"I'm afraid we're going to have to pick this up in our next lesson. Make sure to complete the questions before the end of the week, you are dismissed...oh and Mr Discovery. Could you please stay behind for the time being?"
Zen remained seated as he watched the rest of his classmates making their way towards the exit, they were all so colourfully dressed. Seeing their unique appearance also made him think what type of custom weapons they would use in combat.
Wonder why I have to stay back? He thought to himself.
As he did, Zen noticed the same red hooded girl standing just in front of the exit...almost like she was waiting for him.
His head began to ache as it did when the lesson started, but only momentarily as her teammates beckoned her to follow.
Seeing that no other students stayed behind to see Oobleck, Zen stood up and approached the eccentric teacher.
"Well, I'm glad that Oobleck's class is over...I guess you could say, its history?"
Yang proclaimed, only receiving silence from her teammates as the four of them made their way towards the sparring rooms.
"You realise that the joke was hardly worth the effort of a response." Weiss finally replied after the blonde appeared to seek some form of approval from the trio.
"Really ice queen... it was pretty alright, I mean, these jokes aren't going to write themselves are they?"
"You're the worst, just letting you know. Also I think you might be dropping the bar on your sense of humour."
Yang lifted her head upwards in disgust at the very idea that she was losing her touch.
"Oh I see how it is, my puns do not meet Schnee standards. Well I'm just going to resort to more 'sophisticated' forms of humour if I'm ever going to get admiration from your whine-ess." She said in a dramatic tone.
"Yang, putting you and sophistication in the same sentence is like Ren and Nora not being in the same room together for more than a minute... its nonexistent."
"Hey Blake did you want to add to the conversation?"
"No comment." Blake responded, her bow slightly quivered as she was being addressed.
"Ruby, want to chime in on this?"
"..."
"Any day now would be great...like right about now sis."
"..."
"Ruby!"
"Oh wha-? Sorry what was the question again?"
"Yang was asking about your opinion of the pun that she made as well as also if she was capable of telling jokes that are... as she would put it 'more sophisticated'?"
"Uh well I uh..." Ruby stammered as she tried to give an answer.
"You two do realise her thoughts have been somewhere else the entire duration of your conversation." Blake interjected, still keeping her eyes on the page she was reading.
"Gee sis, you still processing what Oobleck said in his lesson? I know I still am. But I wouldn't have expected you to, seeing as how you've enjoyed his lessons ever since the Mountain Glenn mission..."
"No it's not that, I was just...thinking"
"Perhaps you could try doing that next time we study together." Weiss responded, earning a slight chuckle from Yang.
"You know what, never mind, it's not really that important." Ruby said as her voice trailed off, going back to her thoughts.
"If you're sure sis, we won't pester you about it."
"..."
"She'll come back to us by next class. Now what were we talking about? Oh yeah, my jokes..." Yang continued their previous conversation as team RWBY continued along their path.
Zen seemed pretty alone in Ooblecks class. And no one appeared to be waiting for him once the lesson was over. I wonder if he's feeling the same way as I did when I started?
Maybe after one or two days... I'll try to befriend him, yeah that's what I'll do. Ruby thought, ignoring the bickering that was happening between her older sister and her partner.
"I know that you are scheduled for Professor Goodwitch's class straight after mine, so I will be quick as I can."
Oobleck said, as he began pouring himself another cup of coffee from his thermos flask.
"How did you find the lesson? I've been told by some of my students that out of everything in their curriculum, my lessons are harder than taking on a Deathstalker. So I thought it best to check to see if you might also think that."
"No, I wouldn't go as far to say that...probably because I have no idea what a Deathstalker even is...but I'll get the hang of writing down notes."Zen said as he scratched the back of his head.
"I enjoyed hearing about how the technological revolution began amidst the great war and how some of the greatest tech in Remnant started out because of it."
"So you were paying attention to what I was saying. Usually when I get new students they have trouble focusing.
So it's interesting to see a new student being attentive for once." The doctor said, as he pushed his glasses back up to their proper resting place.
"I had hoped it might have helped me find my-" Zen cut himself off as he wasn't sure if Ozpin had mentioned his amnesia to Oobleck.
"Sorry, you said finding your what?"
"Um...finding myself, I mean I've been in Atlas my whole life, and coming to train and study at Beacon...it feels like I don't know who or where I am...so trying to find something that reminds me of where I come from is always welcome."
"Well I can understand that. You're not the first of my students to say something like this to me, and you won't be the last.
So if you do need any help with lesson material or anything else, do not hesitate to find and ask me...I commend it." Oobleck said with an energetic tone. "Well I think I've taken enough of your time, best head off to the sparring rooms then... Oh and Mr Discovery... welcome to Beacon."
"Thank you, Doctor Oobleck."
As Zen entered the sparring room, he felt both anxious and excited as he saw the many weapons each of the students carried, he was intrigued by the sheer variety of them.
But as he was sitting down, he remembered that there could be the possibility that he might have to spar off with one of these students. No telling how skilled the user was with their custom tool of conflict.
His mind going back to when Penny mentioned the nature of some weapons and their ability to have several functions.
His thoughts were cut short as the sound of heels clicking on the wooden sparring room floor took his attention. Zen felt a slight shiver in down his spine as he saw Goodwitch, whose presence must have had the same effect on everyone else as the room suddenly fell silent.
"Hello everyone, I trust it you all had an enjoyable break?
Now however we must get on with combat evaluation. But before we begin, some of you might know that we have a new student... Mr Discovery." she said. Her focus shifted directly to Zen as she addressed him.
"Since you hail from Atlas, I take it you are accustomed to sparring against your peers?
So is there anyone you wish to contest with?"
"Um... No, I'll...I'll allow someone else the chance." Zen said, shuffling in his seat.
"Alright, are there any volunteers?"
"Yeah I'll go, and I'll fight Blondie."
"Alright then, Mr Thrush, Ms Xiao Long, take your places on the sparring floor."
The fight only lasted for six or so minutes with 'Blondie' winning, Zen was amazed by how the blonde's weapons delivered a powerful blast every time they connected with their opponent.
The following matches were just as impressive, it felt like for sure someone would get severely injured during a few of the conflicts he witnessed, Goodwitch stopping them before it ever came to that.
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to him, Zen was the focus of attention by a pair of students.
"Hey Jaune. Why don't you fight the new guy? You could easily take him on , one hand tied behind your back." Nora whispered energetically."
"What? No. Nora I don't want to fight him, besides, this is his first day at Beacon, I'd let him settle in first before fighting him."
"Come on, look at him, you'd be able to overpower him with your size alone."
"He's slightly taller than you Nora. And just because Jaune has a height advantage doesn't mean this will translate into an advantage of skill." Ren whispered as he became intrigued with the discussion his teammates were having.
"Ren's right in that regard. I mean look at what happened when we squared off against each other last semester..." Jaune trailed off, rubbing his head as he recounted when Manghild connected with it.
As Jaune said this, Nora's eyes widened with a maniacal expression.
Nothing like a good beat down. She thought to herself, just before a new thought came to her mind.
"I wonder what type of weapon you'll have to deal with?"
"Nora, for the last time I'm not fighting him."
"Ooh, do you think it might be invisible." She pondered, ignoring her teammate.
"Invisible?" Ren asked, an eyebrow slightly raised.
"Yeah, I mean, can you see any weapon next to him?"
"Now that you mention it.
It was unusual that he seemed nervous when we sat down. And he still seem nervous once the sparring began.
At first I thought perhaps he was dealing with being new here, or that it was after he saw the other competition.
But now I'm thinking he might be worried about having to spar off with someone without his own weapon."
" Could it have been damaged when he was on a mission? " Jaune began to wonder before being cut off by the red head.
"Or he has a weapon so small, that it fits in his pocket, like...like a pen!"
Nora triumphantly announced, receiving an audience with the entire class, Professor Goodwitch included.
"Miss Valkyrie, would you mind explaining to me as well as your peers the reason for your sudden outburst? Are you volunteering for the next sparring match?"
"No Professor Goodwitch..." She trailed off, glancing at her blonde teammate with a gleam in her eyes before returning her attention to the professor.
"Actually we were discussing Jaune's eagerness to spar, he wanted to challenge Zen..."
"Nora!"
"I see. Well then, Mr Arc, Mr Discovery, if you two don't mind approaching the sparring area." Goodwitch said as she gestured for the pair to take their respective places.
Thanks Nora, real helpful of yah to rope me into this match...just hope the other guy isn't the hard hitting, swift dodging type, especially if he's coming from Atlas academy.
Jaune thought to himself as he made is way down to the designated starting area.
As he took his place, Jaune attached his scroll to the back of his shield and loaded the aura monitoring program. Once it had finished, he could see a green bar next to the photo of him, however he had a perplexed expression on him as the same green bar appeared absent next to Zen's photo.
Thinking it was his scroll that was acting up, he glanced over at the projection that displayed the same information about the sparring pair to those watching the fight, it too appeared identical to Jaune's scroll.
He looked over to his opponent, who made his way to the respective starting position after grabbing his training swords, limbering up as he did.
Jaune's thoughts disappeared as Professor Goodwitch's voice filled the quiet room.
"Before we begin the match, I will point out to you all one thing. You may notice that Mr Discovery's aura level is not present on the score board.
That is due to the fact he has a rare condition, one where he is unable to generate an aura and thus he is vulnerable to even the simplest of attacks.
So take care when fighting him Mr Arc. This applies to the rest of you in future sparring matches with Mr Discovery as well.
We will determine when to cease the fight either when Mr Discovery yields before his opponent, or when he may have taken a few blows before being unable to retaliate."
The lights began to dim, only illuminating the sparring area as Goodwitch stepped out and stood where everyone else watched, signalling that the match would begin shortly.
Zen looked over to his combatant, feeling as though he should say something before the fight started.
Come on Zen, just remember what Penny said...address him as if you were talking to her. He thought to himself as he took a fighting stance, his nerves taking hold of him as eyes were fixed on the two of them.
"I... I look forward to seeing your skills..." Zen said in an audible, yet sheepish tone.
"Uh, thank you?.. And the same to you." Jaune said in a polite tone, sensing his opponent's slight fear.
A fear he once experienced moments before being launched into the emerald forest on his second day at Beacon.
"Alright, are you two ready?" Goodwitch responded, the pair both nodded as they looked at her. "You may begin then."
The two held their position for a moment before Jaune slowly advanced towards Zen, his shield poised and his right arm raised for a jab.
Zen remained stationary for the time being as he assessed the larger boy.
Once Jaune was within arm's reach, Zen side stepped the oncoming attack while he slashed at Jaune's side, their weapons made a connection with each other.
Both students stood stationary, locked in standoff, until Zen pushed off against his opponent and changed his position.
Before Jaune could even react, his body radiated a white aura as Zen's sword made contact with Jaune's back, who then swatted at the smaller boy with his shield causing Zen to step back as it nearly knocked him off his feet.
Jaune took the moment to strike, bringing his sword down along a diagonal slash, to which Zen raised both his swords to guard it. Feeling what might have been most of Zen's strength pushing against Crocea Mors, Jaune thought he could use this to work in his favour. He brought up his shield as he prepared his manoeuvre, once it was in the right position he brought his weapon to his side, causing Zen to fall forward into Jaune's shield, slightly disorientating him as his head slammed into it.
With that Jaune delivered several slashes at Zen. Though Zen might have been dazed, he could still make sure to keep a certain distance between him and his adversary, keeping his swords raised.
"Keep up the offensive Jaune! You're doing great!" One of the spectating students called out.
Zen glanced over to where the voice came from, feeling as if he had heard it before.
He saw that the supporting classmate was the same black and red haired, hood wearing girl that was in his previous class.
And just like before, a sensation of pain washed through his head and he slightly tensed up by it.
A second later, he could feel himself being caught off balance as Jaune's shield connected with his body.
Once Zen met with the floor, his head stopped aching, allowing him to think before he rolled on his side so he could get back on his feet as Jaune waited to see if his opponent would give up or not.
Zen went in for another slashing attack, Jaune reciprocated accordingly by using both his shield and Crocea Mors to deflect the oncoming move. Once both combatants held their position, Zen brought his weapons to his side and dashed around Jaune, again cutting at his back, causing his aura to fluctuate.
Zen tried to go for a second attack, but was sent stumbling backwards as Jaune's shield collided into him as the larger boy spun around.
Before Zen was ready to get back on his feet, the lights came back on and Goodwitch returned to where she was before the match began.
"I'm afraid that's time, and given that Mr Arc was the one to deliver the last blow, he wins this match."
As the rest of the students got up to leave, Zen remained on the ground, sighing with some sense of relief, although he had lost, it felt good that he fought someone with basic weapons that were on par with his.
"You need a hand up?" Zen heard as he raised his head up to see Jaune standing above him with an extended hand.
This seems familiar. Jaune thought to himself.
"Thanks." Zen replied as he was brought back to his feet. "You did very well".
"You think so? You're one of the only people I've faced where I might have had the chance to win outright."
"Well seeing the other competition, I'm glad that you got to fight someone a little more...average. But yes, if it didn't end there, I might have given in, seeing as how I was getting battered around by your shield work."
"Sorry about that by the way. I did it because I was worried that I might have injured you if I used Crocea Mors. I've only come to know about aura when I first began here, but I didn't know that it was possible for someone to not fully have one."
"Yeah, it kinda sucks...but no point in worrying about what you don't have. Am I right?
By the way I'm Zen."
"I'm Jaune. So you're from Atlas? What's the academy like over there?"
"Well it's-"
"HEY JAUNE. ARE YOU COMING OR WHAT? WE'VE GOT PLACES TO GO AND THE CAFETERIA IS ONE OF THEM!"
"Oh that's my team, I'd better go with them, Nora there goes ballistic if she misses lunch...and you don't want to see her if she does, it was great to meet you."
"Likewise." Zen murmured as he watched Jaune meet up with the duo as they made their way to the exit.
Zen decided he wouldn't eat in the cafeteria, but instead eat outside under a tree and then spend the time before his next class in the library, walking through the aisles to find anything that might keep him occupied, or at the very least, find a book that he might recognize.
The afternoon classes went pretty quick in Zen's mind, only because there really wasn't much that went on. Once the final lesson finished, he made his way to the sparring room, hoping that Penny was there already.
It wasn't until ten minutes had passed before he heard the door open as the red head walked through.
"Salutations Zen, how did everything go?" She said, beaming at him as she made her way to where he sat.
"Uh, everything went alright..." Zen said, his words trailing off as he spoke.
"Well did you make any friends?"
"No not really." He replied, then thinking for a moment before speaking again.
"Hey Penny. Do you remember when you told me about your friend Ruby... just double checking, she wears a red hood, right?
"Yes, that's correct. Why do you ask? is she in one of your lessons?" Penny asked, the tone in her voice slightly rising in excitement at the idea of her friends possibly meeting each other.
"Well yes she is, in fact she was in all the classes I had today..."
"That's great, she's an amazing individual, isn't she?"
" I didn't get the chance to talk to her..."
"Oh, and why was that?"
"I couldn't get the chance to talk to her without her team or friends being there...at least after the first class that is."
"But there's something else, isn't there?" Penny inquired, sensing Zen wasn't telling her the whole story.
"Yes there is. It's hard to describe, but when I first saw her... I knew that, given by your description, she is definitely your friend.
However, with the first two lessons at least. Every time I saw her, my head was seething with a sudden pain, and what makes things more confusing is that every time I looked away, the pain would stop instantly.
With respect to the other lessons, I knew she was there because I was able to catch a glimpse of her without getting a headache.
"Was today the first time you've seen her?"
Zen paused for a long while, although he wanted his brain to command his mouth to say no, he could sense a small region saying otherwise...
There was something familiar about her.
"No...I don't think I have." He finally said after he snapped out of his inner thoughts, seeing Penny appearing worried by her friends' mental trance.
"Hmm, I really don't know what to say about that Zen, I thought that perhaps you knew her before your amnesia and your mind responded in recalling that information.
But if the case was that you two have met previously, she should have known who you were...other than that, there is nothing that could suggest this complication." She said with a disheartened tone.
"Well if that's the case, can we spar together?
I fought this guy, Jaune Arc, he managed to win because the lesson ended and I want to work on some tactics that I used in that fight, see where I went wrong." He sighed with a tired tone in his voice.
"Alright, we can do that." Penny said, smiling at him.
For the next twenty or so minutes, Zen recounted the fight that took place several hours ago, recreating not only the moves he used, but also the ones that his opponent had used against him. When that was finished they began to spar.
"If I'm not mistaken, I'm sure that Jaune Arc is the leader of team JNPR. I'm also quite certain that he is also friends with Ruby." Penny said in between guarding and attacking.
"He seemed like an alright guy, even though I only had roughly a minute to talk to him after the class had ended." Zen replied.
As the match went on, Zen decided to go on the offensive as he swung at Penny, creating a sweeping arc in the process.
She ducked, letting her opponents' weapon pass over her.
During this swift motion, a sound similar to paper being torn followed by a roar could be heard, Zen's arm came to rest at his side as he stood in silence, staring at what appeared before him.
In the midst of his swing, the air in front of his blade parted ways, producing a dim light, which followed the sword as it kept moving along its path. The end result was a gold coloured ring that appeared to shimmer like an aura. Within the rim of light was an opening, on the other side appeared something very familiar to the pair.
Penny who had remained still after evading the attack, stood up, retracting her swords and went to her combatant's side.
"That...that's our dorm room..."
Zen finally managed to say as he remained perplexed at what he just did.
"Not quite exactly" Penny remarked.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Well consider the book on the desk, Commander of the Halos, I don't have any book of that name on my desk. I don't even keep reading books on my desk...come to think of it I don't believe there is any record of a book of that title."
Just as Zen was about to contend how she could be so sure of herself, Penny produced her scroll and gave it to him... the scroll displayed several book suggestions regarding other titles, but notthe exact one on the desk.
"So you mean to tell me that on the other side of this rim of energy...is a dorm but it isn't ours?" Zen said, slightly agitated by what Penny might be suggesting.
"Possibly, now tell me, when you went to strike me, what was going through your mind?"
"Well, I was just thinking how busy today had been and I just thought of nothing more than going to bed after we sparred... the bed which is located in our dorm..." Zen eyes widening slightly as it slowly made sense why this opening led to a dorm similar to his own.
"Zen, I think we might have found your semblance, and possibly the explanation as to what happened the day we met."
"I was under the impression that one couldn't have a semblance without having an aura?"
"But you still have a soul, and that could be how you're able to use a semblance.
Or your semblance has been in a standby like state since the incident and it's decided to activate again, your aura might also behave in the same manner.
The only other explanation I could say is that this might be something like a semblance, but it doesn't operate like one."
"Okay then, well I'm going to investigate..."
With that Zen slowly raised his right sword, extending it towards the opening. As if it were mealy an open doorway, the sword passed right through with no resistance, he moved it side to side before deciding it was safe... to some degree. He then carefully allowed his right arm to pass through, feeling no pain or anything concerning, he looked back and Penny.
"I'm going in."
"Alright, be careful." She urged. Zen nodded and stepped through the opening. As he made it to the other side he looked around the dorm.
"Seems to be safe, I'm going to look around here before coming back through."
"Alright, but be careful not to damage anything."
Indeed Penny was right in that there were several differences. For one, the sheets on the bed were not red like in their own dorm, but rather blue. Then there was a poster on one of the walls.
Sex Swing...must be a band of some sort. Zen thought to himself as he continued to look around the room.
After another two minutes, he felt that he had explored the room enough and made his way towards the opening.
"Wait STOP!" Penny yelled as Zen was about to step through.
"What's the matter?"
"What if this is a one way portal and you might be annihilated when you pass through."
Zen looked around for something he could use to test Penny's hypothesis, his eyes finally coming to rest on a pencil on the desk.
As he tossed it towards the portal, it looked like it was just about to cross over to the other side, but as if there was an invisible wall there, the pencil stopped abruptly and slid straight down.
"So sound and light can pass back and forth with no issue, yet it draws the line on solid matter?!"
Zen said, as he looked at Penny with a small frown of confusion on his face.
"Perhaps it's a failsafe... possibly because if it were a two way portal, you don't want anything coming out from the other side at the same time as you're going in."
"How then am I going to come back?" Zen replied, feeling a slight pang in his chest.
"Try opening another portal." She suggested.
Doing as he was told, Zen raised his arm and brought it down in the same fashion as he did before...nothing happened.
"Perhaps you have to close this one before you can open a new one."
"Alright, I'll do that..." Zen said nervously, afraid that he might not be able to reopen a portal once he closed this one.
"I'll be right here waiting" Penny said reassuringly, as she knew exactly what he was thinking.
With that, Zen nodded. He thought for a moment before he brought his right arm in front of him, lifting it upwards, mirroring his swing in reverse. As the blade moved along the portal, it appeared to close up as the weapons tip moved through it.
Once the portal sealed shut, Zen let his weapon sit at his side as he thought. A moment later Zen cut diagonally along the air, producing another portal as he performed the motion.
He squinted as he looked through to see another dorm room, only it had four beds in a row and the sheets covering them were green.
Alright, stop thinking about being tired and focus... Zen thought to himself as he closed the portal.
He cleared his mind before motioning his arm to produce a new portal. This time it wasn't another dorm room, but rather a fenced off cliff top that looked outward to three natural sandstone peaks jutting up through a sea of trees.
Zen's heart began to beat faster, his hands slightly quivered as he inhaled. In one swift motion, he shut yet another portal.
You need to focus...you need to get back...get back to Penny. Zen thought as he began to have an inner monologue with himself.
He began to think about all that he had seen at Beacon, more importantly, he thought about the sparring room he was in as well as who was in it.
From the way she smiled to the thought of her voice, Zen had a mental image of Penny as he raised his arm up and opened another portal.
As it opened he could see Penny, before he stepped through, he decided to check if he really did find the right Penny.
"What was the last thing we were talking about before I opened the portal?"
"We talked about Jaune Arc, his status on his team and how he is a kind person."
"Okay, what happened after we first met?"
"You told me you needed to use the restroom so you could vomit."
"Last question, name me three of your friends..."
"I can only name two, Ruby Rose, and you Zen." Penny said with a slightly confused tone.
He smiled as he passed through the portal back to the sparring room he was in several minutes ago, closing it behind him once fully through.
"Sorry, but I had to make sure it was really you, when I opened a new portal, it led me to another unfamiliar dorm room to the one I was in. So I had to close it and open another one in order to get back here."
"At least you are getting the hang of your semblance if you only had to retry once..."
"Seems as if I need to concentrate on where I want to go and I can open a portal to take me there..."
"That could be a possibility. I think after that whole scenario, we should go to bed, we'll have clearer heads to think about it after we sleep." Penny said as she walked over to where they kept their bags."
As they made their way back to their dorm, Zen decided it would be best to neglect telling Penny about the portal he made prior to the one that brought him back, as he was worried about how she might respond if he told her.
Thinking that the portal operated by his thoughts, Zen believed that if he thought of one specific word, it would take him back to the sparring room and Penny.
But when the portal didn't open up to where he expected it would, the same word came to his mind as he smelt the fresh air that blew in from the other side of the portal... Home.
I'm here with another cahpter...quite a long one as well,.
I hope you guys had a good Christmas or holiday with friends and family,or if you don't celebrate any holiday, you're having a relaxing time during the final weeks of December.
Right now as I write this we're experiencing a heatwave, getting close to 40 degrees Celsius (or 104 F) or higher in some parts of the country.
So I wanted to point out one of the 'refrences' I made the whole Commander of the Halos... noting to do with halo...rather it was just a wordplay of LOTR
Hope you all enjoy the read, see you in the next chapter.