Despite after all that he had done during initiation that day Kad wasn't tired at all. The fighting had only warmed him up if anything, it had been a while since he had a proper challenge.

After the celebration banquet he and his team settled into their first floor dorm room. Unpacking and storing their few belongings. And managing a few minor furniture rearrangements. So with night falling Alicia left to go meet her grandfather Professor Port, Jaxon and Co'Balt were doing a little maintenance on their weapons, so with nothing else to do Kad left to go explore the campus.

And place a call he promised he would make.

As he walked through the dying light of the barren school a few memories began to itch at the corners of his mind again, just a sort of tickle at the moment. Something was trying to come around but Kad ignored it. He was on his way to take in the sight of the city from the airship docks.

The sun finally fled as he leaned against one of the lamp posts. Its soft light snapping on to glow in the dark.

Far below Kad imagined the people settling in, or getting ready for the night. Safe in the shade of the great academy, the dark held at bay by the shine of their Dust lights. If he looked hard enough Kad could actually see some of the civilians walking about without a care in the world.

Locked in their fortress city slowly withering away. Complacent, vulnerable and weak. Not at all how mankind was supposed to live.

Cold wind bit at his face as he approached the halls of the Wolf King,

Kad brought out his scroll and opened the phone feature. He had no need of a contact list he knew these numbers by heart.

And Cinder was usually available, a few moments passed. But his mentor answered as she always did.

"Yes?"

"Make a good first impression right?" Kad began, "That's what you said."

"Yes, I did." Cinder replied "Congratulations. How many Beowolves were there?"

"Lost count."

Kad heard the small amused breath she took. It was rare Cinder found anything funny. She knew he remembered every blow he delivered and every beast he had killed.

Challenges. Only more feasting and drinking not true test of skill and valor. This drunkard dared insult him with these pathetic tests, no son of his would be so vulgar and arrogant.

"Is this all that the great King of the Russ amounts to?" His voice echoed over the crackling hearths in challenge. "A drunken glutton bellowing hollow tales of his greatness?"

"I had help." Kad admitted.

Cinder didn't laugh this time. "Really, I remember your opinion of some of the other help you've had in the past."

"Mercury should have seen that tree coming."

"Maybe you shouldn't have knocked it down on him."

"That was the Taijitu not me."

Finally some fire showed in the Primarch's eyes, drawing the great iron sword from the scabbard hung on the back of his throne.

Kad shook his head and brought himself back to the moment. "I lost my javelin though."

"Mmm, evidently you didn't really need it."

Cinder switched topics suddenly, "Anything to say about your teammates?"

"Not really." Kad answered. "But I'll keep my mind open."

"See that you do." Cinder commanded. "Good luck Kad, it might be best if you stay out of the city for a little bit."

"Alright…" The giant's tone was heavy with disappointment. "Phase one?"

"Phase one."

One short burst of static flowed through the speaker and his call ended. Kad knew there was no point in trying again. Cinder was a very busy person. Kad didn't need to be reminded what the others were doing. He knew all of the parts of the plan and what he was supposed to be doing.

Stay here,

But this was out of the way.

Cinder told him he was going to help save the world. To Kad that implied actually doing something right now. And anything could go wrong with the plans if he wasn't there to help Cinder. Things could be delayed.

It was just irritating how much nothing seemed to be in store for his future. He had seen other academies in the world, and had a good idea what they involved. Years of more training and suckering up. Even the best students still seemed to do a lot of nothing all the time, and it took so long to be assigned to anything once they were graduated.

The others were out there now working for this grand future Cinder had planned. Kad wanted to work, he had found out very quickly he was not one to sit around and wait. His blood ran hot most of the time.

This had gotten him into a fair amount of trouble in the past. If Cinder was unable to upset the status quo now, Kad would be the one in the future to try and fix things.

The next great Marshall Huntsman,

But all Kad could think was,

Backup,

Plan B,

Unimportant…

Ting!

The lamp post made an almost musical sound as his knife slashed through it like a green sapling. The following crash as it tipped over was considerably louder. But no one was around to hear it. Hopefully no one would know it was him.

Kad looked at the knife again as he walked away. Cinder had never really explained how Amaranth had died, and whenever Kad asked her she got a faraway look it her eyes and went very silent. It made her upset when ever anybody tried to ask her about the past. Not even Emerald or Mercury knew much about her aside from what they had experienced together and what made her take them under her wing.

The blade was perfect, not a scratch from him slamming it through bone during initiation, or the lamp post just now. He rarely needed to sharpen it. It was as fine a weapon for its type as he could ever ask for. And he was honored Cinder had chosen to let him wield it.

But it was rarely the first thing he reached for in a fight. The javelin had been a recent addition to his arsenal. Kind of an experiment whose results Kad was beginning to question. Why just take out one target from afar when he usually ended up facing multiple threats from several different directions all up close and personal.

His chain worked beautifully, and he wouldn't trade this knife for the world. But he needed something else.

Before he knew it Kad was at the forge. Hidden in the back of the mechanical building, past all of the fancy computers and automated metal working machines which most Hunters used instead of the old fashioned style of things. Something just felt right to him about this archaic place.

He didn't heat up the furnaces, or pick up any of the hammers or tongs. Kad found a stool and brought it next to the scrap metal pile. Pulling out pieces one by one, looking at them for a minute then putting them back. Calculating and measuring in his head.

As Kad read in the handbook there wasn't really a curfew at Beacon. Lights out was about an hour after dark. Students were supposed to stay in their dorm rooms but wouldn't really be punished for going out at night.

He had time.

Apparently so did his dreams.

Different again. Stirred by his thoughts of Remnant and the future.

These people might be safe here. Hopefully,

This world was not set so firmly in reality as the rest of the galaxy. This levee against the great ocean. The forces of the Warp leaked out at random locations and moments everywhere on this world.

And his ancient enemies were always looking for a way through.

They weren't true psykers these people. But they had great power. Power enough to perhaps survive what the dark ones could throw at them. Not if but when they came and become all the stronger for it.

He knew sadly all they wanted was a chance to live their lives. But in the very long term, the survival of the trillions of humanity was more important than any relatively small number of individuals. No matter how skilled they were with these rare abilities they had.

His time was short, their ships had crashed down and now there was no way off this world.

Their destiny would be purely the judgment of fate. If these dark times ever passed he would return one day and see what had become of them. One way or another they would be forged into something more or be swept aside.

One day….

"Ackk…"

Kad had nicked his right thumb on a jagged edge of scrap and was now bleeding slightly.

"Enough, go do something." he told himself. Standing and wrapping this cut in the edge of his shirt. Later he would come back and maybe put something together.

The window creaking open was startlingly loud after how quiet last night had been. The drapes parted as well letting in the bright morning light.

Alicia had been exhausted and passed out immediately when her head had hit the pillow. After talking with her Grandpa for an hour or two, she barely had the strength to take a shower and get changed for bed.

She almost forgot where she was for a second. Brining the thin bedsheets up to her chest and taking note of where her waking teammates had settled in.

Instead of the standard arrangement of four beds along the wall with the window and desks closer to the door. Team APRC had each moved a bed flush with one corner of the room in differing positions and placed a desk adjacent to that. Looking into their room it was Kad to the front left, Co'Balt to the front right. Closer to the door, it was Jaxon on the left and Alicia on the right.

Jaxon sat up as well. He hadn't bothered to change out of what he wore yesterday yet. Limply collapsing on top of his sheets to snore away the hours quietly.

Co'Balt was still passed out. Having almost ripped his new dress shirt with his horns trying out their uniforms last night. He had given up and merely sat shirtless on his bed sharpening Keila and cleaning its shotgun. Alicia remembered she had gone to sleep before him.

She was very surprised to see Kad step through and sit on the window sill. He had changed into their school uniform sometime in the night and was placing a plastic bag on his desk next to the window.

The bag smelled intoxicatingly like breakfast.

Kad took a tin foil wrapped something out of the bag and dropped it onto Co'Balt's muscled chest. He snorted, twitched awake and looked around the room still a bit sleepy.

"Welcome back to the land of the living." Kad joked with a smile.

Kad tossed some more packages at Alicia and Jaxon. She didn't normally eat in bed but since Kad had gone through all of the trouble.

"Alright get ready guys." Their leader said with a clap of his hands. "Classes start at nine in two hours."

Jaxon flicked his right lion ear back into place since it had folded down onto itself during the night.

"What's up first?" He asked.

Kad took out his scroll, "History with Oobleck. Dueling rules and practice with Goodwitch, lunch… Something I can't pronounce with Professor Peach and finally at the end of the day we get to all go meet Alicia's grandfather for Grimm studies."

The giant threw the device back onto his desk and pulled over his bag of text books. "Chop chop team we have a busy day."