Nigel stepped off the airship and took a look around at his new surroundings. He saw students dragging their luggage towards the school. He swallowed loudly and went to join them. Looking around he saw that people had already broken off into groups. Most of them looked like they had known each other for a long time. Nigel sighed. He had no chance of breaking into those groups. He prepared for another lonely experience.

He found a secluded area and settled down. He watched the people come and go. He saw two girls argue, which ended when they were engulfed in a fireball. He saw another student vomiting into a trash can. He saw all of the happy people going about their day without a care in the world. He felt a pang of envy. He had been trying for years but still couldn't be like them.

"Of course you can't. why did you ever think otherwise?"

Nigel sighed. "What do you want?" he asked his companion.

"Well I saw you sitting by yourself like a loser so I figured why not twist the knife a little. You can go as far away as you want, you'll always be the same. And if you ever forget who you are, I'll be there to remind you."

"Great. Might as well kill myself now."

"Hey, that's the first good idea you've had in years."

With that, the voice went silent. Nigel was puzzled by her words. That was the nicest she's been in years. Was she changing, or was he?

"I guess you're not used to so many people either," a different voice said.

Nigel turned and saw that someone had taken a seat next to him. It was a boy… maybe. It was hard to tell. They had long dark green hair. Something about their eyes worried him. They were flat and dull, like a doll's. Their face bore a friendly smile, but something about them made Nigel nervous.

"Yeah. Never been good at dealing with people," Nigel responded.

The person laughed. "Me neither. But you have to learn eventually. That's why I came here." They extended a hand. "My name is Lucia."

Nigel took their hand. It was far softer than he was expecting. For a moment he wondered if this person was in the wrong place. "Nigel. I guess we're friends now."

Lucia laughed with a strange sounding voice. "Your hands are like stone."

Nigel blushed slightly. "Thanks. I've been training for a long time. Um, your hands are really soft."

"Thank you. I take good care of them." Lucia looked into Nigel's eyes. Nigel felt a chill. Lucia's gaze was like being stared down by a snake.

Lucia got up and went to leave."I just realized that I have someone else I need to talk to. I'll be seeing you."

Nigel waved them goodbye. He hoped he'd meet them again. It'd be nice to have at least one friend while at Beacon. Although if he could choose he'd pick someone that didn't weird him out so much.

His scroll started buzzing. He looked and saw that his mother was calling him.

"Hello?"

"Hi. Did you make it to the school okay?"

Nigel sighed. "Yes, mom. You don't need to worry."

"Well why wouldn't I worry? I heard about your little incident in the city," she chided.

"I told you it was just a big misunderstanding."

"You know if Ozpin didn't stick up for you you'd be in jail right now. You be sure to thank him when you see him, you hear?"

"I will."

The line went quiet for a bit.

"Are you okay, Nigel?" she asked, her voice filled with worry.

"I'm doing better, honest."

"If you need anything, or if you just want to talk, call me."

"I will. Bye, mom."

"Goodbye Nigel."

Nigel hung up and walked into the school. It was time to begin the first day of the rest of his life.

XxX

Giallo sat on a bench watching students go by. He didn't see anyone that looked like his type. He sighed. He'd rather fall into the arms of a mature woman, but all he saw were girls his own age. A group of students suddenly started running. He looked over and saw what they were running from.

He stifled a laugh when he saw that it was a student vomiting into a garbage can.

Poor guy. Must have motion sickness.

The student coughed and spat into the can. Wiping his mouth he grimaced and made his way toward the building. The other students kept a fair distance from him. Giallo noticed the boy's blond hair and blue eyes. Something about them looked familiar.

Is that..? No way.

Perhaps he was overthinking it. He went back to observing the other students.

"Scoping out the girls, huh? I can see it all over your face. You gotta learn to be subtle, my dude."

Giallo nearly jumped. He'd never let someone sneak up on him before.

The student put his hands up. "Don't worry, I won't bite. My name's Rock."

Giallo relaxed slightly. He studied Rock closely. His relaxed posture and friendly smile gave the impression that he was an approachable person. However that contrasted with his ratty clothing. He had a dingy hoodie and faded jeans stained with what looked like dried blood. The cleanest thing on him was the grey beanie on his head. Then there was his shoulder length black hair and blood red eyes. Giallo had seen one other person who looked like that, and they were anything but friendly.

"Giallo. Was I being that obvious?"

Rock nodded. "Yeah, you were. It was kind of creepy to be honest." He grinned. "So, what's your type?"

"I like older women with big tits," Giallo answered without a moment's hesitation.

Rock broke out laughing and clapped Giallo on the back.

"You and me are gonna be best friends."

There was a loud boom that made the ground shake. The two boys looked over and saw two girls covered in blackened soot coughing out smoke.

Giallo snorted. "Everyone's making friends today."

Rock looked at his scroll. "I think we should head inside. The headmaster's supposed to be giving a speech."

The two of them went inside the school and followed the other students into the amphitheater. There was a raised stage in the front of the room with students milling about in front of it. After a few minutes of waiting the headmaster came out.

The headmaster was a slim, white haired man wearing glasses. He had a wizened look to him, like he wanted everyone to know that he had all the answers. He walked up to the microphone and addressed the prospective students.

"I would like to thank you all for coming here today. You all have come here because you saw an opportunity to better yourselves. However, this is merely the first step. From this moment forward begins your ongoing and never ending education. It will not be easy, and I make no guarantees that all of you will survive the experience. Your success depends entirely on your will. Those who lack conviction are doomed to failure."

The headmaster walked away, leaving the audience in silence.

"Cheerful guy, isn't he?" Rock said.

Giallo thought about what the headmaster had said. Will was everything. It was the difference between life and death for many. No one could say that he was lacking in it.

"I don't know, I thought it was brilliant."

XxX

Nigel knocked on the door to the headmaster's office. The door opened and he saw an older woman wearing glasses on.

Nigel waved at the woman. "Hello Miss Goodwitch. Is Professor Ozpin here?"

Glynda smiled. "Hello, Nigel. Do you need to speak to the headmaster?"

The boy nodded. Glynda motioned for him to come inside. Ozpin was sitting behind his desk sipping from a mug. Nigel stood in front of it, not looking directly at Ozpin. Ozpin looked at the boy with a smile.

"Greetings. Are you doing well?"

"No," Nigel answered bluntly. "You helped me out of a jam, and I just wanted to say thank you."

"It was nothing. In the future, you would do well to be mindful of where you use your semblance."

"I understand, sir."

"As long as you understand." He set down his mug and put his hands together. His face hardened into a more serious expression.

"In all seriousness, how are you doing, Nigel?"

"Better now," he replied.

"Do you still hear her voice?"

Nigel nodded. "Every day."

Ozpin sighed. "I see. I hope that we can find a solution during your time here."

Nigel scratched at the back of his neck. "It's not so bad now. Usually she just tells me to kill myself. It was way worse back then. Well, I guess you wouldn't know how bad it was at first. I mean it was awful. There were some days where she would just go on and on all day and night. I couldn't even sleep. And then sometimes she'd just pop up while I was talking to someone and then I'd have to talk to two people at once. But it's not that bad now."

Glynda grabbed Nigel's hand. He had scratched so hard he started bleeding. Glynda examined him with a frown.

"We get it."

Nigel yanked his hand free. "Sorry. I still have trouble with the whole rambling thing."

Ozpin sighed. "If you need anything, or if you just need to talk, my door is always open."

"Thank you, sir." Nigel turned and left the office.

Ozpin sighed and put his hands in his hair. "That is a troubled child."

"Do you still believe what happened is your fault?" Glynda asked.

"I put my trust in the wrong man, and that boy suffered because of it."

Glynda sighed. "You are far too harsh on yourself. No one could have predicted what that man was truly like. We all knew him for years. He fooled all of us."

"None of that changes anything. What happened is what happened. Still, if he is able to find a modicum of peace here, then perhaps one good thing could come of all of this."

XxX

The next morning was the day of the initiation. The students would be tested for whether or not they would be accepted as students.

Giallo walked into the locker room and grabbed his weapons out of his locker. He wrapped bandages around his hands and wrists, and then fitted his weapons. They were a pair of gloves made of hardened leather and studded with steel rivets.

Members of his religion were forbidden from using weapons, so they were forced to forge their bodies into weapons. Other members objected to Giallo's cestus, but he managed to convince them that it was more of an article of clothing than a weapon. In any case it didn't matter, he'd be stronger if he fought with his bare hands.

He felt a hand on his back.

"You excited?" Rock asked him.

"Yeah. Hope I get some good teammates."

Rock looked around at the students in the locker room. "All I want is a cute girl on my team. Last thing I want is to be on a team with all dudes."

"See anyone you like?"

Rock nodded. "That one." He pointed at a tall girl with a red ponytail. She was certainly pretty, her friendly smile and gold spear complimented her beauty.

"I think she's a bit out of your league."

"Hey, you never know."

Rock looked over and saw someone laying down on a bench near a row of lockers. He walked up to them and saw that they were snoring. He gently tapped them to wake them up.

The boy on the bench began to stir. "What do you want?"

"Were you sleeping in here?" Rock asked.

The boy yawned and stretched out. "Yeah."

"Why?"

"It's quiet in here," he said as he looked around. "At least it was. Is it time for the test already?"

He got up and walked out to join the other students.

"That kid has a couple screws loose," Giallo said.

He and Rock followed the trail of students towards the testing grounds. After a bit of walking they found themselves on the edge of a cliff overlooking a vast forest. One of the instructors guided them onto a series of grey platforms. Once all the students arrived, Ozpin detailed the rules of the test.

"Good morning to you all. We will now begin your initiation. The test is simple: you will be sent into the forest below to retrieve a Relic from a temple. The first person you make eye contact with will be your partner during your time at Beacon. Are there any questions?"

Giallo raised his hand. "How long do we have?"

Ozpin looked at his watch. "Let's say you have until sundown, about eight hours from now"

Another student raised their hand. "What happens if our partner dies?"

"Then you will simply find another one. Be warned however, failure to acquire a partner will result in you failing the test. If there are no more questions, we will begin."

Giallo raised an eyebrow. He opened his mouth to say something when the platform sprung up and flung him and all of the other students into the air. The wind whipped at his face and filled his ears. he looked around and saw other students falling. Some looked like they had a plan to land safely, while others flailed helplessly in the air. Giallo tucked his legs to his chest and summoned his aura. He closed his eyes and waited to hit the ground. His body crashed through a tree and skidded along the ground. He rose to his feet and shook bits of wood out of his hair. He looked around and didn't see anyone land near him.

He walked until he found a shady spot beneath an undamaged tree, laid down, and went to sleep.