I've only got a few memories about Mojave outpost. Some of that ridiculous statue they put in the middle of the road, others of how utterly screwed the place was. Looking back, the whole thing was a house of cards waiting on the right breeze to knock it down. Ranger Jackson did everything he could to keep the place running. But there's only so much you can do when your commander is busy giving the shaft to everyone else. You think Oliver would have cared more about the most direct path into the NCR. Instead he left five soldiers there and told them to close the road. If a legion hit squad had rolled through they could've had a direct line to the heart of the NCR. Honestly, it was a mess.

The only place I can imagine being worse off were Camp Forlorn Hope. Which was literally being given the shaft by Oliver and Caesar.

I'd been to the Mojave outpost just a bit earlier that day. This was early in my journey, I'd recovered from my brush with the reaper maybe a week before this. I'd gone to the outpost chasing my man in the checkered suit. When I got there I'd found nothing, should've figured he wouldn't go near the outpost since he was traveling with the Khans. But there was this sniper by the name of Ghost. She'd seen something down the road at this small town by the name of Nipton. While she and the rest of the stationed troopers, Jackson included, weren't fond of the town; Ghost couldn't shake the feeling something terribly wrong had gone down. Especially given the amount of smoke that was billowing out of it. She hired me to go take a look. It was an easy enough job, especially compared to the last one I had: run over, see what happened, come back, and get paid. Probably the easiest caps I was going to make.

Except it wasn't, of course.

I got to Nipton and had my first encounter with the legion. One thing I know for sure, they sure know how to make a first impression.

I headed back to ghost and told her what I found. She then promptly gipped me on payment and went to tell Jackson. I wasn't in any mood to chase her for caps. So I went down to the outpost's cantina and took a seat at the bar. The bartender, some lady by the name of Lacey, walked up to me.

"You look like you've had a bad day." She said, cleaning a glass

"You don't know the half of it." I say fumbling through one of the pockets of my armor.

At this time, I hadn't really come across much in the way of armor. All I really had was what Doc Mitchel gave me when I woke up. It was a set of beat up leather armor, now probably looking about ready to fall apart after today's events. I also had a storm chaser hat and bandana obscuring most of my face. If Mr. checkered-suit figured out I was still alive, last thing I needed was for him to send people looking.

I pulled a silver coin from my pocket. "What'll this get me?"

Lacey looked down at the coin, then began to eye me cautiously. "Nothing here."

"tsk. Really?"

"Sorry, we don't accept legion coin here."

I picked the coin back up and looked at it. It weighed about an ounce and was probably as close to being fully silver as you could get in the wasteland. I got that the legion wasn't exactly welcome, but was the NCR really gonna turn down precious metals?

I slid the coin back into my pocket and reached into a different pouch. I pulled out a couple of 9mm rounds and set them on the counter. "What about this?"

Lacey looked over the bullets. "… probably enough there for a shot of something strong."

"Good, whisky, please."

Lacey reached beneath the counter and pulled out a shot glass. She grabbed a bottle of amber liquid from behind her and poured the glass full. She walked off and left me alone with my glass. I sat staring into the liquid for a minute, letting the events of the day wash over me before I took my drink.

"You look like something a Gecko shit out." I hear a voice say from my right.

I look and there's this woman sitting on the stool a little ways down from me. She's polished off three bottles of whisky and working on a fourth. She's got auburn hair, dull blue eyes, and a couple light colored freckles ringing her tanned face. She's dressed in a pink checkered shirt, straw hat, stitched up jeans, and a brown leather jacket that's probably seen better days. From the look of her, she's probably had a rough few days herself.

"You don't look too hot yourself, princess." I grumble back

She scoffed. "I got jumped by raiders, what's your excuse?"

"Gun fight with the legion over by Nipton."

She looked me over. My Armor was in tatters, I was covered in cuts and bite marks, and I looked like I'd been shot a few times.

"Nipton? They're that far west?"

"Were that far west." I correct.

"Heh, yeah right. like you-"

I pulled out the coyote skin helmet I took from the leader of legionnaires I fought. I put it on the counter and slid it over to the woman.

"… Shit, you're serious?"

"Yup. We had a disagreement on matters."

"Over what, exactly?"

"Well… he wanted me to run around proclaiming 'The legion is mighty! Fear me! blah, blah, blah.' And I wasn't happy with how he ran the town. So I blasted him in the face with my shotgun."

I motioned to the double barreled 20ga that was slung on my back.

"… You realize you've probably painted a target on your back now, right?"

"Eh, probably, but I've already got one on my head, so what's the difference?"

The woman looked at me for a moment in silence, then chuckled. "You're something strange, you know that?"

"Only a little." I agree with a chuckle. "… I'm Courier Six."

I raised my shot glass towards her. She smirked and raised her glass as well. "Cass."

Our glasses met and we downed our drinks. I could feel the alcohol burning my throat as a dull chiming reached my ears.

…

A muted beeping chimed from my pipboy, rousing me from my slumber. My eyes crept open to the dim light of my temporary home. The air was warm and stuffy, closest I could get to the Mojave in this building. Shame that it wound up being a Janitor's closet. My current roommate was a water boiler that kicked on every hour or so to provide the residents a warm shower. I'd commandeered the room after getting chained to Ruby's team. I may be stuck with them, but I know better than to share a room with four adolescent girls.

I rose and sat stiffly on the edge of my cot. It was made of stiff canvas and bits of light weight metal. This was the closest we could find to a bed for me on short notice. I clicked the light of my pipboy on and checked the time. 7:00 AM, still had a little while before classes started. I stood and stretched, getting a nice cacophony of pops from my various joints. Not much had really happened after Goodwitch dumped me with them. I avoided any meaningful conversation and collected my uniform from some office elsewhere on the school's grounds. Ozpin had at least been generous enough to lend me the cot until I found better arrangements. I was going to have to go out at some point in the near future and explore vale. I needed to find supplies and what not. That'd been the plan last night, then I got dropped with RWBY and things just spiraled from there.

I reached into a box of stuff I'd grabbed from my locker and pulled out a hot plate. One of the things I'd decided to do last night was keep some of my stuff in my room so I wouldn't have to run back and forth to my locker every time I wanted something. I plugged the hotplate in and reached back into my box for a small skillet and some ingredients. Bit of blood sausage, pinch of sautéed jalapeno, some pan fried maize, and the requisite insta-mash make me a nice and hearty breakfast. Of course it is also slightly irradiated, but it's not like I'm serving this to anyone else. I don't mind a few ticks from my pipboy, honestly I've drunk enough irradiated water and eaten enough old world food to practically have a lead belly. The only thing that would've made this better was a cup of coffee, but I don't have any beans on hand.

I slid my mask back slightly, grabbed a fork, and dug in. Maybe the food wasn't up to this world's standard of quality, but to me this was a pretty good meal. It was peaceful compared to the last three days of my life. Just sitting there, eating some breakfast in a room that wasn't collapsing, in danger of being attacked by shadow monsters, or throwing me across time and space. Just sitting there, surrounded by cleaning supplies and a rusty water heater, listening to myself chew. Almost makes me forget that I'm basically trapped her-

The door burst open and the high pitched whine of a whistle filled the room. In the span of a breath I reached under my pillow, grabbed hold of what was hidden and turned to the being standing in my doorway.

"GOOD MORNING SI-"

I double tapped the trigger of my sawed off shotgun, unloading both of the barrels into the face of my unprepared assailant. Her head cocked back suddenly and she stumbled back into the hallway and into the wall before hitting the floor. In the light of the hallway I watched as Ruby's head flopped forward limply.

"… oh shit." I mumble, throwing my shotgun and breakfast onto my bed as I slid my mask back on and rushed out of my room.

Ruby stayed unmoving with her back to the wall. I knelt down and tilted her head up to get a better look at her. She had this glazed look in her eyes but didn't look like she was hurt otherwise, no bruises or anything. Not sure what it is that lets these people keep shrugging off shit like this but I really ought to consider asking.

"You ok Ruby?"

"do I have to go to school uncle Qrow? The beowolves keep stealing my lunch." Ruby slurred as she tried to focus herself.

'Ok, she's conscious. Knocked dumber than the Think Tank, but conscious.'

A door a little further down the hall burst open and Yang burst out. "Ruby what's- whoa!"

She stopped mid-sentence and stared in our direction. This situation definitely looked bad, I was currently standing over a semi-conscious girl in an otherwise deserted hallway with very little context to speak of.

Then I remembered I was still dressed for sleeping, which basically amounted to underwear, undershirt, and helmet. Not good.

I did a backwards somersault and disappeared into the doorway of my room. I quickly slammed the door shut and scrambled to pull something on before Yang ripped the door off the hinges. I pulled my uniform off the hanger it was given to me on and pulled the pants on. No sooner were they zipped and buttoned than my door burst open again. Yang was standing in the doorway looking utterly pissed.

"What did you do?" She growled

"I swear it was an accident." I stammer

"Explain it to me." Yang said, stalking closer to me. I got the distinct impression she was going to attack regardless of what I said.

"She kicked my door open and I… kinda sorta… shot her?"

Yang suddenly leapt at me, grabbed me by the scruff of my shirt, and slammed me into a wall. "You What!?"

"-With bean bags!" I continued "I shot her with bean bags! I swear it was an accident."

"Y-Yang? Six?" Ruby groaned from the hallway. "What happened?"

'Oh thank Graham, she recovers fast.'

Yang turned her attention away from me as her sister began to stir. She dropped me like a sack of flour and hurried over to her sister.

"Are you ok Ruby?" Yang asked, kneeling to inspect her concussed sibling

"My head hurts. Did something hit me?" Ruby asked groggily

"Yea, Six doesn't know how to greet people normally." Yang turned slightly and shot me a scowl.

I shrugged. 'She kicked my door in, what'd she expect me to do?'

Yang picked her barely conscious sister off the ground and carried her back to their room. As they approached, the door across from theirs open and Jaune stuck his head out.

"Everything ok out here?" He asked nervously "I heard a gunshot."

"Go back to sleep Jaune." I say from down the hallway.

He takes a look at the concussed Ruby before slowly retracting into his room and closing the door. I returned to my room and finished pulling my uniform on before looking at my now ruined breakfast. It was good while it lasted, now it was just a mess that I'd have to clean later. I reloaded a pair of beanbag shells into my sawed-off before returning it to its home under my pillow. I closed the door and walked down the hall to my teammates' room. I knocked, like a civilized being and waited for them to open the door.

Yang pulled opened the door and glared at me for a moment. I got the distinct impression she wanted to punch me. Then she sighed angrily and let me in. I walked calmly into the room.

'That, ladies and gentlemen, is how you enter a room.'

The room looked like a twister blew through it. There were bags, clothes, and personal items of varying shapes and sizes littering the room. It was like someone took Old Lady Gibson's scrap yard, stuck it into a tumbler, and let it run until it broke. Ruby was sitting on the edge of her bed rubbing her head.

"… ok, I'll bite, what am I looking at?"

"Our room." Blake said "Which you are going to help us set up."

I promptly turned around and attempted to walk out of the room. Yang slammed the door shut.

"Don't I get a say in this?" I ask

"You did, then you shot my sister in the face." Yang said "Isn't that right Ruby?"

"Yup." Ruby agreed "definitely helping."

"If you need convincing-" Yang said, putting her hand on my shoulder and squeezing tight. "Just think of it as a team-building exercise."

"… ugh, fine. Let's get this over with."

Yang, Blake, and even the concussed Ruby shared a smile. Weiss just looked like she was very displeased by the whole debacle.

"Banzai!" The three teammates said in unison. Somewhere in the room I heard the sound of some strange drum.

'the hell was that?'

…

It took a while for us to clean the room and get some things straightened out. I was mostly just there to move furniture and hold things. Though I suppose it was a good way to learn about the chain gang I'd been stuck with. Given her ridiculous amount of luggage and insistence on hanging a very tasteful painting, It wasn't hard to assume Weiss fancied herself some sort of socialite. In a lot of ways she reminded me of ambassador Crocker, in a good way so far. Yang stuck a picture of what I assume was this world's take on a barbershop quartet. Though there were six people in the poster… so a barbershop sextet?... No, that just sounds wrong. Point is, she seems like a "normal" teenage girl. Ruby showed her young age. She compensated her short stature with a longer object to help her hang drapes. Unfortunately she also cut the drapes in half, and very narrowly myself as well, since she used her opened scythe to hang them. Not a smart idea. Blake was of a very learned persuasion, if the small library of books she brought with her was any indicator. She literally took every bit of shelf space available and crammed a book onto it. Though I did notice there was one book she grabbed and her face got really red. She quickly stashed it behind one of the shelves, hoping no one was looking. Gonna store that one away for later use.

By the time the remodeling train lost steam, we were left with enough luggage to fill a small warehouse and not enough space for everyone to place their stuff down. We'd even stacked the beds in an awkward pile in the center of the room to try and find more space. But it didn't solve the problem since they were going to have to move them back in the end anyway. These girls had over packed so well they could probably give me lessons.

"This… isn't going to work." Weiss groaned in annoyance.

"It's a bit cramped." Blake added

"Maybe we should ditch some of our stuff?" Yang offered in agreement

I looked among the three team members. "… no kidding? What gave it away, mount box-spring over there? Why don't you try getting rid of that."

"hmm…" Ruby hummed thoughtfully. "… Maybe we could ditch the beds."

"Uh… I was only kidding Ruby, you don't actually have t-"

"No, no, we should totally ditch them! We can replace them with Bunk beds!" Ruby exclaimed happily.

"That's… that's actually a reasonable solution, come to think of it."

"And super awesome!" Yang cut back in.

"That sounds exceedingly dangerous." Weiss said in disagreement. "Can we vote on this?"

"We basically just did." Ruby chuckled

"His vote doesn't count!" Weiss motioned to me.

"I'm pretty sure she wasn't counting me." I said, motioning to Blake. The young brunette was giving a small thumbs up in conjunction with a sheepish smile, much to Weiss's chagrin.

"…fine" Weiss sighed in frustration. "Let's just finish this already."

It took us significantly less time to move and rearrange the beds than it did to set the rest of the room up. Their beds weren't designed with the intention of having them function as bunk beds. So my experience as a jury rigger came in handy. Never in all my time fixing rifles with sewing pins and plumbing linkages with tin cans would I have imagined I'd hang a bed from the ceiling with duct tape and rope. I doubt anyone would believe me if I told them either.

We all stepped back to admire our handy work. Gotta say, it looked hideous. But if it works, who cares?

"Alright!" Ruby exclaimed in excitement before flopping onto one of the beds. "All that's left now is…"

Her excitement faded at the thought of what was supposed to come next.

"Classes?" I offer.

"… Yeah, those." She said dejectedly.

Ruby pulled a small planner from her cape and began to thumb through the pages. "let's see, at 9 we have-"

"Did you say 9 o'clock!?" Weiss asked suddenly

"Uh… yes?"

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"It's 8:55 you dunce!"

With a turn, Weiss ran from the room at high speed.

"… Geez, what's got her panties in a knot?" I ask

"We don't want to be late on the first day!" Ruby shouted following after Weiss.

"So? I'm late to things all the time." I slowly walked out of the room as Yang and Blake prepared to start running.

"Well, have fun with Ms. Goodwitch in detention then." Yang said with an innocent smile as she and Blake took off down the hall. They rounded a corner and disappeared as I took a moment to process my situation.

'Beat feet to something I want nothing to do with or get stuck in a room with the smug stripper for a few hours…'

"Graham Dammit."

I bolted back to my room, grabbed a notebook and ran down the hall after the girls. By the time I'd made it outside I could see them crossing a quad towards one of the school buildings. They took the paths, I had no problem cutting across the grass to catch up. I managed to catch up to them at the doorway of the building. To my surprise, Jaune and the rest of JNPR had joined our little convoy.

"Change your mind?" Yang asked coyly as we raced down the hallways.

"Just keep running, I'm not getting stuck with Goodwitch in detention." I growl.

Our posses rounded a final corner and slid into the class room. It was a large lecture hall, with the student's desks elevated in levels and a big pit area for the professor and presentations. I think I saw something like this in the Big Empty once, though I can't say for sure. We clambered up a set of stairs and took some open seat on the first row. I took a seat between Ruby and Weiss just as a portly looking man with silver hair and an immaculate walrus moustache walked in. My assumption would be that he is the professor, though that would make him the first teacher I've actually met at this school outside of Ozpin and Goodwitch.

"Well now." He said jovially "You all appear to be in good spirits. If you'll allow me a few minutes to prepare, class will begin shortly."

Though he didn't actually wait for a reply to his question, it did take him a few minutes to set up what he would need for his lesson. He scribbled a couple of rough sketches onto the chalk boards at the front of the room. I recognized a few of them, they looked like the Grimm that tried to rip me apart yesterday. I could hear Ruby snoring next to me as she rested her head in her propped up hand. Either she's quick to fall asleep or her concussion was starting to act up.

I reached into my uniform's jack and pulled out the notebook I'd grabbed. If there was anything of importance I needed to know about this world, I was gonna have to get it from these classes, unfortunately. I can only hope that these people don't ramble.

…

"Monsters!" the professor emphasized each word with a chalk stroke "Demons! Prowlers of the Night!"

'please shut up, you're giving me a migraine.'

The portly man turned to face the class. "Yes, the creatures of Grimm have many names. But I merely refer to them… as Prey! Ha ha!"

Ruby's head slipped out of her hand and she was roused from her short slumber.

'good, concussion averted so far.'

"-and So shall you, upon your graduation from this prestigious academy." The professor continued.

'Yeah, yeah, honor and glory to the first person to not die after graduation. Goodwitch already said this two days ago.'

So far the information I'd gotten wasn't entirely useful, though I guess I can't expect anatomy lessons on the first day. Can't go and give away the important shit without making us work for it. So far though the professor, a one Peter Port, had only been giving me a splitting headache. We get it, you're a hunting enthusiast, please stop before I give myself a concussion just to ignore you.

"Now as I was saying, Vale, as well as the other three kingdoms are safe havens in an otherwise treacherous world.-"

'Finally, something useful.' I scribbled down that there were three other 'important' factions in this world. No specifics, but it was a start. Especially considering I can't ready anything he writes on the board.

"-Our planet is absolutely teeming with creatures that would absolutely love to tear you to pieces."

'Gee, why does that sound familiar?'

"But that is where we come in. Hunters! Huntresses!" Port made a clicking with his tongue and I heard a nervous chuckle from some of the other female students, Yang included.

'Dude, these girls are old enough to be your daughter. Have some dignity.'

"-Individuals who have sworn to protect those who cannot protect themselves. From what, you ask? Why, the very world of course!"

Somewhere behind me, some kiss-ass shouted in agreement. I wasn't the only one who noticed since Ruby turned to look behind her.

"That is what you are training to become. But first, a story."

'Please no, I don't want to hear another rambling story.'

"A tale of a young, handsome man."

'Strange, I just got here, didn't think I-'

"Me."

I let Port fade into the background as he began to drone about his childhood. I stared down at my pip-boy and began to fiddle with the knobs and dials. I clicked over to the stats section and checked my which, in addition to the list of Grayed out locations, listed Vale and Beacon among them. Beacon being represented by vault-person versions of Ozpin and Goodwitch, while Vale was represented by a man in a bowler hat and a woman with multiple hair colors. Which is impressive given the pip-boy's display only showing green and black. I think bowler-hat guy was supposed to represent Torchwick, but I didn't recognize the girl.

"-Despite smelling of cabbages, My grandfather was a wise man. 'Peter-' He told me,-"

The sounds of giggling drew my attention to the small girl sitting beside me. Ruby was scribbling something on a sheet of paper. She noticed I was looking and gave a smirk before raising the sheet and revealing her caricature of Port. A round, smelly beach ball with spindly arms and a ridiculous mustache. Apparently I wasn't the only one to notice. I could hear Yang giggling further down. Ruby blew a small raspberry and I couldn't help but give a small chuckle.

"Ahem." Port cleared his throat. Squashing the small laughter Ruby had generated. She quickly slapped the paper back down onto the table. "Ms. Rose, is there something you would like to share with class?"

"Uhh…" Ruby said, looking like a deer in headlights.

"She was just saying how… astounding it was for you to take on a beowolf at such a young age." I say, cutting in to give Ruby some breathing room "Though she feels sorry for your friend."

"Hmm, is that so Ms. Rose?"

"Y-yea, that's it sir." Ruby said, taking the out I provided. We probably sounded like ass-kissers now, but it's better than explaining Ruby's atrocious art skills.

"Ah, well it certainly wasn't a feat my grandfather had expected." Port said with a beaming smile. Then it faded slightly. "As for Ms. Ducke, it truly is a shame she hadn't been more wary… now, where was I? …Ah, yes-"

Port went back to rambling, I gave Ruby a glance as she scribbled something onto her paper. 'Thanks' was scrawled in a very curly script on the corner of the paper. I gave a small nod and returned my focus to my pipboy. I may have the charisma of a substitute teacher most days, but that was subject to a whole number of things. Namely, my current drink count or how much the person in front of me liked me.

"A true huntsman-" Port finally concluded his rambling "Must be honorable. A true huntsman must be dependable. A true huntsman must be strategic, well-educated, and wise… So, who among you thinks themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?"

Next to me, Weiss's hand shot up. "I do, sir!" she seethed

'Weiss Schnee, model of humility and dignity, ladies and germs.'

Port smirked, "Well then, let's find out."

There was a slight rattling as a space in the floor next to Port opened and a cage rose from it. The creature inside was hidden in shadows, only the gleam of its red eyes showed it was a Grimm.

"Step forward, and face your opponent."

Weiss stood from her seat and walked around us, down the stairs, and out the door. Her stride was quick and stormy. She seemed upset, but for the last few hours I'd known her that just appeared to be her default mood. So if there was something wrong, I wasn't the person to notice it. A few minutes passed and Weiss stalked back through the door, now clad in standard white skirt/dress ensemble. She clutched that weird looking toothpick she called a sword in one hand and took a stance across the room from the caged beast.

"Gooo Weiss!" Yang shouted

"Fight Well!" Blake said, giving an uncharacteristic smile and waving a tiny flag.

'When did we make flags? Musta missed a memo.'

"You got this, Snowflake." I say flatly, twirling my finger in the air.

"Yeah! Represent Teeeeam RWBY!" Ruby shouted gleefully

Weiss shot the tiny girl a glare. "Ruby, I'm trying to focus." She said angrily.

"oh, sorry." Ruby deflated.

"let the match-" Port said, raising a strange looking axe "Begin!"

Port swung the axe down, shattering the lock that kept the cage closed. The door fell open, revealing the Grimm that was trapped within. It was a boar-like beast, with two sets of eyes, massive tusks, and a mask that covered its entire head. A part of me noticed a pattern involving the Grimm, most seemed to have masks that covered their heads. If they were all basically bullet proof, then shooting them in the head was an option that may not be on the table any more. Fan-fucking-tastic.

In the blink of an eye, the boar had burst from the cage at lightning speed. It bore down on Weiss like a bat out of hell. By the time she realized it the boar was less than ten feet away. She rolled to the side, swiping at the boar with her sword as it passed her. As she returned to her feet the boar slowed and turned to face her, growling lowly.

"Ha Ha, Wasn't expecting that were you?" Port asked in his standard joviality

"Hang in there Weiss!" Ruby shouted next to me.

For the briefest of moments, Weiss shot a glare at Ruby. Normally this wouldn't have made a difference. Of course normally, you wouldn't been in the middle of fighting a pitch black murder-pig. The boar charged Weiss the instant she turned to face Ruby.

"Eyes forward Snowflake!" I shouted

I was too late, by the time Weiss realized her mistake the boar had reached her. She raised her toothpick in defense and the boar knocked it aside with its charge. The beast slammed into her, tossing her aside like a sack of Tatos. Her toothpick went flying from her grasp, clattering to the floor on the opposite side of the room

"Ho ho" Port continued his color commentary, "now what will you do without your weapon?"

Weiss blinked, regaining her composure as the boar charged her once more. She threw herself to the side, rolled, and sprang to her feet as the boar missed her and slammed into the desk. The creature flopped and tumbled to the side upon impact. Weiss dashed over and grabbed her toothpick from the ground before turning to face the boar again.

"Weiss! Go for its belly!" Ruby shouted next to me "There's no armor underneath-"

"Stop telling me what to do!" Weiss snapped

'Then stop sucking so hard.'

Ruby's expression sank a little. She hadn't been expecting that kind of reaction.

The squealing ball of darkness leapt into the air, tucked into itself and proceeded to roll toward Weiss like a runaway tire. Having finally learned that this creature was nothing but a one trick Brahmin, Weiss readied something I hadn't expected. She waited until the boar was almost upon her before parrying the beast with her sword. But the beast never touched her or her sword. Instead it ran face first into a glowing blue mandala Weiss had summoned. Though it was different from the ones I'd seen Goodwitch use. Rather than displaying a symmetrical image, Weiss's projection bore a singular massive glyph instead. The beast came to a dead stop on impact, falling helplessly on its back. Capitalizing on this, Weiss summoned another of the glyphs above and jumped towards it. With a flip, she planted her feet against it. In an instant the bright blue glow faded black and Weiss was launched at the stunned swine. There was a strangled squeal of pain as Weiss's toothpick skewered the pig in its belly. With a few final twitches, the boar dropped dead. Weiss knelt beside it, panting and trying to collect herself.

"Bravo! Braa-vo!" Port said, in what may have been feigned enthusiasm, though I honestly couldn't tell. "It appears we are indeed in the presence of a true huntress in training."

Weiss stood up, still panting and trying to collect herself. She forced herself to at least look the part as Port dismissed us. "I'm afraid that's all the time we have for today. Be sure to cover the assigned readings and, stay vigilant. Class dismissed."

Weiss shot Ruby another glare before stalking out of the room again. The rest of the students began packing up shortly thereafter.

"Sheesh, what's with her?" I heard Jaune ask faintly from his seat.

…

As soon as Ruby collected everything she'd brought with her, she bolted from the room. Not sure what lit a fire under her ass, but she was gone before anyone had a chance to ask. Yang, Blake, and I went our separate ways. Blake wanted to check out the library, something I might look into myself, and Yang said something about a class. As far as the hunk of metal on my arm told me, I was free to spend the rest of my day as I saw fit. Which meant I could probably take that shopping trip now. I still had some supplies, but figuring out what items did and didn't exist in this world needed to be addressed. Finding microfilm maps for my pip-boy should probably be added to the list as well. Trying to find my way out while being unable to read the signs was annoying

I walked down a corridor that, according to my compass, lead to an exit from the building. It should be just around the next right corner. After that it was just a matter of finding a way to town. I just needed to get there first. As I reached the corner though, I saw Ruby standing at the crossroads. An all too familiar voice echoing from just beyond the corner.

"That's just it, you've done nothing to earn your position!" Weiss shouted angrily.

Under normal circumstances, I'd turn around and find a different path. But the exit was right here. I figured if I waited long enough they'd move on. Somehow, they hadn't noticed me yet either. With that in mind, I leaned against the wall and engaged stealth mode.

"-back in the forest-" Weiss continued "- you acted like a child and you've only continued to do so."

"Weiss, where is this coming from?" Ruby asked, sounding a bit hurt. "What happened to all the talk about working together? I thought you believed in acting as a team."

"Not a team led by you. I've studied, and trained, and quite frankly I deserve better." There was a clicking of shoes on stone as someone moved. "Ozpin made a mistake."

There was a sound of receding footsteps. Followed by silence filling the air.

"… Well someone is a bit of a hypocrite." I say, making my presence known. Ruby jolted a little, she turned and finally noticed me. "so much for being a 'team player', huh?"

"… do you think she's right?" Ruby asked dejectedly. "Did Professor Ozpin make a mistake?"

"How should I know? Do I look like a silver haired caffeinophile?"

Ruby looked at me curiously, a sad look still present in her eyes.

"… Is that a yes?" Ruby asked

"No, it's an 'I'm not sure'." I reply sarcastically "Ruby you've been leading for less than a day, how do you expect me to judge you?"

"Weiss isn't having a hard time." Ruby said sadly

"Well she's just pissy that she didn't get chosen for the job."

Ruby's expression continued to deflate. I got this strange feeling in my chest, it was… familiar, in a way. Seeing her upset didn't sit right with me.

"… You know she has no idea what she's talking about, right?"

Ruby blinked and looked at me.

"She can 'train' and 'study' for being a leader, but that only means so much."

Now Ruby was just confused.

"What I'm trying to say is, despite the fact that Weiss is supposedly 'prepared' to be a leader, Ozpin chose you. At some point during the initiation, you did something that Ozpin recognized as being worthy to lead."

"I suppose…"

"… Aight, look, I may not know the whole story about how you girls took down that Nevermore, but that was probably the reason Ozpin chose you."

"But one good plan-"

"Doesn't make you a good leader, I know, believe me. But the plan isn't what was important. From everything I heard, the important fact was that you took charge when your teammates needed direction."

I leaned further against the wall. I felt like I was digging into something I shouldn't be but couldn't help but go a little further.

"A good leader isn't someone who can come up with a plan that can work perfectly on the first go, or someone who's trained relentlessly for that singular purpose. A leader sets the example, they take charge when things go wrong and push to find the best solution. When things go wrong, the punishment falls to them first…"

My thoughts drifted back to New Vegas for a moment. The time before I got stuck in charge. How Oliver willingly screwed his own people for his own gain.

"… A leader that demands power because they 'trained' the hardest and 'learned' every strategy is no leader at all. They're just a spoiled brat."

"…Six?" Ruby asked

I snapped out of my thoughts and noticed Ruby had lost some of the sadness in her eyes. It seems that I'd succeeded in capturing her attention. But something about her seemed worried now. Perhaps I had gone a bit far into studying my navel territory.

"Sorry, got a bit carried away there. What I'm trying to say is that whether or not you are a bad leader isn't something that can be determined yet. I may be stuck with you girls, no offense, but that doesn't mean I'm going to disrespect and fight you at every turn."

Ruby nodded a little, taking in what I was saying.

"If Ozpin 'made a mistake', then that's something we may or may not learn. From everything I've seen, you're putting your best foot forward. Nobody can ask for much more than that."

Ruby gave me a soft smile, apparently I'd managed to cheer up the small girl. What I wasn't expecting was the weird feeling I got in my chest shortly there-after. I must be getting sick or something.

'Why does my face feel warm?'

"Y-You know though, there is an easy way to cure hypocrisy." I pushed off the wall and back onto my feet.

"Really?"

"Yea, it's proving them dead wrong."

The smile on Ruby's face got a little bigger.

"My advice: Go to the library and find a few books on tactics, communication, or even trust building. The more experience you get with this the less Weiss can complain, but a little book learning won't do any harm either."

Ruby gave a confident nod and began walking down the hall I'd come from. "Thanks, Six" She said

"Don't mention it… Seriously though, don't, the last thing I want is to start playing therapist to everyone."

Ruby gave a light chuckle and walked on. She seemed to be in better spirits now.

"Well now, this was certainly unexpected." A new voice chimed in. From around the corner walked the frequently aforementioned caffeinophile. "I was about to have a world with Ms. Rose, then who should she so happen to meet up with but you."

"Meh, I was heading somewhere and just happened to bump into her."

"Indeed, Though I find it surprising you'd take the time to cheer her up. Given your otherwise uncooperative tendencies."

'I'm only uncooperative when people give me shit.'

"Well-" I say, preparing to walk away. "If I'm to be stuck with them, it would be best to at least make sure I can work with them."

Ozpin gave his trademark smirk. "Fair enough… although, the manner you chose to do so was… unexpected."

'Oh I definitely don't like where this is going.'

"Well, what else could I say? My other attempts just upset her more."

"True… but from everything you said, it sounded as though you've had experiences with leadership before. As though you yourself may have been in such a position."

'called it, he's trying to suss me again.'

I mentioned back during my interrogation that I omitted a number of things when Ozpin was interrogating me. One of them was the majority of my personal history and status as 'Supreme Commanding Lord of New Vegas and the Mojave.'. Before you ask, no I didn't come up with the title… Lily did. I told him the bare basics to keep him at bay. Should've figured he'd come digging for more.

"Trust me when I say this: It doesn't matter what you promise me, I will never be stuck in charge of people. They're incredibly frustrating and impossible to work with."

"Yes, but this does not answer the question."

"… No, I have not been a leader. Now if you don't mind-" I resume walking towards the exit. "- I need to take a trip into town. Bye."

I turned the corner and began walking towards the open doorway. The warm glow of an afternoon sky and setting sun drifted through it.

"Very well then. Have a good trip, the last airship for the day left five minutes ago.

"…"

'dammit.'

…

I spent the rest of my day wandering the school… again. By the time I actually get ahold of a microfilm of this world, I'll probably have it memorized and won't need it anyway. Honestly, without any real target to focus myself on in this place, I'd probably never find anything useful. The only places I'd filed away so far were the dorms and where port's class was.

I snagged some food from the mess-hall and sequestered myself outside. I probably could've sat with my 'teammates' but I have to move my helmet and mask around to eat. I'm not on quite at the face to face level with them. Even if I was I'd still be surrounded by dozens of people who definitely weren't. so for now, it's either eating in my room or having picnics outside. Doesn't bother me one bit, scenery is nicer outside and it's quieter. Unless they drag me to eat with them, I don't plan on eating inside any time soon. Dinner was good, surprisingly. I doubt this world had Brahmin, but I'd recognize beef anywhere. It appeared to be chuck steak with some pasty white mush and little green vegetables that looked like trees. The steak was a little over done, but infinitely better than the previous meal this school gave me. The mush was bland and the vegetables were a bit bitter, but they weren't bad with a bit of salt.

I stayed outside until the sun set completely, then a little longer to look up at the night sky. It was amazing how similar, yet different it was from the one in the Mojave. I didn't recognize any constellations either. It was still pretty to look at though.

When I finished star gazing, I made tracks to the dorm. It was late by this point, every sane person was either asleep or soon going to be. Which meant the showers were deserted and I could clean up undisturbed. I took a quick one, though I had to spend several minutes waiting to dry off once I realized I still didn't have a towel. After that I cleaned up the mess from my incident earlier that morning and settled into my cot. I tried to fall asleep, but it appeared tonight was going to be one of the rare nights where it tried to elude me. Unfortunately, I was out of my usual remedy for this situation. Ozpin had seen to that. Instead I was going to have to try something different. Ozpin had left most of my herbs untouched, which is funny considering many of them are highly poisonous unless used properly. But this also meant I had the ingredients to make a cup of dream-time knock-out juice™. Bit of Daturana extract, one ground up broc flower, and a honey mesquite pod steeped into hot water to make tea. The only ingredient I was missing was water to boil. Which I could easily remedy by getting some from the common room. I could use the water from the boiler in my room, but something tells me it could turn into a very bad idea very quickly.

Dressed in my half park stroller outfit, I walked down the hall and turned into the common area of the dorm building. It was basically a lounge with a few conveniences. Like a tv, coffee maker, some couches, and a sink for water. I set a tin kettle underneath the faucet and fill it up as far as I need to. The sound of approaching footsteps grabs my attention. I turn and notice Weiss is approaching the sink.

"'Sup." I say, capping off my kettle.

"Hello." Weiss said solemnly. She took note of the kettle I was carrying. "Are you making tea?"

"Yea, having a bit of trouble sleeping. I got some stuff to fix that."

She nodded and walked over to the coffee maker. She started pouring grounds into a fresh filter.

"I suppose you're making coffee then?"

"None for me. It's for our leader."

"Oh, I see" A smirk running across my face from under my mask. "Trying to buck the chain of command? Rise above your station, that sort of thing?"

Weiss looked at me like I was an idiot. "What? No, it's to help keep her awake while she studies."

"Oh." I was genuinely surprised she'd dropped her hostility. "In that case, you might want to use something a bit stronger than decaf."

Weiss looked at the container of coffee she was using and noticed the bright orange tag near its base. Written in black text was the word 'decaffeinated'.

"… thank you." She said, slightly embarrassed.

"Don't mention it, just glad to see that you're willing to talk to each other so soon after that spat of yours."

Weiss's face turned a light shade of red. "You heard that?"

"Snowflake, I think everyone heard that. Word of advice? Air your dirty laundry behind closed doors."

"… Well-" Weiss stammered, attempting to retain her composure. "- perhaps I judged her a bit harshly. I talked with professor Port and he helped me to see things differently."

"Like how our team leader isn't a thirteen year old?"

"… yes…?"

I gave a dry chuckle. "I get it, ya know? If somebody was going to tell me I was going to be stuck following an inexperienced kid around I wouldn't be happy either."

"Then why are you putting up with it?"

"'cuz it's the hand I've been dealt and the game hasn't even left the first round yet."

"You can't really tell how things will go." Weiss nodded "Port said about as much."

"Hm, I guess there's something to his rambling after all."

"Well… I'm not opposed to all of her ideas… I'd always wanted bunk beds as a child."

"From my understanding, her plan during the initiation is testimony to her quick thinking."

Weiss nodded. "That was… unorthodox, but it did work."

"You'd be surprised how often 'unorthodox' plans turn out to be the best ones."

"Speaking of the intiation, you never did explain how you survived falling off the cliff with the Grimm."

"True… perhaps I'll keep it that way, leave you all to marvel at the one moron to survive falling off a cliff with an armored Deathclaw."

"… Deathclaw?"

"…Oh, right, you guys haven't seen one before."

'Or ever, assuming there isn't some native version in this world.' I thought

"Yes, in all of my studies I don't believe I've seen a Grimm like that."

"Yeah, they're- uh- pretty rare. Only found in very remote places."

"How rare?"

'More rare than a clean hooker in Gomorrah, for you guys anyway.'

"Rare enough. What's with all the questions?"

"Best to be prepared if we ever see one again… But if they're so rare how do you know about them?"

"… You don't want to know."

"I do, actually, since you seem to know something about them."

"… A courier never reveals his secrets, under threat of death."

'I've nearly died for more. No sense in giving away knowledge for free… yet.'

"Anyway, weren't you in the middle of playing coffee girl for Ruby?"

"Oh, right, thanks."

Weiss poured a mug full of fresh brewed coffee and proceeded to dump a thing of milk and a lot of sugar into it. Someone certainly has a sweet tooth. The two of us began our walk back towards our respective rooms.

"This will certainly be an interesting time." Weiss said as we walked

"Wish I could say the same, unfortunately I've got a bad habit of following people when I shouldn't."

"Now look who's having second thoughts."

"Hey, doesn't mean it always ended poorly, just know it's a bad habit."

"With someone as strange as Ruby, it's hard to tell."

"Strange or not, so far she's still leagues better than Lee Oliver."

"…Who?"

Silence filled the air as Weiss looked at me in confusion.

'Shit, I just said that out loud.'

"No one, Oh look here's my room gotta go bye."

I turned, cracked open my door, slid through, and locked it behind me. Leaving Weiss alone in the hallway. I silently chastised my lapse in thought. I quickly brewed my bitter and pungent drink, downing it as fast as I could. In summation, that was my first day of learning at Beacon.