Biolinked in Remnant
Chapter 11 - Remedial Lesson
As excitement from Combat Instruction dulled, an impromptu quiz quickly brought many of the First Years back to reality. With one more period left in their schedules, they held back ire towards the situation and focused on completing this exam for the time being.
As the clock ticked by, a teacher kept watch of any abnormalities in his group of students.
Professor Isaac Kitrinos was known as a major stickler of effective time management and being by the book, so he rarely offered extensions. As a physics instructor and Hunter, he brought a strong sense of awareness towards his pupils.
Out of all Beacon's faculty, Kitrinos had a reputation for being the strictest when it comes to grading. One had to be extremely careful when dealing with his work ethic.
By his definition, it was better to use one's time for learning rather than worrying about so-called "meaningless distractions."
Aside from Beacon's Hunter accreditation, it also served a stringent adherence to academic curriculum. Ozpin prided himself in knowing his staff constantly challenged their students for the better. While combat against Grimm was essential, learning how to traverse different fields can aid in developing team synergy with a wide range of skills.
Science, History, Psychology, and even Mathematics played essential roles in understanding how the world operated. From living off the land in Vacuo to technology hubs of Atlas, Remnant is filled with all sorts of surprises waiting to be uncovered.
Hunters will work with people from all walks of life, so understanding different fields will provide aid in handling various situations.
The light shaggy gold color of his shoulder length hair swayed side to side as he kept watch of the entire class. A lone iridescent eye struck through shimmered side swept bangs while a right hand reached behind his trench coat to open a box of chalk he always carried around.
The stern eyed Faunus glared at the usual rowdy bunch near the back rows as their only warning before he handed out point deductions. His hearing was fine tuned to the slightest rustle and was able to discern between certain sounds. Once satisfied, Kitrinos eventually walked around the aisles and offered a few hints when asked.
As this went on, a certain aspiring First Year tried her best to finish the last few questions on her paper before getting stumped.
'Let's see, velocity plus acceleration upon entry equals forty- Wait. No, that doesn't sound right. The projectile would miss the target with these numbers! Lemme check this again? Was it the formula? Wrong variable? UGH!'
The girl rapidly tapped her right foot onto the floor as her anxiety started to build.
'Okay, no need to panic, Ruby. You'll be fine. There's plenty of time to finish this before-'
"Attention, there are five minutes left before I collect your papers. Please be sure to go over your work and check for any mistakes before time runs out." the Professor called out.
If Ruby's face could have gone paler, she would have been stark white. The young huntress couldn't believe fifteen minutes had already gone by.
'What?! Has it been that long?! I still haven't got to the last two questions! DARN IT! Can't… think… straight! Gah, why did Professor Kitrinos have to schedule a freaking pop quiz right before class ended?!'
With that warning, the rustling of test papers became more and more prominent as a significant portion of the class scrambled to make sure that everything was complete. The usual lot of first years anguished that a failing grade was imminent while others expressed relief that the impromptu situation was almost over. If there was one thing that constantly kept any student on edge, pop quizzes did the job just fine.
As the end of sixth period drew closer, many were prepared to take advantage of the self-study hour that Beacon provided before dinner. Plenty of ideas from training to a quick nap floated around the classroom regarding the best way to take advantage of the upcoming free block.
However, Ruby annoyingly glared at the clock as the source of all urgency.
The aspiring huntress was all too tempted to have her locker launched into the classroom and get the ticking demon diced up by Crescent Rose. It would have been a great stress relief, but didn't help her current situation.
Ruby had to make sure she passed or else prepare for another long lecture from Weiss back at the dorms.
Her thighs instinctively tightened as she was vividly reminded of being forced to sit on the dorm's hardwood floor for three straight hours. Weiss wouldn't even allow her to have a small break throughout the ordeal especially during the weekend. The girl begged her other teammates for help, but neither Blake nor Yang wanted to avoid any part of the situation.
It still surprised Ruby how her partner was able to go on for so long without even taking a drink of water.
Thankfully, this wasn't another case of falling asleep from one of Professor Port's lectures for the umpteenth time.
Seriously, the man could ramble on for hours on end if given the opportunity, but that's beside the point.
While confident in physics, the huntress in training didn't like being under pressure. Ruby knew rushing would cause more trouble than it should. Each question was broken into subsets, so one wrong answer could create a domino effect.
After a deep breath, she went in and tried her best to answer as many as possible. Ruby knew she had a higher chance of guessing an answer correct than to leave it blank.
One by one, she made sure everything was correct or an educated guess before attempting the next set. Her confidence continued to build as Ruby felt as she would be able to get high marks for once. She hoped to get this quiz over with as the next period was the Remedial Lesson with her group of friends.
'You can do it big me. Keep up the good work and ace this quiz!' a little Ruby with a halo and white wings appeared cheering on her left shoulder. 'You're almost done! I believe in you!'
'Yeah right, bet someone's very antsy about finding where her "crush" is gonna be later on!' snickered another Ruby but with horns and dark wings.
*SCREECH
Suddenly, the real Ruby immediately brought her left hand to a halt and nearly threw her pencil at her nearby deskmate. If one looked closer, stress marks formed around said writing utensil caused by a tight grip. The young huntress's face immediately lit into a red hue while letting out small murmurs.
"Wha–wha-wha-wha…"
"What the heck are you doing, dolt?!" Weiss angrily hushed. 'Be careful!"
"EEP! S-sorry!" Ruby quietly apologized before going back to her paper.
As the frazzled girl attempted to finish her paper, immediately Weiss felt bad for snapping at her partner. She glanced back and saw Ruby having what looked like a difficult time trying to finish her test. Her usually cheery partner became a bumbling mess with a face that grew redder by the second.
The heiress had a feeling there was something on with her partner right now.
'Dang it, I lashed out again.' Weiss thought to herself.
The heiress hoped there would be time to apologize while heading to Goodwitch's Remedial Lesson afterwards. For now, her focus moved onto making sure everything was correct.
Meanwhile, Ruby's thoughts became a complete mess as she tried her best to keep everything under control.
'W-what the heck are you saying?! W-we're in the middle of a pop quiz!' good Ruby whined. 'P-p-please s-stop trying to distract me right now.'
'We'll be fine~. Almost all the questions are filled out anyways. Our score should at least be around mid to low eighties give or take our track record.' Evil Ruby goaded. 'Besides, I think a plan is in order on spending some "quality time" with Grey, right?'
As this played out, the main Ruby couldn't help but glance at her Scroll on the table. The growing temptation of knowing where he and Aile will be later on pulled any sort of focus away from her paper. The young huntress felt dazed as her thoughts continued to spiral out of control.
'G-get those lewd thoughts away from me.' Good Ruby swatted. 'G-Grey is j-just a friend, okay! D-don't forget A-Aile's is his p-p-partner. Yeah, he's pretty cool with weapons and friendly, but it's not like that. T-there's nothing r-r-r-omantic going on!'
The good Ruby huffed her cheeks and turned away from the troublemaking doppelganger. However, her otherside snuck up and responded with pokes to the good one's face.
'Aww, it's okay to be jealous~, me. They haven't mentioned that they're even dating while we talked during lunch. "Evil Ruby cooed. "Don't worry, me. While Aile has spent so much time with him, that might just be nothing more than a familial bond. I'm sure we could convince her to let Grey spend a day with us. "A date" sounds right to better know a new 'friend', right~?"
The latter suddenly shot steam from her face. Her blush intensified to a high degree that would put even Pyrhha's hair to shame. Multiple scenarios played out that weren't for the tame of heart. The angelic Ruby growled at her opponent and was ready for a rebuttal.
'For the love of Oum! I'm telling you for the last time that -
"MISS ROSE!"
"BLEWHGHG?!"
Ruby snapped out of her daydream and stood ramrod from her seat. The girl's mouth was a garbled mess with drool slowly leaking from the right side. She fully prepared herself for the whole class to be laughing at her predicament but noticed the classroom had been almost cleared out. The only exception was Professor Kitrinos and a handful of friends waiting by the door.
"Wait, where's-"
"Class ended five minutes ago. I was trying to clear out the classroom when you didn't respond." the teacher replied. "Would you mind handing over your paper, Miss Rose?"
"Oh…"
'What was I thinking?!' Ruby mentally screamed at herself.
Why was her mind having that kind of conversation?! She never had a moment like that with any of her friends at Beacon nor Signal.
Was Grey a unique situation then? It couldn't be. He was nice, friendly, and had cool weapons to boot! Plus, he almost shared the same age as her! To think, she finally had someone in the same position as her.
Though, he did mention about having a provisional license, but still!
All of that didn't mean she developed a crush on him?!
Right?
…
'Maybe it's been a long day.' Ruby thought. 'I did miss my alarm, so my energy's been all over the place.'
The young huntress pushed the idea aside and figured such a jam packed day could cause her a bit of mental strain. At least the day was almost over and she could relax at dinner after heading to that Remedial Lesson coming up with her friends.
Speaking of friends…
While thankful that not a lot of people saw her mistake, Ruby knew that her friends wouldn't let her live this down since she was the last one to leave. In fact, she knew they'd be waiting outside the door to talk with her.
'Welp, gotta enter the sabyr's den eventually.' Ruby readied herself.
The young huntress took a deep breath and tried to provide an answer.
"S-sorry professor. I didn't mean to zone out like that." Ruby sighed. "I didn't get enough sleep this morning and got so distracted with everything happening today. I wasn't able to finish my quiz but answered most of the questions. This was an accident and won't happen again, I swear."
The young huntress handed over her paper and hoped for the best. Professor Kitrinos read through the quiz and already made a few mental notes to mark.
'Not bad.' he noted
"Apology accepted, Miss Rose." Kitrinos stated. "You didn't finish the last question but did well to answer most of them correctly. I'd say somewhere around the mid seventies to low eighties is plausible from what I'm seeing."
"Really?! Oh thank goodness." Ruby elated. "That's good to hear."
"If only your sister put in half the effort you do, Miss Rose." he sighed.
"Y-Yang said she's doing b-better. S-she might even get a C- by the end of the year…maybe." she stuttered while twiddling her fingers.
Professor Kitrinos snorted as he packed the stacked test sheets into his bag.
"Miss Xiao Long has been caught sleeping in my class for the past three days. I'm not so sure your optimism is in the right place, Miss Rose." Kitrinos retorted.
"Ehehehehe, well she did say "try." Ruby awkwardly laughed while looking the other way.
Once checking he had all of his belongings, Kitrinos turned his attention to the lone student in front of him.
"Speaking of, I've had the pleasure of getting to see Grey and Miss Vaillant over the weekend. They're an interesting bunch aren't they?" he hinted.
"Yeah, both of them are amazing! I didn't think they were provisional Hunters at all. It came as a shock to me and my friends. Not only that, but I've never seen equipment like that before." Ruby added.
Professor Kitrinos nodded back. He didn't say it out loud, but those two were really something special. Aile and Grey thanked all the staff on that day for their help despite the challenges and circumstances that brought them to Beacon in the first place. Maybe some sense of ordinary life would allow them to take a break before heading home.
Kitrinos checked his and noticed the time.
"I shouldn't keep you here too long. Professor Goodwitch is waiting for the Remedial Lesson, right?" he stated.
The enthusiastic first year deflated and puffed up her cheeks. This was definitely the daughter of Summer Rose from all those years.
"Fine, thanks for the encouragement, Professor. I'll be seeing you around." Ruby waved as she grabbed her scroll on the way out.
"One more thing, Miss Rose!" Professor Kitrinos called out.
The young first year spun around near the exit and listened carefully to the physics teacher.
"Don't give too much trouble to the new transfers. They've been through more than you think." he advised.
Ruby took her professor's words to heart. The talk about Grey and Aile from Combat Instruction with her friends immediately struck in her mind. She hoped it wasn't a worse case scenario the next time the young huntress saw them.
With a quick nod, Ruby pushed open the door and greeted her friends.
The walk to Goodwitch's classroom was almost clockwork for Teams JNPR and RWBY. Some could say that it almost became a weekly occurrence for them to get lectured by the astute professor and given "additional" assignments due the following day.
Go down this hall for a few minutes and then turn here. If you see the bathrooms, turn back because you've gone too far. Be careful of this intersection, otherwise it takes you to the opposite end of the academy. It takes this many minutes to get here, so run if the group gets out late.
Despite the high accolades between the two groups, none could have predicted the surprising amount of trouble they'd get themselves into.
From food fights, tardiness, White Fang encounters, property damage, unsanctioned investigations, to even run-ins with Roman Torchwick and his gang, all of which happened within their first year at Beacon.
Their latest example of so-called outdoor training was no different.
Today everyone was at an idle stroll despite Ruby being the last one to leave. Everyone had been in a fairly good mood since the pop quiz ended. Not to mention, the area was less crowded than usual. Sure, a handful of students lingered around, but most went on their way to enjoy a break from studying.
A pleasure that Teams JNPR and RWBY won't be enjoying with all their shenanigans.
The sun wouldn't set for another hour or so which gave the hallways a nice warm, golden hue.
This allowed the group of eight a moment to relax before reentering the aptly named Gates of Hell.
"Geez, Kitrinos didn't have to pull a pop quiz on us like that." Yang whined. "I missed out on a good nap."
"Well, most professors don't want students sleeping during class." Blake rolled her eyes. "You might be heading to summer school at this rate."
The latter nearly tripped as a result of her partner's warning. Yang made a slight glare to the hidden Faunus and continued.
"Hey, at least I'm doing better than Nora! My grades have been on the up and up lately. Hey Ice Queen, back me up here."
"No chance, I'm recovering from your "freakout" this weekend. We had to stay past midnight cleaning everything! Now my sleep schedule is all over the place. Handle it yourself." Weiss scoffed as she walked behind her teammate.
"Hey-" the blonde brawler wanted to argue but was interrupted by Nora who jumped on her back. The latter had choice words to say after overhearing the conversation.
As Yang tried to get the energetic girl off, Ren shook his head as the scene played out.
"So, how'd you do on the quiz Jaune?" Pyrrha curiously asked.
"Actually, I think I did alright this time. Thought it was gonna be difficult, but our study sessions helped me solve most of the questions. Thanks for asking." Jaune smiled.
"That's great! Glad to hear your grades are on the rise." his partner cheered. "You're even lasting longer during matches."
"Hope this means I can figure out what my Semblance is soon." Jaune awkwardly chuckled.
"You're great as you are. Team exercises have been great with you taking charge." Pyrrha encouraged.
"Yep, our leader is the greatest strategist ever!" Nora chirped in. "Oh~, I can't wait to break some legs during the Vytal Festival!"
"Please don't break any legs, Nora." Ren cautioned. "We're already in enough trouble as it is."
"Bah, it's all right Renny! Aura will get any opponents we face back to normal anyhow." his partner laughed. "Oh, my excitement levels are going crazy~. The next few months can't come any faster?!"
The energetic girl started to walk at a faster pace than the rest.
As most of the group attempted to keep Nora under control, Weiss and Ruby hung back as they talked between each other.
"W-Weiss, you don't have to apologize. It's my fault for acting out during the quiz." Ruby explained.
"Still, I felt bad getting angry at you over something small." Weiss sighed. "Peer to peer interaction is much more different than with a tutor. You may get on my nerves sometimes but that's because I care, dolt."
"Hehehe, glad to see you improving with us plebs. Thanks, Ice Queen." Ruby replied with a smile. "By the way, I spoke with Professor Kitrinos, and he said I did okay despite the stumble."
Weiss groaned as she heard the damn nickname once again. Though, she was happy her partner got an acceptable score during the whole debacle.
"Anyhow, what got you so distracted last period?" Weiss asked.
"W-well…" Ruby trailed off.
"Oh, she's thinking of her new favorite seniors." Yang teased.
"Y-Yang!" Ruby whined.
"What's wrong? Embarrassed about getting caught red handed?" the blonde continued.
"Yang does have a point. Your weapon nut tendencies were on full display earlier." Blake added.
Ruby's sister wasn't wrong.
Aile and Grey not only had amazing skills as Provisional Hunters, but their gear became show stopper during Combat Instruction. Everyone kept their eyes on the match as though they'd miss out on something jaw dropping. The glowing beams emanating from their weapons and the armors' sleek forms felt as if they came from a military background.
While filled with experience, they wanted to be treated like any other person like Ruby's age.
While the duo weren't the full reason why the aspiring huntress got distracted, she figured a half-truth provided a better alibi than what her daydreams allowed.
"W-well, can you blame me?! Aile and Grey's had some amazing gear afterall." Ruby gushed. "Hard-light sabers, plasma pistols, and phase shift armor were not on my bucket list!"
"She does have a point. Those two were pretty cool. I've never seen anything like theirs before." Jaune said. "Grey's Semblance definitely came as a surprise."
"Jaune's right. Grey's quite the case with that transformation ability of his." Blake chimed in. "Haven't run into anyone like him or Aile."
"Yeah, Yeah! You all saw when he turned into Ruby?! He gave her body armor and a futuristic Crescent Rose to boot. Do you think something will happen if he transforms into everyone else?!" Nora snickered.
"...Take it easy, Nora." Ren cautioned. "Grey probably has his reasonings."
"Please~! I wanna see myself in armor too! Maybe if I ask nicely, they'll let me?" the orange gremlin pleaded.
"Those two were a neat duo. I wonder how those two work together as a team. It'd be fun to spar with them one of these days." Pyrrha thought out loud.
"Check it out, P-Money wants to brawl with the transfers." Yang chimed in. "That's gonna be one hell of a match-up."
"Ruby, Aile and Grey told you their Semblances, right?" Weiss asked.
"Y-yeah, but I only got their names. I believe they called them Overdrive Synchro and A-Trans." the young huntress answered.
"Welp, at least it's a start." her partner sighed.
"Still trying to figure out how they did that "ice serpent" attach from earlier?" Blake asked.
"*Sigh, am I that easy to read?" the heiress rhetorically asked.
Weiss knew how her friends reacted when those attacks came out. Not everyday the heiress would cause such a stir from an exhibition match no less.
It didn't make any sense.
From all her lessons, the Schnee family was the only ones who had the capability to summon avatars. For the past few years, the young heiress tried to hone her skills to live up to the family name.
However, she has been unable to successfully create an avatar of her own. She thought of replicating everything during her spare time. From a fragile butterfly to a ferocious Boarbatusk, nothing seemed to spawn. The lack of progress frustrated her to no end.
Plus, Weiss didn't have anyone to go for advice.
With Winter spending her days at Atlas Military and Whitley doing who knows what, all the responsibility of developing this innate ability made her frustrated. Not to mention, her parents had a trainwreck of issues that made Weiss come to become in the first place.
Then, Aile and Grey appeared.
Her self-doubt reared itself to everyone after the duo's earlier display. How in gods names did an outsider and a boy, no less Ruby's age, have the ease of creating what she couldn't with years of training?!
'I need a break.' the heiress thought to herself.
Seeing the dejected look on her partner's face, Ruby made an attempt to cheer Weiss up.
"If it makes you feel better, Aile and Grey told me they'd like to see everyone again later today. They promised to answer some questions we have for them." Ruby stated. "That would be a good opportunity to get whatever you're feeling off your chest."
Weiss looked at her team leader with an appreciative smile. She had to admit, the cookie addict had a way with making teammates feel better when down in the dumps.
"Hmph, thanks for the info. Wish you were this caring for your teammates during our last shopping trip for the upcoming Dance." Weiss teased.
"Gah, why do you gotta ruin a good moment like this, Weiss." Ruby cried. "How the heck are you and Pyrrha able to fight in those lady stilts?"
The two in question glanced at each other and spoke at the same time. "Lots and lots of practice."
Ruby stared in disbelief whilst she overheard her sister cackling up a storm. She'll never understand how girls were able to walk in those things considered shoes.
'Why can't I just wear flats?!' the young huntress internally screamed.
Thankfully, Ruby didn't have to worry about another shopping trip for a while. The walk was almost over.
Once everyone turned the corner, their dreaded destination was upon them.
The group of friends aguishly stared at the door as they prepared themselves for another earful from Goodwitch.
However, no one wanted to be the first to open the door. They stood outside for a few minutes before one of them decided to speak.
"So, who's gonna be-"
"NOES GOES!"
"W-wait! H-hold on!?"
"Not this again!"
"Let's go gambling!"
Within a few seconds, the two teams raced to see who would be the last person touching their nose. The group of friends had been playing this game since the start of first semester. It was much easier to use this game rather than arguing back and forth on who would take on certain tasks.
As quickly as it started, the game's loser became quite obvious.
"Gosh, darn it!" Ruby complained. "I want a redo."
"Sorry Crater Face, looks like you pulled the short end." Jaune chuckled.
"No hard feelings?" Pyrrha apologized.
"B-but!"
"I'll buy you a dozen cookies for dinner once this is over." Weiss sighed as she showed her family credit card.
"Hm…"
With the temptation of fresh cookies from the cafeteria, Ruby relented to losing the game.
"Fine, I'll do it!"
The aspiring huntress took in a deep breath before opening the door. She was fully prepared to see Goodwitch waiting at the podium but was surprised to see a familiar face and ponytail lying down on the front table.
"Finally, you guys showed up! A few minutes longer and Goodwitch said issuing a penalty was acceptable." Aile said with a cheeky smile.
"A-Aile?!"
"Yep, that's my name."
The humanoid stifled a laugh while looking at the flabbergasted First Years. She wouldn't admit it, but this was a perfect opportunity on her absence of Professor Goodwitch definitely caught all of them off guard.
She was so tempted to take a picture with her Hunter License, but some of the Biometals dissuaded her from making the situation awkward. Aile couldn't help but feel like she was in Girou's position right now.
The girl wondered if he'd be proud seeing her as a mentor right now.
[Sit up straight, Aile. It's not professional to be lying down on the job.] Model X lectured.
'Let me enjoy this for a bit, X.' she replied. 'We all need a break every now and again.'
[Need I remind Tomboy that you're wearing a skirt? I doubt you wanna give the boys a peek.] Model L teased.
Aile remembered she had to change back into her school uniform as she and Grey talked with Ozpin after their spar. Preferences for attire aside, the conversation was cordial with clarifications on a few areas. Despite her earlier conversation with Grey, she still felt somewhat exposed with the piece of garment even with a bodysuit on.
'Okay, okay, I'll get up. You didn't have to word it like that, L.' the girl relented before back flipping onto the floor.
[Good landing, Aile.] Model Z complimented.
'Thanks, Z. Rolling Slashes help a lot with practice.' she joked at her partnered Biometal.
[At least you've been keeping up with your training these past few years.] Model H acknowledged.
The humanoid couldn't help but roll her eyes. She usually kept a good work ethic. Whether with the Guardians or helping out with deliveries, Aile kept herself busy. Aside from days off, being a chosen Mega Man had a set of responsibilities one had to follow afterall.
Once her feet reached the ground, Aile patted her clothes smoothly as Ruby and her friends entered the classroom.
"Why are you here?" Ruby asked.
"Well, after our meeting with Ozpin, Professor Goodwitch asked me and Grey watch over you guys until she gets back." Aile answered.
"Are you serious?!" the young huntress pressed further.
The female Mega Man hummed back with an affirmative nod to further cement the claim.
Relief soon washed over the group of First Years as if a dangerous storm narrowly avoided them. Anytime away from the stern professor proved itself a blessing.
They were all teenagers,so expectations wouldn't have been a heavy concern. Though, Aile's "background" would say otherwise.
Suddenly, Ruby and Nora ran up to the humanoid and bombarded her with several questions.
"YouandGreyweresocool!Howdidyoumakeyourgear?WhatdoesMegaMerge?Doesyourweaponsusealotofdust?Howmanylegshaveyoubroken?Howyouchangearmorsoquickly?Whyaretheycertaincolors?Canwetryiton?Whatkindofdamagedoes-"
"Give the girl some space!" Weiss yelled.
She and Ren grabbed their partners and made sure to give the Provisional Hunter some distance.
"Our apologies, Aile. You know how energetic these two are." spoke Ren.
"She didn't mean to encroach on your personal space, Aile. Right?~" Weiss followed up.
""Sorry, Aile."" Ruby and Nora replied.
"N-no worries, I get how you two felt about the exhibition from earlier." the female Mega Man awkwardly smiled.
Aile watched Ruby and Nora being lectured for a bit before her attention shifted to others in the group.
"That spar was quite the spectacle, Aile. Guess we'll be under your care for the time being?" Pyrrha mused.
"Right on the spot, Pyrrha. Glad to be of service." thanked Aile. "You're not too bad yourself. Wonder how you'd keep up with me during a match?"
"Was that perhaps a challenge I heard?" the Mistralian mused. "I would love to get some pointers from a Provisional Hunter like yourself."
"Careful, Pyrrha! You do want to Aile against her." Yang punned.
While corny, Aile found it amusing to hear the blonde enjoying herself.
However, Yang's friends thought otherwise.
"Ugh, can you knock off the puns already?" Blake groaned.
"Nope~!" the blonde declined with a pop on the "p."
"Wait, where's Grey?" Jaune pointed out.
"Hm?"
The group of First Years took notice of their surroundings and soon realized the absence of Aile's partner. Given how spacious the room was, they would have taken account of who was here in the first place.
Sensing how the First Years were wondering where Grey had gone, Aile provided the information they were looking for.
"Oh, yeah! We both got here quite early, so I had him go grab some food while I waited for you guys to arrive." the humanoid clarified.
"Really? When did you guys-"
"CLARIFICATION. SUBJECT IN QUESTION LEFT APPROXIMATELY 15 MINUTES AND 23 SECONDS AGO AND HAS RETURNED."
"KYAAAAAA!"
A loud screech immediately filled the classroom. The familiar, yet sudden robotic voice caught everyone off guard. Within a few seconds, Jaune stumbled back and was caught begrudgingly by Weiss. The latter shot him a glare before pushing him off her.
Fortunately, Pyrrha ran over to stop him falling onto the ground.
Aile looked behind the group and noticed Siarnaq's doppelganger laughing a storm in front of everyone whilst carrying a medium sized bag of oranges. Throughout all this, his red robotic eyes didn't even blink once.
"HEHE…AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA"
"Didn't think you'd be a prankster type, Grey." Aile announced.
"D-do you mind switching back, Grey? T-the red eyes are really freaking me out." Jaune shuddered.
The purple Mega Man gazed upon the group that was in various states of disarray. He let out a mechanical sigh and nodded his head.
"...ISSUING AMENDS FOR SUDDEN FRIGHT. READJUSTING PARAMETERS." Grey responded stoically.
A flash enveloped the Shadow Mega Man's form as Grey's original body reappeared. Garbed in his uniform as well, he loosened the tie around his neck. The reploid rested the bag of fruit where Aile lied down earlier and turned towards the group all while scratching his scarred cheek.
"Hey, guys. Uhm, how's it going?" the reploid asked.
"How the heck did you sneak up on us?!" Blake asked. "We didn't even hear you open the door!"
"Yeah, it was almost as if you appeared out of thin air." followed by Ren.
"First off, I'm sorry about scaring you guys." Grey answered. "I needed to get around the academy without too much attention. I knew that form specialized in recon, so I navigated the area while hiding. By the time I got back, I overheard everyone talking and just came in."
'Is that what really happened, Grey?' Aile asked with a mental link.
'N-not entirely?' he relayed.
[Nah, Grey was right about sneaking around. Though, I did want to scare them for fun.] Model A snickered. [So worth it!]
[BWHAHAHA, did you see their faces?! PRICELESS. The kid ain't half bad] Model F noted.
[I gotta say, nice surprise, Bolthead.] Model L replied.
[At least he's honest, Leviathan. Good work you two.] Model P complemented.
'Thanks, Model P.' Grey thanked the veteran Biometal.
Aile was about to respond but heard a buzzing come from the podium. She excused herself while Grey went over to talk with Teams JNPR and RWBY.
"Gotta admit, you got us good, kid." Yang high-fived Grey. "Glad to meet another pun-guy to get along with."
"Hehehe, didn't think anyone would have an eye for that too." the reploid noted.
"You have no idea, Grey." The rest of Team RWBY responded dejectedly.
"D-did I say something wrong?" the reploid asked worriedly.
"Bah, ignore them, Grey. They don't understand true artists at work."
"O-okay?"
"Oh, can I see what else you change into?! Do you have a sloth form?! Please tell me you have one!" Nora jumped in while grabbing his hands.
Grey blushed at the close contact and was unsure on how to respond. Thankfully, her partner came to his rescue right at the nick of time.
"Slow down, Nora. Let him get his bearings first." cautioned Ren.
"Please, Renny! I wanna see if he has sloth armor! " she begged.
"Uhm, I hate to be the breaker of bad news, but I don't have one. Sorry about that." the reploid awkwardly answered.
"Awww, that sucks!" the girl cried out.
Nora immediately deflated upon hearing this information. She let go of his hands and apologized for her actions.
[Wonder what's her deal with sloths?] Model A pondered.
'Your guess is as good as mine.' Grey responded back to his partner.
While this was going on, Grey felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned his body around and was greeted with Ruby waving at him.
"Glad to see you again, Grey." she smiled.
"Same here, Ruby. Didn't think me and Aile would meet you guys again so soon." he chuckled.
"Well, my friends and I tend to get into a lot of trouble. Sometimes we even happen upon it by accident. That's why Goodwitch usually sends us to one of her Remedial Lessons every few weeks." Ruby elaborated.
"Wow, sounds like your plate has been full for the past couple months." the reploid mused.
"Aside from boring classes, it's been really fun. Plus, I use so much of my spare time maintaining Crescent Rose, so she can be in top shape the next time I use her." she replied back.
"Huh, that's pretty cool." the boy complimented.
Grey could have sworn he saw a light blush on his new friend's face throughout their chit chat but shook it off.
He had to say his first day of "school" was filled with a whole array of events. From helping professors to providing an exhibition match, the reploid was impressed how engaged he was with everything going on.
The reploid felt almost at home since it shared similarities to that of Hunter's Camp.
'Wonder how everyone's holding up?' Grey thought to himself.
"Grey, mind coming over real quick?" Aile called out.
"Sure! Excuse me, Ruby."
The copy Mega Man walked over to his partner where she pointed to her License. He glanced at the message on the device when his eyes widened.
"Seriously?" Grey whispered.
"Yep, she wants us to take the lead on this one." Aile smiled. 'Get ready for another round of fun."
[Oh man, this is gonna get hectic…] Model A hummed.
[Indeed, guess you two have to break the news.] Model X followed up.
[Just be prepared to answer their questions. High likelihood you and Grey will have to formally introduce us to your friends.] Model Z cautioned.
The remaining Biometals readied themselves too once they saw Professor Goodwitch's message. The bombardment was just around the horizon.
"You two okay?" Weiss curiously asked.
Both Mega Men glanced at each other before explaining the situation.
"Aight, good news is that Professor Goodwitch won't be coming to your Remedial Lesson for today." Aile announced.
"Wait, who's gonna watch over us for Remedial Lesson then?" Jaune asked.
"Well, Goodwitch messaged us to take over in her place." Grey followed up.
"Huh?"
It took the First Years a moment to comprehend the information before they all understood what it truly meant.
"So, who wants to start off with a nice and friendly brawl!" Aile smirked.
Author's Notes
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So, uh, this took longer than it should have. Hopefully, this chapter left you guys a bit satisfied with the update. Glad to read that people wanted more since my absence. Life has been pretty busy for me. Got a new position at work and have been going around to help different offices. Super busy as of late but had time to write here and there. Anyhow, let's get back to the story.
I highly doubt that Ozpin would only have six faculty that covered all four years at Beacon. I figured I'd give it a shot writing a side OC with Professor Kitrinos. I had to think about how I wanted to present him in the story. The thoughts of having a Faunus as a teacher had me intrigued with other stories I've seen. There won't be too many, but I wanted to flesh out the Professor/student relationships that the show didn't explore much.
This chapter was gonna expand further, but I wanted to cut it off here. Let's just say Ruby and her friends will get more than enough time to learn about our Mega Men's "background." I was also planning out introducing their Biometals in a way that would make sense. There's a Gunvolt crossover fic with RWBY I read (KVKC Chronicles by raak1101) that I might use as reference but any suggestions would help.
Next time, we'll get to have a handful of people go out for some "training" with the two. Who knows, Grey might show off the Ruby A-Trans or Aile with new techniques. Thanks again for stopping by and I look forward to writing the next segment!
~Cristos
Next Time: Teaching from Experience