How I Failed To Avoid The Plot

by LightDusk16

Ever have those days where you feel that the universe is out to kill you? Well that's my whole life in a nutshell for the past few months. I've been transported to another world, been beaten with an inch of my life on multiple occasions, and somehow managed to get involved in the plot of this world even through I wanted nothing to do with it. Screw you universe!

20. Episode 20: The Weekly Mishaps

Hey all reading this fic! It's time once again for some shenanigans in Remnant starring the borderline more bad luck then Qrow himself, Chris! This time in an anthropology sorta format!

Also, Merry (Very Late) Christmas to you all! I hope you all got some good gifts, because I got plenty of distrac-I mean games this year! Also Finals were a thing, and that is a whole other fan of worms for me.

But I'm not gonna brag about what I got or rant about Finals, instead let's get things rolling! Here's an extra…extra-long chapter to make up for the month delay! It's show time!

}Episode 20: The Weekly Mishaps{

As I said before, the month leading up to the craziness that was the Volume I's finale, which I have nicknamed the V1 incident for brevity's sake, was my last month of relative peace I would have for a while. I say relative as working at Beacon meant there was never a long period of rest, ever. I would come to accept this simple horrible fact, but it didn't mean I had to like it.

It all started a week after the Neo Incident during my ever peaceful and pleasant lunch with Emerald in the Maintenance Room, as was our custom. Though I'd be lying if I said they were as pleasant as they used to be, at least on my end. Paranoia had led me to be a bit more closed off with her since I now knew she hung out with the Ice Cream Slasher.

"Come on, just tell me who slugged ya already. You've been rocking that shiner for over a week," she begged.

"I keep telling you, I walked into a door," I insisted, much to her disbelief.

My black eye from Pyrrha's accidental door bashing had started to heal and wasn't as bad as it was when I first got it, but it was still pretty noticeable. It spawned a few rumors around the school that ranged from ridiculous to extreme, and all because the little bastards didn't even think to ask me. I mean sure, I wouldn't have answered them because I still didn't talk to any students with very few exceptions, but they at least could have asked.

And that's why, even if though I'd been more closed to Emerald, I still gave her "some" semblance of the truth. I kept Pyyrha out of it though because I didn't want to give the poor girl any more unnecessary trouble in her last few months of life, especially from one of the (possible) accomplices in her murder.

"Alright, maybe someone threw the door at you, but go ahead, keep your secrets if they're that embarrassing," she shrugged and smirked.

"It was just an accident, I have nothing to feel embarrassed about," I insisted as I ate a spoonful of lasagna.

"Oh really? Nothing to feel embarrassed about?" she quirked her brow, "How about how you've already wasted your first real paycheck?"

"Well I mean…at least I spent it all on useful stuff," I chuckled nervously.

Emerald's light-hearted glare told me she didn't exactly agree with my definition of 'useful' and I couldn't really blame her on that. You see I had thankfully managed to avoid doing anything to piss off the paycheck reducing witch for over two weeks, so she finally had to give me a paycheck that wasn't just spare change.

I would have done a victory dance in Goodwitch's office upon receiving it, but I wasn't suicidal, especially so when she gave me that weird strained smile that looked alien upon her face. It wasn't natural I tell you, the muscles in her face must have atrophied from years of neglect, and don't get me started on that weird look in her eyes. If it had been anyone else, I probably would have defined it as pride, but on her? Who knows?

But anyway, after I had finally gotten a full paycheck, I decided to use it in the wisest way possible. By spending it all immediately! And before you guys give me any flak for doing that, there was a perfectly good reason behind it!

In my ever-constant search for a way home, as well as for any knowledge to continue not being Grimm chow, I had read practically every book I could find containing any useful information from the library. I read every Grimm fact book, every dust theory and manual, and all historical textbooks I could find. I even read every fairytale story as well, because let's face it, they're all true in Remnant.

Knowledge is the most crucial factor in survival, and it's the most dangerous weapon one can have as well!

…

…

…

And that's why I spent the majority of my hard-earned funds on books not found in the library.

And before anyone asks, no I did not go to Tuskon's bookstore. After my run in with the three stooges a week before, I knew I was still on White Fang radar and the last thing I was gonna do was walk into a store owned by one of them. I may be short a few fries, but I ain't that dumb.

No, I went to another non-murderous bookstore that wasn't too far from the bullhead port. And surprise surprise, there was no surprises. No gossiping students, no main characters, no red-haired canine brats, and no animal people terrorists, it was paradise. And from that utopia, I bought not only several textbooks on Grimm and Dust, but a few history texts as well. I still needed to find out what changed in the past to allow Cinder to be working at Beacon, and I had to look somewhere.

After it was all said and done, I still had a little spending cash which I probably could have spent on clothes and a razor…but I accidentally bought a bunch of music for my Scroll. Accidentally in the sense that I didn't set out to buy them, but because I sometimes have the impulse control of a Chihuahua on a sugar high, I bought in bulk.

"Mmhmm, books and music, the perfect investment for a guy who's got no home," Emerald snarked.

"Hey, I couldn't help it alright?! These songs are badass, and they make cleaning much more bearable," I argued, showing her my playlist, which had a good chunk of the RWBY soundtrack on it.

I'm not even joking, most of the songs you hear on the show are legit songs on the radio in Remnant, however the hell that works. There were some exceptions of course, "Red Like Roses Part II," being one of the few songs to not exist, probably because of how 'meta' it was. But yeah, those tunes were what ate up the rest of my Lein.

"With these songs, I will be able to block out all the chatter from these stupid kids and be more efficient at my job."

""And how are you gonna do that if you don't even own a pair of headphones to wear? Can't exactly block them all out if you can still hear them with the music ya know?" I flinched at Emeralds perfectly logical reasoning as I stuttered out,

"O-okay so my plan has a little fault, but it's only for now! As soon as I get my next paycheck, I'm golden."

Or as soon as I get my hands on a pair in the lost and found, or even better if some poor sap leaves theirs out. Finders keepers as they say…Either all that dust 'borrowing' is loosening my morals, or it's a proximity thing being this close to a master pick-pocketer.

"Only if it's a full check again," she pointed out. "Heck, you probably could have bought a pair if you'd come to me first. I could have gotten you all of those songs for free and saved you some dough."

"Well I didn't exactly know online piracy was in your repertoire at the time Zatanna!" I grunted at the revelation.

"Well, now you know," she said smugly.

"Yeah yeah, 'And Knowing is Half the Battle, G.I. Joooooeeee~'" I sang grumpily.

"Huh?" she asked.

"Wait really?"

"Really what?"

"N-Nothing! It's just a radio jingle I heard a while ago," I hastily lied.

"Oh, guess I haven't heard that one," she contemplated.

"Y-yeah it was an old one, for some toys or something…"

Note to self, G.I. Joe, not a thing here.

That wasn't the first time I'd slipped up. Even though a lot of pop culture was shared between Remnant and the real world, there were exceptions, and for the life of me, I could never figure out the pattern for the yays and nays. They had He-Man and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but no Transformers or G.I. Joe. I still don't get it.

"Well for your next check, don't go spending them on these toys, I don't think your corner has that much room" she chuckled.

"I won't, I won't," I rolled my eyes.

"And besides, you should probably put some aside for a new hand."

"Wh-What?!" I blurted out as my eyes widened, which seemed to startle her. "Wh-Why would I need that?!"

"Whoa, yeesh, easy there Joker," she said holding her hands up.

"Why would I need a new hand?!" I demanded, ignoring her calming gestures as my imagination ran wild.

"Because you keep tinkering with that pistol?!" she said pointing to my workbench. "I was just making a joke, calm down!"

I looked at the disassembled gun I had stolen from the White Fang member on my desk next to a few "How To" books. Since it only had a few rounds in it, I had decided to mod it out in some way, specifically with dust.

Oh…, I sighed in relief knowing that she wasn't threatening dismemberment. I turned back, at felt a little guilty over her taken aback expression.

"R-Right," I nodded awkwardly. "I'm sorry for snapping Z, I just…I'm sorry."

At my apology she relaxed a little more. "It's alright, just didn't expect that was all. Maybe you should switch to decaf? You've been a little high strung this whole week."

"Yeah…maybe you're right," I said as I slid my soda can away from me.

"And maybe I shouldn't have jabbed at what you're doing so lightly. I still say you shouldn't be messing with dust on that thing. It's dangerous," she warned.

"Yeah I know it's dangerous, but unlike some I'm not really trained in Melee Combat. Having a distance weapon is the smart choice when you have as many enemies as I do. And seeing as how there are some Semblance's out there that make bullets useless, it's good to have an edge."

"I get that Chris, but with your past and dust…" she trailed off in concern.

"Zatanna, every explosion I've caused has more or less been on purpose. Trust me, I'm not going to accidentally set anything off," I reassured her. She pursed her lips, not entirely convinced.

"Well even if you're so confident, I still say you should have someone around who actually has a useful Semblance when you work on your little projects," she lectured.

"Hmmph," I snorted, "And who exactly would I ask? Goodwitch? Ozpin? I can see that conversation going smoothly."

"Well how about any of the members of the teams you're so clearly a fanboy for?" she gestured to the three flags hanging above my workbench.

Said flags were hung, (proudly I might add), in a pillar formation since there wasn't exactly much wall room above my bench. They were all similar in that they each had different letters in different colors spelling out a team name, with a darker shade of that color as the background. And from top to bottom, those team names were RWBY, JNPR, and CFVY.

With the Vytal Festival coming up, Ozpin had commissioned all of the teams to have their own merchandise to bring in some revenue during the whole thing, and since that was still months away, they sat in storage containers on the school grounds. And if you're wondering where I got these flags after admitting to spending all my money…

Well, they were just lying out in the open where anyone with a set of keys to the storage room could have taken them. Sure, the box needed a little loosening with a crowbar, but those flags were essentially unguarded. It would have been irresponsible not to take one of each of the best teams for safekeeping in case some thief decided to snatch all the merchandise.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

"I'm not a fanboy of them," I defended, but she read that lie from a mile away.

"Mmhmm. And team RWBY I get, Yang and her little sis are your buds, but what about the other two? Isn't that rabbit girl that likes taking videos of you on one of those teams?"

"Yeah, she's the V in CFVY," I admitted in deadpan. "And I'm not a fanboy or anything…I just like the names and colors of the teams. Sue me."

Emerald just gave me her own deadpan stare at my retort before her eyes suddenly widened in realization. Said realization quickly turned into mischief as her dreaded teasing smile appeared.

Oh God, not that look! Nothing good ever happens when she gets that look!

"Oh I see, is Mr. 'Terrified of Students' finally warming up to some other kids besides the two sisters?" she jokingly mocked. "I guess I owe Yang that twenty lien now."

"Twenty lien? For what?"

"She said you'd come around and open up before the end of the first semester, but I said you'd stay afraid till at least the second. Oh well," she shrugged and sipped he soda.

I felt my eyebrow twitch in annoyance before I grumbled out, "Why am I not surprised you two made a bet about me? Also," I pointed at her accusingly "Only twenty? I am worth way more than that!"

"Yeah sure, in property damage maybe," she let out an amused chuckle. "You've got to tell me the next time you plan on blowing something up by the way. I need front row seats to that, and maybe first dibs on posting it on the web before Bunny girl gets a chance."

"OK fine. Face explosion go!" I declared as I simply threw my empty water bottle at her, to which she easily caught thanks in no doubt to her advanced reflexes from years of pickpocketing people.

"Oh no, I didn't record this viral sensation," she said overdramatically with her hand to her hand. After which the both of us began to chuckle like little kids before we went back to eating our lunches.

As I took another bite of lasagna, I felt myself relax a little more.

This...this is nice. Just me, my best pal, and some decent grub laughing and having a good time. I shouldn't be so tense around her…

Of course, my own treacherous paranoia ruined that moment of happiness.

Unless that's exactly what she wants you to do! Yeah, let your guard down long enough so Cinder can "accidentally" turn you to ash, or Neo to cut you to ribbons! Hell, she wouldn't even need them, she could just slide the blade right through your ribs and cut out the middle man!

And like that my good mood was spoiled and I was on guard again. Oh how I just wanted to know one way or the other on where I stood with her because the stress would have either stayed the same, or vanished. I just wished I'd known.

Alright, back to being cautious like a good boy. She may act like your friend, but people get mauled all the time by tigers they thought were their pets. The only difference is, she's deadlier than a tiger.

"Uh, what's wrong? I got something on my face?" she asked, making me realize I'd been staring at her as I scrutinized.

"Uh, y-yeah, you got some sauce over here," I gestured to my own cheek.

"Oh, thanks," she nodded and wiped her mouth with her napkin. "You've got some too, but I think you need something a little better for that beard."

"I'll wash it in the sink when I'm done," I rolled my eyes and dabbed at my sauce stained mustache.

I think she noticed how tense I'd become again, because she brought up a new conversation topic.

"So… I heard Goodwitch mention that you've requested to have a day off soon?"

"You did?" I asked taken aback. "Why'd she tell you that?"

"Well, my job is still to kind of watch over you, so her telling me that essentially means I have a day off…even if I'm still mopping up the floors that is."

"Oh, right," I nodded.

"So, come on, what's the special occasion?" she pried. "Is it a birthday? Doctor's appointment? Another act of amateur demolition?"

"For your information, if I was planning another bombing, there would be nothing amateur about it," I insisted despite her disbelief. "But no, I'm not. And it's not a birthday or medical thing either. I'm just going to go visit my old boss back in the city to see how far along the shop's come so I know when I can get back to working there again."

Emerald seemed to be off put and surprised by that statement.

"Wait, you're gonna quit here and work at that dust shop again?"

"Well yeah, if the job is still available to me," I answered truthfully.

"But I thought…Aren't the White Fang still after you?" she asked sounding concerned.

"Yeah…" I reluctantly agreed, "But Old Man Fuller's shop isn't in their district."

"No, but it's still in the city and they'd be able to get to you a lot easier than they would here," she argued.

"That's a fair point…"

"It's more than fair, hell you get paid more here. Why would you go back?"

Because staying at Beacon is only causing me to become more involved with plot related shenanigans. I've changed so much, the butterfly I stepped on is about the size of Mothra! I thought. What I actually said was,

"Look, I like working with dust, and even if you think I've warmed up, I still can't stand the large crowd of students."

She still seemed flabbergasted by my reasoning, so I placated her.

"And besides, I said I was just going to see. For all I know, he won't want to hire me back after everything I've done since the shop blew up."

"Hmmph. If he's smart,he'll realize that the only people that can possibly contain you are right here at this prestigious academy."

"Ha. If he was smart, he'd have let me help rebuild the stupid store with him."

"Right…" she nodded halfheartedly. "So when are you taking this trip?"

"Well, according to Goodwitch, I won't be able to get a day off for at least two weeks. Some bogus clause about how workers have to work a certain number of days without bodily injury or property damage each month before time off can be given."

"Wait really? That's a thing?"

"Yup. Apparently, I'm the only one destructive enough for it to come into effect," I grumbled which made her smirk again.

Which I swear was only instated because Ozpin wants to mess with me…

"Well in that case, if you somehow manage not to blow anything up-"

"Hey!"

"How about when you go to visit your old workplace you let me and Neo tag along? We had plenty of fun last time we all hung out together, and I know I would love to see where your explosive career began."

At the mention of Neo, I had to force myself not to give Emerald a deadpanned glare.

You know that sounds like a wonderful idea, except for the fact that your 'friend' can gut me with literally anything if I piss her off and is most likely hunting my ass because her boss can hold a grudge.

Swallowing the food in my mouth I prepared to give some sort of excuse why the two of them couldn't come…

*SLAM*

"Ah ha! I told you guys he would be here; my mighty detective skills are never wrong!"

But I was saved from giving that answer by the hyperactive orange haired teenager who literally kicked the door in while holding a tray full of pancakes. And after Emerald and I got over our mini heart attacks, we saw the other members of JNPR standing behind her with apologetic looks. Well, at least Jaune and Pyrrha were, Ren just had his usual 'I've lived with this my whole life so I can care less' look that he always had on.

The horrors that kid must have gone through growing up with Nora…
Said traumatized boy scolded the bubbling mass of sugar and death.

"Nora, what did I say about kicking other people's doors in?"

"Uh, that it's a totally reasonable and proper way to make an entrance?" she answered with a smirk.

"No, I said that it was an incredibly rude thing to do an-"

"Sure sure whatever you say Renny!" she waved him off. "Now let's-oh what's that?!"

And like that Nora's attention was captured by...something as she darted towards it leaving a blank faced Ren. Though to his credit he only sighed at Nora's actions as he and the rest of team JNPR entered after her.

By now both me and Emerald had finally snapped back into reality.

"Okay...so that just happened," I sighed in exhaustion.

"What? What just happened? Why are there students in the maintenance room?" Emerald asked confused as all hell.

Jaune and Pyrrha both gave nervous chuckles and Ren just kept his blank look as they all sat down next to Emerald across from me.

"Yeah sorry about this ma'am," Pyrrha apologized.

"Yeah, you too Crazy Janitor," Jaune added. "Nora got a bit too excited about eating with her new 'teammate' and we couldn't stop her."

"I'm not a ho-" I started to say on instinct before catching myself, "Oh hey, you changed it up. I'm not crazy either though."

"Ehhhh," Emerald disagreed waving her hand in a maybe gesture.

"Oh hush you. But anyway Stubbles, what do you mean b-AGHK!"

Before I could finish, I suddenly found myself lacking oxygen. Nora somehow managed to sit next to me without me noticing and was currently squeezing me with a one-armed hug.

"What Jaun-Jaun means X-Splode is that I, in my rights as queen of the castle, have chosen you as the new demolitions expert for our team! Isn't that great?!"

"Ggggkkk!" I managed to gasp out of my restricted windpipe.

"Uh...I think you might be killing him."

"Nonsense Jauny boy, he's perfectly fine!"

"Nora, a person's face shouldn't be that blue," Pyrrha insisted.

"That's just his excited face for joining our team!"

"Is she serious?" Emerald asked in bafflement.

"Yes, unfortunately," Ren sighed as I began to see black spots in my vision.

Death by Nora. I was so focused on Cinder, I never saw it coming…

Thankfully before my thoughts could become reality Ren came to the rescue.

"Nora, your pancakes will get cold if you don't eat them soon."

And like a switch Nora let go of me with a dramatic gasp and started to quickly dig into her plate. The minute she did, I took as many deep breaths as I could.

After coughing a few times, I gave a thankful look to Ren, who looked apologetic as ever for my state.

"Are you okay?" asked Pyrrha as my face regained its usual color.

"Oh yeah, sure I'm fine," I replied hoarsely giving a thumbs up.

"Not that this isn't funny or anything, but students aren't really allowed in the maintenance room…" Emerald trailed off, trying to give them a clue.

"Oh yes, we know ma'am, but we really didn't want to leave her alone to her own devices when giving this news," Pyrrha explained. "We'll be leaving shortly.

"Good call," I croaked as I dodged a splash of syrup that came from Nora's rapid eating. "By the way, what exactly did she mean that I've joined your team?"

"Well, it's not an official thing or anything," Jaune explained, "But Nora kept insisting on this and this was the only way we could get her to stop."

"Huh? What does that mean?" I asked still beyond confused.

"She'd talked to your friend Ruby, who insisted that you taught her practically everything she knew about dust, and Nora wanted in," Ren answered boredly.

"Oh come on! This again?" I groaned. "Look, I tutored her on a few tips and tricks, I'm no expert or anything. I'm just a janitor."

"Other janitors can't blow up an entire warehouse," Nora said quickly between one bite and the next.

"I am not going to teach you how to do that!" I shouted in horror. The last thing I needed was to increase her destructive habits a hundredfold.

"Don't worry, we're not asking you to do that," Pyrrha reassured.

"Yeah, definitely not," Jaune agreed.

"Oh you guys are no fun," Nora pouted before shoving an entire flapjack into her mouth.

"Then…what exactly are you asking me for?"

Sighing again, Jaune said, "We decided to placate her and meet her halfway. To ensure that she doesn't try to force you to teach anything too extreme, we'll be taking any lessons from you as a team."

I stared at them all in exasperation as Nora continued to pack away her flapjacks.

"So, let me see if I have this straight. You all want me to be your unofficial dust tutor because sugar rush here wants to learn, but you don't want me teaching her the Anarchist's Cook Book, is that about right?"

"I mean, when you say it like that…" Pyrrha twiddled her thumbs.

"I know how it sounds, but please?" Jaune begged.

Looking at their desperate faces, then at the exuberant Genki girl, I sighed in resignation.

"I don't have a choice in this do I?"

"Do you think we do?" Ren asked matter of factly as syrup splattered on his shirt.

"…Good point," I sighed again. "Sure whatever, I'll give you all some pointers."

"Hooray! I told you he'd accept!" Nora cheered, her pancakes having vanished. "He's already flying our colors, so of course he'd be on board." She then directed everyone's vision to their flag hanging above my bench.

"Oh, I didn't know merchandise had already been made for us," Pyrrha said.

"Officially, it hasn't yet. And don't you dare ask me where I got them!" I warned.

"O-Okay," she stuttered, and I coughed into my hand.

"That being said, there are going to be a few ground rules for my tutelage. Rule Number One, no more hugs!"

"Awwww," Nora groaned, seemingly deflating.

"Rule Number 2, no one is to tell Goodwitch or any of the other students I'm doing this. If she finds out, you four are going to compensate me for the Lien she'll deduct, got it?"

They all nodded at this, with Pyrrha even stating, "Oh that won't be a problem."

"Rule Number 3, I'm not going to teach anything I didn't already teach Ruby, so don't ask."

Nora seemed defiant at this, but the others agreed.

"And Rule Number 4, don't go dragging me into any Hunter shenanigans. I am not a hunter, I am a pathetic weakling and I will die."

"Oh don't sell yourself short Chris, you can hold your own," Emerald jested.

"Don't encourage them Z, I got lucky" I rolled my eyes. "But yeah, if you four can adhere to my rules, I'll tutor you. Is everyone happy?"

"I think we can agree to that," Jaune nodded.

"Sounds good to me," Pyrrha smiled.

"Acceptable terms," Ren agreed.

"Yes! My master plan of making us all partake in an awesome group exercise has come to fruition!" Nora pumped her arms in victory.

"Right…" I trailed off, not knowing if she was serious or not. Judging by the unsure faces of the rest of JNPR, they didn't know either.

"We'll pick out dates and times later, but as my friend said, students aren't allowed in here so would you kindly exit? We've only got so much time left before we head back to work."

"Oh, right, sorry about that," Pyrrha apologized and stood up.

"Yeah, we'll get out of your hair," Jaune said.

"Oh come on, we only just got here Mr. Dynamite. You're basically part of the team now so why can't you-Yowch!"

"Come on, leave the man in peace," Ren deadpanned as he lifted her out of her seat by her ear and dragged her to the door.

"Sorry again for springing this on you Crazy Janitor, we won't be much of a pain I swear," Jaune informed.

"Yeah yeah," I handwaved. "I understand the need for de-escalation Stubbles, don't worry about it."

"Ah, actually could you stop calling me Stubbles? I told you my name the other day when you gave me that talk. Thanks again for that by the way, it really did help."

"Hey no problem, glad I could be of some help...even if I was threatened into helping in the first place." That last bit I mumbled to myself as I sent a not-so subtle glare at Nora, who simply chuckled and stuck her tongue out at me playfully.

"And yeah, if we're gonna be working together we might know our names. I'll comply if you stop calling me Hobo/Crazy Janitor, sound good Joan of Arc…or was it Vomit Boy? No no no, I remember," I slammed my fist into the palm of my other hand in exaggeration "It was Table Freezer right?!"

I only lasted a few seconds at Jaune's exasperated face before I caved in and laughed at his expense. After I managed to calm down, I wiped away an imaginary tear as I said,

"Hehehe relax, I remember your name, Jaune Arc." At his relieved face I turned towards Pyrrha and said, "And you're Pyrrha Nikkos right, the 'Invincible Girl'?"

I had to physically hold myself back from wincing when Pyrrha flinched at how I recognized her. I mean sure knowing her based on her fame was a good way to not get her interest, but it doesn't mean I felt good taking advantage of a girl's insecurities.

"Ah...yes that's me. I guess you've seen some of my matches?"

The fact that her tone was semi-depressed did not help me feel any better. Seriously it was like kicking an already wounded puppy. So, I decided the best option was to nod before turning my attention to Nora.

"Of course she's Nora Valkyrie, a name I learned despite not wanting or asking for it."

"You're welcome," she said cheerily.

"And you…I actually don't know, aside from you being the R in JNPR," I lied to Ren.

"Lie Ren, Nora's partner," he replied simply.

"Oh you are are you?" I asked before I did something that seemed pretty strange, but trust me, it was necessary. I grasped his hand between both of mine and gave him a deep bow.

"Thank you so much, your job is unappreciated at this time, but it is majorly important. Keep up the good work."

If the show wasn't going to give Ren the thanks he deserved for keeping Nora from imploding reality, then I sure as hell was! Of course, while I knew why I was doing this, nobody else did, hence why all the others in the room were giving me weird looks.

"Uh...thank you. I think?" he said confusedly, despite his usual blank stare.

"You're welcome. But anyway, I guess I should probably introduce myself huh? The name's Chris Sullivan, but my friends usually call me Joker but not lately, and I'm not a hobo or crazy. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too Mr. Sullivan," Jaune said confidently.

"It'll be a pleasure working with you," Pyrrha added.

"I'm still going to call you plenty of explosive nicknames!" Nora responded brightly.

"Of course you will. Now, I'm on my lunch break so…" I then proceeded to rudely slam the door in their faces and walk back to the table. Emerald just seemed to be in awe at the scenario that just transpired, and it took her a few seconds to even speak to me properly.

"Okay…I think I can see some merit in wanting to get another job outside of Beacon."

"Thank you," I said in glee as I resumed eating my pasta.

"But still, you probably should have handled that situation better," she reprimanded causing me to sigh.

"Yeah I know. I should have at least put up some effort, even if I knew it was pointless. Now they'll think I'll cave in to every plan just because Nora's involved," I grumbled.

"No, not that part," Emerald shook her head. "Those kids came in here and made you agree to tutor them in dust and you didn't ask them to pay you!"

My eyes widened as I realized I hadn't set that ground rule.

"Oh Son of a Bitch!"

}Line Break{

So yeah, that's how I ended up unofficially joining team JNPR.

…

…

…

Oh don't give me that! I'd already screwed up the timeline six ways to Sunday, a little dust tutoring wasn't going to end the universe any faster! Or maybe it did, but shut up! When it comes to Nora, there's nothing you can do. She's like a natural disaster that you can't escape and just have to ride out if you even want a chance at surviving.

Dealing with her only made me appreciate and respect Ren that much more, especially since he was able to talk her out of dragging me off to the lunch room to eat with the team on a daily basis. That time was reserved for Me and Emerald thank you very much. Though that didn't stop them from bringing food to have dinner with me over lessons. Always a loophole.

And to my credit, those first few dust lessons were practically uneventful. After school hours, I would sit them down in any unoccupied class room I happened to be cleaning and recite what I'd taught Ruby. I say practically because the hyperactive brat kept trying to mess with my cart after I explained all of the mods I'd made to it. It was really annoying. I mean, she almost killed us all when she tried to throw a freaking charged Fire Dust crystal at it, convinced I'd installed a force field. Well I hadn't, and if it weren't for Ren smacking her upside the head, all of my borrowed dust on board would have went up all at once.

So yeah, it was a good thing the others were there to keep her in check. We hadn't even hit the harder lessons yet.

Anyway, not even a week later after agreeing to be a tutor again, I had a rather interesting run in with another certain team. It had all started when Emerald bailed on me and left me alone to clean up yet another half-destroyed dust classroom. And no, this one wasn't my fault.

Thankfully it was a rather minor clean-up as it was just a simple wind dust accident. This usually means that some idiot overcharged a crystal or wasn't careful enough with the powdered form of the dust and accidently set all the chairs and anything not nailed down flying. But still, minor and simple, it would have gone more quickly if Emerald hadn't gotten a Scroll Text.

"Hmm. You got this Chris? I've got something else to take care of. Apparently Ms. Fall scolded another student into losing their lunch."

"Another? How often does that happen?" I asked disturbed.

"Every so often," she shrugged. "She doesn't appreciate tardiness or late homework and does not go easy at all."

"Yeesh."

"Yeah, but don't worry, I got this. See you around," she waved and hurried off.

I couldn't keep the scowl from forming on my face as she left me alone to do all the cleanup.

"Oh no it's fine, not like you're supposed to watch after me so I don't blow anything up or anything," I grumbled. "Probably not even any puke, just code talk so you can report to the fire bitch in secret. Stupid obsession with crazy bringer of Grimdarkness…"

My annoyed grumblings about the whole situation aside I decided to just get things over with before anything could happen that would cause Goodwitch to take away my chance of having a day off the next week.

I swear if so much as one powdered dust goes off and makes this into a bigger mess…

With that thought I got to work, and I was about halfway through it when a ringtone that wasn't mine suddenly went off. I snapped my head towards the entrance of the classroom where the tone was coming from, which in turn caused whoever was there to start sprinting away.

Now I figured that this was just Velvet as usual filling in her weekly to daily dose of paparazzi quota, which had started to happen less and less since I hadn't done anything crazy in a while. That didn't mean it had stopped though, since I would occasionally catch her recording me at random and then she would give an adorable 'eep' when caught, smile nervously, wave awkwardly and shuffle away.

I had honestly gotten used to Velvet doing this and had just accepted the fact that the internet would forever have a constant stream of videos of me acting nuts. However, this time I couldn't exactly let Velvet post that video she took because...well…

Okay so remember how I had bought a bunch of songs on my Scroll and didn't have any headphones? Well I had decided to listen to some music as I was cleaning up the room since Emerald had run off. But the thing is…you see 'I Burn' had started playing and well…

I...may have...sort of...kind of started dancing along with it…

…

…

…

Okay okay enough with the laughing already! Yes I know my dancing is terrible, and no I'm not just saying that! If you saw me dancing, you'd think I was having a stroke or was trying to summon some otherworldly being via a voodoo jig. And after a certain event in the past that will never be mentioned again under the threat of death, I haven't exactly taken to people catching me dancing too well.

So, with that in mind, it's no surprise that I may have slightly overreacted to finding out I was being recorded.

"OH HELL NO! GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE BEFORE I GO PEST CONTROL ON YA BUNNY GIRL!"

Did I say slightly overreacted? Hehehe, I meant really overreacted.

So yeah, after that little shout I bolted out of the half-cleaned dust classroom and booked it towards where I heard the footsteps go. I didn't have a line of sight on her, so I ended up running by a number of classrooms and corners. And all the while I was creating a ruckus.

"SERIOUSLY VELVET THIS ISN'T FUNNY! I SWEAR TO GOD IF YOU UPLOAD THAT VIDEO I'LL BITE YOUR FACE OFF! IT'S WABBIT HUNTING SEASON!"

…

I Really Wasn't in The Mood.

"I'LL SHAVE YOUR TAIL, TIE YOUR EARS TOGETHER AND MAKE YOU EAT YOUR SCROLL I SWEAR TO G-Alck!"

Now that's the sound a person makes when they are suddenly clotheslined and fall flat on their ass just as they turn a corner. I was slightly thankful to the sudden pain in my gut, as I managed to snap out of my blind rage and actually calmed down a bit.

Ugh...I don't know how but my insides feel more bruised than my stomach. The hell hit me?

My question was answered quite quickly as a rather snarky voice said,

"Oops, looks like I just bowled over another janitor. Guess I owe Fox fifty lien."

My eyes widened in shock at the familiar voice as I looked up and came face to face with the fashion queen of Beacon, Coco Adel.

Ah Shit…

Yup, I ran into yet another important character in the damned plot. A character whose teammate I was just yelling insane threats to at the top of my lungs. A character that the entire fandom agreed would kick major ass if that teammate was bullied or threatened. Oh, and to add insult to injury, Coco had the same smile Yang had when she first dragged me to the Winking Skeever. Lucky me right?

So, given this very unfortunate scenario, my first act was to get up off the ground and run for my life in the opposite direction…Which ended up making me run face first into a hard surface.

Ugh who put this wall here? I groaned as I rubbed my nose ...Wait a minute, walls aren't fleshy.

My eyes focused and I saw a shirt. With that realization I looked up… And up, and up, and up, and up.

Let it be known that Yatsuhashi Daichi is one big son of a bitch. And when I say big, I don't mean 'oh that guy is pretty tall' no, I mean 'holy crap that guy's hands can crush my face just by grabbing it' kind of big.

So, realizing I was stuck between a rock and a hard place on steroids, I did the only reasonable thing I could think of that could possibly save me from an ass beating of epic proportions. I calmly turned around to face the smug looking Coco.

"I'd like for it to be noted that this is a huge misunderstanding, and that I apologize for everything bad I've ever done or said to Ms. Scarlatina," I said in monotone using my best poker face.

Coco just lifted a brow before she said,

"Noted. Now then…"

Before I could even blink Coco grabbed me and roughly shoved me against the actual wall while Yatsuhashi loomed over her, blocking her assault on me from any possible passerby's.

Aw come on Yatsu, you're supposed to be the calm headed, all knowing guy. Why are you helping Coco intimidate me like this!?

Ignorant to my fan thoughts Coco gave me one of those fake playful smiles as she said,

"You know Mister, I am just shocked. Shocked! Here I am with Yatsu on our way to drop off a gift basket to the good ol'janitor who helped Velv out with those pricks from CRDL, and yet here's that same janitor yelling threats to her like a deranged madman. Now that just doesn't make sense now does it Yatsu?"

The mountain of flesh nodded his head but said nothing with his stern look as he brought up said gift basket which had candy, fancy meats and cheeses and other kinds of goodies. It even had a card in the front which said Thank You in fancy lettering. Without a word, his knuckles went white and I heard splintering from the handle in his grip. This just made the whole situation all the more intimidating and I reflexively gulped in fear. This show of weakness seemed to please Coco as she gave a cruel smirk.

"Unless of course this 'Good Ol'Janitor' was just pretending to help my teammate out when in reality he's just another racist punk looking to hurt her later. Isn't that right Yatsu?"

Once again, the giant nodded his head sternly, but this time a noticeable glare was on his face. And trust me when I say if his stern look was intimidating, then him glaring was a whole other level of scary!

"N-Now that isn't true at all!" I belted out in fear which caused Coco to look intrigued.

Wait mouth what are you doing?! This is the opposite situation for when you should be used!

"I am many things, but I am most certainly not a racist. Far from it in fact, since I actually think Faunus are cooler than humans in most situations."

That actually got some surprised looks form the two members of CFVY, and in turn made my internal thoughts do a one-eighty.

Wait that was actually pretty good! Keep it up mouth and we might just survi-

"I don't discriminate at all. I am an equal opportunist hater, I hate everybody equally."

Good, good…

Coco shared a look with Yatsu before turning back to me.

"So what you're saying is that you're not a racist…?"

"Yes!"

"But you just really hate Velvet as a person…?"

"Yes! I Mean No! Wait!"

MOUTH YOU HAVE BETRAYED ME! WHY!?

And just like that the two members of CFVY went back to being pissed, and Coco's grip on me tightened to painful levels.

"Oh well in that case, maybe I ought to do a bit of hating of my own. I'm sure the headmaster would love to know one of his latest hires was threatening to kill a stu-

"Coco! What are you doing?!" Almost as soon as that familiar tone called out Coco let go of me like I was on fire and Yatsuhashi backed off from hiding us from passing by students. But thankfully, the source of this whole mess had better sight than most, and I thanked whatever gods were in that world that she came when she did.

"Velv! What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at Port's lecture?" the team leader asked.

"So should you," she panted, looking like she'd run a mile. Despite that though, once she caught her breath her face became stern. "But instead of being in class Fox told me you snuck off with Yatsu to 'introduce' yourself to Mr. Sullivan."

Coco made a 'tsk' sound as she mumbled off to the side something about Fox being a traitor before she plastered on a good-natured smile and wrapped her arm around my shoulders. I couldn't help but flinch at the contact as Coco said in a false kind tone,

"Oh come on Velv, me and Yatsu were just getting to know the guy is all. Right Yatsu?" Before the Mountain could get a chance to add his two cents Velvet cut him off.

"Ugh, how many times do I have to tell you Coco?! Mr. Sullivan is not a bad person nor is he secretly plotting to hurt me!"

To that Coco disregarded her nice girl act as she shoved me into Yatsuhashi and stalked over to Velvet.

"That's the thing Velv, he is! We just caught the guy red-handed! He was running all over the building yelling about how he was going bite your face and tie your ears together and other weird stuff!"

"Wh-What?" Velvet asked in surprise.

"Yeah, and he was snarling and spitting too. If you don't believe us, just ask him," she gestured over to me.

"Mr. Sullivan…is that true?" she asked apprehensively.

"I…Uh…" I stammered and as I did, her ears lowered slightly and a look of hurt crossed her face at my seeming confession. And let me tell you, that look should be categorized as a lethal attack.

Oh Crap! My heart! Must. Make. Bunny. Happy!

"No no no no you've all got the wrong idea!" I spat out in panic.

"So…You didn't so those things?" she asked.

"N-No I did," I admitted, and the hurt face returned, causing my heart to stop again, "B-But I didn't mean any of it I swear! I was just rage ranting! I say all kinds of weird shit when I enter that state. I was mad at you, but I didn't mean it!"

"But…why were you angry at me?" she asked in another heartbreaking tone.

"Hrk! Because I didn't like what you recorded a few minutes ago and I overreacted! I just wanted you to delete it, but because you ran off I went a little nuts. Please believe me, I'm so so sorry!"

And while Coco gestured at me seemingly winning the argument, and Yatsu gripped my shoulder harder, Velvet went from hurt to confused.

"Uh Mister Sullivan, I haven't had a chance to record you today yet. I've been in classes the whole time, and the only reason I'm out now is because I made an excuse to track my teammates down."

The fact that you didn't even try to deny recording me concerns m-wait what!?

"Wa-wait a minute. So you weren't the one secretly recording me dancing a few minutes ago?"

At Velvet's meek nod I couldn't stop the mild panic flooding my system as I started to mentally freak out.

HOLY CRAP NOT GOOD! If bunny girl isn't the one that recorded me then who did?! And Why?! Was it Blake? Nora said she was stalking me. What if it was Nora herself?! Oh God, what if it was Cinder? I only saw Emerald exit the door, what if she was-

"Wait a second! That's why you were screaming threats at Velvet?! Because someone recorded you dancing!?

My mental panic was interrupted when Coco's sudden annoyed tone reached my ears. Of course, even if it was interrupted didn't mean it stopped completely as it leaked into my speech.

"My dancing is so bad it could kill a Beowolf, and I don't need a bunch of random strangers knowing about it alright?!"

"So? Everybody's got something they're embarrassed about, doesn't mean you need to yell threats at people because of it," Coco rolled her eyes. "Right Velv, Yatus?"

Velvet, suddenly back to her usual shy girl nature, eeped at Coco's question before she meekly said,

"We-well...that does seem to be a pretty petty reason Mr. Sullivan."

And of course, Yatsuhashi just nodded his head sternly in agreement, effectively making me feel smaller then I actually was.

Well if I didn't feel guilty before...ugh why must my irrational freak outs always end up making me feel bad? Can't they ever work in my favor?

"Yeah I know," I mumbled out sheepishly. "And I'm sorry Velvet, I swear to you I didn't mean any of it. I'd never actually try to hurt you. But yeah, I'm sorry for acting like a jackass. Can you forgive me?"

The Faunus girl looked over my earnest unshaved face for a few heartbeats, before her ears perked back up and she smiled.

"Yeah, yeah I think I can forgive you."

"What? That easily?" Coco asked in surprise, mirroring my own thoughts.

"Coco, you've seen the videos. Mr. Sullivan is entertaining and eccentric, but he'd never actually hurt anyone."

"Yeah, totally…" I muttered thinking of the three White Fang grunts I'd brutalized over a week ago.

"So come on, let him go guys. Please?" And if her wilted ear hurt expression was lethal; her puppy dog eyes technique was absolute murder.

"Urrrgh, Oh alright fine," Coco relented, not being able to stand her pleading gaze. The big guy wasn't immune either as he let go of me and ducked his head in shame.

"Just don't go screaming crazy stuff against any of my teammates again though, got it Sully?"

"Oh trust me, I don't plan on it," I assured her. "And like she said, I couldn't actually hurt any of you anyway. I'm a freaking twig, all you'd have to do was sneeze at me and I'd break." This got a smirk from Yatsu, and a giggle from Velvet.

"Well excuse me for being cautious," Coco crossed her arms. "It doesn't matter how bulky you are when it comes to bomb making and building demolition."

"How does everyone know about that? The cops had a freaking gag order," I complained.

"That crazy girl from JNPR told everyone," she said simply.

"Of course she did," I sighed in frustration. "Although I'd like to know where she heard it from."

"I'd like her to just stand still long enough to get some good footage," Velvet agreed. "Speaking of which…"

She then pulled out her scroll and held it up.

"Seriously?" I deadpanned.

"Good thinking Velv," Coco smirked before looking to me. "Alright, to make up for your choice words earlier, give her a dance video that will get her ALL the views."

"NO! Never! You'll have to kill me first!" I screamed as I grabbed Yatsu's giant hand and wrapped it around my throat, unsettling him.

"No no no, that's not what I meant at all," Velvet clarified, giving Coco a sneer to which she gave a trollish smile.

"It's not?" I asked as the giant swept his hand back and wiped it on his pants in disgust.

"Although that was a good clip," she stopped recording and turned back to Coco. "But no. You said you two were going to introduce yourselves to him, so go on, I want to capture what you were going to say."

"Well…that was supposed to be just between the three of us. And besides he already knows our names now, what's the point?" Coco complained until Velvet gave her a glare. "Ugh, fine…" She then waved for Yatsuhashi to stand next to her in front of you.

"Alright, that's good, and go!" Velvet said as she hit the record button again.

I just looked at her recording and back to the two in front of me, not really comprehending the scenario.

"Uhhhhhh."

"Hello Mr. Sullivan, sorry about clothes-lining and interrogating you earlier. My name is Coco Adel and this is my friend Yatsuhashi Daichi, and we've come to give you our gratitude," she said, sounding like she was reading off of a script.

"Uhhhhh," I responded intelligently.

"In thanks for standing up for our friend and teammate Velvet Scarlatina while we were elsewhere, we would like you to have this gift basket." Yatsu then handed over the splintered container full of snacks to me.

"We hope you enjoy, and once again thank you for stepping up while we failed as friends and teammates."

"Oh you guys, you didn't fail me. You were busy with work during that lunch," Velvet said from behind her scroll. Coco looked away from my still stupefied face and looked directly at the camera.

"Yes we did Velv. Even if we were busy, those pricks should never have gotten to you, and thanks to this guy, they now know better," she countered.

"I…Uh. Th-thank you. I just did what anyone would have done," I admitted.

"See, and he's humble too," Coco chuckled before slapping my shoulder, which no doubt left a mark.

"Well I still don't think you guys failed me, but I appreciate you guys for thanking Mr. Sullivan," Velvet said as she changed camera positions.

"Of course, he's practically a part of the team now, isn't that right Sully?"

"Please don't call me that," I begged.

"That's the spirit Sully," Coco teased and draped an arm around my shoulders with Yatsu placing his hand on another. "Now smile."

"Uhhh." And with that, Velvet took our picture. A picture that if you were to look at it, you'd think everything was peachy and fine and that I wasn't just roughed up and nearly murdered not even two minutes beforehand. The magic of technology everybody.

"Alright sweet. Well, we should probably get back to class then. Enjoy the basket Sully," she said as she let me go and started walking down the hall, Yatsu following suit.

"But seriously, don't go shouting mean stuff about Velv again, or I will bury you."

"I-I won't! I promise!" I stammered.

"I'll hold you to it Sully," she called back as she rounded the corner.

When she and her giant friend were out of sight, I still stood there slack jawed at what just happened for a solid 10 seconds before I realized that Velvet was still there filming me. Upon noticing that I finally noticed, she blushed in embarrassment and stopped recording.

"Sorry, force of habit," she apologized. "Um, they didn't hurt you too badly did that?"

"No. I've had worse from Yang," I admitted. "And speaking of which, can you do me a favor?"

"Sure, what is it?" she asked.

"If you see me anywhere near Yang, or my coworker Zatanna, for the love of God, keep Coco away," I pleaded in despair.

"I…alright?" she agreed confused.

"I'm serious. I now think my own personal hell is being in the same room as all three of them at the same time. The trolling would never stop!"

She gazed off into space no doubt imagining that scenario, until I snapped my fingers.

"You're already imagining the views you'd get from that aren't you?"

"Right, right, sorry," she chuckled and rubbed the back of her neck guiltily. "But yeah, I'll try to keep that in mind. Again, I'm so sorry about them grilling you. They can be really overprotective of me. That speech you gave to the cafeteria really got to them."

"Hmm. Well I'm glad someone listened," I nodded. "And I'm sorry again about flying off the handle. Since you like filming literally everything I do for some reason, I jumped to the obvious conclusion. Still, I'm sorry."

"I understand, and I forgive you Mr. Sullivan. But don't worry, I won't ever record you dancing."

"Thank you," I nodded. "I've since come to terms with every other waking moment of mine getting filmed, but some limitations are good."

"Right…" she trailed off biting her lip.

Seeing as how the conversation had kind of died, I coughed into my fist and said,

"Whelp, I better get these goodies back to my cart. I've still got a mess to clean up. You better get back to class Ms. Scarlatina." And with that, I started to walk my way back to do my job. Before I could round the corner though, she called out to me.

"I want to be like you some day."

This stopped me dead in my tracks as I slowly looked over at her and lifted my brow.

"Come again?"

"You asked me before about why I keep filming you," she explained. "I didn't answer you then but now I want you to know it's because I want to be like you."

…What?!

"Like…a janitor?" I asked.

"No no, just…I want to be able to speak my mind, and act how I want to act, and just not care what others think of me. Well, aside from dancing I guess, but that's understandable."

"…And you think that's what I do?" I ask flabbergasted.

"Of course," she smiled. "It may sound insane, or even silly, but I admire your attitude. You'll talk aloud to yourself and eat food out of a trashcan, and yet you'll stand up for injustices whether they be bullies or terrorists. You act how you want, despite what is considered the norm, because that's who you are."

"I mean…you're making this sound more substantial than it is kid," I tried to reason with her.

"Maybe I am, but it's still the truth for me. I'm actually camera shy if you can believe it."

"You are? That's ironic."

"Hehehe, yeah I know," she chuckled. "But filming your antics is kind of like baby steps, I guess. One day I'll be able to do my own Vlogs and be able to speak my own thoughts and then, who knows, maybe I'll be able to do that more easily in real life."

She said it with complete sincerity with an appreciative smile like a fan meeting their sports hero. Her words threw me through a loop and on some level disturbed me.

"I…Velvet look, I'm the last person on this planet you should be learning life lessons from. I'm a freaking nutjob," I tried to dissuade her. She only smiled once more at my words.

"And you admit to it, because you are confident and know exactly who you are."

I'm not trying to lead by example here kid!

"I've got to get to class now, but I'll see you around Mr. Sullivan. And if you ever change your mind about being filmed dancing, just let me know."

"But I-"

And with that, she bounded down the hallway, back to her class leaving me absolutely speechless.

So yeah, somehow or another my ever-decreasing mental state was being looked at as a fountain of knowledge by some insecure rabbit girl.

…

…

…

You're telling me! I am nowhere near qualified to be a role model! I can't believe I have to say this, but if any of you are inspired by my story, don't be! I will not be held responsible for your actions!

But anyway, after that confusing series of events where I was threatened, thanked, and revered all within the span of about 5 minutes, I went back to the classroom with a massive headache. So much so that it took me a few beats to realize that everything within the room was back to normal.

"What the hell?" I gasped out.

Every desk and table had been repositioned, the glass had been swept up, and there was even the fresh scent of peach cobbler air freshener everywhere, which was odd because I didn't have a can of that.

"Z?" I called out, but no one answered. Inspecting my cart, I found the glass shards in the garbage sack, and a few of my tools had been moved around.

"Oh crap!" I shrieked as I examined it further. Thankfully, none of my dust supplies had been taken, and nothing else had been tampered with. The only thing missing was one of my feather dusters.

With my inspection complete, I set my crushed gift basket on the cart and held my aching head again.

"So…Someone came in here and used my supplies to clean the room before stealing one of my dusters…Is this some sort of weird prank?"

No it wasn't a prank. It actually turned out to be the tip of the ice berg for something far more disturbing. But that came later.

}Line Break{

So after that whole fiasco, the rest of the week went by without too much trouble. Although I did somehow bump into Coco even more during my shifts since introductions had been made, and of course whenever I did run into her she kept teasing me with that stupid nickname. Emerald took pleasure in my discomfort, but thankfully I was able to keep them from becoming close friends like she and Yang had become. I was serious what I told Velvet.

Speaking of her, she continued to record my life, but she tended to be more blatant about it now instead of hiding which I guess was progress. Oh, and trying to talk her out of seeing me as some inspiration was impossible, so I just didn't bother. Yet another victory for the Butterfly Effect.

So yeah, a week went by, and by some miracle I managed to avoid causing anymore property damage so Goodwitch had to give me that day off I had been requesting and a full paycheck to boot. I may not have told her about my missing duster to insure this, but hey, I had two others so no harm no foul and all that. The minute she agreed to my terms with that weird foreign smile of hers, I took it with haste. It was time to finally visit Old Man Fuller.

I'll be honest, I had honestly started to miss the old bastard after not seeing him for so long. The guy was kind enough to give me a job despite my lack of residence, and while his way of stacking dust gave me constant heart attacks, I missed the times when it was just accidental dust explosions that I had to worry about. So yeah, needless to say I couldn't wait to see the old guy again, the risk of White Fang assholes and that little Fox brat be damned.

And absolutely, positively, nothing happened during my visit to the old man!

…

…

…

Yeah, I'm lying my ass off, but while nothing bad per-say happened during my visit, it didn't mean nothing at all happened. That would be just too easy.

Once the Bullhead had landed in town I got off and made my way to the reconstructed Ye Olden Dust Shop. It was a beautiful day outside; the birds were singing, and the flowers were blooming. On days like these, guys like me…Were wondering just who the hell they pissed off in a past life.

"Heya Boxman! What a coincidence running into you here!" everyone's favorite brawler said cheerfully as she put me in chokehold from behind.

Oh Son of a Bitch! I tried to say in response but considering Yang had been cutting off my supply of oxygen I couldn't.

Why can't she leave me alone?! And what is with the tanks of this world trying to strangle me!?

Before I could do anything to make Yang let go of me, the wonderful voice that was Ruby's came in to save me,

"Yang! Let go of Chris before you knock him out...again!" came the sweet voice of the mixed-blessing Ruby.

Oh great, both of them! But please listen to her!

"Aw come on Rubes, when are you gonna let that go?"

"I'll let that go when you stop knocking Chris out all the time!" she pouted adorably.

"Sheesh, you knock a hobo out one time and you're labeled for life." And with that, she let me go and I doubled forward, gasping for the second time in two weeks from being strangled by a superpowered teenage girl.

You know you've gone wrong in life when that situation arises more than not at all.

I had managed to get enough air back into my lungs to make a retort to Yang's statement as I grumbled out,

"First off, I'm not a hobo and you know it Blondie. Secondly, you've knocked me out twice, both times on purpose I might add, and thirdly-" I turned around to finish my rant, but it died in my throat when I saw it wasn't just Yang and Ruby who I had run into, but all of team RWBY!

Weiss looked annoyed, Blake looked bored, Yang looked smug, and Ruby seemed sheepishly happy, as was the norm.

God Dammnit! Why?! Why can't I go one day?! Just one day without running into the main characters?! I know I work at their school and all that but come on! Speaking of which-

"Why aren't you in school?!" I shouted, causing them to flinch. I had specifically taken a day off in the middle of the week to avoid a situation like this.

"Oh, Professor Peach cancelled her class for today, so we had the rest of the day off," Ruby answered.

"Of course she did," I groaned.

"Oh cheer up buddy, are you that upset that you get to now hang out with three cute girls and Weiss in public?" Yang trolled. While Weiss and Ruby just gave her indignant stares for her joke, I just gave one of the deepest sighs I've given.

"No, just...no Yang. I was just thrown off when I suddenly ran into you all is all. What are you guys doing here anyway?" I asked before my eyes widened in horror.

Oh crap please don't tell me you're going to the docks! It's still too early!

Surprisingly enough it was Weiss who answered my question and eased my mind.

"If you must know, our blonde brute somehow found out you were visiting your old place of work and managed to convince our leader to take an 'unofficial first mission' by escorting you there."

Once the shock of Weiss of all people actually answering my question wore off, I sent a confused look towards Ruby. Once she nodded her head in confirmation, I couldn't keep my annoyance off my face as I looked over to Yang and grumbled out,

"I should have known this was your idea Blondie, can't I have one week without you sticking your nose in my business?"

"Aw don't be like that man," she replied not sounding too off-put by my rude tone. "I'm just looking out for my little sis's friend. After all, don't want the big bad terrorist organization hunting you down while you're alone. You can't blow up every building they take ya to after all." While most of her tone was joking, I picked up a little bit of concern hidden in her voice.

Huh, maybe what Emerald said was true, maybe Yang does think of me as a friend too…Wait a minute.

"Was it Zatanna that told you where I was going to be today?"

"What, no…" she said in mock shock, "She would never-Yeah it was her," she smiled and laughed.

"God damn it Z," I grumbled regretting letting her know my plans.

"Oh lighten up Boxman, she's just looking out for you," Yang laughed.

"Yeah," Ruby agreed. "After we found out Peach cancelled the class, she came up to Yang and told her what you were planning and asked if she'd keep an eye on you. She said yeah, then told me, and here we all are, a protective envoy."

"Uh-huh, just like her to pull a stunt like this. She's doing this to get back at me for blowing her and her friend off," I deadpanned.

"Huh?" asked Yang.

"Nothing, I'll prank her later for this," I sighed. "But it is what it is. I'm just glad it's you and not Nora."

"Why would it be Nora?" Ruby asked innocently.

"Why indeed," I nodded, not explaining at all. "But now I got some more pressing questions." I then turned a confused glare towards the resident ice queen.

"I get why the sisters came, but why are you here, aside from Red telling you to? I mean, I figured she'd have to drag you since you hate me and all."

"I do not hate you Mr. Sullivan," she said sternly before letting out a sigh. "I just find your presence around me to be highly...aggravating is all."

There was a good round of silence among us all after Weiss said that, which was promptly broken by Yang.

"So basically, you hate him."

"No! I told you I did not!" she bristled angrily.

"Oh yeah, that's definitely what a person says when they hate someone but don't want to admit it," I teased smugly.

Weiss's eyebrow twitched at my comment before she threw her arms into the air in aggravation.

"Whatever, fine! Why I even try to be civil with you is beyond me!" she growled.

"Calm down guys," Ruby tried to deescalate before looking to me, "Weiss wanted to come along because she was interested in seeing the dust shop where I first got started."

"If only because I wanted to meet the person who thought it was a good idea to hire him of all people to handle dust," Weiss said grumpily with her arms crossed, looking away from me.

"Glad to see she has her priorities straight," I rolled my eyes before looking over to Blake with a questioning gaze.

"And you? I don't think we've had a full conversation what with you always reading and stuff. Why'd you tag along?"

"I had nothing better to do," she said with a shrug, sounding very indifferent. I waited a good couple of seconds for her to elaborate, but she didn't.

"Well good to know that then, real interesting reason right there ninja girl." That got an annoyed eye twitch from her.

"My name's Blake, not ninja girl."

Oh I know, I just need to pretend to not know you in order to not get thrown into the nut house. Besides with your usual stalking habits I'm surprised you weren't hiding in a bush nearby.

To no one's surprise I was still annoyed at both myself and Blake for unintentionally getting her interested in me and causing me to have to look over my shoulder all the time. I mean sure my only evidence for that was Nora's little slip up and my own paranoia but considering how spot on that had been lately I think I was entitled in believing I had a cat-ninja stalking my ass. Especially with the whole White Fang wanting to kill me aspect and all.

"Agree to disagree," I shrugged before turning to Ruby. "Well alright Red, seeing as how you're the leader, lead on. You still remember the way right?"

"A duh," she rolled her eyes before smiling. "I hope the new version is just as good. It was a shame when that jerk blew it up."

"Yeah, but don't worry, I'm sure karma will bite him in the end," I nodded.

"Ha, not if I see him first it won't," Yang boasted popping her knuckles. "You just don't mess with my sis and get away with it."

"No, nope, dial that back. We're not going to have a repeat of our grand day out blondie," I chastised.

"I agree, now is not the time for unnecessary danger," Weiss spoke up causing me to give her an incredulous look.

"Huh, guess a common enemy in Yang's death wishes can overcome even the strongest of hatred."

She merely rolled her eyes at my joke and gave me the cold shoulder (pun intended). I probably would have kept at it, but being this was season one Weiss, I didn't want to end up in an ice cube. So, to avoid both her and Yang as much as possible, I stuck closer to Ruby as we began walking.

I knew it was pointless to run or anything like that. I'd started accepting the fact that the universe kept throwing me into these situations. There was no escape, only damage control. And truthfully, even I could begrudgingly accept that Emerald had a point. With team RWBY with me, I did have less chances of dying. It still didn't make me any less pissed though.

"So Chris, what have you been up to since the garbage hole?" Ruby asked.

"Nothing much. Just the daily grind of mopping, scrubbing, and trash pick up."

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Yang raise an eyebrow like she was expecting me to say more.

Damn it Emerald, quit blabbing to her!

"And that's about it!" I emphasized while glaring at her before turning back to Ruby. "How about you kiddo? How's leadership treating you? Killed any Grimm lately?"

"Actually it's been great," she said excitedly. "Two weeks ago when Yang wasn't with us, we went on this trip you see and…" And she started rattling off info I already knew thanks to the show, but still it was fun listening to her tell the story. If anything, it helped the walk go by faster.

Sure enough after a few more minutes of walking and exchanging meaningless small talk we finally arrived at the new building, or at least the lower first floor portion of it. Surprisingly, despite the fact that the old coot was building the whole store by himself from scratch, he had managed to build the entire first floor walls and all in a pretty decent time frame, now all that was left was the second and third floor.

Standing like a tour guide, I raised my hand dramatically and said,

"Welcome to Ye Old Dust Shop 2.0, still in early access mode."

"Hmm," Blake, Yang and Weiss all murmured at the same time, not seeming all that impressed.

"What, that's it?" Ruby asked sounding offended.

"It's kind of plain looking," Blake responded.

"And it's not even completely rebuilt yet," Yang pointed out.

"Personally, the way you've described it, I thought it'd be more grand," Weiss said.

"Well…maybe I exaggerated a little bit," Ruby rubbed the back of her neck nervously, "But I'm sure once it's finished it will look better."

"It already does, there's no weathered grime on the windows or graffiti. Already an improvement," I pointed out joyfully as I walked up to the front door. Peaking inside, I saw that the interior was pretty much finished for the first floor. There were new shelves, and a counter, but there were still paint cans, boards, and other construction supplies lying about.

"Seems weird without all the dust and snacks and soda fountain," Ruby muttered.

"All in good time I'm sure kiddo," I said patting her head as I walked through the door. The bell above the door chimed, and from the back I heard Fuller call out.

"Be with you in a minute."

"Take your time old man, there's no rush," I called out playfully.

"Sullivan, is that your voice I hear?" came his muffled surprised voiced.

"You know it."

"Huh, I figured you'd be dead by now," he said plainly causing me to scowl.

"I called you on the phone last month you fossil!" I replied indignantly.

"Well, a lot can happen in month," he laughed wheezily. "Here, start stacking the canisters in the front window."

"...There's nothing in here!" I shouted, wondering if perhaps he had gone senile. This was quickly disproven though when he started laughing like a loon at his "joke".

"Ugh, just get out here already. I took the day off just to visit you."

"Ya ya, hold yer horses smelly," he responded, followed by the sound of moving boxes.

"I'm not smelly anymore! I have access to showers and laundry now!"

"Which is a definite improvement," Yang smirked.

"Indeed," Weiss agreed.

"Definitely," Blake nodded.

"Totally," Ruby laughed.

"Guys! Come on, it's not like I did it on purpose" I whined at their assessment of my hygiene.

"No, but those clothes were Princess Boxman," Yang teased. Looking down at my pink shirt, green track pants, black hoody and faded tan trench coat, I just shrugged.

"I won't apologize for comfort."

At that, the old man himself came out of the back wearing gloves and covered in saw dust.

"Ah, you still need a haircut," he smirked at me.

"Only if you pay for it," I shot back with my own smirk.

"And if it isn't my favorite customer," he smiled at seeing Ruby, who had been his unofficial mascot.

"Hi Mr. Fuller," Ruby waved. "I'm glad your shop's being rebuilt."

"Slowly but surely, just like the old ways," he nodded. "And you've brought friends as we-"

He stopped midsentence as his eyes scanned the other girls and a look of shock and anger came over his face.

"Uh, Old Man? Are you o-"

"YOU DAMN HOBO! WHY'D YOU BRING A COMPETITOR TO MY STORE?!" he shouted.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" I asked.

"You brought a Schnee here! A Schnee! What are you trying to do, run me out of business?!" he accused me.

"Excuse me?" Weiss replied indignantly with her hands on her hips.

"Oh…right," I said nervously, having forgotten his animosity towards her family. "Look, I didn't mean to bring her here."

"A likely story. You work for them now? Is that why you're so gung-ho about coming back? So you can spy on me?" he snarled.

"What? No! I just want my job back, I don't work for her," I defended.

"Yeah Mr. Fuller, Weiss is a part of my team, I asked her along," Ruby spoke up.

"Ah! And they've gotten to my best customer too?! Despicable. I've only been out of the game a few months and the Schnee's swoop on in."

"I'm standing right here you know?" Weiss grunted having become fed up of our talking around her.

"Yeah, and who asked ya to?" Fuller countered.

"She did!" she growled pointing at Ruby. "I only came because she asked me to. I've no interest in this shop which isn't even built!"

"A likely story," the old man disputed like a stubborn mule.

"But it's the truth you disrespectful old fool!" Weiss shouted.

And let's just say that after that, things got a little hectic. I think both Old Man Fuller and Weiss forgot we were even there as they become engrossed in their argument.

"For the last time, I am not here to spy on you!"

"That's what they all say at first, then the next thing you know your prices are ten times as cheap as mine the very day I'm doing a sale!"

"I'm not even working for my father's company, I'm a Huntress-in-Training!"

"Oh, don't even get me started on your old man girly!"

While Weiss and Old Man Fuller continued to go back and forth, the rest of us just stood off to the side awkwardly watching the whole thing go down.

"Uh...shouldn't we try to stop them?" Ruby asked nervously as she tugged on my shirt sleeve.

I just looked down at her with dead-tired eyes as I helplessly accepted this damned situation.

"You know what Red? I think we should just wait this out. Who knows, maybe they'll be finished before noon?"

"Uh Boxman, I think your giving Ice Queen too much credit," Yang said with amusement.

"No Blondie, I'm not overestimating the princess…" I monotoned.

"You take that back about my father this instant!"

"Not till you take back your insult on my former employee! Only I'm allowed to do that damn it!"

"I'm giving Old Man Fuller too much credit," I finished.

And I did. They yelled at each other for what felt like hours, and it was all petty back and forth responses. Ruby, Blake, Yang and I watched as if in a trance for so long, but eventually Fuller had enough and just kicked us all out.

So yeah, there went my chance to even talk to the old fart. Forget the store not being completed, he'd still be pissed over bringing Weiss in the first place. Suffice to say, I was in a bad mood.

"Well that was certainly productive, good job team, same time next week?!" I growled sardonically as I marched back to the Bullhead, beyond ticked off over a wasted day.

Ruby, bless her heart, tried to cheer me up, but I felt really foul, though I didn't take it out on her. One blessing out of the whole mess, Weiss had lost her voice, so I didn't have to listen to her stupid pretentious Season One talk. The only ones who still seemed in cheerful moods over the whole situation were Yang and surprisingly Blake, probably for some comeuppance for Weiss.

After that, we took the Bullhead back to Beacon, where I left team RWBY in a grouchy mood and pouted in my corner with a few text books for the rest of the day. And because I was still grumpy, I pranked Emerald by leaving some leftover cheese from CFVY's gift basket in her locker overnight.

What can I say, I'm petty when my plans go awry. Especially since that was really the last time I could get off for a long time due to the return of trouble and shenanigans. Some of them weren't my fault though, and I certainly didn't deserve the cut to my paycheck they brought. Stupid Goodwitch.

}Line Break{

A week after that disastrous trip, and two days before payday, I was sitting on a decent amount of lien and hadn't spent any of it on music, ala Emerald. Online piracy's a crime and all, but I needed my tunes so Argh to you you scallywags!

Speaking of Emerald, she was kind of cross with me for the whole cheese thing, especially since it was over something she thought was helpful. Let's just say that for a few days there, I thought she would shank me, more so than usual…until I went to bed one night and found all of my blankets and sheets coated in mustard.

It was a well-played maneuver for a vengeance prank, and so we laughed about it, called it even and went on with our daily routine.

So, on that day while she and I were mopping up floors and the like, I was imagining what useful items I would need with two combined paychecks. And as I daydreamed, and we finished up mopping near a Dust studies room…

*Kaboom*

A loud explosion sounded from within, throwing open the door, followed by a steady stream of thick smoke.

Emerald shared a look before she chuckled and lightly punched my shoulder

"Well looks like your Semblance has finally kicked into gear! I was worried such an essential part of you was gone for good," she joked.

"Ha ha ha, very funny," I said sarcastically. "Now are you gonna help me or what?"

Besides it's not like I even have Aura to have such an awesome semblance in the first place. God help this world if I could just create explosions at will.

Before she even had a chance to answer, her Scroll went off, and before I could even blink, she had it out and was making her way down the hall.

"Sorry Chris but this one's on you. Looks like some kid managed to make a crater in the cafeteria and now there's food everywhere. I'll leave the dust mess to you, see ya later!"

And with that Emerald was gone, leaving me to deal with yet another dust related incident by myself.

I swear it's like the universe wants me to accidently blow up or something! And why do I feel like Nora is at fault for that cafeteria mess?

Shaking my head to clear my thoughts I made my way over to the Dust Studies room with my trusty janitors' cart.

"This is the janitor; do you need some assistance?" I called into the room, I received a coughing fit, and the sound of a few students laughing, so I knew that was a yes.

"Alright then, stand back, let me take care of this," I ordered as I grabbed one of my add-ons and got to work. What add-on you may ask? Why a fully energized, state of the art, vacuum cleaner!

…

…

…

What? You thought it'd be something more fancy? What better way to clear out airborne debris than with a trusty Hoover? Case in point, once I flipped that bad boy on and held its extension tube up, I sucked up most of the smoke Luigi's Mansion style. A few moments of vacuum action later, and the opening of a few windows and the Dust Studies class was practically smoke free.

After I turned the vacuum off, I posed with my hands on my hips and nodded my head at a job well done.

"Well that didn't suck at all," I joked with troll face.

Sure enough, the haters of the world were all in one classroom and all of the students groaned at my awesome pun.

Oi you little brats, that was funny! Where's Yang when you need her?

Before I could call out the students who so rudely mocked me, a loud and boisterous voice cut me off.

"Why thank you my good man for clearing all that smog! I was honestly unsure of how to get rid of it, quite an ingenious idea young lad!"

"Aw thanks, no problem."

Now usually I would feel at least as little bashful for all the praise, especially since it had been awhile for my ingenuity. But well, it was hard to be prideful when the one praising you was one of the less…intelligent professors of Beacon. Of course, by that I mean I had finally encountered the one and only Peter Port!

Now by no means am I calling a hunter like him dumb, he was more of a brawn over brain guy, which I can respect since I'm not exactly known for my strength. It just kinda makes it hard to feel any accomplishment when someone like that calls you smart ya know?

"But anyway, looks like it was just some excess smoke, just keep the windows open and everything will be fine," I said as I walked past his desk rather hurriedly.

He was a semi important character after all, and I hadn't interfered with him too much, so I decided to take my leave. Unfortunately, before I could, he read my name tag.

"Wait a second, you wouldn't happen to be the Mr. Sullivan, would you?"

I stopped dead in my tracks and turned to him not even trying to hide the deadpanned look on my face.

"That depends, what have you heard? Because a lot of those videos are taken out of context, and these kids are great big liars."

"Oh no no no, I don't know how that interwebs stuff works," he chortled in amusement. "Besides, I don't put much stock in gossip anyway. No, I've heard praise about you from a student of mine."

"Which one?" I asked slowly with a raised brow.

"Why young Ms. Rose of course," he said jovially, and I let out a sigh of relief.

At least it's not Nora, I thought, which actually became a mantra of mine down the line.

"You see I've been having to cover for Professor Peach lately and I've had a bit of a hard time teaching dust studies, not exactly my forte you see. I much prefer the thrill of the hunt and excitement of passing on my extravagant tales to the young minds here, you understand, don't you?"

Nope, but I'll just nod my head cause I don't trust my mouth at the moment.

"Well you see Ms. Rose and her teammate Ms. Schnee have been of great assistance in helping me explain the less direct aspects of dust. And while it's obvious where Ms. Schnee gets her knowledge, according to young Rose she's learned all she has from you, correct?"

Oh God, first JNPR and now Port? I paled. I suddenly have a very bad feeling that me tutoring Ruby on dust has changed more of the plot then I thought it would.

Before I could tumble down that little panic tangent though, I noticed that Port was still waiting for his answer. So with a quick awkward cough into my hand I stuttered out,

"Uh W-well-I mean yeah I tutored her for a while but-"

"Oh, then this is splendid! Why don't you take over the class while I message Glynda about my little mishap? Too much energy dust I'm afraid, you understand?"

"But I-"

Before I could even respond to Port, he was off to the corner of the room, typing away at his Scroll and completely ignoring his surroundings. I not so subtly glared at the large man before I turned towards the students to see all of them staring at me.

Oh God, and now the staring returns…

"Professor Port, I'm not sure this is a good idea," I pleaded, but he just handwaved me not looking up from his scroll.

"Excellent point my good man…" and he continued tip tapping away.

"You're not even listening to me are you?" I groaned.

"Mmm, well said," he responded absentmindedly.

…This is Hell. No doubt about it now.

I chuckled awkwardly at all the eyes looking at me.

Okay...now how the hell am I supposed to do now? I may know a lot about dust but expecting me to suddenly teach something? And with all of them staring?

I looked back up at all the group of students, some of them whispering and amused, others curious about what was occurring, and sweat beads formed on my head. Looking down at the desk I took a few deep breaths. Now I know I probably could have just left right there and then, since I was nowhere near obligated to take over for Port and his laziness But well…

Okay, just don't look them directly in the eyes. Start talking like a teacher and The Zone will take care of the rest. Just like it did for Ruby and JNPR.

With my intermittent dust lessons with JNPR over the last couple weeks, I found that I actually liked lecturing people like a know-it-all. I actually liked teaching. I liked it with Ruby, I liked it when I blew up the table, and I liked it with JNPR. When I got into the swing of passing on my knowledge, I would enter The Zone, one of the few places I could still feel comfort and seeing as how Ruby knew more than a professor because of me, it kind of gave me an ego boost.

I mean sure I was still annoyed that the teaching was forced upon me in the first place, but the excitement I had at teaching kind knocked out my annoyance pretty quickly. As I made my way over to lab table at the front of the room I noticed that aside from a few scorch marks here or there it looked fine, and there was even some energy dust crystals still left on it.

Okay, I can do this. It'll be different. Besides, these are only NIC's so it's not like teaching them is going to change anything drastically. NIC's are Not Important Characters, the background characters who were all in shadow in the first season back before Rooster Teeth had a higher budget. Before me, they were all varied and unique, but they wouldn't affect the plot in anyway…or so I thought.

Despite their status, I did happen to recognize a few of them from the last Dust Studies room incident, and only because they all immediately ducked for cover once I reached the lab table.

Geeze you blow up one table, and suddenly you're labeled for life...why do I feel like a hypocrite all of a sudden?

The rest of the students where just giving me looks of caution, no doubt because of all the rumors and Velvet's videos. The only student who wasn't either behind cover or staring at me in caution was a familiar dog Faunus girl at the front row who looked strangely excited at the fact that Port forced me to cover for him.

What's with the excited look? I made you hold back a dust explosion due to my own recklessness and almost made you pass out. Shouldn't you be terrified of me?

Yep, turns out this particular Faunus was Lily, the one Nora mentioned was joining her in following me around…For whatever reason.

I swear, the people I threaten or endanger seem to be the ones to flock to me the most.

Anyway, my confusion at her excitement aside I decided to get things rolling. Taking a few deep breaths, I looked at the dust crystals in front of me, and blessedly, I entered The Zone. Looking up, but not at anyone in particular, I addressed the congregations and clapped my hands together.

"Alright, get out from behind your desks. I know you guys don't want me near any dust at all so how about I hurry up and say some smart stuff so we can all leave quicker?"

What? I said I was excited about teaching, I never said anything about me wanting to waste time. I did not want Goodwitch on my ass for 'slacking off' after all. Despite my declaration though, some of the more cautious (smarter) of the students still hid, only peaking their eyes above their desks.

"Alright fine, be turtles, but keep your ears open" I handwaved. In The Zone, you either keep up or you get left behind.

"For what? What's a mop jockey supposed to teach us about dust? How to clean with it?" Oh, and let's not forget the mocking. After all what would be a day in my life if there wasn't any kind of mocking happening. Said catcaller turned out to be some beefy wannabe punk looking student who had a stereotypical green dyed mohawk and piercings.

I, of course, took his outburst as an incentive to do what I do best besides blowing things up and pranking people. Making douchebags look like complete morons. The Zone is not a place for the weakness of mercy.

"Well pin-head I guess I, being a lowly janitor, wouldn't know a thing about dust. Like, for example, what the most dangerous type is. You would know what that is right?"

"Duh!" he boasted smugly folding his arms across his chest. "It's Flame Dust obvio-"

"BZZT! Wrong!" I interrupted him causing him to have the stupidest/funniest dumbfounded face ever.

"The hell you mean wrong?!" he snarled. "Flame Dust is super unstable in both powdered and crystal forms; how can it not be considered the most dangerous type of dust!?"

"You're right, Flame Dust is considered the most dangerous type of dust...if we were talking about elemental types," I smiled slyly. "But we're not, so you're wrong."

"How?!" he demanded.

I sighed in an overdramatic fashion as I turned to the rest of the students.

"Alright, raise your hand if you use a mecha-shift weapon." That got me a lot of 'are you stupid' looks from them as the majority raised their hands.

"Now keep your hand raised if you use dust in your weapon as ammo, or your semblance requires dust to work."

Only a few students put their hands down, including Lilly and the punk kid.

Hmm...I figured every student was excited to shoot fire/ice/lighting/wind at crazy monsters. Oh well, less work for me then. I filed the info away as The Zone only picks up the most pertinent of information.

"Congratulations to all those who put your hands down, you won't most likely be blown to itty bitty pieces during your career as Hunters and Huntresses," I replied in monotone.

That got wide eyed looks from everybody, even Port's head snapped up, but I ignored it all. The Zone is blunt and to the point.

"As for the rest of you, well unless you invest in some dust resistant pouches or containers in the near future you won't be lasting long."

The students whose hands were up started to look at each other nervously and there was a quiet muttering going around the class.

"If you're all wondering why a deadly explosion is in your future, I need to remind you of a very important factor of your coming careers. You won't just be hunting Grimm, you will also be fighting your fellow humans or Faunus."

This got a surprised looks from most of the students, but those who I assumed were second or third years gained looks of understanding as they figured out where I was going with this. Included in that bunch was Lily, but she had a far more somber look for some reason. But I didn't put too much thought into at the time since I was on a roll and in The Zone.

"Bandits, criminals, even the White Fang and their terrorist attacks, you will have to fight them at one point or another in your lives, that's a fact." Lily and a few other Faunus flinched at that, and even a few students looked at them.

"Eyes up front!" I barked, gaining back their attention. "Not all Faunus are White Fang you idiots, and your fellow Hunters and Huntresses will be your only allies, no matter their race. But know this, no matter who the enemy may be, or who your ally is, if you don't handle your dust correctly, you will die."

By now many of the apprehensive looks had turned to fearful ones, but they were all focused on me and my lesson, just like The Zone wanted.

"All of you probably have some pouch holding all your dust. If not, then maybe a special container in your weapon. You may think keeping dust there in such obvious places is fine, but…" My tone darkened as I glared at the students before continuing, "all it takes is one well aimed bullet, one misguided stab, hell one too many jumps and then you're history!"

Most of the students gulped at my imagery, as they should have. With all my experimentations with the stuff, I'd concluded that the show didn't do the dangers of it justice.

"Now I'm not saying you shouldn't use dust in battle, far from it as a good old Gravity/Flame combo should knock any crook out. But what I am saying is this, the most dangerous thing on the field isn't your opponent or some Grimm. They factor in sure, but what you want to put a good amount of focus on is the miniature bombs you carry around at all times."

I then turned back to the punk kid who seemed flummoxed over learning something new.

"And that's why you were wrong. It doesn't matter the type of dust, but rather how it is handled. The most dangerous type of dust is dust that isn't secured properly. Keep that in mind if you want to live."

And just as if it was planned, the bell went off right at that moment, which caused him and a few others to jump uneasily.

" Now…" I clapped my hands together, "That's all for today. Your homework is to list 20 ways dust can be set off on accident, and how to avoid them! Also, in all of your gossip circles I'm not a hobo, just a little down on my luck. Have a good day."

With that said I grabbed my cart, made a quick retreat from the room, and ran away from their as fast as I could. I did so, because after coming out of The Zone, I realized Port probably wouldn't be too happy with my little life lesson, and I didn't want to get a lecture from him of all people. The Zone is full of tough love, and blunter than baseball bat, but not many appreciate its infinite wisdom.

Turns out I apparently ran for nothing…for once in my time in Remnant. Apparently, I'd taught Port an important lesson as well. Dust Safety 101 people, learn it.

}Line Break{

With that whole mess done and over with the rest of that week went by without any trouble and I actually managed to avoid Goodwitch chewing me out over it. Though a part of me feels like that's only because she was too busy chewing Port out for being 'irresponsible' enough to let an unqualified individual teach a dust class in the first place.

I of course did the honorable thing when I figured out Port got most of the backlash from Goodwitch and wisely kept my mouth shut.

…

What? I'd gotten my taste of sharing the blame with Yang and having to clean up a garbage pit, I wasn't volunteering for that shit again. But yeah, that whole doom and gloom lecture I gave was the last eventful moment of that relatively peaceful month. I did have more students come by at random times and ask me on dust advice though.

I mean like I said I enjoyed passing my knowledge on to others and all, but they were asking how to make ice bombs and how to get flames to spread further. And since I'm not a hypocrite on most days, I'd tell them since it was something I'd taught to Ruby and JNPR. I'd hoped that answering their questions would make them leave faster, but nope, others would come around.

Another off-putting fact was that it was mostly Faunus students who were coming to me with these questions. I mean, surely these kids had heard the rumors of why the White Fang hated me, not to mention my earlier acts of destruction, so why would they flock to me?

I guess it didn't help when I told Emerald and she jokingly called me Professor Dust Devil, because of course she inevitably told Yang, who in turn told Ruby, who told Jaune, who told Nora, who told everyone in a five-mile radius. I mean, it was a step above being called Crazy/Hobo Janitor, but still, I didn't want that reputation. I liked teaching on my own time, not being stopped in the halls, or when I was cleaning a bathroom.

Ruby playfully bragged how she was the first student of the Devil, but Nora did pout seeing as how her "Teammate" was giving away their "edge" to everyone else. It was a headache and a half I can tell you that much.

I think seeing the stress I was under with all the attention led Emerald to not push so hard in getting me to hang out with Neo though, so there was that small blessing. She still offered mind you, but not as aggressively.

So, aside from the random advice I gave, the rest of the month was nice and peaceful. But because I'm a universal punching bag, the next incident went above and beyond in the torment department.

As I mentioned before all these incidents happened leading up to the Volume 1 Finale, and after my last month of relative peace, I could see the writing on the wall.

Two weeks after my sudden takeover of Port's class, Goodwitch suddenly put all janitorial staff to work on cleaning out the extra dorm rooms around Beacon. We did some dusting and cleared out any cobwebs here and there, and then we had to start putting up Kingdom flags all around the school. The final nail in the coffin was when we unpacked the crates of team merchandise where I had saved' my three flags from. I knew that the Vytal Festival would soon be upon us, and I vowed to stay out of Vale until I had confirmation that RWBY and their fun times at the docks with the robot girl had come and passed.

And so, I started avoiding team RWBY once again. Blake and Weiss would have a falling out soon, and I did not need to be used as an example one way or another about Faunus and the White Fang. Of course given my amazing luck, not even a week after I made that vow did I spot team RWBY heading towards me and Emerald during one of our patrols. Both Yang and Ruby looked clearly uncomfortable, and I could hear Weiss and Blake arguing from where we were down the hall. I wasn't the only one to notice as Emerald commented,

"Whoa, what's wrong with the dream team? Haven't seen Yang look that uncomfortable in...well ever. You have any ideas Chris? ...Chris?"

I was stone silent being this close at this critical moment and could not answer her. I had to make a choice and fast...and the choice I went with made me feel shitty. Simply put both Yang and Ruby noticed me, and they both seemed relieved. In fact Yang was about to call out to me, but before she could I...well I won't beat around the bush, I turned tail and ran like a bat out of hell, cart and all. I know it hurt their feelings, but I just couldn't risk being involved, and there was really no other option!

After that I managed to hide out for a good couple of hours. Emerald of course messaged me via my Scroll about just exactly why I ran, and after a flimsy excuse of a sudden case of diarrhea she dropped it. Gross? Yes, but not an excuse many want to debate. But anyway, I still managed to do some rounds while staying hidden, and Emerald being the good friend/lazy coworker she was, didn't try to catch up with me.

After another hour of covertly moving my cart around, I eventually made my way back to the Maintenance Room. Emerald wasn't in there to ask questions thankfully, so I let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank God. She's either mopping a floor or out doing some errand for that flame-psycho. Stupid Cinder..."

Of course the minute I mumbled that the Maintenance Room door slammed shut behind me and my whole body stiffened. Given my general paranoia and the fact that I just insulted the most dangerous person in the school, along with my knowledge as the universes chew toy, I had good reason to start shaking in fear as only one reason the door suddenly slamming would occur.

"D-did I say stupid? I meant amazingly smart and beautiful! Oh, a-and back where I'm from being called a psycho is a complim-"

My voice died in my throat as I turned and saw who was standing by the door. The good news, it wasn't Cinder, The bad news...

"Mr. Sullivan, we need to talk…" Blake said, looking a little worse for wear and a little desperate. My jaw dropped at her state, but what really threw me for a loop was that her cat ears were on full display with no bow in sight.

With this revelation, only two thoughts went through my head.

1. Holy Shit! She's quoting Raven!

And

2. Oh my god look at her little ears! They're even more adorable than I'd thought!

…

…

…

Sometimes, as I look back, I really start to question if my paranoia was the only thing wrong with my head.

…

Nah.

}Episode End{

It is finally time folks! The season 1 finale is about to begin! What changes to canon will be made? Why has Blake seek out our lowly janitor in her time of distress? Find out next time, in the next chapter!

Okay, first off I wanna say sorry for no chapter last month. Like I sated in the beginning Finals were a bigger hassle then I thought they'd be, and I got distracted by Christmas. Hopefully this super long chapter will make up for it!

Oh, and to clear things up before anyone asks no I will not be moving the story to a new fic. When I say season finale I'm just going along with the theme of the titles, this fic will be contained to this story till the end! And if I somehow made this sound over complicated and confusing (wouldn't be the first time) please just pm me and I'll clear things up.

But enough with all my talking, time to call you guys out as per usual!

Prestige Productions: Dude…you are a far braver man then me. I won't hate to have that many things done to my teeth. Gives me the shivers…and yep this Neo was a bit different the usual. I wonder why…

OutL0ud: First off, love the avatar pic. Secondly given Adam's recent 'characterization' I wouldn't be surprised if that is what happens. Then again I'm the one writing this so that's a bit of a moot point hehehe…

TM Calypso: Some hints were made, I wonder if you noticed them? Also I remember a fic were a Yandere!Neo fought with a Yandere!Ren if its any consolation. And I swear I read a Yandere!Ruby fic…maybe it was one of those (surprisingly frequent) Yandere Anthology fics? Also glad you enjoyed the chapter and I hoped you liked this one too, and I wonder what your favorite part was?

ubivashka-kun: Glad you enjoyed the chapter and that I did a good job with the whole Chris fighting scene. A harem…is it there or is it not? Who knows…oh wait I do! Also, Tai Yang as a harem advise consular sounds hilarious, just picturing him talking to a bunch of harem protags is funny as hell!

bwburke94: I have to agree usually, for some reason Neo is just a lot of fun in most adaptations of her. Especially Chibi Neo, but that's practically every character in that series.

themrrandomname: Thank you! And here is more of the story!

As usual thank you all for the reviews! Seeing your guy's reaction is always a blast and something I look forward to every chapter!

As usual don't be afraid to leave any ideas for the fic or Omakes, I always appreciate the extra inspiration and jokes! Plus feedback is always welcomed to help me make this story better!

All logic, especially when involving dust, is completely head-canon. If you don't agree that's okay, it's just how I see things.

Our follow count has reached 509! We've done it folks! We broke the 500 mile-point! I'm so freaking happy and proud right now! Thank you all so so much for all your guy's continued support and actually reading this story! I hope we can someday reach the 1k mark as well! Oh, and the favorite count has reached 362 as well, who-ho!

This has been LightDusk16, signing off!