Before this chapter starts, I want to know that some people may not know the significance of DR lore in this story. This is either because they are not part of the DR fandom or have never played Danganronpa 1.

Go learn about Danganronpa 1.

Play the game, watch the anime, read the light novels, do something. Just learn about as much of Danganronpa 1 as you can.

If you don't, I can guarantee that you will not understand a lot in this story.

And for people who are still confused about a few things DR-related, go back and review the series. Everything you need to know is all there.

Now, without further ado, let's begin the chapter!

Chapter 2: A Beacon to the Talented

"Harsh reality is always better than false hope."

-Julian Fellowes

It was the next day, and Makoto and Junko were currently sitting in a warehouse by the city's docks. The conversation yesterday had been cut short by Ishimaru saying that it was getting late and they needed to find a place to sleep. Seeing as they had no money or a place to stay, they had to look for an abandoned building that would shelter all of them. Hence the warehouse. After a relatively good sleep, Junko had woken up and immediately tried to speak away, only to be caught by her sister, the traitorous jerk.

Forced to explain herself, Junko described the events at the club, as well as throwing in the terms se wanted to learn more about.

"So you're basically telling me that you found the prince, and he said all this weird stuff about auras and semblances and stuff."

"Pretty much~" Makoto just openly gaped at Junko, who was preening at the look of disbelief on his face, a fake crown on her head.

"I, you, HOW?!"

"The bartenders meet a lot of here most of the time. They would have had information on our mysterious prince, and known someone who did," Junko's grin widened, as she continued, "But you wouldn't have known that, would you?~ Tell me, what were you doing again?~"

"...Asking the patrons personally..." Makoto mumbled, looking to the side to try to hide his embarrassed blush. Junko snickered.

"And that's why I learned everything we needed instead of you~" Makoto just grumbled under his breath, before somebody poked their head in nearby.

"Everything check out?" Leon asked Makoto, cautiously glancing at Junko as he did. Makoto sighed but nodded.

"Everything checks out. Despite the fact that we shouldn't trust her, Mukuro vouched for Junko's honesty, and a few videos we found on...whatever they call the Internet here matches what she said. Junko's telling the truth." Leon nodded.

"I'll go tell the others, we'll look into those weird terms Junko mentioned. Here's to hoping they're not red herrings." Makoto smiled at Leon's words.

"Thanks, Leon."

"No problem, man."

When the Brothers returned after tending to their guest, it was to a crowd of people impatiently staring at them. They varied in height and appearances and such, and every single one of them would have looked more in place at a LARP session of a post-apocalypse roleplay than they would have standing next to each other, but they stood staring at the Brothers, one of them impatiently tapping their foot. Who exactly, the Brothers did not know.

"...Uh-"

"We wanna see how they are."

"I, wha—It's only been a day!" The Younger Brother exclaimed, and a girl, Komaru, if he was correct, raised an eyebrow.

"That is a good point. However, we have come up with a better argument," She stepped to the side, "Yukimaru-san?"

"Thank you," The delinquent said softly, before clearing his throat, his demeanor spontaneously changing, "THEY'VE BEEN REVIVED FOR ALL OF A DAY!"

"We do want to see how they're doing. Most of us are kinda worried," Yuta Asahina piped up, "And I think the cat's getting super anxious at not seeing it's owner for so long..." He pointed to Celeste's cat, who was puffed up and looking mad enough to turn someone's hand into a scratching post.

"I understand your worry," The Elder said, "But our powers are still unstable. We need another day for them to truly stabilize, or who knows what might happen? I'm sorry." He bowed his head in apology. The crowd, however, looked dissatisfied.

"I get your logic, I really do," Komaru said again, and her expression turned kind of sheepish, "But people have been getting restless. Some of the Crazy Diamonds hasn't slept the entire night, Takaaki-san keeps claiming to hear his son's voice nearby, and Kanon-san is...well..." She turned to look at Kanon, who was standing stock still, with a slightly crazed grin and dead blue eyes while muttering 'Leon-kun' under her breath.

The Brothers just mechanically turned back towards Komaru, who was trying to ignore Kanon.

"The point is, we need to see them as soon as possible. Some of us are already on the verge of breaking, and it's only been one day..." Komaru continued, "...Please. We're begging you."

The Brothers looked at each other, and then at Komaru's pleading expression, and then at the crowd of hopeful survivors, some of them looking exhausted, while others looked slightly insane, before finally sighing.

"We'll do it," They both said in unison, to the cheers of the crowd, "But we have to warn you, our powers are still unstable, like I said. So whatever happens..."

"...You have only yourselves to blame."

"Damn it, what the hell are we supposed to do now?!" Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu cried, punching a wall in frustration. It had been two hours since Junko-sama'a death, and already, everything was beginning to fall apart.

Every single one of their Captives had gone missing, morale amongst the forces had plummeted to the point where you couldn't even feel despair, just depression. Mikan, the head of the medical division and one of the driving forces behind the Ultimate Despairs' advancement, had locked herself in her room, screaming and wailing, and the Despairs had nearly stopped cooperating at all. Everything was going to hell. The only upside was that that bastard Naegi and his band of blind optimists had disappeared without a trace.

"Kuzuryuu-san, calm down," Sonia Nevermind calmly reprimanded, an aura of regal authority surrounding her as she surveyed the desolate base. Soldiers were still coming and going, dropping off prisoners and supplies, but they seemed deadened, as if they were merely going along with the actions instead of truly living. "With Yukizome and Tengan still in the higher ranks of the future Foundation, we'll be able to start the Final Killing Game and-"

"I don't care about that!" Kuzuryuu whirled around, his red swirling eyes widened in pure rage and hatred as he snarled at Sonia, "Junko-sama is dead! The soldiers have been re-broken because of that, Mikan and the others are going berserk with fucking grief, and the Foundation is moving in this fucking instant, while Kamakura is gone, dammit!"

"Kuzuryuu-"

"Don't tell me to calm down again! I have had it with your shit, and if I hear you tell me to do something I don't want to, I will fucking-"

"Damn it, Kuzuryuu, shut the fuck up already!" Sonia cussed, dropping the royal facade, and making Kuzuryuu step back in surprise. Sonia had almost never cussed before, only when she was extremely upset, "I've had to put up with this fucking bullshit ever since Junko-sama passed away, and the last thing I need to deal with is you bitching about some minor problems, you baby-faced brat."

He tried to stay calm. He really did.

"The fuck did you just say, princess?!" He yelled, drawing his gun and beginning to turn the safety off, "I'm gonna blow your goddamn brains all over the-"

"So from what Junko heard so far, Beacon's some sort of combat academy for people to learn how to fight 'Grimm'."

Fuyuhiko froze, and he saw Sonia freeze as well. Why wouldn't he?

After all, the voice of Makoto Naegi was coming from the television, and they could see him on the screen.

Even though the television had been broken for two weeks, and Souda couldn't get his hands on some materials to repair it.

Fuyuhiko's jaw dropped, as the entirety of Class 78 showed up on the television screen, including Junko-sama, who they had seen crushed herself into a bloody paste.

"Whoever Junko was eavesdropping on mentioned 'Aura' and 'Semblances', and called the people who fought any Grimm 'Hunters'. She said the weapons the guards had looked pretty weird, and that the currency's called 'Lien'." Makoto continued, his gaze sharp. Fuyuhiko gulped. This wasn't the naive idiot who had gotten into the academy by luck. This was the boy who had managed to pull five of his classmates from absolute despair, the boy who had slowly but methodically taken apart Junko-sama's plans like they were building blocks.

This was what the boy considered to be the Second-Generation Ultimate Hope was capable of.

"Kyoko, Byakuya, can you gather as much information as you can on Aura and Semblances? We need to learn as well about them as we can." The two aforementioned nodded before leaving, and Makoto turned to the other classmates, "Chihiro, can you see what the Internet here is like? Maybe we can find more online if there aren't many books on Aura and such." Chihiro nodded, and Makoto continued issuing requests to the other classmates.

Fuyuhiko stared at the nearly unfamiliar boy who was acting like a charismatic leader with years of experience behind him instead of the timid boy he had watched in the Killing Game. Had one week of that really changed him that much?

He and Sonia watched Class 78 split up, each heading off to do their part of the research, until only Makoto and Junko were left.

"So, Makoto, the fuck am I supposed to do?" She asked, and Makoto turned towards the Ultimate Despair, dispassionately staring at her.

"...You do nothing. I'm not risking you converting other people to despair, dammit." Makoto replied, "Stay here. I'm going to see if I can get some Beacon Academy brochures. I will know if you left." And with that, he walked out the door, and Junko-sama seemed to stand there scowling, before she smirked.

"Stay here, huh?" She muttered, before beginning to stroll towards the warehouse exit "I'll show you 'staying here'. Let's see if I can find that guy from yesterday..."

And then the television turned off, leaving Fuyuhiko and Sonia staring at the black screen.

"...Get the others," Fuyuhiko suddenly said, and Sonia looked at him in shock,

"What-"

"Get the others to come back to the base. I'll call Peko down," Fuyuhiko continued, his mouth twitching before he grinned, his eyes swirling faster and faster, "Junko-sama is alive. The world needs to know."

He couldn't wait to see what happened next.

Meanwhile, in the Future Foundation, things were taking a more...negative turn.

"This is an outrage!" Kyosuke Munakata howled, slamming a fist into the wooden counter, his body trembling with rage. "We all saw her get crushed, this must be impossible! An imposter, a copycat, something! There is no possible way that she is alive!"

The cameras at the Foundation were receiving the same transmission as the Despairs, and staff were frantically running around, trying to pinpoint the source of the broadcast. Meanwhile, the branch leaders had called an emergency meeting about the new highest-priority problem on the list: The miraculous revival of the True Ultimate Despair, Junko Enoshima.

"We saw not only her, but the entire Class 78, even thought 9 of them, not counting Junko, should be dead as well," The Great Gozu rumbled, intensely staring at the black screen, "How is this possible?"

"Chairman Tengan," Chisa Yukizome gasped out as she burst through the doors, clutching a series of filled portfolios to her chest, "We've just gotten word that the same transmission is being broadcasted throughout Tokyo, Hiroshima, Hokkaido, and just about every city in Japan. Foreign affairs are saying that the same is happening everywhere." Tengan tensed.

"What do you mean by 'everywhere', Yukizome?" He asked.

"I mean everywhere, Chairman," She swallowed nervously before continuing, "Everyone...this transmission is worldwide."

You could have heard a pin drop from the ensuing silence.

"What." Munakata managed to grit out.

All over the world, despair junkies and resistances alike, watched as TV screens flickered on show Junko Enoshima, who should have been dead, and Makoto Naegi, who had vanished once the doors to the old Hope's Peak Academy building opened.

Unknowing of this development, or the fact that their powers were leaking into the 'Monoworld', as Junko called it, the Brothers continued to show an attentive audience what was happening in Remnant.

When Makoto came back to the warehouse, he saw that Junko had disappeared. This was expected. After all, why would Junko listen to what he said? It didn't make any sense!

That didn't stop him from getting angry, though.

"Gaaaahh, where did she go?!" Makoto grumbled to himself as he searched what seemed to be the red light district of 'Vale', if he remembered correctly. The brochures were relatively easy to find, and he had gathered enough for everyone, and quickly headed back to the warehouse to drop off the brochures.

He knew Junko would leave, but where she would go was completely unknown. She could be anywhere in the city, and it was a massive city. Even with his Luckster status, the chances of him actually finding her were near zero. There was no way he could pinpoint her at this rate!

Just as he rounded a corner, a middle-aged man ran past him, screaming 'DESPAIR!'

...Never mind. He had a very good idea where she was.

Rounding the corner, Makoto was treated to the...unique sight of Junko breaking passerby with nothing but a few words and a haughty laugh. Seriously, the rate at which she was causing psychotic breakdowns was frightening. Growling, he picked up his pace, quickly walking towards Junko, who had noticed Makoto and smirked at him.

"Hey~! Makoto! Look at how easy to read everyone is! Kinda makes them easy to break, don't you think?~" Junko's face suddenly turned beet red, as she began to drool, "The amount of despair coming from them...Oh man, it's making me so wet~"

"Junko, what the hell? I thought I told you to stay in the warehouse!" Makoto shouted. Junko's face just turned blank as she stared at him.

"...Makoto, did you really think I would listen to you?" She deadpanned.

"No, but I didn't think you'd cause a mess like this!" Makoto gestured to the various citizens, who were screaming and crying while Junko just pouted, changing into her 'cutesy' personality.

"B-But Makotoooo. You wouldn't blame a girl wanting to have some fun, riiiight?" She whined, turning puppy eyes at Makoto, who just stared dully at her.

And stared.

And stared...

OK, seriously, it was starting to freak her out.

"S-Stop it," She cursed herself for stuttering, "Seriously, stop it, it's getting creepy!"

"Go back to the warehouse," Makoto gritted out, and Junko pouted.

"And what makes you think I'll listen to you-" The stare returned in full force, and she yelped, "OK, OK, I'm going!" She grumbled as she trudged back to the warehouse, Makoto watching her all the way. It wasn't really the actual stare that freaked her out, but how out-of-character Makoto was acting. This wasn't the optimistic bastard she had seen in the Killing Game. Now that he was aware she was the Mastermind, she was pretty sure he was far less tolerant of her than of the others because of what she did.

'98%' Her brain spat out, having automatically analyzed the chance of what she said.

'Shut up, brain', she mentally thought back, not even acknowledging the fact that she was conversing with herself. She had long since come to terms with her insanity.

Entering the warehouse, Makoto noticed that in addition to Junko, Leon, Sayaka, Mukuro, Byakuya and Celeste had returned. Celeste seemed to be counting plastic cards while Byakuya rattled off finance tips to raise what little they had. Sayaka and Leon were going over a map with every district in Vale mapped out, and Mukuro was reading a book titled 'The Fearsome Creatures of Grimm, Volume III'. She must have wandered into a library and found that book, seeing as she had a stack of similar books next to her. She was writing in a notepad as she read, and her eyes seemed unusually focused. She perked up at the sound of Junko and Makoto returning, and looked up.

"Makoto! You're back!" She called, and everyone else in the warehouse, save Junko, turned towards him, before nodding and returning to what they were doing. Mukuro walked over, holding her notepad and flipping through the pages before she stopped near Makoto, and glanced at Junko, "What'd she do this time?"

"She turned a group of people in gibbering despair-junkies. I had to stop her and convince her to come back." Bullshit. He just stared at her until she relented. "I think we're going to have to appoint a schedule so everyone can make sure she doesn't cause something like this again." He noticed that Mukuro seemed to pale when he mentioned what Junko did, before hurrying over to him, and flipping through her notepad.

"Makoto, we have to stop her from converting people," She hurriedly whispered, "At any means possible."

"Not that I'm complaining, but why do you want her to stop so badly?" He whispered back, and she stopped flipping through her notepad, showing him a page filled with notes.

"I did some extensive research on the Grimm," She said, "They're literal manifestations of darkness and negativity that come in the forms of pitch-black animals with bone masks. They come in all sort of shapes and sizes, and a hoard of them can destroy a city in hours without interference," She recited her notes to Makoto, and Junko, who was watching the two, crept closer, eavesdropping on them.

"I appreciate the information, but what does that have to do with Junko converting others to despair?" Makoto asked in a polite tone. Mukuro just flipped to the next page, and Makoto read what was on it, slowly paling as he stared at Mukuro after finishing, "...Oh."

"Yeah. Oh." She said dryly, "They're attracted to negative emotions, like sadness, hatred...despair." Makoto gulped at the thought of a cackling Junko watching Grimm invade Vale while howling maniacs tossed themselves at the creatures of pure evil because of Despair.

Yeeeeaaahhh...not a pretty sight.

"Oooohh~ Some juicy info for me~" Junko piped up, grinning from ear to ear as she peeked at the notepad, giggling to herself as Makoto and Mukuro tried to cover it, "It would be a shame if I were to cause a Grimm hoard to breach Vale~ What's in it for me to keep them so boringly sane?"

"I...damn it, I got nothing." Makoto grumbled, leaning slightly towards Mukuro, "Mukuro, she's your sister, please tell me you can think of something..."

"The only thing she wants is despair, I don't think she'd tolerate anything less..." She whispered back, "Her inherent talent lets her analyze everything to the point of boredom, since she'll know what'll happen five seconds ahead of it actually happening."

"Actually~" Junko tapped her chin contemplatively, before her eyes grew sharp, "There is something you can give me in exchange for me not converting people~"

Makoto and Mukuro gulped at the sadistic look blooming on her face.

As time went by, everyone returned to the warehouse, carrying flyers or books on various things in Vale.

Yasuhiro had found a few houses for sale in the residential district that they could hole up in until they could find a better alternative, while Syo (Toko had sneezed some time after she left) and Mondo had gathered a list of Vale's underworld crime lords. Being a serial killer and a biker respectively, no one really questioned how they got their hands on the information. Chihiro had written notes on 'Scrolls', which were what people in this dimension used to access the Internet, Ishimaru and Kyouko had researched the Hunting profession and what it entailed, bringing back information on what Hunters did, Hifumi had studied the local culture, bringing back information on humanoid beings known as 'Faunus', which were just like humans, but had enhanced senses and animal features. Lastly, Sakura and Aoi had come back with information on the strange weapons used by Hunters, noting the unique 'mecha-shifting' functions that allowed a weapon to have multiple forms.

Makoto distinctly heard Junko mutter something about 'Souda never thinking of that brilliant idea', but decided not to question it.

Which left them in the current predicament they were in.

"So what now?" Yasuhiro asked, looking at the pile of information they had gathered. "We know everything about Hunting, but we have no way of getting into any of the academies. I don't think there's any way of learning more, too..."

"Nor do we know anything on the other Kingdoms, or even Vale...We don't even know any people headed to Beacon." Celeste mused, tapping her chin with a finger, "At this rate, we'll be stumbling around blindly. I've heard whispers of some information brokers, but we don't have enough Lien to pay them..." The situation seemed to have no true solution.

The keyword being 'seemed'.

"I know someone." Junko piped up, causing everyone to pause. In the background, Makoto heard Mukuro mutter 'Dammit, Junko' as everyone stared at her in disbelief, "What're you staring at me for? Where'd you think I heard all those things about 'Lien' and 'Grimm' and stuff? I didn't leave the warehouse to just wander around and make people go crazy, you know. I did my own research, too."

Sometimes a solution would present itself in the most unorthodox way possible, Makoto thought to himself.

"What reason do we have to believe you?" Byakuya asked, glaring at Junko with visible contempt, "In fact, what reason do you have to be helping us? One would think that you leave us alone to fester in our despair."

"Bah, that's easy to answer~" Junko replied, "I can't predict anything when it comes to Hunting~"

"...What?"

"It's sooo~ complex~ Everything about Hunting and the Grimm, I can't read anything on them~" Junko continued, a small grin on her face, " Her grin grew wider and wider as she spoke, "The 'prince' from the riddle, Kin Sakana, even with how little I saw him, I couldn't predict anything he would do, despite me watching his every move~" At this point, she was drooling and blushing at the thought of a truly unpredictable situation, "I want to become a Hunter, I want to fight the Grimm, and keep encountering these despairingly beautiful situations~"

Makoto had to step back a bt to avoid looking at what was probably Junko in the middle of a despair-induced orgasm.

"But, what if you die? What then?" Mukuro asked Junko, looking slightly creeped out at Junko's weird behavior, and this was coming from her. Junko just smiled.

"Then that means I get to experience the despair of death again~" She replied, her eyes swirling in despair, "So come on~ I know someone going to Beacon~ What do you suppose I do?~"

Makoto looked to the others, who looked extremely conflicted. On one hand, here was the Ultimate Despair offering information that would give them a headstart in getting into Beacon Academy and starting their new lives. On the other hand, the Ultimate Despair was offering to help them. Who knew what she wanted in return from them?

'I know what she wants,' Makoto thought to himself, 'And so does Mukuro. Doesn't mean the others shouldn't know.'

"What's the catch?" Makoto asked, to Junko's visible dissatisfaction. She had been hoping he had forgotten about what she wanted, by the looks of it.

"...Kin Sakana. He's a well-known figure in parts of the city, going to Beacon, and he has connections with a famous info broker in Vale." At this, Junko's grin turned vicious, and gone was the bubbly fashionista who everybody blieved would be incapable of harming even a fly. In her place stood the mastermind of the greatest tragedy in their world's history, "He's mine. Nobody mention anything I did to him." Makoto shivered at the sheer depravity in her voice.

"You-!" Apparently, some of the others didn't like Junko's ultimatum, as shown by Leon's outraged cry.

"Or, you know, you could choose not to agree, and be stuck stumbling around for information~" Junko interrupted, before grinning cheekily at everyone, "So, what's it gonna be, then?~" Makoto grumbled. It was obvious that Junko wanted to break Kin, and he wanted to stop her as much as he could, but if he disagreed, she'd withhold what they needed. Without the information, they really would be wandering around blindly trying to get into Beacon, and they probably wouldn't make the cut. As much as he hated it, they had no choice here. It was a lose-lose situation, and he had to pick the lesser of two evils.

"...Fine. We'll leave him alone, as long as you keep your end of the bargain." Makoto reluctantly gritted out. From what he could determine, Hunting was one of the only ways they could keep Junko at bay, the other option being mass genocide and chaos, which was probably what would happen if they left her bored and alone while trying to get jobs.

God, he didn't want to imagine how bad it would be this time.

"Hm-hm~ Good answer~" Junko chirped, a smug grin on her face while everyone protested in outrage and Makoto looked down shamefully, "Now gather around, peasants~ And let the great Queen Junko educate you on everything you need to know about Remnant~"

"Back when humans were primitive, and nature ran wild, the Grimm, manifestations of pure negativity, roamed the wilderness and hunted down anything with a heartbeat. Thousands would die say in and day out, and grief and despair laid upon the land of Remnant like a heavy blanket. Just when humanity seemed to fall into complete darkness, they discovered Dust. The crystallization of Nature's Wrath itself."

The Future Foundation scrambled back and forth of the surveillance room, hurriedly taking notes on the Ultimate Despair's words. She had began explaining the basics behind the strange world known as 'Remnant', and already, there was merit to her words. An alternate dimension mostly untouched by humanity? Strange creatures called 'Grimm' who were made of solidified negativity? Crystallized elemental power?!

"Get me everything Enoshima says, stat! I don't want to see so much as a missing syllable, you understand?!" Munakata exclaimed, trying to direct the stream of agents hurriedly jotting down every word coming out of Junko's mouth, "She may be the worst enemy in the world, but right now she have groundbreaking information we can use to revolutionize the new world!"

Chisa Yukizome and Kazuo Tengan watched agents running left and right, the branch heads trying to keep the grunts in a small semblance of order.

"It seemed that somehow, Junko is impossibly alive." Tengan stated, looking at his watch as he listened to the Ultimate Despair's words,

"Indeed, Junko-chan managed to escape death~" Chisa replied, swirls flickering into her eyes for just a split second, "I suppose we'll have to 'deal with her' soon?"

"No, not now. We'll let Junko's personal circle do the work for us. Knowing them, sooner or later, they'll manage to find a way."

"Ah, you mean Ultimate Despair? I'll see what I can do, Tengan-san." The swirls flickered into her eyes once again, growing more prominent before they disappeared, "Only the best for my students~"

Swirls appeared in Tengan's eyes, and they laughed softly, as if sharing a joke between each other. Nobody in sight saw their eyes, and as such, they didn't see the despair swirls there.

Behind a nearby corner, Ryota Mitarai listened to the sound of his former teacher's broken laugh, and tried not to cry.

"With the power of Dust, they pushed back the Grimm and began to rebuild society in wherever they could. As time passed, the Grimm began to evolve. Mankind had to adapt to such changes, so they began to invent. They built compatible weapons in a simple form with usage to both weapons, which would eventually lead to the concept of mecha-shifting, built floating buildings and castles with Dust and sheer determination to symbolize their growth from the dark times, and trained others in the profession of slaying the Grimm, or as the modern terminology has it, becoming a Hunter."

"Souda, take notes faster!" Fuyuhiko yelled at Kazuichi Souda, who was frantically jotting down notes while muttering to himself. The rest of the Despairs were raptly paying attention to their leader speaking on the TV, absorbing every tidbit of information she parted with.

"Can't believe I didn't think of this..." Souda grumbled, his hands moving at lightning speed as he wrote down possible ideas on mecha-shifting weapons for the Despairs to use, "This has so much fucking potential for us..."

"If you have time to grumble, you have time to take more notes! Faster, dammit, FASTER!"

"Sometime after civilization was rebuilt, Faunus appeared. They were just like humans. However, they all had animalistic features, and some even had enhanced senses and night vision. However, they were a minority, and over time, they were oppressed out of fear of their genetic advantages, and 'fantastic' racism. As hatred and fear built up over time, the Faunus grew tired of their suppressed rights, and started a civil war. He Faunus eventually lost, and subjected to the cruelty of humans, were mostly exiled to a remote island known as Menagerie. Even now, Faunus face racism of which most have never seen."

"To think that there was such a horrible crime against the Faunus..." Nagisa Shingetsu muttered to himself, jotting down notes on the Faunus to study later, "It seems that demons even exist in other worlds."

"The Faunus sound adorbs!~" Kotoko Utsugi chirped, "I wonder if we can get some Faunus features if we went to Remnant! I wanna be a cute butterfly Faunus!"

"Heh, yeah! It would be so cool being able to hear things really far away! That would totally help with Demon Hunting!" Masaru Daimon shouted, enthusiastically pumping his fist into the air as he excitedly jumped up and down, "Hey Monica! What Faunus do you think you would be?"

"Monica's not sure..." Monica Towa, the heiress of Towa Robotics (and full-time demon pickle), tapping her chin thoughtfully, "But Monica wants to be a Cat Faunus! With the fluffy ears and tail!~"

"I wonder with my animal ears would fit in my mask..." Jataro Kemuri pulled at his leather mask as he watched his 'Big Sis Junko' explain the history of that cool world, 'Remnant'.

Sitting on the corpses of their abusive parents, the Warriors of Hope continued watching their mentor figure in her 'professor persona'.

Unknowing of the vast amount of information they were providing to Earth, the Brothers continued broadcasting Class 78 to their personal audience, and to the world for the next two hours.

"...And that is the history of Remnant." Junko finished, taking off her fake glasses and quickly redoing her hair into two pigtails. Her audience just stared at her, some with the jaws hanging wide open.

"...OK, first, how the hell did you learn all that within two hours? Second, how the hell did you remember all that, and third, why the hell did you prepare a three-hour lecture with a blackboard for fuck's sake?!" Mondo exclaimed, gesturing to the blackboard behind Junko, which had somehow appeared there out of thin air sometime into the lecture.

"One, Ultimate Analyst. Just had to quickly read a few history books and connect the dots. Second, I have notes written down too, and third," Junko stopped, and looked incredulously at the blackboard behind her, "I...actually have no idea how it got there."

"Alright, ignoring the apparently magic blackboard, we all know what we need to do to get into Beacon." Makoto said, " We have to apparently train in combat, make weapons capable of shifting into guns, and get our hands on forgeries that are capable of fooling school officials, because we have no history here whatsoever." He paused," …..OK, that sounds so hard now that I think about it. But we can do it!"

"On one hand, we have to get into Beacon to keep Junko at bay... On the other hand, we have to cheat our way into Beacon..." Ishimaru muttered, " I am extremely conflicted here..."

"We don't really have another choice, bro..." Mondo muttered, looking down," While I was lookin' around, I heard whispers of transcript forgers in the underworld. They're a bit pricey, but if we can scrounge up enough dough, we can get our hands on enough transcripts."

" Good. It seems like my talent shall come into handy here," Celeste said, grabbing a few Lien from a pile on a nearby table, and counting them, "By my calculations, this should equal around 100 Lien. A transcript to Beacon... Mondo, did you learn how much one of those would cost?"

"Gettin' a transcript's supposed to be pretty expensive...but 100 Lien is a lot in Remnant. I'd say that one costs around a thousand Lien, tops." Mondo shrugged, making an iffy motion with his hand, "We'll need Lien for parts too, to build our weapons."

"We also need Lien for food, water, and shelter. Clothes as well. I do not want to spend the next 3 months in the same grimy set of clothes," Byakuya said, sniffing at his clothes, "Eugh. Disgusting."

"The apartments I found are cheap, and not completely derelict. There aren't any infestation or rodent problems either. We can have shelter as soon as we get some Lien to the landlord." Yasuhiro added, "The place is nearby, there are plenty of rooms open, and I don't think anyone cares about who we are there. No nosy people in there or anything. The address is 200 Murphy Street, and the rent is 20 Lien for a room."

"You can expect me to come back with at least 1,000 Lien by nightfall." Celeste said, turning to leave the warehouse, "I'll meet you at the apartments, get us some rooms first." She walked out the warehouse, probably to begin gambling for funds.

"I'll meet you guys at the building. I want to get into a shower as soon as possible..." Yasuhiro followed Celeste, before splitting off to go rent rooms for them all.

"Come on, Aoi-chan! We gotta go shopping~" Sayaka chirped, dragging Aoi with her as she left and swiping some Lien from the table. Sakura sighed, and walked out, following them. She didn't even need to say why, everyone else just instinctively knew the reason.

"We'll...just go buy some groceries..." Leon muttered, Chihiro and Mondo following him as he left for the market district.

Everyone else just awkwardly stood around, not knowing what to do.

"So...we just stay here until they come back?" Kyoko asked, absentmindedly checking her nails.

"I...I guess? Anyone got a deck of cards or something?" Makoto asked, already starting to feel bored.

Yasuhiro eventually came back around 15 minutes later, with a bunch of keys, and a piece of paper listing their rooms, and how many were allowed in them. There were also a bunch of rules listed for if they wanted to live at the building, but that was usually standard stuff, nothing more than something optional for people to read. It wasn't like they would follow them to the dot (except maybe Ishimaru, but that was obvious to everyone), and everyone headed for the address, meeting up with Aoi, Sakura and Sayaka on the way. Yasuhiro acted as the guide, leading them to a fairly new apartment complex, where Leon, Mondo and Chihiro waited, holding large grocery bags filled to the brim.

"Hey guys! We talked to the landlord, and he gave us the OK to set up as soon as we got the keys from Hiro!" Leon called out, "Is Celeste back yet?"

"Nah, she's still god-knows-where gambling for funds, and honestly, I think she'd be pissed if we went to look for her. She'd be all angry at us for thinking she was too weak or something." Yasuhiro replied.

"...I can see that happening."

"Yeah, come on. We should get inside and start setting up."

"And after that?"

"Well," Makoto said, everyone turning to listen to him, "we start training, of course!"

Three months actually flew by pretty quickly.

Starting the day after they had finished setting up their apartments, they had immediately begun training. Even Junko was uncharacteristically excited about the idea of training, which scared Mukuro half to death and caused her to hide from Junko for 2 weeks.

Sakura had coached everyone on finding their unique fighting style, using their natural flexibility, power, and speed as a basis, as well as honing their reflexes (which was great for Makoto, because he could barely walk three steps without tripping over air), and everyone quickly grew by leaps and bounds in terms of skill, to the point where even Chihiro could put up a decent fight, which he seemed to be extremely happy about.

As in, he glomped Sakura, squeeing happily when he found out how physically strong he had become. Makoto laughed at the sight of Sakura being so flustered over Chihiro hugging her.

Speaking of Chihiro, with his programming prowess, he had designed a program that had found weapons compatible for all of them. This drastically cut down the time they needed to design their weapons, seeing as they had a template to use.

Leon has, not surprisingly, gotten a metal baseball bat that was, much more surprisingly, combined with a grenade launcher. The bat was designed to have a unique double-impact-triggered grenade canister inside. A grenade could be launched into the air, Leon would smack the grenade with the bat into the enemy, which would trigger the grenade and blow them sky-high. He called it "Grand Slam", and Junko had laughed at his lack of creativity. Leon had just growled before leaving to buy parts.

Sakura and Aoi had gotten pairs of gauntlets, Sakura with a 'quake mechanism' that could break the ground with enough force, and Aoi had gotten a 'wave cannon' that fired a Water Dust barrage formed into what was basically a laser cannon. At it's lowest setting, it would leave an enemy soaked, but at it's highest setting...well, there wouldn't be any bones to break if an enemy was hit. The blueprints for 'Richter Palms' and it's sister weapon, 'Sachiel's Palms' were eagerly taken by their new owners, though Sakura seemed to be overly eager about training with Richter Palm. Makoto wondered if Sakura's body would be able to take the backlash from shooting miniature earthquakes from her hands.

Mondo had...a motorcycle. No, calling it a motorcycle was like calling Junko Enoshima a common criminal. Mondo got a mecha-shifting motorbike that could shift into a dirt bike, had mounted machine guns and removable knives built into the damn thing. There was an auto-driving mode, dark blue Dust headlights, and a wicked skull design at the front. He promptly called it "Acheron" (he thought the name sounded cool), bought black and cobalt paint, and eagerly began buying parts to build it when he had the chance to.

Celestia had apparently been extremely compatible with, believe it or not, a staff/sniper rifle. With a Dust-enhanced scope, Dust-enhanced grip, heck, Dust-enhanced everything, it was near-unbreakable and allowed Celestia to fire elemental rounds with ease. It would collapse the scope, part of the grip, the muzzle, and the trigger to form a bo staff with metal covering it to keep it from breaking. She called it "Royal Flush" based on it's extremely rare simplicity and hidden power. Even a bo staff had much use in Remnant, and the fact that she could partially shift it so it fired a sniper round point-blank at someone made it all the more better for her.

Hifumi had gotten a warhammer. As in, a giant metal-plated hammer weighing at least a quarter of a ton and made of what was practically the essence of reinforced fuck you. The warhammer was capable of mecha-shifting into a bulky hand cannon, and in the most literal sense. Without Aura, one could fire it and be blasted five feet away from where they were standing while fracturing their arm in three places. Despite it's intimidating size and sheer unwieldiness, Hifumi had stars in his eyes as he muttered to himself about the 'doujin ideas he could make from being in a fantasy situation like this', naming the warhammer 'Wishmaker'.

Mukuro and surprisingly Chihiro had gotten simple knives with handgun modes. Although Mondo and Ishimaru had vehemently protested, Chihiro had eventually convinced them (with a mixture of pleading, puppy dog eyes, and a bit on tugging at their heartstrings, which by all means shouldn't have worked) to let him fight as well. The knives had a simple button that, when pressed, would quickly shift into a handgun that fired Dust rounds. The handgun modes were semi-automatic, light, and nearly impossible to misfire. Chihiro had named his 'Malware' as a callback to programming, while Mukuro called hers 'Wolf Fang', in honor of her former mercenary group 'Fenrir'.

Sayaka got a combination of a swept hilt rapier and a revolver. In rapier form, the blade was imbued with Fire Dust, and was made of tungsten, while the hilt hid a small mechanism that, when activatd with a specific movement, would cause the blade shift, before folding into itself and opening up to reveal a gun muzzle. The revolver held 7 shots, but could be quickly reloaded. Sayaka called it 'Orchard Blade' after her former idol group 'Blue Orchard'.

Hagakure was compatible with what looked like a combination of greaves, shotguns, and, of all things, running shoes. The boots had a built mechanism that would cause shotgun shells to be fired out of the soles of the feet by tensing the toes enough. The recoil was lessened by padding inside the shoes, and the boots released Wind Dust that would boost the wearer forwards at times if released in bursts. Using it constantly would let the wearer run at extreme speeds, as well as tearing up part of the landscape behind them with sheer force. Hagakure named the boots 'Hermes' after the fastest Greek god, before he seemed to stiffen, then whoop and jump in the air, saying something about his 'debt' and 'no more running'.

Ishimaru had gotten a combination of plated fighting gloves and shotguns. The gloves were plated with an alloy made from tungsten, titanium, and iron, and multiple plates of the alloy covered the entire outer part of the gloves (the back of the hands and fingers), leaving the joints untouched to allow the wearer to make a fist and such. The alloy proved to be extremely durable and expensive, probably due to it's materials, and the first thing Ishimaru would have to do was buy alloy plates to forger them for his gloves. To fire the shotgun mechanism, the wearer would have to made a fist, and squeeze to fire a bullet. This triggered a pressure mechanism that would blast the bullet out of tubes on top of the knuckles like a gun. Ishimaru called the gloves 'Innocence' and 'Guilt', as a reference to official verdicts carried out in court. It seemed that he was still the law-abiding prefect from their school year, Makoto guessed.

Toko got...a pair of scissors. No, wait, she got the same custom pair of scissors Syo used, except they were imbued with Dust to enhance their durability, and came in blood red. Toko just slammed her head against the wall, muttering about 'stupid Syo' and how 'her actions were bleeding into her life'. The scissors...didn't even get named, but everyone called them 'Bloodlust', after the message Syo would always leave when finished murdering someone. Toko just made a whining noise about it, before she began writing some stuff down for Syo to read later.

Byakuya got a combination of a scepter topped with a Fire Orb, a small orb made of pure crystal Fire Dust, and a flamethrower. The scepter acted as both a blunt weapon and a psuedo-magic staff, shooting fireballs at enemies when a certain amount of Aura is channeled into the Orb. With a flick of the wrist, the scepter seems to partially fold into itself, before gun parts are exposed (like a trigger, and a handle), and the Fire Orb is shifted into the middle of the gun, turning the scepter into a mid-range flamethrower. Byakuya paled at the 'barbaric' weapon blueprints, but seemed to relent when Makoto explained how versatile it would be, and the fact that scepters were usually wielded by royalty in their own world.

Kyoko got a pair of all-purpose military goggles used for recon missions, and a police baton that had a handgun and taser mode. The baton itself was nothing special, just a steel baton imbued with Fire and Lightning Dust to enhance it's durability, but it's taser mode opened a small port in one of the baton's ends and discharged Lightning Dust out of the port, shocking and incapacitating an enemy. The handgun mode was activated the baton downwards, and the baton would quickly snap into a handgun that fired Fire and Lightning Dust rounds. Kyoko called it "Seal Designation Alpha", but shortened it down to "Seal 1", then "S1" after it was proven to be a hassle just to say the name.

Junko had what appeared to be a pair of claws, with small tubes sticking out of each knuckles. Upon further analysis, the computer specified that they were CGLG, or Clawed Grenade launcher Gauntlets. They were a pair of clawed gauntlets that allowed the wearer to stab people while punching, or gouge at an enemy with said gauntlets. Squeezing the hands would let the wearer propel grenades out of the tubes while punching, and the weapon was considered to be borderline illegal with how dangerous weapon maintenance was on it. Junko promptly began drooling, and Makoto, Mukuro, and Sayaka had to drag her away from the computer (although Makoto noted that they seemed to keep pressing against him a lot while doing so).

Last but not least, Makoto got...a standard sword and shield. A completely average pair of equipment in a not-so-average world. There weren't many defining features on said equipment, other than a jeweled rendition of a King piece smack dab in the middle of the front, and the sword was imbued with dozens of kinds of Dust, and Dust shards making up the hilt, protected by a titanium case, making it nigh unbreakable. If Makoto pushed some Aura into the sword, he could activate a Dust crystal at random to make the blade capable of elemental attacks, and with activating the Wind Dust, he could also create air slashes for long-range attacks. He called it "Jeweled General" after the Tengiku shogi piece, surprising Celeste with the fact that he even knew the names of the pieces, despite having almost never played the game himself (and losing every single time).

But the crown jewel of those three months, as must as Makoto hated to admit it, was when Junko tricked a retired Huntsman into unlocking her Aura, masquerading it as a "hands-on lesson in unlocking someone's Aura", which was a half-truth at most.

As it turned out, Aura was present in all living things with a soul. Trees, animals, birds, even grass. People were just the only ones capable of unlocking it on their own. When Junko had, very reluctantly, spread the information, the thers were shocked, and immediately threw themselves into Aura research. They found that one could forcibly unlock their Aura under an extremely stressful situation, like a life-or-death situation, or an extremely traumatic experience.

Not wanting to accept Junko's help (except for Mukuro, and Junko only unlocked her Aura because they were sisters and she would have more fun trying to 'kill' Mukuro), everybody else began to intensify their combat training, and Makoto, Leon, Mukuro, Chihiro, and Sakura, who had all managed to quickly build their weapons and successfully use them, began praticing with said weapons, refining their combat skills and repairing and upgrading their weapons whenever they had the chance.

Celestia bought in massive amounts of Lien from gambling when she did go, and everybody, even Junko (though she would never admit it under normal circumstances) was grateful for her helping everyone train.

Some people, like Makoto, Byakuya, and Celestia, had forcibly unlocked their Auras after pushing themselves too far in combat training. For the three, so much physical activity had never occurred to them in their normal lives, and the physical strain nearly made their hearts burst, before their Auras spontaneously erupted from them, saving their lives, and giving them access to Aura. With their newfound Aura, they unlocked everyone else's Auras, and that was the end of the Aura debacle.

Junko was furious at the missed chances to hold some semblance of superiority over Makoto, and it showed in how fanatically she threw herself into training. In fact, it was so intense, that a month after she began training feverishly, she shrieked in surprise and fell on her ass, eyes frantically looking at invisible things in the air as she looked past Makoto and the others, reading something to herself.

"J-Junko?! What the hell is wrong with you?!" Mukuro exclaimed, rushing to her side. Junko didn't even look at her, her eyes just darting around.

"W-W-What the hell is this...? 'Brick falling in 54 minutes and 27 seconds', Leon Kuwata's personal preferences', 'Mukuro Ikasuba: Ultimate Soldier'?! What the hell is all this?!" She screamed.

"Junko? W-What are you talking around?"

"You don't see all this?!" Junko gestured at the empty air in front of her, "All those screens in front of you people?!"

Everyone just looked in front of them, Sayaka even waving her hands in front of her as if something would appear.

"Uh...there's nothing there." Leon muttered, "You sure you didn't eat something bad?"

"I-You-What-" Junko stammered, as if shocked about Leon's words. Next to Leon, Byakuya seemed to perk up, before taking out a book and flipping through the pages.

"Aha!" He exclaimed, "I think I know what's going on!"

"What? What is it?!"

"You just unlocked your Semblance!" Byakuya exclaimed, before he abruptly paled, "...Oh no. You just unlocked your Semblance."

There was silence, as everyone processed his words. And they almost everyone began to pale as well.

Except for Junko, she just began to laugh maniacally, as she slowly stood up.

"Yes! I unlocked my Semblance before you all!" She cackled, "I'm finally gonna be able to-"

She didn't get to continue much longer, because Sakura walked up to her while she was ranting and punched her on the head, instantly knocking her out and dropping her to the ground. When she looked around while rubbing her knuckles, she shrugged at the shocked looks of Class 78.

"What?" Sakura asked, "She deserved it."

As it turned out, Junko's Semblance was Absolute Analysis. It was a Passive Semblance, meaning it couldn't be truly deactivated, only turned down. In fact, the lowest setting she could currently 'degrade' her Semblance was making it equal to her inherent talent as Ultimate Analyst, which severely diminished it's potential, but there was the benefit of making the flow of information more manageable. Junko had sighed in despair, a grin nearly forming on her mouth, but she soon began to abuse her Semblance, mastering it within a matter of 2 weeks.

And so, 3 months had passed. They had gained much proficiency in their fighting, and established a small power base in the apartment, Celeste having become well-known as an extraordinary gambler in the underworld, and Byakuya acting as a paid intern and helping manage a small company's finances (he griped about being in a 'peasant position' for a week straight.) They had finally built all their weapons, and gotten combat clothing, which they all carried in bags or suitcases, along with other clothing, snacks, prized possessions, and other pleasantries.

"So, is everyone ready?" Makoto asked, as he watched the Bullhead touch down on landing pad, and the doors open. Behind him, the rest of Class 78 cheered and whooped, finally able to begin their new lives. Junko in particular looked ecstatic as other students began to board, "Then come on, let's go!"

And Class 78 of Hope's Peak Academy boarded the Bullhead, and took the first step to beginning their new school lives at Beacon Academy.

"Are you sure about this, Headmaster?" Headmater Ozpin Verdant looked up from the stack of paperwork on his desk, looking to where a concerned Glynda Goodwitch looked back at him.

"Sure about what, Glynda?" Ozpin asked, playing dumb as to the Deputy Headmistress's concerns. He took a sip from his coffee mug and continued reviewing the paperwork, files on the Vytal Festival to occur in half a year.

"You know damn well

what I mean, Ozpin. The surprise sixteen applications sent in by no-name people!" Glynda exclaimed, slamming a fist down onto the clockwork desk, gears rattling as her Semblance was unconsciously activated in her fury. "Moreover, you actually approving those applications! Ozpin, we not only have to oversee the entire school, but we have to be aware of the Queen and her Pieces! Why would you risk everyone here by approving-"

"Their names." Glynda paused.

"...What?" She muttered, as Ozpin looked at her, a grave expression on his face.

"Their names, Glynda," Ozpin repeated, "Their names don't follow the color rule."

Glynda dropped her riding crop.

"What?' She rasped, and Ozpin nodded.

"Not only do they not know of Remnant's basic traditions, but they are capable of operating at heights which a professional could dream of at certain areas of professions." He leaned down and pulled out a sheet of paper, displaying the mugshot of a girl with twin hair drills, dressed in Gothic Lolita style clothing, "Celeste Ludenburg, age 17. She loves flaunting her wealth, and had been said to dream of living like royalty. She is infamous as an underworld gambler who has, in the span of 3 months, amassed a fortune of over a million Lien in high-roller games. They called her 'Fortuna's Blessed'." He pulled out another, depicting a blue-haired girl smiling at the camera, "Sayaka Maizono, age 17. She is a local idol who has already gained a massive fanbase whle performing in the residential district for free. Her talent in drawing crowds in and causing joy to everyone makes her a local celebrity, and yet she has chosen to enroll here." Yet another sheet, "Leon Kuwata, age 17. He's a boy who's gone to the batting cages in the shopping mall and broken every record there is in there. His pitches have an unnatural accuracy to them, his swings are always homeruns, and his catching is near-legendary. He has merit as a baseball player, yet he enrolls here."

Ozpin pulled out sheets at a rapid pace, speaking as he went, "Byakuya Togami. Kyoko Kirigiri, Junko Enoshima. Every one of these sixteen applications features individuals extraordinary in specific professions, yet they have all chosen to enroll here on the very same day." His eyes turned sharp, and he voice grew grim, "But they do not seem to be corrupted by Salem or her lackeys, and they know nearly nothing about Remnant."

"But that...that's impossible..." Glynda stammered out.

"And yet, here it is before us," Ozpin sighed, "I have to be able to keep an eye on them, and the only way to do so-"

"Is as their headmaster..." Glynda finished for him, and he nodded, "But Ozpin...what if they aren't who you think they are? What if they turn out to be against us?"

"I truly hope," Ozpin said, his Aura flaring up for a split second, and emerald green filling Glynda's vision before receding just as quivkly, "That it does not come to that."

A/N: I'm aliiiiiive...*tiredly blows party horn* Damn you, high school and loads of work. Damn you and your time-consuming agony.

Anyways, this is meant to be a prelude to show how Class 78 settled down in Remnant, and trained to get into Beacon. It's supposed to chronicle every important events that happened in those three months, and what details are needed for them to have even a sliver of a chance in Beacon. I'll describe their combat clothing in the next chapter, if you're wondering.

With either Makoto/Sayaka, Makoto/Mukuro, or Makoto/Sayaka/Mukuro (Because let's face it, Makoto probably wouldn't want to hurt either of them) as a main, there will be side ships ongoing, so send in any requests if you have one you want.

Also, there will be customized Grimm for this story. If you have any requests, PM me or leave them in the reviews, but there will be some that are already decided for the course of this story. If you don't like that, then leave, because I'm sticking with how I'll write my story.

And don't think Class 78 will be the main characters alone. I'm also dragging Teams RWBY and JNPR into their shenanigans, so prepare to see me fuck myself over trying to manage the personalities of 25 people (oh god help me)

Speaking of Class 78, they will be a little OOC, but considering they had to suffer through a week-long killing game where they slaughtered their own friends, it's kind of justifiable. It's even more justifiable when they have to live of the mastermind of said killing game. Don't worry, Junko gets better.

If you have any questions, PM me or leave in the reviews, as usual. With that out of the way, this is Gold Magikarp, signing off for now! Peace!

Edit: Just a minor update, ignore this.