So before we continue I wanted to clear up any confusion if any one is reading this and is wondering about the main character.

First off, at the time of publishing my intro and the first chapter, I was unaware of the option of OC as a character description (so I apologize if people came in and wondered who this character is and why Ruby gets double billing).

Second, the OC is named Zen and has no link to Lie Ren (just was a coincidence that the names are so similar)- just to clarify. (It will be interesting if and when I get the two to interact).

Finally the feedback I have been getting has been quite helpful, so if there is some line in that doesn't make sense in story, let me know, I may edit them later down the track (spelling and grammar wise) or do what I am now and clarifying it... or fixing it if it's too confusing (for myself ) to explain.

Without further ado, I give you Chapter 3: Training Begins.

Time: Morning

Day: Unknown

Location: Beacon Academy

The morning sun poured into the dorm room, bathing it in its warm embrace. Zen eased himself out of bed, rubbing the tiredness out of his eyes as he surveyed the room, immediately looking over at Penny's well made bed.

Huh, I wonder where she's gone? Perhaps she had to report to general Ironwood. He thought as he made his way to the bathroom.

Come to think of it. What does she do at the academy? If she needed to report to the general, could she be training to join the military?

That might explain why she seems so perceptive of the tiniest of details.

Or could she possibly be someone of great importance? So much so that a general and his guards are required for her protection. What if her father is a king or wealthy man, and that his strict rules apply to her because she is the heiress to the kingdom or business?

As he finished freshening himself up while theorising who Penny was, the girl in question entered the dorm room, beaming at him as she closed the door behind her.

"The cafeteria is still serving breakfast. After which, we are requested by Professor Ozpin to report to him in his office, we're not in a rush, however from the sounds of it, he doesn't want to be kept waiting too long."

Once they were in the dining hall, Zen helped himself to hot chocolate, toast and a bowl of oat cereal, sitting opposite Penny at one of the dining tables. Except for the few kitchen staff and one or two students, the hall was virtually empty.

"I believe that it is usually accepted that cereal is to be consumed with lactose produced by a bovine."

"I think you mean milk Penny, and although I may have a case of amnesia, I'm pretty sure that having milk in cereal is not a pleasant experience. Besides, I like it this way, also how come you didn't get anything, are you not at all hungry or was there nothing you-"

"I-uh- already had something, yes, just before you were up, I've been awake for quite a while now and have had sufficient sustenance to last me for the rest of the day..."

Hiccup

"Zen, miss Polendina, please come in. I take it that you are both well rested?" the headmaster said, gesturing for them to enter as he sat at his desk, which projected several lines of text as the two got closer.

"Yes sir." Zen replied as he took a seat, relieved by the lack of Glynda and Ironwood's presence as he addressed Ozpin.

"So have any of your memories re-emerged since our meeting yesterday? Perhaps the events leading up to your encounter with miss Polendina?"

"Not really sir, I have some vague recollection that I might have been asleep, then a bright light filled my vision, then darkness, then waking up looking up at Penny... but I can't be certain. Even this however is just me trying to put the situation into context, given what I was wearing at the time when I was found. I did however have some very unusual, very vivid dreams last night."

"Oh, if you wouldn't mind discussing them with me. Dreams are often a way for the brain to process new information received during the day while your body rests. So it could be possible that the dreams could link with your former self. All the information is there, it's just locked behind your current state of mind."

Zen fidgeted a little before he took a deep breath, recalling his thoughts the previous night.

"So one of my dreams had someone wearing a suit of some sort, he appeared to float as he stepped along a grey sandy desert, the sky above was black, or as I could tell, everything was black and white, like film footage.

There was another dream with a man standing on the edge of a cliff overlooking the sea, he mentioned something about a pale blue dot on a sunbeam. The final dream had these two soldiers dressed in advanced combat armour, one orange the other maroon, the orange one was wondering about the meaning of existence...or something along those lines. And that's it."

Ozpin gave a low-key expression, picking up his mug of coffee promptly speaking before taking a large sip.

"I see. Was there anything else you would like to discuss before we continue?"

"There is just one more thing Sir. I've noticed that nearly everyone you address, you do so by their last name, this morning I thought about it and was thinking. Perhaps the last name Discovery would be an alright title for myself?"

Ozpin remained quiet for a minute or two, smirking as he responded.

"It is you who should wonder if the title is fitting, if you like the name then I will refer to you as such."

Zen turned to look at Penny, who was standing a few meters away, slowly raising her right hand giving a thumbs up, his head then returned to face Ozpin, he gave a slight nod to the headmaster.

"So Mr Discovery, in the short time you have spent at Beacon, do you know what this academy does?"

The thought had never occurred to him, he had so many other thoughts about Vale and Remnant as well as Penny, never once did he ask her about the academy itself, or for that matter why were there a number of ships around the Vytal stadium as he glanced out of the window behind the headmaster.

"No sir, I have not, but since it seems like I should know. What does Beacon academy specialize in?"

"Combat training. The students who attend Beacon are of the top of their classes and are from around the four kingdoms, they train so that one day they will become hunters and huntresses. Skilled warriors whose job is to protect civilians from the creatures of Grimm."

Zen's eyes widened for a moment, turning around to look at Penny, then back to Ozpin almost speechless. After a minute or two of silence, he finally spoke.

"You mean ... Penny... is a huntress?"

"In training at the moment, she is actually a student of Atlas academy, here for the Vytal tournament, other student hunters and huntresses will arrive to Beacon a few weeks from now for the same reason.

The main reason I called you here was to discuss how you will spend your time at Beacon, while you recover from your amnesia. I have had all of last night and the early hours of the morning to think about this , even right now I am unsure if it is wise to do so, but will forgo this thought.

You will be trained in combat by miss Polendina. Not only is this useful for when you encounter Grimm, which I assure you, you will.

Currently, the academy is short on teaching staff, given that there is still a week or so before classes resume.

The training rooms will be free to use without interruptions as well as the sparring ring.

Once the teaching period commences, if you still have not regained your memories, you will attend lessons alongside my students."

"Wait, so you just said you want to train me to become a hunter... like Penny?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes. I've have been assured by general Ironwood that miss Polendina is quite capable of teaching you, she excels as a fighter. I would go so far as to say she is combat ready. That is how you would put it, wouldn't you miss Polendina?"

Penny stepped forward and saluted the professor,

"Yes sir, ready for anything and everything."

"Alright, that was all I had to say to you two, I'll let you begin the training," he said, the two made their way to the elevator. Before the doors could shut, he called for Penny to stay back for a moment. "Miss Polendina, perhaps start off with minimal combat to begin with, and take care when you actually combat Mr Discovery... I feel he may not be as 'resilient' as most of my students or the people of Remnant."

As the two left, Ozpin took another sip from his mug, typing out new information into the device built into his desk. Looking at the display in front of him, two bios read as followed;

Polendina, Penny:

Aura: 100%

Discovery, Zen:

Aura: Negligible

As the two entered the training room, Zen saw a set of armaments at the other end of where they stood, walking over to one of the racks. Picking up a battle axe, he felt the weight of it as it rested in his hands, frowning a little before looking over to Penny who stood on the opposing side of the room.

"Is it really safe to keep these here? Without lock and key, where anyone can take them."

"Well, most of the students here already have their own custom weapons, these merely serve as last minute training pieces, plus they don't even have a secondary function... just the weapon you see before you and that's it."

He glanced back at the weapon, then back to Penny.

"You mean there are weapons that have secondary functions... like what exactly?"

"Well, some can transform into another melee weapon, but most of them can alternate in to a gun, automatic, semi automatic...rail gun-."

"Wait, rail gun! You mean there's a chance I could be sparring with someone and then all of a sudden they can just make this a long range fight?!"

"Indeed."

"Um, okay then... I am now more confused than I was when you found me."

Saying this as he proceeded to put down the axe, immediately walking over to another wall loaded with firearms. Grabbing a pistol, he heard Penny speak with a disappointed tone.

"I'm afraid there are no munitions to load those guns with, as they're all projectile weapons and the school doesn't stock ammo for training purposes, only for an emergency attack, if it were ever to take place. All students are expected to buy and stock their own munitions, either for training or real world combat."

Looking annoyed, he placed the gun back in its resting place and returned to the melee weapons.

Scanning up and down the rack, eyes finally resting on a pair of swords, he proceeded to take them off the rack and allowed them to rest in his palms.

Well balanced, perfect for defensive manoeuvres not too long, so sheathing and unsheathing is not an issue, not too short, so my opponent isn't in close proximity to me and ideal for multiple hostiles...

Wait how did I know that?

"I think I found my weapons of choice, we can begin in a minute or two,"

As I mentally try to prepare myself with the fact that I'm going to be fighting my friend. Who is a well trained huntress and could possibly shoot me halfway through the fight. Then there's the off chance I might get a lucky swing in and possibly hurt her. Most likely though, she'll mop the floor with me.

He thought as he began to pace towards the sparring floor.

"I think it would be wise to start off with the basics as most students have spent several years in combat school in order to be at the level to be accepted into Beacon."

Penny replied as she saw her new personal student lost in thought, his hands steadily grasping the swords and rotating his wrist in a comfortable and natural motion, getting a feel for the weapons. She thought what he would be capable of doing with the basic training gear as she waited for him to stand in front of her.

For the next several hours, using a combination of practice dummies, and a set of training swords similar to her own, Penny guided Zen in his stance with his own training weapons, how to guard single and successive attacks as well as basic dodges.

"Alright, I think that was enough training, but before we call it a night, I want to gauge how you will do, to see if we can progress to the next set of training or have to go over what you need to work on tomorrow."

"Okay we can do that... just take it slow."

With that Penny nodded and proceeded to return the training weapons on the rack. Then taking her place on the other side of the room, Zen raising his eyebrow when she returned to where she stood.

"Not using any weapons? Do you prefer to go fits blazing?"

"Oh, no I am combat ready. I have them stored in this pack on my back, so if the situation calls for them, I don't have to rely on a locker to be deployed to my general area."

"Deployed? How does one deploy a lock-"

Clink

Just before he could finish, a pair of black and green swords appeared from behind her back and unfolded, hovering above her as she took a fighting stance, ready for his signal to begin sparring. She didn't expect his bewildered expression from the sight of her weapons, she was sure he was aware of the various custom weapons that students carried, or could this be the case of too much information in a short time. Was he so focused on his training that he simply forgot about what she said previously?

"Would you prefer if I fought you hand to hand, like we were doing with the training?"

Zen's mouth partially agape, staring at the weapons dancing on the air, he quickly mouthed the words before blinking and looking directly at Penny, an almost giving a long pause whilst talking.

"It would be kinda nice not to worry about the whole, levitating swords trick. Is that your resemblance Ozpin was talking about?"

"You mean semblance? And no its not, I'm not quite sure yet as to what my semblance is.

My father believes that it could be the ability to copy other semblances, but for now I don't have one.

My swords are tethered to my pack, but I can use them as you would use yours. I notice that you might not be ready for that so I shall adopt this approach."

As if they were trained dogs, the pair of swords hovered above Penny's shoulder, turning their handles inward. Raising her hand to meet them, she gave a shrug like expression as her grip tightened around the swords bringing them to her side and allowing the wire that held them to detach and return behind her back.

She brought her left foot forward and her right slid away from its initial spot to balance her into an almost running stance, her arms following suit. Zen mirrored this motion as best he could.

Here goes nothing.

"Ready?" He said.

"I'm combat ready" Penny responded, and with that she ran towards him bringing her right arm above her head ready to swing down. And just as practiced, Zen lifted his left arm up, ready for the incoming swing.

As the two swords met, a visible wince appeared on Zen's face, but was quickly shaken off as Penny's left arm brought the sword to his right side, he guarded it accordingly as the two made eye contact.

"Good, but perhaps allow the blade to take the weight of the attack rather than your forearm, there are some students I know who can deal this type of attack with little effort."

She then pushed off him, ready for a two pronged attack raising both arms above her head bringing both swords downwards.

She predicted that he would block both of them to distribute the weight, but this would leave him vulnerable to a jab or another side attack.

She was correct, with a quick flick of her wrist, she went for a jab, but he side stepped a little and as she went for his side, he swung upwards to deflect it.

This left her to regain her stance and meant she was vulnerable to being disarmed with a well place blow. Zen took the opportunity but missed and ended up aiming for her wrist. He was about to recoil and assess how seriously hurt she could be, he was taken aback by how his weapon simply bounced right off, her wrist emanating a green glow.

The fight carried on for another five minutes, with Zen planning a defensive tactic as he felt it was less risky.

Penny was amazed by how well he could hold his own, granted she was going easy and that she had experienced tougher opponents in preparation for the Vytal festival, but this was a nice change, he was definitely a quick learner..

"ARGH!"

In the mist of her thoughts, Zen took the opportunity to strike, however Penny's reflexes kicked in without her knowledge and swung with a sweeping motion. Zen saw this and dodged it as best he could, although it seemed as if he missed most of the blades momentum. The tip of the blade managed to graze his forearm, enough to open a shallow cut, causing blood to ooze from the wound.

Penny snapped out of her thought as she heard her opponent's weapons drop as his knees met the floor, grasping his left arm wincing in pain. Seeing this her eyes widened in shock.

I knew he had no aura, I just had to lose focus for a few seconds...

"Oh Zen I-I-I didn't mean for that to happen, for a second I just... lost focus, and as a habit...I defended myself thinking that your aura could take the hit, I'm soo sorry..."

"I-It's alright Penny, argh, this was part of the training. I was bound to get hit, you did nothing wrong-"

"I did, Ozpin told me to take care, and I didn't, w-w-we, we need to get you to a nurse."

Penny then maintained her frantic behaviour as she got Zen to his feet and lead him towards the nearest medical facility on site.

Beacon had several of these medical bays throughout its campus, some more impressive than others, a few of the larger ones also doubled as laboratories for students to study when being taught by professor peach who was the resident professor of physical sciences.

Though Penny was aware that the professor excelled in giving medical aid as she acted as a medic huntress when she would go out on missions. She also knew how obsessively curious she was, and given that Zen had no given aura to begin with she worried that he may become part of an experiment or something. Maybe she was just over thinking it as she manage to find a much smaller medical bay that was operating and sat Zen down at a nearby seat.

"My friend here was injured during combat training, it isn't too serious but he needs his wound to be looked at and sterilized and the blood to be cleaned off."

"Alright come on through," The nurse beckoned the two of them in, bringing out the proper equipment to bandage the wound.

"Okay, the bleeding seems to have stopped and the good news you don't need stiches, given that your aura should help heal the wound. From the looks of the cut seems like you must have been on reserves or even fighting with your aura fully depleted. Must have been some fight..."

"H-He..." Penny stuttered nervously.

"...Has a very good teacher to show him the ropes, and clearly showed me that I need to work harder to maintain myself in combat. And yes, I'm sure that given time the wound should be fine, thank you nurse."

Zen said, cutting off Penny's almost haphazard beginnings of a lie, sensing that she still felt guilty that she let her innate combat skills to kick in.

Just gotta remember to avoid using my left arm for a while or else tear the wound open again. He thought to himself.

Once they left the medical room they went straight to the cafeteria where there was still half an hour before the kitchen would fully close.

Zen figured not to question Penny as to why she didn't want the soup. It was pretty good, the creaminess of pumpkin yet had a taste similar to chicken soup. He figured she had lost her appetite after the ordeal in the training room so he left it at that.

He then thought to talk to Penny, not as before but really talk to her. In all the time they had spent together, he didn't really know much about Penny, except she was kind, and a skilled fighter, nothing really else.

Zen hadn't seen her look miserable, the sweet kind smile that was present when he opened his eyes when they first met was replaced by a worrisome frown, the green eyes that twinkled even in the darkest of days seemed dull in the well lit room...he needed to get her to relax and not think about it.

"So Penny, you aren't from Vale, are you? Where do you call home and what is it like, is the academy there like Beacon or is it more disciplined as you have to report to general Ironwood?"

Penny looked up, lost in thought. He could see that the dull appearance in her eye wasn't dull because of her mood, rather they were dull because she was crying, or trying to cry, but somehow she couldn't.

As she was about to open her mouth, Zen decided that he had enough of seeing his friend being eaten up by this...distracting her would only delay her sorrow, he need to reason with her.

"Penny before you say anything I just want you to know this, accidents will happen, even to the best of us, what matters is that I can walk away from it knowing that I need to be prepared if something like it were ever to happen.

Ozpin mentioned something about the creatures of Grimm, now I haven't seen one, but from the sounds of it they pose a serious threat to all of us, you, me , the students... civilians who can't fight like you do and need your help.

If I were to fight one, would it be better to be injured in a simple combat match rather than out there, especially knowing that in that combat room, if I get hurt... everything stops, it won't be the same out there...I know this still bothers you but you need to relax, I merely have a few weeks to recover, we can still train, but you need to focus if it means not letting Ozpin down..."

Penny was quiet taking in what he just said to her. She knew that in feeling hurt from the fact that she hurt him in training. She was still hurting him now by feeling this way, she let her emotions get the better of her, and now was the time to fight back against her anxiety.

"Y-y-you were wondering about my life at home was it?"

"Indeed."

"Well I come from the kingdom of Atlas, its north of Vale, the architecture heavily differs to that of Vale, here there are cobblestone streets and buildings that have existed since before the great war.

Atlas appears to be constantly changing, most of the buildings are designed to be sleek and efficient, it's the most advanced city out of the four kingdoms.

Do remember what I said to you, how I only get so little freedom to wander Vale by myself?

I get even less freedom in Atlas since I have to be constantly training at the academy, calibrating my skills so I can defend the world if need be.

However after long and exhausting training sessions, I like to 'recharge my batteries' by going to the highest of the towers of the academy and look out over the horizon as the stars shine and the aurora dances across the sky.

Sometimes I get lost in the wonder of it all, they teach astronomy at the academy as it is the best place in all of Remnant to watch the night sky. I could never attend any lessons however, my father said I must concentrate on honing my skills.

That never stopped me from being a dreamer though.

I may have been confined to the combat and training rooms, in my mind I was free, free to tour the black starry skies , wondering if there were other worlds out there... maybe even ones where the Grimm don't exist... that must be a safer world than Remnant..."

Penny seemed lost in thought as she finished speaking, the fond smile Zen was accustom to adorned her face again. He gave a slight chuckle and said to Penny, taking the last spoonful of soup .

"If only a world like that did exist Penny... if only."

Well this was a lot longer than expected, probably will be my longest that I have written (still trying to work out how people can write short stories back in high school).

So there are a few things that inspired me in writing this, one of them being Carl Sagan's speech about earth as seen from the Cassini Probe that orbited Saturn, Stephen Hawking's " In my mind I am free" quote from the documentary "Into the Universe".

Next chapter might take longer to publish, although I said I had most of it written out, there as some gaps in chaptes, and this is one of them (I know what to do Just need to work out the length and consistency).

Anyway that's it for another chapter, will see you in the next.