"It was the fifth day since the end of times..." Egrer broadcasted forlornly, tracing uneven letters on the floor with a piece of charcoal.
"The fifth minute," Ren corrected, sitting nearby. Somewhere beyond their cover came a crash and someone's battle cries.
"...Humanity has fallen..."
"It's just the cafeteria." A body dropped nearby, but it briskly got back up and returned to the fight, grabbing a string of sausages as a weapon.
"...Crazed humans are destroying what little remains of the beauty of the old world." Ren didn't correct him; that part was entirely accurate. "The remnants of civilization have taken refuge behind the Great Veil..."
"Tablecloth." He pointed at the actual tablecloth stretched over a couple of stacked tables. Thanks to it alone, they were still relatively clean despite the food war raging outside.
A melon flew into the window at breakneck speed, exploding into hundreds of tiny pieces and splattering everything around with yellow mush. The window itself didn't even suffer a scratch, as a steel grate sat between two layers of bulletproof glass. For the first time in his life, Egrer thought that the Headmaster was completely justified in worrying about the cafeteria's structural integrity. It just needed turrets and an electrified fence, and it'd be a genuine Atlas black site.
"So, where was I?" Egrer asked himself, rereading the text. "End of times, fall of humanity, the Great Veil... Ah, right! The remnants of civilization have taken refuge behind the Great Veil, awaiting the return of the Chosen Ones..."
"Illmond and Weiss."
"...Who will show us the true path to salvation..."
"It's just recon."
"Look, knock it off, will ya," Egrer demanded, shooting him an annoyed glare.
"Sorry. Nora has a habit of hyperbolizing everything, and so to keep from misleading people, I always correct her. Reflex."
"Are you saying I sound like Nora right now?"
"I'm saying we've all gone a little crazy right now." You couldn't argue with that fact. Epidemics of mental illness flared up during hard times like never before.
It was those idiots outside who were having fun, acting rowdy, breaking furniture and dishes, throwing food, yelling, fighting, and doing everything you're not supposed to do in polite society. Even quiet folks like Jaune, Ruby, and Blake couldn't resist the temptation to stage an apocalypse here.
But Egrer and the other reasonable individuals were in no mood for fun. None of them wanted to get hit by a flying pie, none of them wanted to get caught committing such a terrible rule violation, and none of them, ultimately, wanted to act so childish. They were almost adults; they had to act accordingly. Except there were very few adults here: only Ren, Egrer, Weiss, and Illmond.
Actually, no—almost everyone who was in the cafeteria at the start of the food fight had the good sense to run away, but these four specifically hadn't made it out in time and were now forced to hide. And the rest split into factions and started not just a food fight, but a real war. Involuntarily, even they, the epitome of calm and reason, were forced to join this brawl. After all, it's pretty hard to maintain neutrality when someone is trying to pour mayonnaise down your collar.
"I'm back." A food-smeared Illmond lifted the tablecloth and crawled under the tables into the "Sanctuary of Sanity," as Egrer had dubbed their cover in his manual. Reaching the island of safety amidst the chaos raging outside, he immediately collapsed on the floor. Something red dripped from him, tasting like watermelon juice.
"Where's Weiss?" Egrer asked, licking his finger.
"She..." a part of the sentence drowned in an incoherent mumble, "...has fallen."
"Like a hero?"
"Fell into a frenzy," Illmond clarified, rolling onto his side. Egrer thoughtfully handed him a can of soda, and he hurried to wet his whistle. "Yang threw a pie in her face, and Weiss ran off to get revenge, pulling a swordfish from somewhere."
"So she joined the Sovereign Kingdom of Nora?" Egrer asked, getting ready to write.
"Right now their HQ is deciding what to do with their new ally," Illmond nodded.
"And the Chosen One fell to the earth, and Wrath triumphed over Reason. Betraying her friends, betraying the very light of Reason, she turned away from Good and embraced the Darkness..."
"Making for a pretty good fantasy story," Ren noted.
"Really? Maybe I'm not just a badass musician, but a writer too?"
"So while I was out there risking my health, you guys were writing books in here?!" Illmond fumed.
"Easy now, Ren and I couldn't build plans based on nothing. It was your shoulders that bore the main task—reconnaissance and finding escape routes from this hell."
"We need to hurry before the teachers get here," Ren nodded. "I doubt they'll care who started it; everyone will get detention. What's the situation outside?"
"Due to heavy losses, there's a brief lull right now. Yort was taken out of the fight and hung from the chandelier," Illmond pointed upward, and indeed, their giant was hanging upside down up there, "now the Rebels only have Yang, Ruby, and Blake left. I doubt they'll hold out long against the Kingdom. Nora is stalling for only one reason—she wants to find Ren to, quote: have a pretend wedding and on that happy note drown the opposition in blood."
What if we offer Ren to her as tribute, will she let us pass to the exit? Egrer seriously pondered. Perhaps something of the sort flashed in his evaluating gaze, because the usually calm Ren suddenly got antsy.
"So, it's time to act," he said, hurrying toward the exit.
"Ill, get up." Carefully, so as not to get dirty, Egrer tugged his friend by the edge of his clothes. "I-i-ill!"
"I'm tired, leave me alone."
"We need a guide, let's go. Ren, wait! Nobody is going to hand you over to Nora, I promise!"
"Liar." Illmond smirked, noticing his wide smile. Fortunately, Ren himself couldn't see anything and actually came back. But just in case, Egrer didn't turn to face him.
Together, they finally roused Illmond, and he reluctantly led them along secret paths by the cafeteria wall. The center was empty; there were no tables or benches left, just a colorful, thick substance made of all kinds of food. That was exactly where the battles between the Sovereign Kingdom of Nora and the Rebels were taking place. All the furniture had been pushed closer to the corners, and in the heat of battle, a couple of stone pillars had even been destroyed, causing part of the ceiling to collapse. The sight was truly apocalyptic, and amidst this ruin towered Nora's castle, situated right next to the exit. The only obstacle on the path to liberation.
This majestic structure reached almost to the ceiling, built from tables and tablecloths, held together by a prayer and a couple of rolls of blue duct tape. It didn't inspire a sense of reliability at all, but nevertheless, this hellish fortress had withstood all the Rebel assaults, even when Yort was swinging cutting boards and sending shockwaves of air at it.
From his spot, Egrer could safely observe the queen pacing back and forth on the watchtower, from which fluttered a tablecloth featuring a ridiculous drawing of a hammerhead shark surrounded by lightning bolts. Magenta stood next to her, talking incessantly and gesturing actively, pointing either at the Rebel headquarters tucked away at the other end of the hall, or at the abandoned Sanctuary of Sanity.
"Good thing we left when we did," Egrer whispered, pointing backward. Long crimson hair flashed in their former hideout. "Pyrrha is on the hunt."
Ren paled. Apparently, Nora had taken her search for him seriously if she sent out the Kingdom's main combat unit. Better hurry.
"Here," Illmond said quietly, struggling to push aside a piece of the roof. Behind it lay the entrance to a tunnel made of tables, benches, broken dishes, and other casualties of war. "Move quietly and try not to bump the legs, or everything will collapse."
Egrer had to overcome all his squeamishness and crawl after him, literally feeling his soul tear to pieces at the sensation of food on his clothes. Chocolate pudding dripped from above, apple juice flowed from below, and breadcrumbs evenly coated this secret passageway. A cacophony of smells hung wild in the air, combining the uncombinable and inducing gag reflexes.
When light appeared at the end of the tunnel, the cafeteria building suddenly shuddered.
"We won't take this anymore!" Ruby's voice echoed, signaling a new assault. "We will not be slaves! Down with the queen, down with tyranny!"
Moving the tablecloth slightly, Egrer peeked through the slit to see Yang put a pair of turkeys on her hands, Ruby grab a baguette, and Blake jump onto the chandelier with Yort and start swinging. As the Rebels charged the castle, they were showered by artillery in the form of Nora and Magenta. The queen threw cans of soda that exploded upon impact in colorful little clouds, while her best friend squeezed out ketchup packets one by one, sending thick streams of red goo flying across half the hall.
"This is our chance," Egrer whispered to the others. "While they're busy, we can slip out unnoticed!"
The others immediately perked up, and even the defeated Illmond managed to find the strength to smile. But the happiness was short-lived.
"Found you!" Pyrrha shouted from behind.
Egrer's reflexes wailed and sounded the alarm; a siren blared in his head. In a second, he crawled over Ren and Illmond, kicking and flailing just to reach the end of the tunnel as quickly as possible. However, the two of them also suddenly accelerated, and as a result, everyone got stuck at the exit.
"Take Ren, but don't touch me!" Egrer yelled in a panic, thrashing this way and that. He accidentally elbowed Illmond, who retaliated by sliding the back of his head across Egrer's face. "Sorry, Ren, but I planned to abandon you from the very start. I'm a terrible friend!"
"I forgive you," he suddenly replied, ceasing all resistance.
"What? For real?"
"Yes. I understand what's driving you. That fear... it's familiar to me."
Egrer sniffled, but didn't cry. He had never met such understanding from anyone, and had assumed that after this betrayal, their friendship would be over. That there would be no more heart-to-hearts where they shared crazy stories about their two crazy girls, no more moments of profound solidarity; even looking him in the eye would have been unbearable.
Therefore, Egrer drastically changed his mind. Whatever happens, Ren must not fall into Nora's hands. Even if he had to challenge Pyrrha Nikos herself, damn it all!
"Come on then, try and take him!" he yelled, banging on the wall of the tunnel. "We don't abandon our own!"
Illmond looked at him in bewilderment, as if they were meeting for the first time. It made sense, as this was the first time in his memory that Egrer was ready to stand his ground against an overwhelmingly superior opponent rather than run away. Pointlessly and heroically, fearlessly and with the realization of inevitable defeat.
And defeat was definitely inevitable, since the three of them were still only sticking halfway out of the tunnel and could only helplessly twitch. But suddenly, Yang came to their rescue. Or rather, she flew to their rescue, sent flying by a mighty blow from Nora. She landed right on the spot where Pyrrha had been making her way, smashing almost the entire tunnel to smithereens.
"Let's book it!" Egrer ordered, pulling Illmond out of the rubble and setting him on his feet. "We won't get this lucky again!"
All three immediately dashed for the exit, where Sun and some blue-haired dandy were standing. Both were staring wide-eyed at the food fight, not daring to take a single step into this breeding ground of terror.
"Get the fuck out of here, if you~" Egrer shouted at them, but was cut off by a thick stream of ketchup hitting him right in the ear. He collapsed to the floor, dragging the others down with him.
"Sorry, guys!" Magenta yelled with an innocent smile. She was standing on the castle's high tower, laying down fire from a safe distance. "I'm just following orders. Go!"
At the signal, a knight clad in tin plates ran out of the castle. A pot with a couple of eye holes served as his helmet, and instead of weapons, he wielded a tray-shield and a ladle-sword. Only the blue eyes gave him away as the very same Jaune who was afraid of resorting to violence. The same softie who was now running at them with only one goal—to roll them in food and laugh.
Egrer picked up the first thing that came to hand—a jar of toothpicks. He threw them one after another, but couldn't pierce the armor or hit any unprotected spots. With a warlike cry, the enemy of all things Rational drew closer.
Then Illmond entered the fray. Between his hands was stretched a piece of dental floss, surrounding his fingers in a tangled pattern. He crouched down, and when Jaune swung his ladle, Illmond performed a slick sweep kick. The knight flipped upside down, kicking his legs high into the air, which were wrapped up by the tangled ball of dental floss in just a second.
Ren snatched the shield from the indignant Jaune and covered Egrer from another stream of ketchup.
"Look out!" Blake's voice came from above.
They looked up and froze—a swinging chandelier was falling straight from the ceiling with a screaming Yort underneath it. The body of the Vacuan giant crashed into Nora's castle like a bubble bath, meeting absolutely no resistance, and blew right through it with a crack. Even the stone floor proved insufficiently hard to stop his fall. The earthquake caused by this impact brought almost everyone in the cafeteria to their knees, and terrible cracks spread through the building. The walls trembled, and a few more stones fell from the ceiling, completely destroying the castle. Magenta ended up buried under boards, rocks, and other junk.
"NOOOO!!!" Nora shrieked, watching her kingdom crumble. "You'll pay for this!"
"Let's bail." Egrer scrambled to his feet. "Bail, bail, bail!"
And then Pyrrha Nikos herself stood in their way. Ren instantly paled a couple of shades and tried to settle things peacefully.
"The kingdom is no more, so you have no need to follow the orders of a fictitious queen."
"I know," the champion agreed, smiling peaceably. "I'm doing this just for fun."
Everyone immediately scattered in different directions, sensing the very real threat in her words. Egrer rolled to the side, smearing his back in some concoction of meat sauce and finely chopped apples, but Pyrrha was only after Ren. She paid no attention to the others unless they stood in her way.
His gaze naturally drifted toward the exit of this hell, which was within arm's reach. He wanted to escape, but to leave a friend to the mercy of fate like this? Never!
With a battle cry that, thanks to his Faunus heritage, came out particularly impressive, Egrer charged into battle. Against the one and only Pyrrha Nikos, four-time winner of the Mistral regional tournament, holder of the "Skullcrusher" cup, and simply the strongest student of the first year. If someone had told him half a year ago that he'd ever dare to do such a thing, he would have laughed.
Without even looking, Pyrrha threw a sausage at Egrer, knocking him off his feet. He didn't even have time to dodge, everything happened so fast.
Going into a reckless frontal assault suddenly seemed much less appealing. Only Illmond with his combat experience could help here.
Wait, where is Ill? Only now did he notice that their woe-artist was hiding under a table, hugging his knees.
"Ill, you're our only hope!" Egrer rolled over to his hiding spot, dodging a stray watermelon shot. "Get up, let's go save Ren!"
"What's the point of fighting? Pyrrha will win anyway and roll us in food, no matter how much we resist."
"Drop the defeatist attitude! The honor and freedom of our comrade are at stake, which means we have to help him. Even if it results in defeat for all of us."
"Since when did you get so brave?" Illmond grumbled, crawling out from under the table. "Fine, I'll take a beating alongside you, happy? Just leave me alone."
A truly momentous day, since even in Goodwitch's classes, Illmond refused to go up against Pyrrha. He always cited the futility of any confrontation with the famous champion, but in reality, he simply didn't want to lose to her again. What changed now?
The two of them lunged at Pyrrha from behind, just as she was tying Ren's hands with a string of sausages. There was no element of surprise, and she easily countered their attack, but the main thing was that her victim managed to slip away.
Jumping aside from a leek strike, Egrer stepped with all his might on a packet of mayonnaise. A white stream flew toward Pyrrha, but she dodged it with ease while simultaneously parrying Illmond's attacks. The latter wasn't particularly enthusiastic, but honestly tried to catch any available limb of Pyrrha's in the tangled pattern of dental floss between his palms.
"Just like the good old days, huh?" she smirked. Illmond smiled, but didn't reply.
Pyrrha had completely forgotten about Ren, who was retreating toward the exit in the meantime. As always, he was very inconspicuous, and if you didn't know where to look, he was practically invisible.
An omelet suddenly flew right into Egrer's face from the other side of the hall. And a moment later, he flew backward from a heavy blow to the chest. The plate stuck fast to his face and wouldn't come off despite all his efforts, and the food that made it into his mouth began to be swallowed automatically.
Food! his instincts screamed. Grub!
Ew! his rational mind screamed back. Who knows where this omelet has already been! This is unhygienic!
Assessing the situation, Egrer crawled blindly for the exit. Never in his life had he run on all fours so fast. There was no need to worry about Illmond; as soon as Ren escaped the cafeteria, he would do exactly the same.
The omelet blocked his vision, but Egrer roughly remembered which way to go. A table suddenly stood in his way, but squeezing between its legs, he finally bumped his head against the doors and quickly found the handle.
Except he suddenly lost any ability to move. Something squeezed him from all sides, and he recognized this terrifying feeling—he had been caught in Miss Goodwitch's Semblance. Egrer would have started begging for mercy, had his jaws not frozen just like the rest of his body.
"Mr. Peleni," the Iron Lady's voice rang out. With the power of her Semblance, she turned the poor guy around and ripped the plate off his face. Chocolate pudding, juice, and ketchup were dripping down her legs, and her gaze promised nothing but a painful and very long death.
"Sowwy!" he mumbled an apology. Who knew he had squeezed not under a table, but between her legs!
Egrer shifted his gaze to Ozpin, praying to all the Gods that he would figure out the situation and execute only the instigators of this fight. The Headmaster took a sip from his mug and surveyed the destruction.
The students were frozen in stupid poses even without Miss Goodwitch's Semblance. Nora stood back to back with Magenta, surrounded by Blake, Yort, and Yang. Each of them looked at each other with expressions that said they had never met before, and that this was all just a big misunderstanding. Illmond froze, sitting on Pyrrha's back. Judging by all appearances, when the teachers arrived, he had pounced on her from behind and prepared for a chokehold, and the champion herself had grabbed him by the hair.
"Glynda," Ozpin finally broke the silence, "could you please..."
Miss Goodwitch nervously flicked her riding crop, and the building trembled. All the focus of her Semblance was concentrated on the cafeteria, so Egrer was free once more. He quietly crawled toward the exit, but the Headmaster blocked his path with his cane and shook his head.
The cracks in the walls mended together, the stones that had fallen from the ceiling rolled across the floor, flew up, and returned to their places. The tables hopped back to where they stood, chased by the benches, while dirty tablecloths soared into the air and flew into a corner. Broken dishes unerringly found their pieces and fused together, and the food scattered hither and yon went into the trash, along with the exploded soda cans.
"And these are the future defenders of the world..." grumbled Glynda Goodwitch, cleaning her tights just as she had cleaned the entire cafeteria. But the stains on them remained anyway, which didn't improve her mood.
"Future." Ozpin emphasized the word. "Right now they are just children, let them have their fun."
"Fun? They destroyed the cafeteria."
"You fixed everything, didn't you? So I don't see any particular problem with it."
"Detention," Miss Goodwitch stated dryly. "Or find yourself another Combat instructor."
"Detention it is, then," the Headmaster immediately agreed.
"Please, no," Egrer pleaded, crawling on his knees to her feet. She recoiled and took a few steps back. "Please please please! I only just finished my last punishment! It wasn't me, it was them, I swear on my mom!"
"Do not worry, Mr. Peleni, you won't be alone," Ozpin smiled.
"No... please..." Egrer's voice weakened until he lowered his head and collapsed on the floor.
"Why does everyone react to detention like this?" the Headmaster asked himself, poking the unconscious student with his cane. "Is it really so hard for them to clean up a little? Slackers."
***
Egrer woke up to a strange rustling sound. He tried to sit up, but his chest suddenly felt squeezed by something. He could only move his legs and arms, and even then they barely obeyed him.
Did I have a heart attack?
Barely peeling his eyes open, Egrer looked around. And the first thing he realized: his chest didn't hurt from a heart attack, but because some guy was lying on top of him. The stranger was kicking his legs and watching his awakening with eyes wide open with curiosity. The gray head of the doctor—and judging by the lab coat, it was indeed a doctor—rested casually on his arms, and his arms on the patient's chest.
"You haff avoken, Mr. Peleni." He was too close, and his breath hit Egrer in the face.
"Um, good morning."
"Day," the doctor corrected, staring unblinkingly into Egrer's eyes. He adjusted his bicycle-style glasses, peering closely at every action of the facial muscles on the patient's face. "Unfortunaytely, you shpent only zhree hours in a fainted shtate."
"Unfortunately?"
"I only prepared ze inshtruments." He didn't explain anything further. They lay like that for another minute, until Egrer mustered the courage for one question:
"Are you going to get off me?"
"No," the doctor answered uncompromisingly. "I vish to vait until you fall aschleep again."
"I doubt anyone could fall asleep while being stared at like that."
"Perhaps you are right, Mr. Peleni. Oh, vhere are my manners?" he suddenly recollected himself. "Ioseph Mungelier, Beacon physhician, honored holder of a doctorate in medishine, reshearcher und schientist. I can be trushted. Vould you care to participate in an ekshperiment?"
He stood up and briskly walked over to his desk. Egrer didn't even have time to sit up before someone was lying on top of him again. A pen was placed in his hands, and right in front of his nose was an almost blank sheet of paper, which contained only one short sentence and a place for a signature.
«I forever surrender my body, soul, and mind into the possession of Joseph Mungelier»
"Looks like a marriage contract," Egrer mumbled.
"If ze phrasings bozer you, ve could vish to change zhem. Zat is no problem, Mr. Peleni."
"I'm not signing this either way," he answered categorically.
"A pity, I vas hoping for your ashishtance. After all, I already prepared everyzhing neceshsary."
"A pity indeed."
"Your sharcasm is inappropriate here, young man," the doctor adjusted his bicycle glasses. "Or, more accurately, young Faunus, if it is inshulting for you to be called a human."
"Nah, call me what you usually do. How do you even know? Did you stick something down my throat?" It took Egrer a second to realize that Mungelier was a doctor and must have a medical file on every student. "Forge~"
"Yes, zhat included." He admitted unexpectedly. Egrer suddenly felt terrified wondering where else the doctor had managed to visit during those three hours. "I had to conduct a full diagnhoshis of your body. Shpeaking of vhich—I need your shtool."
"What?"
"Shtool. Feces. I conshidered it unneceshsary to cut open your inteshtines for zhis purpose." Well, thanks for holding back! Egrer screamed in his thoughts. "Here, take zhis jar, ze faschter you bring it, ze shooner I vill preschribe your treatment."
"I'm perfectly healthy, I was just stressed out!" He tried to throw the doctor off of him, but Mungelier had an unlocked and developed Aura. Egrer's thrashing yielded no results.
"No, no." Mungelier wagged his finger, as if explaining to a child that sticking a fork into a socket was a bad idea. "I am a Doctor of Medical Schiences, I know better. You haff an advanced shtage of pancreatic cancher, you need urgent treatment. I shwear by my doctoral degree zhat I vill cure you."
"What cancer, I've had my Aura since I was ten!"
"Pancreatic," the doctor repeated, then his expression changed. "It sheems you haff a hearing impairment, vhich means you cannot be shaffed by traditional mezods anymore. But do not fear, I vill find a cure, jusht shign zhis contract. Togezher ve vill manage, I can be trushted."
"I refuse!" Joseph Mungelier turned gloomy.
"Ze lavs of modern ezhics, as vell as zhis backvard country, vish to severely limit my actions. Know zhat it vas your dishregard for your ovn healzh zhat killed you." Realizing there was nothing to be gained here, the vivisector finally got off Egrer. "You may go nov, haff a pleashent day. Und please, do not forget about ze shtool."
"Sure, sure," he mumbled, taking off his hospital gown and pulling on his clean school uniform. "Goodbye."
"Ah, yes!" the doctor exclaimed. "Miss Goodvitch aschked me to convey zhat your condition is not a reashon to schkip detention. Tomorrow after classhes, you musht report to ze library."
Egrer sighed heavily. The harsh daily grind had begun anew.
***
Meanwhile, in the Headmaster's office
***
"They thought I was joking, that I'd get scared, but no!" Fill Chuckler slammed his fist on the desk, causing the coffee mug to nearly fall to the floor. Ozpin quickly caught it and held it with both hands, pressing it to his chest. "I said more than once that I would unlock my Aura if this happened again. Headmaster! Do an old combat veteran the honor. I don't have the strength to tolerate this anymore! I'll show them how to respect their elders."
"Fill," Ozpin said placatingly, "you are no longer young; such a procedure could adversely affect your health."
"I fought back when Aura was unlocked only for the chosen! And I turned out fine, somehow survived the World War, both revolutions, the Siege of Stalgrad, the meatgrinder in Checha and Vientan, the Omandy landing, took fourteen bullets, suffered eight fractures and three concussions. They couldn't even execute me for war crimes—I was acquitted. And you think unlocking my Aura will be a death sentence for me?"
"It is illegal. You cannot unlock an Aura just like that; you need permission from the authorities or... from me..."
"Which is why I'm here." The Headmaster scratched his cheek, took a sip of coffee, and couldn't find anything else to counter with.
"Alright." They stood facing each other. Ozpin placed one hand over Chuckler's heart and the other on his forehead. "Close your eyes and focus on my voice."
The old man squeezed his eyes shut, and the wrinkles around them deepened. The Headmaster cleared his throat and began his speech in a soulful voice:
"By learning from our mistakes, we achieve immortality. By teaching others, we grant immortality to them. Bear the light of your soul, and may all who touch it gain wisdom and remain through the ages. Open your eyes, Fill Chuckler, and let the world see you."
The janitor's body was enveloped in a misty haze of pale blue color, while Ozpin exhaled tiredly and leaned against the desk. Now more than ever, his cane would have come in handy.
"So this is what it's like..." Chuckler mumbled, "...Aura. I feel the power."
"It is a deceptive feeling. To learn how to fully control your new abilities, you must train every day. Were it not for your advanced age, I would have offered you a place at Beacon... but you can just find some tips on the Net, if you'd like."
"But am I worthy of enrolling in Beacon itself?" the old man asked, shocked.
"And why not?"
"Right." He nodded to himself, coming to some conclusions. "I may not have the skills to wield Aura, but I certainly have more than enough combat experience."
"Actually, I meant nepotism, seeing as we've known each other for so many years... But I like your reason better."
"Thank you, Ozpin." Chuckler didn't hear him, lost in his own thoughts. "I'll go get a net, I think there were a couple in the storage closet."
"Good luck with your training. And just in case, go get a check-up with Joseph." Headmaster Ozpin smiled. Headmaster of the best and most prestigious Huntsman academy in the world, just for the record. And how it manages to hold onto first place with such an approach to student recruitment, no one knew...