Lord of Gifts in the Forgotten Realm

by Djoklecjan

After his defeat, as the last act of defiance, Sauron strikes a deal with his former Master, and finds himself in the Forsaken World, which is set for a downfall. Will Annatar change Remnant's future for the better? Or Sauron will make it even worse? Or, perhaps, Mairon will change some of his views?

9. Chapter 6: Friends and Mentors

Two months in the past.

The medium sized bar at the edge of the street maybe wasn't as popular as Elysium or Junior's establishment during the evening but certainly had it's unique charm: With it's old-fashioned aesthetics inspired by the pre-war capital, it gave it's guests a nostalgic feeling, a longing for simpler times.

New guest slowly opened the door into the building, and for a moment street was blessed with soothing music from the saxophone.

Headmaster Ozpin looked around, then approached the lone guest near the counter, and sat beside him.

"Well hello there Oz." The man spoke with slightly tired voice, and pushed a glass full of whisky to him. "Care for a drink?

"I will pass." Hearing that Qrow shrugged his arms.

"More for me then." He said and pulled the glass back, and drank it's content.

Ozpin noticed how one of his best Hunters looks like a total mess - his clothes were dirty and torn, like he didn't change them for weeks, his face looked like he wasn't able to catch sleep for a long time, but despite that, the grim determination was still burning in his eyes.

When Qrow drank half of his drink, he put the glass back on a counter.

"So, what was so important to call me in a middle of a Hunt?"

"I sent you the recording Qrow." Ozpin tried to not sound too harsh.

"Oh yeah, I remember." Qrow scratched his short beard and smiled a little. "But I was too focused on my nieces beating up old Nevermore to pay attention to your shapeshifter."

But immediately after he looked Headmaster in the eyes. "You think it is another of her schemes?"

"I'm not sure." Ozpin admitted. "I can't exclude this option, but even if not, shapeshifting monster is not a good sign."

"What a mess." Qrow turned away and commented with sour. "First Salem's agents attack Amber, and now a shapeshifter is stalking my nieces." He stared at his reflection in the glass. "How is She?"

"Stable and Safe." Ozpin answered. "For now at least."

"Any chances for her to wake up?" Headmaster remained silent for a minute before he left a heavy sigh.

"Unlikely." Ozpin admitted, and upon hearing it, Qrow tightened his grip around the glass. "Qrow, It was not your fault."

"We both know that's not true." Hunter replied dryly. He relived this moment again and again in his dreams, thinking that if he was faster that day, he could have save her. He was always too slow to save people he cares so much about - Now Amber, then...

"Qrow." Ozpin's calm voice drew him out of his thoughts. "You couldn't predict that. None of us could." Hunter left a heavy sigh, then nodded his head, but didn't felt any better, so he drunk some of the brown liquid

"The recent lead you gave me." Hunetr said after a while. "That she was here, flying in a bullhead."

"Did you find her?"

"I found the bullhead." Qrow replied. "Along with four well-armed mercs waiting to give me a welcoming party." He lifted a glass and drank some whiskey. "But the host was gone already."

Ozpin sighed in disappointment "So again, back to the start."

"Not quite."

Ozpin looked at him and rose his eyebrow in anticipation.

"When the fight ended, one of the mercs spilled the beans after I... encouraged him a little bit." Qrow smirked at this memory. "Apparently, the Red Dress wants to gather large amount of Dust as fast as possible, to use it as a bargaining chip."

"With who?" Ozpin inquired, and Qrow shrugged his arms in response.

"I tried to press him for more, but he didn't know that. But what he did know is that she entrusted both the Dust theft, and her operations in Vale to her new partner in crime."

"Roman Torchwick." Ozpin concluded, and Qrow nodded in agreement. "If we find him..."

"...We will find her." Qrow rose from his seat, put some lien on a table and stretched his arms. "But first things first, your shapeshifter." Hunter walked to the door. "If I find something interesting regarding it, I will call ya Oz."

"You should get some sleep first."

"Nah, better to not stay under a roof for too long." As he said that, waiter tripped and glass fell of his hands, shattering into pieces. After sharing with Headmaster a knowing look, he left the bar.

"He is certainly something." Barman grumbled, giving a waiter a disappointed look.

Ozpin rose from his seat, and put something for the table. "This is to replace a broken glass. And for other troubles."

"Pleasure as always Headmaster." Barman chuckled in response, and took the lien. "And don't worry, I will keep my eyes for any information regarding Roman."

"Thank you, old friend."

Present

Trash can shook violently, and two possums jumped out of it, one holding a loaf of bread in it's mouth, while second run after the first, hissing in anger.

Two animals fought violently for the piece of food while three other possums peaked out from the trash can and watched the gladiator fight unfolding before them, sharing a bag full of chips.

Suddenly, all animals frowned, and looked down the street.

Someone was approaching them.

Someone really pissed off.

And Possums live in this city long enough to recognize danger when they see it.

Two possums abandoned their treasure and run back to the trash can, closing the hatch after them.

Sauron walked past the makeshift bunker, fuming with barely contained anger. Anger directed, for some reason, at himself.

"Why I am even surprised?" He thought, and few stray cats run away from him. "All humans are like this: arrogant, selfish, petty, full of hatred. And Arc was no different." He clenched his fists. "But how could I lose control!?"

He lost control over the situation few times in the past, most recently those two "halflings", who, in the moment of his greatest triumph, somehow made their way to his domain unnoticed and destroyed the One, something that was impossible. But let's not forget about the time when he thought that he can best this Valar's dog, Huan. What was he thinking anyway? To this day, his neck aches from time to time.

But he never failed in his craft before.

Each item he made through the years was perfect in every sense and always worked as he intended. But this time, his creation was twisted, mangled.

Disgusting.

And, for some reason, he felt it was somehow HIS fault. Of course it wasn't! It was that human's selfish nature that ruined the ring. That's the only possible explanation.

"If only humanity was not full of flaws..." He thought with sour taste in his mouth.

To have a Hunter, not to mention the member of the Fellowship in his forge - what a marvelous opportunity! He could get influence over him, and, by extent, gain leverage on his group. Now, he only hopes that Jaune Arc will be rational enough and come back...

He shook his head in denial.

"He won't do that." He thought. "Humans don't relinquish power when you give it to them, for they lust for more and more. It's in their very nature."

So, he needs to mitigate the damage, plan for the worst outcome, before the Hunter becomes his adversary. But currently, he wasn't able to come up with anything good enough to remove him from the equation.

For now, he tried to move his thoughts away from this colossal failure, instead thinking how he will rebuild this city when he inevitably takes control.

"Those streets are too narrow, but if they reduce the size of the sidewalks, they will have more space for their vehicles. Or that traffic jam could be avoided if only they opened a second lane..." But the sight before him angered him even more.

"Why they are so wasteful!?" He internally screamed after reaching the crossroads, which were caught in an enormous traffic jam, thanks to the broken truck right in the middle of it.

Humans were screaming at each other, saying something about "being late to work", he even heard some kids crying due to all this yelling, while the authorities tried to retain control and tow the broken vehicle away.

Sauron shook his head in disapproval. Crowd do not need sidewalk that large, if they just cut it in half, they would have space for another lane for traffic. This would guarantee a swift flow of resources, greater safety...

"What do You see in these mongrels?" He thought to himself after he changed direction to avoid the traffic jam. "They waste space, time, resources, pollute the air and the earth, they are greedy and malevolent. And yet, you gave them free will?"

He remembered words this old fool said to Melkor when Arda was created:

'...And thou, Melkor, shalt see that no theme may be played that hath not its uttermost source in me, nor can any alter the music in my despite. For he that attempted this shall prove but mine instrument in the devising of things more wonderful, which he himself hath not imagined.'

"More wonderful?" He scoffed, speaking with clear disdain. "Humanity is flawed, easy to corrupt, it's creations inefficient and often crude. They twist whatever they touch, destroy nature in pursuit of wealth, only driven by their selfish desires."

"And yet, I commanded the army of orcs who did exactly that, more, and worse." His internal voice pointed out, but he brushed it off.

"They were just means to an end." He explained. "A necessity in achieving my goal."

He looked at the blue sky "Total dominion over them is necessary to preserve them from the self-inflicted demise."

But the sky, as he predicted, never answered. He stared at it for few more seconds, then turned his attention back to the matters at hand.

Although this sudden leave was at first only a mean for him to ventilate, he decided that he will do something useful - He watched how humans operate those small palantirs called "scrolls", and those devices fascinated him greatly.

He looked at his wallet*, heavy with coin, enough to buy two scrolls - one for his personal use, second for study. Also some for any 'unpredicted' expenses.

"Can you finally unload this!? I have many deliveries scheduled for today!" Sauron heard from afar and turned his attention to the small bakery, before which stood a truck, and from the said truck, a Baker reached for another package.

But Sauron noticed how the Baker is struggling, his face twisted in pain, barely able to stand on his left leg.

"He probably broke it some time ago, and recovered only recently."

"You could help if you want to speed it up!" Baker shot back, lifting the package.

"They don't pay me for that." Driver grumbled. "And this engine is a pain to start again."

"Then leave it on!" Baker tried to reason with him, trying to walk away with the large box, but Sauron already knew that this man is not going to make it.

"Only for someone to steal my truck!?" Driver said with anger "Just hurry up!"

Baker collapsed to the ground, his delivery landed right before him. He got up, clenching his teeth in pain.

Sauron watched the whole scene from a distance, not interested in helping the Baker. Why should he? He already has some people of this profession in Limestone, adding another is pointless at this point.

Instead, he decided to run a small experiment.

He watched how humans are indifferent to this whole affair: entire crowd walked past the struggling men, gave him a side eye, maybe even a little pity, but nothing more.

Nothing what matters.

Baker tried to lift the package, but his left leg started to shake violently as he lifted it. He dropped with a large thud, and wrapped his hands around his aching leg.

Few more humans passed him, and did nothing to assist him, nor to check if he is alright. Nobody in the crowd cared.

Sauron looked at all of that with disdain, then looked at the Heaven.

"Do you see it, Eru?" He said, knowing that similar scenes of apathy plays all the same in other parts of the world. "You claim that all of your Creations are good by nature." He pointed at the baker. "Is this good enough for you?"

Baker tried to rise up, he leant against the truck to help himself stand, but his leg still shook in pain.

Another pair of humans passed him, doing nothing. They have their own worries.

Somewhere in the far north, on the freezing streets of Mantle, a small girl with matches lit them one by one, to keep herself warm, while the crowd walk past her, paying her suffering little care…

…In the lands of endless sand, group of bandits attacked and deeply wounded a lone traveler. They stole his clothes and left him to die in the Sun, but soon after they left, a large caravan appeared nearby, driving towards the Grand City of Vacuo, but when they saw him, they shook their heads. He won't make it, so why bother?

"Those wretches do not deserve your gift." Sauron boldly claimed. "They wasted it before, now, and forever."

"And what I was doing with mine? Did I use it for good?" but Sauron pushed those foolish doubts aside.

"I always used mine in pursuit of perfection." He looked at the sky with determined glare. "And only perfection is acceptable."

The Heaven remained silent. As expected.

Baker pulled another package out of the truck, and to ease the burden, he put in on the road.

"You claim that with this 'free will', your children will strive for good." Sauron continued his statement. "But I see them for what they truly are. Some claim they are righteous, but that's a lie. They always lie."

"I always lie."

"To rule over them, I need to be as uncaring and ruthless as they are." Sauron proclaimed.

He turned on his heel and gave this pathetic scene one last glance.

"There are no good people." He stated. "Only evil, and those too naive to realize it."

Feeling his point proven and his views reassured, he started to slowly walk away, contemplating in silence the very corrupted nature of the humanity.

But this time, the Heaven answered.

A young teenage boy noticed a child freezing in the snow, he dropped his jacket and covered the girl, then picked her up and went to the nearby hospital, where they will treat her...

An old man shed a tear at the sight of violated traveler, then took the wounded man under his care, and treated his wounds with oil, deciding that he will pay for a place to stay until the traveler recovers...

"Are you alright?" Sauron's feet came to the halt inches from the ground after he heard that, and slowly turned his head back, curiosity resparked.

There, right beside the Baker, stood a young, light-skinned girl with curly, short orange hair, wearing white, old-fashioned blouse, short gray pinafore, and very long black leg pieces, for some reason attached to her black shoes.

"That's not a usual style of young women in Vale." Sauron thought. "Is she a foreigner?"

Her bright green eyes looked at Baker with concern, and he shook his head in denial.

"Yeah, I'm alright." He obviously lied, to not trouble her. "Could be worse." But she remained unconvinced.

"Those boxes are really heavy, Do you need help with carrying them?" She asked, and Baker gave her a tired smile.

"I can handle this, really." He tried to lift the package and walk to the bakery. "But thanks for..." his strength was lacking, and he tripped and box nearly fell from his hands...

Sauron rose his eyebrow.

Baker blinked few times as the girl caught the box with only one hand.

"Oh dear, it is heavier than I thought." She said, and looked at the Baker with a wide smile. "But I can carry this, no problem!"

"What the actual hell?" Driver of the delivery truck looked baffled by girl's strength.

Before Baker could say anything, girl looked at the truck and approached it.

"Hey, It is really heavy kid, you shouldn't..." Baker tried to warn her, but the girl picked up second box with ease, and now held two large packages without even breaking a sweat.

"Where do you want me to carry them?" She asked with cheerful smile.

"...Just put it behind the counter." Baker muttered in defeat.

"Affirmative!" She replied with a smile and went into the bakery.

"You really expect me to believe this?" Sauron said. "She clearly wants something from him." But, to truth be told, something with her was... off.

Girl left the bakery after a while and saluted.

"Everything is now in place!" She said. "How can I help you more?"

"You did enough, thank you." Baker looked the truck driver. "I will talk to your boss later."

"Whatever dude." Driver rolled over from the parking lot and drove away, Baker followed the vehicle with angry glare.

"He wasn't very nice." Young girl commented, and Baker turned back to her, his expression softened.

"I am really glad you helped me." He said and reached for something in his pocket.

"And I am really happy I could help you." She said cheerfully, but when the middle-aged man pulled out the wallet to give her some lien, she rose her hands in defensive gesture. "I can't take it."

"You gave me a helping hand when I needed it." He insisted. "You deserve something."

"Dad always said to not take anything for doing a right thing."

Sauron almost laughed out loud after hearing this, while the Baker put his wallet back and scratched his chin.

"Then wait here for a minute, okay?" He asked.

"Understood!" And the Baker run back into the building, and after a short moment, she started to hum some sort of song.

"So that's how it is." Sauron said to himself. "I was wrong. She uses a common manipulation tactic: decline the first offer, then the second one, and human will give you something even greater."

He looked at the young girl with pride.

"To think such young human already understands how to wrap someone around her fingers..."

But, much to his disbelief, he wasn't able to prove it to himself, because he couldn't 'read' her like he usually can.

Every heartbeat, every move of the muscle, even single breath - all signal what the human currently thinks, feel, or what he or she will do next. If muscles are tense, human prepares to fight or flee, if his heartbeat is rapid and breath sporadic, this indicates fear.

Even something as simple as lying give clues to watchful eyes. He met many good liars in the past, and he learnt from them.

Now, he could lie with ease, like that snake Glaurung. And he could recognize liars without the effort.

But this girl showed... conflicting signs.

Her muscles were tense, like she was stressed at all times, maybe even combat ready, but her breath is too regular for that, and her heartbeat was slow and steady.

In Sauron's view, she was at the same time stoic and restraint, while also being a volcano of energy.

"This human has such control over her body at that age?" He thought with astonishment. "Fascinating."

The first... no, the second human he couldn't see through right away. And, what's more, there was no sign of twisted motive. Just a young girl, waiting for the Baker to return, with a happy smile, humming a song...

It's time to resolve the matter.

"Greetings to you." He approached her, and she at first looked at him with surprise, but didn't flinch when she looked into his piercing eyes.

"Salutations!" She replied after a moment, smiling back to him. "My name is Penny Polendina, nice to meet you!"

"The pleasure is all mine." Sauron answered and bowed, just like he did in Numenorian court. "My name is Annatar, Master of Gifts. You may heard about me already."

Penny froze for a second, even her breath lost its regularity. That reaction, too brief for regular person to notice, unnerved Sauron a little.

"Ah yes, the smith from Limestone 27C! One that makes toys that are magical." She said, but quickly added. "Or they say so. Still, they are probably very well made."

"Precisely." Annatar said, slightly irritated, but maintained the eye contact. "Very well made? That's an understatement. - They are perfect."

"Is something wrong?" She tilted her head to the side, curious about his stare.

"I just wonder who you are and what do you have there?" He replied staring at her face, and his eyes shined with golden light.

"So now you know, I am Penny Polendina." She responded, but after another similar to last one pause she added. "Oh, you mean this?" She touched her face "These are freckles."

"What?" Sauron's eyes stopped glowing, replaced by confusion.

"There is nothing to be worried about, really!" She reassured him. "It is normal for people for have them…"

"I KNOW what freckles are." He cut her midsentence. "I meant something else."

"What exactly?" She asked, and Sauron scratched his chin.

"I will say it openly, I didn't expect someone so young trying to build her own web of connections."

"What do you mean?"

"You helped this man." Sauron pointed at the bakery.

"Yes."

"And you didn't accept his repayment for the troubles."

"Indeed I did not."

"So you intentionally keep him on the hook." Sauron said.

Girl froze and looked into Sauron's eyes. "Now she definitely stopped breathing." He thought in this moment.

A second passed.

Second second too.

"I don't understand" Penny said, her face actually looked confused. "I thought I was kind."

"Indeed you were." Sauron agreed. "And just like the old saying goes: kindness never goes unrewarded."

She blinked a few times, but Sauron continued.

"It is quite simple really: when you give other person a favor, help them in their hour of need, the recipient will be filled with urge to repay you. Most humans will try to repay as fast as possible, before this urge becomes the weight on their very soul. But when you deny it…" He looked at her, wanting for her to end his thought.

"They will feel… bad." She said, and Sauron nodded in agreement.

"Exactly." He said with pride. "This feeling will become unbearable, and depending on a person, you will be offered far greater reward than initially promised. Even control over them."

"Control?"

"Over time, he will do ANYTHING for you, and guilt will keep him by your side. Of course, such simple thing as carrying few packages won't make him your thrall, but after few more favors..." Penny stepped back with horrified expression.

"I just wanted to be kind!"

"Don't try to fool me, I saw right through your facade." Sauron replied. "When you refused his initial will to repay, you left a loose thread in his head. If he is not a psychopath - and let's be honest here, he doesn't look like one - he is going to suffer guilt for not rewarding you in any way."

Girl looked like she was analyzing this new information. After another second, far sooner than normal person would she said her conclusion. "So, by leaving this "thread" open, the debt is going to rise over time?"

Sauron smirked "Indeed. With that settled then, I want to…"

"How can I resolve this?" She asked, and this time, it was Sauron who froze for few seconds.

"What?"

"How to let him off the debt, because if I say 'no' again, he will just feel more guilty!"

Sauron didn't expect that reaction. Was she really selfless? Probably not, but he didn't have time to make up a lie to put himself in more favorable position, so he answered truthfully.

"Then just accept his reward and move on."

"But dad said it is not kind to money for a doing a right thing." Penny protested.

"Then don't accept anything too pricy and instead ask for something smaller." He explained. "He is a Baker, you can ask him loaf of bread."

"And this will be 'truly kind'?" She asked for confirmation, and Sauron shrugged his arms.

"Of course it will, but I don't understand why would…"

"I'm back!" Both turned to the door of the bakery, and from there, baker approached them with plate full of cookies. "Sorry it took that long, I needed to warm them first. Take it, for your troubles."

Penny first looked at the plate, then at Sauron, who now observed her with great interest, then at the baker.

"Will it settle your debt?" She asked, and baker at first looked at her with confusion, then laughed.

"Of course!"

"Then I gladly accept those cookies." She said, and took few.

"You can take more if you want." Baker said, but Penny shook her head in denial.

"It's more than enough, thank you."

"No, I am the one grateful." Baker nodded, and looked at Annatar. "You want some too?"

"I will pass." Baker shrugged his arms in response, and looked at the girl.

"They are very good!" She said, and hiccupped immediately after, and Sauron noticed right away.

"If you ever want more cookies, just come here anytime, I will always have prepared batch for you." He gave her one last smile and when right back to the bakery.

"Bye!" She waved to him, and looked at Annatar with pride, expecting a praise. "Was that truly kind?"

"Indeed it was." He replied. "You are foolish and naïve." He turned on his heel and started to walk away, startling her for a moment, and he was only able to walk away few meters before Penny finally realized the meaning of his words.

"Hey!" She appeared right before him, moving faster than any human. "You can't just call someone 'foolish' and leave!"

"Can't I?" He sarcastically asked.

"Yes! Wait, I mean no…" She shut up for a moment and Sauron smirked seeing this reaction. "Why did you call me foolish?"

"Because you want to be genuinely kind." He answered, and Penny blinked few times.

"You consider being kind... stupid?" She said with disbelief in her voice.

"Being genuinely kind is like hitting an empty anvil with a hammer." Sauron said. "You can, but what's the point?"

Penny again went silent, thinking and at the same time Sauron looked at her soul.

And it burned bright, but… slitghtly different from other humans.

"I… don't agree with you." She said, and Sauron rolled his eyes.

"Listen, as much as I would love to indulge myself with a conversation, I am very busy man and still have things to do." He said and walked past her. "So I advise you to go and find your father, he will explain you the basics."

"Wait!" She grabbed his arm to stop him, and something was abnormal about her hand.

Her skin felt like it was attached to the body, not an integral part of it, and in places where should be bones, there was something much heavier, sturdier…

"I want to get into argument with you." She proclaimed. "Prove to you that being kind is not stupid."

"She is not a human." He thought, but that was impossible, she clearly possess a soul. "Is she an elf? No, she doesn't act like one…"

"You just said that it is stupid, but you didn't give any arguments to support it!" She continued.

"Interesting…"

"I want to know why you think being kind is 'foolish'" She ended her sentence, and then, when she looked into his eyes, his stare changed from annoyed to fascination.

"Very well then." He gently pulled his hand back from her grasp. "I will gladly engage into this fascinating debate."

"Just like that?" She said in confusion. "But you wanted to leave moments ago…" she added, not sure what to think about this sudden shift in behavior.

"I changed my mind." He bluntly said. "But I still have some important matters to resolve, so why won't you accompany me? Of course, if your father doesn't mind."

"Father wants to make friends, so he won't mind!" She hiccupped again, and when Sauron rose his eyebrow in silent question, she just smiled at him. "What did you want to do?"

"I wanted to buy a scroll today, but in Limestone there is no shop offering this, so I decided to travel to Callahan's Passage, and buy one there." He explained his plan, and Penny tilted her head to the side.

"On foot?" She asked. "It is the other side of the town!"

"That's why I took a day off."

"But there is a tramway which would take you only half an hour…"

Of course Sauron knew about such thing as "streetcars", but he was so furious to think about using one. A shame really, he wanted to try one, but he didn't have time.

"I basically secluded myself in my forge." He smirked.

"There is a station nearby, and next streetcar driving to Callahan's passage should be leaving in next five minutes." She quickly added, and Sauron scratched his chin in response, then nodded in agreement.

"Then, lead me there, and we can continue this discussion during our travel." Hearing this, her smile brightened, and eagerly raised her hands.

"Great!" She grabbed his hand and started to pull him with far greater strength than he anticipated. "So, my mission today is to help you buy the best scroll possible, and show you that being truly kind is not stupid!"

"Better abandon this last quest, it is a lost cause." He chuckled, but his mind was focused on something else than pointless discussion.

"What are you exactly?" Annatar thought.

This day just got more interesting for him.

---

"...The Treaty of Mutual Assistance, more commonly known as 'Prometheus protocol' was signed after catastrophe of Central Power Grid in Kingdom of Mistral, now known as a 'Long Night'. It obliges all Kingdoms to immediately send large parts of their Dust supply to struggling Kingdom in case of emergency." Told tall woman with crow-black hair and long, grey ears walked before the desk, wearing a long gown, a sign of prestigious position in Kingdom's judicial system. "Although used only once..."

"Psst Weiss." Ruby whispered to her partner, but Weiss ignored her.

"… This treaty is also crucial to you as future Hunters, for it will allow you to perform your duties in other Kingdoms without any…"

"Pssst, Weiss!"

"What?" Weiss finally answered, still focused on her notes.

"Which name is better: Ice Flower or White Rose?"

Weiss didn't answer, only gave her partner a "what are you talking about?" stare.

"White Rose is short, easy to remember in a heat of a moment, but it is pretty obvious and someone might pair us too easily." Ruby explained, undeterred by confused Weiss. "And the Ice Flower is clever, because you use ice and I..."

"Ruby, stop right here." Weiss finally spoke up. "About what are even you talking exactly?"

"Our combo attack of course!" Ruby showed her a hand-made drawing of her and Weiss mixing their attack. "When we combine our attacks, we will catch the Grimm off-guard! Like in the video games or cartoons!"

Weiss hid her face with her hands in embarrassment.

"First off, it's not a game." She said. "And second, do you think it is really time for that?"

"Excellent observation student Schnee." Both girls looked at the Professor, and fell under her displeased stare. "I encourage discussion in my classes, if they are relevant to the topic."

Ruby, now ashamed a little mumbled a little 'sorry' and turned back to her notes, Weiss rolled her eyes and Cardin few seats behind them chuckled seeing them embarrassed, but Professor Lovas then turned her gaze towards him.

"And Student Winchester, you might not realize it until now, but I have a really good hearing." She said. "So yes, I heard all epithets you shared with your colleagues. I would expect better vocabulary from the son of a Lord."

His eyes widened in anger, and Nora snickered. When silence finally fell upon the class, the Professor wanted to return to the subject at hand.

Only for door to the classroom door to burst open.

"Sorry! Sorry!" Jaune run into the classroom, and trying to not stick out, he quickly run to his seat under the gaze of the Professor Lovas, and when he sat on it, he pretended like nothing happened.

"Student Arc, raise from your seat." She commanded and Jaune immediately stood up like soldier on a parade. "Care to explain why you arrived…" She looked at the watch on her wrist. "Exactly one hour and twenty five minutes late?"

"Uhmm well, I have an explanation, but it will sound… unbelievable." He replied, feeling the stare of the entire class on him.

"I already heard about 'Grimm eating notes' if that's what you mean." She replied with stoic face. "But I would love to listen to your story."

Jaune left a heavy sigh.

"So, I went to the post office to send a mail, and the worker there gave me a flayer about the forge in Limestone and I…"

"There is a forge in Vale!?" Ruby rose from her seat and asked, but she quickly fell under contempting gaze.

"Student Rose, did I ask you to rise up?" She sarcastically asked.

"No?"

"Then please, take back your seat." As Ruby sat on her chair a little sad, Professor looked back at Arc. "And you went to this forge I presume?"

"Yes!" Arc replied instantly, and the professor gave him a suspicious look.

"And he kept you there for so long that you arrived on the last five minutes of my class?" Jaune stared at his feet.

"Well… Yeah." He said after a while, and the Professor left a heavy sigh.

"You were right." She said after a minute. "It is unbelievable." She started to walk in a circle around her desk, but maintained the eye contact with Jaune. "Since you are one of few who actually tries to learn, I shall let this slide. This once." Jaune left a relieved sigh. "But recent incidents gave me a more worrisome conclusion." She stopped and looked at the entire class.

"You don't take it seriously. You pay little to no attention to the presented topics, waste time gossiping or engaging in other activities. Outside of few notable exceptions…" She looked at Pyrrha, Ren, Weiss, then at Yang, who waved to her with a mischivious smile on her face**. "…Each of you is below average."

Most of the class lowered their heads, expecting the imminent blow.

Only for Cardin to raise up from his seat.

"Because we don't need all this crap! We can do whatever we want as Hunters, as long as we fight the Grimm!"

Even gretaer silence fell on the entire class, nobody eager to join Cardin in his protest. A fly buzzing over their heads could be heard, like a bomber ready to drop its explosive payload.

"You are lucky Mister Winchester, that our Academy prohibits physical punishment." She said. "However, your words just confirmed my concerns." She glanced all over her class. "I shall run a test next week, covering all the topics we discussed to this day."

Angry grunts could be heard from all around the classroom.

"NOOO!" Someone screamed in the back.

"Uhhh..."Nora hid her face in her hands, and Ren pat her back.

"It's okay, I will help you with studies." He said, and she tilted her head to look at him.

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Jaune just leaned against his seat very tired, since he was barely able to catch some sleep.

"Hey." He felt a finger tapping his shoulder and turned his head to Pyrrha. "We were worried that something happened to you."

"But I wrote that I'm coming back…" Pyrrha raised her eyebrow in response. "…And I lost a track of time. Sorry." And Pyrrha, not able to get mad at him, just laughed a little.

"That's okay, you just missed few pancakes.." She said and gave him a smile. "…I just hope you had fun."

"Yeah…" he nodded, and pat his pocket. "But after today's lessons, I am going straight to bed."

"You know…" Pyrrha put her right hand closer to his left. "…Since they test is approaching, how about we will study for it together?"

"Thanks, but I'm good, I will just ask Ren for notes." Jaune replied, and with defeated expression, Pyrrha retracted her hand, and one team behind them groaned while their team leader just silently facepalmed.

"I don't understand all this fuss." Yang said, making herself comfortable on her seat. "This stuff is so easy!"

"Say for yourself." Blake replied, already visualizing restless nights before her.

"Oh c'mon, it is all about memorizing it all! Not difficult at all." She exclaimed, then looked at Weiss.. "You read it once and you are fine, right Ice Queen?"

Weiss took a deep breath, trying to ignore the tease.

"No, it takes and the effort to learn anything." Weiss said, and Yang rolled her eyes. "Reading it once is not enough."

"You could agree with me at least once." Yang pouted her cheeks.

"And you still didn't explain why you look like a total mess." Weiss said in turn, and Yang looked away from the Heiress. "You got into a fight, didn't you?"

"That's NYB for you." Blake jumped into Yang's defense.

"NYB?"

"Not Your Business." When Blake said that, Yang laughed and Weiss left an annoyed huff.

"Say something…!" Weiss looked at Ruby, and only now realized that Ruby didn't even listen, instead focused on the sudden information about the forge.

For she couldn't help herself but think about the day when she and her uncle made the Crescent Rose, her "baby", as she used to affectionately call it. The entire days and nights spent near the fire, working on the anvil, creating the frame and parts…

"Ruby."

And to think that Jaune found a forge in the city! Sure, Academy's forge is nice and all, but it quickly turned out that most of the students in Beacon only knew the basics of the smithing, so she was usually alone there, only her weapon keeping her some sort of company.

"Ruby!"

But finally, she had a chance to meet another Smith! She wondered, myriad of questions she will ask appearing in her head: Does he use tools made by Strongarm or Burleigh? Does he make weapons and if he does, what kind? What does he think about titanium alloys? Because when she worked on it turned out that it is a little overrated…

"RUBY!"

"I'm awake!" Rudely thrown from her thoughts, Ruby first looked around finding the current atmosphere in class strange, and then at her teammates. "What did I miss?" She asked quietly.

"You…" Wiess stuttered. "You didn't even know what happened?"

"Nope? Something important?"

Blake smiled a little, Yang started to laugh even more and the Heiress white skin, likely a boiling pot, started to slowly turn red.

"I…You… I can't…" Her left eye twitched in anger, staring down at the confused Rose.

"That's all for today, Class dismissed." Lovas finally announced, and Weiss immediately rose up, took her belongings and left without further word alongside the crowd.

"What's up with her?" Ruby asked her sister, as all three watched how Weiss approached Pyrrha.

"Oh, You could say she came under the Pressure." Both Ruby and Blake recoiled from that pun.

"Can you stop with those puns?" Blake sarcastically asked while picking up her pens and notebook.

"Why so Blakey attitude, Bleake?" Yang continued, and Blake rolled her eyes. "Our next lesson shouldn't be that bad."

"Sorry!" In a hurry, Ruby passed her teammates, wanting to catch up to Jaune.

"Student Rose." Ruby halted in place hearing Professor's voice. "A minute."

Ruby looked with surprise at the Professor, then at her team, who was equally startled.

"We shall wait..." Yang wanted to say, but Lovas shook her head in denial.

"Only me and your Team Leader miss Xiao Long." Lovas stated calmly " And don't try to stay behind the door, I will know."

"We will meet in Class, ok?" Ruby asked, and a little hesitant, Yang nodded and both she and Blake walked away, and soon, door closed behind them.

Little sheepishly, Ruby approached the Professor's desk, fearing that she might get scolded for drawing during the class.

"Take a seat, Miss Rose." She pointed a green, comfortable chair before her desk.

"I'm sorry, I just had this really cool idea and I..." But Lovas rose her hand to silence her.

"Miss Rose, Do you know what 'precedent' is?" Professor asked, taking Ruby by surprise.

"Ummm..." She hummed, thinking about the answer, but nothing came to her mind.

"In short, it means that Judge's ruling will have an impact on the future in similar cases." Lovas explained. "Unlike in Atlas, precedents hold significant influence in Vale's judiciary system."

"That's... cool I guess?" Ruby replied, not sure why Professor brought that up.

"With that information in mind, could you tell me what danger might arise from this?" Professor continued, and Ruby tried to think about it. Seeing her struggling, Lovas nodded her head.

"It might create a undesirable norm." She answered for Ruby.

"Aha." Ruby replied, still not sure what discussion is all about. "And that's... not great?"

"It might bring the chaos into the well-oiled machine not only our Judicial system is, but our Renown Academy." Lovas picked a paper and started to write on it. "So yes, it is 'not great'."

Her pen scribed do fast that even Ruby couldn't keep up with reading what was written, something about "protocol" and "STRQ".

"Do you have any idea why am I telling you this?" Lovas suddenly stopped and looked into Ruby's eyes.

"Because you want to teach me something?" Ruby answered, earning a dry chuckle.

"I tried that for two months now." Professor said with reignation. "I'm telling you this because you are a precedent."

Lovas let that sentence sink.

"Wait..." Ruby wanted to say something about it, but Professor continued.

"One of the Rules of our Academy clearly state that only those who surpassed the age of seventeen may apply to become the Hunter. And when Headmaster announced that we will be accepting you..." She pointed at her with the black pen. "...I was against it. Not because I don't like you personally, it's because, in my opinion, you are too young to truly comprehend the material presented during class."

"I'm not that bad in the classes!" Ruby argued. "Professor Port said that I have qualities of the good Huntress."

"Peter teaches you to be a great 'Grimm Killers', but being a Huntress is much more than chasing Grimm around the forest." Professor replied. "You are meant to be the Guardians of Peace between the Kingdoms, Defenders of Humanity and the Wise Judges. And right now, Student Rose, you only have developed one of the dozen necessary characteristic of being the good Huntress."

Ruby lowered her head a little, feeling unwell in her stomach.

"However, Headmaster Ozpin sees something in you aside of those extremely rare Silver eyes." Lovas added. "And during those two months I tried to see what it is." She cleared her throat, drank some Coffee and continued. "But even the greatest of us can make a mistake..."

"He didn't make a mistake!" She rose from her seat, giving the Professor the determined glare. "I want to be a Huntress!"

"And why is that?" The professor asked.

"Because I want to be a hero, like Erchamion, who fought against the largest Beowolf ever to protect the woman he loved." Her mind brought back the final scene from the movie about him she watched a child - the Man and the Beast locked in the dance of steel and claws, thunders falling around them as the Beowolf roared and repeatedly charged against the Hunter. Soo cool... "Or like my Mom..." Lovas rose her hand to stop her, now agitated.

"Summer was…!" Professor stopped midsentence, and left a heavy sigh. "…Summer was more than that."

Ruby looked to the side, clearly bothered by this discussion, and tried to avoid the Professor's stare. Lovas retrieved another sheet of paper.

"I will be honest with you, if you get the mediocre score on the test, the Academy will be more than happy, but you should ask yourself the question: Is being mediocre good enough for you?"

She looked at Ruby, who still avoided her stare.

"Dismissed." She said, and Ruby nodded, rose up from her char, run to the door, opened them and left the classroom.

As the door closed behind her, Professor Lovas left a sigh.

"He would probably say that I was too harsh." She thought as she filed her report about progress of STRQ protocol. "But in her case, a push is required."

She could only hope that Ruby Rose will ponder on her words, because otherwise, there will be a rude awakening for her in the future.

---

The tracks screamed as the streetcar made its way forward, unstoppable like charging olog, not slowing down despite all the people it currently carried.

"So efficient." Sauron thought from the backseat, observing and studying how this entire thing works, visibly delighted. "It transports nearly one hundred humans and don't slow down! Perhaps it could transport even more and still be faster than the horse or warg." He watched how the streetcar stopped at the station, dropped few people and took dozen more. "It doesn't need to rest or eat, only requiring constant flow of power."

As the craftsman and the Smith he already envisioned grander and more powerful designs, able to carry not only people but also goods and treasure. But knowing humans, they already have things like that. They are ingenious when it is needed from them.

"If only I had those things back in Mordor…" His mind returned to the plains of Gorgoroth, land always covered in ash and hidden under black clouds, but with plentiful of resources and minerals. In his head he already envisioned long tracks mirroring the black roads, reaching from the Barad-dur to fertile lands of Nurnen, and from his grand fortress to the Black Gate itself. "Mobilization would took me months, maybe even weeks instead of a year, Middle-Earth would be mine in no time!"

"Are you riding the streetcar for the first time?" Penny suddenly asked, and Sauron remembered that he is not alone.

"How can you tell?" He turned to face her.

"You just sat there and started looking around with enthusiasm." Penny explained "Like people flying the plane for the first time."

Sauron chuckled. "Indeed, many of Vale's inventions… Fascinate me, to say the least."

"Are you not from Vale?" Penny asked, and Annatar nodded his head. "Then, from where are you from?"

"I rarely speak about lands I used to call 'home'" He replied.

"Why?"

"Because I don't want to."

"Do you miss it?" She insisted.

"No." He answered, and Penny gave him a worried look.

"Did something bad happen?"

"Yes and No." He shrugged his arms. "But You are not from Vale either, aren't you?" And Penny nodded.

"I came from Atlas with my dad two weeks ago." She answered, and Sauron looked her deep in the eyes.

"From the rich, Flying city, or its client state, Mantle?" Sauron inquired.

Of course he studied Remnant's history in the meantime, and learnt not only about each particular Kingdom, but also memorized some of their prominent figures, military commanders and richest citizens, their friends and foes, past alliances and old rivalries. He gathered every information which might be useful in the future.

"From the Flying city of Atlas, the most scientific city on the planet!" she replied with patriotic pride.

"And source of many resentments." Sauron commented in his head. "So, your father must be very rich person to afford such travel." He continued, and Penny shook her head in denial.

"My dad does not care about the money." She answered, and Sauron scratched his chin.

"I see… So your father must be on military mission to Vale, right?" And Penny shook her head in denial.

"My dad works with…" She blinked few times, and looked away. "I… shouldn't speak about it." She quickly said.

Seeing her reaction Sauron knew that pushing further might cause more harm than good, so it was time to change the subject. For now at least.

"Fair enough." Sauron replied, as Penny looked relieved when he said that. "After all, you wanted to discuss entirely different matter, what was that again?"

"About you thinking that "genuine kindness is stupid." Penny answered. "And you still didn't give any argument supporting it."

"Ahh right." Sauron made himself comfortable on his seat. "For the start, a small question for you: What is kindness?"

Penny looked like she blacked out for a moment, and, like reciting a book:

"Kindness is a type of behavior marked by acts of generosity, consideration, rendering assistance, or concern for others, without expecting praise or reward in return." She said, and Sauron nodded.

"Incorrect." He replied, confusing her. "Kindness is a tool, and very useful at that, which helped humanity with creation of civilization."

"But there is no such definition…" She tried to counter, but Sauron was already prepared.

"It's taken from observation and life's experience." He said. "Early humans were kind not because it was in their nature, but because it ensured their survival in the wild." He looked at her. "Do you know from which point the civilization started?"

"The official beginning of human civilization is marked by the old urban settlements found on Sanus continent approximately four thousand years ago." Penny answered, and Sauron nodded in agreement.

"True, to some degree." He said. "Do you want to know when civilization truly started?"

"I would love to know!" She replied, always eager to learn.

"When strong started to care about their weak or sick." He said, and Penny tilted her head in silent question. "Other animals abandon their old or frail, not wanting to waste their limited resources on potential prey for the predators, ensuring only the fittest survive. But humanity defied this circle of life."

"People had to stick together to survive against the Grimm." She pointed out, and Sauron laughed.

"That actually proves my point! Think, how easier would it be, to abandon their own for the creatures of Grimm to kill while the strong run away?"

Penny started to process the information given to her, and then responded.

"But they chose not to because… they were kind?" She asked, and Sauron gave her a smile.

"Indeed. Because strong cared for their weak, humanity was able to grow in numbers. And thus, they took the reign of the world from the unforgiving nature."

"But it is against your point!" She exclaimed.

"Is it?"

"Yes! You said that genuine kindness is stupid and now you said that it helped humans in the dark ages."

Sauron looked at her triumphantly.

"And who said that their kindness was genuine?"

Pure shock appeared on Penny's face as she heard this, but Sauron continued his thought:

"Kindness was born out of necessity, not because it was 'a right thing to do'." He giggled as he said that. "Selflessness of the strong was a well-thought, pragmatic decision."

"But they didn't get anything from it!" Penny tried to argue.

"Actually, they did." Passenger sitting before them turned to them and jumped into the conversation. "By protecting the weaker members of the tribe, strong and capable hunters ensured that all menial tasks like preparing food and clothes were done by those unable to join them in the hunt. Cooking is far less enjoyable than hunting, but someone must do it."

"Not to mention in case of an accident during the hunt, those strong were treated by those they protected earlier, or when they got old, community they helped to raise would take care for them." Sauron added.

Penny looked away, thinking how to respond to this, while the passenger looked closely at Sauron.

"Wait, are you Annatar, the Dream Smith?" He asked.

"The One and Only."

"I didn't expect to run into you in the streetcar of all places. Not to mention hearing a discussion about beginnings of the Humanity." Sauron laughed hearing this.

"Life truly creates unbelievable scenarios, doesn't it?"

"Yeah." Passenger looked at his scroll and his smile faded. "I would love to continue listening to this discussion, but the streetcar will soon reach my stop." Sauron put his right hand on passenger's shoulder to stop him.

"How about we continue this discussion later, in my forge?" He retrieved a business card with his left hand and gave it to the passenger "Show it to one of my men, he will let you skip the queue."

"That would be… amazing." Passenger rose from his seat as the streetcar stopped on the stop, staring at the business card "Very kind of you, Good Sir. I wish you a good day"

"Farewell." Annatar said his goodbyes as the passenger left, and then leaned on his seat with a smug smile.

"Do you understand how kindness works now?" He asked, and Penny looked at him with curiosity.

"If this is how it works, then why the definition is different?"

"Simple, it's because humans want to feel better about themselves and the truth – that kindness is yet another form of trade - pains them, so they twisted it to give themselves an illusion that they were selfless from the beginning." Sauron explained his reasoning, and looked at her. "But, as I showcased, it is not necessarily a 'bad' thing."

"I… don't know what to say." Penny replied after few seconds.

"So, do you finally agree with me?"

"No! I still think what you say is wrong but… I cannot think on the argument that would disprove your statement." She looked genuinely worried, and she again looked at the window, like she searched for answers in the sky.

"There is nothing wrong with that." Annatar commented, and Penny turned back to him as he continued.

"My conclusions came from long time of research, observation and learning. I paid them a lot of thought, and found many arguments to support my thesis. Not being able to disprove them right away is initially good for you, because you start to think about your arguments, which you will then use later in discussion. And in your pursuit of knowledge and answers, you start to shape your own beliefs and worldview, and this in turn, strengthens your character."

"Did you say 'initially'?" She asked, and Sauron nodded, amazed by her perceptiveness "I thought pursuit of knowledge is always a good thing?"

"It is, but there is a lethal trap in formulating your own opinions." Sauron replied. "For in this pursuit, you might lock yourself in your own world, believing that your opinion must be right, and when obvious truth is presented right before your eyes, you deny it to protect your believes from shattering into pieces. And thus, what once was a knowledge, starts to become a delusions of a squabbling fool."

Penny looked her hands, then at him, and her smile widened.

"So.. Can I think about my answer and come back to this discussion later?"

"I even encourage you to do so, Penny Polendina." He bowed his head with respect. "But there is nothing wrong with admitting that you were mistaken."

"Because you know I am right, you just need to realize it."

'Arriving to : Callahan's Passage' Voice from the streetcar announced.

"I presume it is our stop." Sauron rose from his seat.

"It is!" Penny quickly followed behind him, and when streetcar stopped, they got out of it.

"Is this "Electronics" close?" Sauron asked as they were walking away, just when the streetcar roared back to life and drove away, and Penny froze in place for two seconds, scanning the road ahead.

"We must go straight-right-straight-left-cross the small-bridge-left-straight-right-straight." She answered, wildly pointing said directions, which Sauron found slightly amusing.

"Then after you, Penny Polendina." He allowed her to go first, but then suddenly stopped. "But one thing before we go."

"What is it?"

"May I ask you a small question?" He asked.

"Of course!" She replied after a second, slightly before he even ended his sentence.

He looked into her in the eyes.

"Is your father, by any chance, Pietro Polendina?" He asked, and she blinked few times in confusion, but as Sauron predicted, none of her muscles moved.

"Do you know him?" She asked with little hint of doubt, and Sauron threw his heads backwards and laughed.

"I wish I do! Pietro Polendina, the Genius, Head Researcher of Atlas and Expert in robotics." Sauron said, not faking any of his praises. "He is a true inspiration. One day, I want to build the robot myself, but I don't understand those things called 'computers' and 'hardware'."

"Yet." He added in his head.

Penny at first looked a little unsure if she should answer, but after a short while she nodded.

"Yes, my dad in Pietro Polendina." She answered sincerely, much to Sauron's delight.

"You must be very proud of him." He said. "Having such famous parent."

"I am." Sauron saw in her eyes that she wants to change the topic, and decided that it was enough, for he had all the answers he needed.

"And that's all what I needed to hear." Sauron said, and Penny looked at him with relief. "But now, I believe we have a scroll to purchase."

"Yes! We march!" She turned on her heel and started to march. "One-two-one-two-one…" and Sauron followed her, satisfied that he solved this puzzle.

For Pietro Polendina does not have a daughter.

---

Students waited before the classroom, not sure what to expect. When they noticed that previously a blank space between Huntsman regulations and Combat Class was filled by additional lesson, all were rightfully angered. But when the outrage toned down, first year students tried to scout information from older colleagues about so called "Combat Introduction". But, much to everyone's dismay, second, third and even fourth years maintained a conspiracy of silence, revealing only few facts:

"This lesson is lectured by a Vale noble, he is a little eccentric but he doesn't make tests or exams." Weiss recounted all she knew. "Then he must grade us after each lesson."

"I heard he fought in the Great War." One student whispered to another.

"Then how old he is?"

"He must be walking with a cane."

"I wonder what kind of literature he will give us."

"It doesn't matter if he is old or he fought in Faunus War or whatever, we will be on top of the class like always, right Pyrrha?" Weiss asked, trying to start the conversation.

"I guess?" Champion replied, trying to sound as polite as possible.

"I mean 'Combat Introduction'? It can't be that hard..." She noticed Blake and Yang approaching them, rolled her eyes and walked to them.

"And where is Ruby? She got herself in trouble from Professor Lovas, didn't she?"

"Professor..." Blake wanted to answer, but Yang stopped her.

"We should be asking you." She said, giving a startled heiress an accusatory look. "Rubes is your partner, and you just dipped her off to hang out with Pyrrha."

"I am not her babysitter." Weiss replied. "If she got herself in trouble, then she should be the one resolving it, like an adult."

"You do everything to avoid her, and give her a cold shoulder whenever she tries to be friendly with you." Yang added, not backing down. "You really think it is fair towards her?"

"Fair?" Weiss replied, now agitated. "Was naming her a 'team leader' despite not having any good qualities of one 'fair'?" Few students looked over, but after angry stare from Yang they turned them away.

"That what is all about? That Ozpin made her a team leader instead of you?" Blake asked, and Weiss scoffed in response.

"A silent critic now decided to take part in discussion? Who would have thought that fooling around with that walking anger issue will have a some other effects than collateral damage."

Yang's hair light up slightly while Blake just gave the heiress an angry glare, but Weiss remained undeterred.

"We all had to earn our right to be Huntresses in the future, but unlike you two, I had to sacrifice so much just to be here, and unlike our 'fearless team leader', who got her position handed over on a silver platter, I bled to prove my worth." She pointed at the nasty scar over her left eye.

"Oh, you have no idea about sacrifice." Blake said with growing anger.

"And I have bigger bruises than this 'scar' on my rear." Yang added with a smirk, but Weiss just gave both of them a dismissive look.

"You are in no position to judge me. And I'm done with this discussion."

Just when Yang was about to let her mouth loose on the heiress, Ruby ran from around the corner.

"I made it!" She said with relief, but when she approached her teammates she quickly noticed a tense atmosphere. "Is something wrong?"

"No." Weiss said. "We were just talking about how life can be really unfair."

"And about some folks who can't see past their nose." Yang remarked, and both she and Weiss turned from each other, to not even look in their general direction. Ruby looked first at her sister, then at Weiss, then at Blake, who just shrugged her arms.

"Was that a heated discussion or..."

"You really can't take a hint, can you?" Weiss remarked while Yang just snorted.

And moment after, door to the classroom opened wide, and those close peeked inside.

"Oh man..." Jaune commented.

"Now that's a classroom!" Nora added, and her voice echoed across the classroom

The "classroom" in reality was as a gym with many lanes drown on the ground, and numerous lights illuminating the whole room from the ceiling.

To surprise of the students who went in, whole area was empty - there were no chairs, bookcases, desks, nothing aside from the wooden floor.

And an old, slander man in black and brown fencer tunic stood in the middle.

"Welcome students!" He greeted them with ceremonial bow, and took of his fencing helmet, revealing his old, sharp face with short white beard and hair. "Make yourself comfortable, we shall begin shortly."

"But there are no seats..." Someone pointed out, but as it was said, from the floor rose enough seats for everyone.

"I think introductions are in place." He put his Cup-hilt rapier on his belt. "I'm Count Cassim William Lee, and as my students you may address me simply as 'Professor' or 'Sire'. I shall be your "Combat Introduction" instructor."

"His weapon is old, but is still kicking. I wonder if he made it himself." Ruby whispered to her partner looking on Cassim's elegant rapier, but Weiss ignored her entirely.

"But we were taught basics in Signal or back in our home academies." One of the students voiced out the concerns of the entire class, and only Jaune recoiled after hearing this.

"Indeed, in Junior Academies you were taught how to jump, dash and fire with your guns. In other words, you were encouraged to not be couch potatoes." He took a great look on the entire class and his smile widened. "And you were successful in this regard. But combat is much more than hopping around with guns blazing, for in its essence, combat is a test of control, endurance, will and knowledge. And today's session will be all about control."

He gestured with his hand, and part of the wall opened, revealing a large armory full of rapiers, with exactly one for each person.

"We won't be able to use our weapons?" asked mortified Ruby.

"Don't worry student Rose, each rapier is exactly the same." Professor reassured to no one's relief, thought of fighting without their weapons of choice as horrifying as the Lovas's test.

Except Weiss, for her, it was a dream come true.

"But I don't know how to use something… so small." Said black-haired girl, weighing her double edged axe in one hand and rapier in second, but then she noticed her partner, a boy with dark blond hair grinning at her. "Sylwester I swear to the Brothers, if you say something stupid…"

"Whaaat? I just thought how bizarre this situation is. And what were you thinking, hmmm?"

"Don't worry student Walka, this lesson is not about fighting with them." Cassim said with a hint of amusement as she swung her rapier against the boy's head, only for their third teammate to come between them. "It's about controlling the fight. And there is no better way to learn what control is when someone takes it from you." Old man said with a smirk.

"That doesn't make any fucking sense!" Said loud voice from second end of the gym.

"Bad words!" Ruby yelled from the other end.

"Now, when you retrieved your weapons, we can begin with making pairs." Cassim announced. "And since we have three hours, your sparring partners will be swapped after three rounds."

Ruby weighed the rapier in her hands and left a sigh. She wants to fight with Crescent Rose, not some random piece of metal. Yang looked unamused and wondered if she can throw it away and fight with her fists, and Blake, as always, maintained her composure, but Weiss was more than overjoyed. She watched how most of the other students even handled the rapiers wrong! She couldn't wait for the lesson to begin.

Right beside Team RWBY, Jaune swinged his rapier few times and just shrugged his arms, since the weapon was lighter than Corcea, although less comfortable to handle.

"Try to hold it like this." Pyrrha grabbed his hand and placed it a little lower on a hilt. This time it was perfect.

"Thanks Pyrrha." He nodded to her and took few more test swings, and that, although clumsy, gave him some confidence, and she smiled to him in response.

"Neaaayh not as satisfying as a hammer." Nora commented after trying to handle her rapier as a baseball bat.

"Why you always try to turn everything into a hammer?" Ren asked, having no issue with his weapon.

"Maybe because I love to smash stuff?" Nora looked at him and Ren smiled a little. "Don't tease me, you know what I meant!"

"There are three rules I shall enforce." Cassim announced and showed three fingers. "First: You can't drop your weapon. Second: At least one feet must always touch the ground. Third: You can't use your semblances. Round ends after one successful hit against the body or when one of the duelists leave the square. Each sparring match ends after three rounds. Is that clear?"

"Yes." Students responded with varied enthusiasm.

"Good" Professor's aura shined in purple light, and students feet and hands holding the rapiers also shined in purple. Before anyone could ask what was that, Cassim pointed at two students in the crowd

"Blake Belladonna and Dove Bronzewing - square one" Cassim said and pointed at the small square at the far end of the classroom. "Yang Xiao Long and Lie Ren – square seven." He pointed at another square.

Crowd started to slowly thin as Cassim made pair after pair, seemingly at random, either taking people from other teams and making pairs such as Nora against Russel, only to subvert the expectations and pair Pyrrha Nikos with Jaune Arc, much to Weiss's dismay. She looked at few remaining students, including Ruby, Sky Lark, and few members of the unorthodox, five member team – SABER or something, she only remembered that they are struggling in classes.

"Angelina Clark and Beatrice Walka – square twelve." Cassim continued. "Sylwester Loret and Robert D'Artagnan. – Square eight."

Something was not adding up for the heiress. Now, there were only Ruby, who still looked at her rapier with great displeasure, Sky Lark, who looked horrified at mere thought of facing either Rose or Schnee, and Weiss of course.

"Excuse me." She called to the Professor, as he announced a final pair:

"Sky Lark and Ruby Rose – square third." Sky Lark looked at Ruby, and left a sigh, already accepting his defeat, and as they left, Cassim looked at Weiss. "Is there a problem, Miss Schnee?"

"I lack a pair, so yes." She replied and Cassim left a friendly chuckle.

"Weiss Schnee and Cassim William Lee. – square seven." He retrieved his rapier and pointed at the empty square in the middle.

"I… It's quite an honor Sire." At first taken by surprise, Weiss bowed courtly, showing proper respect to noble man, but also felt a little satisfied.

"Pleasure is all mine Student Schnee." He said as they approached the arena. "As I heard you are quite proficient with your own rapier."

"I am." She replied with pride. And Professor picked up her instead of Pyrrha, which speaks a lot.

"Then training with others would not cause you any problems." The Professor said. "Which is why our duel shall have one additional rule."

"Which is?" She asked after she positioned herself on the one end of the arena.

"You will be able to switch a pair only after one successful strike against me."

"That's it?" She asked, trying not to smirk. She will prove him how good she is.

"I shall do my best." Cassim bowed to her with respect, and then looked at the class. "Begin!" And whole class erupted into motion.

Weiss approached slow, moving with grace and carefully aiming her weapon, while Cassim approached the center with confidence, she stared directly into his eyes, trying to predict his next movement. But Professor wasn't focus on her, his eyes calmly wondered from one side of the eye to another, registering everything what was happening during class at once.

She suddenly sprung into quick movement, shortened distance, launched her weapon against his chest like scorpion launches its stinger. She wanted to use his lack of concentration.

Exactly at this moment his eyes narrowed on her, he parried the approaching blade in single motion, turning the parry into a strike against her left arm, scoring a hit.

"First round for me." Cassim said and started to walk to the other end of the square, leaving surprised Weiss in the middle.

She wanted to end the fight in one quick movement, thinking that his reaction time is not good enough. He must be an experienced huntsman, that's for sure, but his old age should slow him down.

But it looked like that for him, age was just a number.

She clenched her teeth and walked to the other end of the square, ready for the second round. This time she won't underestimate him.

Other duels were less spectacular - without experience their strikes were clumsy, often too slow, sometimes too fast, but few duels were more interesting than others.

Sky Lark started his fight with Ruby Rose very passively, knowing how fast she is in the combat classes, but when Ruby attacked him, he found out that her strikes didn't make sense. – they were still swift, but not as fast as with the Crescent Rose at hand, her fingers instinctively tapped the hilt of the rapier, like she wanted to fire it.

Although she claimed the first round, idea started to grow in Lark's mind, which might give him an upper hand in the next duel.

Duel between Blake and Dove dragged for some time until Bronzewing landed a clear hit on her hand, claiming a fist win.

Nora tried to jump at Russel, but much to her shock, while her right leg sprung into the air, her left was stuck to the ground like it was glued, and she collapsed on the ground, giving Russell a chance for swift victory, which he claimed.

"Student Valkyrie, don't forget about the second rule." Cassim said for everyone to hear, and Russel smirked.

"What's the matter froggy? Can't jump?" He taunted and when he noticed how angered she was, he grinned with satisfaction. "Ribbit."

"Oh c'mon that was way too fast!" Yang shouted as Ren walked away. "You couldn't hit me like this!"

"You swinged wildly and opened yourself for my attack." Ren explained. "Try to defend a little."

"Nah, nah, nah I will get ya next time." She replied and rose her rapier. "Ready?"

"Begin!" Professor shouted, and again the classroom sparked to life.

Weiss approached slowly, this time she wanted to take this duel more carefully and leave no room for a mistake, and she followed his hands, knowing how quick the professor really is.

"Student Jannistone, keep guard not only on your head, but also on your torso!" Cassim suddenly said, and Weiss instinctively looked in that direction.

He sprung at her like panther, shortened distance between them and startled Weiss was only able to repel first few strikes, but with little time to prepare her defense, his rapier landed on her shoulder, scoring a hit.

"Second round for me." Cassim calmly said to startled Weiss. "I encourage you to control your reactions." He looked away for a moment. "Student Xiao Long, it's a rapier, not a club."

"Damn it!" She shouted as Ren claimed another victory, and tried toss the rapier away, but when she attempted to throw it away, it remained in her hand. She looked at it with surprise, then started to rapidly wave her hand.

"You didn't even pay attention to me…" Weiss pointed out with anger, and Cassim chuckled.

"I am a teacher, I need to pay attention to everyone." He answered her. "And I am only able to do that because I have control."

"Let go let go let go let go!" Yang freaked out as the weapon remained stuck to her hand like it was glued.

"As I said student Xiao Long, I shall enforce previously stated rules." Cassim reminded as more and more students realized that they can't drop their weapon too. "And I encourage you to not relay on your anger too much, because some of your problems can't be resolved with your fists." He looked again at Weiss. "As for you Miss Schnee – control what you possibly can, not others."

With sour taste in her mouth, Weiss walked to her end of the square, and Professor Lee went to his corner as well.

Meanwhile in another corner of the room Sky Lark decided to be more aggressive and charged at Ruby with incomprehensible battle cry, successfully taking her by surprise, and after a short exchange of blows, he struck her hand.

"YESSSS!" He fell on his knees and rose his hands in euphoria. "I DID IT!"

"If only I had my baby with me…!" Ruby wanted to fire back, but Cassim interrupted.

"Student Rose, stop thinking about what you don't have, and look at your advantages." He said, then looked at Sky Lark. "Student Lark, you were able to take control. Excellent work, keep it up."

Second duel between Dove and Blake seemingly looked like the first with him pushing her to the brink. With a confident smirk, he pressed on, wanting to defeat her this way.

"No chance Faunus lover." He taunted, but Blake didn't flinch, in fact, he played right into her trap.

His next strike against her head would throw her from the arena, but much to his surprise, Blake parried that, and then struck his rapier with all her might, throwing it opposite way, towards his face.

But before the blade turned his nose and teeth into a bloody pulps, it stopped right before his eyes.

"Student Belladonna, it is an "exercise", not a real combat." Cassim reminded as Dove left few terrified huffs from his lungs. "Don't try to severely harm your opponents."

"Sorry" She muttered to the Professor, but not to Dove.

"And student Bronzewing, do not ever underestimate your adversary."

"Y-y-yes Professor." Dove stuttered, still in shock of how close that blow was.

"Left-right-left." Pyrrha attacked in the said pattern, and Jaune was able to deflect all blows. "Great!" She complimented him. "Now right, low left, high right…"

"Why are you doing this?" Jaune asked, deflecting another flurry of blows.

"Because I want to." She said. "Now faster: Left-left-right-high-low left…"

"Wait, was that high rig…" Rapier landed on his shoulder, sending him on the floor and ending the second round with Pyrrha's victory.

"Sorry!" She said as Jaune remained on the floor.

"Oh man…" He groaned. "Why those trainings have to be that painful?"

He opened his eye and stared at Pyrrha giving him a hand to rise up.

"You attack in the third round, okay?" She said with the sweetest smile possible, and after a moment, Jaune took her hand and got up from the floor.

"But why? You don't need to this." Jaune said. "I won't be able to strike you."

"As I said – I want to help you." She replied, the crossed her hands shyly. "And if you want, we can practice later…"

"AUGGHH!" Russel's scream interrupted their moment.

"I take it back, it is as satisfying as the hammer!" Nora giggled after slamming her rapier against Russell's head. "Not so cocky now, are you?"

"Wait for the third round you…" He replied in anger.

Cassim chuckled and pointed his weapon at Weiss.

"Ready for the round three?" He asked with calm voice, and Weiss took a deep breath, then tightened her grip on her weapon.

"Yes." She bluntly said.

She has to hit him once, just once.

"Begin!"

---

The shop with scrolls looked similar to the beeping labyrinth, every corner and wall beeping, calling, trying to persuade him to take it. But Sauron remained deaf to scrolls siren's song, instead relaying on his companion's knowledge.

"You want your scroll to be the newest model or the most functional?" Penny asked him as they walked into the shop.

"Aren't those two things intertwined?" He asked her as they passed small group of people inside.

"…Not necessarily." She replied after a moment. "Sometimes the newest model are not better than the previous ones."

"Then, what is a benefit of having it?" he asked. "If the old one are reliable."

"Well, they often have more apps, are prettier, have built-in virtual store…" Penny started to explain, and Sauron left a sigh.

"So that's how it is." He wasn't even disappointed with humanity's greed. "I prefer functionality above beauty."

"Understood!" She changed directions in this labyrinth, and Sauron followed closely behind. "They should have them here, in section 98."

As they walked, Sauron couldn't stop thinking about his little companion, to be more exact, about what she actually is, and still couldn't believe it, for a human achieved something even his master, Aule would not.

Pietro Polendina created a living craft. Not merely a tool that wants to be a tool. A Robot, which not only thinks, but also is a human.

"How was he able to do it?" He asked himself, knowing that under this 'synthetic skin', which to her credit, fooled him once, lies a fine craft.

He always held fine crafts in high regard, and had little respect to selfish humans. But when combined… he wasn't sure how to proceed with her.

"May I ask you something?" Penny suddenly said, drawing Sauron out of his thoughts. "about your definition of kindness."

"Of course you may."

"If kindness is a tool, then how you can truly make friends?"

He rose his eyebrow, genuinely curious about this question.

"Elaborate."

"My dad told me that 'friendship starts with kindness', but If being kind is just 'another form of trade', then making friends is like… bribing them to spend time with you." Sauron scratched his chin, and smiled with pride. That was a very good question.

"Friendship is a special case." He answered as the walked past the shelf with TV-s

"In which way?"

"Being kind is not a necessity in making a friend, but is certainly helpful." He replied. "But before I tell my thoughts about it, tell me, what do you think is 'friendship'?

"Well…" She froze for a moment. "Friendship is spending time with person you like, having fun with him or her…" She stopped after Annatar shook his head in denial.

"You can also spend time with your allies and feast with them." Sauron said. "Look somewhere else."

"Well…" Penny sank deep in her thoughts. "Friendship is when you can talk to about your problems and help you…" Yet again Annatar shook his head in denial.

"That's an advisor." Sauron commented. "Certainly a knowledgeable person, who gives you additional perspective and solutions, but he is rarely your friend. Sometimes he is even your worst enemy." He chuckled, seeing the face of the character called 'Peter Baelish'. "Try again." And Penny froze in place, and Sauron patiently waited while people walking beside them gave them few strange looks.

"Friendship is when you can trust another person, knowing that he will help you regardless of circumstances." Penny said, and Sauron thought about it, then shook his head in denial, much to Penny's confusion.

"You can also trust your rival in a way." He said. "For the great rival will come to your aid to not allow other to claim the glory of defeating you."

"Then, what is your opinion about it?" Penny asked, and Sauron chuckled.

"You really wish to hear it?"

"Sure!" After that answer, Annatar nodded.

"What you mentioned earlier were only parts of what a friend truly is." He said. "And to understand who friend is, you need to know first who is an ally, and who is an enemy." He said as they passed through another gallery. "An enemy is someone you keep within reach, to able to read his weaknesses, so as to determine how to best defeat him. And ally is someone you keep in view, so as to determine how to best use his strengths. But a friend for me… Is someone you keep neither within reach, nor in sight."

"Why? Shouldn't you keep friends also close?" Penny asked, and Mairon shook his head in denial.

"Friend must be able to forge his own destiny. If you are lucky, his and yours destiny will sometimes join and close for a time. But if your destines separate, you are able to find comfort in thought that a friend still graces the world with his skills, and his viewpoints." He looked at her and noticed how she started to analyze it. "For if one is remembered by a friend, one is never truly gone." Mairon ended his thought.

"Then, how to make one?" Penny asked after short amount of time.

"It takes time to forge a bond like this." Annatar answered. "And finding common understanding. Sometimes the greatest friendships starts between the humans, who hated each other initially.***"

He gave her a curious look. "And you ask about it because…?"

Penny left something akin to the sigh. "I… never had a friend." She confessed, and Sauron rose his eyebrow.

"And why is that?"

"It's because… People find me weird." She said. "At first everything seems normal, but after some time, they get nervous for unknown reason and leave. Each time I try to think what did I do wrong, but..."

"Enough." Sauron interrupted her, much to her surprise. "Don't always assume you are in the wrong."

"But maybe I am? I am different from others."

"Each human is also different from one another." She looked at him with surprise, and little glimmer of hope.

"You don't consider me weird?" She asked, and Sauron scoffed.

"In my opinion, you are unique." He answered. "Your behavior is sometimes odd, but you are not worse in any way from them. What's more, because you are special, I decided to talk with you in the first place. And If that what makes you special scare the other humans away, then so be it. They probably didn't deserve your attention anyway."

She looked away, and Sauron didn't notice that, but those words made her happy. She couldn't possibly guess the true meaning behind Maia's words.

"You must have a lot of friends." She inquired after a while, and he shrugged his arms.

"I never had one." He answered truthfully, taking her aback.

"Why?" She asked in shock.

Because in Sauron's world, there was no place for such a thing, for inhabitants of Middle-Earth were either his enemies, needed to be crushed, or his servants.

Those who serve must be controlled, because without his leash, they will fall into chaos, and those opposing him must be destroyed in order to preserve his rule.

All in the name of creating a paradise.

Thought of someone, who is neither controlled, nor his foe, was unthinkable.

"I never made the effort." He said the half-truth.

"Why?"

"Because I never met someone worth it."

"Would you try if you meet someone who wished to be your friend?" She continued, and Sauron shrugged his arms yet again.

"I can't say for certain." He just said when they reached their destination.

Just like Penny said, those older models were not as flashy as the rest, but Sauron could hear the material from which they were made. They were sturdy, but reliable.

"You will like this one." Penny pointed at the beeping at the end. "Try it!" She encouraged him, and he put his right hand above it, focused his will to activate it…

"What are you doing?" Penny asked after a while, and Sauron realized that it wasn't like the Palantir.

"Force of habit." He explained and picked up the surprisingly light thing, and looked at the screen. Trying to use his previous experiences with television, he searched with his eyes for a remote, but there was none.

"You need to swipe here…" Penny touched the screen with her finger and swapped to the right, revealing to the Smith myriad of options. "… And there we go! Now when you click here…" She pointed at one of the icons. "you can search anything you want."

"Click?"

"Touch it with your finger!"

Annatar clicked it with his finger, and the icon opened before his eyes.

"Less convenient than Palantir." He noted, annoyed at the fact that he can't control it with his thoughts, but was impressed regardless. As an experiment, he decided to search information's about his forge.

"You need to type something first on the screen." Penny said as Sauron touched the icon of magnifying glass.

"By 'type' you meant 'write'?" He frowned. "But there is no pen…"

"Mhm, here." She again touched the screen, and another panel appeared. "And now you type what you want."

"Why the letters are not in proper order?" Sauron asked.

"This layout was designed to prevent the keys on a first typewriters from getting stuck when typing fast." Penny explained. "Most common keys were arranged in that way to keep the most used keys were apart, ensuring that during writing, it won't jam the machine, and since we were already familiar with this layout, we just imported it."

Sauron thought about it for a moment, and acknowledge it's logic – they used what they knew and although more efficient option existed, changing it would be too costly to pull off. "At least for now." He thought.

"Fair enough." He said after he typed "Eregion" and pressed the magnifying glass.

And, much to his delight, image of his forge appeared.

"Your home looks pretty nice." Penny commented.

"Still far from the original." He said and before Penny could ask about what he meant, his gaze fell upon the "reviews" section.

"I didn't put it there." He said and put his finger on it.

"It's automatically created with the site." Penny said as Sauron frowned in confusion, then typed something. "It allows people to share their thoughts about certain places and…" She looked at him as his face turned into stone, and his looked like they will soon fire lightnings. Little surprised, she peeked at the screen.

'Overall Stars: 4.9/5"

"Sort by: Worst reviews."

"Review by: TheMarik1234"

"Stars: 4/5"

"A forge in the city? Really? What is he going to do anyway? I don't think that many people needs to shoe their horses."

"This insolent fool, brazen mongrel, arrogant…" Sauron fumed, for this human ruined his perfect 5/5. He wasn't aware of such thing in the first place, but know when he knows, his pride demanded action.

"Don't take it too personally, it is just an internet review!" Penny tried to calm him down, surprised by his reaction.

"Oh, I will take it personally" Sauron thought to himself. "And I will find you, TheMarik1234."

"Is something wrong good Sir?" Shop Manager approached them, and Sauron took a deep breath, and showed the approaching man a scroll he held.

"This will do." He announced. "I want to buy one more."

"You want to buy two?" Shop Manager looked confused, but then shrugged his arms. "Well, Client is always right. Do you want to buy an insurance? You will already get one-year free, but you can buy four years more, and this will include…"

"The answer is no." Annatar said.

"But there are many benefits.."

"And my answer still remain the same." Annatar cut it short while picking up the second scroll. "I just want to pay and leave."

Shop manager left a disgruntled sigh. "Client is always right I guess. Please follow me." As they walked, Penny leaned to Annatar. "Why you refused him? He sounds nice." She whispered to him.

"Because he only appears to be good just to sell me something I don't need." Annatar whispered back. "By the time this so called 'insurance' expires, I will be able to repair the scroll on my own."

"Ohh…" Penny said with sudden realization. "So, by your definition, he was… kind?" And Sauron looked at her a proud teacher at his student.

"You quickly learn."

---

"The time of my lesson nearly passed. Leave the rapiers in the armory and take your seats for few final words." Cassim announced, and whole class left a sigh full of relief. Two hours of rapier training was surprisingly tiring for most. He then looked at Weiss, who tried to hide her anger and shame.

"Thank you for your time, Student Schnee." He bowed his head with respect. "It was a wonderful performance."

"I didn't hit you once." She shot back, and Cassim chuckled.

"Only because I have a lifetime of an experience while you are still on the beginning of your path." He said. "I studied the blade for more than eighty-years, fought in the Great War, Faunus Right's Revolution and then trained many Hunters in this halls." Blake's ribbon in distance shook, and her face turned pale for a short moment before truning back to normal.

Weiss looked away and puffed her cheeks, preparing for the usual "You are still young, you should listen to those older."

"But I admit, if you had few more years of experience, I would be the one defeated today." Cassim said, surprising her a little. "You are already a remarkable warrior, and you learn exceptionally fast. You clearly put great practice into the techniques from 'The Extension of a Warrior'."

"You know that book?" Weiss asked with surprise, and Cassim laughed.

"Of course I would know the moves I created!" Cassim laughed. "I am an author after all."

"But the book was written by the Hero called 'Lion from the Whedon's Row.'.." She blinked few times. "No way it was you!" and Cassim winked to her.

"Everyone has a personal history." William Lee said. "And I will gladly watch yours unfold."

Students started to take their seats, awaiting final words from their Professor, and, most importantly, how he will grade them.

"You should take your seat as well, Student Schnee." He said. "But I have one last advice for you today: There are some things that shouldn't be controlled."

Weiss bowed her head with respect, then went for her seat, and Cassim waited patiently for her to sit down.

"The lesson today served as the introduction to 'Introduction of Combat'." He announced. "Don't worry about your performance today, for it shall not be graded."

"Thanks the Brother Gods…" Someone said from the back and few students giggled.

"On my lessons, you may either pass or fail." Cassim continued. "And in case of failure, you may repeat it each Saturday."

"Oh c'mon, not the Saturdays!" Yang shouted.

"Have some mercy!"

"Just like I said, that's just in case." Cassim continued. "And to clarify: I won't teach about the creatures of the Grimm and how to slay them, that's Professor's Port domain. I won't teach you how to fight in the tournaments or against renegade humans, that's Professor's Goodwitch's expertise."

He looked at the class.

"I shall teach you about yourselfs." Door to the classroom opened wide. "Class dismissed."

Tired first years students started to leave the classroom, going straight towards their dorms, team RWBY included.

"That guy was something." Yang said, seemingly full of energy. "He kicked your butt Ice Queen." Weiss just rolled her eyes in response. "And nice job with that jerk Dove Blakey."

"Someone had to." Balke bluntly replied, but words about Professor Lee's involvement in Faunus's Right Revolution still rung inside her head.

"And Rubes, you really let Lark…"

"Shut up shut up shut up." Ruby covered her ears in embarrassment, and Yang laughed and pat her sister's head.

"No worries sis, during next combat class we will make sure that you will face him on one versus one." Ruby looked at her sister.

"Promise?"

"Promise." And Ruby's mood improved a little

After few moments, Ruby finally realized something.

"I forgot to ask Jaune about the Forge!" She wanted to turn around and search for him.

"We can wait for him in our dorm." Blake said, thinking about nothing less than to take a bath and go straight for bed.

"And we will go there tomorrow." Yang added.

"We won't" Three girls looked at Weiss. "Ruby always chose the places we go to, and as this 'team building exercise' we went to the amusement park a week ago."

"But it was sooo cool!" Ruby said in her defense, and Weiss cleared her throat.

"Yes, it was fun." Heiress replied. "But after that rollercoaster you said that I will decide where we go this month. And during this weekend, I want to go see the premiere of the movie."

"That 'Dune'?" Yang asked with disbelief, and Weiss nodded. "Weren't those tickets expens… nevermind, forget I asked."

"Weiss pleaseeee." Ruby pleaded, but Weiss shook her head in denial.

"I can't refund the tickets Ruby, we have to go no matter what."

"And I want to see that movie." Blake added on top of that, hoping that it will stick to the source material.

"See? Even Blake agrees with." Weiss said with a smug smile, and Ruby looked at her sister, her puppy eyes asking for help.

"I understand Sis, really, but if we don't go now, the internet will be full of spoilers." Yang replied with broken heart. It was certain that Mav would become a volcano of unwanted info regarding the movie during their next meeting.

"Then the next week!"

"I already have something planned the next week." Weiss replied. "Nothing involving a forge."

"Just this once!" Ruby tried to beg, but Weiss remained colder than ice. "I will do anything!"

"Anything?" Something sparked in Heiress eyes, an idea have born in her mind. "How about a bet?"

"What kind of a bet?"

"Next week we have a test, don't we? If you get a better score than me, we will go to that 'forge', and I will not complain."

"And what if Ruby lose?" Blake asked, not trusting her teammate in a slightest.

"I will take charge of the team for a month." Weiss answered, then reached with her hand to Ruby. "Do we have a deal?"

"Ruby do not…" Yang tried to stop the inevitable, but it was too late.

"Deal!" Ruby firmly shook the Heiress's hand, much to the Schnee's delight.

"Then good luck. You will need it." Weiss said with a smile and walked past her partner, leaving her teammates behind as they started to argue, barely able to hold her excitement.

Finally, a chance she craved for too long. Now, she couldn't wait for the upcoming test.

For after that, she will finally be able to show everyone that she is more than capable of being a team leader.

---

"To think that this small thing may contain ocean of knowledge." Sauron thought with admiration at the scroll in his hands. He will understand it's secrets, and then use them.

"I am more than grateful for your assistance, Penny Polendina." Sauron looked at her. "You aided me greatly today."

"I am just glad I could help…" She replied and stopped when Sauron handed to her his wallet. "What are you doing?"

"Your kindness should be rewarded, and I have no further use for that money." He said, trying yet again to prove his point. "I have plenty of other treasures in Limestone."

But Penny shook her head in disagreement.

"I can't take it from you, it would be wrong." Sauron left a disappointed sigh.

"So, you are going to intentionally keep me on a hook." He said, faking his sadness.

"I don't want to!" She said, then froze for a moment, and her expression changed. "Actually, there is something I could ask you for…" And Sauron rejoiced.

"You want me to create something for you? Then I assure you Penny Polendina, the gift I shall make for you will be one of the grandest…"

"Would you like to be my friend?" She asked, and Sauron stopped talking and blinked few times, stunned by her words.

Second past.

Second second past.

Third second past.

"What?" He finally said, for the first time in centuries not knowing how to respond. Was she serious?

"Talking with you today was pretty fun, and although I don't agree with your views, I find them interesting to think about. And I still have to prove to you that being genuinely kind is not stupid!"

"There are plenty of humans who would fare better, perhaps someone your own age?" And Penny looked on her fer feet with sadness.

"I… never had such long conversations like I had with you before, except with my father." She replied to that argument.

"Now you are trying to manipulate to pity you!" Sauron laughed. "Good plan. And would work on anyone else. Except me."

"I don't want to manipulate you!" She rose her hands in a defensive gesture. "But you are the first person who doesn't consider me weird, and decided to spent time with me on your own. That made me really happy!"

"As I said, I consider you unique." Sauron said. "After all, you looked into my eyes and not even shivered."

"Should I?"

"Bravest men trembled under my gaze." Sauron smirked. "Even when I wasn't threatening them."

"That actually supports my point!" Penny said, much to Sauron's frustration. "You don't consider me weird and I don't tremble under your stare!"

"I would be a terrible friend." Sauron shifted his defense strategy, but Penny was swift to respond.

"You said that 'you never made the effort', so why not at least try?" She countered.

"But…!" Sauron wanted to argue more until he realized what an opportunity he has right before him.

For hundreds of years, he claimed to be the master of the world, the All-knowing God thanks to his experience, empiric research and observation. But so called 'friendship' - he knew only in theory. And even if he tried to make a friend, then with whom? Humans who wither and die with age? That pesky elves, too blinded by their own arrogance? Other Maia's who treated him like an outcast before he joined Morgoth? That mad beast Gothmog?

But before him stand basically a human, the least irritating of all the children of Eru****, in a body which will never wither and pass away. Better yet, she is a work of a fine craftsmanship, something he always respected.

After a few seconds, he left a friendly chuckle.

"Right." Mairon gave her a warm smile. "I think I can try."

---

*Far better than a sack in Sauron's – easier to reach, hide, store money etc. Why nobody did them in the Middle Earth?

**She is on top of the class, much to everyone's disbelief.

***Did Certain Dwarf and Elf come to mind?

****Dwarfs are NOT children of Eru, they were created by Aule, basically an Angel of Smithing.

TheMoreYouKnow "piano plays."

Authors notes:

Well Hello there! I am back from a break, full of newfound energy!

This chapter is less flashy, but is no less important. After all, from the very idea of "Dark Mentor" and his student this fic was born. As well as from few other ideas I teased in previous chapters.

In fact, in this chapter there is a secret which might give you a little insight of what will happen in the future. I encourage you to look for it, because I would love to hear some of your theories and predictions.

And those two Professors I added: They are my little homage to two real life personas - Professor Lovas is based on my teacher, who helped me greatly during my studies, and Cassim William Lee is based on Christopher Lee.

Seriously, this guy was a Giga-chad before the term "Giga-chad" was even created. An inspiration for entire generation.

And now, my favourite part:

In response to: Anonymous review nr. 1

Yeah I know, I was on a very long break (which I signaled beforehand), and, believe it or not, I wanted to this chapter the day after your review, but I was greatly dissastified with what I wrote, so I postponed it for a week to polish it.

The one rule still remians.

As for unexpected plots... there will be more. The orginal show left a lot of fundations for a stories never told, fights never fought and thoughts never thought. Not to mention we have Sauron meddling around.

I intend to fill that 'void', adding more content for the beloved characters.

I am glad for your positive review.

In response to: Zero

Four reviews in one day? Thanks mate, I apperaciate that! I will answer them briefly:

"Uh oh" - Oh yes, it is great 'Uh oh'

"I always wondered how blake deal with loud music." - that's the neat part, she doesn't

"Interesting" - I hope so!

"º.º" - I am not sure how to respond to that...

In response to: Anonymous review nr. 2

Those buggers, somehow always able to sneak past through. But thanks to that review I intend to add a joke character called "Alex The Henchman".

Thanks for your kind words, I really appreciate that. As for the ring forging process - I asked my friend who really likes fantasy books and advised me to look into "Brisingr" book, written by Christopher Paolini, for inspiration.

Ahhh, the good old "Eragon". Maybe not the most ambitious series, but certainly one of the more enjoyable to read.

In response: to E

I was called by many names, and based was not one of them. Thank you.

I want all of you to have fun while reading my story, and since the previous format was unejoyable, then it was my responsibilty to repair it, right? The more work I put into it, the better results in my opinion.

In response to: Valen Skata

This one of the most fun reviews I ever had, and it made my day when I read it.

Sauron, the precursor of all "generic fantasy dark lords" we have in fiction, was never a generic Dark Lord! In my opinion, he always had this personality, and when you read between the lines, you come to realize that he is so much more than a tall guy in spiked armor.

Like when he appraoched the Rohirrims to buy horses from them. And only after repeated failures in diplomacy he decided to steal them. Or when he corrupted Numenor from within, creating a faith and manipulating Ar-Pharazon into suiciadal war.

Violance is not his usual first option. This is Morgoth's way. He is all about the most efficent way of gaining power.

And story wise - I wanted to show the process of him raising from the bottom, how he builds his 'army' from nothing, and how he takes power from others. And, best of all, while writing him as an "Anti-villian", I am able to make him interact with other characters, something which would be impossible if he was a usual dark master.

As for your question: Yeah, it is a little strange, isn't it? Sauron corrupting his own creation? Think what he can get from it, because you are getting onto something.

That's all for today! Thanks for your support!

See you later!