Author's Notes:

-Hey guys, gals and everyone else reading this fanfic. Hope you're all doing well. We're almost a quarter of the way through the year. (Damn time flies...) Also, sorry for not getting this chapter out sooner. The chapter was... challenging to write.

(Damn, why are origin stories often hard to write?) (It also doesn't help that I had to change the chapter title at the last minute...)

Anyway, let's get the show going!

[Wind Path, Edith Memorial Hotel, 7:30pm]

Following dinner, Mata was shown sneaking around the White Fang base. Creeping along the middle of halls, he roamed around, hoping he wouldn't need complete stealth. His footsteps weren't clamorous but would still be noticed by those in his presence. He adjusted his mask, the given symbol of loyalty suddenly feeling heavy on his upper face.

Oh man… this is really dangerous. But I need more information. Mostly on why they haven't left yet. And where their aircraft is…

He went down yet another hallway. As his feet wandered through the halls on the old carpet, he wondered about where the airships could be.

This building is a hotel. So maybe the aircraft are on the rooftop? But if that's the case, then why is it that we've been instructed not to go to the 25th floor? The troops would have to pass through there to get to the bullheads…

The sheep horned faunus turned right, eventually seeing a stairway on the top. Taking the steps two at a time, he made his ascent.

After a minute or two of climbing the steps, he soon realized that there was no rooftop access from the stairway.

I have to enter the forbidden 25th floor? Oh…

He steadied his breath.

Here's hoping I'm not caught… or sentenced to death…

As Mata left the stairway, he cautiously went forward, looking both forward and glancing out through the large windows.

Oh man, this is really high up… A visible shutter emerged through him. I don't even want to think about it…

Right before the doors was a sign held up on a metal stand;

Library has been moved to the ground floor

New training area under construction

Do Not Enter

He took a nervous look around, breathing in as he creaked open the doors. He let the doors close behind him and took a look around.

All of the carpeting was gone, leaving bare white on the bottom of the floor. He also noticed the big lack of furniture, unfinished exposed electrical wiring hanging from the ceiling, and a crooked television screen, presumably meant to monitor warriors' aura levels.

Why is all of the carpet gone? And how is that TV not falling down? Come on Mata, focus!

He quickly exited the room and continued down the windowless hallway to another, yet smaller set of stairs. If this area is blocked off, it's likely the planes are on the roof…

The shy faunus found himself on the rooftop, but there was nothing there. No signs of damage, no signs of conflict. Nothing there but the open air. If Mata hadn't already known the truth about Sienna's death, he certainly would be suspicious.

But what-if scenarios were the last thing on his mind.

Dang it. There's nothing here. I need to look harder. He went back the way he came. As he dashed by the glass window panes, he found the elevator, catching his breath he stopped at it. He pressed the down arrow and the elevator, silently hoping no one was in there. Eventually, the elevator arrived, empty and awaiting him. He stepped inside, still heavily breathing, pressed a button and went to a random floor.

His thoughts accelerated as he went down.

Where could the aircraft be?!

[9:50pm]

Later that evening, the White Fang leaders were shown in a meeting. Wungeng, as usual, was shown eating snacks. This time it was a big bowl of queso and chips, all nestled on top of a wooden tray.

"Do you think that Haven Academy will truly be that easy to invade?" Wungeng dipped two chips into the bowl, letting the cheese drip a bit. "The lack of students seems like a facade, a mirage."

He chomped on his chips as Adam answered, "Maybe it's not completely deserted." Wungeng hummed in confusion. "I've heard from Mr. Rainart that a small group has taken up residence in Haven Academy. The members of team JNPR, among a few others."

Ares blinked. "JNPR… as in, the Beacon team that has Pyrrha Nikos?"

"You seem surprised." Athena noticed.

"I remember seeing her. In some ways I was envious of her. One of the best fighters of her generation. A few years younger than me, yet a beloved heroine and icon. And I was always in the shadows as an underdog…"

"Wait, you knew Pyrrha? The actual legend? The Champion of Mistral? I thought that was just a huge whopper." Wungeng admitted.

"Oh she's real, and I've met her." Ares confirmed. "I knew her once. We were never really close, but she was at least kind to me. We were both students at Sanctum Academy, only I was a few years ahead of her. I didn't have any friends at the time, so I was surprised that she would even want to interact with me. She was even kind enough to help me with my combat skills, even though I never beat her. Sometimes I ponder where I would be if I kept contact with her. But that arguably matters little."

"So why are you lashing out at humanity?" Wungeng asked, his mouth partially full from a chip and cheese.

"Everyone has a reason for turning to the dark side." Ares began. "Perhaps it's time you hear mine. It began a few years back, in the year of 77 AGW. Pyrrha was still at Sanctum Academy, and I was just starting at Haven Academy."

A flashback began, showing a slightly younger Ares in the Grand Hall, along with Cola, Gilford and many other students, many wearing casual clothes, nicer attire and a smaller few prepared with armor.

The entrance exam was fairly easy, and initiation wasn't that bad either. Our initiation was fairly straightforward on paper; we start from the Grand Hall and do a scavenger hunt for relics based on random clues given to us by a 'Cluemaster'.

The Cluemaster was shown to be Phoenix Nikos, who, alongside some assistants (which were probably other teachers or teacher assistants), passed out pieces of paper to all the students and a few moments later, students scattered throughout the campus in search of something.

In this case, we searched for locks and keys. While searching for either a lock or key, we'd find a partner to pair up with. I found Gilford Carran, who would eventually become one of my closest friends. The two of us found a key, and made our way back to the Grand Hall.

The pair were shown in the Grand Hall, trying to unlock a chain with a lock around a female student's neck, but to no avail as the key wouldn't go in. They tried a few more times with other students, but without luck.

Once we found a key, we had to find the lock it matched with, which was about as tricky as you can imagine.

Jamal appeared to be a dark-skinned dog tailed faunus with a bushy, black tail and black hair in miniature braids. His eyebrows were in the slow process of merging together. He was shown wearing black casual clothes. Alongside him was Cola, holding a lock around his neck, looking impatient.

To this end, we found Cola Arvin and Jamal Adham. With this, I had met all my teammates, most of whom would later join me in the White Fang and in the Revolutionist army. But I am getting ahead of myself.

The scene turned back to the present. "And so team ACCA (Acacia) was born." Wungeng snickered, holding onto a large chip coated in cheese. "Laugh all you want. Despite our team being named after a flower and flowering plant, we were all ambitious, righteous men wanting to become heroes."

Ares pulled out a folded picture of his team, all in their Haven Academy uniforms. The team consisted of Ares Adamos himself, along with Cola, Gilford, and Jamal.

In the photo, Ares was shown smirking, ready to take on the world. Cola, with his lizard tail, seemed a bit dismayed as he posed for the photo. Gilford, his fangs bared, also smirked, ready for the year to begin. Jamal was smiling nervously, possibly anxious for the events to come.

The scene turned to show the four of them taking notes in classes, practicing against each other and other students in sanctioned combat training, and spending time at a pizzeria, clinking glasses of soda against each other in a toast.

Everything seemed to be going perfectly for us. We all had decent grades in our classes, we got stronger, smarter and better, and every now and then, I got to enjoy what Mistral had to offer us.

And then, everything went wrong.

In a silent montage, police officers came barging in, searching and tearing up the dorm room until they found several packages of pills and dust. Team ACCA was extremely confused, and were soon handcuffed and led out of their dorm.

One night, the Mistralian police force barged in. They found Black Spice and other outlawed drugs in hidden places we didn't even know existed. Somehow, we were framed for robbery and possession of illegal drugs. We were all arrested and thrown in prison, without much of a chance to defend ourselves. As I sat behind bars, I tried to figure out what could have happened. My best theory was that somebody teleported themselves in (as getting into another team or student's dorm would be next to impossible otherwise) and/or teleported objects into those nooks and crannies.

But who could possess such powers? And why would they need to keep them secret? In the end, we were able to prove our innocence with our testimonials and a few other people to vouch for us, but the damage was done.

At the same time of our arrest, there was a conspiracy to get Lionheart off the council. As a result, Lionheart was preoccupied, and one of the teachers went behind Lionheart's back and expelled us from the school, even before the trial began. They said it looked bad for the academy and that they "didn't want to be associated with us or involved".

The scene turned to the present. "Brianna Braith tried to cover her tracks for her role in coveting Lionheart's position of Headmaster, but an anonymous whistle-blower wouldn't let her. They confirmed that she wanted Lionheart off the council, out of Haven, and that she bribed a teacher as well as a student into aiding her. The teacher, Slate de Sena, was immediately barred from teaching at the academy, despite being a five year Haven alumni and having other previous accomplishments. Truthfully, they should have taken away her license immediately, but I heard rumors she got eaten by Grimm, so that's a plus. Alas, the identity of the student responsible for framing us was never discovered and it is believed that they may have transferred to another academy to cover their footsteps."

The scene turned back to team ACCA in the past, now wearing their casual clothes but looking dismayed.

We were just the unfortunate victims caught in a scheme we didn't understand. After the fallout, we pondered our options for moving forward in life and where to go. But not all of us were in agreement…

Team ACCA was shown outside the city of Mistral, carrying a few bags on their backs.

"Crap. This is bad! No one wants anything to do with us." Cola told his teammates.

"Now what?!" Gilford raged.

"Well, I've heard the White Fang is looking for new recruits. Perhaps we could join them." Ares suggested. "We'll raise Hell with them by our side..."

Cola and Gilford smirked at the idea, believing it would be a new and better opportunity for them.

"No…" Jamal objected. "This is a bad idea. If we join the White Fang, we'll just be proving them right."

"Society's never going to accept us as heroes." Cola reasoned. "Even if we're out of prison, some people will always call us criminals."

Jamal seemed to shrink as Ares scolded him. "We're a team, we're supposed to be together until the end!"

"You traitor!" Cola told him.

Jamal clenched his fists. "I'm not going to be a part of this! Even without the academy, I can still be a hero! I'll do it all on my own!"

The dog faunus turned away, leaving the soon-to-be terrorists all by themselves.

"Fine! But don't come crying to us when you fail the licensing exam!"

But he didn't look back.

Jamal didn't want to join us, and vowed to become a huntsman on his own terms. We haven't seen him since.

The scene turned back to the present. The pig-tailed faunus blinked. "Ouch. That's rough buddy."

Wungeng chomped on another cheese-coated chip as Ares sulked.

"It is rough. But, as you can see, things would eventually turn back in our favor. There's a reason we sent Gilford after Brianna Braith to kill her. She was a terrible person who deserved her fate. And if we ever find the student that aided her and caused team ACCA's downfall and dissolution, there'll be Hell to pay. After joining the White Fang, I was put on missions immediately, working with Blake, Ilia, and many others, eventually including Athena. I will admit, I was the first to fall for her, but she was a bit less vocal about her feelings up until the fall from G.I's cliffside.

"With her by my side, and with the army we've amassed, we'll return to burn Haven and Mistral to the ground. Once I return when they least expect it, Hell will be coming with me." He cleared his throat. "Now, I fear I've distracted us for too long; back to business."

Meanwhile, over in Argus, a dark-skinned man sat in a chair in a waiting room. His foot tapped the ground in anxious impatience. His black boots were tightly laced, the right foot tapping a steady 1-2 beat. The camera panned upward, showing him wearing black dress pants along with a dark gray long coat, opened to reveal a plain white T-shirt. Resting at the base of his forehead was a bushy unibrow, tensed in apprehension. His black hair was now tied into tiny braids and those braids were molded into the shape of a ponytail. He bit his tongue, not wanting to say anything until he was being addressed.

"Mr. Adham?" a voice called out.

The faunus warrior looked up in anxious curiosity, tilting his head up to face the judge. "Yes?"

She smiled and gave him a clipboard with some papers attached to it. "Congratulations. You have passed the test and proven yourself worthy of being a huntsman. Your license will have no restrictions and you are free to take missions as soon as you're done here." Jamal's eyes widened as he took in the news of his success. "The judges had to debate for a while on whether or not you passed the combat trial for fighting without aura, but you did it."

Jamal breathed a huge sigh of relief, giving a nervous smile. "Thank you." He scratched the back of his head. "Now, um, remind me, how long does it take for the physical version of my huntsman license to arrive?"

"The digital license will be ready in a few short moments. The physical version should be shipped to your address in one to two weeks. If it doesn't arrive or if a problem arises, let us know."

Jamal smiled and nodded. "I certainly will."

At that moment, a ding was heard on his Scroll.

He overlooked his license;

Name; Jamal Adham

License Number; 10409-55155-11236

Place of Issue; New Hope Huntsman and Medical Center (Argus, Mistral)

Authority; Mistralian Government

Restrictions; None

Jamal smiled as he put away his Scroll. He handed the clipboard back to the judge, as he knew the results would be mailed to him later alongside his physical license.

A few moments later, he was shown leaving the building.

"Thanks for everything. Have a good night!"

"You're welcome." the receptionist stated. "Best of luck out there!"

Checking his inventory to ensure he had everything, he exited the building and went into the lamplit night.

He soon realized he dropped something from his left pocket. "Oh."

Bending down to retrieve it, he looked at what he dropped; it was a picture of himself and his former teammates. They all looked so happy; a photograph of a memory taken before everything went horribly wrong.

To think… all of my old friends became criminals. Will I have to face them as a huntsman? What will happen if I do? He put the photo away, folding it before shoving it back into his pocket. Hopefully I don't have to…

With this, he tried to dismiss thoughts of the past and future, and focus on the present.