Main theme: Metro Exodus rap by Jt Music, featuring Andrea Storm Kaden
Arc Theme: Through The Valley by Shawn James (The Last Of Us 2 trailer edition)
Theme: Last Night I Had The Strangest Dream I Ever Dreamed Before by Simon & Garfunkel

It is the hardest task of all to face the lack of cosmic support for what we care about.
Allan Bloom

As the first weeks of the Second Great War settled into the first month and beyond, the now cold, horribly new air of the world around us washed all over our beings, and we, as a people, finally came to realise the reality of the new world that we had walked into, and the incredible burden upon our shoulders.

We were awash with doubt, concern, and guilt. How could we not be filled with the dread that we had survived while others had not? It was a guilt that gnawed at us further, as we tuned into the radio and the TV and learnt that others were suffering and loosing everything beyond the walls of the city, whilst we sat behind our giant walls and towers at Beacon, safe and tucked away from the violence and the horror and the soul shredding reality of war.

We were children, and yet, we were burdened with the responsibility of adults, expected to throw away our youth and innocence for a cause that, at the time, threatened to overwhelm us.

Many of our wounds, both mentally, and physically from the Initiation Massacre, were still raw and deep and bloody. We were fragile, and broken. Some of us more so than we had been before.

And so, to cope with our sadness and gnawing madness, we played games. We danced and sang the pain away. We behave like military men- Like soldiers, not Hunters- On the job, but when we were off of it, we played like we were but younglings again, so naïve and unknowing of the brave new world that we had unwittingly and unwantingly marched into. We danced and played and made games and drink and song and love and laughter, messing around in the halls and making merry jokes and teases, some of us trying to move on, others trying to forget all together.

And still, we looked to our leaders for guidance, for comfort, for solace, and the promise of a better tomorrow. They were our leaders, surely they would have a plan to win this war? A plan to avenge our brothers and sisters fallen all around the world and bring merriment and joy back to our lonely Remnant once more, for now and forever?

But, as we all were so determined to forget, our leaders were people too.

We had forgotten how fragile they were as well.

Extract from Entry 4 of the Hunters Tale, written by Cipher (First draft)

The Battle of Wire was significant, but not for the reasons that one might think.

From a tactical standpoint, the Battle of Wire was utterly unimportant. It was a relatively big settlement, but not big enough for it to be of any major importance. It did not sit on any major trade zones or supply lines. It did not hold any major agricultural input or output. It simply existed.

As such, even though it did fall in the end, it would not have mattered at all if it had. There wasn't any significance to it at all, it was in a strategically bad location, and was just a useless slab of rock amidst a useless slab of land. That the Grimm had targeted it was purely because they just happened to have existed, and nothing else. That they held out for just a few hours after a failed evacuation effort was nothing compared to everyone else.

It was a battle that would be unrecorded, and soon, forgotten entirely. The people who died there would join the ranks of the many who had died forgotten, unknown, and uncared for, one of thousands across the world.

And yet, if people had been paying attention to this battle, then they would've noticed something... Wrong. Different. Odd. Not with the people of Wire, but with their enemies.

The Grimm.

Now, the governments and military experts had been doing their best to try and document these new Grimm types as they emerged, from the big to the small, and they took notice of how much they acted like a unified military force. They had clear ranks and structures, made tactical decisions not unlike that of humans, regularly harassed and raided the kingdoms' supply lines and trade centres outside of the city walls, and were developing supply lines of their own as they slowly grew in numbers and began to set up their own bases along the coasts of the continents.

And yet, they couldn't see everywhere, and not all at once, and if they had been paying attention to the small settlement of Wire, they would've noticed how much like Hunters they were acting.

Not like modern day Hunters, but in the traditional sense: Big game chasers and freebooters. These Grimm would regularly gather up any humans that they found, especially the survivors of Wire, strip them naked, and toss them out into the wild, so that they could hunt them down for sport. Now, this wasn't uncommon amongst the Grimm either: Regularly, they would toss the worst human criminals that they found out and chased them down as a leisurely past time, bantering to each other as they did.

However, these Grimm treated the art of hunting almost religiously, dedicating and devoting themselves to it. Once more, whilst these new Grimm had regularly shown themselves to be bloodthirsty and violent, these Grimm were something more, twitching and spastic, almost eager to drown themselves in blood. Regularly, they caught any humans that they could find and forced them to fight to the death, either against themselves or each other, all for their amusement.

And what more, they were led not by a Grimm, but by a person.

These were the Undertakers, a splinter faction off of what could be considered a unified whole, and a remnant of the old court.

And now, they were on their way home.

Late October
One and a half months after the Initiation Massacre...

Death.

"Ms Malachite?"

It was not happy. It was not pleasant. It was not good.

Death.

She never really understood how some people could be so... Blasé about it. So calm and cool about death, about dying, about leaving this mortal world, "Death is a natural thing", they would say, "It's the natural process of life. It's not something to be afraid of."

"Ms Malachite..."

Yeah, well, she was afraid of death, of dying, and she had no shame of being so. Death was just so... So... Terrifying. How could it not be? The idea of just being in this world for one minute, and then the next minute, just not, it didn't... Death was not merciful, it was not comforting, it just was, and that terrified her.

"Ms Malachite."

Melanie took her gaze off the window and the straight-lined rays of light that poured through them and flooded the room, and rolled herself over on the sofa to look right at the woman with the clipboard and the suit and the black and purple cape, jotting down pointless notes and drafts as they sat in silence. The room around them was sterile and lifeless (Almost like someone she knew), And almost alien in nature, so oppressive and cruel.

The therapist- Miss Goodwitch, though they both knew that it was not a role best suited for her- Sighed, and motioned her clipboard, as well as her pen, down onto her lap, and then saying, "Ms. Malachite, I know you are in mourning-"

You couldn't know, Melanie thought to herself, not bothering to hide the distained expression on her face, You could never understand, so don't start acting like you do.

"-But we cannot just sit here in silence forever. We do have to get somewhere."

Why the hell do you care? Melanie wondered, Why the hell should you care? I see you with my uncle and with Ozpin and everybody else, talking about payments and prescriptions and trying to sum up everything into pie charts and diagrams. Why the hell would you care if all of this to you is nothing more than just another job? Just another unfortunate part of the teacher's course?

Not even 2 months ago, Miltia had died.

Melanie didn't know how else to say it. Her twin sister, one of the greatest constants in her life, and someone who had been with her for so long that to think of her as an absent presence would be impossible... Had just died.

"It's okay", the doctors and the soldiers and everyone else had said in a collective attempt and failure at comfort, "These things just happen."

How? How could... How could things like this 'Just happen'? That didn't make sense. It wasn't fair...

It wasn't fair...

She hated it at the offensively short funeral that had been held for her. She didn't want to go in the first place. Funerals were horrid and heartbreaking and reminded her too much of death, which, she supposed, was the point.

She remembered utterly despising watching the casket being lowered into the ground, the earth readying to swallow her whole. She hated the symbolism. It was like they were lowering her down to hell, doing the devil's job for it in delivering the damned to it, instead of raising her body up to the sky, to her rightful place in the kingdom of heaven, where the angels were waiting to receive her sinless soul.

Once the funeral was over, and she had returned home for a short while, back into their once shared room in the Lightbright, she... Well, suffice to say, she snapped. She cried out in anger and grief and sorrow, at the world, and at everything else, and then, she snapped. Uncle Hei were still repairing the damage to her room.

And then... And then... All of them... They committed the ultimate betrayal...

They sent her to therapy.

How could they? How could they?! What was wrong with them? Weren't they suffering as well? Who the hell were those bastards- Ozpin and Goodwitch and even Hei!- To send her away to a fucking therapist?! Like she was the wrong with the problem? She could see them, shoving all her sister's belongings and hiding them away, never to see the light of day again! She could see everyone around her- Her teammates and everyone else- Trying to forget the past and pretend that it never happened! Why the hell was everyone so eager to be rid of it all and forget about her like she never even existed? And why the hell did they think that she was the one with the problem?!

She refocused her gaze. Miss Goodwitch had asked her something, but she hadn't heard her. Or bothered enough to care.

Melanie restated her question, asking her to begin, well, anywhere.

Melanie kept her gaze on her, and said nothing.

Just like every other therapy session, she would say nothing at all.

Life at Beacon was... Strange.

Yeah, strange was the right word.

Jaune Arc found himself musing over this as he and the rest of the team leaders sat together in the classroom, looking over their teacher, Professor Hazel Rainart, as he, along with their teaching assistant, Coco Adel, taught and discussed the finer points of leadership with everyone in the room. On any other Saturday, teenagers their age would be sleeping in or playing video games or whatever they did to pass the time, but here they were, at just passed 9 in the morning, debating on what to do when, well, he'd let Professor Rainart explain it.

"Now, there are some situations that you and your team will find themselves in, in which there is no clear path to victory", he began with, typing something onto his scrollpad and turning on the projector on the ceiling, a bright screen of light coming over the whiteboard, and then showing a diagram of a medium sized settlement from a bird's eye view, "Obviously, they exist, but they will not be easily shown to you..."

He drifted off for a second, as if speaking from past experience. Having met his sister before, Gretchen, Jaune mused that it had something to do with that, but decided not to press the point.

Professor Rainart then continued on, "And then, there will be some situations where there is no path to victory at all. Where you will find yourselves in a lose-lose situation from which there is no victory."

"A Catch-22 situation, you mean sir?" one team leader, the Techion called Bayonet asked out loud.

"I would appreciate it if you did not call out whilst I am speaking in the future, please", Hazel sternly replied, which got a nod from Bayonet, before he continued, "But yes, a Catch-22 situation indeed. Now", he directed their attention to the white board, "Here is a diagram of a relatively sized settlement, populated by 200 people, and currently, it is surrounded by Grimm. Now, obviously, this simulation is running on old information about the Grimm that, thanks to the happenings of the Initiation Massacre-"

Several people grew visibly uncomfortable at the reminded, Jaune included.

"-But the nature of the simulation itself is still relevant", he waited for everyone to regain their focus, "Now, inside the settlement, there is no working CCT tower, having been destroyed in a previous attack, but there is only one working Bullhead waiting to evacuate anyone, with space for only 4 people. And only a single team- Being one of you and your team- Are there to defend the settlement?" he paused for emphasis, "So, what do you do?"

This was something that brought up a lot of memories for everyone, and Jaune knew it. A lot of uncomfortable memories, of being trapped around a dead airship and being stabbed in the gut. He looked around, and saw that everyone was as discomforted as he was. Even Coco had winced for a second at it, but quickly recovered herself as she gazed around the room, possibly to lend a hand towards anyone who was suffering.

Professor Rainart seemed to understand what was going on, as he then said, "I know that this is potentially triggering for some of you, and I am sorry for it, but as a Hunter, you will come across these situations and be forced to make decisions based on them. When you are placed into these Catch-22 scenarios, or any scenario as a Hunter, you must be read to put aside what happened in the past, and make every decision that you can that might guarantee the slightest chance of victory."

Many of the team leaders steeled themselves at his words. He was right, unfortunately, and they all knew this. Next to him, Ruby took a little bit longer to regain her focus, but a touch on the shoulder from Jaune was enough to get her started again.

Once Professor Rainart said to them, "You may begin", all of the team leaders stared hard at the picture on the wall, and from what Jaune could see, they were pondering over every different angle, every different advantage and disadvantage, everything and everyone possibly at their disposal, going over their strengths, and their weaknesses, and then doing the same for themselves.

Jaune was doing the exact same thing, pondering over the different aspects that would need to go into a defence like this, and then thinking over himself and his own team.

His team... Wasn't very functional as a team. He had no idea how to work with the others, seeing as they never had a chance to even work together, most of the time not even by his own choice, but by the others.

Nora seemed to have a habit of just going off and doing whatever reckless thing came into her mind, possibly because she got bored too easily and constantly needed something to do. This seemed to lead her to do whatever reckless and irresponsible thing that ever came to mind (Shadestep's teammate Voltage didn't exactly help out at all, constantly getting involved in her antics). Perhaps, in another life, he would've found such a thing, and such a personality like Nora's, endearing in its own way, but now, he was just constantly getting frustrated by it, due to her refusal to listen to him and her inability to stay calm at all and follow the most basic of orders.

Seeing as how he was the only one that Nora ever seemed to listen to, Jaune would've thought that Ren would at least help him out a bit, but he was hardly any better, seemingly putting a half assed effort into anything and acting way too passive to any of Nora's antics. It was almost like he never did anything to try and reign her in and Jaune was growing just as frustrated with it.

And then there was Pyrrha... Many people had told him over the last month and a half that Jaune was extremely lucky to have the Pyrrha Nikos on his team, but Jaune wouldn't know, because he hardly ever saw Pyrrha at all. Outside of their classes, she would just disappear with Eri to who know's where and train. Nothing but train, from day in to day out. She would never appear for any team sessions that he (Tried to) Set up, and when she did show up again, late at night and covered in sweat, she would just give a tired wave and a fake smile that even he could tell was strained was worn out and hardly ever say a word, before disappearing off and instantly going to sleep.

The only one that Jaune could seemingly count on was Eri, Pyrrha's drone, who, despite not being able to talk outside of electronic bleeps and whirls, at least put in the effort of trying to act like a team with the rest of them whenever they had a spar with another team, which always descended into an uncontrollable chaos that neither he or the leader on the opposite team could predict.

He sighed. He was failing at this. At being a team leader. It wasn't even Hallow's Night yet and he was already failing as a team leader. Why on the god's good Remnant had Ozpin even made him a leader in the first place? It wasn't exactly a position that he was comfortable with, not was it a position that he even wanted in the first place.

He looked over Ruby next to him, and towards Melanie next to her, who was staring at the whiteboard intently, and remembered her saying that she was having problems with her team as well, with her own teammates scattering off to do their own things as well, so at least they had that in common.

He then looked down at Ruby, and saw that she looked even more conflicted than either of them did. She hadn't gone into detail about her own team troubles, but Jaune and Melanie had both suspected that there was something more going on, considering her heightened state of anxiety and continued dismissal by Weiss whenever they saw her and tried to ask her about Ruby. Blake had just shrugged them off and moved on, whilst Leadpipe looked like he wanted to talk about whatever was going on, but couldn't.

He then blinked, and realised that a lot of the team leaders were looking at him. Truthfully, he began with, "I don't know what to do here", and at the worry of the others, he then continued with, "I mean, er... Well, there's a town centre in the middle of the settlement, right? A town hall? Just get all of the civilians to shelter themselves inside of the hall, and then scatter our teams- Or, team, in this case- To each side of the settlement and have them hold off the Grimm there."

"No offense, sir, but that's a terrible use of your Hunters", Shadestep quickly shot in with, referring to Jaune as if he was his boss (Which the boy in question hated), "It's a big settlement, and there're only 4 of us in a team. We can't defend every side of the settlement by ourselves individually or as a single team. I say, grab anyone and everyone who can fight, give them a weapon and put them on the wall. No use in them hiding away in the centre of the town when they could be aiding in the settlement's defence."

"Except that the people whom you're referring to might not actually want to fight in the first place", Melanie shot out with in turn, "It might not seem important, but these people might not want to leave their families behind, and if they do get sent up to the front lines unwillingly, then they'll just cower in the face of the Grimm and start giving off negative emotions, which will in turn attract even more Grimm to the battle and worsen the situation and state of the settlement."

"The fight's already going to give off negative emotions anyway."

"True, but not as much if they were willing to fight, rather than unwilling. And besides, a barely armed civilian can hardly do as much harm to the Grimm as a fully trained Hunter, much less a Hunter in training. The most that a few poorly trained militiamen could do is spontaneously combust in their presence. We should be thinking about who to evacuate on the Bullhead first, before working on managing a defence of the settlement."

As always, Jaune found himself agreeing with Melanie's points. While Shadestep made a good point, he felt that Melanie had made a better one, as always.

Jaune wasn't entirely ashamed of saying that he was envious of Melanie. For the past month and more that he had known her, she was always so much... Just, better, at everything that he tired to do and be. She was a better leader, had infinitely more charisma, had an extremely powerful semblance to boot, despite its fairly obvious drawback, was incredibly intelligent, a much better fighter (Just like everyone else in this school), And was just better at everything that he did, and more.

The same could and would be said for every other team leader in this school, much less this year. The likes of Skipjack and Razor were just filled to the brim with charisma and charm, DJ and Shadestep were incredibly intelligent and practical in their leadership styles and tactics, Bayonet and Tusks were incredible fighters with their own respective combat styles, and Ruby and Melanie seemed to just be better at everything all around, and that's not even getting into Coco by herself.

He internally sighed. Even if he had fake transcripts, many of his peers had as well. Even Melanie had faked her way in, and she was one of the best leaders in their year. His fake transcripts were no excuse for his lack of ability in anything. He needed to get better, for his team's sake. Maybe then, they'd be a proper team instead of just a bunch of people who happened to share a room together.

"Well, who do we evacuate first?" Tusks asked, breaking Jaune out of his thoughts as he then continued with, "There'd be a lot of people in that settlement alone, and like Professor Rainart just said, it'll only have room for 4 people. We'd need to think wisely about this."

"'Think wisely'? The answer's obvious, ain't it?" Skipjack in another seat above them said, gesticulating one of his crab like claws and going, "We evacuate the kids first, obviously! Cram them all into the Bullhead like sardines, and let the Bullhead take them to safety! Shouldn't be that hard."

"Again, the Bullhead would only have room for 4 people."

"Exactly, people, and children are about half the size of normal people, not including full bulk Techions! And besides, Bullheads usually always have room for more than 4 people anyways! Just shove 'em all in, and if they say that there isn't enough room, then tell them to make room!" he put his claws behind his head with a smile, "Problem solved."

"Yeah, Skippy's right", Razor affirmed, "And so is Shady-"

"Never call me that ever again."

"-Once all of the kids are out, then people will be more willing to fight back. Plus, with all of the kids hurried away to safety, they can get a message out to anyone listening about the settlement's plight, and bring reinforcements back in no time at all, and it'll rouse the civilians from fear, knowing that their kids are safe, and convince them to fight on the front."

There was a murmuring of agreements within the room, most notably in the little circle of team leaders that had been made in the middle of it, but Melanie then quickly pointed out, "That's not going to work. Most Grimm hordes usually come with a lot of Nevermores or Griffons, at least in Vale. That Bullhead would be shot down before it could even get anywhere close to another settlement. And even then, that settlement itself is quite large. Not all of its children will be able to fit on that Bullhead, no matter how much room they make. If we try to pack them all in like that, then we'll most likely be burying many of them under each other. They'll either be crushed or suffocate to death. And besides, even if we do give everyone in the settlement a gun, an untrained militiaman with a sword or a gun as more of a danger to themselves and anyone else around them than they are the enemy."

Skipjack frowned, "Well what's your plan then, boss lady, 'cause I've got nothing else in the hatch."

"Okay, er, if I could make another suggestion", Razor went, "I'm just saying, that a team of 4 Hunters can be more useful on another battlefront than in-"

He was cut off by a chorus of protests and jeers from the fellow team leaders. It was clear that none of them were going to abandon the village to its fate. Not alone, at least. They wouldn't have that on their conscience. Tusks made a point of saying that he was beginning to sound like Esper, whatever that meant.

"Oh, well, then what's you guy's brilliant plan, then, huh? What's you guy's magnificent solution?"

"Save everyone", Jaune was surprised to find that it was his own voice, and looked around to see everyone looking at him expectantly, slight surprise in their eyes as well. He stammered and did his best to continue on, "Er, well, I mean, if there are no other options than to stay, then we should- We should fight off the Grimm. Hold them off and force them back. Save everyone, and beat back the Grimm."

"Easier said than done", one team leader called out.

"Only unless you want it to be", Jaune didn't know where this rush of confidence was coming from. He only knew that he was getting it.

Coco stepped forward this time, a cool, yet firm look on her face as she then said, "That's good ideal to live by, Arc-"

"It's Jaune", he did know why he was being snappy, all of a sudden, as memories of a burning warehouse and an older Schnee looking down at him with distain came back to him, "Sorry, didn't mean to get snappy, it's just- Please, just call me Jaune."

Coco seemed to take it in stride, though, not looking affected by it at all, before then continuing with, "It's a good ideal to live by, Jaune, trying to save everyone, but unfortunately, real life doesn't work that way. The only thing that we can hope to do, kid, is save everyone that we can."

The stare that he gave her was pointed in its disapproval, "With all due respect, Coco, that's just- That just sounds lazy. That just sounds so cynical and pretentious. It's like when people try to sprout that 'Necessary evil' bullcrap, where they try to justify themselves and their shitty actions."

Coco seemed to be intrigued more than offended, "Really? Well what would you do then?"

"Stay and save everyone. Or at least try to", he replied with, "I won't abandon the people that I'm supposed to defend, nor will I destroy their home. You don't destroy a village in order to save it. You save it, the people, and everyone else."

He paused, and took a moment to catch his breath and his trail of thought.

"I know that it sounds unrealistic, and maybe it is", he shrugged, "It probably is, and the more cynical and pragmatic of us will probably think that its a childish ideal to live by. But here's the thing: It is an ideal, and it's a good one. If you live by 'Saving as many people as you can', then that's tantamount to just rolling over and giving up. But, if you wake up everyday and promise to yourself to save everyone- Not just as many people as you can, but everyone- If you wake up every morning and say to yourself, 'No one dies. Not today, not this day, and not any day, not on my watch', then you'll fight harder, and push yourselves further into doing it, into seeing that ideal brought to life."

He leaned back against his chair.

"And maybe, on our last days on this world, we'll wake up, and find that, for all the good that we've done, the world that we leave behind, maybe, just maybe, will be good enough."

He sucked in a breath.

"'Save as many people as you can', is a surrender to cynicism. 'Save everyone', is a prayer to hope."

He paused, and then finally realised the trail of words that he had just gone on. He looked around, and saw many of the team leaders around him were looking at him, with those with visible faces wide eyed and parted lips, and in the case of the Techions, with tilted heads and firmed shoulders.

(He didn't know what to think of Ruby's reaction, though. He didn't actually know what the emotion on her face was, or what it was meant to mean.)

He blinked again, and stammered out, "Oh, er, I mean, er, I mean, that's what I- Er, that's what I think we should, er...", he resorted to just scratching the back of his head awkwardly, "Sorry..."

"Don't be", Coco reached over and patted him on the shoulder with, "It was well said."

He blinked thricely, "Oh, er, thanks... I think."

Coco just rolled her eyes under her aviators, and moved back to the side, whilst Professor Rainart nodded to her, and then said, "It is a good ideal to live by, Mr Arc, but as you said yourself, it is unrealistic. There will be times where you will need to make these kinds of decisions, in a situation where no good decision can be made, hence the meaning of this lesson. At times, you must be the one to judge what is right, and to make the right call, and wherever it is the right call in the end, will be decided by your actions and your actions alone."

It was DJ who raised his hand this time, "So, what was the right answer to this one, sir? What was the right call to make?"

The professor shook his head, "The truth is, there was no right call to make. This was a situation based on unfavourable conditions, where every single decision would lead to undesirable outcomes. The Catch-22 scenario. Once- Maybe only once- In your lifetimes, you will find yourself in these situations, where each and every decision that you make will be the wrong one. All that you can hope to do is try to mitigate the damage, and make the less destructive choices, for yourselves, your teams, and for the people that you are supposed to protect."

He put his hands together, and looked over every team leader in the room.

"So, when these situations arise, make sure that you make the right decisions, even when there is none. I have seen entire teams fall and die because they made the wrong choice, and I have seen team leader be the only ones that survive because of the poor decisions that they made."

Everyone looked at the sides or down to their lap. It wasn't a nice subject, and it wasn't something that they had wanted forced upon them.

In truth, none of these students- None at all- Had wanted the position of leadership on their teams. None of them had ever desired to even step foot near the role. Ironically, other students had bragged about wanting the leadership position all to themselves, but it had been all of the students in the room at that moment that had had some inkling of the truth that would come with the role, and had promised themselves to steer clear of it.

Being a leader didn't mean just telling people what to do. They had to be able to defend their positions, and they had to be able to make the right calls and be confident in it. They had to gain the trust and respect of their teammates to convince them to follow their orders, they had to be the ones to work on the strategies and tactics, making sure that their team was a well oiled machine, somehow navigate 3 other different personalities into working with each other, try to create something out of 4 uniquely different fighting styles, and somehow leave them able to properly work together and function as a unit. And at the same time, they had to be the ones to sort out all of the team's finances, had to pay for any damages that they made, had to manage all of their likes and dislikes, had to try and get along with them and tolerate the worst aspects of their personalities, had to act as the mediator if any arguments broke out, had to be the one to resolve any conflicts, make sure that they were all healthy, and... And...

And had to be the ones to make the right calls.

Because if they didn't...

Then they all would die.

Everyone would die, and it would be their fault.

And none of them wanted that on their conscience.

None of them had wanted to be team leader, Jaune especially. None of them had wanted that responsibility, or that risk, or that burden.

But they had been given it anyway. An unwanted gift, unjustly, and undeservingly.

There was a growing suspicion that they had been selected because of their uncanny awareness of the traumas of leadership.

"So, when you have to make a call, make sure that it is the right one", Professor Rainart began to finish off with, "Your teammates rely on you more than anyone else to make a decision, and if you make the wrong one, then that's it", he made a gesture with his hand, "They're gone. So make sure that you make the right decision, pick the right call, and make sure that you have looked at every single possible angle of a situation, in order to find the best path forward", he looked up at the clock, "And that's time. Head on over to your other class now, before you miss it."

With the class now in a sombre mood, the collection of team leaders all got up, and moved to the door. On his scroll, Jaune took a cursory glance at the combat scoreboards of the entire first year, for no reason other than something to distract him from his hurting thoughts.

There he was, at 200th place, right at the bottom.

But then, he blinked.

Right above him, at 199th place, was Melanie Malachite.

"How are you so far down on the scoreboards? I mean, I know why I'm down there, but you're like, the best in the year! I've heard about your semblance! I've heard about it's power! Shouldn't that place you all the way at the top of the board?"

As all of the team leaders walked, Melanie looked up at Jaune with a raised eyebrow and a 'Are you serious' look on her face, "Are you seriously asking me that question when you just go ahead and pull an entire motivational speech out of your noggin? Like, like-"

The both of them stopped in place as Melanie firmly pressed her knuckles against the sides of his head and twisted them.

"-Like how many inspirational speeches do you have up there? Are they pre-prepared or do you just make them up as you go along?"

"Ow, ow, ow! I just- It just came off of the top of my mind! I was just making it up as I went along!"

"So you do- Oh you cad!"

"I don't even know what that means!" she let go of the sides of his head, and let him rub them to try and sooth the dull ache, "Ow... Seriously, how do you even know these words? How do you know all of this stuff?"

"I had a lot of time on the streets, and a lot of catching up to do with...", she quietened down, and then said, "I'll explain it to you later, okay?" with a nod from Jaune, she then continued with, "Anyways, if you're that good with speeches, then at least you've got the charisma down."

Jaune laughed at that, "Me? Charismatic? I probably couldn't motivate a fly, much less my own teammates."

"Oh, don't sell yourself so short, Jaune", it was then that Ruby finally decided to make herself known once again as she patted the side of Jaune's head as well, "I think that what you said was really inspirational."

Jaune smiled, even though he didn't really believe it himself, "Thanks, Ruby", before turning back to Melanie and going, "Seriously, though, I've heard about your semblance from people who were around the Grimm Tidings. It's one of the most, well, OP powers that I've ever heard about. Why would anyone rank you down at the bottom of the combat board?"

"Not completely at the bottom", she raised a hand, "Joke. Not funny. Sorry."

"Nah, it's fine, I get it."

She bit her lip at that, but then continued on with, "Yeah, I'm ranked at the bottom, but that's only because 1. How self-destructive and unrefined my semblance is, and 2. Pure combat capability alone. Aside from yourself, I'm the weakest and least combat capable people in our year. All I've had in terms of training and fighting style was 2 or 3 years under a few different underground trainers, and another few years experience as a bouncer. I mean, freaking hell, I even lost to that blonde girl, Yang Xiao Long, of all people! Ugh, humiliating..."

She then turned to Ruby with a raised eyebrow.

"Hey, Ruby, do you know that Yang girl, by any chance, because I remember her calling out to you on the day before the-"

"Oh, yeah, I do", Ruby interrupted with, "She's my sister."

"Sister?" Melanie asked, "Really? Because the 2 of you look completely different- Er, no offense, I mean."

"That's alright, people say that a lot", she smiled with, "And we actually have 2 different mothers, but the same dad..."

Then, she froze, and her face went still.

"Y-Yeah... Dad..."

Her hands began to tremble, as did her feet, and her mouth started to quiver.

The both of them opposite her immediately noticed what was going on, and Jaune clasped one of her hands, whilst Melanie clasped the other, "Ruby?" Melanie soothed, "Ruby, it's okay..."

"Yeah", Jaune added in quietly, "We're here, we're here for you... You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to..."

The trembling slowly stopped, and Ruby's hands became more relaxed as she breathed out a sigh, and looked at the both of them, "Thanks, guys."

Jaune nodded, "No problem, Ruby", and then the both of them slowly let go, before he then asked, "How are those therapy lessons that you guys are going to, anyways? Mine are kinda... Dull..."

Dull as in he never spoke at all. All that he did in those sessions was either state at the floor or the wall, and do nothing but think. He had other things to worry about anyways, like trying to corral his own teammates, figuring out what the Daughter had wanted from him, how to stop the Ascendant Court from getting whatever it wanted, stopping them from bringing about the downfall of all of mankind, figure out what the hell had been going on with Miltia, who these 2 things, Ozma and Salem had been about, what was so important about the Cataclysm, what she had been talking about when it came to destiny, and how she knew so much that she actually did, without him or her ever meeting up before they met the day before the Initiation Massacre...

You know, regular teenage stuff.

"Same here, if I'm being honest", Melanie said with a sullen expression on her face, "Of course, that might just be because I've got Miss Goodwitch as a therapist, but... Well, she's not exactly approachable, is she?"

"Same here", Ruby said, trying her best at a smile, "Can't say I feel all that open around her. She's not the most... What the word for friendly?"

"Amiable? Affable?"

"Those are the ones, yeah. Thanks Melanie."

"Yeah, it's the same with me", Jaune said nervously, "Most of the time, I just- I just sit in there and think. That's pretty much all that I can do. I don't want to bother Miss Goodwitch with my problems, she's already always stressed out as she is."

"Same", said Melanie, with a nod from Ruby, "I just sit there and think as well. It's the same with my session not too long ago. I've just... I've got a lot of stuff to think about, is all."

And doesn't he know it? Don't they all know it?

"Hey, you 3!" they looked up the hallway, to see DJ waving at them in the distance, and realised that the other team leaders had gone ahead without them, "C'mon, Miss Goodwitch is going to blow a fuse if you're late."

The 3 of them blinked, and then realised that they had paused in order to talk. Already feeling somewhat stressed out from Professor Rainart's lesson, they then groaned, and broke off into a run, sprinting down the hallway, and then down another one, and then down another one to the left, before finally arriving outside of Miss Goodwitch's classroom door, and opening it up to reveal that they were indeed the last ones in, DJ having gone through just a few moments earlier.

"Good, you've arrived", Miss Goodwitch said to them, before making a show of looking at the clock on the wall, "Barely on time, however. Please, do try to make sure that you arrive punctually next time, instead of barely skimming by."

The 3 of them just nodded in turn.

Miss Goodwitch arched an eyebrow. She wanted a verbal answer, "Are we clear?"

"Yes, Miss Goodwitch."

"Yes, Miss Goodwitch!"

"Yes, Miss Goodwitch..."

"Better", she said, "Now please take your seats", when they did, she then started the lesson with, "Well then, now that you're all here, we can begin."

Whoever came up with the idea of paperwork as part of a Huntress' career should be shot...

That was Melanie's thoughts as she looked over another fake report for a supposed member of one of her teammates, and began to go over all of the spelling errors and mistakes, whilst also looking over the other 3 reports at the same time to make sure that they matched up.

In fact, whoever came up with the idea of paperwork should be shot twice. Also, whoever came up with the idea of school on a Saturday should be triple shot: One in the head, one in the heart, and one in the junk, just to be on the safe side.

Right now, their current assignment was to look over a grouping of reports that had been filed by each member of their team- Which, of course for this lesson, were about a false situation and with falsified names- Note down each conflicting account, record and change any spelling errors and typos, and work out how much was exaggerated and reality, and so on, so forth.

Miss Goodwitch had said it best, "As team leaders, it is your responsibility to make sure that the accounts given by your teammates are accurate, and that they are grammatically correct and readable. These reports are taken extremely seriously by the faculty and authorities, and therefore, should be taken seriously by all of you. If they are subpar, then that will reflect poorly on yourself, your teammates, and your entire team."

Melanie would've liked nothing better than to insult her for it. If her teammates made subpar reports, then that was their fault. If they were subpar, then that was their fault. It wasn't her responsibility to pick up the slack of her idiots for teammates.

She'd probably think nicer of them if they ever made an effort to do anything other than slack off and do nothing at all. Flynt always disappeared to go join that group of first year musicians that he had found, one of them being DJ (Of course), And another one of them being that Jolie Kobal girl from team MSKK, and sometimes he would take Neon along with him, whilst other times the disco cat-girl would disappear off to find whatever club or group was amusing her that day, just to pass up the time and amuse herself, less she get even the slightest bit bored. Meanwhile, Ciel, for all of her supposed reliability, just disappeared off wherever and whenever she liked, all just to hang around that brat Weiss Schnee as she tried to flirt with Pyrrha or whatever it was that she was doing, which was another topic all together.

She looked to the side for a brief moment, to see Jaune looking over his own set of papers. She wondered if she should get him to open up about his own teammates, because it was clear that he was having more problems with them than he would let on. She buried away the self-awareness at her own hypocrisy, and looked to Ruby as well. No matter how much she tried to hide it, the Little Red Riding Hood girl had been, and still was, hiding something from them. Something important no doubt, and Melanie was determined to find out about it, if at most to help her, or at least to sate her own curiosity.

She looked forwards at Miss Goodwitch, and wondered why the hell she of all people was the school psychiatrist. She wasn't exactly the most approachable person on the planet, and she hardly gave off an inviting presence. She was just so demanding in the classroom, and so adamant about them being perfect and the best team leaders and working them on and on about this and that, whilst also being an absolute hardass in combat classes and everything else, and just being really hard to please, it made it seem like she didn't care at all. Like she was only interested in them being Hunters and not people.

Was showing these weaknesses to her the wrong thing to do? Was it a weakness in of itself? Was that what Miss Goodwitch thought about it all? Melanie thought so, and she suspected that a lot of other people thought so too.

A Huntress, or a Huntsman, or just a Hunter in general, wasn't meant to be weak. A Hunter was meant to be strong, dependable, and a reliable foundation from which people can rely upon. To have a problem, or something in need of counselling, was a sign of weakness, a sign of a mental injury, which was more threatening than a physical one. At least then, most of the time, a Hunter had their head on straight. But with mental injuries that needed intervention, that was a sign that a Hunter couldn't be there to make the right choices, it meant that they couldn't be the ones to be called upon for important decisions, and it meant that they couldn't be relied upon. This was most damaging to team leaders especially.

Counselling was a sign of weakness, and none of the team leaders wanted to show signs of weakness, especially in front of the teachers, and even their teammates.

Melanie sometimes thought of talking to Alexis Kennedy, one of DJs teammates in Team DRAL. The crab Faunus had lost her twin sister, Reid, in the Initiation Massacre, much like her, so perhaps they could have some common ground from which to open up on.

The thought shrivelled up and died before it could even take root. She couldn't just talk to other people about that kind of thing. It was too embarrassing, too easy to mock. Jaune was the only one who knew how she was feeling, having been her sister's partner back in the Emerald Forest, and even then, since their talk when he had returned more than a month ago, they had never talked about that.

The door to the room opened up, and everyone looked to the side, to see one Neon Katt (Speak of the devil) About to enter with a guitar in hand, but stopped at the doorway and looked around, before smiling and going, "Aw, hey, is this where you guys always disappear to on Saturdays? I'm jealous, you guys are having a club meeting and you didn't even invite me?"

"Miss Katt, this is a extra skills lesson for team leaders only", Miss Goodwitch sternly said to her, "I told those same leaders to explain this to their teammates to avoid confusion", that last part was aimed towards Melanie as she threw a pointed glance at her.

Melanie bristled on the inside, but she tried not to let it show, "Tried to tell her, didn't listen", and that was all that she said about it. None of her teammates had listened, of course, but what could she do?

Miss Goodwitch evidently didn't like that answer, but kept herself paused, as she then turned back to Neon in the doorway, and said, "Miss Katt, please leave, this lesson isn't for you."

"Aw, c'mon, can't we just, I don't know, stay in the corner or something", she asked, gesturing a thumb out of the door, and then to the side of the room, "This place has got the perfect spot for us to practice our music, and the best lighting, and-"

Well, time now rather than later to try and practice her leadership skills, "Neon, just go, this place isn't for you", Melanie ordered from her seat in her firmest voice, trying to summon the charisma needed to even tell someone what to do.

Evidently, it didn't stick, as Neon then shot her a smile that she thought was just a bit too condescending for her liking, and said, "Hey, come on now, Mel, we can still hang around, like-"

Her hand slammed against her desk. It didn't hurt, but it got the point across.

"Neon, go."

That was all that needed to be said.

For a split second, Neon shot her a look- One of distain- But it was only for a second, as she then, with a disappointed look, said to whoever was on the other side of the doorway, "C'mon, guys", and then left, closing the door behind them.

Melanie only now just noticed one of the team leader nearby clutching one of their wrists as it shook, and the 2 next to him trying to comfort and calm him, and she instantly felt guilty for possibly triggering him. That he was able to calm down from just looking at her and noticing the sudden sadness on her face didn't help her to stomach this guilt.

She looked up again, and saw that Miss Goodwitch was also looking down at her, disapprovingly, "Miss Malachite, see me after class", and then she went off to continue her lesson.

Melanie just bit her tongue and held her silence. She was really starting to hate her.

Soon, the lesson ended, and everyone was on their way. Jaune and Ruby, as well as the likes of Skipjack, DJ, Tusks, Bayonet, and Shadestep, offered to stay behind and wait for her, but she told them to go ahead without her. No sense in them wasting their time on her. This shouldn't take long anyways.

At least, she had hoped that it wouldn't take long, but she was starting to think that it would, as she stood before Miss Goodwitch's desk as she sat down, put her hands together, and asked, "Now, Miss Malachite, what was that back there?"

Melanie knew better than to get sassy with a teacher, even the ones that she didn't like, so she just spoke honestly, "She was refusing to leave, so I forced the issue. As a team leader, it's my job to make sure that my teammates follow my orders."

"Miss Malachite, a firm hand is needed for leadership, not a rash one", Miss Goodwitch said, looking at her as if expecting to ask her what it meant.

Instead, Melanie just stayed silent. Gods, she was beginning to hate the silence. This all reminded her too much of her therapy sessions with this woman.

"One cannot use threats of violence to lead their peers into battle", Miss Goodwitch continued on with, "And one must show patience when dealing with their subordinates. If you cannot show that to your teammates, than it leads to the team itself falling apart."

You make it sound so easy when it's not, Melanie wanted to spit at her, but didn't, None of them respect me, none of them trust me. Any comradery that we built up around the Grimm Tidings is gone, to what the hell do you want me to do? How the hell am I supposed to show them respect when they won't show me the same?

"Miss Malachite, if you are experiencing problems with your team, then it is considered protocol to inform a member of faculty about it, or even the headmaster, in order to make sure that your teams are as effective and efficient as possible."

"It showed me Ozma, and Salem, and the Cataclysm, and all that will and may come soon."

Ozma.

Ozpin.

Melanie wasn't stupid. She might put up that façade sometimes, what with that fake country drawl accent, but she wasn't an idiot. Ruby was hiding something, and Ozpin had something to do with it, same as Miss Goodwitch, she reckoned. Something had happened in the Cataclysm, and Ozpin knew something about it. Miltia had mentioned something, or someone, known as Salem, and with how secretive and cagey Ozpin had been acting recently, know doubt he knew something about it. Of course, it could be said that he was just acting that way because of the sudden eve of the Second Great War, but Melanie did not want to drop it.

She had lived long enough on the streets to known when people were hiding secrets, and Ozpin was setting off all sorts of blaring alarms.

"Miss Malachite, as much as it might surprise you", the teacher's words broke Melanie's concentration on her thoughts (Something that she would have to work on), "We teachers at Beacon Academy care about our students, and-"

"Do you think that you're my friend?" Melanie finally broke out with. If Miss Goodwitch was surprised by the outburst, then she didn't show it. A mere blink was all that was shown on her face, "You're not, so don't start acting like you are."

They stayed in silence for what felt like hours upon hours, as if the whole day had paused just for the 2 of them to stare at each other and refuse to blink.

"Can I please go now?" the 'Please' was an afterthought, but it was still there. Melanie would've dropped it completely if she wasn't talking to a teacher.

Surprisingly enough, Miss Goodwitch had paused, before then saying, "Yes, you may go now", and gesturing to the door.

Melanie had blinked at this, surprised, but didn't give it anymore thought than it was worth. For a moment, she had been tempted to ask her about Ozma and Salem, but decided against it. She needed to talk about it with someone that she could trust, and Miss Goodwitch was not one of them.

Without a second thought, she turned around and walked out of the doorway, leaving Miss Goodwitch to herself. Outside, she found Jaune, Skipjack, DJ, Shadestep, Tusks, and Bayonet waiting for her, even though she had said for them not to. She couldn't help but smile. She didn't deserve these guys, really, she-

In the distance, she could see Ruby Rose being dragged off by an impatient Weiss Schnee. She looked to Jaune, and saw that he was wearing a guilty expression on his face. Evidently the Schnee girl had given him a tongue lashing before dragging her team leader away. Ruby had always said that it was fine, and that there was no need to worry when these things happened, but that didn't exactly stop them from worrying a bit.

Melanie bit the insides of her lip, and then looked back to Jaune. It was clear that both of them knew that something was up with Ruby.

But whatever it was, they didn't know.

Neither were even sure if it was their place to know.

(They would later learn that it was.

They would later learn that it was Ozpin's fault.

Perhaps, if he had told them the truth- The full truth, and not just his sanitised version- Some things could've been avoided.

But alas, such is the power of hindsight.)

"Okay Ruby, who were the founders of the 4 kingdoms?"

Ruby paused, and then internally floundered. She really didn't know these questions. At least, she didn't know half of the stuff that Weiss had been adamant about stuffing into her head. It wasn't her fault that she hadn't had about 2 years worth of education, and another 2 years of skipped school years on top of that! 4 years of skipped school! Patch burning to the ground, having to live in an orphanage, and then being selected personally by the headmaster of one of the most prestigious schools on Remnant to come to it early, free of charge, would do that to oneself.

With a stutter, she then got out, "Erm, M-Malik the Sunderer?"

"Wrong!"

Weiss slapped her on her right hand- Her good hand, seeing as the other one was red and burnt- And she retracted it away and began to rub it tenderly. Maybe for any other team leader, having them and all of their teammates sitting at a table together and studying would've been a dream come true-

Maybe, maybe...

-But for Ruby, this was just becoming a nightmare.

"For goodness sake, Ruby", Weiss began to scold her as she tweezed her eyebrows and almost growled, "How are you unable to know these basic facts? How much must I force it into your head! Malik the Sunderer was not the founder of one of the kingdoms! He was the first king of Vacuo! Now, try again: Who were the founders of the 4 kingdoms?"

"Erm... Er..."

Weiss groaned, "It was Vale, Vacuo, Mantle, and Mistral! Those were the names of the founders of the 4 kingdoms. They were the ones who explored and charted the 4 continents, and as such, their kingdoms were named after them. Now, write it down!"

Ruby did as such, and began to frantically write it down on the notebook in front of her. When she had first encountered Weiss back before the... The day... She had found her to be presumptuous, bossy, and a just plain rude, stuck-up, and spoiled princess.

And now, the truth had finally come out to her, about how deep of a person Weiss really was:

She was all of those things, and also a perfectionist and a demanding control freak who was angry because she hadn't been chosen for a position that Ruby never wanted in the first place.

Woopy for her...

Thanks to Ozpin pointing out to her the importance of her silver eyes, and how they were absolutely important and something that will be needed to save the world from this evil Grimm queen known as Salem, and had said the same things about her to her teammates as well, Weiss had seemingly gotten the idea that Ruby needed to be filled in on every single possible teaching subject, and taught about everything that she could possibly think of, and then some.

Now, almost always in their free time, Whenever she wasn't hanging out with Jaune, Melanie, and the other team leaders, Weiss was always dragging her and the rest of the team out to train in different forms of combat, or study and study and study about every single topic imaginable, or just rail on in her ear about how she was a child and an ineffectual leader and how she needed to be perfect in order to fight anything that Salem could throw at them.

Again, woopy for her...

"Why would they name their own kingdoms after themselves?" she asked innocently enough, trying to nurse her growing headache, "Isn't that just egotistical of them to name a whole land after themselves?"

"No, the kingdoms were named after them by their supporters!" Weiss slapped her hand again and continued on with, "Honestly, why can't you get this in that tiny little head of yours? Is this too difficult for you? Is this too much for our esteemed team leader who, I might add, is supposed to be the one who has to save the world?!"

Ruby winced at that. Ozpin treated her like she was the bees knees, but she wasn't...

She was supposed to have just normal knees.

She was supposed to just be normal.

Yet instead, here she was, with the fate of the world on her shoulders, all because of her eyes, and something about destiny that Ozpin had been talking about.

'Destiny'.

Was it bad that she was both happy and sad when she heard that word? She didn't know. She wasn't entirely sure if she wanted to know either.

On the one hand, the entire concept of destiny, it... It filled her with a strange sense of... Comfort? She had always felt like being a Huntress- Going out and slaying monsters and saving people- Was something that she was predetermined to do, that it was her ultimate end goal. Being a Huntress and nothing else, it felt like she was destined to do it, like it was her fate. If she was destined to be a Huntress, then she would walk happily into it.

However, if this was her destiny... To battle against an evil that was so ancient, so powerful, and so consuming, a literal queen of the Grimm, with the entire fate of the world on her shoulders, all because of a biological trait that she had no control over, and would be hunted and hounded for it for years to come... She wasn't sure if she liked it. She wanted to save the world. Really, she did-

She liked the thought of saving the world, especially now, what with the rise of the Daughter and the Ascendant Court, 2 variables that Ozpin had said himself were completely new pieces on the chessboard, and something that he had no idea what their origins were-

-She just... She just didn't know if she could do it, especially now... Especially alone...

She felt alone. Oh, she felt so alone. Even amongst her teammates, they didn't treat her like their leader, or even their equal. Just a tool, a mindless thing to be filled up with whatever they wanted. Nothing more than a child playing at the adults' world.

That Ozpin had sworn her and her teammates to secrecy about it didn't help.

She wanted to tell Jaune and the others about all of this. She really just... She needed someone to vent to.

She needed someone that she could trust.

Because she didn't feel like she could trust her teammates.

Not at all.

"Maybe we should go easy on her, Weiss? I mean, she did miss 2 years worth of education, right? You can't just cram all of that knowledge into her so quickly and expect it all to stick. We need to treat this like a proper school and not a cram one: Nice and slowly, and help them understand it all. At least, I think so. I'm not sure."

Well, maybe except Leadpipe. He still treated her like a child, sure, but at least he was more considerate than the other 2 on the team.

Ruby shot him a quick smile, hidden from Weiss, which he returned with a quicker nod, but then the Techion at the table was cowed by a squawk from Weiss as she then called out, "Oh, don't give me that, you buffoon! Sitting down with us is supposedly the girl who is supposed to save the world-"

At that, Blake finally took her eyes off of the book that she had been reading and looked up for a second, before seemingly mentally shrugging and going back to her reading material.

"-And she is nothing more than a know-nothing child, and you expect me to just take these topics slowly with her? We are war! Ozpin had entrusted us with this information about the truth of the world, and you are saying that we should take things 'Nice and slowly' when our leader is nothing but a bumpkin! We are all now future agents of Ozpin, and we can't-"

"-Just leave!"

Weiss, Ruby, and Leadpipe jumped in their seat, whilst Blake just blinked in surprise behind her book, and the first 3 turned their attention to the doorway of the Lounge, and saw the first year team leader of Team MSKK- A girl dressed in a red and yellow shirt and shorts with a metal symbol of the Brother Gods attached to a necklace resting between her breasts, and going by the name of Yamana Morai- Stopping by the doorframe in the corridor and looking frantically at a pair of her own teammates, 2 boys by the name of Kevin Red and Terra-Terra Steel.

"I mean, are you for real?" Yamana asked frantically, waving her arms at the 2 of them as she then said, "Guys, we need to stick together! We can't just- We can't just split up now! We've already got too many problems out there in the world to deal with alone!"

"Well, yeah, sure, but...", the one called Terra-Terra seemed to hesitate, before going, "We just think that we can do more good out there than cooped up in here."

"But the Exodus Troop!?" Yamana replied with, "You're really going to throw your lot in with them?"

"Well, yeah", it was Kevin this time who replied, "They're heading out of the city walls, and they'll be taking supplies with them as they go. It'll be a good startfor us before we splinter off."

"B-But... But guys...", Yamana stammered out, "We're a team, aren't we? Team MSKK; We have to stick together, don't we?"

"...Er, sure", Kevin was unconvinced, it seemed, and just gestured to Terra-Terra that it was time for them to go, "See you around, Yamana", and with that, they were off, leaving Yamana behind as she looked on, confused and shocked, before trying to steel herself and nervously running after them.

Weiss just scoffed at the display, "Utterly appalling", she sneered, leaning back on her seat and crossing her arms, "If their team is so quick to fall apart, then they don't deserve to be a team at all. They don't deserve to be here at all. If their team acts like that in private, then how on Remnant do they expect to perform in the field?"

Ruby bit her tongue and didn't say anything. She didn't actually know what she wanted to say, but there was definitely something.

She felt her scroll vibrate in her pocket. Whilst Weiss was distracted by her own speech about the finer points of being a team leader, she looked down to it to see a familiar message on the team leaders' group chat:

You know what time it is, everyone. Meet us up at the landing pads in an hour.

Ruby smiled. Their pastime on a Saturday was growing to be one of her favourites.

Before Weiss could continue on with anything, Ruby had quickly shot out of her seat, and said, "Sorry, I gotta go. You know what it's like on a Saturday."

"Ruby! We are not done-"

But they were, as Ruby used her semblance to burst out of the Lounge and towards the landing pads. If anyone had tried to chase after her, she didn't notice.

"Do you want me to be their friend, or their teacher?"

Ozpin looked up from his desk, and put his mug of hot chocolate down. In front of his desk was Glynda Goodwitch, with her hands crossed in front of her.

"I'm serious, Ozpin", she said with a stern, but still concerned look on her face, "I can't be both."

Ozpin didn't show any outwards hesitation. He had mastered this over the course of his many years of life, "Miss Goodwitch-"

"You want me to be this school's psychiatrist, Ozpin? Fine, but I can't be their teacher at the same time", she cut him off with that statement, "On the other hand, if you want me to be their teacher? Then fine too, but I can't be their psychiatrist."

"Is there a reason for that, Miss Goodwitch?" there was no hidden meaning behind that question, but no doubt she had taken it as such. Ozpin, however, knew that she usually had little patience for theatrics or pleasantries of any kind, "I know that you-"

"That I care a lot about our students- About my students, then yes, I do, but I can also see when they have potential, and as their teacher, it is my job to be impartial, and sometimes harsh to them, in order to help them unlock that potential", she continued on with, "But in order to do so, I can't be their friend, I have to be their teacher. Hell, I have to be a drill instructor to them in order to do so."

It was rare for Glynda to use any kind of foul language like that, even if it was a relatively minor use. Whenever she did, it only helped to speak to the severity of the situation.

"To be their teacher, I need to be ruthless and impartial- I need to be firm and logical, and if they hate me for it, fine- But if you want me to be their psychiatrist, then I need to be the opposite of myself- I need to be compassionate and inviting, the last of which I have been told that I am not as a teacher- And if I act that way in front of them, then it will seem 2 sided and fake."

"Glynda-"

"They don't trust me, Ozpin. Our students don't trust me as a psychiatrist, and if that is the case, then I, in my own good judgement, cannot trust myself to be the same either. These children-"

"Not children anymore."

"Fine, then these people- They need someone closer to their age to be able to give them an honest to god judgement and analysis of themselves. They need someone that they can trust, and that person isn't me. If they see someone like me- Their teacher- Trying to empathise with them, then they'll see it as a sign of weakness on their part, because I'm always trying to improve on their weaknesses. You need to hire someone that they can trust, Ozpin, someone that they can turn to and actually talk to, because I'm sorry, but that person is not me."

Glynda finally ceased her rant, and sighed, taking a seat on one of the chairs in front of her, and nursing her forehead. From the looks of it, she had been thinking about this issue for a long time. Possibly even before the Initiation Massacre and the recent start of the Second Great War.

Ozpin took the time to lean back against his chair, and scoot his hot chocolate mug to the side, "May I ask what prompted this, Glynda?"

"Miss Malachite."

Ah, Miss Malachite. She was someone to watch out for, especially with that destructive semblance of hers, and how it both damaged her and everything around her.

If he were to be honest, he had only let her and her sister into Beacon when they had applied their fake transcripts, because it had given him an easier way to access Hei Xiong's underground network of informants, and would make it easier for him to expand his own intelligence network and monitor all of Vale for any traces of Salem and her agents, but now, with her semblance now awakened and revealed, if refined, he could have an incredibly powerful tool on his side.

(He remembered monitoring the grounds of Beacon Academy on the day before initiation through the security cameras, and had found himself, rarely, perturbed by her sister, Miltia Malachite. The way in which she moved, she spoke, she did everything and anything, it was just so... Off. There was something incredibly off with her.

It was almost concerning how much of himself he saw in her.)

"She had asked me if I thought she was her friend", Glynda continued, "And then had said that I wasn't, so I should stop acting like I am", she sighed again, and said, "I'm not the right person to do this, Ozpin, to talk to these people, and you know it. That was Professor Peach's job, and now, she's... She's gone."

The passing of Professor Peach had been a great loss to the faculty of Beacon. The mouse Faunus had been the school's resident psychiatrist, as well as a plant scientist, and while she was much more shy and timid than all of the other teachers in the school, she had also been one of the most approachable, and had been one of the most popular teachers in the school (Much to her own horror). Her death had been a great loss to the students and graduated Hunters who had remembered her fondly, and many flowers and exotic plans had been placed in her former office and classrooms in remembrance of her.

"Have you talked to the council about hiring a new therapist?" Glynda asked, to which it was Ozpin's turn to sigh. The council had always made it a habit of trying to butt into his own business, but with the events of the Initiation Massacre and the global declaration of a Second Great War against this Ascendant Court and the Grimm, the council had extended their power over Beacon Academy to be able to veto any suggestions for new faculty members and any changes to staff that Ozpin might have. It was a gross misconduct of power, but Ozpin, for once, found himself not in a position of power to be able to object against it.

"I have brokered the idea of hiring a new therapist to the council, in between when they are constantly arguing with the Atlesian council about anything that can come to mind", if that had elicited a smile of any kind on Glynda's face, he didn't see it, "But when I have, they have always declined it."

"What?! But these are children, and incredibly traumatised! They can't just write it off like that!"

"I'm afraid that they can, Glynda", Ozpin said to her in return, putting his hands together on his desk and massaging them in hidden vexation, "The council are too scared of the unknown factors of our enemies to bring themselves to pull even just one Huntsman and Huntress from their ranks- Or at least someone skilled enough to be able to emphasise with the problems that our students have, and according to them, we are all Huntsmen and Huntresses ourselves, and should have more than enough experience to know what to do with them", another sigh, "I'm afraid that we're going to have to make due."

The only response that Glynda could muster was a sigh for the thrice time and a frown, followed by her collapsing into her own chair and groaning. They both knew that something like this was akin to child neglect, but at the moment, for now, their hands were tied.

"How is Miss Rose doing, by the way?" Ozpin asked, eager to know how the daughter of Summer Rose was doing, "Has she been doing well? And her team as well?"

"Team RSBL is not working, Ozpin", Glynda said matter of factly, "Miss Rose is too timid to be able to take control, not helped by all of the burdens that we have placed upon them, Miss Schnee is continually trying to take control and impose her own authority, but the method that she is using to do so is extremely bratty and abhorrent as a future Huntress, in my expert opinion, Miss Belladonna is doing nothing to help the situation, and seems to actively enjoy it, and that Leadpipe fellow is at least trying to maintain peaceful relations with the rest of the team, though he is too timid and frightful himself to do anything about it."

That was... Disappointing to hear. That, and despairing as well.

"That goes for the other teams as well", she continued, "The team leaders aren't able to properly exercise their own authority over their teammates, which means that they've collapsed in on themselves and formed their own social circle instead of trying to get along with their teams and their teammates are too busy trying to get over their own traumas from the Initiation Massacre to care about them, and as such, teams have broken down, like they never even existed in the first place", she paused for effect, and then said, "Ozpin, these teams don't work. They need to be treated with care, with time, and with patience. They're not ready to work together yet. Not the way that they are, and I doubt that they will be if we attempt to do anything about it, like reshuffling the teams, or something along those lines."

"Glynda, I appreciate and understand that, but I'm afraid that we don't have the time. Salem is making her moves, and we need them to be ready to face her."

"Ozpin, they may never be ready! Trauma isn't overcome in a single day. I've tried to talk to some of our first years, and I've seen some of them go into mental breakdowns in the corridors! What happened in the Emerald Forest and around the Grimm Tidings: That wasn't just some mission against a pack of Grimm where they had underestimated them, or a search and destroy mission gone wrong: It was akin to physical and psychological torture! I've already seen things like survivor's guilt, PTSD, clinical depression, and so on! In fact-"

Their conversation was broken when the sound of a series of Bullheads lifting up from the landing pads and soaring off into Vale dully echoed through the glass and into Ozpin's office, "Ah, is it that time of day again?" Ozpin said as he got out of his chair walked towards the window, and looked out, thereby changing the topic. Anything to stop the criticism that added onto the already gnawing guilt that had accumulated and built up within him for thousands of years, "I must say, that the team leaders are certainly making this a wonderful habit?"

"Ozpin", Glynda was desperate not to change the conversation go, "These children- Our students... They aren't ready. You and I both know this."

"...I know... But, I'm afraid, none of us have a choice in the matter-"

He gazed sadly at the city below, and to the ruins of the Emerald Forest, reminded of all of the lives that he should've saved.

"-Not anymore..."

Last night I had the strangest dream
I ever dreamed before
I dreamed the world had all agreed
To put an end to war

DJ was glad that Melanie had convinced Jaune to bring his guitar with them down into the slums of Vale. Their musical work together was definitely something that he could listen to as he worked.

Melanie wasn't the best singer- Her voice cracked every now and then, and sometimes she was off-key on a few notes- And Jaune wasn't that good of a guitarist- He sometimes missed a chord or a note, or would play the wrong one- But it showed that they were both passionate about it, and they were slowly improving as they sung and played, so it was nice to listen too.

The children gathered around them certainly agreed, as they sat in semicircles around the 2 of them, themselves sitting on 2 wooden stalls, and listened with bated breath, open eyes, dopey smiles and wide eyes. The 2 Hunters-In-Training seemed to appreciate their smiles as well, as they sang and played more passionately, drawing their attention, and earning the smiles of the parents and adults that watched on around them.

Some would think that singing an anti-war song in the middle of a group of people that have lost so much to the Grimm- The people that they were currently at war with- Would make them angry, would stir up their patriotic fervour and make them angrily reject the 2 of them, but instead, everyone just looked so tired, and scared, and confused- The children especially, with their wide eyes and naivety and confusion as to why they had to leave their homes behind- So perhaps these tunes and songs gave them a fledgling feeling of hope, and light-heartedness in a bleak and depressing world.

Or perhaps they just liked hearing it. Either way, the 2 of them looked like they were lifting up everyone's spirits, and that was all that they could ask for.

I dreamed I saw a mighty room
The room was filled with men
And the paper they were signing said
They'd never fight again

The team leaders had made it a habit now, of going down to the recently established Valerian Slums, and just helping out wherever they could, either by helping at food stands and workshops, working to put up new areas and shacks, entertaining people, from children to the elderly, to comforting and reassuring others, to just talking to them, and reminding them that they weren't alone.

It was a good reminder of what they were fighting for. Of who they were fighting for.

It was also a selfish exercise on their part, in trying to selfishly get away from Beacon and escape from all of their problems and frustrations, pushing them away for later, but no one was complaining, so who was complaining?

And when the papers all were signed
And a million copies made
They all joined hands and bowed their heads
And grateful prayers were prayed

Right now, DJ was using his semblance, Telegraph, to hone in on the different radio and television frequencies that lit up his view around him in the city of Vale, and then readjust the series of old radios and TVs to be able to pick up and broadcast these signals, writing down the names and numbers of these frequencies on a piece of paper, and then handing them off to whoever wanted to know, listen, or watch them.

Hey, the people of Vale still wanted to be caught up on the news and stuff, and besides, he was helping out, so who was there to complain about it?

His own teammates, probably. Russel Thrush on his team had identified himself as a racist punk, and had made it his mission to harass and belittle his other teammate, Alexis Kennedy, leading to argument after argument after argument between them, whilst all that their last teammate, Sky Lark did, was sit on the side-lines and awkwardly do nothing. DJ would like to try and figure out what the hell was going on, but he just didn't know how.

At the very least, here, he could be useful. Before he had been transformed into a Techion, his mother and father (He had long since forgotten their names and their faces) Had encouraged him to try out in the Atlesian military as a communication's specialist and analysist, seeing as his semblance was practically perfect for that job. However, when he had been almost killed when his house had been burnt to the ground by a Manticore Grimm, with him inside, and his parents and the rest of his settlement destroyed by that swarm of Sulfur Fish Grimm, he knew that he had to be a Hunter- He had to be a Huntsman- To make sure that something like that never happened to anyone else ever again.

And yet now, he was floundering, He had been placed in charge of a team of strangers that he knew nothing about by Ozpin for god knows what reason, and he was floundering at it.

At least here, he could do just a little bit of good.

And the people in the streets below
Were dancing round and round
And guns and swords and uniforms
Were scattered on the ground

Nearby, he could see Shadestep (He and Bayonet were the only ones in charge of actually successful teams, and that was only because every single one of them was already in the same unit together. He figured that they'd all stick together no matter what team that they were on) Helping a group of refugees hold up a series of metal sheet walls for a new hut whilst Skipjack welded it all together, whilst nearby, Ruby entertained their children by letting them play with Zwei, a corgi dog, and Beacon's resident mascot.

If DJ had the parts to be able to smile, he would. She seemed happy, now, like she knew that she was doing good, and it made her happy. He didn't miss how Melanie and Jaune would sometimes sneak approving looks down at her as she played with Zwei and the lost children.

She had good friends backing her up, and he knew it. He only hoped that she...

Wait a minute...

Something was leaving Beacon.

A signal, from all the way down, deep into the cliff face of the mountain that it stood upon.

He looked up, and narrowed his eyes at the errant transmission. It was coloured red, from his perspective, and tasted... Encrypted.

Last night I had the strangest dream
I ever dreamed before
I dreamed the world had all agreed
To put an end to war

He filed it away for later. Somethings take precedence, and these TVs weren't going to fix themselves.

He failed to notice how far to the North West the transmission went.

Not too long ago, a reviewer asked me when I was ever going to get back to the main storyline.

Well, to that guest reviewer, here we are! The beginning of the Jaunedice arc (Heheh, puns. Heheh, play on words. Heheh, I still have no idea as to what 'Jaunedice' even means... Heheh).

Now, what will this arc be about itself? Er... Can't really say much. It'll mostly deal with trauma, the burdens of leadership, and will hopefully be a little deconstructive as well.

(I do like a good deconstruction. In fact, there are many elements of RWBY and certain tropes that I am hoping to deconstruct through this story itself, but as for how effective I am, well, I'll let you be the judge of that.)

Now, thanks for sticking around for so long to deal with my dumb ass, and sorry for keeping you all waiting for so long. I've been working on a bunch of other stories like To Be Able To Move On and What Once Was, and I've even had to delete a few of them in order to lessen the load on myself.

So, for now, sit back, enjoy, and watch as I show you just how dysfunctional these traumatised idiots really are.

And, as always, leave a review, favourite and follow, and I shall see you all next time!

Titanmaster117 out!