Calibre of a Forged Soul - Chapter One: "A Light amongst Many"
Even with a supercomputer in the place of a brain - one that could literally calculate rocket science if he really put his mind to it, Talos still had some difficulty in deciding whether or not he liked the 'Golden Blend Coffee House'. The aesthetics he appreciated. The Jazz lounge-esque appearance had a well-worn, urban charm to it. No, it was mainly because the Coffee House was thirty stories above ground, somewhere in between Vale's Commercial and Upper-Class district.
It may have been a quirk thanks to ANIMA, but he just didn't like places surrounded by people whom looked so far down their noses at everyone that it was difficult to face them directly without involuntarily looking up a pair of nostrils.
"Welcome to - ahh, Miss Haycroft," The greeter smiled as Councillor Haycroft led them in, brown pinstripe suit looking completely at home amongst the Coffee House, "A pleasure to see you again."
"Likewise, Burnell." The Councilwoman flipped a card in the barista's direction; a card that was likewise swiped out of the air by the barista in question. "These two are with me - anything you want to drink?"
He hummed, glancing at the board behind the counter.
"I'll have…hmm, a large café frappé for me. Métrios and with milk, please."
"Vale Fog here," Aneurin raised his hand, "Just a regular."
"And I'll have the regular." Haycroft craned her neck, looking into the Coffee House itself. "We're meeting someone, probably came in with his own drink - mug and all, as well as a briefcase."
"Then you'll be glad to know that he turned up five minutes ago." The barista smirked. "We still haven't found out where he gets his coffee from; the Betting Pool's up to three-grand now. He's sat in your usual place, go on through and we'll have your drinks brought out."
Haycroft nodded once, then turned and began to walk away.
"Excuse me, young man." He turned, blinking once at the barista's apologetic expression. "I apologise, but headphones are not allowed to be worn in the establishment. It is to do with the atmosphere, you see…"
Hmm…That was certainly an odd sounding rule.
"Ahh…Sorry about that. We are…We are not from around here. From Mistral, in fact." Aneurin stepped forward, a tired grin pulled at his lips - even as he tapped the emblem on the labcoat he wore, "And I can see where you are coming from. They do look like - and in fact, can function as - a set of headphones, but they are primarily experimental hearing aids. As blunt it may be, I request that my son be allowed to wear them, unless you would like a deaf individual to be deprived of one of his senses."
Burnell - in order - paled slightly, bowed his head, offered an apology, and made his way to the counter with a bit more speed in his pace than expected.
He huffed.
"I may be deaf dad, but I am not mute. I can speak for myself."
Aneurin just half-smiled.
"Of course. But I have a badge and a name I can drop when I want to sound and-slash-or be sarcastic and get away with it."
Halifax chuckled.
"You have absolutely no idea how odd it is to watch you two be deadpan at one another." The Councilwoman barely paused as they rounded a corner. "If anything, it's like watching Ane argue with himself from thirty-or-so years from the past."
To his surprise, it was his father that huffed in irritation.
"If that's the case, at least now I know just why my dry wit wasn't all that appreciated back then."
"Wit? From what I recall you usually came across as grouchy, all-round apathetic, or dark to the point of unpleasantness."
Aneurin frowned - and to his amusement, remained silent on the matter.
Seconds later and the small group arrived at their destination: a booth containing a single table that could seat four near a window, providing a beautiful view of the Vale skyline. As captivating as the cityscape view was, his attention shifted to the man sat in one corner closest to the window: Grey hair, sharp features, and clad entirely in green. He didn't even need his facial recognition software to identify the man flicking through the folder in front of him. Reputation alone was more than enough to identify the man.
"Professor Ozpin."
The Beacon Headmaster paused in his reading, turning his attention to the Councilwoman.
"Councillor Haycroft," Ozpin nodded once, and Councillor Haycroft slid into the seat beside him. "And you must be Professor Ritter and Mr Vulcan. It is a pleasure to meet you."
"Likewise."
Even as he seated himself, he could tell that he had caught the Headmaster's full attention. The amusement he felt was kept internal; all the reports and video feeds in the world would never quite prepare you for the real thing, he guessed. It didn't matter if it was a training video on Grimm or in this case, a fully functioning, near perfect humanoid android.
His father cleared his throat.
"I apologise if this is - actually no - it is sudden. The new academy year starts in three days. I would have rather given you a good two months in advance over this, but…" Aneurin gestured to the air, tired expression tinged with rue, "Sometimes I feel as if someone in a higher position has it out for me."
"That is quite alright," Ozpin nodded, turning another page in the folder, "I admit - even after spending four days going over everything - to being surprised at just what Spectrum has managed to accomplish."
Aneurin grinned, folding his arms as he did so.
"Not just Dust-aid and Trick-Weapons like most people believe, hmm?"
Councillor Haycroft frowned at his father with a light glare. Ozpin just glanced in his direction once more.
"Evidently. I will also admit that if it wasn't for the information you have provided me with, I would have easily mistaken Mr Vulcan for an average - if well dressed - young man."
Okay, maybe he was a little too fond of dress shirts; standard tees had an annoying tendency to get caught on his arm casing edges and tear holes in them. And if anyone was to blame for the brown longcoat, it was Spectrum for making them.
He nodded.
"Thank you, Headmaster."
Whatever Ozpin was going to continue on with was interrupted by an approaching waitress. Drinks orders were handed out - he winced slightly at Councillor Haycroft's drink; how anyone could drink a coffee with a triple shot of espresso was beyond him - and he thanked the young woman as she placed the iced drink in front of him. The waitress smiled at him, and then walked back to the Bar front none the wiser as to what she had spoken too.
They had watched the short exchange, he noted: Headmaster Ozpin had raised a single eyebrow. Councillor Haycroft was hiding a grin behind her own cup. His father had spared a single glance before rolling his eyes.
He - however - shrugged as he brought the straw to his lips.
"And with that as an example, would I be correct in believing this 'Persona Initiative' to be what we have just witnessed, only on a much larger scale?"
Aneurin nodded.
"You would be."
Ozpin hummed in response, taking a sip from his mug as he closed the folder.
"Whilst I am thankful that you have granted me access to - well, everything you have in regards to Mr Vulcan, I am curious as to why that whilst you have allowed me to inform all the tutors of this 'Persona Initiative', you are not informing the students your son will be studying alongside."
The atmosphere became heavy as his father put his tea down. As practical as it was subtle, his father's Semblance was near enough perfect to convey just how serious his next words could be.
"I mean no disrespect towards you or the institute you run, but just look at Faunus-Human relations at the moment. Add in teenagers from both races growing up with prejudices of their own; you'll be lucky to get a week into the term before the first big confrontation happens." Ozpin grimaced at his father's words, yet nodded nonetheless. "Factoring in Soul possessing Androids such as Talos or Penny right off the bat? That's just a recipe for disaster."
His father had compared it to dumping a man in Grimm infested territory after giving said Grimm a notice in advance that they going to do so.
"So you are hoping that Mr Vulcan can cultivate some bonds before his…secret is revealed to the public?"
"Yes," Ozpin blinked at his father's words - no doubt at the general unashamed tone he used, "I do hope that when the fact that he is an android becomes the local school gossip, he will have friends that will still back him afterwards. It would be nice if everything went to plan, but nothing ever does in this world, now does it?"
A brief smile appeared as Ozpin hid the expression behind his mug.
"Indeed."
A single cough escaped the Councillor, who - whilst not looking impatient in the slightest - tapped her wristwatch a couple of times. Even with sparing time for this meeting, she was still a busy woman.
"I am a firm believer in 'What can go wrong, will go wrong - usually at the worst possible moment'," Aneurin paused as he downed the last of his drink, "That's why I make a single plan, then plans upon plans upon plans based off how just how the initial plan goes pear-shaped."
"Completely understandable. However, one last question."
The Headmaster focused on him once more.
"I have heard the reasons of everyone else about your enrolment in Beacon, except your own. My question - Mr Vulcan, is just why is it do you want to attend Beacon?"
He blinked. The words were turned over in his mind as he thought. Many a scientist had asked the same thing. Why a Hunter? Why not a soldier? Or why not become one of Spectrum's elite operatives? The first time he was asked, he had spent a few days in thought, wondering just why it was he wanted to be a Hunter.
It had taken a week, but he found his reason.
"I wish to protect, Headmaster." Ozpin didn't so much a blink as he spoke. "No doubt there are many ways to interpret just why I desire to do so. Programming. Orders. Tests and results. People are entitled to what they believe, but I am here for my own reasons. I wish to attend Beacon for the very same reasons many others do: To protect those who are not able to protect themselves. To make the world a safer place. To make the world a better place."
His father was grinning behind tented hands.
Headmaster Ozpin nodded once, and then smiled.
"Welcome to Beacon Academy."
There wasn't much he was expecting that would happen on the Airship journey to Beacon Academy itself. New students milled about all over the ship with the majority of them taking up space in the observation lounge. They were chatting amongst themselves, either about completely mundane topics or about the weapons they carried - for the ones that did, of course. He had spoken to a few of them earlier on in the flight: The Mistrian Faunus he remembered speaking to on the flight into Vale was present, and he made for a surprisingly friendly conversationalist. There were two Vacuese young women that were also enjoyable to talk to - even if one was stoic and a bit blunt. Not to mention a few others from Atlas and Vale itself.
Of course, he also wasn't expecting one of the students to be stumbling around, hands clamped over his mouth and looking all-round quite sick. He watched though, if only because there wasn't much else to do.
…Did that make him a bad person?
A wave caught the teen's attention, and the gesturing hand pointed off in one direction.
"There's a bin to the left through those doors."
The blond gurgled what he took as a 'Thank-you' and dashed off in the direction he was pointing.
The nerves could get to anyone, he reckoned. Even his own I-CORE Heart was rumbling a bit more than he was comfortable with.
A chime resounded throughout the observation room, and the news feed was cut off by an image of a stern looking woman. The speech was tuned out after a moment or two - it sounded like it was going to be a base 'You are the next generation' type speeches, something he heard dozens of times, even if they were about being the first of his kind and all. The ship banked as it approached Beacon's airdocks, and near all of the students had moved over to the starboard windowpane.
The view - he would admit - was gorgeous. There wasn't exactly anywhere else where one could find a complete view of Vale except for the Beacon Cliffs. It probably symbolised just what it was they were learning to protect; Hunters watching over the grand Kingdom, and standing as the first line of defence against the beasts of darkness.
It was also possible he was making crap up, and Beacon was here because it's where the founders wanted it to be. Maybe they just liked the view as well.
The Airship lurched as it docked. He stood, servomotors whirring at a volume only he could hear as he stretched. Carrying Chrysá Míla in their collective sheaths really started to take its toll whenever he leant back in a seat and had them dig into his back.
The castle-like facility in the distance brought everything into perspective, in his mind. This really was the first time he actually wanted to do without the input of someone else. Sure, his father and the numerous scientists offered him advice on the future after the Vulcan Project. Sure he was 'acquiring' data for the Persona Initiative, but that was secondary.
He was here on his own accord, and now here he was, taking his first steps towar-
BTOOOOOM!
:: Main_System: Engaging Combat Mode. ::
Statistics and readouts filled his vision as the world in general became clearer. Hands balled into fists as he set into a combat stance. His senses sharpened in the clarity, and a brief flick of his Semblance revealed no one hidden in the immediate vicinity. There wasn't anything of structural importance where they were stood. An assassination attempt, maybe? There were a few high profile students entering Beacon this year.
He turned his attention to the source, prepared to run damage control and aid if necessary.
"Unbelievable! This is exactly the kind of thing I was talking about!"
He blinked; not quite comprehending what he was seeing, and in complete bemusement he lowered his arms.
"I'm really, really sorry!"
:: Main_System: Switching to Normal Mode. ::
The augmented reality Heads-up-Display faded from view as his focus returned from its heightened state. A brief groan escaped him as he shook his head, and the headache that formed was being stubbornly persistent in not leaving any time soon. Whatever idiot that decided there should be some sort of negative feedback for rapidly swapping Main System modes should be taken out back and shot.
He cracked a single eye open, all but glaring in between his fingers.
"Ugh, you complete dolt! What are you even doing here? Aren't you a little young to be attending Beacon?"
There was definitely some sympathy for the young woman on the end of the verbal battering - even if he didn't know her. The one delivering said verbal battering though, he recognised. Schnee; Weiss. She was also one of the potential Heiresses of the Schnee Dust Company as a whole.
And she was attending Beacon? Huh. The last Schnee he could recall attending a Hunter Academy was publicly disowned for 'Not adhering his father's desires of continuing to run the family owned business ventures' or however the news channels worded it at the time.
Aside from a few more publicly available facts, that was all he knew. Though the he felt aversion probably stemmed from the fact that his father preferred the Blauadel Dust Corporation over Schnee and somehow integrated that into his mind; from little of what he could remember from his father's rants before tuning him out at any rate.
Now that he thought about it, the Blauadel Heiress was here as well. What were the chances of that particular coincidence happening?
"Hey!"
He was pretty sure the call was directed towards him, so turned slightly to the speaker. It was the blond teen from earlier, half waving at him as he jogged over. Did he really run all the way from the Airship? Possibly, given that the teen doubled over when he reached him, hands on his knees as he gasped for air.
"Tha…Thanks for that…" The teen pushed off his knees with a last gasp, "Who…who knows where I would've thrown up if you didn't point me in the right direction."
His lips twitched.
"Probably all over the shoes of some unfortunate soul, I reckon." A quick rummage through one of his many pockets and he found what he was searching for. "Here."
The teen stared what he was proffering.
"Chewing Gum?"
He couldn't quite hold back from frowning when the unpleasant scent hit him.
"Mint flavoured. It'll help with your breath."
The teen looked nonplussed for a moment as he brought a cupped hand to his face. A second later his eyes bugged, and the confectionary was snatched out of his fingertips before he could blink.
"Thanks again. Man, guess I should've done a bit more than a rinse-out." The teen paused for a moment, and a second later offered his hand. "I'm Jaune."
He clamped the offered hand with his own.
"Talos."
Jaune stared for a moment as they shook hands.
"Mistrian?"
"Born and raised." It was technically correct, and that was the best kind of correct. "Now then. It looks like someone else could use a hand."
He had kept half his focus on the building drama not twenty feet away. The young woman sprawled out on the ground had snapped back at some point, an act that gave a raven haired student a moment to interject. He was actually rather surprised when she managed to completely pull the rug out from under the Company Heiress with a single statement, who then stomped off irritated and fuming. The grounded teen had turned…well, to her 'saviour' in this case, only to find said saviour well on her way to the Academy itself. She then collapsed onto her back, muttering something under her breath and staring up into the sky.
As he approached he got a better look at the dejected looking girl, and if there was anything that the Schnee Heiress had said that he agreed with, it was that the depressed-looking girl did look a bit young to be present at the Academy. It was possible that she was just older than she looked, but given what he witnessed so far, she definitely was out of place.
Then again: Robot. He lived in a glass house so he shouldn't be throwing stones and all.
The girl was still aimlessly staring towards the sky, even as both he and Jaune were within two-to-three feet of her.
He looked up, angling himself to see what she was seeing.
"Blue sky, bits of fluff, and the occasional bird." His comment seemed to snap the girl out of her daze, and she blinked at the offered hand. "Need a hand?"
"Thanks," It was almost effortless to pull the girl to her feet, "I'm Ruby."
"Talos Vulcan."
Jaune took the opportunity to introduce himself, although the sudden change in demeanour puzzled him for a moment.
"The name's Jaune Arc! Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue - ladies love it!"
He raised a single eyebrow as an amused smile pulled at his lips. That - and the whole act, really - sounded like something straight out of a television serial.
And thanks to that reasoning, he felt no shame in what he was about to say.
"Do they now?"
His attention cut back to Ruby, who looked similarly surprised that they had said the exact same thing, at the exact same time, with the exact same inflection.
Jaune reddened at their response, and reddened further when both he and Ruby laughed.
"They will! Well, I - I hope they will. My mom always says that…Never mind."
At least Jaune could see the hole he was digging himself further into. The embarrassed teen calmed down somewhat when he explained that most of their amusement stemmed from the coincidence though, so all was good. Ruby's continued giggling probably undid most of his efforts though.
The atmosphere became quite as the three of them trekked towards the Academy, something that Ruby seemed to find unacceptable. Ruby announced that she had a 'thing', and then pulled her compacted-form weapon from its holster. He went silent as the weapon unfolded, and he was honestly dumfounded when the blade sank into the stone walkway with frightening ease.
He stared.
"…Is that a scythe?"
He could see that. He could see that very much so. Still, Jaune asked - if only to receive some form of confirmation in reality that the weapon displayed was in fact real.
Ruby just beamed at them.
"It's also a customizable High-Impact Sniper Rifle!"
Jaune looked as if the words flew right over his head.
"A…wha?…"
"Trick-Weapon," He supplied as Ruby toggled her weapon back into its compact form, "And we all know un-written Rule number One when it comes to Trick-Weapons…"
He was pretty sure his toothy grin matched Ruby's as they both turned to the confused Jaune.
"It's also a gun~!"
They weren't bad people, and he would be lying if he said that he was confident in his ability to make friends. All the books and videos on Remnant just wasn't the same as honest experience, and everyone that took part in the Vulcan project were at the youngest half again his age.
It was reassuring to see that he wasn't completely messing it up so far.
"Oh. That's cool! I've got this sword," Jaune pulled the blade at his side free, and the sheath followed as he unhooked it from his sword belt and held it by a grip, "And I've got a shield as well!"
It was as he finally got a good view of Jaune's weapon did he finally connect the dots. Crocea Mors. Being more-or-less a literal living and thinking weapon, there were many a countless hours he spent on the internet just pouring over weapons. Ancient armaments, military vehicles, mechanised units - if it had an entry on , he was pretty sure he had looked over it. And now here he was, in the presence of a weapon that was a legend in the making.
He very nearly frowned when Jaune referred to Crocea Mors as a hand-me-down - even if it was passed down the Arc line, and Ruby seemed blissfully unaware as she commented that the sword and shield Jaune was holding was a 'Family Heirloom'.
…That brought a whole new train of thought to the station. If he recalled what he knew about the Arc family properly, Jaune was the second youngest out of eight. If tradition was a thing, why was he wielding Crocea Mors and not - say, the eldest? Modernisation, perhaps? Weapons were evolving every day, and Crocea Mors was roughly eighty years old.
He was getting distracted. Although he wasn't the only one as Jaune had shifted from talk about Crocea Mors and was instead talking about motion sickness.
"All I'm saying is that motion sickness is a much more common problem than people let on! It's why I use a sword and shield!"
Nice to see Jaune had considered his bases. It also gave him the chance to re-enter the conversation.
"He makes a fair point."
The duo looked at him, both blinking at the exact same time.
"He does?"
"I do?"
Okay, he understood if Ruby didn't understand him right off the bat, but Jaune as well? It was his weapon set. Unless he was one of those people that picked a weapon archetype and then completely butchered how they were used. Like First Person Shooter players who picked up a sniper rifle and ran about 'Quickscoping' everyone.
He was getting distracted again.
"A Sword and Shield is perfect for a static fighting style; not a lot of movement and standing your ground and such-and-such - perfect for someone who is susceptible to motion sickness. Of course, ever since Spectrum introduced the concept of Trick-Weapons five-or-six decades ago, the 'classics' have sorta fallen out of favour."
"Well I like it!" Ruby then turned her full attention to him - the holsters he was carrying in particular, "What about you? I mean, you've got those sheaths on your back and I see grips and stocks and stuff, but I can't tell what they are."
He smiled, reaching back and drawing a single weapon from its holster with a flourish.
"That…" Jaune eyed the black-and-bronze frame of one of his weapons, "…is definitely a revolver."
He kept the revolver pointed away from the two, even if he was sorely tempted to twirl it.
"Yup. I - unlike many a person - have a healthy respect for the classics." Ruby's head bobbed in agreement - or excitement, he really couldn't tell. "Her name is Gia; older of the twins and second youngest of four."
"Twins?"
The bronze-and-black frame of Tous joined its sister handgun at Jaune's question.
"Twins. Then there's Poté and Stási - a rifle and shotgun, respectively." He returned both revolvers to their holsters. "They all also function as melee weapons, hence the bulk. I've also got some heavy duty arm armour for steadying them and all."
Jaune boggled at the information. Ruby just looked ecstatic at the opportunity of learning about new weapons.
"You…you're really heavily armed."
He couldn't help from smiling. Oh, they had no idea.
"Indeed. But enough about that," He pointed towards the large double doors that they had reached, "We still have to reach the auditorium for the first year speech. We don't want to be late on our very first day, now do we?"
Jaune and Ruby both paled ever-so-slightly, and then nearly scrambled past him in a semi-mad dash.
"Don't wanna be late!"
He smiled, turning to the sign in front of him pointing the way to the auditorium, and walked off in the opposite direction the two were heading.
"Auditorium's this way!"
He managed three steps before the thundering returned in his direction.
The auditorium was packed as the three of them entered: dozens upon dozens of students were stood in small groups, each small clique whispering in hushed tones. He hummed as he looked around. Weren't auditoriums supposed to have seats or something?
"Hey! Ruby!" His attention by the blonde waving in their direction, and his eyes cut to the teen in question, "Over here! I saved you a spot!"
"Oh! Umm…" Ruby seemed conflicted - or embarrassed, most likely - as her gaze flicked between him and Jaune and the blonde waving her over, "I - I gotta go! See you two after the ceremony!"
She then dashed off without another word. He could have sworn rose petals were left in her wake.
Jaune just watched her dash off, a look of complete bewilderment on his face as the teen absently brushed a petal from his shoulder. It was nice to know that he wasn't seeing things.
Speaking of shoulders, he jostled as a hand came down on one of his own.
"Well, well, well. You didn't tell me you found another friend Tali."
He shrugged the hand off.
"Leo," He turned, vision greeted by a familiar hat wearing Faunus and a redhead whose hair was pulled back into a ponytail, "Couldn't come up with a better nickname?"
The - and he was sure it was - ever-present smile that the Faunus bore widened.
"Well I really couldn't come up with anything better than 'Headphones'. Normally it's redheads I can't think of nicknames for but ehh, what am I going to do?"
"Think a little harder? Jaune, this is Leo," he gestured between the two, "And I wouldn't take everything he says seriously, damn cat has a silver tongue and he's as good at using it as he is at compulsively lying."
The Faunus tipped his chevalier hat in Jaune's direction.
"How do you do? Leopold Perrault-Argent, at your service."
"H-hey." Jaune paused as his gaze flicked between the two. "How do you two know each other?"
"Leo was on the same airship flight into Vale as I was." He turned his attention to the redhead, "Miss Nikos, an honour to meet you."
"And I as well," She smiled as him and Jaune introduced themselves, "Leopold made mention of a friend he made on his journey."
He eyed the Faunus with a sceptical look. The Invincible Girl friends with the Silver Cat?
"What I'd like to know is how Leo knows the four time winner of the Mistral Regional Tournament."
He blinked. It may have only lasted a fraction of a second, but something…something indescribable passed over the girl's expression. That was saying something, given everything in his head useful when it came to identification and whatnot. Perhaps it had something to do with the reputation? Maybe, but it sounded a little too similar to something from a TV serial. Then again, fiction often had some basis in reality.
"Who do you think's been getting his arse handed to him and coming in second in the Mistral Regional Tournament as a result for the past four years?" Pyrrha looked ever-so-slightly sheepish, even if 'the person she's handed his arse to' appeared entirely unconcerned with the whole thing, "Not all that bothered though, Pyrrha pulls off gold much better than I do, and I'm quite fond of silver."
"And as for why we're here talking to you though? Ahh well, you know how it is, us Mistrians have to stick together and all," The Faunus gestured to the air in a vague fashion as he shrugged, "Figured there'd be more of us…but, three's the magic number and all."
"Of course," He plastered a deliberately exaggerated expression of seriousness over his features, even as he extended a hand towards Pyrrha, "We find ourselves amidst strange lands and with people we know not of. An alliance is looking the most profitable course of action."
The Invincible Girl laughed once, and shook his hand.
Jaune just looked a little out of the loop, eyes switching back and forth between him and the other two Mistrians present.
"I'm feeling a little left out here."
"Oh don't worry Blondie, didn't mean to exclude anyone. It's simply a bit of Mistrian humour and whatnot." Jaune mouthed the nickname as Leo turned to the stage, "We're all friends here…well, unless we end up making enemies."
A loud, reverberating tapping filled the auditorium, and everyone in the room found their attention drawn towards the stage. Headmaster Ozpin was stood in front of a microphone stand, with Professor Goodwitch stood at his side.
"I'll…keep this brief. You have travelled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction."
A few students began whispering to one another. So sounding sceptical, other sounding concerned.
He narrowed his eyes. Just where was the Headmaster going with this?
"You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step."
O…kay. If that wasn't cryptic in the least, then there was obviously something wrong with his hearing. From what he could gleam, Headmaster Ozpin saw a lot of people here that didn't truly have a goal in mind - or at least one that didn't exactly match up with what Beacon provided. Eventually they were going to have to think about it though, and find the goal they truly desired sooner or later.
He thought so at any rate, and his thoughts were interrupted when Professor Goodwitch as she took his place on the stage.
"You will gather in the ballroom tonight; tomorrow, your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed."
The students began to file away in the direction indicated, and even as he followed, he couldn't help but think. There was something…off about the tone the Headmaster had spoken in.
He stretched, a content sigh escaping him as his joints popped. Chrysá Míla was safely stored away for the following morning - not to mention completely and literally off his back. The meal earlier in the evening was something he enjoyed - if only for the flavour, what with being a robot and all. They were all then led into an absolutely massive ballroom. They were then collectively told that curfew was at ten, and then practically left alone.
It had taken a bit of sneaking to remove his coat and day clothing for a long-sleeved set of sleepwear, but he had managed it by being one of the first to do so. All he really did then was watch other people divvy up the room and turn the ballroom into a makeshift camping ground.
He meant that literally in one case; something he found greatly amusing was that someone had set up a small tent in the corner of the ballroom. Him though, he was completely fine sat against a far wall, with a cushioned sleeping bag, a couple of his duffle bags, and a scroll to watch movies on.
If there was one grand advantage to his…hearing aid, then it was the surround sound with a wireless link to any device he owned.
[Do you really think you have a chance against us, Mr Cowboy?]
[Yippy-ki-yay, motherf-]
"Umm…"
The film was paused with a tap on the scrollscreen, and a quick turn of a dial on his headset cut off the connection to the scroll itself.
He looked up, and was greeted by a pyjama clad Ruby.
"Ruby," The scroll was placed on one of the duffle bags, "No sister with you this time?"
That was something that had surprised him. There had been a bit of a commotion earlier, and it was something he couldn't help overhearing. They weren't exactly keeping the whole thing to themselves anyway, and he could honestly admit that his mind had come to a stop for a brief moment when Yang - he should keep her name in mind - had literally dragged her sister off to socialise. Sure, the massive difference between the two had initially thrown him off, but there were things such as half-sister or sisters-in-law.
It would have been heart-warming if he didn't watch it happen as it quickly became amusing with his own two eyes. Fate just seemed to be laughing itself silly whenever Ruby and the Schnee Heiress ended up within line-of-sight of one another.
Speaking of sisters: she wasn't behind him was she? A quick glance told him that no, there wasn't an energetic blonde about to surprise him for her own amusement.
"You know my sister?"
Hmm…How could he word this in the least embarrassing manner possible?
…
…Ahh, screw it. He pointed in the direction she had walked over from.
"You were kinda…you weren't exactly…quiet," Ruby seemed quite shocked about that little fact, if her wide eyes were any indication, "I'm actually quite surprised that everyone in the whole room wasn't watching the little…drama unfold."
Ruby made some choked gasp - or cry, or gurgle, he couldn't really tell - and then slumped to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.
Great, now he felt like a bad-guy.
"It's…" Great. How do you co about consoling a young woman? "…At the very least, you've made an impression?"
That sounded far too much like a question than he intended.
She looked up, and her expression was as pitiable as it was adorable.
"So much for 'normal'…"
His huff of amusement recaptured the teen's attention.
"Look around Ruby," He gestured to different people around the ballroom, "Four guys over there have made a fort with their luggage after using them as barriers for an impromptu wrestling ring. Someone over there's set up a camping tent, complete with cooking pot and fake fire. The Vacuese girl over there is trimming a bonsai tree. And last I saw Jaune, he was wondering around here somewhere in an onesie. From personal experience, being normal seems to be quite boring."
And that was without mentioning just what exactly he was.
"You included?" Ruby points to his head, or rather the 'headphones' he wore, "I haven't seen you take them off, or readjust them, or anything."
He guessed it was time to see how well the alibi could hold up; part of it anyway.
"Ahh, about that - I'm technically deaf. My father's a researcher at Spectrum, and he got cleared to experiment with these to see if I could hear again. If they ever get removed, they'll take two-thirds of my skull with them."
Okay, now he definitely felt like a bad-guy. Poor Ruby looked mortified. The teen had gone slightly pale and seemed almost frozen with her finger still pointing and a - brittle - smile.
"…Sorry."
"Nah, don't be," He waved off the apology, "Wouldn't be right to blame someone who didn't know prior, and aside from the odd look every now and then, no-one's really bothered."
He looked about. This was a far more awkward silence that it should be. A single cough escaped him as he honestly couldn't think of anything to say. A moment later and he picked his scroll back up.
"So…what you watching?"
"Dye Hard."
Cheesy, punny title aside, but it was released during the age where flicks like those thrived. It was also a decent action film.
It also seemed to be an effective icebreaker, and talk about films became talking about general subjects. If anything, he learnt that Ruby had no problems talking to someone that she felt at ease around. It just looked like a standard case of social awkwardness, most likely. Another thing was that the Schnee Heiress was correct in some form: being accepted into Beacon two years early? Not that he could do anything about it, people like Ozpin often worked in stranger and mysterious ways.
Time seemed to fly Ruby rambled on. Half of the time, she had talked about weapons in some form, and any question she asked was met with a part of the carefully crafted alibi from the minds of those that worked on the Vulcan Project.
He hated lying - he really did, but he accepted the reasoning listed by his father about race relations.
The loudspeaker crackled to life, and a tired sounding voice announced that it was curfew time.
"Ruby," he pointed to one figure in particular wandering about, "Your sister's wandering about. It might be best before she sees you here and comes to her own conclusions."
Amusingly, Ruby seemed to instantly know what he meant. He guessed he was pretty accurate with how he imagined Yang's personality. Ruby practically shot up from the ground and began jogging off in that particular direction.
She threw one last cheery wave over her shoulder.
"Good luck tomorrow!"
The lights flickered off one by one, and after a second though he switched his scroll of. Even as he reclined into a comfortable sleeping position his mind went over the last thing he asked her: Why did she want to be a Huntress?
She wanted to be like the heroes of old; Hunters and Huntresses of legend. To help those in need and make the world a better place.
Most people would see her as far too idealistic - and a few people had already probably said so. But he couldn't say anything though; not without being the pot as it called the kettle black.
He was here for the very same reason.
Next Round - Chapter 3: "The Emerald Woodland"