Chapter 2

The dreadnought was a massive thing, the golden battleship sailed through the cosmos at a ludicrous speed on its trip to the edge of Paradox Space itself. The journey was long, the months would turn to years as the only thing that seemed to change was the scenery of the cosmos around them. But it wasn't the sights that drew Xavier's attention, but rather the sound. Or rather, the lack thereof. He had been skulking around the halls of the ship for longer than he could remember, certain doors that were once open had now been shut tight with no sign of entry possible. Panic began to seize his senses as he made his way out of the crew quarters and towards the bridge. The throne room seemed like his best hope of finding some sign of life, perhaps everyone had gathered for a strategy meeting? Or training? Or even a surprise party? Wasn't his birthday coming soon...? The jumbled sea of thoughts were difficult to parse together, his head feeling like it was swimming through a sea of gelatin as he kept pushing forward. Forward. And finally, ornate golden doors were before him...

The polished gold was the cleanest, most well-kept part of the vessel that Xavier had seen so far, nearly eight meters in height and carved with the grandiose sigil of the royal family of Prospit*. He placed a hand upon the door, but it wouldn't budge. It refused to move a single inch, nothing could be gleaned from the miniscule crack between the great doors, nor from peering underneath. The only way forward was through. He had to push forward. Without understanding why, he couldn't. It was with that realization that he saw it. Xavier caught a glimpse throughout, but that glimpse became more clear as he put his failed efforts into the door. There was... A distortion about the image, Xavier saw his own face, certainly, but it was uncanny somehow. He noticed that his hair was far more messy and disheveled, kept longer than he usually would. He noticed that his clothing was darker and more worn, torn and only barely stitched together in some places... But these weren't what put him on edge. When he looked into his own eyes, they were a stark white, the hallmark of the dead. Xavier tilted his head to the left... But so did his reflection, and as the two took a step back, facing one another with movement coming from the same sides of the body, the reflection spoke first. Its voice was disjointed, as if borrowing from many memories that came together in a chorus as it spoke. "who... are you?"

Xavier awoke with a start, bolting upright in bed and having trouble catching... His breath? As he slowly steadied his breathing, he placed a hand over his chest to feel his heart's rapid beating. He would close his eyes and breathe deeply, in through the nose, and out through the mouth. The dream was disturbing enough... But he hadn't been forced to control his breathing in quite some time. With a deep sigh, Xavier collected his glasses, the iSpecs were alchemized* long ago, and had served him since the beginning of his great adventure. The interface they provided was very, very outdated, but it hardly bothered him. After checking the time, approximately 4:30 in the morning, he sighed deeply. Despite not often needing rest, a morning person Xavier Mathis was not. After crawling out of bed, he grabbed ahold of his Spiral Overcoat. This colossal sheet of incredibly durable fabric that appeared to be tailored for a being far larger than himself was composed of pure energy, as a Space player, and especially as a controlling class, he often simply manipulated that energy into the form of any clothing he desired.

His ensemble today consisted of his classic jeans and hiking boots, however, he would change the shirt to a black polo and place a dark blue track jacket on top of it. After examining himself in the limited reflection of his dorm room's window, Xavier nodded in satisfaction, fixing his hair a bit before opening his door... To find Ozpin standing outside, his mug in one hand, and the other making ready to knock on Xavier's door.

"Ah, you're awake." Ozpin would take a sip of his drink after his observation, and take his cane out from under the same arm before turning to walk down the hallway. "Follow me, Mathis."

Xavier yawned, closing the door behind him and following behind his employer, silently wondering what exactly would have prompted a visit at this ungodly hour. His question would soon be answered as Ozpin began to speak, his tone was fairly apathetic all things considered, perhaps the cup contained coffee that wasn't quite strong enough. "As you are aware, today is the initiation for our new class of students. Despite any concerns you may have, you will remain with myself and Professor Goodwitch throughout the proceedings, am I understood?"

Xavier was taken aback a bit by the statement, if he were more awake he may have even had a laugh at it, though instead he gave a rather sizable yawn. "got it..." Ozpin would stop almost immediately, and turn to face Xavier. The old man was a head taller than the Rogue of Space, but Xavier recognized the look in his eyes. A simple answer like that wasn't enough. "oz... i may be concerned for these kids going against those monsters but that's literally why they're here, i get it, someone might die, it wasn't so different when i was younger,"

That answer seemed satisfactory enough as Ozpin took a rather audible drink from his cup, the unexpectedness of it caused Xavier to give a small laugh despite himself. Ozpin cracked a bit of a smile, but it vanished as quickly as it appeared. "In the days to follow I expect you to live up to the responsibilities we have assigned, despite Glynda's objections I am more than willing to give you an opportunity to show that you aren't simply some monster from another dimension."

Xavier gave a nervous chuckle at that. "guess she's still a bit hung up on that whole shtick?"

Ozpin let go of his cane for a brief second to adjust his glasses, pushing them back up to the bridge of his nose with two fingers. "Indeed."

Xavier sighed softly. "i'm more than willing to tell you what i can, you know that"

Ozpin shook his head lightly. "No I do not, in fact what we know about you can hardly be written on a page. However, this last month has shown me that I can take you at your word. If you live up to the expectations placed upon you, you will be given greater freedoms. In the meantime, I advise you to get something to eat, preferably before the sun rises."

Xavier waited until Ozpin was out of sight, having gone down the hallway and into the next corridor, before letting out a deep sigh. He realized that this, too, was a test. He had a very limited amount of time before this whole shindig kicked off, so how did Oz expect him to use it? He mused on this for a few brief moments as he made his way out into the courtyard, he retrieved a cigarette from the stash in his sylladex and snapped his fingers at the very end of it, using just the barest hint of energy to light it. A thought occurred as his gaze wandered to the main building where the students were, presumably, still asleep. "now if i were a betting man..."

Blake had awoken not long after Xavier, being more than used to getting up before sunrise. While she hadn't slept as long as she liked, it was a restful sleep. After checking to make sure her bow was secured, she would take her things and silently make her way to the locker room, taking a quick, cold shower to fully wake up before changing into her usual attire. Her dark stockings ran the length of her legs, covered by white shorts. She wore a white top that covered more of her neck than her midriff, topped off with a black vest of sorts, a sleeveless garment that had two long tails that reached down to the backs of her thighs, and was sealed with a button just above her navel. Next, she wrapped her wrists with black fabric, and placed a protective sleeve over her dominant arm that reached from the shoulder to the wrist. After slipping on her black heeled shoes, she would make her way outside to the courtyard. With some small time to spare before the others would be woken up, and before breakfast was made in the mess hall, Blake wanted to see the sun rise over Vale...

And as she made her way outside, it wasn't long before she spotted him. Xavier sat at the bottom of the main stairs leading to the academy, evidently he had considered the same way to spend his time, albeit going from one smoke to the next in the meantime. Blake hesitated, there wasn't really any way besides turning around to salvage how this may have looked. However, the silence was broken by Xavier first, having heard her steps in the relative silence of the moment. "morning, today's the big day huh?"

Blake sighed through her nose as she made her way down the stairs, sitting on the opposite end as him. "I'm not worried." She said as she gazed to the east, and giving a biiiiiig stretch. "Try not to think about how some of them won't survive initiation. I won't have that problem... But it's still a strange feeling."

Xavier was glad he wasn't taking a drag, as her statement would probably have made him choke on it. "...you shouldn't dismiss anyone so easily, even someone completely useless can survive incredible things," It was a bit out of character for him to be this optimistic, but this place gave him some semblance of hope he hadn't felt in quite some time.

She didn't mind. In fact, she decided to slip out of character a bit herself. "We have almost an hour before we have to start getting ready... Do you... Want to go for a walk...?" She blushed a bit, looking down as she asked.

He chuckled a bit, crushing out his smoke. "a little forward but i don't object, but if i get in trouble with goodwitch, it's your fault" He attempted to sound at least halfway scolding, but couldn't manage it.

"You're the authority figure in this situation, I'm blameless by default." She stuck her tongue out at the slightly older boy, which got him to look away as he quickly stifled a laugh. It seemed it wasn't difficult to make him laugh.

They both enjoyed the moment with Blake likewise having a small laugh before the rising sun began to peek over the horizon. After a few minutes, they both stood and began to walk the grounds, it was a sort of unguided tour as Xavier had gotten familiar with the campus over the last month, but he didn't break the silence as they took in the sights. The exterior of Beacon Academy was a sight to behold, a triumph of classic and modern architecture and landscaping, a large plaza fountain was out front that greeted visitors from the front gate and could be spotted even from the top of the great stairs leading up to the school itself.

After enough time had passed with only the sounds of running water and the songs of birds filling the air, Xavier decided to speak. "i'm surprised you were up this early, were you just eager to meet again?" He joked with a sly smile.

Blake shook her head, though couldn't help but smile a little. "I just got used to getting ready quickly back ho- Wh-where I grew up." She cleared her throat a bit. "Plus I don't wear any makeup." She closed her eyes and relaxed her face, tipping her chin up to show him... not realizing it may have looked like she was going for a kiss.

And it was a tempting offer to steal one, though he put aside his roguish tendencies, instead leaning in for a bit of a tease instead. His dark blue eyes met her bright gold. "...you're a bit different, like me,"

She opened her eyes, seeing his right there and blushing before jumping back a bit. "Huh?! U-um... what do you mean by that..?"

He pulls back with a bit of a laugh. "...so you've got a secret, good to know," He pressed a finger to his lips, a gesture that he'd keep quiet. "...what i mean is neither of us seem like we belong here, we're from faraway places, different histories, different ways of thinking"

"I... don't know if I'd say that..." She sighed, turning her gaze forward as she began to walk with him. It was a bit cold in the morning air, but the courtyard of the school was big and full of greenery and fountains and the like... "More just... My history led me here due to my way of thinking."

"something we have in common, though... i doubt it's been the same road" He said it so casually, despite how serious he actually was.

"I'm sensing a pattern with you." She laughed a little bit, relaxing as they walked. "Let's talk about something else though... Um... You're pretty young to be a teacher here, huh?"

"assistant" he corrected. "aide, however you say it... main point is i came here and got offered a job kind of out of the blue, i guess oz sees something in me" He gives a modest shrug.

"That makes one of us." She laughed a bit, somewhat thankful that she hadn't been recognized or picked up on or anything like that... She was perfectly content to have a completely normal experience at Beacon as a normal girl, with normal knees. It was preferable to what she'd been through before, at least...

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"yeah... truth be told back home i never finished school, at 16 things kinda spiraled out of control" He smiles at her. "suppose that's a common theme,"

She laughed a bit. "16 would've been nice... Try 9." She didn't elaborate, somehow finding it a struggle to keep the conversation from constantly sliding to her past... "Wh-what do you like to eat?" great diversion.

So much so that it got Xavier to unexpectedly laugh. "that is... the greatest generic turn of subject there is, some might go for the weather but you're a pro" He would have slapped himself once he realized what just left his mouth, despite the obviously joking tone and nature of the comment. He hoped she was good for a laugh. "um, shrimp, love shrimp"

"Me too!" She smiled brightly, doubling down as she ignored him. "It was so hard to get living outside the kingdoms since you really had to fish for it yourself, and personally I never really lived in cold areas to begin with, but every once in a while I'd make a trip off by myself just to get some and I always thought I should go do it more often because it was always sooooo worth it!"

Okay we got a good subject, and his heart rose back up from the pit of his stomach, he gave a relieved sigh. "y-yeah... i had a friend who could fish better than anyone you've ever met, you'd swear she could talk to sea critters the way she caught them, every sunday dinner was a fresh catch with shrimp and white fish, man, i swear i can smell it..." He cleared his throat a bit before letting out a weak. "er... sorry"

She blushed a little, then sighed. "S-sorry... I guess we really are similar. Next time we'll... just talk about the past. Maybe then we'll stop slipping up all the time, right?"

"ha, i guess you'd better get ready for a crazy story..." He gives a short sigh. "...listen, before we even have that conversation, i want you to know something"

That made her blush a bit darker, even though she knew nothing embarrassing was coming, yet again. "Wh-what is it..?"

"...i will not lie to you, never been good at it, even if what i've got to say sounds impossible, and i'm more than willing to belive what you tell me," He kept his gaze fixed on hers, speaking softly. "...besides, you're too cute to not treat well"

"W-wait..." She felt her heart leap into the back of her throat, her whole face turning bright red as she tried to prepare herself. What she didn't think was going to happen seemed to be happening! She wasn't ready! "H-hang on a minute..."

Unable to resist his roguish nature any longer, his left hand shot forward, gently grasping her right hand. "hanging on," And that smile told her everything, he knew he had the advantage in every way here, it was a wonderful feeling for once.

Her eyes went wide, her ribbon shooting straight up as the ears underneath it did, the second he put his hand on her... She took a moment to compose herself and then finally managed to muster up the courage to say... "Ok-" before being cut off by Ozpin's voice over the announcements. "Attention all first year students. Please proceed to the locker rooms located in the rear building for initiation debriefing and preparation. You may consider initiation as beginning now. Those who are late, will be returned to Vale this afternoon, and asked to reapply next year. That is all." The entire time the announcement continued, Blake was just... staring him in the eyes, with the most terrified expression of "kill me now" that he'd ever seen on a girl.

"we can make it, don't worry,"

"I-I know!" She pulled her weapon out, slinging it over an arch above the path they were walking along and using it to haul herself on top of it, running along the top of the connected arches back towards the main gate, before grappling again at the spire of the tower... Leaping into the air and using her semblance for the last bit of extra height she could muster, just barely managing to hook it, and retract her ribbon to zip up there, swinging over the entire school and landing just in front of the rear building in less than 60 seconds... She really was something else compared to the average city slicker.

He could only stand in shock for a moment, giving a single, sharp whistle to show how impressed he was before... Screw it. Xavier reached his left hand out to the same spot she had hooked her weapon, just after she had moved from it, he used his ability to control gravity to tether himself and gave a sharp pull. Not too impossible with 'telekinesis' right? Xavier found himself quickly falling behind Blake with this impromptu form of travel, wondering if he even could catch her... Nevertheless, with the grounds in sight, he would excitedly hook himself a bit too close to where her weapon was... Which caused Blake to slip, rather than gracefully landing on her feet, she would come seemingly from the sky and bowl Professor Ozpin over, taking the man to the ground. Xavier didn't wait for anyone to look back in his direction, disappearing in a flash of blue light.

After a moment, he would re-appear from behind the main building, seemingly hurrying to give the illusion of simply being late, and he stumbled into what would have been an amusing sight any other time, that being Blake being sternly told off by Glynda, while Ozpin simply stood by trying not to laugh. But what was obvious from the scene was... Blake hadn't told either of them the reason that she'd fallen was Xavier. Ozpin simply dropped a vague hint about initiation by telling everyone not to make the same mistake Blake did.

Xavier felt a pang of guilt, and wanted to redirect Goodwitch's wrath away from Blake but was frankly a little scared to attempt. He instead gulped and took his position, attempting to mouth an apology to Blake as initiation began. Once the student body had reached the end of the grounds and had gotten into their positions atop the cliff overlooking the Emerald Forest, their tasks were given. To pair up with the first student they made eye contact with, to retrieve an artifact from the deepest part of the woods, and return alive. It seemed straightforward enough, and any other time the prospect of the challenge would have excited Xavier, but that's not why he was here today. After all of the students had been launched from their platforms, Ozpin pulled Xavier aside.

Glynda brought out a tablet-like device that was entirely transparent aside from the immediate frame that held it. She quickly brought up camera feeds from all over the forest, showing where various students had landed. "Now, Mathis" Said Ozpin as the three began to examine the trial. "I want you to tell me what you see."

Xavier looked over at Ozpin for a brief moment, but the old man didn't meet his gaze. "from this distance? it won't be much of anything,"

Ozpin adjusted his glasses. "Regardless, face forward and make an attempt."

Xavier slowly nodded, and took a few steps towards the edge of the cliff. He would take a deep breath and close his eyes... Surrounded as he was by utter darkness, there was nothing in particular that stood out. The distance was too far to make out much of anything- wait. "...what was that?"

Ozpin looked to Glynda, having just viewed Jaune Arc, without a doubt the least prepared student to arrive this year, have his aura unlocked. This was no coincidence. "What did you see?"

Xavier attempted to focus in on the brief spark that had lit up in the nothingness but... "it was gone in a flash, just this... tiny light,"

Ozpin would take a few steps to approach Xavier. "And now?"

"oz, i told you i-"

"Focus." Came the command, as stern as Ozpin had ever delivered.

Xavier clenched his fists, this wasn't something he had ever been able to accomplish. The ability to sense individual energy signatures had been one acquired long ago, and throughout his brief time spent on Remnant, Ozpin had attempted to expand Xavier's horizons to see aura in his own unique way. While he was beginning to grasp such a thing, he still could never sense anything outside his actual field of vision.

Ozpin observed Xavier efforts in silence for a moment before speaking. "Focus on my voice, Mathis." Xavier's shoulders tensed, but soon dropped. Oz nodded in satisfaction. "These limitations are self-imposed. Already you can see without the use of the eyes, you need only to expand upon this. Now tell me, what do you see?"

Xavier struggled for a moment, attempting to relax. As Ozpin drew closer, he could feel the warmth that his aura generated. It was stronger than anyone he had sensed thus far. He knew it was behind him, he felt it, but couldn't make out the light that should be coming from it. Not yet anyway.

After a few moments of tense silence, Glynda's voice would call out. "The last pair has been formed, sir." Ozpin would turn his attention away from Xavier now as the two began to discuss the current state of the trials. Already four pairs of students had located their relics. Xavier heard the chatter, but only barely as he began to attempt to reach out once more. He had lost the sensation of Ozpin's aura, but knew what it felt like... He attempted to search blindly for it...

The sensation of the warmth, the power that radiated from it, it was a difficult thing to forget. After a few moments of deep, steady breaths, he managed to just barely make it out once more from behind him. Xavier softly smiled to himself as he attempted to focus on the sensation, and it appeared to be working! Before long he felt it stronger, closer than before- "Mathis?" Xavier jumped a bit as he felt a hand placed on his shoulder... That was a bit disappointing to say the least. Ozpin met his gaze once Xavier opened his eyes, the two standing in silence for a moment before Ozpin spoke. "It's time to head inside."

Xavier raised a brow. "isn't it a bit early for that?"

Glynda shook her head a bit as she quite literally folded her tablet in, placing it under her arm. "Not at all, we often have at least one group of students that swiftly complete this trial. These are Huntsmen in training, and aren't exactly made of glass." Her tone was stern, and a tad bit demeaning. That, however, was understandable given Xavier's apparent preconceived notions about these students.

Xavier tilted his head slightly to one side as if to question this, but decided against doing so aloud. He would silently follow behind the two professors as they made their way to the auditorium. Once they had arrived, a bevy of familiar faces greeted Xavier as the faculty of Beacon were lined up in attendance. It seemed there was some sort of ceremony ahead.

That would have been a correct observation, as groups of students would arrive throughout the next few hours, mostly in groups of four. Those pairs with matching relics, or chess pieces in this case, would be put into a team with their initials together. Ozpin announced the formations of these teams as well as their leaders. Some made perfect sense. "From this day forward, you shall be known as Team CRDL. Lead by: Cardin Winchester." Others, not so much. "Jaune Arc, Pyrrha Nikos, Nora Valkyrie, and Lai Ren, from this day forward, you shall be known as Team JNPR. lead by: Jaune Arc."

That certainly raised a few eyebrows, Xavier's included, and even Jaune's. Nevertheless, there was plenty of applause for their performance, one he had apparently missed... But throughout this excitement, he still hadn't seen-

And right before he could finish that thought, four girls walked into the building. Three he seen before, the youngest among them wore a gothic style dress and carried a large scythe-like weapon, her somewhat short and scruffy hair was dark black with red highlights. "Ruby Rose," Ozpin began. The next girl wore very formal clothing, a white combat skirt with what appeared to be a high-cut jacket overtop, her long white hair was kept in an ornate ponytail, she wore white knee-high high-heeled boots and carried a rapier-like weapon. "Weiss Schnee," and of course immediately following her was "Blake Belladonna," Xavier smiled as he saw Blake, but she did not return the gesture. That seemed to slightly amuse the girl behind her, a tall blonde bombshell who wore thick leather boots, thigh-high socks, short shorts, and kept her impressive assets in an orange crop top with a leather jacket overtop. She possessed bright purple eyes, and her golden locks reached all the way down her back, she gave Xavier a quick glance, as if wondering why he was standing with the staff. However, before any more curiosities could be drafted up, her name was called. "And Yang Xiao-Long. For retrieving the white knight pieces, from this day forward you shall be known as... Team RWBY. Led by... Ruby Rose."

While there were a great many cheers and a round of grand applause, especially from Yang, Ruby herself seemed to be in a bit of disbelief over the declaration. Following the final team being put together, all students were dismissed for the evening, free to wander the grounds. Xavier, however, wasn't so lucky. After the proceedings had concluded, Ozpin would walk Xavier back to his dorm room. Xavier sighed as he sat down in the chair at his desk, one of the few pieces of furniture in this room, though he didn't mind that it was fairly bare, he didn't own much anyway.

After shutting the door behind him, Ozpin began to speak. "Classes begin at 7 AM, most students will be awake by 6. I expect you to be up no later than 4:30 as Professor Port has an assignment for you."

Xavier yawned, already tired just thinking about it... But nodded to show that he understood. He realized that Ozpin's tone had changed a bit, not necessarily as serious as when he attempted to give the lesson from earlier, but rather the same sort of slightly dismissive tone he often used when addressing the rest of the staff. "if i crash now i'll have plenty of time..."

Ozpin would give an inquisitive glance as he opened the door once more. "I would highly recommend you eat something first, seeing as how you ignored my advice earlier. Goodnight, Mathis." He paused briefly, delivering one final sentiment before closing the door. "And allow me to formally say: Welcome to Beacon."