Author's Note: Hello everyone it's your favorite talking Soda can, DrPepperJ23! Today I have one of at least four possible of the final chapters of Volume one of Run on Caffeine! Sorry for taking so long to write this, but here we are! There should be a chapter weekly until the end of the Month/before 2023 ends. Thank you for your patience and enjoy!

Run on Caffeine

Chapter 7: Opened, Consumed and Thrown Away

Pepper walked out of Oobleck's class with a million thoughts running through his head about what happened to that student as well as the topics discussed. Specifically the part about the blessing process and the possible outcomes that were mentioned. 'Did I really become ... .cursed? Surely not right? I mean it's called a blessing process not a curse ritual. That would be quite stupid to call it a blessing process if you can get cursed much less nothing from it. Then again, I haven't gotten anything beneficial from it. Just everything falling apart constantly. Never able to have one good thing and actually keep it.. Also why was I shaking so much? I don't remember drinking that much soda. That and the blue glow light thing, the heck is happening to me?' Pepper thought to himself as he sighed. He continued to ponder as he traveled to the cafeteria. When he entered the cafeteria, he saw there were already a lot of people sitting down with their food and teammates. The food didn't look all that special, just some soup and a bit of veggies with some chicken. He searched and soon spotted his teammates plus team SLSH (Slush) in the back of the room close to where the food was being served. Pepper went to get himself food but at a slower pace than most. His eyes showed he was tired and stressed out. Nevertheless, he eventually made it over to his team and sat down next to Sprite at the end of the table.

"Then Professor Port winked at the Blonde, made her grossed out. Can't blame her, teachers shouldn't be doing such things," Sprite explained before eating a spoon full of her soup.

"Absolutely disgusting, I feel sorry for her. Hope she reports it to the headmaster, it's only the first day by the brothers," Seiun replied after swallowing some soup. "Oh, hey Pepper," he noticed and greeted him.

"Hey," Pepper tipped his hat. "You guys talking about classes?" Sprite nodded in response.

"Mhm, that and mentioning that Port should be reported for flirting with a student but aside from that, you alright? Aquafina said that you were zoned out until after class ended," Sprite asked, sounding semi concerned about his well being.

"I'm fine, I was just… zoned out a bit. It's only day one and a lot has happened within the last few weeks," Pepper answered while looking down at his soup, stirring it with his spoon. "Quite a bit has been on my mind, I was hoping Beacon would take my mind off things," As he finished speaking, he stopped stirring his soup and just stared into his own reflection. "But it just made it worse." Sprite was taken back a bit after Pepper's reply. She noticeably sunk down into her seat.

"Oh, uhm suppose that makes some sense," Sprite tightened her hand around the handle of her spoon and looked to the side. Everyone at the table just sat there awkwardly in silence after the friendly vibe was killed off. They just went back to eating and nothing but clinging and clanging of dishes and silverware was heard. Nas and Henrie just shrugged it off while Luka sat there very puzzled and lost. Seiun, despite not fully understanding, got the feeling that there was a whole lot more in play than any of his team knew. Fanta just rolled her eyes at the situation and just shook her head as she ate. Aquafina had the expression of yikes on his face. Sprite felt the most awkward considering she accidentally killed the conversation. She sat there staring at her food, spoon in hand, trying to eat but felt too awkward to properly enjoy her food. Pepper continued to stir his soup for a few minutes before sighing deeply.

"Think I have lost my appetite, you guys have fun," Pepper picked up his tray while standing up and walked behind Sprite, Fanta and Aquafina. He put his food down next to Aquafina's. "Here, you can have this."

"...Thanks," Aquafina replied, still sounding a bit uneasy as Pepper continued on his way. Pepper put his hands in his pockets as he went towards the exit. He used his body to open the door and went around the corner and traveled by the big windows of the cafeteria.

"...I…can..make…your…reality…" Pepper suddenly heard a soft spoken voice of a woman. Pepper jumped and screamed briefly then looked around heart racing. He looked around the area for a few seconds only to see no one was there. He sighed and shook his head as he held it. He then pulled out his scroll, while he walked, and opened up a map of Beacon. He looked around at the map for a minute or so before he spotted Beacon's garden. He decided to make his way over to said garden. The trip was short, maybe a few minutes to reach his destination. There wasn't anything particularly special about this garden, aside from the nice atmosphere, the green grass, a clear view of the sky through the window above, the sun flowers and well kept and trimmed bushes. There were a few stone benches and a stone table with a few chairs made from the same material. It was the perfect place to have some alone time and to just relax, or at least design that way anywho. Pepper sat down at the table and looked down at it. His thoughts are still filled with several questions. All while still trying to figure out what that voice meant to make your reality. He thought maybe it might have meant a reality where he was happy? Where the pain went away and he was able to rest? A reality where he could have had his cake and ate it too? A reality where he could see her smile again? See her face and feel the joy and happiness he once felt seeing his own mother day after day. When she came home after long days of work always happy to see her family. He also thought if that was the case, maybe Sprite wouldn't be so on edge and fighting with Fanta because if his mother didn't leave, everything would have been better. And above all, a happier place.

"Ah I thought I found you here," Ozpin spoke with a cup of coffee in hand and walked onto the scene as Pepper was lost in his own thoughts. Pepper looked over shoulder at Ozpin without saying a word before he turned his eyes back at the table. Ozpin walked over to Pepper and sat down across from him and put his drink down. The two sat in silence for a while before speaking once more. "I have heard reports your team has been fighting among themselves and as well as a bit of an argument broke out in Professor Oobleck's class over the relevance of the topic on hand, care to comment?"

"...My team's business is our team's business and I had nothing to do with the argument that happened in class. Two students budded heads and got sent to your office, nothing more and nothing less," Pepper answered, still not looking at Ozpin. Ozpin chuckled a little.

"You most certainly do take a lot after your mother, she went to this same exact spot on her first day here at my school. More or less like the same state you are in here now," Ozpin explained as he leaned back in his chair. Pepper didn't reply to Ozpin's remark, just sat there still refusing to make eye contact. Ozpin sighed. "I can't begin to imagine how hard life has been for you the day your mother left, much less leaving your own home and friends behind all those years ago. But believe me when I say, I have been through something a bit similar to you. We have both lost someone that was so very dear to the both of us." Ozpin then took a sip of his coffee. "And we both wanted to go out and search for it, to return to us what was lost. But no matter how hard we try, we never seem to get any closer to our goal. And on top of all this, we still have our responsibilities to uphold and one of those is of course learning and achieving other personal goals we set for ourselves." After a few seconds, Pepper finally looked up and made eye contact with Ozpin.

"..Your point being Headmaster?" Pepper asked in a slightly quiet tone.

"My point is, life is rough and has its hardships but through those hardships we grow and learn from those experiences to better ourselves and overcome challenges that may come our way later in life. Whether or not you want to admit it, I do believe you have grown and have become stronger since your mother left. You still have that spark in you, that fire that burns very strong deep within you. I can see it in your eyes. You are determined to find her and I pray that you do one day, however, I also see the quite large amount of pain that still lingers within you," Ozpin said with pain in his voice. Pepper slowly rolled up his hand into a fist and looked away briefly then turned his attention back to Ozpin. "I know today has been quite stressful for you and your team. Fortunately, it's only the first day, there's still time to learn to work with one another and to resolve whatever feud your team might be having. These things take time, you should know that but sometimes it is good to step away to think and clear your mind," Ozpin sipped his coffee again. "I do not know if my words helped or not, but if you need someone to talk to do not hesitate to ask me or the other professors. We would be more than delighted to help a student in need," Ozpin began to stand up and picked up his cup of coffee. "And Dr. Pepper, I hope you have a good rest of your afternoon, take care," Ozpin nodded and exited the garden leaving Pepper alone. Pepper watched Ozpin until he fully left. And after he left, Pepper looked towards the flowers and bushes as he began thinking about what Ozpin had said. Pepper went into a very deep thought about it for a while. At some point he looked at his own hands, aura briefly lit up before he sighed deeply.

"Hmm," Pepper said to himself before he cracked a bit of a smile before he nodded. He then stood up stretching his arms and legs and cracked his knuckles. He adjusted his hat and gloves a moment before he started to leave. Then suddenly he heard something fall on the grass, and Pepper quickly scanned his surroundings. He noticed a strawberry next to the bushes. His eyebrow raised for a second then just shrugged it off and left. The rest of the week wasn't too bad. Tension between Sprite and Fanta was still there, although it eased somewhat later into the week. There weren't any particular events nor arguments in any of the classes. However, the same student from Oobleck's class that caused an uproar was not seen. Of course no one really noticed anything out of the ordinary, despite it being such a big disturbance. Funny how things are quickly and easily forgotten. Now it's the weekend and team SODA was in their dorm room. Pepper was getting ready for work, Aquafina was in his bed reading a book called a man with two souls, Sprite was doing a bit of studying and Fanta was drawing at her desk.

"Huh, I don't remember this book going this direction," Aquafina commented to himself scratching his head a bit.

"Alright, I'm heading to work, then afterwards I'm gonna check on my place. May or may not sleep there, I will text everyone what I will do," Pepper informed the others as he put his scroll and wallet into his pockets and grabbed his metal suit.

"Alright, you have fun," Sprite waved goodbye while still focused on studying.

"Whatever," Fanta uncaringly said as she erased part of her drawing.

"See ya later doc," Aquafina saluted Pepper. Pepper chuckled a little.

"Righto," Pepper then left the dorm. He went down the hallway and over to Beacon's dock to take a ship to Vale. The airship ride would take about five minutes before he reached Vale. He exited out and began his trek to his workplace taking his usual route to work. During his walk, he saw yellow tape with the words "Do not cross" and broken glass out in front of a building with multiple people within the yellow tape. "What the heck? What happened?" He asked as he walked over. He noticed two detectives both armed with pistols and one of them was holding a scroll. "Excuse me sir, the heck happened here?"

"We thought it was another dust robbery, but all the dust is here and untouched. Hell, the glass was shot from the inside and not the outside. The shopkeep was terrified but physically unharmed. White fang grunts were all over the place, it was quite the mess. Although there were readings of gravity dust in the area, however none of the dust inside was active," the detective answered.

"Hmm how bizarre," Pepper turned his head to see for himself the damage. There were still a few puddles of blood, glass with blood on it, and the sign thrown down into the ground. Pepper also noticed how bits and pieces of the ground were destroyed including some of the sidewalk in front of the shop in question. "Dang, what a mess…The shop owner must be thanking the gods."

"Yeah I would be too," the detective then turned to his partner. "Hey Lenny, what was the guy sprouting out when we got here?"

"Uh, something about Strawberries? Not entirely sure, the guy was just going bonkers. So I wasn't exactly paying attention because we were trying to help the guy calm down," Lenny explained. Pepper tensed up instantly upon hearing the word strawberries. His body was shaking so bad it was hard not to notice.

"Hey bud, you alright?" Lenny asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah yeah I'm fine…Anyway sorry to bother you," Pepper quickly ended the conversation and sped walked away from the crime scene. He continued on his way on the sidewalk, still very much tense. His body was shaking as he traveled. His legs were shaking the most. It was a miracle they didn't give out. He barely managed to get to work. He stumbled into the shop as he opened the door. Ben was behind the counter and checking the cash register. He looked up and saw Pepper was in a hot mess.

"Oh gods, are you alright?! What happened?!" Ben quickly ran over to Pepper and helped him walk over to a chair.

"...Sorry, I walked past a crime scene on the way..The actual scene didn't bother me, but," Pepper began to calm down a bit. "Just an answer to a question I didn't particularly ... .sit well with mel," Pepper looked to the side. Ben breathed in and exhaled deeply then nodded slightly understanding.

"Ah I see, yeah, uhm you gonna be fine enough to work?" Ben asked, sounding worried.

"Yeah, I'll be fine enough to work. Just need a minute," Pepper replied. Ben nodded again.

"Fair enough, but if you need to leave at any time, feel free. Living is important however my employers' mental and physical health comes first. Ya hear? Understand me?" Ben asked, looking Pepper in the eyes. And Pepper nodded.

"Yes sir, I will keep it in mind," Pepper slightly smiled. "Thanks for being understanding."

"No need to thank me, heck, I should be more thankful. Not only an employer as amazing as you, but For being an awesome friend as well," Ben smiled back. Pepper chuckled a little and gently punched Ben's arm.

"You're welcome, Ben," Pepper chuckled a bit more. Ben chuckled as well and went back to the cash register. Pepper sighed happily and looked down still smiling. He sat there for a minute until he hopped out of the chair. They would work like normal, it was a bit more busy than usual since school had started back up. Students tend to do a lot of maintenance of their weapons during this time. Nothing they couldn't handle, although they had to close up shop a bit later than normal. When they got out, the moon was out glowing brightly down on Vale.

"Damn, Beacon is back in full swing for sure. Might have to get a few extra hands," Ben commented as both him and Pepper walked out of the shop.

"Yeah, I kinda forgot what it felt like. Admittedly, it was just what I needed after this school week," Pepper chuckled a little and Ben joined in.

"Glad to hear, anyway, you have a good night Pepper," Ben waved as he began to walk off. Pepper waved back smiling.

"See ya tomorrow Ben," Pepper then pulled out his scroll and texted his teammates he was gonna sleep at his place tonight. Pepper nodded to himself and put away his scroll before walking off. After a few minutes or so, the lights began to flicker on the streetlamps. "Hm?" He then looked up seeing the light flicker. "What the? Why is it…" Before he could finish speaking, the light suddenly produced purple electricity. Pepper gasped and jumped back. More and more lampposts producing the same purple electricity are sparking like crazy. A few lightbulbs burst and a couple of posts bent over. Pepper blocked his face as the light bulbs blew. The road obviously got darker at a certain part. Pepper uncovered his face and looked down the road to see two of the street posts were bent forward to form a heart in the middle. Pepper was too stunned for words and only could just stand there. The next thing he heard was a sweet but sour laugh ringing out in the distance. Pepper's suit transformed onto his body and Pepper looked around to locate the origin of the voice.

"Oh? Are you a lost child? Are you looking for your mommy?!" Pepper's eyes widened and his body to shake immensely. His search became more frantic and more desperate and his breathing became rapid. His body soon froze up as he saw the woman whose voice it belonged to. The woman had pink long hair, purple eyes, short in height, wearing a black shirt with a purple pattern down the middle, along with her midnight purple colored shorts with a half skirt and wearing black combat boots. She also wore gloves and had two large revolvers on her hips. Her eyes and hair were glowing purple as she descended onto the two bent over light poles.

"Hello, little Pepper."