1 hour earlier…
Everybody in the school's cafeteria could not stop talking about what had happened earlier in the day. One moment they were scrambling about from the alarm siren signaling a disaster Grimm status Kaiju. The next they were going back to class like nothing had ever happened. The body of the gigantic beast had already begun deteriorating at this point, but due to its massive size, it was a rather slow process. The professors predicted it to completely disintegrate by the end of the day.
But Grimm attacks, even ones of similar sizes, were an often occurrence for the students here on this campus. The one thing that occupied everybody's mind that day instead was Cardin's little stunt he pulled in front of the whole school when he made that bet and challenged the Superman.
"Ah ha-ha, what on earth were you thinking, you knucklehead?" Elm burst out laughing at the table. "Did you really think you could stand a chance?"
"I'd like to see you try," Cardin chuckled, "see if you fare any better."
"Hey, bro, I know my limits," Elm threw her hands up. "You're strong, dude. But you need to learn when to quit."
"Elm is right," Ren agreed. "Having super strength for a Semblance is nice. But it isn't exactly a unique ability. You can achieve similar results from amplifying yourself with your Aura if you are able to master that."
"Is that so?" Cardin thought about it for a second, "Well, I suppose that just means I'll have to train harder. Combine my strength with my Aura to be even stronger. When that happens, the Ice Queen will have no choice but to go out with me."
"I never figured you were into that type," Elm smirked.
"What can I say? I like strong older women. You can put on a suit, too, Elm and who knows. I might ask you out for dinner."
"In your dreams, lover boy," she and the rest of the table laughed on.
"Besides," Cardin smiled, "I'm not the only one on this boat. I swear to you, half of this entire school has a crush on the Ice Queen. Even Jaune-y boy here wants in on the action, don't you Jaune?"
"Whoa, what?" Jaune began looking around nervously, "I don't know what you're talking about. Don't drag me into your weird fantasy."
"Hey man, there's no shame in admitting it," said Cardin. "We all saw the way you looked at her. I was there with you looking as well, you creep."
"You're both creeps, ha!" Elm laughed.
"Hell yeah, no shame, bro," Cardin chuckled, high-fiving her. "Even Ren here notices it. Tell him, Ren."
Jaune turned to him, to which Ren shrugged:
"It's true. It is kind of obvious."
"Aw man. I never realized…"
"It's not a big deal, bro," said Elm. "Cardin is kinda right about one thing. Everybody here is pretty much into the Ice Queen. Even the girls, ha!" She then looked around before spotting another student in the distance, beckoning him from afar, "Ay, yo Russel! You're totally into Weiss Schnee, right?"
"Hell yeah, you know it!" He replied, "We still on for tonight?"
"Of course, don't be late again, dumbass, alright get out of here, ha-ha."
"See man? I told you," said Cardin, "it's no big deal."
"Well, it kinda is for me," said Jaune. "It's a personal thing. I'm not all… outgoing like you guys are. I just want to be good enough, you know? But I'm not, so there's no way in hell I'll ever have a chance. My Semblance hasn't even kicked in yet."
"You have to have confidence in yourself, Jaune," said Ren, drinking his tea. "A positive mental attitude is everything when it comes to self-improvement. You'll get there eventually. Plenty of the most powerful Huntsmen and Huntresses in history gained immense strength without ever even unlocking their Semblances. Because mastery over Aura is key to success."
"That's right, couldn't have said it better myself," said Cardin. "How about this? I'll make you a deal, or bet, or whatever you want to call it. If you can walk up to the Ice Queen later on today and tell her right there and then how you feel – I'll give you a hundred Lien, how's that sound?"
"What the hell?"
"If you chicken out," Cardin continued, "then you'll have to come to the bar later on tonight instead of shutting yourself in your room. We going to get drunk, bro, gotta unwind ya know."
"What are you doing?" Elm asked.
"What? It's content for my social media, bro," said Cardin. "You know I'm going to be filming everything, ha-ha. All about that grind, you know what I mean? So, what do you say, Jaune-y boy?"
"HEY!"
A shout from behind interrupted their conversation. Booming from a familiar voice, the entire group scrambled to sit upright again in their proper posture. For they recognized this voice – it was one of the Atlesian students, an upperclassmen. His name was Ghost Vester, a lean young man with golden eyes and short black hair slicked back in a professional-looking manner.
This was a young man who was always a stickler about the rules, very much a by-the-book type of guy. Always wearing his Atlesian uniform cleanly and with the utmost pride, without a wrinkle in sight. Ghost was a strict person, not just on himself, but it was a standard he imposed upon his fellow classmates as well. Him being one of the strongest students in the school also meant his orders often passed on without much resistance.
"Elm, I would hope you being Atlesian would mean you're upholding a higher standard," said Ghost. "You need to set an example for the Vale kids. Do you understand?"
"Yes, sir. It won't happen again," said Elm.
"I would hope not," his eyes turned to the Valeans. "Things may have been different before your integration into Atlas Academy, but I recommend you soon get accustomed to these new standards and customs. You are causing a massive ruckus in the cafeteria. Please finish your food and head to class immediately without delay. Am I clear?"
"Yes… sir," Jaune, Ren, and Cardin nodded their heads.
"Good. Because I won't repeat myself. Good day, gentlemen. Elm."
Present…
"This is not possible," Weiss said quietly. "You're supposed to be in your cell. How are you out here? And why are you a girl? How?"
"Weiss, relax," Rubio put up his hands. "You don't want to cause a ruckus now, so try to keep your voice down."
"What?"
"Um, ma'am?" Ciel said from behind the counter, "Are you alright? Who are you talking to?"
Weiss looked back down at the girl, baffled by her question. She then glanced back to Rubio once more, clearly standing there in front of her, no doubt about it. Weiss's eyes were the most perceptive and powerful eyes on the planet, so it was impossible for her to be seeing things. But clearly, Ciel here was not seeing anybody here except for Weiss herself.
"It's a part of my Semblance you see," Rubio winked, whispering to her. "Don't bother with the girl, she won't be able to see me no matter how hard she tries."
"Um… okay, that is all, Ciel," Weiss said, turning to the door and floating outside. To which Rubio followed shortly behind.
"You already know about my ability to see the future," he began to explain. "But did you know about my projection ability?"
"What?"
"That's right," he laughed. "I can send an image projection of myself into the future to communicate with any person I wish. Which means I am talking to you from the past right now, still in my cell. Nobody except for the person I target will be able to see me. Of course, since this is just an image projection of myself, I can't interact with anything. Which means you cannot touch me either."
"That is a strange ability," said Weiss. "I still don't understand."
"I need to stretch my legs from time to time you know? Getting stuck in this metal box is no fun I can tell you that. And since you are so fast, I also need to reach a speed that can keep up – the speed of thought."
"That makes… no sense."
"It doesn't have to, I have a cool red cape, ha-ha!" Rubio burst out laughing.
"And you couldn't have used this ability to talk to the Belladonna boy yourself?" Weiss sighed, rubbing her temple.
"Like I said," Rubio shrugged, "I can't interact with anything."
"But then, why are you a girl?"
"Why not? Just a look I wanted to try out from time to time. I appear before people in different forms all the time. Thought I might try out being a girl today. The real question is, though," Rubio turned around as they walked, "why are you here in the records' office? Someone fancy you want to meet?"
"You wouldn't understand, you're not Atlesian."
"Try me."
Weiss paused, glancing at him before saying:
"There is a spy in this kingdom of Atlas. A Valean spy."
"What?"
"So much for diplomatic courtesy from the King, huh? I met him down the hallway when I came back. He's disguising himself as a student, the nerve of this boy. His name is Jaune Arc."
"Hmm, doesn't ring a bell. Go on."
"He just walked up to me and said 'I really like you. Will you go out with me?' I don't know what that is code for, or what he was trying to imply, but I swear I will get to the bottom of it if it's the last thing I do. The moment I crack this case wide open I will fly over to Ozymandias and… why are you – what are you laughing about?"
Weiss turned around only to find Rubio on the floor guffawing like he were going to die any minute now. Holding onto his stomach and rolling all over the place roaring with laughter. After a good long minute – he sat up, wiped the tears from his eyes, and continued to chuckle to himself for another few seconds or so.
"Are you finished?" Weiss asked.
"For someone so perceptive you could see down to the very atoms itself, you sure are one of the dumbest people on the planet," Rubio grinned ear to ear.
"I don't follow."
"Ha-ha, you still don't get it? That boy isn't a spy. By the Seasons, you need to go outside and touch some grass once in a while. Oh wait, you do go outside, you're just always high instead of down low."
"Of course he is, what are you talking about? Walking up to people and spewing out some coded nonsense."
"He has a crush on you, you dummy. Ha-ha. This is absolutely priceless. There was no coded message or anything like that. The kid just genuinely liked you, and wanted to ask you out to dinner. Is that so hard to wrap your head around?"
Weiss stood there and stared at Rubio for a good long minute, eyes grimacing to a confused complexion. It was clear to Rubio that she was still not convinced of the matter. To which Rubio only shook his head and continued laughing.
"I'll prove it to you," said Weiss. "Follow me, and try to keep up."
"Speed of thought," he winked.
"You told her?" Cardin said to Jaune, "Bro, that's some balls. Kudos, man. I was right around the corner prepared to film you getting pounded to the ground or something. I couldn't really hear what you guys were saying, but she just flew off."
"Look at you, mister heartbreak kid," Elm laughed sitting on the table next to them. "I bet she's all flustered and shy from your little confession, that's why she flew off. To try to collect her thoughts, and maybe confess back later on as well. Oh, how romantic."
"Cut it out, guys," said Jaune, banging his head on the table as the other two laughed on. "Look, she turned me down, okay? That's all there is to it. So can we just drop it?"
"Whatever you say, bud," said Cardin, handing over some of his money. "But a promise is a promise, so here's the one hundred Lien. But you still gotta come to the bar this afternoon. Let us buy you a drink. Wallowing by yourself ain't going to do you any good."
"Thanks… I'd like that."
"Oh, take your seats guys," Ren ran down, sitting next to Jaune, "Professor Watts is coming."
"Tell me all about it after class, eh?" Elm said as she walked away back to her seat.
And there, from the entrance of the classroom Professor Watts walked in, holding onto his one cup of coffee on one hand, and his textbooks on the other. He set them down on his table before taking off his stylish gray jacket, hanging it onto the coatrack.
"Alright, class. Let's pick back up where we left off yesterday. Please turn to page 427. Practical Applications of the Human Aura. In order to pass this class, I must remind you that you will need to demonstrate adequate, preferably exceptional knowledge of the human biology, specifically pertaining to our inner Aura system. As these are crucial information to learn to achieve maximum effectiveness on the field and in combat. Mister Ren, can you please tell us the difference between a Semblance and Advanced Aura."
Ren stood up from his seat.
"Yes sir. A Semblance is an awakening of the soul, an extension of our Aura that manifests itself from the strengthening of our mental state and our spiritual side. This awakening is not something that can be controlled or planned ahead of time through vigorous training. Instead, it only awakes when the mind is ready, regardless of the physical state of the body. This makes a Semblance an extension of Aura itself, like a branch out of a tree, but it is not the source of the power. Which is where Advanced Aura comes in. A Semblance is something that may grant its wielder unique abilities that are capable of many different things, while Advanced Aura is not as diverse. But instead, is the strengthening of the Aura itself, the manifestation of our fighting spirit made hardened into a physical construct that can be used either defensively or offensively. Unlike a Semblance, which is spiritual, the strength of an Aura is almost entirely physical and can be trained and improved to a level of mastery beyond its original starting point."
"That is correct, well done Mister Ren. But of course, we all know that Semblances and Aura are still two pieces of the puzzle that are complementary to one another. Though we cannot control the awakening itself, the strength of the Semblance is a different story. The stronger the Aura, the stronger the Semblance becomes. Now can anyone give us some applications of these physical constructs born from our Aura? Anyone?" Watts paused, looking around, "Yes, Mister Vester."
"Sir – on its most basic level, a wielder of Advanced Aura can summon forth a thin layer of protective barrier to coat their entire body for defensive purposes. This energy field acts as a type of defensive armor, the stronger the wielder's Aura, the harder it is for it to break. This energy barrier won't nullify incoming damage to an absolute degree, but it will still significantly reduce the impact on the wielder. This is the most basic and fundamental technique of Aura defense. Mastering it would allow us to maintain these defensive Aura even on a more passive level."
"Excellent. And what about when we want to apply this kind of power in a more offensive manner?" He paused, looking around once more, "Mister Arc?"
"Well, I've heard of stories of Huntsmen performing feats of Aura where they would strike a target with their weapon, but their fighting Aura was so strong that they were able to deal damage without even making contact with whatever they were striking at."
"Ah yes, that is one of the most powerful but difficult techniques you can possibly do with Advanced Aura," Watts explained. "We have some senior year students here in our class that have the strength to demonstrate that kind of power, like Mister Ghost Vester over here. It may be good for the first and second years here to observe and learn the intricacies of that kind of technique."
"Um… sir?" One of the students in the back raised their hand.
"Yes, what is it, young lady?"
"You mentioned some defensive Aura techniques that can create a sort of armor around your body, right? Is this what the Superman is doing in order to be invincible?"
The whole class fell silent for a split second, before some of Cardin's friends sitting next to him started to tease, giggling to themselves and Cardin laughed along – shushing them to keep quiet.
"Ah, yes," Watts took off his reading glasses, wiping them with his napkin, "that is something you'll have to ask her yourself I'm afraid. The Superman is a one-of-a-kind creature. There is nobody in this world like her."
To that, their class was then interrupted by a loud bang of the classroom door flinging open – there at the entrance, the Superman floated inside. She hovered far above the ground, on her face was a serious expression, one of focus and resolve.
"Ah, Miss Schnee – you've decided to join us today? Well, go ahead and take a seat."
She nodded, before ascending upward toward the highest seat in the auditorium classroom, and finding a set of tables which the other students scrambled to clear out for her. It was as if they were making way for a king or royalty. But she paid them no attention, proceeding to take her seat after her feet had touched the ground.
The boots felt heavy, every step she took created minor rumbles for all to feel on the floor tiles. She sat there – far above everybody else, crossing her arms and looking down upon the class. The students below stared on, unsure of what to make of the situation. Some of them were dumbfounded, some were in awe, and a few even felt a twinge of fear.
From up on high, she could hear the low gasps and whispers the students tried to keep amongst themselves. 'Holy shit, it's her,' some of them would whisper to each other. And it wasn't only the whispers that she could hear – but the beating of their hearts as well. So loud in this otherwise quiet classroom.
"Hey, Jaune," Cardin tapped on his shoulder, "did you know she was going to be here? What the hell did you guys talk about?"
"I don't know, I told you man, she just turned me down and told me to go to class, that's it! I don't know why she's here," Jaune whispered as he glanced up the classroom, only to quickly turn back around the moment he noticed her cold serious glare piercing toward him.
"That's the boy? Jaune Arc?" Rubio asked, sitting down next to Weiss.
"Yes, that is the spy. I can feel it."
"You know, you sure seem to have a lot of free time on your hand if this is what you spend it on. Crimes in the Valley have been down I assume, and in Atlas as well?"
"The police has standards, standards that I help uphold."
"Sure, I suppose. But I do hope there isn't a cat stuck in a tree somewhere you could be doing instead of this."
"Don't mock me."
"I'm just sayin'," Rubio threw his hands in the air, "this just seems like a colossal waste of time. I don't even recognize him. You ever thought about that?"
"Do you recognize every Valean on this planet?"
"No, but I do know my fair share within Oz's circle. And I'm telling you right now, that just looks like an ordinary kid. One hopelessly in love. Oh, how romantic. Soon you two will be going on dates, going to the movies, and doing all sorts of premarital degeneracy like holding hands…"
"I'm glad you are finding this whole thing very amusing, but I do not."
"Whatever you say, Ice Queen," Rubio shrugged.
Professor Watts proceeded to adjust his tie and reading glasses before he cleared his throat and resumed the class for the day's session.
"Anyway, class – I would like to make an announcement if I may have your attention, thank you. As you know, with the integration of the Atlesian staff to this here Beacon Academy, certain Valean faculty members have objected to the new management for obvious reasons. While we do believe that the Atlesians hold the highest quality Huntsmen and soldiers on the planet, capable of passing on their skills and wisdom to the new generation, we also believe that having teachers of Vale origins can be a great value to your education as well."
As if sneaking from out of the shadows, the door leading back to Professor Watts' office on the left side of the classroom flung wide open – and out came a familiar figure that every single Valean in this country could recognize from a mile away.
"May I introduce to you," Watts continued, "your new assistant professor to this Biological Aura 201 course, Sir Qrow Branwen."
A man so drunk out of his mind one could clearly see the bottle rolling out of Professor Watt's office even from all the way at the back of the class. There was no mistake about it, this was the legendary hero of the Valley – the Grimm Reaper. The man had his signature scruffy spiky black hair, slicked back the best he could to try to seem professional in front of the students.
He wore with him a gray dress shirt with a long tail and unbuttoned cuffs – clearly the man would usually pull back his sleeves in a more casual manner, only now to straighten it out best he could to try to look clean. But even in his best effort, he neglected to take off his tattered signature red cape he would often wear. The cape that was so clearly reminiscent of the way Rubio would wear his.
"What the actual fuck is my uncle doing here?" Rubio stood up, in complete shock.
"Rubio, I thought your uncle was dead!"
"So did I," Rubio panicked. "I was there at his funeral for crying out loud. This is impossible!"
"Wait, I thought this is a projection from the past," said Weiss, "why are you reacting as if you're here in real-time?"
"I'm reacting from the past, genius. Just because I can see the future doesn't mean I can see all of the future. Cut me some slack and just give me some room to freak out over here."
But before Rubio and the rest of the classroom could continue on hyperventilating and picking up their jaws and eyeballs from the floor – Sir Branwen proceeded to clear his throat to grab everyone's attention, looking around the room and scanning everybody, before waving his hand in front of the class.
"Hi… everyone – it's me," he nervously said, before covering his mouth from a cough and a drunken burp. "I know everybody here has a lot of questions on their mind, and believe me, you all will want to hear this story, but I must admit that it is a rather lengthy one that we may not have time for today."
"Professor Branwen's presence here is a secret from the rest of the world," Watts explained. "It was one of his wishes before taking on the job to remain hidden away just a little longer. He realizes that news of his well-being will spread after today when you kids go back home or back to your dorms and begin talking about it. So these will be his final moments of solitude before the world catch news of what happened here. That is all, however, besides the point of why we brought him here. The legendary pirate slayer and slayer of Grimm, in my humble opinion alongside our faculty members', would make for a great and valuable teaching tool to help you all through the curriculum. Either through helping with physical training, or in imparting wisdom on certain Aura techniques. I hope you all welcome him with open arms. And I would like to thank you for being here, Professor. It is an honor."
"The honor… is mine," Qrow said as they shook hands.
But the entire class did not need to have Weiss's superhuman vision in order to see that subtle pause in his speech. Indicating a hidden hesitation in his words. What secret story could have possibly happened to have the Valean legend come on board as part of an Atlesian program?