Author's Note: Yo what is up ladies and gentleman? Well, finals week here on campus, as of writing this I have a final Tuesday then have nothing for the rest of the week, but I can't leave till Friday. So it should give me sometime to write something, either for this story or maybe I'll write something for one of my other neglected stories. Next semester I'll be having to take my first education class, which is an odd thing to say out loud if you ask me. I'm taking a class, in order to learn, to teach a class. You know that one meme where it's the water polo player dumping a bottle of water on his head when he already is in the pool? To me it feels like that. But enough memes, a horrible gangrene limb of society that needs to be cut off, on to the writing.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

Chapter 4: Ground Zero

To say the road to Beacon was unfinished would have been like saying that Mantle and the faunus have not had the best of relation: it was a massive understatement. It felt like they just chopped down some trees, left the stumps, and prayed the armored personnel carriers they had would be able to make the journey. Every five seconds it felt like they just traversed a tree stump, either they didn't account for how heavily forested the other side of the cliff was or their driver was drunk. Seeing as how the rest of this excursion was going, Carbine wasn't sure what to put his money on. He was tired, exhausted, the battle had left him weary but for the life of him he had no clue why. He had gone on defense missions in the name of the kingdom back during the two years between now and the end of the war but nothing ever felt that...viceral. Back in Mantle things were much more simplistic it felt, for some reason he used to have this feeling that everything was going to be fine. But now, there was an atmosphere of dread. He wasn't going to admit it but when that one beowulf got the drop on him he froze, a lapse in judgement that would have cost him. A good soldier wouldn't have done that, a good soldier would have acted.

Gods dammit all.

Another bump and he growled, he felt so alone right now as the snoring of the two male faunus in the vehicle was really beginning to agitate him. Seeing Akihiro and Ilios resting side by side snoring louder than some of the mechanical mining machines back home was grating to say the least. Murder inducing to say the most. They were right next to each other too, how did that screw up with their faunus hearing, if it was bad for him then shouldn't be ten times worse for them?

"Faunus," he thought before having to slap himself mentally for thinking that. He was not his mother and he certainly wasn't his father. The idea he was becoming like him made him shiver. When he thought about it those two were fine, he had to force his trigger finger to stop twitching involuntarily when he thought about them but it was better than some of the others from back home. While not law enforcement by any means, he had been tasked with ending several brawls in the academy between the majority human population and the minority faunus population. Injuries were common, and he would prefer not to think about the fatalities. From the looks of it they both were from Vacuo, so at least they would be easy going if what people said about Vacuo. Not his soldier friends but what the general public outside of the military had said offhandedly.

He was sat right next to a window, it was dark with lamp posts every so often to light the way. He could only see the others for a split second before their faces were clouded in darkness. However every time he saw their faces he saw the one girl from Mistral giving him the stare down. Finally he humored her.

"Is there a reason why your glaring at me?" He asked, still focused on the outside landscape racing by as a shadowy blur.

"You're from Mantle, aren't you?" Cold and decisive, Carbine chuckled internally, she could have easily matched his own tone.

"And you're from Mistral," he replied, a small game of cat and mouse, "what brings you to this side of the world?"

There was silence, the tension in the room seemed to electrify. Carbine was sure nothing was going to happen, but hesitantly he adjusted his right leg to sit across his left, his ankle was within grabbing distance in case he needed the knife hidden on the ankle holster.

"I'm here for the same reason you're here," she said, his hand stopped.

"I have a hard time believing that," Carbine told her, looking at the driver turning the wheel. If it was true that he was soldier of Vale then Carbine would be able to say anything he wanted to, granted that monkey butler didn't order a report on those he was transporting. Honestly he didn't want to discuss this current topic so he shifted it to the other girl who he couldn't see right now, "Who's the other girl?"

"Her name is Mono, I think that's what she told me, she's a little interesting to say the least."

"Why's that?"

"I'll let you figure that out," she answered leaving him to huff in mild annoyance. Was there something wrong with cutting to the chase? "Did you see her weapons?"

He recalled in his mind from the time she had taken out the Beowulf, "A Johnson & Easton 9mm pistol, a stun baton, pepper spray, and I think I saw some handcuffs. Classic equipment for law enforcement for Mantle and Vale police departments."

"Impressive you could tell the gun from a few glances," Amid said.

"I don't think I can recall a time when I didn't have a gun either in front of me or in my hand."

"How tragic," she said with little emotion, "you should be honored to be trained from birth how to use your weapon."

He chuckled, "I wasn't given much choice in the matter, honor had little to do with it, still doesn't carry much weight with it if you ask me."

"Honor is what separates us from the beasts, without honor we are no better than the grimm."

"I didn't come here to talk about a warrior's philosophy okay?"

"So why did you come here? Don't think I didn't notice you dodging the earlier question"

Lightly he growled, not enough to be heard over the running engine, "I have my secrets, you have yours. I would prefer if they remained secret."

She huffed and didn't say anything else, he didn't particularly care if it was because he pissed her off or if she had nothing else to add to the conversation. The one good thing out of said conversation was that it finally drained, and sleep finally overtook him.

He awoke to nonsensical shaking hours later, if he wasn't so damn tired then someone was about to get stabbed. He opened his eyes to a still dark and starry sky, it had been a while since he'd seen a sky like that. Mantle was filled with bright lights and sometimes he wondered if the town ever stopped working, stopped moving for one instance. When travelling across the northern end of Sanus to get to the capital he had seen night skies like this nearly every night. Then when he got back to the city they disappeared once again. They were calming to look at.

Then Akihiro got back in his face.

"Good, you're up," he said jovially, Carbine's mood was much less.

He finally noticed they had stopped, the annoying hum of the engine and bumps had completely ceased. "We here?" Carbine asked.

"Yep," the faunus opened up the back door of the APC which now that Carbine looked, the man could barely fit in it, his ears nearly scraped the roof and he had to hunch out of the back metal door. "What a view!"

The rest of the group mosied out, but Carbine and Amid stared at each other, unmoving from their spots.

"Go ahead," she said.

"I'll move when you do," he replied, grabbing his rifle and beginning to inspect the mechanical contraptions within. She rolled her light grey colored eyes and started to walk towards the open air. He shifted himself before moving out himself, as he hit the step to get out he turned around to the driver, "Thanks for the ride." He didn't wait for a response before slamming the door shut, the wind whipped his hair as he felt the rush of warm air hit his neck. If there was one thing he liked about Mantle it was the cold, he absolutely despised the heat.

Carbine first thought was to look at the massive tower stretching into the sky, a bright green lantern light in the top of the tower. In the darkness Carbine could see the construction was well done for military standards. Tall, strong, and a perfect spotter's position. The rest of the compound looked not nearly as up to snuff for military procedures. The architecture was fancy, with arches and courtyards, fountains and gardens. No shooting ranges or obstacle courses, he was beginning to think there wasn't even a mess hall. The students were probably going to be forced to grow their own food like organic turnips or radishes, or whatever those weird hippies thought was sustenance.

Suffice to say, this was nothing like the military academy back in Mantle.

That was the least of his worries though, right now he wanted to get back to bed, perhaps in this poor excuse of a compound there would at least be a decent barracks to turn in to. A soldier came and lead them to their gender divided rooms. That meant that Carbine would be alone with the two faunus.

"Drop the bad thoughts," he ordered himself. Though it wouldn't hurt to have his knife close by. He couldn't really see into the room since it was so dark and they three really didn't want to turn on the lights. Ilios was still clicking his tongue and it was about to get on his nerves, thankfully when he found his bed he planted his face right on it. Akihiro eased onto his bunk and rested his heavy cross on the bed post. The bed creaked under his weight as he groaned.

"Well, looks like we made it," the faunus said.

The walls were bare, no windows to look out of, only a clock on the wall. Ilios was already gone, completely asleep and snoring away once again. Apparently running from a massive Deathstalker was tiring.

"Not an entirely unreasonable result.

"Carbine," the Mantle soldier whipped his head around towards Akihiro who chuckled, "Lost again in thought hey?"

"Been a long day," he replied quickly, between the fights, the ride, Amid being cryptic as the gods bedamned. Military life was never as difficult as this, being told to shot was much simpler than this.

"I guess, I was gonna ask about your thoughts on all of this. Sort of weird isn't it?"

"Yeah," for once he could reply with genuine honesty, everything before that had been met with hesitation and calculation. That one word felt like the weight of the world had been lifted off his shoulders.

"What happens now?" Akihiro asked, "Where do we go from here? From fighting a war, to fighting the grimm, the battle never ends does it?"

"I suppose not, nothing is ever that simple."

"Do you think this thing is going to work, this whole Grimm-hunter thing?"

Cautiously he thought about it. Privatization of armed forces that were young and impressionable. When he saw the initial group at the hill before they were blasted off the side of the cliff, there was not a single adult over the age of twenty three he reckoned. Then he thought about the location, Vale, seen as the 'winner' of the war but in terms of number most of the fighting was done on its side of the continent. Most settlements were lost in Vale, the casualties dwarfed the others and when the other three combined Vale equalled to half of the combined total. Plus, this was spearheaded by the king, ran by the king's head advisor and putting the fact he was faunus aside there also was a military presence. Soldiers transferred them and oversaw the screening process, or perhaps it would be more fit to be called an initiation due to the cult-like way it went about it. In the forest abandoned by the military and led by a secretive group. Very little was known about the King of Vale, and now that he was missing, this only added more scrutiny to the whole thing.

"You want my honest opinion?" Carbine asked, he didn't wait for the faunus to respond, "We'll be fighting a second war in five years."

-X-

"You sure you want to stay here, the doctors said she'll be fine," Lynae asked within the infirmary on the Beacon campus, a fair walk from the housing, ten minutes at the most. At least she'll get a good look of the campus. She looked down at Oro who sat in a chair, his cone straw hat removed letting his messy red hair flow free. Oro himself wasn't paying attention to Lynae, at the current moment she could excuse that, instead he was looking down at the girl in the bed sheets with scratch marks and bandages.

She was pretty, Lynae thought, even in the moonlight the girl's honey colored hair was pleasing, smooth and flowing. Oro had carried her all the way to the temple where they met Finley, apparently he hadn't thought about if people who were unconscious counted as passing.

"Passing," it rang out in her mind. Passing meant having to learn, and having to learn mixed what Finley called an 'academy' meant school, and school meant having to go to classes.

She was absolutely regretting this immediately.

"I'll be fine," Oro replied, "I'm just going to stay here a few more hours until she wakes."

"The doctors said she should wake up by tomorrow."

"Knowing how luck and everything else works in the world, I would reckon she'll wake up before that," he said, Lynae couldn't see it but he had a pleasant smile on his face, "I should probably apologize and thank you for coming back."

"Ahh, don't sweat it, I had a feeling you were going to come back pleading for me," his smile turned into a knowing grin, at least she was funny, "just didn't think you would go a find a new girl to replace me."

"It was not my intention to wound your heart my princess," chuckles left the two lifting the atmosphere in the moonlight room. "Lynae I need to ask you a favor."

"Sure, what's up?"

"That sword you saw me holding, I need you to never mention it to anyone, it would be better if you forgot it ever existed."

"Why? It's just a sword, tons of them around," she explained.

"It's...complicated where I got it from. Being in Vale with this sword might raise more eyebrows than I want to."

"Sure, whatever," she figured it was just another one of his quirks, add it to the already long list. "I'll leave you two alone, just try to get some sleep, if today was any indication, then who knows what's going to happen tomorrow."

The door closed softly, the rush of wind caught some of the girl's honey colored hair and she shifted slightly at the new sensation. Slowly, he brushed the strands back and the girl went back to sleep soundly. "There, there, no reason to wake up right now. Just rest, I remember something from the early days of my home, before I began my journey, something about nights like these. Calm before the storm, that was it. The broken moon looking calm, the stars above seeming to dance, the clouds hanging above, it all looks so peaceful. Take in these nights girl, because I can promise they are going to end soon. If what that Finley fellow said was correct, then our lives are going to have to change fast. And if there is one thing I've learned from my three or so days in the kingdom, is that you civilized people do not like change." His eyes had been getting heavy ever since the ride to the campus, he planned on sleeping once Lynae left, but that was supposed to happen an hour ago. With her gone he closed his eyes and let sleep overcome him, the warmest sleep he had gotten in years.

-Location: Vistral Ocean (The ocean between Vale and Mistral), Time: Concurrent-

"Portside! Portside! We got a blip!"

"But sir! We don't have visual contact, this fog is too thick!"

*BLAM* *SPLOOSH*

"Lad, you can smell the thickness of the cannon fire, you can feel the sudden chill of the air. Sanders, any luck on contacting land? Mistral or Vale?"

"No sir!"

"Aye then, if he wants a fight then we will damn give him one. Load the portside guns! Sanders, try to keep calling home!"

"Aye sir!"

"What are we even fighting sir?!"

"Lad, you ever hear of the legends of the Lost Sailor's Ship? Tales coming back from the war about how the angry spirit of the sailors took over a vessel and now roam the seas for vengeance. Led by a mad captain how disobeyed orders and was lost at sea. Congrats lad, because you get to see it. Prepare to fire on my mark! Ready! F-"

*BLAM* *BLAM* *BLAM* *BLAM* *BLAM*

-Location: Beacon Academy Campus, Morning-

Waking up at the same time was a mechanical like action for Carbine, everyday back at the academy he was forced to wake up at the same time, during the winter it would be pitch black. Those who didn't figure out that they needed to wake up were subjected to ridicule from the others, something he was not targeted by or participated in. It was the end of the summer season, so mornings still had that odd feeling of being sometimes warmer than a Mantle summer day at noon. He hated the heat, he found it stifling at the best of times, the cold was never stifling, the cold never made it unbearable to move. The other two were still asleep, if the mounds of their form in the blankets were anything to go off of. Then again, Akihiro could probably wake up a whole platoon with his snoring. How they didn't get noise complaints from anyone else was a mystery to him.

Now that the scenery was visible than in the dark of night, he only questioned the purpose of this place even more. Vast arches, with bushes and hedges, walkways made out of carefully constructed stone tiles. Fountains and statues sprinkled throughout the grounds. His eye twitched, was this a castle or a military academy? However it would be impossible to miss the giant tower towards the front of the campus. That must have been where they lit the lantern for all to see. The scent and feel of something warm wafted by his nose, it was unmistakable.

"Breakfast."

The dining hall was large, well more like tall, sort of like the castle in Vale, massive heights for no good reason. At least the tables and chairs were uniform and not made of porcelain or something stupid and needless. He approached the line of cooks.

"What are you serving?" He asked.

"Waffles, eggs, bacon, and sausages," came the nasally reply of the older woman.

"I'll take some eggs and waffles,"

"Got it," it was clear she didn't enjoy her job, her tone and the way she slapped the poor waffle on a plate and shoved it to him. A small part of him felt sorry for the way she cracked the egg on the frying pan.

There were not many people up, a select few that found a way to make it out of the rooms. Thankfully he didn't have to talk to them, because a small newsstands was posted in the corner where he took the local newspaper, "The Vale Times". Not the most creative name out there, but wasn't like he wanted to debate a name change. The pages were flipped through rapidly, weather, economics, the funny pages all went in a blur until he reached-

"World News," he said to himself, "Council of Vale to take first term at the start of the week. Mantle worker's riot continues for second straight week, no end in sight." He put it to the side while he munched on his eggs and divied up he waffles into small bits. Unfortunately it was plain, a bit of syrup would have gone a long way. What good was it being bland and plain?

"I smell nothing from you."

Why Akihiro's odd analogy stuck in his brain at that point was a question that Carbine would have to answer another time. What a fool he was, Carbine had seen plenty, done plenty, done more than most should actually. If that blasted faunus knew the things he had seen then he wouldn't be so insightful. And what that Mistral brat, Amid, was saying last night was stupid as well. Honor? Should be pleased that he was trained? That all went out the window when the rifle was invented, when combat could be done from long distances. Fools who used sword and blade always died first, if not for their poor choice in weaponry then for the common mindset all of them share: bravery.

Carbine was not brave, he was precise, he listened to orders, he didn't hesitate, he acted as one with his weapon. He didn't believe in honor, he didn't believe in making foolish decisions that got you killed, and he certainly didn't need to be told by an outdated weapon using bitch in a kimono.

"You're very angry a lot, aren't you?"

"Shut it, I want to be-" Carbine's head suddenly whipped round as he searched for the voice in his head. It was definitely not his own, his voice did not sound effeminate the last time he checked. It wasn't until the third time he swung his head around that he saw the source of the voice. The girl from earlier, the one with handcuffs and the pistol.

"You're Mono, right?" He tried to remember her name, and honestly right now he couldn't give much of a crap what her name was. In response she nodded and his eyes narrowed. "So how'd you do that? Semblance?" Again she nodded, "Listen if you want to talk to me go ahead, but if you're just going to stand there and nod then you can leave me alone." She left, quaintly walking away from him, "Thank god."

However his frown deepened when a plate clattered a few minutes later followed by Mono sitting down in front of him. He was thinking about walking off with his newspaper and- "Don't take the newspaper anywhere," her voice, at least what he thought was her voice, echoed in his head, "I need to read the local headlines."

He rolled his eyes and handed her the local section of the paper, still keeping the international for himself. To keep her out of his eyes sight he lifted up to his face.

"Interested in the Mantle riots are we?"

The newspaper fell immediately down and the look on his face was not pleased in the slightest. "Okay, ground rules you little telepath," he growled, it was easy to pick up on.

"Fine, fine, I won't comment on your thoughts and you won't shoot me, deal."

There was one thing worse than a telepath, a telepath with a bit of snark. Even worse than that was a telepath who denied you from making statements. Deciding that it wasn't worth shooting her, he merely picked up his plate and abandoned his newspaper with the little brat. Then a bell rang out, there must have been an intercom system put in the corners.

"All personnel are to report to the auditorium in fifteen minutes, this is a mandatory meeting," the voice said, scratchy and mechanical, just like the radio communications in the field.

Keeping an eye on the girl he made his way to the auditorium, and find a seat very far from her.

-X-

Finley nervously adjusted his tie for the tenth time, the stage was set, the light murmur of the children could be heard from behind the green curtain. He could see his microphone center stage, he pushed back his long frizzy hair. Perhaps the king was right when he told him to get a haircut?

"Your majesty…" he thought.

Finley had to shake his head, the king was away now, his majesty had trusted him in running Beacon until he returned. That didn't mean he wanted to do this, he was a butler, trained his whole life to adhering to rules and orders, never making the rules or giving the orders. The murmurs were getting louder, more people were filing in.

These past few days, weeks, months, and years had been rough on him. When the king had gone to Vacuo, Finley had been there on the front lines, as a strategic advisor and not a soldier though. The nights were rough, he wasn't cut out for military life, the faces of soldiers on gurneys and those laid to rest still came back to haunt him late at night. He was too human, ironic that he was a faunus saying that, too emotional. The king wasn't, he couldn't afford to be, a man leading a kingdom of thousands could not worry about every single soul in his borders. That's how usurpers rise up, like vipers in the fresh meadow grass. When the king had left, only Finley knew where he was going, but that was two years ago now, Remnant knows where he is at currently. The other advisors yelled at him, shouted at him, and a few even left their post. Not just for the king's disappearance but for the creation of the Council, the king's last decree before taking off. All the power they had accumulated was now gone, in the hands of the people. It wasn't like some of them couldn't get elected though, however it was the end of their political careers when the monarchy changed. They were warned though, the king had always said once the war was over things were going to change for all of us. However, even Finley had to agree with the sudden transition that no one was utterly prepared for. The king always did like surprises.

He was nudged to his side, a soldier turned volunteer to help run Beacon, all the soldiers here had volunteered to help out in the king's final request. It was time, the make or break point for this whole operation. The hopes and dreams of the final King of Vale would be tested the hardest tonight.

He took a step onto the stage. The crowd's murmurs dropped to sudden silence, the air stopped moving, the dust stayed still, the lights burned his eyes blocking many of the upclose faces. The way his shoes tapped on the wooden platform stage, the way his back stayed straight, his monkey tail flat and moveless, it dragged on the ground ever so lightly. The microphone sat parallel with his mouth, his bushy facial hair almost touching it.

"Welcome," he said at first, it was simple, commanding, nobody turned away from his gaze as he scanned the crowd. "May I first say congratulations on making it to Beacon Academy. This has been the culmination of hard work and secrecy over the past two years. I have already told you the goal but let me make it much clearer. When the war ended, the armies of the world were devastated, no one on either side left unscathed. But the fighting is not over, it has been going on for generations. I am of course talking about the grimm, they fight against us this very moment and yes we could wait for our militaries to grow strong again to fight them but we do not have that time. Which is why the King of Vale has created Beacon Academy for Huntresses and Hunters."

"As some of you might be aware, hunters and huntresses are names we've given to people who have actively fought the grimm, even during the war. This title has only ever been used to describe people outside of the kingdom walls, people who are dwindling fast, while we haven't noticed it here inside the walls, some of you may have had first hand experience with the grimm. The purpose of this academy is train the young souls of those on Remnant to fight against the grimm. To be the huntsman and huntresses, to fight the darkness. I know some of you may still harbor hate towards the other kingdoms, be they from Mantle, Mistral, Vacuo, or even here in Vale. To that I say that while you will be in Vale for the majority of your training, you can choose not to be affiliated with any kingdom, I just hope that you will use the gifts we give you to help the people of Remnant.

He coughed into his fist, not to clear his throat but to get a better view of the crowd, to see their reactions.

"I will not lie to you, this will be tougher than any training you have received before, whether that be from your military life, training, or travels. The creature of grimm are not human and are not susceptible from the same faults as we faunus and humans are. They will kill at all costs and do not believe in surrender or mercy. So, with that being said, if you wish to walk out now no one will fault you."

He waited, and waited, and waited.

"Of the original one hundred and fifty letters sent, sixty eight of the recipients are sitting in this room."

Murmurs, whispers, shocked voices among the crowds as they looked back and forth among their peers. He silenced them with a raised hand.

"When we sent the letters, we knew some of them would not make their way back. Some possibly threw them away, some recipients may have died, or the messengers may have never made it. Of the original one hundred and fifty, on the night of your initiation, there was a little over a hundred. Only about thirty were not able to complete the task at hand. As I said earlier we have built Beacon in secret for the past two years, but tomorrow that ends. We plan on going public in the newspapers tomorrow, there will be no secrets about the goal the king put forward. We will continue orientation in a little bit, you will meet the instructors from around the world, and you will be given dorm assignments. Good day to you and may there be peace on Remnant."

He walked away, straight back, murmurs in the crowd, just as he had entered. The soldier from earlier gave him a thumbs up and a stupidly wide smiled. Guess he wasn't so bad after all. Perhaps the king wasn't so nuts when he was placed as Acting Headmaster until a replacement could be found.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

Long story, short, nothing really happened this chapter, I got done with finals this week, got home yesterday so now I'm tired as all hell. We did learn that Carbine is sort of a jerk, we might see more of that. Need to play more Smash Ultimate but my Switch is deciding to be stupid. How do I practice my ROB gyro combos and Ridley now? I should be getting it resolved by the end of the week. Until then, see ya later suckers.

Credits

Jermiah Carbine- chronoman

Oro- chronoman

Akihiro Cedar- Avis B

Amid Valroya- DeathTheManiac

Mono Chrome- ObieSenpai

Lynae Kyanos- Fool Arcana Kaiju

Ilios Sand- ObligatoryCoolName