Scott yawned as he set his tray on the table and sat down. The lack of sleep was really starting to affect him.

After Yang had tried to unlock his Aura, it had brought back all his memories in detail, including all the ones he wasn't proud of. It had changed trying to go to sleep from difficult to nigh impossible. Every time he closed his eyes, he relived some of his most painful moments. Whether it was massacring the White Legs, nuking the Divide, or joining the Legion. That last one had only been for a short while, but it was a mistake that he would live with the rest of his life.

He had spent his entire night in the workshop, repairing his Elite Riot Gear. His efforts had been more than successful, not only completely restoring it, but adding a couple upgrades too. There had been a couple plates of Saturnite sitting around in his inventory that he had never used. It took up most of his time, but he added the super-durable metal to the armor. His helmet also got an upgrade in the form of thermal lenses and heartbeat sensors. The components for it had just been sitting out on the counter, begging to be used.

Rubbing his eyes, he finally noticed what he had put on his plate. A heap of yellow mush, two of what he assumed were sausages, and a glass of orange liquid. Scott hadn't been paying attention at all when he had started filling his tray. His body had been on autopilot ever since leaving the armory. Out of habit, he waved the Pip-Boy over the food to check for radiation. Like every other time, there were no signs of contamination.

"Good morning, Scott!"

Ruby greeted him cheerfully as she sat down across from him. Her tray was laden with what he assumed were more sugary foods. He hadn't seen her eat anything different in the short time they had dined together. Blake, Weiss, and Yang filled in the remaining spots, Yang being the only one to sit next to him. The latter also shot him a worried glance.

Scott swore under his breath at the blonde's reaction. There was no doubt that he would be hearing about what happened last night later.

He quickly turned that swear into a grunted greeting to his team, before poking the yellow pile on his plate with a fork. It smelled good, but he still had no idea what it was. It smelled like a radiation-free box of Yum Yum Deviled Eggs.

"So, the weekend is coming up soon." Ruby said cheerfully. "I was thinking we could show you around the city."

The Courier glanced up from his plate. "Sure, I was running low on ammo anyway. Is there anyplace I can get some?"

"Yeah!" the scythe wielder nodded. "I know a great place, that is, if they've reopened."

"Good," Scott said, finally taking a bite of the food. It tasted like deviled eggs, but fresh and uncontaminated.

Weiss took this as her turn to speak up. "Why do you have such disgusting habits?"

"Hmm?" he asked, only half paying attention. The real problem he faced right now, was identifying the mysterious orange liquid.

"You smoke, drink, and do who knows what else! I've seen you take syringes both during your trial and our initiation, so I can add drugs to the list, too."

"Weiss!" Ruby said, tugging on her arm. "Don't accuse people of those sort of things!"

Scott lifted his glass and took a hesitant sniff. His nose was assaulted by a acidic, but sweet, smell. Putting it to his lips, he took a tiny sip. Just like the smell, it was slightly acidic, but also sugary. He set it back down before turning to the heiress.

"So, you want to know why I've got horrible addictions?" he said, spearing a sausage on his fork. Quite honestly, he was getting fed up with Weiss. The constant pessimism and haughtiness was making his trigger finger more than a little itchy. "Sweetheart, chems are the only reason I'm alive. Sure, I may have gotten a couple addictions along the way, but I've still got all my limbs. That's a price I'm willing to pay."

The whole table seemed to freeze up at his admittance. Blake's bow twitched and her eyes widened in surprise. Weiss's expression turned to one of disgust, but also satisfaction at his claim. Ruby's expression had turned to one of horror and she had put her hands to her mouth. Yang stiffened next to him, clearly trying to keep her emotions in.

"I knew it!" the heiress called, pointing an accusing finger at him. "I told you all last night, but none of you believed me! Why did Ozpin even let you in?"

"That," Scott said, taking a bite of the meat. It was tender and juicy and better than any Salisbury Steak he had ever had. "Is a very good question. Frankly, I have no clue myself. Maybe he saw something beneath the chems, cigarettes, and alcohol. Who knows?"

"Scott," Ruby began hesitantly, her voice slightly muffled by her hands. "Is this true?"

He didn't acknowledge her, not willing to give anything else away. His frustration had already divulged more information than he had liked. The tense mood was thankfully destroyed when Glynda's voice crackled over the intercom.

"Scott Lawrence, please report to the headmaster's office."

Although he wasn't religious, Scott silently thanked God for the interruption. He wasn't sure if he could have stalled anymore. His short temper had gotten him into many situations like this before.

Standing up to leave, he froze when Yang grabbed his arm. The blonde gave him an extremely concerned look, making Scott shift uncomfortably. He couldn't remember the last time someone had looked at him with actual concern.

"Answer the question." she said.

Scott gulped. "Yeah, I honestly don't remember the last time I was sober."

Her grip loosened as she let the words sink in. Mentally cursing himself, he pulled himself free and made his way to the headmaster's tower.

Yang watched Scott walk away silently. She was really starting to get worried. That was why she had told Ozpin about her and Scott's little thing that happened. The sheer self-loathing, guilt, and other emotions she had felt last night after trying to unlock his Aura had kept her up all last night. After lying in bed for hours, she had made sure to tell the headmaster everything. Since she didn't know how to help him out, Yang figured Ozpin would at least have an idea.

It wasn't because she knew the guy very well, they had only met a couple days ago. However, in the small task of awakening his Aura, she had seen into his very being. This, and the conversation that had just gone on, had given her some background information for her to go off.

The sprawling desert in which they had found themselves was obviously where he was from (They were in his soul after all). What she found worrying, was how harsh it had been. The sand was coarse and rough, far cry from the sand on beaches she had visited. Its sun had been extremely hot, and, even in the short, revealing clothing she usually wore, had her sweating in seconds. Though it wasn't real, the air had been stale and hurt to breathe.

That brought her to the second new thing. When they had questioned him about his addictions, instead of calling them drugs, he had used the word "chems." Yang had never heard that word before today. It was probably short for chemicals, but the tone he used labeled it not as a nickname, but what he actually called them. She would have to ask her dad or uncle if they had ever heard of such a thing.

"Yang?"

Snapping herself out of her reverie, she looked to her younger sister. Ruby had tears in her eyes and was staring at the door Scott had went through.

"Why would he do all those things? Everyone knows drugs aren't good for you!"

Before she could reply, Weiss cut her off. "It's because he's a no-good scoundrel! I wouldn't be surprised if the headmaster was expelling him right now!"

Yang felt her hair flicker slightly. The heiress had absolutely no idea what she was talking about. She hadn't felt or seen what Yang had. Though she didn't agree with his methods, she understood why he did them. The fraction of his emotions that she had felt had clued her in to how utterly depressing his life was. Whatever he had gone through before coming to Beacon must have been devastating.

"Shut up!" she said. "You don't know what he's been through!"

Weiss blinked before scoffing. "And you do?"

"I have a better idea than you!" Yang continued, standing up. "Last night, I found out he didn't have an Aura! I tried to unlock it for him, but I couldn't! The amount of pain and sadness his soul contained shouldn't even be possible!"

Without realizing it, she had begun to shout. The cafeteria had gone quiet, all eyes fixed on her. Honestly, she didn't care. Weiss had finally reached the end of her short temper. It started with her belittlement of Ruby, escalated because of her petty and stuck-up attitude, and finally ended when she insulted Scott.

"Scott doesn't have an Aura?" Ruby asked.

"No!" Yang sighed, sitting back down. The dining hall had returned to normal after a couple seconds of awkward silence. "And he acted like it wasn't that big of a deal! After I couldn't activate it, he blew me off without explaining anything! I asked the headmaster to talk to him because I literally don't know what to do."

The heiress had gone silent, at least looking just a little bit guilty. Blake, on the other hand, tapped Yang's arm. The blonde looked at the girl wearily.

"I'm sure he'll be fine. You've just got to give him some time. If anyone knows what to do, it will be Ozpin."

Ozpin had no idea what to do.

Scott was the very definition of an enigma. The scariest part was how open he was about it. The Courier wasn't afraid to show emotion, he did it all the time. What Ozpin hated, was how he never knew if it was genuine.

Right now, said man was sitting across from him in his office. In his hands, was a small, but thick, leather book. Scott wasn't reading it, though. He just traced his index finger over the glossy title of the volume over and over again.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice," the headmaster began. Though he didn't know exactly what to do, he had brainstormed a few ideas beforehand. "I would have called you earlier, but I have been absolutely swamped with paperwork. After telling the council about you, I have been getting constant requests for certain "under the radar" projects they want you for."

The young man glanced up and raised an eyebrow. "You told them everything?"

"Yes," Ozpin said. "I figured it would be best to inform them of your arrival. Having them find out on their own would be quite disastrous, both for you and me. If I hadn't told them, they would have wasted no time in using you for their own personal gain. At least now, I can defend you from being misused on my own terms."

He nodded. "Of all the monsters I have faced in my short career, none are more dangerous than the politician. That was one of the reasons I left New Vegas. Although I certainly had the tongue for it, my constant fear of getting stabbed in the back had doubled and I didn't need anymore paranoia in my life. I'm glad to see at least one thing is the same between our worlds."

Ozpin chuckled in agreement. The boy did have a way with words. Everything he said was woven in a way that made it hard not to agree. That wasn't necessarily a good thing. Any conversation consisted of Ozpin trying to figure out whether Scott was genuine or had a hidden agenda.

"While I wanted you to know this," Ozpin said, shuffling through one of the folders on his desk. It contained the limited information they had managed to get on Scott. "I have other reasons for calling you here. The first, contains something you will find interesting."

Scott motioned for him to go on, taking a sip from the flask that seemed perpetually hooked around his waist.

"I've found a way for you to improve your combat."

To the headmaster's disbelief, he nodded in acknowledgement. "I thought you would've." A wide grin spread across his face at Ozpin's expression. "What? You think I'm so arrogant that I won't notice my own shortcomings? Please, that kind of behavior gets you killed. I would know. So, how do you suggest I go about improving it?"

Ozpin shook himself out of his shock with a small smile. The Courier was just full of surprises. At first glance, he appeared to be one who was overconfident. However, the young man's reveal had proved everything except that.

"I am limiting the amount of weapons you can use in combat."

Raising his eyebrow again, Scott gave the headmaster a curious glance. "How would that help me?"

"Well," Ozpin said. "I've watched clips of all your fights, including your brawl with Miss Xiao Long last night. While you are certainly skilled, nothing really stuck out to me. You acted as a jack of all trades, master of none. There is nothing wrong with that, but, as a headmaster, it is my primary goal to teach. I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't help you."

"So, you want me to get better in each individual category?" The Courier asked, flipping through the book in his hand without looking.

"Yes. I believe that with the proper training, you could become the most skilled man alive. Your melee skill is already extremely good, far surpassing any Huntsman at your level. Everything else, was a bit below average. If someone were to take away your massive arsenal and leave you with one or two weapons, you would be severely crippled. All I ask is for you to work on getting better with your individual weapons. Your teammates would be of great help to this."

Ozpin let this sink in. The expression on Scott's face had shown that the boy had taken the news seriously. After everything he had been through, the headmaster imagined it must be quite frustrating to be told you weren't good enough.

"Alright, old man," he said, looking up with a fiery glint of determination in his eye. Ozpin blinked in surprise. Yet again, Scott had managed to catch him off guard, The last time he had suggested for a student to work on their skills, they hadn't taken the information to heart. Scott, however, was apparently ready to admit his flaws. "I'll give it a try. You are right, after all. In the Mojave, whoever carried the bigger stick won in any gunfight. That has left some bad habits in me. If a technique or strategy isn't working for me, I'll usually try to brute force my way through with a more powerful weapon."

"Excellent!" Ozpin said, lifting his coffee mug from the table. Thankfully, the beverage was still hot. "Now, we need to talk about your Aura and Semblance."

Scott let out a sigh. "I knew this was coming. Yang told you, didn't she?"

"Miss Xiao Long came to my office last night expressing her concern. Most Huntsman and Huntresses get theirs unlocked as soon as they enter one of the lower academies, like Signal."

"Yeah," he said, dematerializing his book and shooting the headmaster an annoyed glare. "Thanks for letting me know that earlier. I thought it was somewhat normal for someone to be without one. I mean, it is where I'm from."

"I actually had no clue that was the case. You have done a superb job of hiding your injuries and your strength, durability, stamina, and speed excel a normal person's. The idea that a young man was able to survive without it going through what you did is remarkable." Ozpin explained

Scott waved a hand in disagreement. "It was just a matter of luck (Ozpin noted how Scott didn't seem to believe his own words) and nothing more. What I don't understand, is what you want me to do about the Aura situation. I'm not keen on letting people see what I've done. Also, I don't think anyone could handle the emotional stress."

Ozpin smiled behind his mug and took another sip. The bitter beverage was the only way he managed to stay sane some days. Running a school of teenage warriors was no small task.

"That is a nice segway into our next topic," Ozpin said. "Your medical history and addiction problem."

Scott gave the headmaster a quizzical look.

"Problem?" he said, lighting a cigarette. "I don't have a problem."

The sheer irony of the situation had Ozpin's smile grow only wider. "I think your team would beg to differ. Anyways, I've already scheduled you with an appointment with Katherine today. You won't have to worry about missing classes, seeing as I will inform your teachers and teammates."

"And what if I refuse?" The Courier said. His hesitation was understandable. Katherine had told him about Scott's distrust of doctor's. It helped explain why he wasn't eager to go.

"Then," Ozpin said. "The council may try and find a loophole about how your medical records aren't in place and use you for themselves." A sudden thought came to the front of his mind and he grinned. "Actually, I've got a deal to make with you."

The headmaster opened a desk drawer and pulled out a thin, metal coin. They weren't in circulation anymore, being far surpassed by the more popular plastic card. However, the coin still had its uses.

"You come from a city of gamblers, right?"

Scott's face seemed to pale at the mention.

"Yeah…" he said slowly, clearly not liking the direction this was heading.

"Then we'll flip for it. Heads, you go to the doctor's. Tails, you don't have to go."

Shaking his head madly, Scott refused. "Listen, I may come from the casino city, but by no means am I lucky. I will lose this, and there is nothing you can do to change that."

"You survived two point blank gunshots to the head," Ozpin asked. "How are you not lucky?"

"That was just because of my ridiculous endurance." he said, still staring at the coin in distaste. A sudden look of amusement appeared on his face. "Here, how about I make a bet, just to show you how unlucky I truly am? I want to know if my fortune has changed."

Ozpin waved a hand, encouraging him to go on.

"If the coin lands on its side, neither heads nor tails, I go see Dr. Greene. Any other face, and I get to walk free. Deal?"

Although the odds were stacked against him, Ozpin was quite intrigued to see if Scott truly was unlucky. After all, he could always schedule another appointment with the doctor.

"Deal," he said, readying the coin.

Flicking his thumb, Ozpin launched the metal disk high into the air. It spun around seven times on the air before landing back on his desk.

Right on the side.

"Goddammit!"

"Can you hold still? I can't get a proper scan if you keep squirming around like that!"

Scott stopped moving and allowed Kate to slide him in the machine. The young man had entered her office around an hour ago, clearly there on the headmaster's instruction. They had spent that time doing his physical and checking up on his mental health. Now, she was doing a full body CAT scan. They had the machine lying around for those willing to train themselves in the medical profession, but she was really the only one to use it. Kate had insisted they do an MRI to get everything, but Scott had absolutely refused on going anywhere near the machine.

Overall, his physical health was exceptional. Despite the fact that he weighed three times what a kid his age should, he was in better shape than most of the other kids she had. The many scars that lined his torso had been worrying at first, but nothing had proven infected. In fact, what concerned her more than the injuries, was the stitching that had been done on them. It was rough and uneven, not running straight across whatever gash it was on. Her trained medical eye identified that he had probably done the job himself. That really drove home the point that he didn't trust doctors.

His mental health, on the other hand, was far from great. Scott admitted to lack of sleep due to recurring nightmares. Even when he didn't get them, he said he was an insomniac. Kate had done a basic intelligence test to measure his mental capacity. His problem solving skills and overall knowledge was incredible, easily marking him as an extremely smart student. His memorization, however, was quite worrying. Some things she'd tell him, he would repeat back right away. Other times, Scott would completely forget what was said in the span of about two seconds. She couldn't be too hard on him, though. The boy had gotten two bullets right into the cranium.

"Sorry." he mumbled, fingering the lead vest draped over his chest. Scott had been jumpy ever since she had mentioned the radioactive device. He had asked to wear the thing for extra protection. Kate was forced to pick either that, or a hazmat suit.

Running the machine around him, Katherine waited for the image to load. The tech at Beacon was top notch, even managing to give her full color imaging.

The image finally appeared on screen, and Kate took a step backward in surprise. His anatomy was unlike anything she had ever seen before. All of his bones, based on their silvery color, appeared to be either coated or made up of metal. The young man's skin was thicker and appeared extremely durable. There were many implants in different parts of his body, ranging from different sizes and shapes. Since she couldn't deduce the function of any of these implants, she moved onto items she could figure out.

When Katherine saw his heart, brain, and spine, she nearly fainted in surprise. At one point, they had all been surgically removed. The organs had all been thankfully returned, but they were all quite different from normal. Scott's brain was quite a bit larger than average, and wasn't even fully connected to his body. Later, she would have to do a test on brain activity and see how he was still alive. His spine was covered in more metal than any other bone in his body. In fact, it looked nearly unbreakable, the added metal increasing his strength and endurance. Finally, his heart. Like his brain, it was larger than average. Earlier, she had checked his own heartbeat, finding the pace to be more than double than it should in a resting state. Kate chalked that up to nerves and only now realized that was his normal pace.

Pulling him back out, Katherine helped him sit up and offered him a glass of water. Scott traded her his vest for it.

'I've never seen a body as artificially augmented as yours is," Katherine said, hanging up the vest. "Why is it like that?"

Scott chuckled, taking a sip of the clear liquid. He was fiddling with his wrist device, probably hoping the machine didn't mess it up.

"Sometimes," he began. "Even I wonder why I would do it. At this point, I'm pretty sure my body is more machine than man. But, I've never regretted it. The enhancements have saved my life."

Kate nodded, not really agreeing with what he said. However, he would divulge the information at his own time. Grabbing her Scroll off the counter, she checked CAT scan off her agenda.

"Alright, now I just need to take a blood sample and -"

The sound of shattering glass interrupted her. Scott's eyes had widened in shock, and he had dropped the cup as a result of it. Ignoring the mess on the floor, he rubbed his eyes in disbelief. Whatever he had seen on his wrist had surprised him greatly.

"Scott?" she asked kindly, worried of frightening the young man. "Are you okay?"

He looked at her with something akin to hope in his eyes. "I need to leave, right now. Where can I get an airship to Vale?"

The doctor sighed. Ozpin had wanted to keep him on school grounds. The headmaster was concerned that Scott wasn't ready for the city. In fact, the man had been absolutely certain in that regard. She wasn't going to argue with the man who signed her paycheck.

"Sorry," she said. "Headmaster's orders. Now, let's finish u-"

Scott had stood up and gazed at her pleadingly. "Please, I need to go. Otherwise, I'll lose something very important to me."

Kate felt her resolve waver. The young man had poured his very being into those words. For him, it was a matter of life and death.

"S-sure," Kate said, pointing out the door. "There's a Bullhead leaving for Vale in fifteen minutes. Just head down to the airship dock."

Nodding his head, Scott moved towards the door.

"Wait!"

He turned back to her at the outburst.

"What are you looking for?" she asked. From what she knew of the man, he didn't really keep anything close.

Scott gave her a weary smile.

"A friend."

Sorry this one took so long, I wanted to get this just right. I know this wasn't the most exciting chapter, but I needed to get some information out there. This is also a set-up for some pretty cool shit (at least I hope) next chapter.

'Till Next Time

P.S. Wizzrobe, my man, you get the kudos. Your research went above and beyond.