It'd taken me a while to get to Vegas. Far longer than I would like to admit, actually. Having to hide my face and watch my movements made it slow going. But it was the price I was willing to pay to be careful. I'd taken my time resting and restocking at Mojave Outpost before setting out for Novac. It was a trip that involved more fighting and hiding than my bout with the legion at Nipton. While passing through the mountains I'd had a short encounter with a couple grenade happy Raiders. I think it was the Jackals, or maybe the Vipers. Honestly, after a while they started to seem so similar I didn't care anymore. Of course, they weren't the real problem.

The real problem was the band of Legionary assassins that showed up not too long after.

Word travels fast I suppose, especially when you hack a prominent legionary officer to death with a machete… After blowing the heads off his subordinates with a shotgun and kneecapping him with a Varmint rifle.

In my defense, their armor was tough and it was the only way to keep them from ganging up on me.

Anyway, the assassins showed up not long after. The most immediate difference between them and Vulpes? Vulpes thought it would be a good idea to try intimidating me through words. All he did was piss me off.

The assassins on the other hand? They just opened fire.

Their armor was tougher than Vulpes' group too. I'd managed to kill one of them, but it didn't take a genius to see that was a mistake. I'd practically run dry on ammo after that. So I made the, very tactful, decision to run the fuck away. I cut across the tops of the mountains and ran through an abandoned farmstead before I lost them.

After that it took me a while to find my way to Novac. But that's a story for another time. Suffice to say, it took me a while to get to Vegas. But after Novac, I wasn't alone.

I managed to track the khans who were with me when I got shot to boulder city. Talking them down wasn't easy, but neither was talking down the officers stationed there. But they pointed me in the right direction, I was bound for the strip. If the little information I had about the package I'd been delivering was any indicator, going there would've only made sense. There was only one road block.

A two thousand cap roadblock.

My shitty luck had left me near constantly strapped for cash. I'd been finding legion denarius like crazy, both from the assassins that were hounding me and legion that weren't smart enough to stay outta my sight. But, when no one accepted them, it made them basically worthless. I kept them more as a testament to human stubbornness than anything, something that was apparently worth a considerable weight of gold and silver.

Anyway, being broke and stuck on the wrong side of the fence, I didn't have many options. I tried getting a passport from the king, but I couldn't even see the guy without paying his lieutenant, Pacer, 500 caps. Fucking asshole. At that point, I figured it was time to call in a favor I'd made in Goodsprings, and paid Ringo a visit.

Ringo coughed up the caps happily, which I appreciated, and told me to talk to McLafferty. She hooked me up with some jobs. I refused one, I already had one target painted on my back without pissing off the Gun Runners. The first job I decided to take had me going back to Mojave Outpost, something I was fine with considering I at least knew the way was more or less clear. It was also an opportunity to visit an old drinking buddy again.

Which brought me to the actual job itself.

I strolled into the Cantina like a tumbleweed on the wind. My leather armor had crapped out on me and had been replaced with its heavier cousin. I'd also had to swap out my stormchaser hat for a motorcycle helmet after my first run in with the assassins. It gave its life for mine and I will forever remember it as a rag of cloth that sat on my head.

Soon as I walked in, she had her eyes on me. A smirk on her face and a glint in her eye.

"Well now, look what the cat dragged in." She said with all her usual sass. "Haven't seen you here in a few weeks. Was starting to think you'd forgot about me."

"Please, who could forget you? You can smell the booze from Vegas." I sassed back

She chuckled and rolled her eyes… then stealthily sniffed her shirt. The face she made showed I was only half joking. She made a motion to Lacey and a couple glasses and a bottle of whisky materialized next to her.

"Take a seat" She offered "I'm sure we got some catching up to do."

"Like you'd never believe." I sighed "But, I've got some business I need to handle first."

"Well hurry up and talk to Jackson then, I'm su-"

"My business isn't with Jackson."

Cass cocked her head to the side in confusion. I didn't try to explain, quite frankly I wanted to do this about as much as I wanted to play dentist to rabid molerats. But I was getting paid, and if I didn't McLafferty was gonna send some other Asshole to do it. I pulled out the papers and spoke plainly.

"I'm here on behalf of Alice McLafferty and the Crimson Caravan Company with regards to the acquisition of Cassidy Caravans."

Cass's jaw fell open a bit in disbelief. I held out the small packet of papers for her and she took them. Her eyes scanned quickly over the leaflet before looking back to me. Her smile faded and she glared angrily at me.

"The fuck is this." She growled angrily

"The papers and bill of-"

"I know what they are, asshole. I'm asking why the fuck you're delivering them."

"… I needed the money."

"Oh for fuck's sale."

"Hey, if I didn't do it, McLafferty would have just sent some other asshole to do it anyway."

"Yea? Well she might as well, 'cuz I'm not signing them."

I stared silently at Cass for a moment, a bit confused. Part of me had an idea where she was coming from, but I'd seen the amount McLafferty was offering. It wasn't small.

"Are you serious Cass? With that many zeroes you're going to turn her down, just like that?"

"Fuck yea I am. I can see the zeroes and I know she's good for 'em. But I'm not selling. Caravan's the last thing I have left of my old man, that 'n my name. They're tied together, 'n I'm not selling either."

"… Why?"

The glare she had was now blazing with fury. She definitely wasn't happy now.

"Why? Why!? Did you literally not just hear a word I just said!?"

"No, I heard you just fine."

"Then I shouldn't have to fucking repeat myself!"

"I'm just asking because I don't think you're taking full stock of your situation."

"Take stock?- the fuck are you talking about?"

"Look around, Cass" I motioned to the entirety of the Cantina "Do you know where you are?"

"… a bar." She answered flatly

"Not like that." I sigh in frustration "I mean in general. Do you have any idea where you are?"

"… the Mojave, a barren desert full of-"

"Wrong!"

She hadn't been expecting me to cut her off. She wasn't happy, but I needed to make a point and she wasn't listening. I needed to spell it out to her.

"You are trapped at a junction between the NCR and the Mojave wasteland. You currently own jack all except for a burnt out pile of ash and a name. A name that is the reason you are trapped in the first place. In walks a way out and the moment it's offered, you dig in your heels and tell them to fuck off. You are stuck without a leg to stand on, and as a result you're sitting here getting plastered rather than doing something about it!"

Cass leapt up from her stool and had me by the collar before I even knew it. She cocked her arm back, ready to knock my lights out. I could see the anger blazing in her eyes. She really wanted to cut loose on me. But she didn't. She just stood there for a moment, arm and body tensed with a fire in her eye. She didn't swing, partly because deep down she knew I had a point.

At least, I think that was the reason.

"… Dammit!" She said at last, releasing my collar and trudging to her stool. "Dammit! Dammit! DAMMIT!"

She slouched back onto her stool and rubbed her face. She was mad, I could see it written literally everywhere. But it wasn't the violent type of mad I'd seen in the many raiders I'd fought on the road to Vegas. It was the calm kind, the kind where you put more blame into yourself than anyone, or thing, else.

"… What am I supposed to do?" Cass said "I sell, take the money, and make it all for nothing? Or stay, drinking and hoping they'll eventually just let me through? Neither is a good option, Six."

"I know, that's why I'm here and not some other Jackass."

With a sigh, I walked over to the bar and took a seat on the stool next to Cass. Time to see if I could explain things to her.

"I'll admit, I didn't exactly open things up the best there. Something tells me I definitely could've handled it better."

"Hmph, no fuckin' kiddin'?" Cass gave a tired smirk.

"- But that doesn't mean I'm not on your side Cass."

I took the papers from Cass and looked them. I found a specific section I'd read over on my way to the outpost, One I knew would basically be the key to doing this.

"Article 4, section 3, paragraph 7: 'The undersigned agrees to the sale of all physical assets related to 'Cassidy Caravans'. The undersigned also agrees to relinquish any and all paperwork related to operation.'"

"… How does that help me?" Cass asked, eyeing the paper.

"On the surface, it doesn't seem like it." I say closing the packet back up "But that's where it pays to read."

Cass eyed me now, curious where I was going with this.

"The way they worded that plays into this a great deal. Whoever wrote the contract fucked up royally. They're demanding you give them all of the physical properties belonging to the company, but no specification as to the legal status of the business. Things like uniforms, weapons, cattle-"

"-The actual caravan." Cass surmised, a inkling of understanding crossing her face.

"Yahtzee. On top of that, the paper work they want? They never specified which papers they actually wanted."

The look Cass got on her face made it clear she was getting what I meant.

"So, I'm not actually selling Cassidy Caravans-"

"Just some worthless ashes." I finish "… well, maybe not worthless. They might've had families at one point."

"… heh" Cass smirked "Just what kind of snake did Alice McLafferty hire?"

"Your snake" I answer "You'll be free to take your titles, along with the money they give you, and start fresh whenever you feel like it. All because some Jackass didn't word things properly."

Cass didn't say anything, she just poured some whisky into the glasses and handed me one. She signed and We drank, smacking our glasses heartily against the bar.

"That… that took a lot of weight off my shoulders, actually." She said at last. "Thanks, you really have no idea how much you helped me."

"Ah, don't mention it. We're friends right?"

"… Yeah, yeah we are." She smiled "So what's next?"

"Well, after I finish drinking, I've got to return this paperwork to McLafferty. After that, I'll probably be wandering around looking for more work. Getting into Vegas ain't cheap."

"You still hunting your man in the checkered suit?"

"Yeah, he's supposed to be there. Goes by the name of Benny and is supposed to be important or some shit."

"If that's the case, I got a question for you."

"What's that?"

"Mind if I tag along?"

"… You know, that's-"

…

"Mister Six!" Goodwitch shouted

My eyes snapped open and my head rapidly shook from side to side as I examined my surroundings. It took everything a second to come into focus. I was in the auditorium we were currently using to hold combat practice. Around me were the blurry visages of students and uniforms. I went to rub the sleep from my eyes and wound up awkwardly tapping my mask.

"Mmm- wuzzup?" I asked groggily.

Goodwitch sighed, "Mr. Six, I'm well aware learning isn't your strong suit, but could you please refrain from sleeping during lecture?"

With a clearer mind, I would have formulated a very subversive and possibly backhanded answer.

"Yea, sure, whatever."

I was not in a clearer mindset.

I'd been up late the previous night. There was a side project that was requiring my immediate attention. One that, if successful, would save me all kinds of grief in the long run. Unfortunately, it also required a fair bit of prep work and maintenance on my end. The past few days haven't left me with a lot of free time either. I've been scrambling to read everything I can get my hands on. I wasn't concerned about grades, though my teammates certainly seemed to hold them in high regard. I was doing it so I could read better than a six year old.

I was still waiting to hear from Ozpin about getting home, meaning adapting and adjusting was also an unfortunate necessity.

Normally though, not getting enough sleep wasn't a major detriment. I've gone long hours in the past, whether walking the trails or getting stuck in a shootout that wouldn't end. In the months prior to me becoming trapped in this place, I'd slept even less. It does catch up though, even with my maintaining a more regular sleep schedule. I would've probably skipped out on this class had anyone but Goodwitch been the teacher. Plus, if I could stay awake, I'd get to watch people kick the crap out of each other. Always entertaining.

"… As I was saying-" Goodwitch continued pointedly "The computer will monitor the combatant's conditions and display their present status on the holographic screens above."

Goodwitch made a motion towards two blank blue screens hovering in the air. "With that said, I believe it's time for a demonstration. Are there any students present who would care to participate?"

There was a small murmuring amongst the students. It seemed some of them were willing to step forward, but most of them didn't.

'Pansies, if you're gonna do it then step up.'

"How about you Mr. Six?" Goodwitch asked.

The murmuring stopped and I glared at Goodwitch from behind my mask. She was returning my look, though much more subtly. Which is surprising, since you can't even see my face. She was giving me a look that made it clear she wasn't asking me to volunteer. She was telling me to. Under normal circumstance, I wouldn't kowtow to someone who was trying to force me. Not without making it the most painful experience possible for the other involved party.

But, I was tired and not in the mood to give Goodwitch shit at the moment. Something that worried me ever so slightly.

"… Yeah, alright." I grumbled as I approached the combat platform. I weaved through the rest of the students present and climbed onto the elevated platform. I stood there for a moment, next to Goodwitch, waiting to see what came next.

"Is there anyone else present who would care to be part of this demonstration?" Goodwitch asked

More murmuring from the students.

"I'll step up." A familiar voice bubbled up from the crowd.

Students were barreled to the side as Yang pushed her way through.

'Well gee, who could've seen this coming?'

The bubbly blonde haired girl clambered onto the stage and stood on the opposite side of Goodwitch. She had this Cheshire grin on her face, like Christmas had come early or something… did this place have Christmas?

"Very well." Goodwitch said with a nod. "Would you kindly direct yourselves to the locker rooms and prepare for combat?"

Yang hoped back off the stage and headed towards the locker room. I followed at a slower pace, taking the time to weigh out how this was going to play out in my tired mind.

From everything I'd gathered, this was just supposed to be a sparring match. A friendly bout where we weren't supposed to kill each other. Unfortunately, most of what I have is only meant for killing people or the myriad of creatures that got in my way. I didn't have a clear idea what weapon, or weapons, Yang used. Initiation had kept me preoccupied with deathclaws and falling from high places. I could vaguely remember seeing her with some sort of Ballistic Fist. I couldn't imagine she'd use that for sparring practice. Not unless she was secretly harboring some deep seated resentment and was looking for a chance to off me. Which wouldn't make too much sense. Normally people didn't want to kill me until after I'd gotten drunk. Although she wasn't all that happy when I brought up her parents.

Regardless, this didn't seem like a situation that warranted heavy action either. So I was going to play it light again. Possibly even lighter, considering it was just Yang and not a forest full of monsters. I changed out of my uniform and pulled on my park stroller outfit. I didn't have any light armor with me, and actually wearing armor for a practice match seemed a bit overkill. A couple bruises weren't going to kill me.

I wrapped my fists in boxing tape, this was supposed to be practice. I didn't have any intention to permanently harm or kill anyone present, so yeah: go light. I did have a few other implements that could be considered non-lethal but they seemed a tad overkill. Though it probably would've been funny to see Yang get tazed with a Cattle prod. Next time, maybe.

I finished my meager preparations and walked out of the locker room. By the time I had returned to the class, Yang was already there. Dressed in her usual attire, plus some yellow bracelets, and doing warm up stretches. Stretches that, given her the revealing nature of her attire, gave a not unwelcome view of her figure. As I approached she looked at me with a cocksure smile. Which then faded as she scanned me.

"Aww what, no special treatment?" She asked in disappointment

"It's… a sparring match?" I ventured "I don't mind a little hand to hand."

"If that's what you think." Goodwitch said as I took the stage. "Now if you'd both kindly connect your scrolls to the mainframe?"

Yang took out a small white tablet and tapped it in a few different places. Her face and a status bar then appeared on one of the holograms.

"… My what?" I asked in confusion

"Your scroll." Goodwitch reiterated

"Again, my what?"

Goodwitch stared at me for a moment, then seemed to remember that I knew nothing about this world. So why the hell would I know what a scroll is?

"Hmm… perhaps your odd situation means you don't have one?" She asked

'Gee, why don't you make it sound anymore suspicious'

"A scroll is a device that allows for you to communicate over long distances and observe your present condition. It also includes a GPS, clock, and camera."

There was a small snickering from some jackass in the crowd of students. Apparently my lack of seemingly general knowledge was funny to them.

"Do you have something like that?" Goodwitch asked

"I got this-" I say, holding up my pip-boy. "It constantly monitors my condition if that's what you need to know."

Goodwitch nodded and examined it quickly. "Is there any way to connect it to the system?"

"Perhaps."

I pull a cable out of the lump of steel and circuits.

Goodwitch connected the cable to a small port on a tablet she herself was holding. Part of me was surprised it connected. The pip-boy was built with an omni-connect cable, which made it easy to connect to certain bits of technology and gather data. I guess it really was omniversal considering this place was filled with alien technology and it still adapted to it.

There was a small grinding and beeping noises from my pip-boy as it connected to the device. I shifted my gaze up to my holographic screen and was met with an interesting sight.

It depicted Vault-boy trekking through a star lit desert, surrounded by cacti and tumble weeds. Far, far into the background I could see a silhouette of the Lucky 38. The entire image was comprised of the familiar black and amber glow I'd grown accustomed to on my pip-boy. I got a little nervous, nobody here knew what that image could represent but that just meant they might start asking questions.

Vault boy kept a happy pace as the desert passed by him. It took a minute, a long silent minute of him walking before he stopped. Before him stood a depiction of Goodwitch, Ozpin, and Beacon academy. Vault-boy and Ozpin both extended hands and shook. The words "Handshake complete" scrawled across the empty sky and the screen faded back to a style similar to Yang's. With a plain status bar and image of my helmet, which I didn't know they'd taken come to think of it.

Both status bars were full and green, which I assumed meant it was good.

"With that, would you both take positions on the platform?" Goodwitch asked, disconnecting my cable.

Yang walked to an opposite end of the stage as I strode over to mine. We stared each other down as we took our stances. She still had that cocky smirk on her face, like she was enjoying the idea of us beating the tar out of each other.

"Are both combatants ready?" Goodwitch asked

"Yep." Yang confirmed cheerily

I grunted and gave a nod.

"Alright, then you may… Begin!"

On the word, we both sprang into action. Yang took a stance as I raised my fists and charged her. The instant I was ten feet away she cocked her fist back and I knew I fucked up. The yellow bracelets she was wearing expanded into a pair of gauntlets, shotgun shells visibly encircling them.

I don't know how she did it. Maybe it was a combination of my sleep deprived brain and general lack of knowledge. Under better circumstances, I could've easily dodged out of the way and countered. This wasn't better circumstances though, this was sleep deprived and underprepared me.

'OH SH-'

I ate a shotgun blast to the face, flew back several dozen feet, impacted a wall, and lost consciousness.

…

Before I even opened my eyes, the ringing in my head made it clear I was going to have a bad time. My head hurt worse than when I'd woken up in Goodsprings, something that I didn't know was possible. Perhaps getting blasted in the face with a shotgun hurts more than a 9mm to the head.

'… Meh, probably not.'

I cautiously cracked open my eyes and was assaulted by the soft lighting of the room through the harsh glare of my lenses. My body felt like gelatin and the shifting tones of light made the splitting pain in my head even worse. Minor prognosis: I've got a mild concussion.

I forced my eyes to focus and the world around me began to lose its blur, the light became sharper and softer to the eyes. I wasn't in the training area anymore, the soft pastels of the room general closeness of everything gave that away. By the smell of antiseptic and the feeling of cushion I was currently laid on, I was probably in a medical office of some manner. I had no recollection of how I'd gotten there, last I could remember was Yang socking me in the face.

'… The hell was she thinking!? It was a sparring match! Was she trying to kill me!?'

With a heave, I sat up on what I assumed was some sort of Gurney. The motion made me want to puke and made the splitting pain in my brain even worse. But, I wasn't going to stay lying down. Especially not after getting blasted at point blank again. I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths, waiting for it to subside. I took stock of myself, from what I could feel I still had my boxing tape and spiked knuckles tucked away on me. They must've of forgotten to loot me afterwards.

"Ah, you're awake at last." A Tinny voice spoke from a short distance.

I quirked my eyes slowly open and looked in front of me. My vision was bleary, like an out of focus camera coated in oil. But I could make out the figure of a man in front of me. This situation was starting to feel a bit too familiar, honestly.

My vision came slowly into focus and I got a look of the man. A thin figure with salt and pepper hair, looking to be a bit older than most but still with a sprightliness to him. I'd guess probably younger than port, so late forties. He had a thin mustache and clear keen eyes.

I tried to rise completely from the bed, fighting to keep my balance as gravity fought me. It was like having a hangover and being drunk without any of the benefits.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

"I recommend you stay seated." The man said, flipping a page of a newspaper. "You took a pretty hard blow to the head. Odds are you won't-"

I suddenly dipped forward and crashed to the floor. The pain in my head stabbing violently to the front of my mind.

'ow…'

"-be walking for a short while more." The man finished with a sigh.

The man folded his newspaper and set it on his desk. He rose and walked towards me. With practiced care, he knelt and cupped an arm underneath my shoulder. With diligence he pulled me back to my feet and seated me back on my bed.

"You took a blow to the head I'm afraid, odds are you-"

"Have a mild concussion?" I answer rhetorically

"Why… yes. I take it this isn't a first?"

"Nope, I'm no stranger to getting hit in the head."

"Hmph, without an aura it's hard to imagine why." The man answered sarcastically

'… a what?'

The man stepped away and pulled out a scroll, taping at it as though he were typing something.

"… Where am I exactly?"

"The medical station down the hall from the sparring room." The man answered. "It does happen on occasion that someone overexerts or injuries themselves."

"I suppose that makes you a doctor then?"

"Mmm, I'm Dr. Azure and this-" He motioned to an empty door frame "Is nurse Ochre."

I waited a moment for someone to appear in the frame. But nobody appeared. The doorway remained empty as the doctor continued to tap at his scroll. He eventually took notice of the silence and sighed angrily.

"Nurse!" He said a little louder.

"Sorry!" a distant voice said from the hallway.

There was a clicking of shoes on tile and a woman in blue scrubs entered the door way. She had dark hair and amber colored eyes, coupled with a snubbed nose and small mouth. She looked at the doctor for a moment, then turned her head and took notice of me, surprised.

"Oh! You're already awake, excellent." She said with a small smile

Without wasting a beat, the nurse collected a number of tools from a nearby table and approached me. She laid the implements on the bed and introduced herself.

"Hello, I'm Nurse Ochre, I'm going to need to perform a quick physical examination now that you're awake."

"That's fine and all bu-"

"Excellent."

Without another word, Ochre began to assault me with implements. She whacked my knees with reflex hammers, shone a bright light into my eyes, snapped her fingers near the ear holes of my helmet, and began pinching me to check if I had any form of nerve damage.

"Ah, hey! Quit it!" I snapped, attempting not to exacerbate my headache

"-and done" Ochre said happily "It appears all of your faculties are in order despite that nasty blow to the head."

She quickly set to returning her tools as the doctor returned to his newspaper. "You're now free to leave whenever you're ready." He said with a level tone.

"Not one for bedside manner, are you?" I ask, preparing to steel myself and rise again.

"Normally people don't come in here due to physical injuries, so not really, no."

I glared at the doctor for a moment before taking a deep breath and pushing myself back on to my feet again. I was a bit more coherent after Ochre's assault, and managed to stay upright this time.

"How long was I out for?" I asked, carefully stepping towards the man with the newspaper.

"Approximately three hours, I'm surprised it wasn't longer" Azure added dryly. "Your teammates were worried when you didn't wake up."

"Psh, you'd think they'd never seen anyone get knocked out before."

I wobbled my way out of the medical office and back down the hall. From the look of things, class was had just let out and students were trickling out of the room. I spotted my teammates and the JNPR crew off to the side talking to Jaune, who looked a bit dejected. As I hobbled and wobbled closer, Yang's eyes flicked up and noticed me.

"Well how do you like that, he's up already." Yang said with a lighthearted smirk

"No thanks to you." I mumbled back

Everyone else took note of me as wobbled up to them.

"Are you alright?" Ruby asked, looking at my helmet. "You got rushed out of here so fast we weren't sure what happened."

"Yeah, I'm good, just a bit off kilter. What's going on here though?"

"Jaune had a match against Cardin" Pyrrha answered

"Oh, so he got his ass beat then?"

Everybody except Jaune proceeded to glare at me. Jaune probably would have if he wasn't so depressed looking.

"What, am I wrong?"

"You could at least word it better." Jaune mumbled

"… ok, how did it feel playing punching bag for a lummox like Cardin?"

Now Jaune glared up at me.

"Six!" Ruby shouted

"What? He asked me to word it better, doesn't mean it's going to sound any better."

"That's not what I-… ah, forget it." Jaune said, finally rising from his seat. "… You know, you didn't do much better yourself."

"Yeah? Well, I was half asleep and little ms. Knockout over there has a mean right-hook. What's your excuse?"

Jaune went to say something, but the moment he opened his mouth he went wide eyed and shut it. He clearly didn't have an excuse, or the one he did was poor enough that saying it probably wouldn't help his case.

"Why don't we regroup for lunch?" Offered Pyrrha, probably trying to shift focus.

"That sounds like a good idea." Ruby chimed "I think we could all use a bite to eat."

"… You know what? Yeah, why not." I agreed, earning a look of confusion from my teammates. They probably were thinking Yang hit me a little too hard now.

"…really? You're not going to put up a fight this time?" Ruby asked

"Nope, honestly the noise from the cafeteria might help me to not slip into a coma"

…

The cafeteria was about as noisy as a Friday night on the strip, though nowhere near as rowdy. The noise helped stave off my desire to take a nice long nap, so I was right about that. Perhaps it was a blessing in this instance, but my concussion had basically eradicated my hunger. Despite being surrounded by various tantalizing dishes, my appetite had all but disappeared. Funny how a good blow to the head can make all your discomfort go away.

Surprisingly, I wasn't the only one not eating. In fact, most of my present company weren't in the business of eating. Jaune had this dour look and was mindlessly pushing food around his plate. Weiss was filing her nails. Ruby and Pyrrha were looking at Jaune with concern. Blake was feverishly reading that book I lent her, having already made a noticeable dent in it. Which surprised me, it wasn't an easy book to read for a number of reasons. Yang on the other hand was enamored by some goofy tale Nora was rambling on about. Surprisingly, Nora was also the only person to actually eat. Having inhaled a small mountain of food in record time.

"So there we were, in the middle of the night~" Nora said ominously

"It was day." Ren corrected in disinterest

"We were surrounded by Ursai~" Nora continued unabashedly

"They were Beowolves." Ren corrected again

"Dozen's of them!"

"Two of 'em."

"But they were no match." Nora said with a wild smile "And in the end, Ren and I took them down, and made a boatload of Lien selling Ursa skin rugs!"

'… Really living up to the motor mouth title, aren't you Nora?'

Ren sighed in exasperation, I felt for the guy, honestly. "She's been having this re-occurring dream for nearly a month now."

"… If you don't mind me asking-" I say deciding to ride the crazy train for a moment "- How exactly did you successfully skin them and make rugs? Don't they turn into smoke after you kill them?"

Ren looked at me for a moment then rubbed the bridge of his nose tiredly. Something tells me he'd already been down this road.

"Well you see-" Nora said, a manic look clear in her eyes "If you rip off the skin fast enough-"

"Ok- stop- no. I think I get the picture." I begin rubbing my mask, unable to reach my face. "Please, last thing I want to add to my list of current issues is further irreparable mental scarring."

Nora lost her manic smile and went into a pout. Being cut-off like that didn't make her happy, but I could see Ren silently thanking me.

"Sounds pretty unbearable." Yang said with a grin

I fought the rising urge to add onto it, noticing the looks of my present company.

"… Jaune?" Pyrrha said, breaking my attention away from Nora's insanity "Are you ok?"

"-Huh? What?" Jaune asked, breaking his concentrated game of push the food. "… Oh, yeah, why?"

"It's just that you seem sort of… not ok." Ruby said delicately.

Most of my present company shifted their attention towards Jaune, myself included. As a result, rather than perhaps talking about his issues, Jaune proceeded to figuratively curl inward on himself.

"Uh- guys, I'm fine! Seriously, look." He then proceeded to give a smile and thumbs up that would have made Kimball proud. Then he ruined it with a nervous chuckle.

"You look like someone has been kicking you in the balls for the last month." I say flatly.

Before anyone could react to my assessment, our attention was drawn a short distance away. It was drawn by a familiar, and needlessly obnoxious, laugh given by none other than Cardemom himself. He and his gang of friends were getting awfully… 'chummy' with a girl who looked familiar to me. The weird Rabbit head dress she was wearing was ringing a bell in my head.

"Oh hey, there's your kicker." I add

The sound of Jaune crushing his hand into a tight fist made it clear he heard me. He wasn't happy.

"Jaune, Cardin has been picking on you since the first week of school."

"W-what? No he hasn't." Jaune countered meekly "He's just… you know, messing around?"

"He's a bully." Ruby said, upset

'Believe the term you're looking for is shit-heel, Ruby.'

"Psh, oh please. Name one time he's 'bullied me'."

"… You want that chronologically or most recent?" I ask "Because there's fair sized list."

Jaune grew quiet as I called bullshit on him. That silence hung in the air a moment longer than I'd preferred, so I just went with the most recent one I could think of.

"… aight, yesterday at around three p.m., he tossed you into a garbage can and threw you down two flights of stairs."

The look of surprise everyone gave me made it clear they hadn't been made aware of that one yet.

"H-Hey, it's not like I broke anything." Jaune chuckled nervously. "Besides, it was only garbage"

'Like your excuse.'

Pyrrha got a bit closer to Jaune, probably trying to get him to trust her a bit more. "Jaune, you know if you ever need help you can just ask, right?"

"Ooh!" Nora said suddenly, bursting up from the table and into a combat stance. Another ferociously manic grin creapt onto her face "We'll break his legs!"

Finally having enough of our prodding or perhaps wanting to avoid further issue, Jaune took his food as stepped away from the table.

"Guys, really, it's fine. Besides, he's not like he's only a jerk to me, he's a jerk to everyone."

'that doesn-'

"Ow! That hurts!" A new voice broke in.

I looked back to the source of the voice. It wasn't hard to find considering the source. Cardin had stepped up from harassment to molestation now, now tugging on the girl's headdress as she tried to pull away. A pained look on her face. I couldn't quite here what they were saying at our distance, but if I had to guess, it was something along the lines of asking Cardin to stop. Which he declined with a shit eating smirk and, what I assume, was an insult.

'It hurts? That's an odd choice of words.'

"Atrocious." Pyrrha nearly seethed "I can't stand people like him."

"He's not the only one." Blake grumbled, looking up from her book

"It must be hard being a Faunus." Yang said with unusual melancholy.

"I don't see what the big deal is-" I say "She should just take them off if she wants to get away from him."

Everyone glared at me like I'd just insulted their mothers, Blake especially.

"… What? Do I have something on my face?"

"Take them off? Take them off?" Blake asked angrily

"uhh… yeah?"

The glare Blake was giving me intensified. What was once just heated could now glass the entire Mojave. "Do you have any idea what you're saying!?"

"Kind of, yea. I mean it wouldn't be hard, might take a second or two but it's pretty simple."

The looks everyone had been giving me contorted from general disdain to full appall. Even Nora, who moments earlier had been talking about ripping the skin off of live Grimm looked at me like I was a sociopath. The only one who seemed the least appalled was Weiss, but I think she was just trying to block everything out.

'What kind of landmine did I step on?'

"… I-" Ruby stammered after a moment of silence "- I'm a bit confused. Six, you don't actually mean what you're saying, right?"

"… Why not? I mean it's not like it would hurt, would it?"

Ruby's face went pale for a second. Paler than she already is anyway.

"Yes!" Blake nearly shouted "Yes it would!"

"What, Why? Did she glue them to her head or something?"

"… Those are her ears!"

'… I'm sorry, what?'

"Excuse me?"

"Those are her ears! You can't just cut them of-"

"Whoa, hold up. Who said anything about cutting ears off?"

Now everyone was just confused.

"You did." Ruby said, getting some color back "Not even thirty seconds ago."

"I said no such thing, I said she should take off that ridiculous head-thing she's wearing."

"Ridiculous… head thing?" Blake asked in confusion

"Yea, if someone grabbed you by the bow, would you let them drag you around or lose the bow to put some distance between you?"

"I'd… lose the bow."

"Exactly, but what do you mean 'those are her ears'?"

Everyone at the table was now exchanging looks, like they were still debating if I was psychotic or just really stupid.

"She's… a faunus." Yang said at last, like that was supposed to be an answer.

"Ok, and?"

"'And' what? She's a faunus, simple as that."

"…"

'I get the feeling I'm making an implication about myself-'

"Six…" Pyrrha spoke up "You do know what a faunus is, correct?"

'-Shit!Shit!Shit!-'

"… totally, I mean what illiterate idiot wouldn't?"

My wording of that statement only served to confuse everyone further, including Pyrrha.

"… after all, they'd have to have been taught old Sanusian or something…"

Further confusion, Pyrrha still wasn't getting the message. Neither was Blake apparently.

"… or Have suffered recent head trauma." I say in agitation

… nothing. Graham dammit these people were denser than Vault Concrete.

"… *sigh* No." I finally say, tired of trying to be subtle. "I don't know what a Faunus is."

That got a reaction out of them. Now their confusion was mixed with, perhaps justified, skepticism and incredulity.

"How could you not know what a Faunus is!?" Weiss asked, probably further addled by lack of seemingly common knowledge.

"Because no one ever explained it to me?" I offer in truth

"Explained it?- They are literally everywhere!"

"Yeah, I've gathered that much snowflake, but what does it mean? What is a Faunus?"

Weiss seethed for a moment, apparently agitated by the topic for reasons beyond my understanding. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, only after exhaling did she try to explain.

"A Faunus-" Weiss started, in what I assume was her best attempt at calm "- Are a race of humanoid people, Who are… distinguished from humans by certain physical traits.'

'… so, they're this world's equivalent to ghouls?'

"What kind of physical traits exactly?"

"Do you see the ears on that girl's head?" Weiss pointed to the girl, who Cardin was getting a little rougher with.

"Yea but-"

I stopped talking as things finally clicked together in my head.

"… I think he's getting it." I heard Yang whisper.

I didn't say anything immediately. Everything was too busy pulling itself together in my head. Suddenly all of Byzantium's initial antagonism and behavior made sense, the crowd's reaction to the robbery, the news about protests, all of it. Full blown civil strife over race. There were a few things I didn't understand still but they were going to click together without too much effort, something told me. But it made sense now, the faunus were a different race, maybe even a different species. One that was otherwise indistinguishable from humans. Save for some odd, animalistic traits.

The image of the protesters, Byzantium's horns, The girl's ears; they weren't statements.

They were real.

'… And I cracked a joke about it.'

For the briefest of moments my mind clear and I could recollect every detail of our conversation in the pizzeria. In perfect, crystalline detail.

I buried my face into my hands for a moment. My present company couldn't see my face but I think they could read me current frame of mind pretty easy. I screwed up badly and I knew it.

"You doing ok Six?" Ruby asked

"… Could you give me a moment? I'm still processing."

I was recovering quickly from my mistakes, even with the lingering dregs of my concussion. But now my mind was moving to a new topic. Cardin was still sitting there. He was still pulling this girl's ear like it was some game, and smiling about it the entire time. He wasn't like me, he knew they were real. He was intentionally hurting this girl and laughing it up. This shit-stain was intentionally hurting an otherwise innocent girl, who was just trying to enjoy her lunch. He wasn't just a bully he was a bigot. I know how to deal with Bigots.

Just ask Caesar.

I lowered my hands from my mask and glared at Cardin through my mask. Concussion be damned. I was going to make this boy hurt. I already had a small plan in my mind when I got moving.

"Jaune." I said, my voice as calm as I could make it "If you aren't going to eat, could I have your food?"

"Huh?" Jaune answered, confused

"Your food. Give it to me… please."

Jaune looked at everyone before handing me his untouched food.

"Thank you."

Taking his utensils, I pivoted a spoon on the edge of his plate. Sinking the head of it into the mish mash of gunk on his plate. Even with a pounding head I could still aim straight, I lined up on my target.

"Uh-" Jaune stammered "What are y-"

*BAM*

*SPLAT*

"What the-!?"

The smirk vanished from Cardin's face as he was greeted with a mashed potato and corn facial. The pasty white substance smeared across his face messily, covering much of its left side. In his surprise, he released his grip on the girl's ear and she scampered off, fast as she dared.

'Run along, little rabbit.'

Cardin dabbed tentatively at the starchy white mess on his face. Realizing what it was, he quickly smeared it off and shifted his gaze around the nearby room. He looked pissed.

"Why did you do that!?" Jaune squeaked

"Because I want to break his legs." I say in the calmest voice I can manage.

I slipped my boxing tape back out of my pocket and began wrapping my hands under the table. I had a feeling I knew how things were going to play out next, it's why I did what I did. It was confirmed when Cardin stopped searching the room and narrowed his eyes at our table. He left his vulture teammates behind and stormed towards our table. My heart quickened but my mind was clear. The moment that jackass made a wrong move I was going to rend his world asunder. Might not have even waited for that, might have just threw myself at him before he even opened his mouth.

Probably would've too, except he didn't come for me.

Cardin must've been thirty different flavors of dense because instead of coming for me, who currently had a plate of food in front of him, He went for Jaune. He grabbed Jaune by the collar and foisted him into the air.

"Think you're funny wimp?" Cardin growled

"W-what!?" Jaune said, sounding like he was going to piss himself "N-no I-"

"Why don't we see how funny you feel after I-"

"You got something on your face Jackass." I interrupt from my seat

Cardin glared at me, not yet releasing Jaune. "Stay out of this unless you want to join him, limp-dick"

"Ooh, haven't heard that one in a while. Tell you what, you put him down and I'll actually give you a chance to square up."

Cardin didn't, but at this point my initial plan of action had gone out the window anyway. I was now even more pissed and had the feeling my opportunity to beat Cardin into the floor was now gone. Which meant it was time for plan B.

"Alright, Cardin, how are your math skills?" I ask, getting up from my seat.

"My what?" The armor clad boy asked

"Your math skills. I'm assuming that shriveled brain of yours is still capable of counting to ten right?"

Cardin's eyes widened for a moment before concentrating back into a glare. He dropped Jaune and began stalking towards me as I did to him.

"Because unless you've got the strength of Atlas at your back, I think we've got you beat."

"Oh yeah?" He growled

"Yeah, because last I checked nine beats four."

"The hell-"

I pointed at the table and Cardin stopped walking as he looked. Everyone was now glaring at him. They may not have been happy with how he was treating the rabbit girl, but now he'd actively attacked Jaune. They may or may not have had my back, but I didn't need them to be. I just needed them to play along.

"Assuming you're dumbass friends join in." I continue "If they don't, then it's nine on one. Now I may have some shitty luck, but these guys and gals? They'll eat you alive."

As if sensing what I was trying to do, Nora gave another of her manic grins. Using the discomfort that crossed Cardin's face as a sign, I dove forward and got right in his face. Making sure he got a good view of my mask's goggles.

"Let me give you some advice." I said, breaking my previous calm with a furious hiss. "Turn around and walk the fuck away before I crack your skull open like an egg."

His face was frozen, but I was close enough to see the fear in his eyes. Looks like plan B worked.

'Courier: four, Assholes: zip. I guess it pays to have a Terrifying Presence.'

Cardin's eyes darted back and forth between the table and me for a moment. He gave a small, irritated growl and hurried back to his group of twit friends.

"-and clean yourself up, you look like a slob!" I say as he retreats.

I took a deep breath, trying to push back my unburnt anger. Unfortunately, I still very much wanted to follow after him and plant my fist in the back of his skull. But I knew better, I was going to have to find a different outlet. Which meant separating from everyone for a bit. Just had to word things right.

"I'm going to take a piss." I growled, walking past Jaune

'eh, close enough.'

…

I placed a hand against the wall for balance as I relieved myself. I won't give you the details, so don't ask. My heart was still hammering a mile a minute and I didn't know what to do about it. I was angry, but I didn't have an outlet. I hadn't been fond of Cardin since he always kind of struck me as being a stupid prick. Now I just wanted commit a series of acts that would probably land me in a cell. My concussion probably wasn't helping. It was probably clouding my mind, just a bit. But that didn't change the fact I wanted to do something about Cardin. His kind of shit shouldn't be allowed to fly if this was supposed to be the 'academy of heroes' everyone kept claiming. A little horse play is fine, but that wasn't what he doing.

'… I think I've got Oobleck's class next. He's there too…'

For a moment I entertained the idea of conjuring up a new plan. I knew the setting and he wouldn't be expecting it. I could grab a stealth boy and my cattleprod, wait until I got a clean shot at him. But what good would it do? He seemed like the sort of snake that'd try playing the victim card afterwards. All I'd succeed in was getting myself in trouble and him getting off scot-free for his shit… But I'd probably enjoy it.

'… no, that won't do.'

Maybe the best solution was just to remove myself from the situation all together. I could step back and tell somebody, let them handle it. Couldn't tell Goodwitch though, on some level that felt like admitting defeat to her. But maybe Ozpin?

Ozpin was the headmaster, basically the principal. It was his job to smack idiots around when they got out of line like Cardin. He hasn't done anything yet, seems like it anyway, maybe he wasn't aware. If I brought it to him, he might be able to put Cardin's nuts in a vice and straighten him out.

'Hmm… it could work, it's less gratifying but I'd be able to keep myself out of Goodwitch's sights and still knock Cardin down a peg.'

It seemed the better option. Plus, I'd been meaning to talk with Ozpin anyway in relation to my more important issue. I could probably skip out on Oobleck's class and hash things out with Ozpin, after that I was basically free for the day… I guess that settled it. I was still angry but there was really nothing for that.

'… this has got to be the longest piss I've ever taken.'

I finished my business and closed my fly. I had a new plan and I was going to do what I could to stick to it. I removed my wraps and began to wash my hands when I heard the door open behind me. There was a small group of footsteps that stopped behind me. Looking in the mirror over the sink, I noticed Cardin's Goon squad was standing behind me.

"… Nothing ever goes how want, when I want, does it?" I sighed

"We don't appreciate the way you talked to Cardin." One of them said, He had a pale green Mohawk. I think his name was Trash or something. I think the other two were Dope and Lake.

"Sounds like a whole lotta his problem and not yours." I say, drying my hands off. "Walk out of here right now and I-"

Before I could finish, Trash lunged and socked me in the side of the head. A small explosion went off in my head as he kicked the back of my leg and smacked my head into the sink. Would've messed me up, if it weren't for my helmet.

"We're just gonna make sure it doesn't happen again." One of the other goons said, didn't see which. Might've been Lake.

I put some weight against the sink and tried to keep balance as Trash took a step back. He was cocky, probably saw my little dust up with Yang. If he were from the wasteland he would've kept wailing. His mistake.

"… Heh, ha ha" I gave a raspy chuckle, A small unnerved look crossed trash's face "Good. I was worried for minute. Most people don't know how to throw a good punch."

I was on my feet and facing the boys in the blink of an eye. I didn't have time to get my wraps on, so I just left them in my pockets. I took a stance and the three boys looked at each other in amusement. They had the numbers advantage and felt secure in that.

I needed to fix that.

I didn't allow them to take a stance, this wasn't a match. I rushed Trash and shoulder checked him, pushing with all of my weight and knocking off his feet. His friends reacted faster than he did, taking a shot at me while I was in range. I dipped down and sprang backwards as they both narrowly avoided hitting each other like a pair of stooges.

With the speed of a nightstalker and the grace of a cazador I swarmed up on Lake before he could recover. My left hand snapped forward in a flicker jab once, twice, thrice. Lake reeled back, they probably didn't hurt given people here seem to have a dulled sense of pain. But they weren't meant to. The cross I followed it up with was. It connected and his head snapped back like it was on a wire. He stumbled and hit the wall clenching his face. He wasn't going to stay down, that wasn't anywhere near enough. But it gave me room to deal with Dope.

Dope threw himself at me, arms spread wide so I couldn't bob out of the way. He connected and I was pushed back, almost smacking back into the sink. He clenched his arms around me in a bear hug, trying to restrain me while his friends got up. Probably wanted to crush the breath out of me too. Before he could, I kicked a leg up onto the sink and foisted myself upwards. The sudden shift pushed Dope off kilter and he stumbled. I drove it home by pushing off the sink, careening us both to the floor. I landed with a drive knee into his gut. The noise he made clarified that yes, it hurt. His grip slackened and I pushed off of him. Giving him a punch in the nose for good measure while his head was against the floor.

I scrambled to my feet as Trash and Lake got back to theirs. They rushed me, Trash was coming with a tackle and Lake looked like he was going to try and do some overhead punch.

Trash came first, before he connected I drove my knee up and hit him in the gut before pushing him into Lake. They staggered and I rushed. I saved Trash for later and Uppercut Lake before ramming my elbow into the side of his head. He struggled to keep his footing and found a brace against the wall of a stall. I started to recover, but not before took the chance to heel kick him in the gut.

"Asshole!" Trash shouted angrily

He took another shot at my head, connecting with the back of it. A smaller explosion went off in my head this time. It wasn't as clean a hit. He followed it with a series of jabs to my left shoulder. They hurt, but I've had worse.

I turned and put my guard up, giving him a harder target and let him wail on it. I couldn't wait for him to tire out, his buddies were already stirring. Taking a note from Veronica's book, the last punch he threw whiffed the air. My arm snaked passed his and planted itself in his chest. I then swept my arm and knocked his away, exposing his torso. I took the chance, my arms pivoting and flickering as I delivered as many jabs as my arms would give to him. He was back pedaling, trying to get space while I pushed the air out of his with my fists. He stumbled in front of the bathroom door and I knew what my next move was.

With a small back step, I sprang forward with all of my weight. An open palm collided with Trash's chest as my Ranger Takedown landed. He smacked against the door before ripping it off the hinges and ragdolling through the doorway. The splintered door crashed noisily into the floor with Trash skittering into the splinters. I rushed out after him before he could rise again and kicked him hard in the side of the head.

'Turnabout, bitch!'

My eyes darted around the hallway quickly. Needed to make sure Cardin didn't have anything else waiting. I was instead with the surprised eyes of the students pouring out of the cafeteria. Explaining my innocence just got a little harder.

"RRRRAAAAAA!" roared Dope as he flew out of the doorway.

I turned in time to catch a full force punch to the chest. The breath escaped my lungs as I dipped away from his follow up. I kicked out at his left knee. It didn't stumble him, but I saw his stance pivot until the joint locked up. He punched down at me and I rolled a few feet away. I sprang to my feet and backpedaled, putting some space between us as Lake stumbled out of the bathroom.

Trash groaned and picked himself up, looking no worse for wear after a kick to the head. They were all like that. They didn't look hurt but they were clearly winded. I seriously wanted to know what these asshole were on and where I could find some.

We stared each other down, them panting and waiting for an opening. I was sizing them up. I wasn't afraid to fight dirty. Just needed to know where to hit.

Dope's leg.

Lake's Jaw.

Trash's chest, maybe.

I knew what I had to do.

"Last chance." I say, my voice not so even now. "Stop or the nurse gets to practice her stitches tonight."

They gave a dry, hoarse laugh.

"You think we're afraid of you?" Trash laughed

"You should be." I growled "When it comes to endurance I'm not just bulletproof. I'm-"

Dope rushed me, trying to catch me off guard. I punched him in the throat and drove my heel into his locked me. I hit it like I meant, his knee left it's socket with a wet *pop*. He howled and I drove my knee into his face, silencing him as he hit the floor.

"Unstoppable." I finished

Watching their friend fall like a log rattled Trash and Lake and I used it. I rushed Trash and gave him a short series of Jabs to the chest, making sure the wind was out of him. I finished with an improvised Legion Assault. They never taught me it but it wasn't hard to figure out, it was just an amped up Grognak punch.

Lake moved too late. He went to try and help trash and caught another uppercut to the chin. I didn't stop though, I grabbed him by collar and threw him to the nearest window. He collided with it and a spider web of cracks formed. I lunged and punched his head through the glass. Glass rained outside as he head ran through the window. I gripped his hair, pulled him back, and smashed his head through two more, just to be sure. After that I dropped him to the floor

I exhaled and surveyed my work. They were all breathing, but weren't getting up for a few more minutes. The crowd from the cafeteria had gathered and was watching like vultures. No sympathy, anyone of them could've jumped in and stopped me or Cardin's Goons. Far as I'm concerned they could all screw off.

Trash was starting to crawl away, it was slow and he clearly wasn't in fighting shape anymore. Any other day I would have gone over, put my knee on his chest and wailed on him until he wasn't moving. But he was a kid, not a raider. He was a dickbag, sure, but that wasn't a justification for me to kill him. If anything, this just put some fear into them. They needed to be taught a lesson, if it wasn't me now it would be someone else who might not have my moral compunctions. I'm not about to kill some idiot teenagers for their tendencies. There was a chance they'd change.

A nigh non-existent chance, but a chance all the same.

"Whoa." A familiar voice said

I looked into the crowd and noticed that among the gathered students my teammates and the JNPR crew were watching. Each of them had some degree of shock and respect on their faces. There may have been some fear there too, but I think they knew I meant no harm now.

Then there was Nora. Who looked like she just saw the most amazing spectacle since the discovery of dynamite.

"What is the meaning of this!" A shrill voice cut in.

'Aw crap.'

I looked behind me and Goodwitch was standing there with her riding crop. Her usual pissed look on her face.

…

After taking Trash and the boys to the nurse's office, Goodwitch hauled me in to Ozpin. Despite my somewhat vicious beating he was still willing to listen to my side of the story. I told him everything, made sure he had people who could corroborate on this if need be. Though it seemed he was willing to believe me to a degree.

"This… wasn't unexpected." Ozpin admitted "Cardin had a record as being a bit of a trouble maker. It appears that he hasn't left it behind yet."

"No kidding?" I asked "I thought it was common for people to abuse each other in public."

"Perhaps in your wasteland." He chuckled

I scoffed and rolled my eyes. "On a more serious note, I think it's time we talk about something else."

"What did you have in mind?"

"Oh, I don't know, my 'situation' perhaps?"

"I assumed as much." He chuckled again.

"You laugh, but you're not the one stuck on an alien world."

"Yes, but you seem to be adapting."

"No thanks to you, but that's not the point."

"Then what is?"

"… I've been here for a month now, Ozpin." I got up and walked over to one of the windows that ringed his clockwork office. "In that time, I've been forced to adapt and accept this world for what it is."

Ozpin sipped coffee from his mug, letting me continue.

"I've learned that Gold and silver are worth something here. I'm learning to read an entirely different script from the one I grew up with. I've learned what a 'faunus' is, and seen how they're treated. And, to top it off, apparently I'm missing something called an Aura."

That last one earned a confused look from Ozpin. "... And?"

"And… this isn't my world."

Ozpin nodded

"I need to get home Ozpin. I've been here a month now and despite everything I've got no clue how or when I'll get back. But I have to."

Ozpin rose from his seat and joined me at the window. He gave me a sympathetic smile.

"You want to know how things are going?"

"Obviously."

"… I have a trusted friend working on it. He has a team of researchers and scientists trying to find a way to get you home. Their progress is slow, but I promise he'll help, you just need to be patient."

"It's hard to be patient when responsibility falls to you."

"And what responsibility is that?" He asked with a smirk

"… The kind I'm not going to let you suss out of me." I say with my own smirk.

"Very well. But my promise stands regardless." Ozpin returned to his desk "I'll get you home somehow."

"I'm trusting you to."

"I promise it is not misplaced either… Now then, If we are done here, I'd like you to report to professor Peach's office."

I turned away from the window. "What for?"

"You're punishment of course." A smile spread across Ozpin's face "You didn't assume you could assault your fellow students and damage school property without consequence, now did you?"

...

After sending the courier away, Ozpin remained seated at his desk. His mind thinking over their conversation. He'd assumed that the courier was hiding somethings from him. Potentially damaging things. But the courier's demeanor implied that whatever he was hiding, it was his responsibility to return to it. On a level, Ozpin could respect that kind of attitude.

"How did your conversation go?" Glynda asked, entering the room

"Peacefully." Ozpin said "He seemed to understand he was responsible for what he'd done and accepted the punishment for it."

"Hmm, perhaps there's something redeemable about him after all."

"Perhaps more, if you weren't openly antagonistic with him."

Glynda fixed Ozpin with a stern look. "I have no idea what you are implying."

Ozpin chuckled at that and sipped his coffee. "... Were you aware that he lacked an aura?"

"Not until after the incident this morning."

"Neither was I." Ozpin's gaze shifted back out the window where the courier had stood. "It's amazing really. To survive a world like the one he told us about, and then survive in this one as well by his own physical strength and wit."

Ozpin had seen the footage from initiation. While he'd been satisfied with Six's performance, even surprised once he'd returned from below the cliff, he hadn't thought much of it. Now, knowing he'd survived without a huntsman's most fundamental tool, he was impressed.

"He'll make an excellent huntsman." Ozpin said with a soft smile.

"I take it you do not wish to unlock his aura?" Goodwitch continued

"... no, I think it best he continue as he has. Forcing him to accept change will only make him resist harder. When he's ready, I've no doubt he'll reach out to someone."

"I understand... I take it you haven't told him about James then."

Ozpin's smile faded and his eyes fell to his mug. He stared at his own reflection in the dark liquid it held.

"... In all my years, there are few things that can drive people like hope. Even if it's tiny, people will chase anything if there's hope. He's clinging to the idea that he'll be able to return home. I believe it's the only thing that's kept him here so far."

"And you do not want to see him lose hope?"

Ozpin's smile returned to its face. but it no longer held the same tone it once did. Now it was tinged with a melancholic sadness. "I think he needs it the most. Without it, he'd give up and let himself fade away or become lost... No, let him hope. He needs something to hold on to."