Chapter 67: Selection Screen


    <strong>DISCLAIMER: This story is NOT MINE IN ANY WAY. That honor has gone to the </strong><strong>beautiful bastard Ryugii. This has been pulled from his Spacebattle publishment. Anyway on with the show...errr read.</strong>


    <strong>Selection Screen</strong>


    The trip up to Beacon was an uneventful one, all told. I mean, it was beautiful, I guess, butwell, I''d seen it all already, and from a rather more exciting viewpoint. While I was sure that new students must have found the cliffs, waterfalls, and high rising towers spectacr, there was nothing like getting up close and personal with saidndmarks by flying towards then at high speeds to attempt a risky aerial maneuver and escape the pursuing aircrafts. Hitching a ride up on an aircraft with one of my dad''s friends was rather boringpared to that, honestly.


    But even so, when Inded and looked around, it struck me that this was my first time in Beacon itselfif you didn''t count flying at, which I didn''t. Just standing there, looking around, I was both amazed andsuddenly unsure. In some ways, it was like I''d imagined, with the massive, shining beacon that was its namesake rising about it all, but in others it seemed very


    Normal, I supposed, watching several students walked past. Well, not really normal, because they were training to be Hunters and some even carried their weapons, but despite the levels above their heads and the titles that made them stand out, they still seemed like regr students going to ss. Which was because they were going to ss, of course, but still. There was an air of routine and structure that just made me feel a little out of ce. Looking around at the almost picturesque scene, I tried to imagine myself as a part of it and wasn''t quite sure where I''d fit into it all. It was hard to picture myself just sleeping in and walking to ss with my friends and maybe that was weird because that had been my life for years and years and years, but now I wasn''t sure I''d be able to do it.


    And not just because I didn''t sleep, period. All that time wasted, lying in bed with your eyes shutno thanks. I had better things to do with my nights. But how would I hide the fact that I stayed up around the clock and never stopped working? I didn''t know how Beacon handled sleeping arrangements; would I have a roommate I''d have to sneak past? It seemed like a hassle, but maybe I couldmute? I could swim across theke and climb up the cliff every morning, no problem, but I wasn''t sure that was allowed.


    Beyond that, what would I do around campus? I knew students could choose their fields of study to an extent, but hadn''t really considered what I''d want mine to be. Or rather, I wanted every field; it wasn''t necessarily unrealistic for me, assuming I developed skills from the instructionand if I did, I wouldn''t care if I had sses every hour of every day with no free time, so long as I was learning stuff. But how long would I be learning stuff? So long as I could get a skill out of it, I could just grind it and grind it until it was strong enough for what I wanted. There wasn''t a whole lot of point in courses, really, at least not for me, because if it was something they could really teach me, I should be able to master it in fairly short order. I could get most skills to level fifteen or twenty in a day if I tried; given a month, I could get them a lot higher than that.


    And of course, if I didn''t get a skill out of it, I could still just memorize the entire book in short order. That probably wouldn''t give me a perfect understanding, but with some supplementary materials here, a chance to ask the teacher a few questions there


    I would happily spend all day in ss so long as there was a point, but after a few weeks or at most a month, would there be? Or would it just be a huge waste of time? Granted, Beacon was a big school and must have taught a lot of different sses, but assuming it handled ss times like a normal school, I''d be able to take at least seven courses a day, probably swapping courses throughout the week in a scheduled manner. Allowed time to train outside of ssthat wasn''t going tost me very long. Maybe it was a little arrogant of me, but I knew how far I''de in less than four months and I was pretty certain I''d be one of, if not the, strongest freshmen, even while restraining some of my skills. With a chance to pick things up, I was confident I''d be the top of any ss I cared about, too, even if it was something new to me.


    Would people get jealous of me for that? It seemed pretty likely. I knew the fact that I picked up things so quickly would probably upset some people, but Iwell, maybe it was mean of me, but I just didn''t really care. I mean, I understood why it would make people feel bad and it was kind of unfair that I was able to get stronger so much faster than others just because of my Semncebut I wasn''t going to hold myself back if I had the chance to get stronger. I didn''t see any point in rubbing stuff like that in or showing off, but thinking about it logically, there wasn''t a lot of point in getting worked up over hypothetical teenage drama. If someone got mad because I beat their grade point average, it didn''t really matter in the grand scheme of things, did it? Compared to being able to face whatever horrible thing the living nightmare that was Remnant coughed up, who cared? It''s just wasn''t worth it to hold myself back.


    There wasn''t any point in stepping on toes needlessly either, of course, especially among futurerades, so I''d do my best not tobut in the end, everyone who came here did so to get stronger. Doing well on tests and proving my ability in practice exercises would just prove I was ready to go to the next level and let me grow faster; beyond stuff like that, though, there was no point in getting into fights or showing off.


    And if someone wanted to punch me or somethinghonestly, whatever they threw at me, I''d probably taken worse on purpose in my training with Adam and my parents. Given a few more months to enhance that further and whatever skills I might develop in the meantime, I wasn''t sure they''d be able to hurt me, even if they tried. If someone got really upset and punched me in the face, I wasn''t sure it''d do enough to be worth starting anything over, unless they started interfering with my studies and training, so I''d probably just tell the teacher or something and walk away. There wasn''t a point in getting into a fight over things that didn''t really matter, was there? If they suddenly attacked me with weapons or something outside of a training exercise, that might be something else, but things shouldn''t get that far over school stuff, right? They''d probably be stopped and expelled at least, if it was something serious. So I guess it would be fine to just leave and get a teacher there, too


    It sounded kind ofme, thinking about it like that, but it made sense. That was part of their job, after all. But reallya lot of people probably weren''t going to like me a whole lot, huh? I''d probably end up sitting at the front of the ss asking questions, but otherwise keeping mostly to myself. Yeah, I guess I''d probably be in the library a lot, too; whenever I wasn''t in ss or out training. So, really, things would be pretty much the same as they were now, I guess.


    I wasn''t sure how to feel about thatdisappointed or reassured. Being surrounded by other Hunters, by my peers, would beI don''t know. I justwasn''t sure what difference it would make. I mean, I guess there was something to be said for socializing, but even beyond the fact that I couldn''t imagine sitting in ss for hours on end to learn nothing being remotely fun, it probably wouldn''t yield many opportunities to get to know each other, either. And outside of sswell I just had so many interesting things to dowho could sit around and talk when they could be learning to shootsers that made things explode instead?


    And eve beyond that, I wasn''t really sure what to do or say anymore. I doubted I''d have a lot to talk about with most of the people I ran into, except for


    Wow. I guess I''d missed all the games that came out thesest few months. And I hadn''t seen any moviestely, either, or listened to any music beyond the ones my Elements made. Same with the sports stuffbesides the tournament, I guess. I suddenly wasn''t sure what I''d talk about with people my own age, besides misceneous Hunter stuff. I trained and asionally got in over my head on an enormous scale, but if I put all that stuff aside because I couldn''t talk about it, there wasn''t a lot left to discuss. I guess I could just memorize a book on a topic that someone was interested in, butthat wasn''t really the same as being interested in it myself. Ever since I''d realized I had the ability to develop superpowers via training, everything else had just fallen to the wayside.


    But


    I''d always wanted to go to Beacon, to one of the academy''s that trained Hunters. It had been my dream for as long as I could remember, a goal I''d strived for since I was a child and wanted so badly I''d cry when I failed to live up to itwhich had meant a lot of tears on my part, over the years. Itit was still my dream, even though it was starting to feel oddly painful. But standing here, knowing for a fact that it was all but in my grasp, I felt really unsure about it all and that was


    A strange feeling. And an ufortable one.


    I sighed to myself and looked at the sky.


    We''d justnded and already my good mood was in its death throes.


    "What''s with the long face, son?" My dad asked. "You catch a nce at what this ce looks like under UV light?"


    I made a face at him and then looked around out of curiosity, vision shifting. Then I made a bigger face at my smiling father.


    "No," I answered seriously after a moment. "I justthink too much. It''s nothing."


    "If it''s worth thinking that hard about, it can''t be nothing," My dad frowned slightly. "What is it?"


    "Justthinking about the future," I said.


    "Ah," He nodded. "I understand. I think about your future a lot, too."


    "You do?" I asked, blinking at him. I wasn''t sure why that surprised me; I''m sure a lot of people wondered about me.


    "Of course," His smile widened. "You are my son, after all."


    "Right," I said before hesitating for a moment. "Wellwhere do you think I''ll end up?"


    "I dunno," He said, before ruffling my hair. "But I guess it doesn''t matter. You''re my son, so you''ll be amazing when you get there.


    "Gee," I said, smiling again despite myself. "Thanks."


    "No problem." He shrugged. "Over here."


    My father nodded his head towards one of the buildings and led the way. I looked around as I followed after him, ncing from between the many buildings. Even for such a famous school, Beacon was big, with many towers growing high into the sky, but I tried to memorize all of it. My awareness spread outward from my body, through wires and pipes and open air, and I mentally mapped out all of the school that I saw. I wasn''t particrly surprised when my father led us to the tower that was Beacon''s namesake, either, though as I crossed over the threshold, something prickled my senses. Crocea Mors flowed quickly into the steel of the building and painted an image of moving gears and mechanisms that looked like


    I frowned for a moment, looking around. I actually had no idea what all the things going on in this ce were doing, for all that it felt bizarrely familiar. I could feel a thousand clockwork pieces moving within the building, but a quick Observe didn''t yield anything informative. Was it something so big I couldn''t see enough to use Observe on it? From the feel of it, it went deep underground, maybe even


    The elevator opened, drawing me from my thoughts, though I made a note to ask Ozpin about itter.


    Speaking of which


    "Hello Jack," The headmaster greeted, smiling slightly as the elevator reached the top floor and we entered his office. "And Jaune, of course. You said you needed to speak to me about something?"


    "Two things, actually," My dad said. "The kid wanted to talk to you about some of what happened in Mistral, too, I guess."


    "I see," Ozpin tilted his mug slightly our way. "And you, Jack?"


    My father smiled widely.


    "I want a bring my son to work day," He answered promptly. "I want to take him on a mission with me."


    Ozpin quirked an eyebrow mildly at that.


    "Ah, yes," He mused. "You did mention something like that a few weeks ago, didn''t you?"


    "Yeah, when we talkedst," Dad nodded. "Anyway, Isabelle''s been training him and he''s gotten strong enough that I think he can handle himself."


    Ozpin gave a slight smile and inclined his head at my father.


    "Did you have anything in mind, Jack?"


    "Eh, I was thinking we''d start small, what with this being his first mission and all," My father replied. "Get him into the swing of things without drawing suspicion; that sort of thing. He''s a good healer and more than capable of taking care of himself; I was going to bring him along on a short away mission to heal vigers and stuff, first. Is that okay with you, Jaune?"


    "Yeah, that''s cool," I nodded, shrugging. I didn''t mind healing people.


    "He doesn''t have a healer''s license or anything, but I can vouch for his skind I doubt that any injured vigers wouldin." My dad continued. "No one going against bringing a healer along forwell, anything, either, so getting that out there seemed like a good ce to start. After thatwell, we''ll see, right?"


    "Very well, Jack," Ozpin said easily, taking a sip from his mug. "I''ll try to arrange something."


    "Thanks, Oz; you''re the best." My dad said. "I''ll get you another World''s Best Teacher mug as thanks."


    I was surprisingly easy to break the rules at Beacon, I noted, smiling a little.


    But


    "Can I talk to him alone now, Dad?" I asked.


    He nced at me and shrugged.


    "I''ll just go speak to some old friends, then," He said. "That okay, Oz?"


    "Please," The headmaster made an allowing gesture. "Peter''s teaching a ss right now, however, and Glynda is"


    "Probably cleaning up someone''s messes," He nodded, interrupting the older man. "You know, GG really doesn''t get paid enough for what she puts up with, Oz. But then again, if she got paid that, it''d probably destabilize the economy or something, so I guess there''s nothing for it. I''ll be seeing you, Oz."


    "Indeed," The headmaster replied, gesturing at my father idly with his mug. "Good luck, Jack."


    My dad went over to the window, fiddled with something, and then leapt off the top of the tower with a wave. I waved goodbye to him as he fell, but Ozpin barely gave him a nce; I wondered if this happened often. I could see my dad riding the elevator up and jumping out of the tower, just for the fun of it. Maybe I''d askter.


    "Now then, Jaune," The headmaster looked at me, making me focus. "What is it that you wanted to discuss with me?"


    I took a moment to choose my words before just shrugging to myself.


    Best to be straightforward, I suspected.


    "Well, you might already be aware," I began. "But I figure it''s best to juste out and say it, anyway. The Kingdom''s are running out of Dust, Professor Ozpin."


    He looked at me impassively and then nodded once, showing no signs of surprise. I''d been pretty sure he''d been awareand if he hadn''t been told about it before I took Weiss'' ne, he probably would have gotten some hint of it during whatever investigation was being performed. If nothing else, the general of As was one of his friends.


    "I see," He said. "Yes, I figured as much; your mother said you''d found something. I take it you learned this from Ms. Schnee''s pendant?"


    "Yeah," I said and then paused. "Well, technically no. The pendant just gave a password that I used to hack into the Schnee Company servers after Iyou know, the details really aren''t important. Yes, I got it from her ne, along with some other stuff."


    "Dangerous information," He noted. "I trust you''ve been suitably cautious with it?"


    "Yes, sir," I answered. "The only person who found out about it was the person who discovered it with me and she can bewell, she isn''t going to release it to the masses, I''m sure of that much. My grandmother already knew, though."


    Ozpin seemed to hold back a sigh at the mention of my grandmother, but nodded and motioned for me to continue.


    "We discussed it a lot, which is actually why I''m here," I said. "Because while I was in Mistral, we also found somethingelse and Grandmother asked me to tell you about it and ask for your help."


    Begrudgingly, I left outthough from his expression, I figured he''d caught it anyway.


    "Then this must be serious indeed," He set his mug down and faced me fully. "What did you find, Jaune?"


    I took a breath and considered him carefully.


    "You''re good at keeping secrets, right?" I asked, which actually made his lips twitch.


    "I have something of a knack for it, actually," He replied.


    "Cool," I said as I shoved us both into Naraka.


    Ozpin paused, noticing the change the moment it urred. With a growing frown, he rose from his chair and walked over to the massive office window before staring down at the now empty courtyard with a frown.


    "It''s called Naraka," I said. "It''s a dimensional barrier, if that means anything to youit separates everything within it from the normal world. And as long something''s inside of itit creates Grimm, sir. I can mess with the specifics, like which Grimm, but it''ll create them endlessly as near as I can tell. But one of most interesting things about it is what learnt it from. It was written in Babel."


    Ozpin watched in silence as Grimm slowly began to overrun the empty school. They stalked out of dark ces, noses low to the ground as they began to hunt for their preyus, namely.


    "My power let me grasp the basics anywayand it can do the same with other things written in Babel, too, though it''s hard to get more than a rough grasp of the topic, most days. But I''ve been working on that and ifwell, the implications"


    "Yes," Ozpin said quietly, still not facing me.


    "My grandmother and I think that Babel might be the key to figuring out the true nature of the Grimm. At the very least, the people of Babel probably had a far greater understanding of the Grimmand its possible that they were their source. And just look at the things they created, like this barrier! Before Naraka, I''d never seen anything like it," I said. "Have you?"


    He was silent for a moment but then surprised me.


    "Something simr to it, yes," He said. "Just once."


    "Sir?" I blinked at him as he turned back to me atstand then, with a snap of his fingers, made Naraka shatter, returning us to his office.


    I juststared at him for a moment.


    "I suppose one secrets deserves another," He said to me, turning away from the window after watching the people who''d returned to the courtyard for a moment. "A long, long time ago, a group of Hunters found a series of ruins in the Shadonds during what should have been a routine escort missionBabel ruins, of course."


    "And you were" I trailed off


    "I was not amongst them, no," He said. "In fact, all four members of the team vanished quite abruptly in that areait was only weekster that other Hunters were able to track the remains of their equipment to that location. Shortly after, arger squadposed of three teams was mobilized to examine the ruins. They reported a great deal about the area, from the surprising amount of damage the Grimm had caused to the ruins to the equally strange concentration of powerful Grimm in that area. They observed the area extensively, making brief incursions and reporting back regrly. And then allmunications abruptly ceased."


    Ozpin paused for a moment to let that sink in before continuing.


    "Because of the data they provided, however, the strange behavior of Grimm in that area had be immediately apparent. Coupled withother irregrities, it was deduced that the Grimm seemed to view that location, for whatever reason, as valuableand so an evenrger team was gathered to find out why. Fourteen teams were gathered in all, my own amongst them, and were sent to seize the ruins equipped with everything they could carry."


    He looked at me steadily and drew a slow breath, closing his eyes for a moment.


    "I was the only survivor," He said.


    I looked at him silently for a moment, not sure what to say to that. But


    "How?" I had to asked. "How did? What?"


    How did they die? How did you survive? What was so important to the Grimm that they apparently organized to defend it? I wasn''t even sure what I was trying to ask.


    "I didn''t fight my way out, sadly," He said, apparently deciding for me. "I''d found myself quite wounded early on, in fact, and was in no condition to even runnot that I think I would have gotten away had I tried, either. Instead, something strange happened. One moment, I''d been watching everyone die, but the nextthey were all gone. Humans and Grimm alike vanished and I was alone in a world much like the one you just createdminus the Grimm, of course."


    I perked up at that, despite the grim tale.


    "Like Naraka but empty?" I has to ask, mind racing.


    "No," Ozpin shook his head slowly. "There were no humans nor any Grimm nor any other life at all that I''d been able to findbut it wasn''t quite empty."