, one I didn't want to contemplate, but regarded as a possibility nonetheless.

A while back, just after the whole mess with Anne the fake FBI agent/Whitecoat, the flock had been captured and taken back to the School, and there Jeb had tried to convince me I had been under a drug induced hallucinogenic sleep, having imagined the entirety of my life outside of the School. And he nearly succeeded.

There was no doubt in my mind that the Whitecoats did have drugs of that capability, as such things would be evil to use on another, and they excelled in that department.

So, I started compiling a list of things to do, Watch for irregularities in case this is a hallucination, learn all I can about where in the heck on Earth I am in case this isn't some trick, and look for any leads regarding the flock and their possible whereabouts.

"Watch'ya thinking about?"

I was startled out of my thoughts by Ruby's sister, Yang, who, along with everyone else I hadn't met, I had been introduced to on the trek back to the landing site. Currently Yang was looking at me in expectation, waiting for my answer.

"Ohh, you know, just what the purpose of life is. Personally I think it's to be the most badass you can be before your times up." Ruby cringed when I swore, but Yang (who I still don't believe is even her half-sister as they claim, though I guess I've seen weirder) gave me a big grin.

"You are absolutely right! I meab whats the point of being around if you don't live a little eh?"

She cocked an eyebrow at me. "And you seem t take that to heart, cause' from what my sister told me, you managed to kill an Ursa Major with your bare hands, braking off one of it's own spines off to use for the killing blow. All without having your Aura unlocked!" By the end Yang's voice was loud enough for everyone to hear. "You've got to tell me the details!"

"She can tell you tomorrow," Goodwitch stated, looking at the seven of us in the bullhead, "We are approaching Beacon, and the Headmaster asked to see Max as soon as we landed. Not to mention it's getting late."

Glancing out the window, it was indeed nearly sunset, with only an hour or two remaining before dusk.

"I'll be sure to tell you all about it tomorrow." I promised Yang, getting a grin and a thumbs up in return.

I shook my head with a grin before looking out the window once more. This group reminded me so much of the flock, and my heart was aching from all the reminders that I wasn't with the flock, kicking butt and toppling evil corporations, but hopefully I'd have the answers soon when I spoke with the Headmaster, aka, the head honcho.

Hopefully he'd be just like all the other big wigs I've dealt with, I thought as the bullhead landed, the students separating from me and the Professor as we headed towards the central building, which at this point was covered in the shadow of night, the only exception being the spotlights at the top of the tower we were heading for, no doubt the namesake of the complex.

If this Headmaster acts anything like all the others I've faced, he'll either purposefully or accidentally reveal his plans to me, at which point I'll have my info.

Entering a cylindrical elevator near a currently empty receptions desk, immediately my claustrophobia kicked into high gear, and it was all I could do to remain still and not attempt to claw my way out.

"I know you lied earlier. I know you're hiding something."

My claustrophobia instantly forgotten, I rounded on the Professor. "I know, and I can't help but wonder… Why? Trying to lure me into your trap? Let me tell you what. I didn't fall for it. You Whitecoats never learn, and now, you have to deal with me being here." I snapped, my nerves frayed from stress and worry for the flock. "But you know what? I'm done with the whole cat and mouse chase, so I decided to just skip all that and come here willingly. But lets try to keep this civil… at least until I need to break out as per usual…. kay?"

The Professor's mouth was gaping as she tried to come up with a response, but thankfully before she could, the elevator doors opened with a cheery *ding,* revealing the clock themed, and rather spacious, officewithin.

Behind the glass desk, in which I could see moving gears that were connected to the clock who's gears surrounded the room on all sides, sat an older fellow with short yet stylishly messy silver hair, wearing a suit of green and gray shades, a pair of thin round glasses perched in front of his hazel eyes, a clockwork cane supporting him as he stood to shake my hand as I approached.

"Hello, My name is Ozpin, and I am the Headmaster of Beacon Academy."

Great, I thought, not shaking his hand, preferring to stand with arms crossed, giving him one of my patented 'Max Smirks.' time to piss off someone else in power. Let the fun begin.