No Nut November has begun. The ultimate test of endurance has begun. 

____________________________________

"Tuckson's Book Trade" 

That was the name of the small but humble book store that the gray-haired young man and the brown-skinned, green-haired girl stood in front of. 

"Are you sure that this is the right place, Emerald?" 

"Ugh... It is... Let's just get this done, Mercury," grumbled Emerald. 

The two entered the store and looked around at all the books in the shop.

Mercury wandered around the store, looking at all the books as Emerald rang the service bell on the counter. 

"Be right there!" called a gruff voice. 

The shop owner stumbled out of a set of double doors behind the counter, holding a high stack of books. 

"Welcome to 'Tuckson's Book Store'! Home to every book under the Sun!" said Tuckson as sat the stack of books down in a corner. 

"How may I..." Tuckson turned to Mercury and Emerald but hesitated as he recognized the two. 

"How may I help you?" 

"Just browsing..." said Mercury as he continued to look through the books.

"I was wondering if you had any copies of 'The Theif and The Butcher'?" asked Emerald. 

"Yes, we do."

"That's great!" said Emerald excitedly. 

"Would you... like a copy?" 

" No, just wondering," said Emerald

Mercury closed a book, looking up slightly at the two. 

 "Oh, oh! What about 'Violet's Garden'? In paperback?"

"He's got it," said Mercury, "Hardback too..." 

Mercury waved the book in the air. 

"Oh... Options are nice..." smiled Emerald. 

"Eh, no pictures," muttered Mercury as he set down the book, "Hey! Do you have any comics?"

"Near the front..."

"Oh, no, wait!" said Emerald, "What... about... 'Third Crusade'?"

"Um... I..." 

Tuckson stuttered as he spoke with Mercury and Emerald eying him carefully. 

"...don't believe we carry that one."

"Oh..." said Mercury as he slammed another book shut. 

"Why don't we... cut to the chase," said Emerald. 

Mercury began to shut the blinds on the store's window, blocking any oncoming pedestrians from looking inside. 

"Do you know who we are?" asked Emerald. 

"Yes..." 

"Do you know why we are here?" 

The light drained from the little store as Mercury finished his work. 

"Did you really think you could just run away to Vacuo?" 

"I was hoping..." 

"So... are you going to fight back?" 

Tuckson paused for a moment before answering.

"YES!"

Tuckson's nails became claws and jumped up on the service counter. 

Emerald and Mercury backed up a bit as Tuckson attacked them.

"I got this one," said Mercury as he stretched his leg.

____________________________________

Emerald and Mercury walked out of the book store. 

Mercury happily read a comic book as Emerald bothered him. 

"What's with that?" 

"I like the pictures."

____________________________________

(y/n), suprisingly, decided to sit with Team JNPR as Ruby went over plans for what she called, "The Best Day Ever". 

"Did you steal my binder?" asked Weiss. 

"I am not a crook," smiled Ruby. 

"Are you going to eat that?!" asked Nora loudly as she leaned over to (y/n). 

After a bit, (y/n) pushed his plate over to Nora who happily ate his leftovers. 

Ren facepalmed at Nora's unorthodox behavior as she began to catapult grapes on a spoon over to Yang, who sat one table across from (y/n) and Team JNPR.

Jaune had his eye on Weiss while Pyrrha tried to get (y/n) to eat. 

"You really should eat, (y/n). Staying healthy is important!" 

(y/n) didn't respond, opting to watch Nora shovel down her food. 

"What is this all about again?" asked an uninterested Blake. 

"I'm talking about kicking off the semester with a bang!" shouted Ruby. 

"I always kick off my semester with a Yang!" added Yang, "Eh? Guys? Am I right?!" 

Nora threw an apple at Yang's head. 

"Booooo!" 

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Sun walked with his friend, Neptune Vasillias, around the courtyards of Beacon. 

"Man, that's harsh," said the blue-haired teen. 

"It was crazy, though!" exclaimed Sun as he walked with his friend, "We were just dropping people left and right!"

"Nice!"

"I know right!" said Sun, "And the best part is that she's a Faunus! But that part's a secret, okay?" 

"Yeah! I got you!" 

"Alright, everyone's just this way," said Sun, beckoning Neptune to the lunch doors. 

Before the two could enter the cafeteria, students began to run out. 

"FOOD FIGHT!!!" screamed some of the students as the ran out of the cafeteria. 

(y/n) was seen walking out of the lunchroom, unamused at the battle that was going down behind him. 

"Hey, Zero," said a confused Sun. 

(y/n) did some sort of half-wave as he walked away. 

"Oh, boy..." muttered Neptune.

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A fuming Glynda and a slightly amused Ozpin stormed into the cafeteria, looking at the ensueing food fight.

Team RWBY and Team JNPR had essentially destroyed the lunchroom, stacking tables atop each other and throwing an assortment of foods and drinks at each other. 

Using her riding crop, she set the students down and arrange the cafeteria back to how it used to be. 

"Children..." muttered Glynda, "Don't... play with your food..." 

"Please, Glynda. Let them be children."

"But..." 

"They might not have that role for long..."

____________________________________

Beacon's Library was much more noisy than usual on that Saturday afternoon. 

The girls of Team RWBY were playing a board game while Team JNPR tried to study and read amongst the noise. 

Sun was properly introducing Neptune to everybody while (y/n) read quietly at a table nearby. 

"Yang Xiao Long, prepare your kingdom for battle!" yelled Ruby. 

"Bring it on!" yelled Yang as she pounded her fists on the table, shaking the game pieces. 

At Team JNPR's table, Ren and Pyrrha were studying as Nora snored loudly. 

Pyrrha plucked the comic book that Jaune was reading and replaced it with a textbook. 

"Aww..." muttered Jaune. 

As Pyrrah read Jaune's comic book, Ruby and Yang began to throw pieces around the library. 

One of the pieces hit (y/n) on the head. 

He sighed as he rubbed his head while still reading.

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A tall and well-built man with black hair and blue eyes stormed into Ozpin's office. 

"Ozpin, I tried to stop him but..." 

"What were you thinking!" yelled the well-dressed man, drowning out Glynda. 

"Ah. James. I wasn't expecting you until later."

"I'll be outside," said Glynda as she walked out. 

"I see she hasn't changed," said Ironwood. 

"You brought that... that thing in here without consulting me or Qrow?!" 

"Listen, James. You don't understand... I think we can help him." 

"If you are right, we can't keep him alive! If there's even the slightest bit of doubt, we should dispose of him!" 

"James... I understand your concerns. Trust me, I even thought of that outcome myself..." 

"Then let's be done with it and save all the pain!" 

"I did think of killing him... But then I thought, under the right circumstances... He could be our greatest weapon." 

"A weapon?! Ozpin, have you lost your mind?!"

"However twisted it may be, if I am correct, then we could use their own weapon against them... Please, James... You must understand... This is the only way..." 

Ironwood let out a long sigh as he looked outside at the world. 

"I do love Vale at this time of year..." 

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Blake walked over and sat next to (y/n). 

"Hey." 

No response. 

"What are you reading?" 

No response. 

She placed her hand on his. 

"Will you talk to me?" she muttered, "Please?"

After a bit, he slid the book over a bit so she could see the text. 

The two of them spent the rest of day reading together.

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It was late. 

(y/n) walked through the halls, trying to get back to the infirmary. 

Eventually, he stopped. 

A woman was standing in front of him. 

(y/n)'s face contorted into a wide smile. 

"Is everything all right?" asked the woman. 

"Enough with the act, Cinder. It's getting old." 

"Oh? You've got quite the mouth." 

"I take it that infiltration went smoothly?" 

"Did it go smoothly for you?" 

"Alright, then. Continue as planned." 

____________________________________

It was a good memory. 

It really was. 

(y/n) was back in the place again, chained up in the dark. 

The Good Doctor stood in front of him. 

He held a buzzsaw in his hand. 

He turned to speak to his assistants before the machine flared to life. 

Screams were heard through the facility as The Good Doctor used the buzzsaw to cut (y/n)'s arm clean off. 

Blood seeped from the wound as the white bone was visible. 

The Good Doctor tossed the arm to a corner of the room as (y/n) shook and screamed from the pain. 

After a few moments, the blood stopped flowing out from where (y/n)'s arm once was.

The wound closed itself. 

The limb began to grow back. 

All the doctors around the young man screamed at this new development. 

It wasn't soon after that (y/n) was moved to a different room. 

This time, he was strapped to a table and forced to endure test after test. 

Limb after limb was removed. 

Every one of them grew back. 

The Good Doctor came into the room with a large knife. 

After a bit of discussing with the other doctors around the room, The Good Doctor plunged the blade into (y/n)'s eye, earning another ripe scream from his lips. 

The Good Doctor removed the blade, examining the eyeball that rested on the tip. 

Suddenly, tendrils began to pull the eye back into its socket. 

Needless to say, the test was a success. 

One day, she came.

Something was different this time. 

A wide smile was on his face. 

He was completely unresponsive. 

The Good Doctor conducted the usual test. 

They removed his arm. 

Even with all the blood seeping out, that same smile was still plastered on his face. 

The Good Doctor raised an arm to take another limb. 

She stopped him. 

She walked over until she was standing right in front of him. 

It really was the best day ever.