Three hours.

For three hours, Jak had been listening to exactly why saving the day was wrong and how irresponsible it had been for him and Ruby to have fought against a crime group organized by some nightclub owner that no one else had bothered to deal with. For three hours he listened to how he had shared the blame for the "property damage", "injuries", and other complaints about how he fought the forces of evil. For three, long, painfully slow hours this had wanted to be anywhere else in the world than the room he was stuck in right now.

The moment he saw the blonde woman with a temper and sense of righteousness that could only be matched by Samos he knew he was in for a long, boring night. He had been expecting a lecture, small congratulations, and maybe a warning for foiling a robbery despite failing to stop it from happening in the first place. What he had NOT been expecting was for the so called sage like "huntress" to explain in painstaking detail exactly what he and Ruby had done wrong and exactly what she would have done in their situation. Of course she knew exactly what they should have done, because of course she would. That was exactly why she was nowhere nearby when any of the exciting or, according to her, "incredibly dangerous and irresponsible" things happened. People like her always assumed that things would go the way they wanted them to.

There were many things that Jak would have loved to have said to the self righteous woman in front of him. Where was she when those thugs started attacking them with their oversized weapons? Why did she think that berating a couple of people trying to do the right thing was the best thing she could do in the middle of the night? Why did she find the need to talk in circles for over THREE HOURS? All of these questions and more were burning a hole in the back of Jak's mind, but he knew better than to talk back to someone who was clearly older, "wiser", and possibly more powerful than him and Ruby combined. After struggling to win even a single argument against the only so called pacifist amongst the sages back home, he knew better than to fight back against what was happening. Trouble came in all shapes in sizes, and he would rather deal with the one whose only threat was to put him to sleep rather than the full fury of a sage. Against one that could fully restrain him long enough to bring him to some unknown building for a stupid lecture, there was no way he was going to do anything to purposefully spite her. With that said, it was probably better than being turned into a fern...

So after three long, painstaking, tedious hours of learning about the history of Vale and how both vigilantes and whatever an unlicensed huntsman had no place in the city, whatever that last thing was, he maintained the same concerned look that he had since being taken in by the city's local guard or what looked to be their equivalent. The men that the "huntress" sage, Glynda Goodwitch according to Ruby's occasional request for an autograph, walked by all looked as threatening as the average Babak and lazed about as much as the purple Lurkers when they passed.

Still, there were a lot of them. Even if they were only as strong as the dark eco corrupted primates they did have a number advantage over him and Ruby, who seemed to be content to listen to Glynda's lecture. Perhaps content wasn't the right word he thought after looking at her, rather… accepting. Yes, she was accepting this punishment in the exact same way that he and Daxter would whenever Samos caught them sneaking out of the village after forgetting their chores. The look on her face was exactly the same one they had when knowing that they did nothing wrong but not wanting to add yet another reason to get yelled at.

There was also the matter that these weren't Lurkers, but people that he would have to fight in order to free himself. Now, Jak knew that regardless of what kind of foe that he had to face that if he were to hesitate against them for even a moment he would be defeated and at their mercy. Seeing as how most people with ill intent seemed to consider death or destruction by dark eco as a fitting reward for defeat he made sure to never lose a single fight, at least not against opponents he had no qualms against fighting.

Fights against other people, those who were only trying to do the right thing were another matter. There was a reason none of the other kids tried to pick fights with him or Daxter anymore. With as much strength as he had it was hard to hold back sometimes, and Samos had to settle things with more than a few angry parents after their children came to him with broken bones and an explanation as to why the ordinarily shy Jak had hurt them. There was a reason why no one bullied Daxter once Jak started hanging out with him, just like how Samos' explosive temper towards troublemakers became well known around Sandover Village. If the quiet kid and the wisest, most powerful man in the village found a reason to get angry over something then whatever it was had to be a good one.

Still, even though Jak felt like he could possibly fight his way out of the building if he could catch Glynda off guard, he wasn't going to do it. Not only would it go against his good, if admittedly petty and sometimes mischievous nature, but also would leave him without anyone willing to help him find Daxter. Jak had not forgotten about his missing friend after finding himself facing down over a dozen criminals, even if he couldn't exactly figure out how he managed to go from fighting Lurkers to being lost in a strange new city and getting told off for THREE HOURS STRAIGHT in the same day.

Speaking of said lecture, Jak had honestly stopped paying attention to it for the most part after the first hour. His lack of sleep and overall exhaustion from everything was starting to wear at him, and a late night talk was not helping. It had taken all of his remaining willpower to not fall asleep in the middle of the "huntress" sages' speech and earn her wrath, which was exactly why he felt nothing when he would roll his eyes and laugh at more than a few of the things she claimed he and Ruby did wrong. In retrospect, perhaps that was the reason she was repeating herself. She had mentioned how disappointed she was at how he seemed to think of what happened tonight as a joke, but then again he wasn't really paying attention to the more boring parts so he wasn't certain. What he was certain of, however, was that the tone of her voice had changed from "generic disappointment" to "specific reasons why I don't like you". Years of living with Samos honed his instincts so that he would instantly tune into whatever words were being said when this change happened, as the threat of being turned into a plant was more than enough to persuade him to listen after seeing how Samos typically dealt with Lurkers. Fighting a Lurker plant had only made him much more willing to listen to his adoptive father now that he knew that plants could actually think and what that meant for Samos' unfortunate victims...

"...thousands of Lien in property damage, five men sent to the hospital for broken bones from injuries after their auras had broken, the owner of "From Dust Till Dawn" is still hysterical after having his shop ruined thanks to your actions, and even though I still don't know how you managed to do this, one of the men that you have injured had to be removed from the road by a saw after having his pelvis shattered and his head embedded into the road. Words cannot describe how appalled I am at your actions today, but allow me to make one thing clear if I have not done so already!" Glynda Goodwitch said as she once again made the main point of her one sided discussion painfully clear to them.

"Your actions have consequences and what you have done today will not be taken lightly. You have put both of yourselves and others in great danger today."

Jak could only scoff at this comment that he had heard countless times back home, as while the thugs were somewhat dangerous they were nothing compared to either him or Ruby. The only thing dangerous about those thugs was their sense of fashion. If anything, he and Ruby had saved the shopkeeper's life after stopping the robbery. Things might have been a lot worse for the innocent old man involved considering how easily that Torchwick guy had been willing to abandon his underlings and harm them in his attempts to get away. From Jak's experience, people like Torchwick rarely tended to leave behind witnesses or prey if they had a choice, so he was confident that he had made the right decision in fighting them off. Ruby on the other hand looked somewhat sullen, as if she had never once considered that someone other than herself could have been hurt. The teary eyed look left him speechless for a moment as he was shocked that a kid his age couldn't understand something as basic as kill or be killed, even if nobody got seriously hurt once everything was over.

Before Jak could give this line of thought any more attention, he felt a flash of white hot pain wash over his hand and yelped in surprise at the sudden sensation. Glynda had apparently noticed how "seriously" he had been taking her lecture thanks to voicing his annoyance and she responded in kind by slapping his wrist with the riding crock she held, leaving a faint red mark on his hand.

"Hey! They started it!" Ruby yelled in their defense, although the hesitant tone of her voice took away from whatever point she was trying to make with that childish statement. Jak for one couldn't care less because that slap to the wrist hurt worse than a wumpbee sting.

"And if I had not pulled you both off of that rooftop when I did then they certainly would have ended it. Now, if it were up to me only one of you would be sent back home with a pat on the back and after both of you received a slap on the wrist… but there is someone here that has something to discuss with you." Glynda said as she looked at the two of them, taking extra note of how Jak rubbed the hand she hit and the red mark underneath.

"I expect the both of you to be on your best behavior when talking to him because if it were up to me neither of you would be receiving the opportunity that will be presented before you." She said as an older looking man with a plate of cookies and a mug walked into the room behind her.

If the woman known as Glynda Goodwitch was a sage that had yet to truly understand the nature of her work despite mastering the material she worked with, then the man who had only just walked into the room seemed to have all of the experience that she lacked as far as Jak could tell. Calm, collected, and with eyes that looked like they were picking apart everything they could about the other two occupants in the room aside from his fellow sagelike companion, every part of him spoke of wisdom that had been acquired through years of experience and understanding the world around him. He wore a fancy black coat and dress pants over a simple green shirt and scarf that suggested that he was either a master of green eco like Samos currently was or dark eco like the Acherons had been. His silver hair and pale skin suggested an equal unfamiliarity with eco that Glynda possessed, but then again perhaps the sages here didn't take in enough eco into their bodies to have their skin color change similarly to the ones he had known. He was as far from home as he had ever been now, so perhaps the sages here were different from the ones he was familiar with as a result. Even the cane he held in his hands to presumably channel eco was different, the simple clockwork device looking more like one of the Blue Eco Sage's many failed attempts at creating an eco powered weapon for fending off Lurkers more than anything else. Everything about the man said he was a warrior, and one that was not past his glory days like the Warrior of Rock Village had been after fighting Klaww.

Even so, Jak didn't let the obvious offering in front of them distract him from what was going on. While Daxter was quite prone to yielding information after their latest misadventure, so long as what was being offered to him seemed to be worth whatever punishment Jak could think of once he sold out his friend, Jak was not so easily bought. While Daxter lacked a certain sense of dignity when it came to more delicate matters and secrets, Jak could keep a secret until the end of time. Even if he wasn't afraid to talk to people, which he definitely wasn't and no one could ever prove otherwise, Jak had a certain respect for other renegades without a cause like himself. It wasn't much, but it was enough to keep his lips shut so long as no one would be harmed after a few bored kids from Sandover or drunken adults felt like leaving the farmer's pen open for the night and other innocent pranks like that. Not unless they deserved it, at least.

Even as the smell of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies… and warm yakow milk with just the right amount of freshly squeezed strawberries for… NO! Not even the perfect snack could break Jak's silence. His voice was not going to be bought by such an obvious bribe! No matter how amazing they smelled or… no, he could never be bought! Never!

Ruby… did not have the same reservations as Jak. The man that had only just walked in the room had barely been able to set the sweets down when Ruby started grabbing them by the handful and shoving them into her mouth leaving Jak absolutely speechless at how little restraint she had… and a sense that perhaps he should not have hesitated to grab a few of his own after seeing how delicious they were to the girl enjoying them.

"Oh dear, perhaps I should have prepared a separate plate for each of you. Oh well, I'm sure missing out on a few cookies is the least of your worries." The man mused as everyone in the room could not help but to stare at the ravenous red reaper as she mercilessly tore into the snack in front of her. It was only once she stuffed her face with most of the plate did she notice what everyone was looking at.

"Ooofs, showwy." She said while chewing the last mouthful of the remaining sweets as she realized that everyone's attention was on her.

"Ruby Rose, you… you have silver eyes." The man said as Ruby hurriedly gulped down her glass of milk with her face red with embarrassment.

'Well, that's a creepy thing to start a conversation with.' Jak thought as he raised an eyebrow at the man's odd statement. Ruby seemed to have been thinking the same thing, as she paused long enough to give the words some thought before finishing what was supposed to be their shared drink. Not that he would have been bought by such a small thing of course, but that was supposed to be for both of them after all…

The man seemed to realize exactly how peculiar his statement was as he quickly adjusted his scarf and continued with whatever speech he had prepared before anyone else could comment on what he had said.

"So! Where did you learn to fight? I do believe I know the answer for at least one of you, but I would rather hear it for myself rather than assume more than I already have about you both." He said, effortlessly gliding over his previous comment as casualy as Daxter teneded to do when he made an equally stupid observation.

"Uh… Signal Academy?" She said, asking it rather than saying it if this was a test of character similar to the ones Glynda had glossed over in the past THREE HOURS. The same ones that Jak had apparently failed by trying to sleep through.

"They taught you how to use one of the most dangerous weapons, for both those wielding it and those fighting against it? I must say, I'm surprised I haven't seen any other huntresses in training like yourself coming out of Signal if that is the case." He said, his eyes never straying from Ruby and the casual tone of his voice never revealing exactly how much he knew about her.0

Jak was completely lost and was noticeably the only person in the room who seemed to have no clue as to what was being discussed. Even Glynda seemed to be lost in thought rather than confusion like he was, leaving him at a complete disadvantage. Still, rather than tune out this conversation like he had most of her lecture, Jak found himself listening closely as the other sage's interrogation would more than likely move on to him at some point. Considering how the man seemed to be leading Ruby by the nose with the question he asked her, he probably knew a thing or two about how Jak might have ended up here as well. The glimmer of hope that the man knew what Jak didn't was enough reason to at least focus on what kind of questions he might need to answer at the very least. The hope of finding his friend was more than enough to keep him awake now.

"Well, it wasn't so much as Signal itself as it was one teacher in particular…"

"Is that so? The only scythe wielder I know is a dusty old crow, and considering his circumstances I am surprised to see someone of his skill coming from the academy he teaches at." The man said as he let out a small smile after seeing Ruby light up after mentioning a certain somebody.

"Oh, that's my Uncle Qrow! I was complete garbage before he took me under his wing, but now I'm all like- WIIITCHAAA! HIYAAAA-"

*OUCH!*

"-oof, I'msosorry!" Ruby said as she started making various, comical karate poses before accidentally slapping Jak in the face and earning a cry of pain in response from one of them.

'Apparently he never taught you not to hurt the people around you when showing off.' He thought as he rubbed his face in the spot that Ruby hit him as she blurted out an apology as fast as she could. 'First the cookies and now this.'

"Hah hah, so I've noticed Mrs Rose. And what is an adorable little girl such as yourself doing at a school designed to train warriors." The man said as Jak's ears noticeably perked up after hearing this.

While most of the warriors that he heard of were from stories and the only one that he had met himself was quite melodramatic, as Daxter put it, after his defeat at the hands of Klaww in the volcano between Rock Village and the Mountain Pass, Jak still held the job in high regard. Even after being able to live as a world wandering warrior in the two weeks it had taken him to save all life on the continent after his misadventure on Misty Island and dealing with all the ups and downs that were involved with it, he still yearned for the to be one. The very thought of a school for learning how to be a warrior, a school that turned someone who looked as harmless as Ruby into a giant scythe wielding and cookie devouring maniac that didn't know how to share held his full attention.

"I want to be a huntress, just like everyone else in my family." She said, a sentiment that Jak could only partially understand as he shared the same sentiment behind her words even despite lacking a typical family of his own.

"You want to slay monsters?" He asked, the tone of his question cracking and showing an intent to recruit her for some grand scheme like Samos tended to do with him and Daxter.

"Yeah, I-"

"Monsters?" Jak quietly asked, his voice little more than a whisper but more than enough to nearly cause Ruby to fall out of her chair in surprise.

"I KNEW YOU COULD TALK!" She shouted after finally having one of her many questions from earlier in the night answered, this time being the one to nearly cause Jak to fall over at her sudden shouting. The two adults were surprised by the sudden outburst as well, but did not react as wildly as Jak did.

*ahem* "What exactly would you be referring to, Jak, was it?" The man said, his calm facade returning once again as he finally addressed the other occupant in the room for the first time with inquisitive eyes that stood on top of the small smile he wore underneath them.

'Lurkers? Animals? People? Something else?' Jak thought as images of the many enemies that he had fought came to mind as he did so, from armies of Lurkers to the big black things that had been born from a diabolical combination of green and dark ecos in the fight to determine the fate of the world. Still, he knew nothing about the creatures that lurked around the city so he just shrugged and hoped Ozpin would explain for him.

"Hmm. Well even if you have never been inside of a city before today and fortunate enough to have never met a Grimm before, that's a fair question to ask. To answer your question, the monsters huntsmen and huntresses fight are both creatures of pure darkness and people that threaten the peace of those around them. Whether they are protecting people from each other or the beasts that lurk outside of the walls that keep everyone in the city safe or those outside of Vale and away from the clutches of those that would do them harm, huntsmen and huntresses that are licensed to do so or those still in training like Ruby will be there to keep them at bay and uphold peace on Remnant." The man said as he answered Jak's question.

The word "Grimm" stuck out like a sore thumb as the man referred to them, whatever a Grimm was, in the same way he would a Lurker. Still, if Grimm were even half as dangerous as Lurkers then training people to fight them and other threats sounded like a great idea... although there was one thing that had bothered him about Ozpin's answer.

He answered the question so well and with such conviction that Jak almost believed him, even if it came far too quickly for him to think of it in the moment he took to give his answer. Still, even if that wasn't his exact reason Jak could at least tell that he meant the part about keeping people safe, something that he could easily agree with. Even more so if it involved some way to become a better hero than he already was and a few cookies on the side, not that the last part mattered that much...

"Would that answer your question… Jak?" He asked after searching for and failing for another name to call him by, earning a nod to both the answer and way the man referred to him.

"Wait, how do you know him, I mean us?" Ruby asked him, clearly intrigued with the direction the current conversation was going as well as having more of her questions from earlier answered.

"I make an effort to know all of my students, Mrs. Rose. My students, and anyone that can become a great huntsman or huntress in the future if what your sister Mrs. Xiao Long has said about you is true. As for you, Jak, I suppose you could say that we have been paying close attention ever since you dropped into our sight and recent events have convinced us that now would be a good time to meet you in person. Both of you, that is." Ozpin said, Jak taking note of the man's choice of words and how he seemed to know exactly what Jak hoped he would.

"I doubt Jak would know this, being a new arrival to Vale, but do you know who I am Mrs Rose?" He inquired with the same mischievous smile on his face.

"You're Professor Ozpin. You're the Headmaster of Beacon Academy." She said as everyone in the room could tell she was about to squeal from excitement.

"Mrs. Rose, I know that you still have two years left at Signal Academy but after seeing you in action today I doubt that there are more than a handful of students that have enrolled at Beacon this year that can match you. How would you like to enroll at Beacon, as both me and Glynda would be more than willing to-"

"OHGOSHYESIWOULDLOVETOGOTOBEACONSOMUCHTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!" Ruby shouted as Ozpin's offer was cut short by the energetic teen's eager attitude at being offered a chance to enter Beacon, let alone doing so two years early.

"Well, I do believe that would settle things. We will need to tell your father and have him accept my offer before you are officially enrolled at Beacon, but seeing as he has already testified to how ready you are for the courses offered from a handful reports from the classes he has taught and considering that your sister is already enrolled I think it would be safe to assume that I will be seeing you quite often in the coming school year." Ozpin said as he gave her a warm smile as Ruby was lost in her own excitement, earning a chuckle from Jak who was watching the entertaining display going on right beside him.

"Glynda, if you would kindly tell Ruby what she will need to prepare for when classes start in a week outside, I have something that I need to discuss with Jak here in private." Ozpin said as he looked towards what Jak now figured to be his assistant as he silently appraised the old man a little higher if he was able to give orders to HER.

Glynda gave her boss and Ruby a curt nod while Jak only received a scowl which he answered with a look that screamed guilt but not guiltiness, causing her to usher out Ruby quickly before she said any choice words to him that Ozpin might be able to hear. Jak was tempted to stick his tongue out at her as she left, but thought better of it as Ozpin seemed to know a lot about Jak and he did not want to risk outing himself as a troublemaker if he hadn't already. After Glynda and Ruby left, the latter giving both of them a small wave and thanks, Ozpin quietly walked to the door that they left through to make sure it was closed and no one outside was listening to them before returning to face the room's only other occupant.

"Where should we begin? Is there anything that you would like to ask me, or would you rather I just tell you what I have observed after watching you fall out of a portal that opened up above the city this afternoon?" He asked, no longer mincing his words. Just how Jak liked doing things when a simple nod or look wasn't enough to get his point across. Jak simply nodded towards Ozpin who took that as a sign to tell the boy what he knew.

"Let me see here…" He said as he pulled out a small tablet of some sort that he knew more than likely had plenty of information about Jak, obviously organizing what he knew… which looked like a surprising amount if it was more than he could remember at once. "At 5:03pm today, a strange purple light appeared above the residential district of Vale which left a young yellowed hair boy, that would be you, Jak, falling from a height estimated to be over one mile above ground level. You not only displayed quick thinking and resourcefulness with what you had shown up with to ensure your landing was mostly safe but also managed to do so without any aura, if what I have come to understand is correct. That is quite impressive, much more so than most other landing strategies I have seen from my students at Beacon over the years." He said, chuckling at the last part in a way that unsettled Jak even if he had no idea what Ozpin was talking about.

"After then, you managed to wander through the streets of Vale without any discernible pattern around Vale without rest despite having to force your way through crowds and avoiding other obstacles in the various alleys you travelled through. You apparently stopped before being found by Mrs. Rose, and managed to fight off a dozen armed criminals alongside her despite being unarmed… going so far as to stick one into the road. I'm sure Glynda has always given you her thoughts about the way you ended your night, but I for one am impressed that a boy your age has the endurance to fight off a well known criminal organization as well as you have after doing a full day's worth of travel and surviving several near death situations all in the course of five hours." He said with clear admiration in his voice which Jak ignored as he was never one for flattery, as flattery typically was followed by hard work in his experience.

"After your fight on the streets you… well, I don't quite know what to say about what you were doing on that ladder but I-"

"Can't climb." Jak quickly said in his quiet voice.

"I can see that quite well as it did take you a minute to climb four stories. Anyways, although you were unable to stop the bullhead that acted as the Roman Torchwick's-"

"The weird makeup guy."

"Yes… I suppose that is one way of describing him, anyways what I wanted to mention now was not how you were able to fight back against one of the most powerful semblances I have ever seen, but something peculiar that I noticed instead." He said as he turned the odd looking tablet for him to look at.

Rather than any parchment or paper being held on top of it, instead the tablet showed how he survived whatever Torchwick had intended to use that red crystal on Ruby alongside his own explosive firepower. Although it was hard to make it out from the distance with the perspective the tablet showed him, he could clearly make out what happened once Torchwick tossed a red eco crystal at him. He clearly pushed Ruby away from it, but what someone who didn't know what to look for might miss was that the red glow of the crystal disappeared after he crushed it and then surrounded him as he was empowered by one of the most potent forms of red eco that he had come across. Jak was confused how something so obvious was noteworthy, but perhaps that was the reason why this was being shown to him. He was the only eco channeler he knew of that wasn't a sage and people with their talents were quite rare, even more so if they were not a sage of some kind.

The look on his face apparently told Ozpin this as well, as he seemed to have had whatever questions he had for Jak answered with the boy's general attitude to the scene in front of him. The apparent confusion at an obvious result of absorbing that much eco seemed to be the answer the man was looking for too.

"I see, so you did know what you were doing. Well, as much as I would like to ask you more about what you did today I believe that we will have plenty of time to do just that while you attend Beacon." Ozpin said as Jak considered the offer, and after taking a moment to weigh the choice between more heavy lifting back home and training at a school for warriors by warriors, he immediately nodded his approval.

"Of course, we will help you find that pet of yours that one of my other students have managed to find." Ozpin said, causing Jak to nearly leap out over the table towards him in shock.

"Yes, yes, your pet is okay. It is doing quite well for himself, considering how he managed to land safely on a beach unlike yourself." Ozpin said as Jak cursed what would typically be Daxter's luck now that he was experiencing it for himself. "Now while we do not ordinarily allow pets a certain-"

"Friend. Best friend. Not pet ." Jak said adamantly, almost speaking above a hushed whisper this time.

"Yes, I'm sure he is a close friend of yours but-"

"No. He was human, things… happened."

"Things happened? Things that could turn a human or faunus into a small furry… rodent?" Ozpin asked, hesitating for which word to use before settling on what felt like the most accurate one despite it's connotations. Jak gave him a quizzical look at the mention of the word "faunus", but decided to gloss over it for now since there was something more important to discuss.

He nodded, earning a surprised look that finally broke through the headmaster's reserved demeanor.

"Oh, I must say that I have never heard of something like that before." Ozpin said as he looked flustered for the first time since entering the room. "I believe we can find some way to have your friend…"

"Daxter."

"Yes, Daxter, I will ensure that Daxter will be able to enroll at Beacon alongside you. That is, of course, if you would be willing to attend classes alongside Ruby. While I would like to help you even if you were not to attend, certain restrictions prevent me from acting in such a way that would make it look like I am abusing my authority as the headmaster of Beacon Academy. If you were to become a student there, not only would we not be able to avoid that problem but it will also allow me to help both you and your friend with your special circumstances. So now that you know all of this, would you be willing to enroll in my school? " Ozpin inquired after conceding to Jak's one demand, although calling it that was a stretch.

Jak only nodded his approval, earning a smile from Ozpin who pulled out a few plastic cards of varying colors and another tablet from the inside of his coat as he tucked away his own.

"Now, although I am sure you have many more questions for me right now I am afraid that I will be unable to answer them until classes start at Beacon. There is still much that needs to be done and so little time to do it in time that I will be needing to make up after learning as much as I could about your 'unique' situation." He said, his choice of words once again not going unnoticed by Jak.

"Tell me, do you know what Lien is?" Ozpin asked, to which Jak only shook his head as he inspected the cards and the amounts on them.

"Well, to make this simple for you, they are this currency used by most places you will find around here. Although I am sure that you would have figured that out in due time, I would assume that as you have not asked for any help until Ruby decided to offer her own after arriving in Vale that you prefer to handle things on your own. While I can certainly understand the reasoning behind your actions, not knowing something as basic as this would have caused questions that you might not be able or willing to answer. Lien is just one of many common things you will find that people here will assume everyone to know about, much like the Scroll I just gave you." Ozpin explained as Jak opened up his backpack and tucked them inside.

"Now, there is much more that I would like to discuss but I am afraid that I am lacking both the time and trust required to give you a worthwhile answer. Thankfully, it seems that Ruby would be willing to help you out and as I have already booked a room for you in the same hotel that she is staying in I am sure that it wouldn't be too hard to get along with her and make it on your own until your initiation into Beacon Academy next week." Ozpin said, earning a guilty look and chuckle from Jak who could not deny the trust issues the man had mentioned.

Sure, Jak would have liked to learn more from the man who was being nothing but helpful at the moment but at the same time there was something there that left him hesitant to fully trust him. The man seemed genuine, but he was a warrior like Jak aspired to be. A warrior who could be easily read would end up being crushed worse than the one in Rock Village if their opponent could react in time. This, thrown in with how Ozpin had explained so much about Jak without ever telling him why he knew anything to begin with left Jak feeling a bit uneasy about trusting him. The Lien and weird glowing tablet "Scroll" thing were nice gestures... but he was not so easily bought. An extra plate of cookies wouldn't have changed that either.

Besides, if this man truly was anything like the sages back home then all of these gifts and favors from Ozpin meant that the man surely had something that he wanted in return. The less help that Jak accepted from the man, the easier it would be to refuse any tasks or errands Ozpin might have for someone like him.

Now that the two had come to an agreement Glynda walked back into the room and gestured for them to come with her before Jak could give this any more thought, something that both he and Ozpin looked thankful for as the two walked alongside her to where Ruby was waiting for them. From there they uttered a few goodbyes and gave Ruby the autographs that she had been so adamant about receiving before parting ways and leaving the two teens alone as the two traveled together under the cloud covered night sky.

"So… it looks like we will be attending Beacon together, Jak." Ruby said, trying to stir up some sort of conversation between each other as they walked through the brightly lit streets and earning a noncommittal nod from him.

"Yeah… and uhm…hey, Jak? I was wondering… since Ozpin said you were new and all... and that I will be skipping two years and none of my friends will be attending Beacon with me… and it also sounds like you won't have anyone you know there too... would you like to be… oh I don't know..." Ruby was stumbling over her words now, a slight blush coming across her cheeks as she twisted her fingers in the hair while trying to say what was on her mind.

"Friends?" Jak asked after taking pity on her and having had enough fun watching her struggle to say anything the whole time she spoke.

"No, no… I MEAN YES!" She said, expecting a sarcastic reply and shouting once she realized that was exactly what she wanted to ask him.

Jak gave her nod and playful bump on the shoulder, earning a giggle and tap back from her after his attempt to help her relax had been successful. With her earlier nervousness gone, Ruby finally decided to learn more about the strange boy that she still knew next to nothing about.

"Hee hee, I can't wait to tell my big sis that I am going to be attending Beacon with her and show that I can make friends without her. She's a bit more… outgoing than me, but I think but since I'm almost as shy as you that you would get along well with her too! You even fight the same way, sortakindanotreally, maybe you two could have a few practice matches and get along with her that way." Ruby said.

Jak was only nodding along with her in the same way that he did to Daxter now that she was sounding just as hyper as him, but once she mentioned that her sister fought like him… probably, he instantly perked up at the thought of having a sparring partner again. It had been a long time since he had a chance to fight someone seriously while training. Too many visits to Samos after his sparring partners were thoroughly beaten by the boy was one of the many reasons why the old sage had to set up an entire island for the boy to practice his skills on. There was only so much that green eco could do to a wounded body and so many times adults can be beaten by a kid before the decision was made to exclude Jak from most hands on training sessions in Sandover Village.

The chance of practicing against an opponent that wasn't as easy to defeat as the Lurkers that typically rushed him in groups and made no effort to defend against his wild punches and kicks made him look forward to meeting Ruby's sister. The thought of listening to someone that made the girl in red look shy was a bit of a drawback, but hopefully by then he could find Daxter and let him keep her occupied if she was half as talkative as his best friend.

Before long their discussion changed from what they were looking forward to doing at Beacon, or rather Jak listening to what Ruby was looking forward to, to what plans they had for the next few days. As Ruby had been expecting to board the first bullhead back to Patch once morning finally arrived, she had no real plans until Beacon started beyond telling her family that she was accepted into Beacon and hopefully leaving out how she broke many of the promises she made with them while stopping Torchwick and his thugs. It was while she was worrying about what she would do if her 'cookie allowance', words Jak found equally ridiculous and believable coming from Ruby, was taken away when she remembered that Jak seemed to be more unprepared than she was.

"Hey Jak, is this really your first time inside of a city?" She asked him, recalling one of Ozpin's previous comments which Jak nodded in agreement to.

"Would you like me to show you around Vale then? There are so many places to see, games to play, comic stores to visit, gun stores to restock at and I wouldn't mind showing you around." Ruby said after recalling how lost her new friend had apparently been earlier today.

"If you'd like me to." She quickly added after fearing she might be overwhelming him again.

He gave her yet another quick nod, earning a small grin from her in return.

"Okay! There is so much I want to show you so be sure to wake up bright and early in the morning Jak!" She said as they reached their hotel.

The inside was… well, it was simply incredible when compared to anything he had seen before. The fanciest place that he had seen was the Mayor's house back in Sandover and this place was at least as tall as the precursor temple in the Forbidden Jungle back home. The walls were painted bright green with a faint floral pattern on them, the chairs all looked to have been made by the Sculptor, and there were more vases and expensive looking relics in the entryway than there were in the entirety of the Lost Precursor City he rediscovered.

Jak could not be bought… but if this was what he could expect from this place while looking for Daxter then perhaps he could take his time. He was in need of a well deserved vacation and Daxter probably wasn't in danger if what Ozpin said was true...

"I know why you were interested in Ruby, the girl does have her mother's eyes and most likely her powers, but why the boy?" Glynda asked him now that she and Ozpin were alone and free to discuss recent developments from the safety of their private bullhead.

It hadn't been more than half an hour since they parted ways with the two newly enrolled students. The walk back to the airfield had been quiet for the most part, as both of them had been thinking long and hard about what they had seen during the two kid's fight against the criminal that had been going on a rampant crime spree as of late. It was only now that they had no one to overhear them that they finally decided to speak what was on their mind. They could have waited until they were back in Ozpin's tower to discuss what had happened, but neither one of them wanted to wait that long to address the two teens, or rather the one that seemed to have suddenly appeared out of thin air.

"Mind if I ask why you are so curious about Jak? When that dusty old crow first brought him to our attention you didn't seem interested in him." Ozpin asked, his whimsical way of speaking revealing no other intentions beyond his general curiosity.

"The boy seems like he will be more trouble than he is worth. We already have enough troublemakers with one of the other girls you waived from the application process, and we will have our hands full with training the other auraless child you decided to enroll. To top it all off, he is rude, has no regard for authority, and shows no concern for others when fighting. Have you seen the medical reports yet? The boy is an irresponsible menace and I do not know what you see in him." Glynda said as she listed off every single issue that she had with him.

"Although you do have a point in bringing up his recklessness, there was something else that I noticed about him, or rather his arrival." Ozpin said before pulling out a copper colored egg shaped orb with strange markings decorating it. "I found this near where he landed. Do you know what this is Glynda?"

"No… although it does seem to bear some resemblance to some of the ruins scattered across Remnant." Glynda said as she inspected the rounded markings on the orb.

"That is a precursor orb, if what little records of them we have from before the Great War are accurate. According to Oobleck, they were once used as a currency by a globe spanning kingdom that once ruled over the entirety of Remnant. I myself thought they were little more than a myth, but as you know…"

"Yes, yes I know about you and your myths. So this kingdom did exist at one point?" She asked, quickly trying to avoid yet another one of the headmaster's colorful retellings of a little known legend.

"Yes, and Jak just so happens to have appeared from a portal alongside an extinct animal he claims to be his best friend and an ancient relic that shows no signs of age. Quite the interesting set of circumstances, isn't it?"

"And THAT is why you are taking a gamble on him?" She asked, knowing Ozpin enough to be certain that this was not enough for him to take interest in somebody.

"No, that is why I offered him enough Lien to compensate him for the orb. His channeling of Dust is the reason why I needed to have him enroll in one of the academies."

"Channeling Dust? Isn't that something that can be done by anyone?" Glynda asked him, as both of them grimaced as a certain practitioner of this method came to mind.

"Yes, but Hazel is only able to draw a small portion of the power out of the Dust crystals and that is only after introducing them into his body in his own… unique way. No, Jak is quite different indeed. I do believe I saw more than enough in his fight against Torchwick to assume his talent is as powerful as Ruby's silver eyes, once she learns how to use them." He explained, earning Glynda's intrigue once more.

"Oh, and what is so special about him then?"

"I… am not certain. I still want to take the time to make sure my assumption is correct, but if it is then we might have found another bane to the Grimm, a bane that might be able to be taught or shared with others. Do you see why I have taken an interest in the boy now?" Ozpin said as he tried his best to convince his companion despite lacking the solid evidence to do so.

"If whatever you think about the boy is true, then I suppose we have no choice but to have him attend Beacon until we can learn more about his power. With that said, I will not tolerate any misbehavior on his part." Glynda conceded, earning a chuckle from the headmaster.

"I wouldn't expect anything less, Glynda. I have a feeling that Ruby and Jak are the two I have been waiting for all this time."

"I hope you are right about this Ozpin, or else we might come to regret this."

"I hope so too, Glynda. I hope so too." He said. The rest of their ride to Beacon passed by in silence as they flew above the clouds in the light of the shattered moon.

Author's Bit:

Once again, thank you all for making it as far as you have!

I apologize for this slog of a chapter, but I needed a way to insert Jak into the story organically and I felt that it was either now or never. There were plenty of things I want to explore in the future that I wanted to at least hint at now so I decided to include just that. Thankfully I will finally be able to hold up to the promise in the first chapter after this and let our cast explore the world a bit. Be expecting great things and more mysteries being discovered soon.

I also have to thank you all for your feedback as well, it helps out a lot to see how well I am explaining and teasing things and how to go about it in the future. I have seen quite a few comments spread between my inbox and the comments about one particular feature that I noticed, that being Jak's ears. I had been wondering if anyone would catch on to what I might have planned, and was pleased to see some people thought they were as important as I did. Hopefully some of you caught on to what I am going for, and if not then this will be the last I speak of them until a certain character I have in mind brings them up. Can't reveal all of my surprises and ruin the wonder surrounding them too soon, right?

Please, continue discussing what you see and think in the comments. I love seeing how well I am doing at foreshadowing my plans and I don't want to confuse anyone to the point that everything stops making sense. Questions like the ones that you have been sending me brighten up my day since I know I am doing a good enough job at keeping you all intrigued to make some of you feel like asking for more and clarification on areas I have left intentionally vague for now. Details are important in a story, to both help it feel like the world it takes place in exists outside of it and to stay immersed inside it. I've been throwing a few minor details and hiding others thanks to the shifts in narration, so if you ever do happen to see something that catches your eye be sure to remember if you believe it might become relevant in the future. Everything has a reason for existing within the story whether it's for an admittedly cheap joke or setting something up in the future, like building up characters or foreshadowing future events.

Anyways that's all I have to say for now. Hope to see you all in the long journey ahead!