"This is Lisa Lavender for VNN reporting live from Rojo West's Clinical Care Medical Center which has unfortunately become the scene of the latest case of what some are calling the Rage Outbreak," next to her was a uniformed officer and together the two were standing in front of the aforementioned clinic which was currently covered in police tape as law enforcement formed a perimeter as medics went in and out of the building as civilians watched from a distance. Lisa then turned to her companion, "With me is Police Captain Teal who is in charge of the investigation, Captain what can you tell us?"

"Well Lisa, the investigation is still underway so everything is subject to change as new evidence is uncovered but here is what we do know for sure: The suspect is an individual named Simone Cartwell who is now safely in custody, he was brought to the clinic by a currently unknown third party who according to the testimony we revived from clinic employees working at the time who claimed that this unknown individual was trying to help Simone who was, once again according to witness testimony, unconscious due to what the third party claimed was an overdose. Simone was then brought into an ER room where he regained consciousness and tried to leave the staff, however, wanted to make sure that he was alright and tried to convince him to wait, he then suddenly turned violent and attacked the staff resulting in what we see here." The Captain took a moment to stand aside and motion with his arm to the Clinic allowing the audience a clear view of the building revealing shattered windows, a broken desk, chairs scattered all over the floors, and injured people being assisted by medics. "Fortunately I am happy to report that the staff was able to subdue him before anyone could be seriously injured. As for the suspected cause for this incident, we don't know yet if Rage is the reason for it but, rest assured that we have experts working on it."

"Thank you, Captain, this marks the tenth incident of seemingly unprovoked violence in only two weeks. Councilman Row-."

James Ironwood turned off the tv and turned to his friend Ozpin who was sitting on his desk coffee mug in hand and deep in thought as the general addressed him, "Ten reported cases and the Brothers only knows how many more have gone unreported, tell me Ozpin what's your honest opinion on all of this, on Rage?"

"I think that this new drug isn't as bad as it could be," he saw the look of confusion on Ironwood's face and moved to clarify. "Sure the violent outbursts and the result are a major concern but the fact it happens so quickly placed the drug squarely in the spotlight turning the whole thing into a priority for the kingdom. Sure the police still have no idea how this Rage thing works or what it is made of but, that isn't necessary to stop the distribution and I do have faith that they will stop it. However, I will admit that I am curious about the mechanics and details of the drug."

"While I do agree with what you just said, that wasn't the question I was asking," the Ironwood softly spoke while looking at his friend and making his true inquiry crystal clear.

The headmaster silently gave a little curse over the question he failed to dodge before finally admitting, "I don't know. It might be the start of an attack but Salem... she's never done anything like this before, if it wasn't for Mr. Arc I'd simply dismiss the idea as the mere paranoia of an old man, but now… Ironwood, we cannot start jumping at shadows and blindly lashing out or we will give her exactly what she wants whether or not she had anything to do with this." And yet despite his words, the centuries of experience were already turning his mind towards darker possibilities and solutions, things that he hoped and swore to never do again.

"If I may, perhaps it would be prudent to have one or two of your resident experts analyze the drug, for example, Dr. Gris would have an easy time with it and Professor Peach does have extensive knowledge on plants and medicine. Even if it turns out to be nothing then at the very least we'll have some closure and it would help bolster Beacon's image."

Ozpin thought about the suggestion for a bit, on the surface, it was a rather simple and sensible thing that would go to great lengths to help reinforce the ties between the academy and the kingdom. He could also offer to lend some students to the police force thus turning the whole thing into a teaching opportunity, more importantly, though it could be an opportunity to capture a potential agent of Salem, We just have to be the ones to make the arrest. "All right then, I'll need to make a couple of phone calls first starting with a few members of the council then onto the commissioner so we can offer some assistance but I'd imagine that they would be more than happy for our aid... However, I must ask, what's your goal here James? I don't doubt that you want to help people but I can't help but feel that there is a second angle to this request."

The General looked through the large window in Ozpin's office and stared at the city beneath him before he gave a rather unexpected and rather playful chuckle before turning around to face his friend with a small but still very noticeable smile on his face, "I brought with me a certain student from my academy and let me tell you right now, this girl is special."

"All of our students are special."

"Ozpin, you may think you have seen everything under the sun but she is something new. I'd tell you but it would just be easier for me to show you, so please let her be a part of the investigation," Ironwood was excited uncharacteristically so it made him seem… younger.

"If the authorities will allow Beacon's assistance then I will allow her's," Ozipn couldn't help but feel some measure of pride watching the Headmaster of Atlas Academy take such keen interest in the growth of a student, I always knew that there was a teacher in you James. "So, what's her name?"

"Penny Polendina."

It has been said that the eyes are the windows to the soul and as Jaune stared through the now cold dead eyes of his latest victim he saw a reflection of himself staring back at him covered in blood and gore smiling with maniacal glee over his latest kill. In that mirror image, he saw himself and looked through the windows of his soul and found soulless cruelty staring right back at him.

"Jaune?" a scared familiar voice called out to him from behind.

He turned to look at the speaker and found his oldest sister Saphron staring right at him with a look of abject horror as she tried to slowly back away, "You killed them! You killed them without mercy without a shred of remorse! You're not a hero, you're not even a human! Get away from me you monster!" she screamed before running away in fear of her own little brother.

"Wait no! I can explain! I didn't do it! I didn't murder anyone!" he called out to her as he tried chasing Saphron through a blood-drenched corridor whose appearance and layout kept nagging at the back of his head until he recognized it as the interior of the Arc's family home and the moment the realization hit him was when he began to notice the corpses of several familiar-looking blonds, "No! Please No!"

"You murdered me," a voice behind him spoke as suddenly the house faded away and he found himself back in the Docks. Standing before him was a member of the White Fang with a stab wound going right through the chest, "Right here," the figure pointed right at the wound, "You stabbed me right here and ended my life." The flesh around the wound began to rot as maggots started to pour out and consume every ounce of the flesh of that masked man, "I'm nothing but maggot food thanks to you and you don't even care!"

"You were trying to hurt my friends! You were trying to hurt me!" Jaune protested.

Then another voice spoke up from behind him, "I killed my friend, thanks to you," he didn't even have to run around to know who was speaking, the one whose neck he had broken. "I just wanted to help my friend and yet somehow I'm the villian, bullshit! Do you actaully think that you're better than me? You damned hypocrite!"

"And what about me?" spoke a feminine voice as the owner walked right into his sight revealing herself to be the third White Fang agent with blood and maggots seeping through bullet holes on her body, "Do you think you're better than me when we both just tried to help our friends? Or do you somehow think that your friends are better than ours, is your cause nobler than ours? You do think that, don't even try to deny it you monster!"

Something snapped from within Jaune and he shot back, "Just because I didn't shed any tears over killing you guys while you were also trying to kill me, that doesn't make me a monster! Self-defense doesn't make me a murderer and I'm sure as all bloody hell not some frothing berserker either, I am a Huntsman!"

The corpses just stared at him in silence and for a moment he began to actually hope that this nightmare was finally over. That hope faded when wicked smiles appeared on the faces of the corpses letting him know that this was far from over, "You're not a Huntsman you're not even a Huntsman in training, you're just as fake as your transcripts! Hell, you're not even human! You haven't been human since that day in the bar, or did you forget?"

The scene changed again and Jaune found himself sitting at the counter of a bar that he knew all too well as a faceless man that he didn't remember was sitting right next to him. He started at the man and felt nothing but hatred for him but he didn't know why, Who are you? Then the faceless man offered him a dark oddly golden colored and utterly rancid smelling drink that seemed to have some sort of… creature swimming around in the dark and sickly liquid with an odd and sadistic excitement in its movements and something about it struck him as vile and corrupt. Then the man spoke, "Here, a toast to the young would-be hero!" The man began to move the glass with the foul liquid towards the boy's mouth.

All at once, Jaune recognized what was going on, this was the drink, this was the moment and this was the bastard that nearly ruined his life! "No! Please No! Keep that away from me!" he tried getting off of the chair but some invisible force kept him seated as he thrashed futilely to try to break free. "Mom! Dad! Saph! Please someone anyone please help me! Save me! Please!" The drink was almost at his lips so he tried to seal his mouth shut closing with such force that his teeth began to ache, only for the corpses to return and pry his mouth open with their putrid fingers, their dead eyes watching with glee as the glass tilted and a viscous rancid liquid poured out and the creature who almost seemed to be laughing at his horror swam out of the glass and right into the would-be knight's screaming mouth.

He woke up in a cold sweat.

For a while he just laid there on his bed staring at the ceiling not trying to fall back asleep and not trying to stay awake, he was right now just trying to forget that nightmare but it was proving to be an impossible task, That last part was the absolute worst, I'm going to have a talk about it with Riviera as soon as possible. In the past, he might have tried to keep it to himself however recent circumstances have all but beaten that admittedly foolish behavior out of him, he may be ignorant at times and even a little slow on the uptake but he was no fool, I cannot beat this on my own.

His mind then wandered back to that last part of the nightmare but rather focusing on that accursed drink he instead began to think about the faceless man who held, offered, and then forced the drink. I felt so angry when I looked at him but why? He tried to think back to that day in the bar and recounted his steps, Getting that acceptance letter made me so happy and nervous that I just needed a way to take the edge off, so I went into the bar but I didn't know what to get so, how did I finally decide? He tried to picture the bar and the patrons there but his memories were a jumbled mess however there was one thing that he could clearly remember: He hadn't been sitting alone there was someone else there sitting right next to him, I remember now, that person was the one who suggested the drink. That bastard was the one who did this to me!

Unbelievable anger washed over the boy as he gripped the bed, his fingers digging deep into the fabric, and as a direct result of his utter rage and indignation, his body began to transform this time going beyond everything that had come before. This time the sclera of his eyes shifted into a bright gray as his iris went from its natural sky blue to a rusted copper and from within his pupil a white spot like a burning flame began to form almost as though it was somehow being fueled by the pitch-black veins surrounding his eye. The changes weren't just limited to his face, nails were becoming claws, his cheeks began to split open as new teeth were beginning to form, his spine grew and started to press against the skin on his back as though it was trying to breakthrough. The extreme changes that the body was going through would have sent almost anyone else spiraling into sweet unconsciousness thanks to the pain but he did not care nor did he even notice it.

What he did notice were his teammates sleeping peacefully around him without a care, They feel safe around me because they don't see me as a monster because I am not one! But the man in the bar, he's more than a monster, he's the Devil himself! he then closed his eyes and whispered a vow "I don't know for sure if you exist but if you do and if I ever find you… I will kill you."

"Jaune? Are you alright," Nora's voice grabbed his attention and for the first time, he noticed the damage he had done to the bed.

"Yeah, I just had a nightmare and… I think I might need a new bed."

"That's cool, hey Jaune."

"Yeah?"

"Let me know when you go looking for that guy, I'll break his legs for you so he can't run away," She then yawned. "I'm going back to sleep, you should too since we're running laps tomorrow and you know how Pyrrha gets," she then went back to sleep.

"Th-thank you, Nora," it would be hard to describe the exact feelings that Jaune had right now since there were so many but summoning it all up into one word was rather easy: Thankfulness. He was thankful for how he had been allowed in Beacon and for the people that he met there, sure there were struggles but the good that he had been blessed to experience greatly outweighed the bad. Sure the future was still very much shrouded in uncertainty but he could see the light at the end of the tunnel and he felt confident that he would reach it, with the help of his friends, he would overcome this.

A little bit later he fell into a peaceful sleep and as he slept, his body reverted back to normal leaving only small nearly unnoticeable traces of the change. If it wasn't for the tears and holes in the bed, one could be convinced that it never happened at all.

"Alright everyone just one more lap and then we'll stop for breakfast," spoke the kind voice of Pyrrha Nikos as she led her team through their daily morning workouts which today took advantage of the track field that Beacon had on campus for just this sort of activity. However judging by the tired groans of her teammates, they didn't exactly share her same enthusiasm as her which was fine. Different people focused on different things when they worked out and she was proud to say that her team was rather diverse, Nora was a physical powerhouse, Ren was very flexible and one of the best sprinters she had ever seen and Jaune was constantly pushing himself to improve but sometimes he took it a little too far.

Today was a perfect example of just that, Jaune was soaked with sweat, his joints were aching, his stomach empty, he was still sleepy thanks to that nightmare that woke him in the middle of the night, and on top of all that, they weren't even done running laps which something that he refused to suffer in silence. "Why! We've been doing this every day for months now! How come it never seems to get easier?" His fellow teammates Ren and Nora silently agreed with him as they all struggled to keep up with their leader Pyrrha who was feeling great!

"That's because I've been slowly raising the difficulty level so that way it's always a challenge! But don't worry, just keep it up and sooner than you think you'll be able to handle this level of exercise just fine and the level after and beyond!" the young amazon answered while thinking to herself, Besides even if I can't help you work through your problems I can at least help you survive them.

In hindsight, near-daily workouts like this were exactly the sort of thing that Ren and especially Nora should have seen coming when Pyrrha was first announced as the leader of their team, after all, she was Mistral's Invincible Girl and no amount of innate talent alone was able to make someone an undefeated four times champion even if it was only the junior league. A feat like that required no demands for incredible amounts of hard work and the discipline to commit to and see through such an endeavor. As for Jaune, he thanks to Qrow had already experienced just a taste of what a Huntsman's daily routine looked like and understood that it was a herculean task but necessary to have any chance to fight the Grimm, but compared to this? There was absolutely no comparison! This was a million times harder and while Jaune would never say it, he was pretty sure that even Qrow would be panting for breath if he tried to keep up with Pyrrha. However, there was also something extremely cathartic about all of this, or at least in his opinion, it made him understand and easy to forget the truth, Pyrrha wasn't born a champion and neither was Qrow born a huntsman, They got there through work the same way I'm going to get there as well! That said I wouldn't mind a break soon...

True to her word Pyrrha did indeed let her team relax after one last lap and it was an opportunity that they gladly took advantage of. Even she decided to cool down with them even though in all honesty she felt that she could go on for a little longer. This is nice, she thought to herself as she watched her team and tried to keep herself from giggling out loud when Jaune just collapsed on the floor and began thanking whatever gods might be listening for the break, even Ren and Nora were left trying to catch their breath. Pyrrha then took a moment to walk over to where she and the rest of her team were keeping their stuff and fished out a notebook from her bag and began making a record of the times and number of laps that everyone completed, Nice steady improvements from everyone, except today there was a dip in Jaune's overall performance, he did seem less energetic than normal. Perhaps he had trouble sleeping maybe I should… no, it could be easily just a one-time thing, no sense making a fuss out of what could very well be nothing. She then put the notebook away and grabbed some water bottles and walked over to her team to hand it to them which they all gladly accepted. After that refresher Team, PRAN left the field to gather their belongings, hit the showers, change into their uniforms, and make their way into the cafeteria for some breakfast and some good old fashioned socializing.

"Salutations everyone!" announced the ever happy Penny Polidenia to a cafeteria full of students who for the most part ignored her, though a few did say hello back, she then stood perfectly still for a minute or so as she scanned the room for her friends, it took but a moment to find where they were sitting and then another moment to chart the best route to reach them. As she made her way over she would joyfully say hello to everyone that she passed by and while most paid her no mind occasionally there would be someone who answered back with a hello of their own before returning to their food and conversation. Under normal circumstances, Penny would have at the very least attempted to continue the conversation instead of leaving it at a mere hello, however, today was different since she was on a special mission and that took priority over everything else! Coincidently her analysis had determined that the best way to accomplish her mission was to hang out with her friends which made it even extra special.

With that in mind she soon arrived at the table where her dear friend Ruby Rose was sitting with the rest of her team along with two other men, one being the Monkey Faunus that also helped out in the fight with Roman and the other was someone that wasn't there but he seemed friendly plus his appearance and demeanor suggested that he met the requirements for the desired social status known as "Cool." However, the most important people seating there at the moment was Team PRAN and it was for two vital reasons, the first being that she wanted to thank them for their assistance at the Docks. The second had to do with her mission, her orders were to use the multitude of her state-of-art scanning devices on Jaune and to send the report back to General Ironwood.

"Salutations," she said to everyone while attempting to stand as close to Jaune as possible, which thanks to the crowd was an unexpectedly difficult task so she attempted to scan him from where she was, ERROR: Subject is too far away to perform a Deep Scan. Recommendation: Get Closer. It seems that I'll have to isolate Friend Jaune from the others in order to achieve the mission goals.

"Penny?" asked a rather surprised Ruby who just stared at her friend blankly for a few seconds before becoming a blur as she jumped out of her chair and rushed over to hug her. "Oh, My Gosh Penny! What happened there one moment about the next you were just gone and I was just so worried about you!"

Seeing Ruby's concern for her made Penny the already unusually cheerful girl even happier, "Your concern is appreciated, friend but fear, not I was merely picked up by my caretaker who was concerned for my safety!"

"Well that's good, I guess…," Yang spoke a little uncertain what to think about that little tidbit of information but she pushed to the side for now. "Well, what are you waiting for? Sit down! Are you hungry? I can grab something for you to eat or drink if you are," she offered as she and everyone else made room for the new girl who gladly took the spot.

"I thank you so much for the offer of sustenance but I'm alright, how are you?"

This time it was Weiss who spoke up, "We're all alright, honestly I'm still trying to wrap my head around just how many people showed up to help and all the support that, I and Blake have received… it was overwhelming at first and I'm honestly still not used to it," There was a small part of her that wanted to just cry happy while gushing thanks especially when she compared this to how things would be back home. There she would have been completely on her own as both her father and brother tried to find a way to use her feelings for their own gain while her mother just got drunk, To think I nearly screwed it all up. I will never again allow you to define me or the Schnee legacy again, Jacques!

She wasn't alone in her feelings, Blake also felt somewhat overwhelmed by everything that had happened. More than once she had been afraid to wake up and discover that everything was just a dream, that she only imagined Weiss apologizing, that she was still alone in her fight against the White Fang, and that people like Cardin whom she dismissed as a lost cause weren't proving Adam wrong... that leaving him wasn't the right choice. But it happened, it all actually happened and she couldn't be happier, But why was Torchwick stealing the Dust and why was he leading that operation?

"So what do you think about that Rage thing that has been on the news lately?" Sun innocently asked.

"Huh, I didn't think that you'd know about it since you're not from around here," Yang replied

"Well that's rather presumptuous of you, Sun and Mr. Vasilias here are both studying to become law enforcement professionals, it only natural that they would seek to stay up to date about any major cases," chided Weiss.

Neptune then jumped in "No, that's a fair assumption to make, I mean come on look at us!"

Yang was quick to ponce, "Trust me, I am."

"Yaaaaang, could you not right now?" Ruby begged her older sister who just laughed it off.

"Is Yang engaging in the activity known as Flirting?" Penny innocently asked.

"Can we get back to the drugs?" Ruby shouted in an attempt to move the conversation in a different direction and completely unaware of the funny looks that some people were giving her.

Sun on the other hand just laughed it off before adding, "Well Neptune and I were checking the news which is how we found out about an outburst of a brand new drug that they are calling Rage. No points for guessing what it does."

Neptune then continued, "And that is where things become bizarre. You see, people know what Rage will do to them but the number of victims is still going up."

"Why is that weird? People know what smoking will do to them but the knowledge never stops them. It's the same with any drug really, so why is this one weird?" asked Blake.

"The problem with those examples is that the consequences can take a long time to hit you and there are plenty of people who live their whole lives smoking and drinking but never seem to suffer for it. But Rage is different, the effects happen so quickly compared to other drugs that it's nearly instant and believe me when I say that the effects are extreme, people are getting hurt and killed."

"Mr. Vasilias there is an error with what you just said," Interrupted Penny. "Rage isn't instantaneous but rather can take anywhere from anywhere between 40 minutes to one hour and 15 minutes for the full effect. It all depends on how the drug was consumed, the size of the dosage, and of course the height and weight of the user in question."

Both Neptune and Sun went silent, their faces expressing complete shock over what she had just said and soon the rest of the group also noticed. "How do you know that?" Sun finally asked Penny who just realized that she might have spoken too much.

But before Penny could even calculate a response, Nora chimed in, "What!? That's it! Everyone here went suddenly all quiet and I thought that something huge was about to be revealed like someone being a secret robot or that someone else runaway royalty or something crazy like that, but we're all acting this way because she said something oddly specific? Lame!"

"That's information that hasn't been released to the public yet," Ren observed.

"But how do you know that Ren?" Pyrrha questioned.

"I was just guessing," he confessed.

"Well, Ren you are correct! Not about the information *hic* well you are right about that but, I was just guessing *hic* I really don't know much about the case! *hic*" Penny hoped the answer would satisfy everyone.

"But it's still a good guess, are you interested in the case?" Sun asked.

"Yes, I am!"

"Penny," Neptune spoke softly while studying the girl, "Tell me, how did you come to that guess?"

"Why are you taking this so seriously?" Ruby asked.

"Earlier I said that the effects of Rage were extreme, that wasn't an exaggeration. There have been some witnesses claiming that the users all suddenly pass out and then when they awaken they seem normal but all it takes is for just one inconvenience and no matter how small it is they just become violent to the point where people have been killed! To make things worse Rage seems to be making them stronger or at the very least they have far more stamina and pain doesn't seem to be a big deal for them anymore…," Neptune kept talking with Sun occasionally jumping in to clarify something.

But Jaune wasn't paying attention and it wasn't because he didn't care, rather the opposite. He was too focused on the description of the drug's effects to notice anything else, Violent mood swings, increased strength, and stamina, heightened pain tolerance, passing out and it's a drug too? That sounds like what happened to me… kinda. I need to know more.

"The police think that the White Fang are somehow involved-,"

"The White Fang would never stoop that low!" Blake declared cutting Sun off, "They fight for equality and something like this would only hurt the cause!"

"That's exactly what I said!" Sun continued, never missing a beat.

"Did any of the victims know what they were taking?" Jaune suddenly asked.

"Huh?"

"Earlier you said that you found it strange that people were still taking the drug but, what if they don't know that they are? Are these people being found in places where someone could slip in the stuff without being noticed like a bar or a club? Are there any visible changes in these people like something with their eyes?" he asked.

Sun and Neptune were quiet for a bit as they pondered the question over trying to remember if they heard or saw anything that would answer Jaune's inquiry but, they came up with nothing.

"I'm sorry, but I don't know, but look. You and Penny seem interested in this, how about we meet up later and maybe do a little digging? What do you say?" Neptune asked.

"I would love to dig holes with you, friend Neptune!" Penny quickly declared.

"Um, actually yeah! I'd love to join you guys!" answered Jaune.

"Of course the offer is there for everyone as well!" Sun added.

"That's great! My team and I are also doing some investigating as well!" Ruby happily added in. "Well, me Weiss and Blake are, Yang on the other hand went and got herself a date when she was supposed to be investigating!" she playfully accused her older sister who in response pulled Ruby into a hug.

"Awww, don't be like that! I told you this is part of my information gathering process, besides Coco and I are just going to watch a movie and talk over some coffee, I swear you are so innocent!"

The room was a converted walk-in closet whose floors and walls were padded, the lights were dimmed, there was no furniture inside, and finally, the temperature of the room was being kept lukewarm through the use of Dust ensuring that it would remain the same regardless of how hot or cold the rest of the city was that day. The door to this room opened up and a young woman who seemed old enough to be an upper-year student at Beacon stood at the entrance but did not walk inside. She was naked with a large grisly scar on her abdomen marring her otherwise perfect sun-kissed skin, there another much smaller almost unnoticeable scar on the crook of her arm, and in her hands, she carried a tourniquet, a syringe, antibacterial wipes, and a vial containing a rather dark viscous fluid.

She sat down on the bare floor right in front of the open door and prepped the syringe filling it with the fluid. Once that was done she applied the tourniquet, found the vein using the scar on her arm as a guide, and cleaned that spot with the wipes. Afterward, she took the needle and injected the liquid directly into her veins, she then removed the tourniquet and flooded that spot with enough Aura to instantly close the hole made by the syringe. Once all that was done she gathered everything and placed it into a nearby trash can before walking into the room and closing the door.

Once she was inside she laid right on the floor and closed her eyes as her senses slowly but ever undeniably grew sharper and sharper. It wasn't long before she could start making out the little details of the fabric that she was lying and soon afterward eyes became so sensitive to light that she almost swore she could see the dim bulb despite her closed eyelids but fortunately it never became too much of an issue. A little while longer and all of her senses were pushed to the limits of what a human could withstand but thanks to the room it never became overwhelming. Worth every single lien, she happily thought to herself with a shudder of pleasure as she remembered the first time she tried Rage. Everything was so overwhelming that I thought I was going to go mad from the pain alone! Just being in a room with the lights on made me feel like a needle was being pushed through my eyes and right into my brain and my clothes felt like sandpaper scraping my skin off. I nearly blacked out from the overstimulation. In hindsight, I think I did lose consciousness just for a little while after I collapsed on the floor. I was scared and in a moment of weakness, I wished I was back in the Emerald Forest, at least then the pain would end… But I endured and afterward, I felt stronger no I was stronger and the anger, it was cathartic… it was worth it. With a smile she allowed herself to fall asleep, only leaving the room after she had awoken.

"I see you've made yourself rather comfortable here Miss Marilla," spoke a familiar feminine, and rather polite sounding voice from behind her.

She didn't turn around to face the speaker, choosing instead to walk over to her dresser and begin putting on her combat gear, "You didn't have to wait for me you know, you could have just dropped it off and left, Thumbelina."

"Miss Marillia I have told you again and again not to refer to me by my first name, now try again, and please do it with the proper courtesy a professor deserves," Thumbelina replied, her voice poorly hiding the irritation she felt over how rude this girl was being.

"Thumbelina I am not your student and I don't work for you. Hell even if I was able to get into Beacon I'm damn sure that I'd still wouldn't give two shits about you. Now either pull that stick out of your dry ass and call me Iris like a fucking normal person or kindly leave the package on the floor and walk out of my apartment," She shot back with her disdain in full view as she continued to put on her combat gear.

There was a moment of silence and a dull thump was heard on the floor, "Same place and time as usual also, I left some tea to help you calm down a bit, Marillia… you can still-"

"Not, here and not in Atlas either, Haven's a possibility and so is Shade but fuck that. I'm done with all of that, I'm staying here and just so you know, that isn't the Rage talking." Iris grabbed a case and opened it up revealing a bow and a quiver full of Dust tipped arrows, "Besides this job is a million times easier and pays just fine.."

"If that is how you feel then I'll take my leave, Miss Marilia, just remember that it's never too late to change your mind," Thumbelina then walked away and out of the apartment closing the door hard enough for the girl to hear it.

Once she was alone Iris walked over to the package that the Professor left behind and quickly examined it to make sure that everything was in order, even going as far as to open the package revealing several labeled vials of blood being kept cool through the use of Ice Dust. She grabbed one of the vials and read the label before putting it back and resealing the package, "Jaune Arc again? Seriously what is so special about this guy? Whatever, I don't get paid enough to care." She then grabbed a backpack and carefully attached her quiver to the side after checking and securing every single arrow before placing the package inside of a prepared compartment within the backpack. Putting it on she grabbed a pair of sunglasses and made her way to the roof of the apartment, occasionally passing by a neighbor or two who ignored her as she ignored them.

Once on the roof, she pulled out a pair of binoculars and looked out toward her destination, a certain hill inside of the Emerald Forest, and began to plot her route. It didn't take very long as the path was one she had run before but it always paid to double-check, once she was satisfied she put the binoculars away. After some stretches she walked over to one end of the roof and took a sprinter's stance, she focuses her target, channels Aura into her legs, and then dashes with incredible speed to the edge of the roof before leaping into the air and waiting till she reaches maximum height before activating her Semblance as a sky blue light surrounds her body as she begins to glide silently. She floats over the roof of the building adjacent to her apartment and the roof of the next one and the next one. gently floating over every single one until she reaches out with her hand grabs one of the ledges of the very last and tallest building on the street as well as her first stop. Taking a minute to make sure that everything is still there she then climbs up the side of the building making her way to the roof where she'll jump and glide to the next building.

Two hours and several more glides later, Iris reached a part of the Emerald Forest furthest away from Beacon while still being accessible to Vale, and then she just stood on its edge hesitating as the scar on her side began to ache, Come on you're stronger than this Iris, you're stronger than you were back then. Just keep your guard up and you'll be okay. She pulled out her bow and nocked an arrow with a small shard of Ice Dust forming the point and quietly began making her way to the drop off point. Sadly, despite everything that she told herself she couldn't keep the memory away: Claws, Teeth, a broken bow, tearing flesh, a plea for help, passing out, the hospital, and the disappointment, it took every single ounce of willpower just to keep herself from turning around and running out and away from the Grimm… who were strangely absent. A tiny more grounded part of her mind noticed the oddity and constantly attempted to bring it to the forefront of her conscious self but all it did was highlight the fear that there could be another Beowolf hiding just out of sight resulting in a vicious cycle of stress.

Yet, despite all common sense, she made it to the drop off point, a large and oddly flat rock resting on top of a hill. Wanting to get out of the forest as soon as possible she quickly pulls out the package and sets it on the rock before fleeing the scene thanking whatever god was responsible for the lack of Grimm. However, Iris was wrong, there was a Grimm present, specifically a Nevermore who had been watching and waiting for her before she even came into the woods. From the moment she entered the Emerald Forest it had been following her and when she placed the parcel down on the stone it watched her as she left. Once it was sure she had fled, it flew down to the parcel and grabbed it with its talons, and flew back to its mistress while carrying the precious luggage.

Professor Harold Mulberry taught many courses at Beacon, all of them related in some way to weaponry, the aging giant of a man was even the forge master, a position that he seemed to love however today he was currently in the middle of a lecture and demonstration on the application of the more unique forms of Dust in regards to projectiles, a topic that Ruby and many other students were greatly interested in. Jaune, however, was having a hard time paying attention to Professor Mulberry's class and the occasional glance towards Blake made it clear that he wasn't the only one, She was already heavily concerned with the White Fang for some reason, and now Rage on top of that? She's probably worried shitless. While Jaune would never tell her or anyone else this, but seeing her like that brought a strange sense of peace to himself, like he wasn't alone in this madness, which made him want to help her as his friends had helped him, I'm going to recommend Dr. Riviera to Blake, she looks like she could use a good listener.

He briefly thought back to his dream specifically the man in the bar, on an instinctual level he knew that dreams and nightmares didn't necessarily mean anything, he had nightmares about the Dock due to his emotional distress over his lack of emotions and when he was a kid he had dreams about a monster under the bed for no reason at all. It was the same with dreams regardless of whether it was a dream about being a superhero or a dream about exploring a house and yet this one particular detail, this one brief moment at the end of a nightmare had such a profound impact on himself. He had vowed revenge on a man that logically had to exist since his drink most certainly didn't taint itself, Assuming that it was the drink at all. Which led right back to the heart of the issue, I remember going to that bar ordering a drink and that guy was sitting next to me offered up a toast, and then… I don't know. Lifting his hand to his face, Jaune briefly studied his fingernails. Maybe he was imagining it but they seemed different just a little longer, thicker and stronger, or was it his fingers that changed, maybe both, The anger I felt triggered a change but to the point that I now have to get a new bed? Whenever I transformed in the past it was always limited to my eyes but why did I think it would always be limited to that? I always become stronger when it triggers which must mean that there were always changes beyond my eyes… he wasn't sure how to feel about that.

"Mr. Arc!" Professor Mulberry loudly spoke while looking at him with slight annoyance on his face, "Would you mind explaining to the class what are the two reasons that Ice Dust is more frequently unutilized than Earth Dust especially in regards to its use as a projectile?"

Jaune stared at the professor for a few seconds, Okay you don't know this but Weiss does and she's always talking about Dust so just say something she would say, "Ummmm… it's cheaper and easier to… get rid of?" Nailed it!

The Professor looked at Jaune for a bit before turning to the rest of his class, "Mr. Arc is correct, sure there are other factors to consider but at the end of the day, Ice Dust is simply easier to find and handle making it easier to afford plus it accomplishes many of the same things that Earth Dust would be used for while lacking the issue of permanence. That's not to say that they aren't moments and situations when Earth Dust wouldn't be the better choice but in most cases, it's just better to use Ice Duct especially if you're in a populated area, that is unless you enjoy using a jackhammer." There was a round of chuckles from class but the professor didn't seem to be amused, at all. "That wasn't a joke, you will be legally obligated to remove or at least pay for the removal of the stone. On top of that, extensive misuse of Dust is grounds to have restrictions placed on your license, and depending on the severity of the incident or incidents you could even have your license suspended and if someone dies then your license could be revoked. So please show some goddamn common sense, now about your end of the year assignment…"

For once in his life, Jaune gave a quiet thanks to whichever ancestor of his originally owned Corcea Mors for choosing, or perhaps making, such a simple weapon. It would be really stupid if I got a suspension because I have no idea how to use a Dust weapon, that said how can I beat someone who uses Dust. He looked over to Weiss who was busy taking notes, She's the best person I know so maybe I could ask her for some advice maybe even a… no, I can't ask her to spar with me, I've already scared her enough during initiation. Nora uses Dust… Images of him being smashed through walls and floors ran through his head along with a shiver running through his spine, Maybe I'll just ask Pyrrha how she handled Dust users during her tournaments. He then felt his scroll vibrate to notify him of a message, Mulberry will kill me if he sees me checking my scroll, time for a distraction.

He looked at Nora and tapped his pen three times against his deck to catch her attention and when he got it, he then blinked twice and winked once. "Excuse me, Professor!" Nora nearly leaped out of her seat as she grabbed the man's attention, "So I was wondering what sort of combination and ratios of Dust would be needed to create napalm?"

The Professor just stared at Nora for a few seconds before sporting a massive and quite frankly lovely smile, "That young lady is a beautiful question… Alright to start with you don't want to begin with Fire Dust…"

Jaune checked his scroll and found a message from Penny asking to meet him after class, She must have gotten my number from Ruby, but why does she want to meet up with me? Well, my next class is an hour after this one so I guess I can make it. He quickly checked to see if the Professor was still distracted and was pleased to see that Mulberry now had his back turned to the class and was writing something down on the board, allowing him to reply to the message in safety and letting her know that she would be more than happy to meet up with her.

Shifting his focus back to class he watched as the Professor finished answering Nora's question, "That's how I would make Polymeric Napalm but, it's not the only way to do it. You should try tinkering with the details until you find a mix that works best for you, better yet! And this bit applies to everyone regardless of what you're making: keep several different mixes on hand, in this line of work there is no such thing as one size fitting all. That is all for today and remember that your next part of your final is due in two weeks, for now, class dismissed."

When Penny had asked to meet Jaune after class he imagined that they would meet up somewhere on campuses such as the library or the sparring fields, what he did not expect was for her to be already standing in the hallway waiting for him, "Salutations friend Jaune! I was wondering if you would accompany me to classroom 3124?"

"Um, okay but why that classroom specifically?" he justifiably and rather curiously asked, How long has she been waiting here?

Penny looked right into his eyes and with a great big smile answered, "I just wanted to be alone with you for a while and no one will be using that classroom for the next one hour and 32 minutes."

For a moment Jaune's brain stopped working before immediately rebooting and going into overdrive, Is this happening? Sure I always dreamed of getting a girlfriend and becoming a dynamic duo with her but I never thought it would happen! And I barely know this girl in fact I only properly met her today! Sure she's cute but that's not enough to start any kind of relationship, though maybe we can get to know each other? For a brief moment, he allowed himself to daydream to hope for maybe something could happen, but the reality of his situation was not something he could forget so easily, Romance is off the table until I know for sure that being with intimate with me won't harm anyone, I'll just have to let her down gently… goddamn it.

"Well friend Jaune, shall we depart?"

True to her word the classroom was indeed empty but it was more than that, in addition, all the windows in the room had their blinds drawn granting the pair near complete privacy. But that was not a detail that he noticed mostly because he was too busy staring at a space that had been prepared on the floor with bedroll and blanket, That can't be what I think it is…

"Thank you for agreeing to come with me, Friend Jaune, but I'm sorry to say that I wanted you here so I could ask something else of you."

"Um, sure Penny ask away," Any second now this is all going to be revealed to be a big misunderstanding.

"I want to examine your body."

Holy Shit this girl moves fast! I gotta nip this in the bud before it gets out of hand, "Look Penny I'm sorry I appreciate the offer like seriously I appreciate this but I'm… a little sick at the moment and I wouldn't want you to get sick as well," he made a silent prayer that this would be enough for her.

"But that's exactly why I want to examine you! Because friend Jaune I fear that you are very sick. So if you could please take off your clothes and lay down I can better scan your body, I'm also told that it can be embarrassing for a man to reveal their genitals so I bought a blanket so you can protect your modesty." She answered never once blinking or her voice ever-changing.

He took a step backward, "Sick? Scanning? What are you talking about?" Maybe it was just his condition reacting or perhaps it was just his mind growing paranoid but the longer he looked at her the more artificial she seemed, her eyes started looking cold, her movements seemed mechanical and her voice had this synthetic quality to it that was getting hard to ignore.

"When I first saw you at the Docks I detected something wrong with your body so I did a little research as well as attempting to rescan you during breakfast, however, the results were… strange."

"Scans? Strange result? What does any of that mean?" Does she know? Did Gris tell her? No, she wouldn't need to examine me if he did.

"The initial results suggested that you are neither human nor Faunus," she answered.

"You know what. I'm done, I'm done with this shit, and believe me I am going to report this," he turned to leave the room.

"Wait Jaune! I didn't mean to offend you by saying that since I'm not human eith-," Penny covered her mouth to keep herself from talking further.

"What? You're not what!?" he demanded as his eyes began to change color. She didn't say anything, she wasn't even looking at him anymore and it only made him angrier it made him want to just stomp out of the room and report her to the headmaster but he couldn't, I don't even need a mirror to know what my eyes must look like and I can't risk going out like this.

"I'm… not a Human or a Faunus either, like you."

"Why do you keep saying that?"

Penny didn't say anything, instead, she just showed him.

Author's Notes: I did not intend this chapter to be so long but, I'm not complaining.

So first off Thumbelina, Iris, and Mulberry are all actual characters in the world of RWBY, that being said, all three have never made an appearance in the show and they probably never will but that's what fanfiction is for. As for possible romance... Honestly, I'm not sure I could write it well but I started posting here because I wanted to get better at writing, so I'll tell you what: If I find myself enjoying the interactions between two characters and I believe a relationship could realistically work out then I will write it. It won't ever take center stage but it will happen.