Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY, but I do own all these OCs.

Clairvoyance

Chapter 3

Date: A few months before the formation of Team RWBY.

Location: Signal Academy

School. Most young folk dread the word. Often at times, it's associated with boredom and pressure. The former from having to sit through lectures and classes, and the latter from trying to get a passing grade on their report cards. And for what? To get a job as some cashier in a fast-food restaurant?

This particular school isn't like the usual ones, though. This one isn't paving a path towards the simple worker, or an artist. Rather, this one is dedicated to one other idea. It's as simple as the ones behind normal schools, but also far different: Combat.

Signal Academy is all about teaching one how to defend themselves and their loved ones. The world of Remnant is a dangerous place, teeming with entities that would nothing more than to drink in on carnage. From the Creatures of Grimm to one's fellow Man, there are an abundance of threats to the people. And it will be up to the students here to protect society. The only question, though, is "how?" Should you become a soldier for one of the Kingdoms' armies, or join the Hunters' eternal war against the Grimm? For one student, it was the latter.

He was a pale-white lad, with messy orange-red hair and bronze eyes. His collared shirt was a brick-red, the tweed vest over it a saddle-brown. The jeans were worn and faded, with tears around the knees and below. Thick boots of a black-and-brown palette left a trail of echoes as their owner walked down the hall. The thing that made him stick out from most folk was his arm. Rather than being of flesh and blood, it was of steel and electronics. Its copper coating gleamed in the light, something that its owner took pride in.

Ualan Kenneth Ferrer strode towards his locker, placing his hand near dial. Copper wisps of energy slithered around the mechanism, seeping into it. Veins of the same color lit up on the door, the gears turning softly behind it. With a soft groan, it opened for the boy. He smirked.

Who needs combinations when your Semblance will do? He thought to himself.

Reaching into the locker, he took out a navy-blue colored backpack. On the front of it was his mark, a burnt-orange quail feather inside a grey gear. Next to be removed a collapsed device of someform, likely a weapon. Tucking it into his backpack and slinging it across his shoulders, he exited the facility and ran pass some of the other students. Some folk ended up being toppled over by him and yelled vague curses at him, but he paid them no heed. He had more important things to do today.

A few minutes of running and he had made his way to the island's pier. A man at a booth stood before him, clearing his throat loudly. Ualan slipped some Lien into a cup, and the man handed him a ticket with a nod. Nodding back, the boy ran towards the ferry boat, leaping onboard. As the horn sounded and the vessel departed, he leaned against a wall nearby and crossed his arms. He allowed himself to be lost in the music from its pipes, and let his mind wander off. A few minutes later, he was shaken back into reality by the ship's rocking.

He looked around to find himself at another pier, this one belonging to the city's industrial district. Leaping off of the ship and running into the streets, he trotted his way towards one of the local scrap yards. He stopped at the gate, gazing at the hills of rust and iron before him. All of this was waiting to be recycled and processed, melted down for raw materials. This whole city's junk would become treasures.

I suppose they wouldn't mind if I helped myself with some of their jewels. He thought to himself.

He rushed past the wired gates, dropping to his knees at one of the miniature mountains. He ran his hands through the pile, digging out specific parts and pieces. He placed them into his backpack, and moved on to another hill to repeat the process. This went on for a few minutes before something flew past his ear. Startled, he yelped as another object darted past his foot, dropping his bag. He turned his head towards the direction it came from, and saw several shapes around his size forming around one of the other scrap piles.

The shadows scattered, surrounding themselves around the boy. Many of them were men, both Human and Faunus. They all bore some piece of scrap metal on their person, adorn as some makeshift armor. Their weapons ranged from tire pipes to nailed bats, from blowtorches to electric batons, and other similar weapons. The head of the wolf pack, however, was different.

The man was garbed in black-and-grey, save for whatever makeshift armor was wrapped onto his body. The boots and jacket were of a leathery material, his pants bearing a camo-style colorscheme. Tire pieces were melted together as shoulder-armor, while pauldrons were welded from rusted signs. Scrap-metal was the basis of the leg armor, with what appeared to be belts over his worn grey shirt.

A broken helmet covered most of his head, with spiky strands of pale-green hair sticking out from the top. Behind a shattered yellow visor were two eyes, both of them a burnt-orange. One of them seemed to be duller, though, and possessed cracks for some reason. It didn't take him long to realize that it was a glass eye. And though he couldn't see the man's mouth, he could feel a wolfish grin forming beneath it.

What caught his attention though were the massive gauntlets covering his lower arms. They were gunmetal in color, with patches of rust here and there. Pipes, gears, pistons, and more were caked onto their surface. Various tools seemed to have been integrated into them, each a different one. One of them held what appeared to be a blowtorch, rivet gun, and pincers. The other possessed a fire extinguisher, buzzsaw, and drill.

All eyes were onto the boy, or rather, his arm. Some of them also looked toward the backpack, sneering at it.

"Well, well," Spoke the leader of the pack. "Looks like we got ourselves a packract."

The armored man strode towards the student, revealing himself to easily be a head taller than the child. "Don't you know that this is Rustler property?"

The other gangsters edged slowly towards Ualan, raising their weapons.

"Since you just happened to waltz in here, I'll assume that you haven't heard the news," He continued. "I'll give you one chance to walk away intact. Drop the back and we won't roast your ass off."

The boy's only reply was a simple grin. "Nice of ya to offer, but I'm gonna have to turn it down."

A short laugh erupted from the head goon. "Suit yourself." He said, motioning towards his minions as he made his way towards another mount of rust.

Three of them leapt at the lad, letting out a battle cry. One lunged with a makeshift spear, but the boy sidestepped the attack. He rolled under the blade of another, toppling him over with a kick as he rose. Ualan balled up his metallic fist and prepared to knock his teeth out, but another man charged into him. He managed to stop the maniac from sticking a knife into his neck, headbutting him in retaliation.

As the rouge stumbled back, Ualan raised his mechanical limb to block a vertical attack from the swordsman. The lancer tried to impale him from behind, but the boy leapt back as it reached towards him. The lance found its way towards the swordsman's armor, knocking him back a considerable distance into a pile of scrap. A couple of bullets collided into Ualan's back, though his Aura held up. He turned to see the rouge, holding a smoking pistol.

Grabbing a large piece of scrap metal, Ualan charged towards the coward. He fired more rounds at him, yet he would shift the large metal piece to block their trajectory. Once he got close enough, he rammed the makeshift shield straight into the man's skull, knocking the daylights out of him. He heard a battle cry behind him, and raised the scrap up in time to block the lancers blow. It managed to pierce through the metal sheet, sticking itself in place.

Taking advantage of the situation, the boy pulled the shield back past him. The gangster was pulled along with it, and was met with a metallic fist to his face. That same hand caught the rusted blade of the remaining gangster, who starred at him in bafflement. Yanking the patchworked sword from him and casting it aside, he grabbed him by the neck and spun around. The poor fool was then thrown into a towering pile of scrap metal, which collapsed over his unconscious body.

The pack-leader growled, motioning towards more of his minions. They nodded and all raised their submachine guns, firing upon the Hunter-in-training. Rolling behind some cover, he glanced at his backpack, still untouched. Making a mad dash towards it, he slide across the battlefield under a barrage of bullets. Grabbing the bag as he skidded on the earth, he darted behind some more cover to open the luggage. Among the items was a rectangular block, a gun-metal gray with designs vaguely resembling flames. Two barrels were stacked atop one another, the top one being significantly smaller.

Ualan smirked. A quick flip of the switch and the block unfolded into an assault rifle. Leaping over his cover and letting out a battle cry, he sprayed bullets across the battlefield. Many of the goons panicked and scattered for cover, others chose to stand their ground. Ualan ran towards one of them, sliding across the ground as he ducked. He responded with a stream of brass, the Aura around him bursting into fireworks. Another made a mad dash towards him with twin daggers, but he was dispatched with a few bullets. A small group had the better idea of combining their firepower, unleashing a storm of their own towards the lad.

The student ran to some cover, starling a couple of goons (and himself). One of them panicked and fired with a pistol, though he wasn't such a good shot in his state. The other one was calmer, though, and managed to chip away at the boy's Aura. Ualan used his weapon and mechanical arm as temporary shields, before charging into the scaredy cat. He ran over the power soul, firing at the other minion. Though he managed to dodge the bullets, he didn't anticipate the lad grabbing his collar and throwing him into his recovering teammate. Both of them were knocked unconscious.

He leapt over their cover, gunning down another few unfortunate minions. One attempted to perform a vertical slash with his nailed-bat, but the lad blocked the blow with his rifle. He delivered a swift punch to his abdomen and bashed his firearm against his head, removing him from the chess board. As he fought through more and more gangsters, their boss surveyed the chaos from atop a makeshift throne.

The man's good eye flared as he gazed down, snarling. His bodyguards tensed up, swearing that they saw fire blowing out of his nose.

"Release the tincans," He demanded.

The two goons glanced at each other, bewildered. "Bigman, we're still tinkering around with those things. There's no telling if they'll actually work or not."

"Then consider this a test run." Replied the leader.

The henchmen looked at each other. Reluctantly, one of them walked to a terminal and pressed a series of buttons. A soft hiss could be heard just below them, followed by the rattling of metal. Two scrap piles gave way, flowing and clattering onto the ground as a large silhouette emerged from each of them.

Ualan rolled under a horizontal swing from an electric baton, gunning down its owner as he stood back up. Something large and heavy collided into his back, earning a pained yelp from him. He spun around and was bashed to the side by a rusted object. It came crashing down towards him, with the boy barely having enough time to roll out of the way. He leapt back to give himself some breathing room, and got a closer look at his assailant.

Two hulking automatons- possibly from around the time of the Human/Faunus War- loomed before him. They were covered in rust, yet he could still see patches of silver beneath the grime. Both of them had ruby-red optics, with some type of muzzle placed around where their "mouths" should be. One of them had a rivet gun for one arm, a sludge hammer for another. The other possessed a flame-thrower and what appeared to be a drill. Smoke-stakes were protruding from their backs, with glass-cases housing Dust crystals built into their chests.

The unit with the drill stepped forward, letting out a metallic bellowing sound as steam hissed through its muzzle. It fired the mining tool from its arm, the drill splitting into an open claw with a chain behind it. Ualan spun to his side as it sailed past him, colliding with a metal pillar. The machine pulled itself forward, activating its flamethrower as it flew. Ualan ducked under the fires, firing his machine gun at it. To his shock, the bullets bounced off its armor. He didn't notice the other one sneaking up on him until it was too late. An uppercut with its hammer sent the poor soul flying.

Ualan rolled and skidded across the earth as he landed, groaning as he rose back onto his feet. He retaliated with a barrage of bullets, yet they bounced off of the constructs' armor. The one with the hammer came charging at him, swinging it's too down. As the boy strafed around the weapon, he aimed for the glass window protecting the Dust crystal. Much like before, his bullets couldn't deal any damage to it.

The other robot charged at him, flames and drill at the front. Ualan strafed around the construct, firing bullets at its legs as it ran past him. While it didn't do any damage to the robot, his eye did catch something. There, on its back, was a series of gears between the smokestacks. Opening fire on them, he managed to knock a couple of them off of their slots. A metallic screech boomed from the drone's vocal processor.

The machine rotated its upper-body at 180 degrees in the blink of an eye, firing its drill-claw and grabbing him. He yelped as he was yanked back to its owner, and panicked when he saw it raising its flamethrower. He clasped both of his hands on the trap, closing his eyes as he did so. Coppery veins began appearing on the brute's limb as it aimed its flamethrower at him. Just as it managed to bring up sparks, though, it suddenly lost its grip on him.

Rolling as he dropped to the ground, he sprinted off to the remains of an automobile and hid behind it. He opened a compartment within the lower region of his machine gun, revealing cylinder-like objects. A faint orange glow dimmed from small veins on the metal canisters. He sighed. He had hoped that he wouldn't have to resort to using them this month.

These things better not be a waste of Lien, He thought to himself.

Closing the compartment back up, he took a deep breath and charged towards one of the automatons. Firing upon the one that threw him earlier, the metal beast retaliated in the form of launching its drill-grappling claw. Ualan dodged each strike, closing in on the unit. Realizing how little distance there was between them, the robot switched to its flame-thrower and sprayed another stream of fire at him. Sliding under the flames and beside the construct, his finger drifted towards a secondary trigger on his gun and pulled it.

A grenade shot out from the bottom barrel lodged itself in the gap containing the shoulder joint, detonating on impact. The automaton screeched as its arm was blown off, landing beside it. Ualan noticed an exposed pipe in the severed limb, a hissing sound slithering from it. Ualan fired bullets from the top-barrel of his assault rifle, the projectiles creating sparks as they scraped against the opening. The whole arm exploded into flame and shrapnel, destroying the mechanical monster's legs.

The construct fell face-plate first into the dirt, screeching as it fell. The boy leapt onto its back, smashing his fist through the gears and other exposed clockwork. It searched through the chassis for something- anything- to grab and began tearing out random components. It eventually found something warm and glassy, sending a grin onto its owner's face. Yanking the mystery object out revealed itself to be the Dust crystal powering it, and it swiftly found its way into his pocket. A whining sound emitted from the robot's vocal-processor, though the sound died out in a matter of seconds.

The remaining robot opened fire on the boy, sending out a storm of rivets at him. Ualan ducked behind the wreckage of the first bot, noticing the other arm of the fallen drone. Reaching over towards it with his mechanical fingers, began transferring his focus and Aura into it. As he did so, he thought heard a series of soft "thumps" moving towards him. The more he heard the sound, the greater its volume grew. After waiting a moment, he willed the contraption into firing. Snapping out of his trance, he caught a brief glimpse of the hammer hovering his head before it darted out of sight.

The robot screeched as it was flung into the air, the claw wrapped around it. A thought willed the limb into swinging backwards and flinging its victim into a junk-pile. That very pile happened to be where the gang-leader's makeshift sat. The man cursed in surprise as the hill swung and swerved, eventually collapsing over the defeated robot. The gangster tumbled onto the ground, his remaining henchmen buried under the rubble.

As he rose onto his feet, he heard a chuckle. At least several yards away from him was the boy, mechanical arm hidden behind his back. He had a mischievous grin on his face, and a glint in his eyes to match. He motioned with his organic hand, daring the man strike. The leader snarled as gusts of wind exited his nostrils, his good eye meeting the lad's. The man let out a battle-cry, charging at him as he activate all the tools within his gauntlets. Once he reached just a few yards before him, he leapt and raised the arm that held the buzzsaw and drill over his head. Ualan simply ducked under the attack and his raised his own fist; a metallic one coated in those coppery veins of energy.

It rocketed into the nether region of the man, earning the boy a tearful scream of agony. As he crashed into the earth, Ualan could've sworn he heard a pained whimper under the thug's breath. As he curled up into a ball and covered his prized jewels, the student simply shook his head in disappointment and waltzed over to his backpack. Once it was back on him, he ran out of the scrapyard and onto the street.

Slowing down and taking some breath, he examined the contents of his bag. None of the salvage had been taken during the fight. He reopened the chamber for the grenades, finding a couple more remaining. He smiled.

At least it wasn't a complete waste. He thought to himself. He reached into his pocket and fished out the Dust crystal. And I got a little bonus to boot.

He looked up at the sky and frowned. It was already a navy-blue sprinkled with glowing specks of white. In a few minutes it could turn pitch-black. High time that returned him. Running back to the docks took him roughly about ten minutes, and the sky had just gotten darker by then. Hastily purchasing a ticket and boarding the boat, he took a seat on one of the deckchairs on the deck. Crossing his arms behind his head, he leaned back and closed his eyes. A short nap wouldn't hurt.

A sudden thump awoke from his sleep. He rubbed his eyes and yawned, opening those bronze orbs. He shook his head in disbelief at the sight before him.

He was not at the island of Patch, nor was he even on the boat to begin with. He was in an empty room, bearing nothing but the chair and himself. Four exits surrounded him, each leading to a different place. The first was a long and narrow bridge of crystal, with seas of silver below and an ebony sky above. The second was a forest, constantly shifting between a green paradise and a winter wonderland. The third…

The third exit revealed a dark corridor, covered in litter and rust. Pipes and clockwork caked the walls and ceiling, with worn books and torn documents clustering together on the floor. There was the stench of old air and a hint of smoke from the path, along with an iron smell. Steam cloaked the majority of the hall, yet he could've sworn he saw shapes moving within the mist. A metallic rattling could be heard in the distance, along with what appeared to be a scraping sound.

Ualan turned towards the last exit. To his surprise, there was a locked door between him and it.

What was even was even stranger was the presence of sand at the bottom. The reached out for the nob with his organic hand, yet found that it wouldn't tug. A burning sensation swarmed through his arm, causing him to jump away from the door and curse in pain.

Growling, he walked back to the obstacle and noticed a keyhole within the nob. He reached out with his mechanical limb, and attempted to channel his Semblance into it. Yet oddly enough he couldn't feel any mechanism within it. If anything, there didn't seem to be anything to even lock the door to begin with.

A tapping sound echoed across the chamber. Startled, the student turned towards the source to see a silhouette peering from over where the clockwork hall was. The figure motioned for him to follow along, and vanished. Ualan was initially gonna ignore this, but noticed that the other two exits had also been closed and locked up. He remained wary, however, and stood firmly planted in the spot he took for the next few minutes. He strode towards each of the two doors, focusing his power through them. He the same results as he did with the previous one.

The boy grumbled under his breath. Looked like he had no choice but to press forward, he concluded. Reluctantly he walked towards the figure and followed it into the mist. As he exited the room, a glass mural manifested between it and the hallway. A silhouette of the lad appeared on it, bearing a orange-red "U" at the bottom of the portrait. A coppery background stood behind him, with what appeared to be rusted gears behind him.

The door leaning to the crystal bridge began another mural, this one featuring a shadow wielding a single-hand sword and an arm-mounted shield. Around its neck was strange key-like piece of metal, with an almost organic curvature. A silver "K" was at the bottom of the portrait, the background being colored in a navy-blue.

The second door had a similar treatment, with the shade of a young girl twirling a naginata around. Her hair and the background flickered between two different contrasting colors; saddle-brown and snow-white. Vines grew around the glass mural, sometimes developing a sheet of ice over itself. A forest-green "N" was imprinted onto the bottom.

There was no mural for the fourth door, however. Instead, it opened to reveal a vast desert beyond. The skies constantly switched between day and night, the sun and Remnant's fractured moon seemingly caught in an eternal loop. Several eyes began spawning from across the land, each one unique. A strange orb loomed in the center of the foreground, glaring at the exit...

And a dark laughter echoed across the chamber...

A/N:

That took longer than I expected to get done. Life has been getting to me lately, so I didn't have as much time to plan or write this. After today, things will probably get busier for me on this side of Earth.

Here're some things I'd like to mention about Ualan. Firstly, he was inspired by steampunk cosplay and the genre in general. He also has a sorta Scottish or Irish accent. As for how he got his mechanical arm, well… he was born with a missing limb and the mechanical one was giving to him to make up for that. Oh, and for those of you wondering the name of Ualan's Semblance, its "Biomechanics". If you have any questions or pick up grammatical/spelling errors, leave a review or PM behind. Before I sign out, here is one last riddle about the final member of Team KNU_.

You know, they say that actions speak louder than words. Let's see how much noise this fellow can make…