So Ozpin believed everything I said, why? What's more, he has that much faith in me, he is willing to put everything on the line because of my rambling.

Perhaps he was convinced after I told him about Pyrrha's involvement with the fall maiden, he could have already considered her as the ideal candidate for the role. And telling him that she will agree to his plan was all he needed to hear.

But then again... who's to say the Fall of Beacon will even come to pass?

I mean, from Oobleck's class room, Beacon tower and the dorm room looking the way they do... To those I've met and talked to, sounding and acting as I have known them, without having met them in real life until recently.

After using my semblance ,or whatever it is, and seeing those other dorm rooms.

They must be alternate versions of Remnant. At least that's what Penny implied when she saw the first world I opened a portal to.

Going by what she meant, that would mean I possibly have the ability to travel anywhere in the universe or, multiverse... creating portals leading to anywhere I choose.. If that is true... could the events play out here as how I've described them from the Remnant I remember.

I should perhaps focus on the fact he trusts my judgement for now.

Despite being the least capable of changing anything.

But, if Ozpin is giving me the opportunity to prevent this, then I can't afford to let him down... I won't let any harm come to a single innocent person on the account of my inability to at least attempt halting Cinder's plans, directly or indirectly.

Zen thought to himself, his mind processing everything after conversing with the headmaster, as he made his way back to the dorm room.

Then there's Penny. I can't tell her anything about the fall of Beacon, no matter how desperately I want her to know what I might need to do to stop it.

If I told her, perhaps she would understand how to prevent this better than if I were to undertake the challenge alone?

Or if I were just to mention a few key moments that happen as well as what we were up against she could possibly train me in the skills I need to combat Cinder.. even though the champion of Mistral couldn't even stop her.

But what if I were to tell her and it backfires... I really have no way of telling how she'd respond.

I guess if I do tell her anything, it will have to be made up half truths, especially after how I just reacted to finding this all out for myself. I'll need to tell her something...

Arriving in front of the dorm, Zen slowly opened the door, only to find Penny pacing back and forth, she stopped when she noticed him out of the corner of her eye. Instantly turning to face him.

"So how did the discussion go?" she said, still appearing with a worried and concerned expression as she approached him.

"It went better than I expected really. Ozpin is pleased that I have recovered from my amnesia, and after some considerable time discussing my options, I will continue my lessons.

But there is a probability that I may be involved in the Vytal tournament.

In order to prepare for that, I will need my own weapon as the one's I'm using won't be adequate for what I need to do."

"So, what you're saying is that there could be a chance you'll compete in the Vytal festival?"

"To some extent yes..." Zen replied, feeling guilty that he couldn't explain himself fully.

"And you know about making your own weapon?"

"No not really. Ozpin suggested that I speak to Ruby about that as she has a 'knack´ for weapons."

"He did? Well that's not too surprising. I have her number, so if you want I can arrange a time so you two can talk about this."

"Actually Penny. I'll wait and talk to her face to face tomorrow.

Given that she appears to have nearly the same timetabling as me, apart from one or two subjects that is.

It should follow that she'll have a break in the afternoon. If we do have the same break time, I'll take the opportunity to talk to her then.

If not, I'll have to try to talk to her at the end of classes. I know we have a training session in that break time, but hopefully our discussion will be quick, I still haven't thought of what to say when I do see her.."

"Speaking of training, did you want to go back to the sparring room?" Penny replied with a slight hesitant tone.

"I think I'll go to my lesson. Your training is just as important as my own, and I don't want to stop you from succeeding in your own lessons at the expense of missing my own as well."

"Okay, but are you sure you're alright?"

"What I had...was an outburst of emotions, memories I've lived with, coming back to me...I'm not sure if how I responded was natural, but it needed to happen the way it did. I'll be fine."

"Wait!" Penny said, as Zen went to grab his pack and make his way out. "Before you go, I want you to be honest with me...is everything really fine?"

"Penny, you are my friend, one of my only friends here at Beacon, I am perfectly fine. It just... feels good to know where you are in the world after being lost in it for a week or so."

"Well if that's how you feel, I won't ask any more questions.

There's also one more thing I want you to do before you go however.

I want you to try something," she said as she produced one of her swords, unlatching it from its' tether, handing it over, much to Zen's confusion." Before we think about getting you a weapon, I want you to try using your semblance with mine. Now, imagine the training room, and try producing a portal that will open up to it."

Zen nodded to her request, then focusing all his thoughts to the room in question, he raised his arm up and moved the blade in the diagonal motion he used to produce every portal he had created previously...nothing happen.

He took a deep breath and thought again about the training room and it's layout, moving his arm slower than before... still nothing happened. He tried another three or four times before returning the weapon to Penny with a defeated expression, voicing his unsuccessful attempt."

'Well that was a great exercise..."

"Actually, that was quite useful to know."

"What do you mean exactly? Would you care to enlighten me on why I just did that?"

"Don't worry about it for the moment. You should probably go to your lesson now. There's still time before it starts, it's always best to be early." As he opened the door, he turned to her before closing it behind him.

"Thank you Penny...thank you for being my friend, I'm glad that you've been so kind with me in my time of being at my lowest." he said giving her an enthusiastic grin. And with that, he headed off to his afternoon lessons.

The rest of the day played out as normal until the next morning.

Zen's first class was history, and with what Ozpin said yesterday, the lesson seemed to fly by as he couldn't stop thinking about how he was going to ask Ruby to help him, without mentioning the reason why.

His mind wandered so much that he nearly fell out of his seat, being startled by Oobleck's distinctive voice dismissing the class.

"And that's all the time we have for today... Mr Discovery, could you please stay behind, there is something we need to discuss."

When the room was devoid of anybody other than the doctor and Zen, the former closed the door before turning to face him.

"I have been informed by Professor Ozpin that important, personal matters have come up recently for you.

And these matters in question may affect your study time outside of classes, which could also hinder your work on assignments and exams.

So to make sure you are able to resolve these problems as well as not worry about lesson marks for this subject, I have made the following condition. As long as you can provide adequate notes that you have taken during my lessons, demonstrating that you know the subject material, I can give you a passing grade. Would you say that is a fair compromise Zen?"

"Thank you sir, that does sound like an excellent compromise."

"Well it's good to see you're not objecting to the idea, so I'm sure you'll do find. Oh and I hope that a solution can be found for the problem you are facing."

"The solution will take time, but if it works well.. then everything will be alright. Again, thank you sir, for doing this for me... I'll see you in the next lesson." Zen said, as he exited the classroom.

The rest of the morning lessons came and went just as quick as history, the same scenario played out, where Zen was exempt from exams and assignments, but had to show he was paying attention. By the afternoon, Zen found himself in the library, and so was Ruby.

Meanwhile, Penny had finished her private training lesson and was now heading in the direction of the headmaster's office.

As she stepped out of the elevator, she wasted no time, addressing the professor before he could even welcome her in.

"Pardon me sir. Do you have a few minutes to talk?"

"Of course Miss Polendina. What exactly did you need to speak to me about?"

"Well it's about Zen and what happened yesterday. Specifically the conversation he had with you. I'm sure he told you that he had regained his memories?

"Mr Discovery did tell me this, just before you and general Ironwood arrived moments later."

"And, this conversation and its contents are between you and him...however... he did tell me that during your talk, he is apparently attending the Vytal tournament, and I don't mean he is spectating."

"Yes that is correct." Ozpin replied in a somewhat slow manner, piecing together what Zen might have said to her from their conversation. Also being careful not to express his concern of addressing Penny, who he no longer saw as a student of Atlas, but an artificial being...who's life was on the line if her friend failed.

"And you said he'll need his own weapon in order to compete?"

"Also correct."

"Well, if that is going to happen, I think there's something you will need to know before Zen goes out and acquirer's his own weapon...".

Hmm. I still have time before Weiss' study session, better get something to eat or I'll never get the chance. Ruby thought to herself. Remembering the last time she studied with Weiss, the pair studied for three hours straight, only taking bathroom breaks...and no snacking.

The idea of repeating the same one on one study session prompted her to grab the note books she had and began stuffing them into her satchel before standing up to leave.

Zen sat several meters away, jotting down notes from the previous lesson, glancing up to see the caped hood wearer leaving, her scroll still on the desk she was at moments ago.

She was already out in the corridor by the time he grabbed the device and turned to follow.

Once he was out of the library, there was no sign of her. But as he looked to his right, he noticed that the floor of the corridor had a trail of rose petals.

Wow she's quick, I was only a few seconds behind her. Whelp, just gotta follow the trail I guess. He thought to himself as he slid the scroll into his pocket and inspected one of the petals, which were real as could be.

"...I'll take the six inch sub thanks." Ruby said, handing the vendor the exact change. Once she was given the sandwich, she turned to leave before the usual thought came to her.

I wonder if Weiss wants anything?

I'll see and I... wait where is it. Why can't I find anything when I need them the most.

Thinking to herself as she frantically searched for her scroll.

"I'm sure I had it after last lesson, so where is it...wait, the library!" She said aloud, panicking slightly.

Really, how could you forget, you were just there. She thought to herself as she retraced her steps, keeping her head pointed down, her mind beating herself up for misplacing the device.

Of all the days, why did I have to lose my scroll today.

She just was about to start running along the corridor, but as she looked up, she was lucky at that moment to do so. If not for her semblance kicking in, she would have collided with the person walking in the other direction.

He quickly looked back and forth, surprised at where she stood in front of him before hand, the mass of red passed by him, rematerialising back into Ruby behind him afterwards.

"S-sorry about nearly colliding into you." She said as she stood face to face with the boy she nearly ran into.

"Hey, you're Zen aren't you? I'm Ruby by the way. " she said, giving a nervous, yet friendly smile. Zen gave the same expression as he spoke.

"Yep, that's me, and it's nice to finally get the chance to meet you Ruby... hey, has anyone ever told you have-"

"Silver eyes? I've gotten that from quite a few people."

"Actually I was going to say a cool semblance, I'd imagine it's great to avoid getting out of awkward situations, if not for the trail you leave behind that is. Which is actually handy since I needed to find you, and return this to its rightful, hood wearing owner."

"My scroll!" She exclaimed as he produced the device from his pocket.

"I was reviewing my notes and glanced up just as you were leaving, I noticed that you left your scroll on the table. Was going to call out to you that you forgot it...but you know how mad librarians get when you do something like that...heh-heh." he said, rubbing the back of his neck, handing it back to her.

"But going back to what you thought I was going to say. I guess you could say that those silver irises of yours are quite eye catching."

"Have you been talking with my sister, Yang Xiao Long? Because only she could come up with a pun that bad..." she said, sighing yet laughing as she closed her eyes and slightly shook her head. After the moment passed, she glanced away, thinking to herself before turning to talk to him.

"Listen, I know this is a little awkward but I wanted to ask you if you're alright?"

"I'm doing good. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, you always seem to be alone in the classes that we're in, and since you are from another kingdom transferring to Beacon, it can be hard to deal with. I can understand that the feeling of isolation doesn't really sit well and I was just seeing if you wanted someone to talk to, a friendly initial start to Beacon if you like."

"Actually I wouldn't mind that, I've noticed how I seem to get looks from everyone in class, but maybe I'm just being weird about it, and the only person I've had some interaction with was when I sparred with Jaune Arc, I've been told he is a friend of yours."

"Yeah he is. And as for everyone else, think nothing of the looks they give you. It's probably the fact that everyone is on edge for end of year exams and the coming Vytal tournament. They'll take anything in order to relieve themselves of stress, even if it means acting irrationally to students from other kingdoms."

"So-"

"Salutations friend Ruby."

Just as Zen was about to speak, Penny stood next to the pair, appearing out of nowhere,

"Hi penny. What are you doing here? I thought you had your own private lessons that take up most of the day?"

"Oh, well I was on my way to see if Zen had spoken to you, and see if he was ready for his training, so are you ready to go Zen?"

"Wait a second. You two know each other?"

"Of course. He's my friend and I've been giving him lessons on how to improve himself in combat. He's my teammate.

Hiccup

That's cool. So how's being on a team with Penny?"

"She's awesome, me on the other hand, still have a lot to learn."

"And what about fighting" What type of weapon do you use in your training?"

"Actually that's what I was going to talk to you about. I've heard you're an expert when it comes to making and designing weapons, so I was wondering if you could help me build my own...?" Zen trailed off, feeling like he should have talked to her more before being so direct. As if he was using Ruby without really getting to know her a little bit more.

"..."

"Ruby?" Penny asked, feeling a little worried by her silence.

"Of course I can help.! This is going to be awesome!" Ruby exclaimed with a large smile on her face.

"So when did you want to meet up?" Zen said, slightly uneasy by how happy Ruby appeared, a new excited, enthusiastic energy seem to wash over her. as she spoke.

"Well, we can do it in three or four days from today as I have work with my teammates on several things.

But once that is out of the way. We can go make your weapon.

I'm sure on that day we'll have different lessons, but you can come to our dorm to meet up and then we'll spend the rest of the afternoon in Vale looking for a weapon for you. After that we can-"

Just as Ruby was about to continue, she was cut off by the sound of her scroll, as she opened it, her eyes widened.

"Weiss! I'm late for our studying session, I've got to go. I'll let you know when we can get together, nice meeting you Zen.." Ruby's words trailed off as the floor of the corridor was carpeted with rose petals.

"Well that was a thing." Zen said, looking at Penny, who slightly giggled at Ruby's dignified exit.

"Let's go and work on your training." She replied as the two headed for the sparring room.

"Hi Weiss, sorry I'm late..."

"And where were you for you to be so late." she said, anticipating a long winded excuse.

"I was talking to Penny and -"

"You know this is the second time we've done something together, but it Penny has influenced you and changed our plans.."

"Weiss, it sounds like you're a little jealous, of your BFF status being challenged." Ruby slightly grinned, nudging the ice queen with her elbow.

"Me jealous? Of course not, rather annoyed that it's quite easy to get you distracted. Now, are you going to sit down or do I have to use my glyphs?"

Ruby complied without hesitation.

One thing Weiss knew that would always convince Ruby to focus was the threat of using her glyphs. From using time dilatation to stop her from running away, to placing a glyph wall to trap her in place...Ruby could not compete against the plethora of abilities Weiss possessed.

The next day, Zen and Penny were surprised when they woke up, Ozpin had requested to see the two of them before the start of their separate lessons.

"Hello Miss Polendina, Mr Discovery, I have informed your respective teachers that your presence in their classes will be delayed since you will be here for quite some time with me.

Miss Polendina, have you received any word from your teammates?" the headmaster said, beckoning them to sit.

"Well yes and no sir, two of them have confirmed their arrival in Vale, but I have not heard from the last."

"Well, I can confirm that your third teammate has contacted me in the early hours of the morning with regards to their status in travelling to Vale. I'm afraid that one of their family members have become ill and therefore they won't be able to compete in the Vytal tournament."

"..."

"Now, I'm sure you are aware that all teams competing in the Vytal tournament must consist of 4 students that make up said team to represent their academy, if they can't, then they are disqualified from attending."

However.. it appears you do have a substitute. Mr Discovery, what would you say to the idea of becoming a huntsman on Penny's team, competing in the Vytal tournament?"

"I accept." he said without hesitation, looking at Penny before addressing the headmaster.

"What will I be required to do?"

" You will have the same duties as you have currently, training with Miss Polendina, studying alongside my students as normal.

Another part of being huntsman in training means that you will be accompanying your team on various missions, these can range from simple scouting missions, to combating the Grimm, in order to protect the citizens of Vale.

You will be paid for each completed mission you go on."

"Wait, so we'll be earning Lien for this?" Zen replied, slightly surprised.

"Certainly, how else are you going to resupply yourself with ammunition for your weaponry." the headmaster smirked.

"Now, missions won't start until after the initial week of lessons have ended, so, the middle of next week is when missions will commence.

Now, I understand you have been training very hard this past week or so. And from what Miss Polendina says about your abilities to fight, you are quite capable of looking out for yourself.

You should be able to go on missions without too much trouble.

That being said, Miss Polendina is the team leader, she will be paired with you as your teammate. Given that you still are unable to produce an aura to protect yourself, she will be by your side if any dangers that may arise during your missions."

Penny looked over at Zen, she felt glad that they were pair together, but worried by the thought of Zen being in a situation where he could not protect himself and may possibly be harmed.

Zen thought along a similar line of reasoning, possibly being the one who might cause them to fail a mission due to his skills compared to his teammates, along with being the most vulnerable person on the team.

"Were there any questions either of you had for me?"

"No sir." Zen said.

"Miss Polendina?"

"None whatsoever." She replied.

"In that case, you are both dismissed and you can return to your lessons."

"Well, it looks like I might become a huntsman in training for real this time." Zen said to Penny before going to his class .

Penny stood in the foyer for a minute or so contemplating at what Zen said, before going to her training lesson.

Yes, a huntsman in training, facing genuine threats. Remnant can be dangerous place. If I can protect Zen from those dangers, then I can save the world when the time comes.

And here we are, got this chapter done...thought it would be a short one, but I guess not.

Hope you like it,
Looking forward to the next (which is defintely going to be a long one).

Will see you then.