"History is the queen of sciences! And I absolutely cannot understand your indifferent attitude towards it, children!"
Egrer was picking the dirt out from under his nails, paying zero attention to whatever Oobleck was yelling about. Sitting on his right, Illmond was sleeping with his eyes open, while Yort and Magenta minded their own business. The teacher didn't even notice that they weren't listening to him at all.
All in all, this could have been a regular history lesson, if not for the fact that the lecture was already over, and the four of them had been held back after class.
"Your grades in my subject are some of the absolute worst in the year! Do you just not care about history at all? Have you already forgotten what I told you when I kept you after class the first time?"
Even though Magenta had become slightly more responsible, she was still Magenta. That is, an adorable ball of chaos and inconsistency, a charming embodiment of madness. So the moments when she took her studies seriously alternated with periods of total idleness and a laid-back lifestyle. And there were far more of the latter than the former, by the way. To the unspeakable joy of her subordinates.
"I am tired of tolerating this," Oobleck stated weightily. "I have already informed Glynda about this issue, and as it turns out, you are indifferent not only to the main science—history—but to all other subjects as well. This is a case of systematic neglect of homework, a dismissive attitude toward your studies, and you don't even take notes in your notebooks! Unacceptable! Glynda is waiting for you in her office today."
"Huh?" Egrer raised his head. He'd let this whole emotional speech go right over his head, but hearing the word "Glynda" a whole two times definitely couldn't go unnoticed. Plus, the teacher's overall tone didn't bode well for the four of them.
The others sensed something was wrong too and perked up their ears.
"You four. Today. To Miss Goodwitch's office," Oobleck repeated almost syllable by syllable, after which he took a swig of his slop from his thermos and started pacing frantically around the classroom. "Your behavior leaves much to be desired! Severe disciplinary measures should be taken against you!"
"But we're doing fine in school," Egrer argued. "I mean, barely scraping by, yeah, but we're meeting the minimum bar."
"You are future Huntsmen! You should always strive for self-improvement! It is unacceptable to just coast through your studies; you must give it your all every single day to become a reliable pillar for humanity in the future. Laziness is forbidden within the walls of Beacon!"
A few minutes later, the scolding ended, and Team MJEI was let go. Their brave leader suddenly felt a surge of responsibility, and she immediately dragged the rest to Miss Goodwitch's office, ignoring Illmond's feeble protests and Egrer's escape attempt. Only Yort was ready to look the academy's greatest fear in the eye.
"Your results are among the worst," the Steel Lady began strictly the moment they stepped into the confines of her lair. "In all my memory, there haven't been students who treated their studies so dismissively. Even Team CRDL is showing better grades than yours, and even Mr. Arc has almost caught up with the curriculum. Miss Toti, your Scroll has already received three demands to get this situation under control. Why did you choose to ignore the problem?"
"We really did?" Magenta scratched the back of her head. "I probably forgot... sorry..."
"If your grades do not improve in the near future, prepare for severe countermeasures. Beacon is not a haven for slackers; you are the future shield of humanity. And I find it impermissible to waste the teachers' efforts on those who do not wish to learn."
Is that a threat of expulsion?! Egrer thought in a panic. Judging by the faces of the others, similar thoughts flashed through their minds. Only Illmond indifferently shrugged.
After their second severe reprimand of the day, they were sent on their way, with one last reminder of certain severe measures.
The issue of academic performance came up unexpectedly abruptly. Had the bright days of doing absolutely nothing really come to an end? Were they really going to have to work? Just that one word induced an obsessive urge to throw a hysterical fit, scream, and lock himself in his room. Not to mention that they'd actually have to bust their asses. The era of laziness had passed, the kingdom of eternal rest had fallen, and the strategy of freeloading off the government was no longer valid. Dark times had come.
"Is there even a point in trying to study?" There wasn't the slightest trace of worry in Illmond's voice, only resignation to the impending trouble. "I doubt that cramming textbooks until we pass out is going to help us much. We've been slacking off for way too long to catch up with the curriculum."
"Don't know about you, but I'm gonna try and do something," Egrer replied, to whom the prospect of getting kicked out of Beacon seemed worse than death. "I got a feeling Goodwitch wants to expel us... We need help."
"Hell nah I'm asking someone for help," Yort growled. "I'll handle this shit myself. Cramming books till I pass out? HA! Easy dub! I'll cram 'em till I pass out three times!"
The rest of the pack didn't share his blind confidence. On the contrary, Goodwitch's threat had sown panic in their hearts. Except for Illmond, who didn't want to do anything about it, since he was perfectly fine as is.
"Hmm..." Egrer mused, muttering under his breath. "Hope Weiss has enough free time to tutor me... Actually no, Yang's jokes would be suffocating then. Better go to Ren, he's smart too."
Magenta, meanwhile, was pacing back and forth in a panic.
"And what am I supposed to do? Nora and Jaune won't help me, they're struggling with their own grades, let alone you guys. But I don't have any other friends! What do I do?! I don't wanna get kicked out of Beacon!" She threw herself at Egrer and burst into tears. "I'm done for, it's over, I'm gonna die! I won't be able to play roulette with my little bro!"
"Easy, easy. I... I'll talk to Weiss. I'm sure she'll help you."
Oh, I just hope she has enough patience to handle Madge.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
Right after history was Grimm Studies, so Weiss was found in Peter Port's classroom. She always preferred to spend her breaks in class, unlike her team, who tried to squeeze the absolute maximum out of every recess, showing up only at the last second.
Yort and Illmond headed for the pack's favorite spot—the very back desks in the corner. The teacher's voice reached there considerably weakened, so it didn't really get in the way of sleeping. Although the demographic hanging out there was shady—various delinquents, slackers, and goons—it was a tolerable downside. After all, they were just sleeping there too and usually didn't mess with anyone.
Egrer led Magenta to Weiss, who was sitting in the front row.
"Hey." She was looking into her textbook and just gave a slight nod, letting him know she was listening. "I... I mean, we... uh... How are you?"
"Within normal parameters. And you?" she asked purely out of politeness, still engrossed in her book. She didn't even notice Magenta, who stood behind her and also started reading.
"Within normal parameters, yeah. Well, not exactly, got some difficulties. So here's the thing, Madge needs to pull her grades up a bit. Can you help her?"
Weiss lifted her head and came face to face with Magenta.
"Hi." The butterfly tilted her head to the side, and pollen showered from her hair. Weiss sneezed. "Save me, please. I don't wanna die."
"I have no time to babysit others; the Grimm Studies test is coming up. And with Mr. Port's teaching methodology, we have to rely entirely on ourselves."
"Come on, please!" Egrer clasped his hands in a pleading gesture. "For old times' sake. I don't know anyone at Beacon smarter than you."
"There is no need to flatter me." Weiss crossed her arms over her chest and turned away.
"Did you know that Magenta Toti isn't just some random student? Does her last name ring a bell?"
She definitely wouldn't be able to dismiss the opportunity to get closer to the heiress of an influential family that was second only to her own. Because that would be irrational, and Weiss was always guided by logic.
"Her surname? That exact surname belongs to Titakaro Toti, the head of Toti Appli... " Suddenly, a flash of realization appeared in her eyes. "Wait, you don't mean to say that..."
"Exactly. Meet Magenta Toti, the heiress to Toti Appliances." Magenta gave a friendly wave and said hi again.
"I just remembered that I have some free time from six to eight."
"Awesome, Madge does too," Egrer nodded, satisfied.
***
Team JNPR's room was normal. If some sort of "Normality" meter existed in the world, it would display a solid one hundred and twenty percent in this place. And, most surprisingly, Nora Valkyrie lived here. That very same red-haired menace who engaged in all sorts of craziness with Magenta all the time, and that very same hyperactive girl who made your brain boil after a minute of interaction.
And what was even more surprising—she was just sitting on her bed right now with headphones on, reading some magazine. You could even be fooled into thinking the world was safe right now, but Egrer kept stealing glances at her.
Did Nora only bring chaos to the outside world, preferring to restrain herself in here? Or had she already exhausted all her energy and was just resting? This question bothered him much more than the name of the general who captured Castle fortress.
"That... was... General Mortis!"
"No," Ren replied, looking into the textbook. They were sitting on his bed, and he, as its owner, settled at the headboard, while Egrer set himself up at the foot. "Mortis was defending; Lagune was the one attacking. Moving on: in what year did the battle of Heimdall's Field begin?"
"Ah, damn it, one question's worse than the other."
"We re-read the chapter on the Faunus Rights Revolution ten minutes ago. If you didn't remember anything, we just need to go over it one more time," Ren calmly concluded, his patience showing no signs of running out.
Egrer sighed heavily; Oobleck's classes were somehow easier. Not surprising, considering the teacher's attention was spread evenly across the entire auditorium, while Ren had no one else to grill but him. Plus, right now he actually had to study. After all, what was the point of asking for help if he was just going to act exactly the same way as he did in history class?
But no matter how difficult and unpleasant it was, Egrer was grateful to Ren for being able to spare some of his time for him.
Suddenly the door opened, and a smiling Pyrrha walked into the room with a sweaty and dirty Jaune. He was squeezed dry like a lemon after training with a world-class champion and, ignoring everyone, immediately trudged toward the shower. Along the way, he unclipped his scabbard, which clattered to the floor, coming to rest near a desk where several textbooks were already waiting for Jaune.
Talk about someone having it much harder than Egrer. The poor guy barely had a free hour after classes.
"Struggling with your studies?" Pyrrha asked, noticing a couple of notebooks with their guest and the vein bulging on his forehead from overexertion.
"Helping him with history," Ren nodded.
While Jaune was in the shower, Pyrrha decided to join in torturing Egrer as well, because she was always happy to help those around her. Even if they didn't want it or were writhing in agony.
That was probably exactly how Yort and Illmond felt whenever Egrer tried to butt in with his help. The hopelessness from the realization that this annoying guy wouldn't just bug off, the anger at him and the world, the dragging feeling of despair in your chest. Having put himself in their shoes, he began to understand his friends' actions much better.
They decided to take a break from history for now, as the sight of a clueless idiot had started eliciting pity from them. But as ancient wisdom dictates—a change is as good as a rest. So Pyrrha suggested tackling a few problems in other subjects.
Like calculating the distance to a smoke source by factoring in all possible variables like wind speed and direction, humidity, terrain relief, and so on. Or calculating the required number of rations for four people on a week-long trek through the mountains. And many more complex problems that every self-respecting Huntsman should be able to solve in their head like snapping peanuts just to do their job.
Pyrrha was just as patient as Ren, so she didn't get mad when Egrer failed to understand something.
And he failed to understand a lot of things. A whole lot. Throughout his entire time at Beacon, he had only ever opened textbooks to look busy, not to mention that he hadn't even attended a Huntsman prep school. Hell, he hadn't even finished a regular school!
And when Pyrrha and Ren started debating the best way to find the root of a quadratic equation—using the discriminant or Vieta's formulas—Egrer just sat there with a stone-faced expression, not understanding how equations could have a shape and where they'd even get roots from.
"I think Jaune fell asleep in there," Pyrrha suddenly realized. She walked over to the bathroom and knocked on the door. "Wrap it up in there. Or I'll come in."
"I'm already finishing up!" a panicked voice rang out. The barely audible sound of water immediately ceased.
"He fell for such an obvious bluff so easily," Egrer chuckled quietly. Ren, however, didn't find it funny.
"It was not a bluff. Pyrrha has already done that once when he didn't reply. The lock simply went and opened."
"What a relationship they've got going."
"If only..."
Their whispering was interrupted by Pyrrha's return.
"I think we still have time to finish this problem while he gets dressed. Come on, Eg, push yourself."
Egrer pushed himself. He scrunched up his face, gripped the pen in his fist, and drilled a stern glare into the letters on the paper. He sat like that for a few seconds, after which he slumped back onto the bed and groaned.
"I can't! I'm exhausted! Let's just admit that I'm dumb as a rock and start from the multiplication tables or the alphabet."
"Egrer Peleni!" someone suddenly knocked on the door, with such force that it nearly flew off its hinges. "I know you're in there!"
Judging by the disgruntled voice, it was Weiss. Egrer checked the clock. She'd lasted exactly an hour, somewhat surprisingly.
"Guess that's for me." Egrer sighed heavily and walked over to the door. "Hi, Weiss!"
"Who did you dump on me?!"
"She just has a bad memory."
"Oh no, her memory is non-existent as a concept. A minute later she forgets everything we just went over! And she possesses absolutely zero ability to concentrate. She keeps poking her finger at empty space as if counting dust motes, fiddles with her hair, and does not absorb the meaning of what I am saying in the slightest!"
"But she's cute!" This counterargument sounded pathetic.
"If you prefer the type of girls who have cotton candy instead of a brain, then tutor her yourself. But I do not intend to waste any more of my invaluable time on this... this... blockhead!" Weiss clearly wanted to say something harsher, but Egrer's stern glare forced her to soften her language.
Well, apparently, nothing could be done.
"Then maybe Ren could tutor Madge, and you tutor me? Ren, deal?"
He shrugged, he was no stranger to interacting with weirdos.
"If you are even half as obtuse, do not even hold out hope," Weiss stamped down. "Which subject do you need help with?"
"All of 'em." Her eye twitched at this revelation. "Well, except PE and combat prep, I'll somehow manage those on my own."
"All of them, you say?"
"Except PE and combat prep." This clarification didn't calm her in the slightest.
"I am curious to know, what exactly were you doing before, seeing as you need help with literally every subject? I know you have never shone in class with your knowledge, but do you really approach learning this irresponsibly?"
"Don't sweat it, you won't have to work too hard!" Egrer assured her. "I just need to bump my grades up a bit, so explaining a couple of topics will be plenty."
"Egrer Peleni, you do not know me at all if you hope a minimum passing grade will satisfy me. If you want me to help you, you will be obligated to become an A-student, nothing less. I will grant no quarter."
"Honestly, I'm not sure you've got the patience to drag me up that high. I mean, you'll literally have to drag me from the bottom of the oceanic abyss to the light of God; Ren and Pyrrha can vouch for that. Are you sure you wanna do this, Weiss?"
He was blatantly trying to intimidate her, because he knew full well she would actually work him to the bone to make him an A-student.
"I'll let you in on a secret, but I didn't go to prep school," he whispered so the others wouldn't hear. He was a bit ashamed to admit it. "I only made it through four grades of regular school."
"That merely signifies that I will have to start from the beginning."
"No, it means you're gonna fry your nerves big time. Do you really need that? I don't think you do."
"So will you accept my help, or will you continue to issue threats?"
Egrer sighed heavily and said ostentatiously loudly:
"I'll take it, no other choice. If I decide to stick with Ren, then Madge will be left hanging, and she needs to bring her grades up too." He turned to the eavesdropping JNPR members. Even Nora had taken off her headphones. "You all heard that!? She's helping me with my classes not because we're dating or anything, but because I need someone to help Madge!"
"Wow, that's a clever excuse," Nora said in surprise. "I didn't even get it at first until he explained."
"Idiot," Weiss hissed, dragging him by the scruff into the room across the hall. The door slammed. "You said yourself that we should just ignore them."
Egrer couldn't find an answer. He had just hoped that if he explained it all, everything would fall into place. But apparently, he had put too much faith in their common sense.
Team RWBY's room was not normal. If some sort of "Abnormality" meter existed in the world, it would display a solid one hundred and twenty percent in this place. Unsurprising, considering one of the most unhinged first-year teams lived here.
The first things that caught the eye were two bunk beds, which were clearly originally meant to be four single beds. One of them rested on stacks of books, and the other hung from bolts driven into the ceiling, creating a distorted semblance of normal bunk beds. A terrifyingly flimsy structure, upon which Magenta was currently swinging.
"Get down from there, you fool!" Weiss yelled, yanking her down. "I told you not to touch anything!"
"I didn't touch anything," Magenta blinked innocently and showed her hands. "See?"
"Go to Ren; he will be tutoring you instead of me. Hurry!"
Weiss stomped her foot, and a saddened butterfly left, gathering her things. Egrer shook his head disapprovingly.
"Go a bit easier on her, my heart bleeds when you're rude to her or call her names."
"An entire hour of my priceless time went down the drain. I only took on this... silly girl..." she softened under his angry glare, "at your request, so do not dare instruct me on how to behave."
Egrer shrugged, acknowledging his fault. He knew Weiss wouldn't be able to handle it, but he had decided to try anyway, just to avoid multiplying the rumors about their relationship.
"By the way, is it safe here? I mean, if Yang suddenly comes in, we'll die from her idiotic jokes. I still haven't recovered from her 'K-I-S-S-I-N-G' yesterday. Looks like she's running out of jabs if she's resorted to schoolyard teasing..."
"Shut up. Do not remind me. And do not take me for a fool; I am perfectly aware." Weiss grabbed a couple of notebooks. "We will hide in my gazebo."
"Smart."
They took the most deserted paths, but even so, they ran into other students. They whispered, looking at them, drilling holes in their backs with their stares. Although Weiss was the center of attention—she was the heiress to the richest company in the world here, and Egrer was just the guy on her arm. Jaune or Neptune could easily have been in his place.
You'd think one would have gotten used to such attention by now, but for some reason, it didn't work out that way. But overall, nothing terrible was happening. Sure, he was annoyed by the whispers, and he'd even chased away one alternatively gifted individual with curses when they started bugging them with highly personal questions... But that was it. Nothing besides frayed nerves.
Weiss, on the other hand, was the one suffering the most from these rumors. She hadn't just gotten off with embarrassment and a furious desire to bludgeon Yang with whatever was handy, no.
One day, her father had called.
Egrer had the dubious luck of being nearby at the moment, and he wouldn't soon forget Weiss's terrified face, nor the speed with which she declined the call. According to her, the chance that Jacques Schnee would call her for the first time in all this time just to chat was approximately equal to negative infinity. So the reason for the call was obvious.
But even though the thought of just stopping interacting for a while was practically palpable, neither of them ever voiced it. After all, that was essentially an admission of defeat, a shameful surrender. Society was more likely to bend to Weiss than Weiss to society.
"What kind of gentleman is he?" someone's comment reached them. "He should be carrying the notebooks for her."
"They look so cute together. I heard he's a hidden Faunus; I wonder if Weiss knows? It's so romantic..."
"Jaune dedicated his victory to her like a true knight, why did she choose this guy?"
Egrer sighed heavily. While he knew this was just a simple love triangle between Jaune, Weiss, and Neptune, to everyone else it looked like a love square with his participation as well. Multiply that by Weiss's fame, and you get a story whose developments the entire Beacon was keeping tabs on.
Oh well, when they see Jaune with her at the dance, they'll back off, Egrer thought, but out loud he said something entirely different:
"We should've taken different paths, these idiots are pissing me off."
"Just ignore them," replied Weiss, who maintained a stony face. However, even then it was obvious how sick she was of everything.
"I'd love to, but I can't anymore. Is it just me, or didn't people stare at us like this before?"
"Before, at least Neptune would talk to me, but now I only speak with two boys: you and Jaune. And everyone is already well aware of my attitude towards the latter; some are even making up jokes involving him." She sighed heavily. "And why has Neptune suddenly grown so cold toward me?"
Egrer instantly felt a flush of shame creeping up his face. He adjusted the collar of his school blazer and looked around shiftily.
"Maybe... well... probably..."
As luck would have it, not a single plausible reason for this turn of events came to mind. He couldn't exactly explain to Weiss that Jaune had simply had a chat with him, right? She would immediately run off to snap her prime admirer's neck for depriving her of her main candidate for the dance. And if she inadvertently discovered that Egrer had been helping Jaune behind her back all this time, things wouldn't go well for him, either.
Plus, he just felt kind of guilty.
"Perhaps he grew tired of me?" Weiss supposed. "Egrer, answer me, am I interesting to converse with?"
"Well, arguing with you is never boring, at least."
"That is a separate matter," she shook her head.
"Yeah, you're interesting to talk to," Egrer admitted with a sigh. For some reason, it was a little awkward to say, but he pushed past it to cheer Weiss up. "You can carry a conversation on a variety of topics, and you've got a sharp tongue."
"Am I quarrelsome?"
And how the hell am I supposed to answer that?!
"No." A goofy smile instantly spread across his face. Looking at it, Weiss raised a skeptical eyebrow. "To be honest, yes. But personally, it's not a problem for me, I'm used to worse."
"I will not judge you for the truth, so do not make excuses."
"You know this isn't exactly fair, right?" Egrer protested. "Brazenly exploiting my weak spot like this, I mean."
"What is so difficult about answering a couple of questions? I perfectly understand myself that despite some of my flaws, I am still irresistible," that sounded less than confident, "but for the complete picture, I need an outside male perspective."
"Ask Jaune."
"Jaune is Jaune." Weiss grimaced. "He will tell me anything just to please me. It was endearing at first, but now it is just irritating. And you are physically incapable of lying convincingly."
"Look, you shouldn't get so worked up over that blue-haired guy," Egrer continued to press his point. "He's an idiot for dropping you."
"'Dropping' is too strong a word. We rather simply drifted apart. Though even that is an overstatement."
"What's the difference? He didn't appreciate you properly." Egrer wasn't even sure if that was a lie or not. Technically, Neptune giving up his claim on Weiss could be interpreted as him not valuing her all that much. Otherwise, he would've held onto her till the end, right? That was probably why the goofy smile didn't break out. "Anyway, don't dwell on him so much. What's past is past, just move on."
"I had no intention of dwelling on anyone," she assured, crossing her arms defensively. She seemed insulted by the suggestion that she could pine after someone like that.
"Does that mean you've got another candidate for the dance?"
"Not yet... but they will certainly appear in due course. I am certain that in the near future, an entire line will form of those wishing to invite me to the ball. I will not even have to do anything."
"I highly doubt there'll be that many if you don't put in at least a little effort yourself," Egrer remarked skeptically.
"And how do you envision that? That I would PERSONALLY walk up to some boy and DIRECTLY ask him to take me to the dance?"
"Why not? It's much better to take matters into your own hands than to hope someone worthy sets their sights on you. Being direct and honest are the best methods for conducting relationships."
"That is far too much of an honor," Weiss scoffed. "Besides, I really will not have to do anything. I doubt anyone in their right mind would ignore the heiress to the SDC."
"If someone pays attention to you purely for that reason, then it's better to just kick them between the legs right off the bat. Mercenary freaks like that need to be chased off immediately."
Weiss smirked, looking as if she had already done something similar.
"I am deeply touched by your concern, but believe me, I know how to handle such... individuals. But on the other hand, what else is left for me?" she sighed heavily. "I had guessed it before, but after your words that it is unlikely anyone could like me, I arrived at the only logical conclusion—people might pay attention to me solely because of my high standing in society. I am nowhere near as attractive as Yang, nor am I a cutie like Ruby. I only have my last name."
"Weiss, I was just spouting nonsense back then, don't take it to heart." The flush of shame intensified. He had no idea it had hurt her so much. "Or do you think I only hang out with you because of that too?"
"Egrer, you misunderstand. By 'pay attention,' I meant pay attention in a romantic sense."
"O-oh..." he said foolishly. Then quickly added, "Even if you were three times as gorgeous as Yang, I still wouldn't go to the dance with you."
"How rude. But at least it is sincere." Weiss's smile dimmed slightly. "And your honesty is exactly what I need. Tell me, why do you think Neptune ultimately stopped interacting with me? Perhaps he approached me that day precisely because I am a Schnee? And then he just got to know me better and decided he did not want to get involved with me?" Here she goes again, overthinking it. Drawing such conclusions based on mere crumbs of info... "I have absolutely no explanations, and Neptune himself refuses to answer. You know I despise not understanding something."
Egrer scratched the back of his head and turned away. There it was again, this dilemma. What was the right way to act? Comfort her by telling the whole truth? Or keep this secret and give Jaune a chance to support a vulnerable Weiss?
Why did I ever get involved in this web of intrigue? They should've just splashed around in this swamp of mutual omissions themselves, honest to god...
"Maybe... maybe he just saw Jaune's efforts and figured it's better not to cross a guy like that?" Egrer suggested, awkwardly scratching his head. It wasn't a lie; their negotiation really could be interpreted that way. "Either way, I highly doubt it's about you. If Neptune was really hitting on you because of your last name, he wouldn't have let go so easily."
"You think?"
"Absolutely positive," Egrer said, and a wide, goofy smile immediately broke across his face. "Well, or not absolutely. But as a possibility, why not?"
They turned a corner and nearly bumped into Cardin and his team. He just hissed irritably at them and kept walking, while his flunkies quietly discussed something and pointed fingers at them.
"Seriously?" Egrer asked, looking back. "Even they're gossiping about this?"
"In any case, the important thing is that we know the truth, and fools can whisper whatever they like. If these lowly creatures want to gossip so badly, let them wallow in their own mire; such loathsome rabble are not worth dignifying with anger."
"The intent of your speech and the words chosen for it kinda clash, hasn't that crossed your mind?"
"If they have nothing better to do, it is their problem," Weiss replied, shrugging, already in a more placid tone.
"Actually, it's ours too, otherwise you wouldn't be hissing curses at Yang every time she spots us in the same general area, even if we're just standing on opposite ends of the street." Egrer did not share her reluctance to take action. Although he had espoused that very position recently. "And when she finds out we went somewhere together, she definitely won't stay out of it. I'm not worth this hassle; I'm not much smarter than Madge anyway. You could have kept tutoring her, it would've been less trouble."
"You simply lack erudition; those are different things. You cannot be blamed for that; it is unlikely you had the opportunity to receive a proper education, unlike Magenta, who undoubtedly possessed the means for the best teachers in the world. Well, second to mine, naturally. Thus, she is simply a slacker."
"Don't jump to conclusions," he defended his friend. "Madge spent her whole childhood in a hospital with some weird disease, maybe she couldn't study either. What if she passed out at the slightest mental strain or something?"
"There I go as usual." Weiss chuckled self-deprecatingly. "Judging others based on fragmented data and my own cynicism. How could I have ever made friends here?"
"You're too hard on yourself, Weiss. You have merits too."
"Yes, for instance, money and social standing." Egrer was about to reply, but she cut him off. "Just do not try to console me, I am not upset in the least. Even you started interacting with me not because I am so wonderful, but because we shared mutual goals of a coup within our respective teams. If not for that, that conversation of ours by Mr. Port's classroom would have been our last."
"That's exactly how it was back then," he didn't try to deny it. "But look at us now. The Order of Backstabbers fell apart, the union isn't aiming for a coup anymore, and we both abandoned those exact goals that brought us together in the first place. Yet we haven't started talking less."
"True. But that is to be credited to your extensive experience in dealing with difficult people, Egrer. That is how you like to phrase it, correct?"
"You just know everything about me." He shook his head and smiled. "But no. You weren't exactly rushing to open up to others either, so it's not surprising you didn't have friends. But now you get along perfectly well with your team. It's just that before, no one saw the real you behind that wall of alienation."
"I simply grew accustomed to behaving that way. My father ingrained in me the notion that everyone around me wants to use me and that no one can be trusted. Apparently, he wanted to raise me into a carbon copy of himself. Hah, amusingly, he was the one who used me most of all."
"My dad gave me the same advice once. That's probably his only pearl of wisdom that I've always been skeptical of."
After a few seconds of silence, Weiss asked:
"What is it like, living with him?" she clearly meant Torchwick, but didn't dare ask about it so bluntly in the corridor.
"And what's it like living with Jacques?"
"Unbearable." One word, yet how much emotion and bad memories were encapsulated within it.
"With him too. He didn't care about my desires at all, and I had no intention of being in the 'Family Business' my whole life. Plus, he's a difficult person on his own. And believe me, if Icall someone difficult, then for everyone else they're just an immovable object," Egrer chuckled. "Of course, in a way he cared about me. At least I never lacked the basics; there was always food, clothes, and a roof over my head."
"How strikingly similar to my own father," Weiss shook her head. "And what of your mother? You only mentioned her briefly back then."
"Well, Mom took care of me. Pretty peculiarly, though. I didn't tell you this back then, but she's not just Dad's minion, she's our main strike force." Egrer was completely unafraid of telling her such secrets anymore. He looked around shiftily and whispered in her ear. "She's a serial killer, and a sadist to boot. So I doubt she's fundamentally capable of maternal love. In the adequate sense of the word, I mean."
"My, we have drawn a difficult lot. One would think we were born and raised in entirely different worlds, you in a favela and I in a palace, yet the problems are one and the same."
"Well, I don't know." Egrer scratched his cheek. "At least your parents are your own flesh and blood."
"As far as I am concerned, that does not matter at all, everything depends on the personality. My father is a manipulator, and my mother has been drinking heavily for years. It is simply that some see a child merely as a tool or a burden, while others see them as the paramount treasure of their life. And it matters not whether they are adopted or otherwise."
True enough. Egrer hadn't thought about it in that way; to him, children with biological parents were a priori happier than others. After all, they possessed what orphanage kids could only dream of.
They exited Beacon and walked along the familiar path to the abandoned gazebo. They hardly encountered anyone on the way here, so the stares cast after them grew fewer, as did the whispers.
"If such a thing were possible, would you want to trade parents with me?" Weiss asked.
"That's just trading one evil for another. Besides, it was somehow easier to run away from my dad, so no. What about you?"
"As you noted, it really is easier to run away from him, so yes. Moreover, you traveled the world, whereas I was locked in my mansion my entire life. I would have at least seen the world."
"But you ran away from your dad anyway. You're at Beacon."
"I wasted several years on it, you know," Weiss grumbled, though without malice. It just wasn't the most pleasant memory for her. "Father refused to even hear of Beacon. But when I began training on my own, he was forced to hire tutors so I would not inadvertently skewer myself. However, he set the condition that I enroll in Atlas Academy. I had to agree, but then I submitted my application here anyway. He had never been that angry before..."
"Sounds like a setup for something creepy."
She continued only when they entered her lair. The gazebo hadn't changed at all in that time.
"And so it is. Father decided to humiliate me and assigned an impossible task—to defeat a massive suit of armor possessed by a poltergeist." Weiss stood under a large patch of light that broke through the dense vegetation outside. Then, she slowly wiped her sleeve over her left eye, where a long vertical scar was hidden beneath a layer of makeup. "He clearly underestimated my stubbornness; I fought even after my Aura was broken. And I won."
Egrer was highly impressed. Such tenacity commanded respect.
"And I merely blew up a bridge in Mistral, and by accident at that. Wow, and I dared to think no one would top my escape..." He threw his hands up dramatically. "Bummer, I lost my top spot on the leaderboard!"
"Do not worry, your escape was still far more spectacular than mine. A chase, explosions, terrorists, police..." Weiss laughed softly, pulling her makeup bag out of her purse. She began to conceal the scar once more. "I will not outdo that in a lifetime."
"The main thing is that we're here, far away from our folks. By the way, let me guess: the first bit of time after escaping was tough for you, but you were pushed forward by the thought that this is solely your life now and only you're responsible for it?"
"Exactly. I am glad there is someone who understands me." She smiled genuinely. "But I still cannot shake the thought that I betrayed my father..."
"Oh, Twin Gods..." Egrer wiped away a rolling tear. "I didn't think anyone possessed the power to top Ren in this all-encompassing sense of solidarity."
"Do you consider yourself a traitor as well? But Torchwick is a criminal."
"It's not like I'm a saint myself."
"No, that is different. You stole to survive, and when the need for it subsided, you began to live honestly, which commands respect. But he clearly does it not out of necessity, but of his own volition. You definitely should not feel any guilt toward him."
"You're speaking the truth, of course... but he's still my pop. Despite his nasty temper, his habits, and his total disregard for my desires, I... in a way, love him. Sound familiar?"
"Yes, familiar," Weiss nodded sadly. "What idiots we truly are. Jacques is an icon of racism, a ruthless businessman, and a terrible person, and Roman is a criminal, a deceiver, and a narcissistic upstart, who is also far from the image of not merely an ideal, but even a tolerable parent. We understand perfectly well that our fathers are absolute scumbags, yet we love them regardless. Are we not idiots after this?"
"Idiots. Feelings shouldn't get the better of reason. Especially if they bring nothing but harm."
"Alright, enough." She snapped the makeup bag shut. Not a trace of her scar remained. "Let us study. We will begin with Grimm Studies; I was just recently preparing for the test, so I can prepare you too."
Egrer sighed heavily and sat down at the small table, blowing a couple of leaves off it. He mentally prepared himself for the impending headache.