Awaking in his bed Neo stretched his aching muscles, cringing at the pain. Neo noticed that his silvery arm had disappeared.He looked around to find it hanging out on the curtains. "Hey are you up?" He asked the thing.

A part of the of the blob extended out give Neo a thumbs up, then after that it produced some z’s that increased in size. Then a circle with a diagonal line through it. "Right so you don't sleep, what did you do all night?"

The blob made two eyes that watched him. Neo looked at the blob thinking that he had to find a name for it, he couldn’t keep thinking of it without a name. "Right got it… So, what should I call you?"

The blob seemed to thing for a while, before it moved and formed a hand that then reached forward like it was picking something up,then pointed at Neo and gave a thumbs up and then a thumbs down. Neo got what it was saying, "Right I'll pick one for you and you'll give me confirmation if you like it."

Neo got a thumbs up from it, Neo then thought of an important question, "So, what gender are you?"

The blob was still for a moment before a hand appeared and went over its body as though it was asking “really?” Neo realise that might have been a poor question after realising that it didn't have a body so didn't have a gender. "Ok, my bad, maybe Silver." Thumbs down, "mm… Winter," thumbs down, "Phoenix," again, a thumbs down. Neo looked at the silver blob, it shone brightly from the sun, and he really wanted a name that fit its image. Thinking things over he came up with a good idea "How about Seren, it means star in English."

'Man, I am bad at thinking of names, sigh.' Neo thought

But it seemed that the blob thought otherwise as Neo got a thumbs up. Getting up from his bed he wondered if Seren was comfortable in her hanging position. "Are you comfortable like that, or would you like your own space?"

There was a shrug from it, Neo then suggested, "Perhaps a place where you can hide and watch the outside, instead of just watching me. Or even a series of tunnels in order for you to get around with and have other rooms for you to live in with some cool views."

Neo's mind wondered away with his imagination as he got washed, dressed and picked up Seren since leaving it here would just be cruel.

Seren took its place on Neos arm, with that he opened the door. Looking at the closed door to his right, the one that had attracted his attention the day before, he felt nothing. He stepped out past Gie and tapped on Bethany’s door. There was a loud crash before Neo heard a voice. "Be out in a minute."

Leaning against the wall beside the door he waited patiently for more than a minute, but finally Bethany's door opened and she came out, closing the door behind her. "You have Plant Life class, Advanced Combat class, Self-Control free training and then Inventors club."

She finished with a huge grin and skipped out of the building with Neo walking behind her. The plant life class ended up being very interesting. Neo was also surprised at Elisa’s knowledge of plants, as she answered almost every question put to the class. Not that that should be too surprising, as she is herself a sentient plant. But while Elisa was answering, Neo reflected the on the days before and realised that he was an utter assunder the influence of the instincts which were even now telling him that she was fun, timid and prey, among other things that passed through the link.

After class, Neo approached Elisa and she stiffened, before she could run and escape Neo said aloud, "I'm sorry about everything I've done, annoying you like that was wrong."

There were a few moments of silence from Elisa before she finally looked him in the eye, but she looked away when her leaves shook. Staring at his feet, she muttered something. Neo leaned closer to catch what she had said and heard, "Yea don't worry about it, you're just trying to lose yourself, it's not the first nor the last."

Elisa used the time that Neo was shocked and surprised at the statement to escape as he walked off to ponder it. ‘Yeh,’ he admitted after a while. One part of him found the illusions fascinating, the other was like more please give me somewhere that isn't so strange, confusing, and peaceful. "Going to have to face it, I can't retreat and there is no going back."

Walking towards his Advanced Combat class he pondered over what Elisa had said. The training fields had a much smaller group of beings standing around waiting. It wasn't long before Alec had arrived and, seeing Neo stand with his two guards, his face turned into a broad grin as he started explaining, "I have decided that I'm going to split you up into teams of two where you will, and battle together. Here are your training regimes personalised for you all in the places that I think you need improving.

As Alec went around handing out files, Neo promptly opened his and found a four-week long regime which had everyday tasks, mainly endurance training with small amount of strength training. Neo smiled, it seemed that Alec had noticed his pretty poor fitness and had set about changing that.

There were also other training tasks that were partner training or sparring, and some other combinations which interested Neo. After Alec had finished with handing out the rest of the files he then started calling out names and pairing them. The small groups split up and walked off, deeply engrossed with their teams. Neo found himself with the last student. It was a young woman with an athletic build, but there was something familiar about her. It clicked, when Alec stood behind the young woman and Neo could see what was so familiar, they had the same eyes. The lion’s tail and ears also gave away a lot.

While Alec was grinning broadly the women merely scowled at him, obviously unimpressed with what she saw as she glared at Alec before coolly talking to him. "This is the guy you were talking about? He doesn't look like anything special and he's a white mana user!"

'Ouch,' Neo thought, 'she's not afeard of insulting me is she. I hope she’s not my team mate even if she is pretty. If there is nothing underneath that thin veneer, I won't be interested in working together.'

Alec replied, seemingly not having heard anything the young lioness had said, "You two will work together for a while, I would also suggest that you continue doing your best to get through the end of year tests in a few weeks, as it'll be team based. So learn from each other, teach each other, and cover each other's faults. Just as a team should."

He walked off before the fire flickering out of her eyes, would strike him.

She turned her head towards Neo still with the fire in her eyes, before saying forcefully, "Let's go start training you into an actual warrior." She marched off, and it wasn't until Bethany pushed him forward that he made to follow her. Bethany spoke, "You might not want to annoy her as she's your new teammate."

Nodding, he jogged after the disappearing figure until they arrived at a building that was, unsurprisingly, a gymnasium. He was puffing a little after catching up but only got a withering stare from her. "My names Neo, I’m happy to team up with you."

The lioness scowled, taking a deep breath, "I'm Tan, now show me your training regime so that we can work around and with each other."

It was after that that hell descended onto Neo as she almost burnt his file to ash as his file was smoking while she was speaking with some venom. "You're really only doing strength and endurance training. Are you so weak, that you need body training before even sparring? This is going to be so boring, and archery is such a poor battle art!"

After she ran out of puff she got him started on his exercise regime and relentlessly pushed and insulted him through the exercises. Two hours later he was told to be back the next morning and he dragged himself out, escaping Tan and her withering stare as she had shamefully beat him in every exercise.

After he'd escaped they went to get some lunch. Instead of just sitting in a café he got his tea and sandwiches to go as he had self-study for his control training. He wondered where he should start as he was instructed to find somewhere that was comforting and peaceful. The forest was the obvious option as it was a place where the weird and confusing were not in sight, it was peaceful as well.

Walking through said forest, he didn't find a single area that spoke to him. He tried the area with the floating water but that brought back memories of him falling unconscious. Continuing through the forest, he ended up exiting through the other side. Neo met the edge, where the water began, and looking out he could see the cliff that sloped up. He also watched the small glowing fish dance, swim, and play in this small area that they had. It put a smile on his face. There were no dark shadows, just the small fish.

Neo found it soothing just watching life. He decided that he'd finally found where he should meditate and sat with the intent of talking to his other side. Bethany and Gie both walked away a little and ate their meals.

Neo made himself comfortable, taking a bite of his sandwich and placing it down next to him.He started trying to understand his other side and put himself into the middle of the darkness in his mind,with an attachment to ensure that he had a way out, just in case.

He dove into the sea of emotions and lost himself almost immediately. There was no logic, understanding, or thought to it, so there was no way to find a path to follow. The only theme that could be found were images that were connected to each other but Neo wasn't able to as his ears picked up a loud cracking that brought him abruptly back to his surroundings. With a growl he snapped his head toward the sound, finding a cloaked figure who shook with fear. As Neo looked in his eyes he recognised the figure as Conway. Neo shook himself of the influence and Conway's body stopped shaking and calmed, now shaking his own head seemingly confused.

Even though Neo was jealous and weary of him, he wasn't sure if those feelings were his or the others. Either way there was no need to be impolite, and he should apologise for his actions the other day. "Hello Conway, you frightened me there."

Conway smiled apologetically, "Sorry about that I tend to walk around the academy I didn't even notice you here as I was lost in thought, usually until I get here anyway, where I feed the fish."

He said pulling a bag up from under his cloak. Neo watched him walk up to the water, he could tell that the fish were used to this treatment as they gathered. This annoyed Neo a little but he kept his mouth shut. Then Conway spoke, "I find these fish adorable and innocent. They have no experience in life and they just line up to get fed. Even though I find it hard not to help, I also can't help myself now. I started this ages ago when I first came to this academy and on my walks I found this school of fish that always needed help, as every generation relied on me somewhat for food. As I went through my education I found out that what I was doing wasn't helping them, it only harmed them, as they learnt to rely on me instead of themselves. Every time I leave I worry that if I don't come back that they might not survive. Yet every time I see the next generation struggling to survive I can't help but step in."

Sighing, Conway finished throwing the breadcrumbs into the water and walked back to sit down next to Neo. Neo took this time to apologise, "Sorry about being so aggressive a few days back, I wasn't quite myself."

Conway smiled but his lip tightened in the corners, "I'm sadly used to those types of reactions." He pulled his hood down over his face a bit more, "This world isn't nearly a kind as yours.If your disfigured or disabled its seen as weak. It means you can’t stop whatever happens to you. If someone isborn with either they'll most like get abandoned. I'm generalising here, there are always the exceptions, but our maternal instincts aren't nearly as strong as humans. And almost no one would apologise, I'd recommend that you learn to do the same."

Neo shrugged, he didn't really care about that. If he apologised then he must have done something wrong, if they think it’s a weakness then that is their own blindness and weakness. He tooka bite out of his sandwich and kept eating after speaking, "What are they going to do to me if I apologise, fight me? They'll regret that."

"Indeed, maybe they will regret it but it's just not a good idea to antagonise them."

"What, how is that?"

"Well it means you didn't truly think through your words and it would be like showing your back to your enemies as it leaves a weakness that people exploit it."

Neo nodded in thought, 'I guess, maybe.'

Neo continued talking, "So you’re visiting your fish before you leave?"

"Yes, actually I was supposed to bring you to Jane for some more bleeding." Conway said while smiling. It sent a shiver down Neo’s back. He was sure that he wasn't going to get back into his meditation and was a bit off put by what he had seen and had to ponder over it.

As they travelled back through the forest, he managed to finish his sandwich before they stopped in front of a large tower that held the science department. As they entered the building he was led onto a disk, one of two, which then lifted them up through several floors before stopping at a particularly hectic and dingy room.

Stepping from the gloom was Jane, muttering and hands filled with tubes, burners, and flasks. Once she saw Neo, she collected herself and tidied up her messy hair, and spoke sounding confused, "What are you doing here Neo, Bethany, Gie?"

Conway stepped forward to explain, "You asked me to get Neo, for another round of tests."

Jane’s face blanked for a moment to think, "Damn it, it's been so busy recently with two projects to run. I could just scream. I keep forgetting simple things and, arr." She shook her hands before she took a calming breath, "I know why I asked you here, there are diseases in this world so I would like to give you some jabs to inoculate you after the final series of tests. Its almost been a week since you left Beacon City, so a disease might have developed."

Neo nodded thought, 'Sounds good. There must be diseases and inoculations, so fair enough.' And so he went through the relentless tests and then finally the jabs came rolling through. By the end of it his arms were tender and swollen.

Neo had fixed his sight on the devises in the room while getting his shots. He thought that it was amazing as them moved and twisted and he wondered what it did.

With Conway taking the samples to the labs on a higher floor, Jane fussed about with her equipment, ignoring the three of them as Neo observed the room. There were hundreds of notes, and dozens of samples. It wasn't until Conway returned that they made their way out. Neo thanked Conway and they made their way to the Inventors club.

Once they arrived there they were ushered in finding it busy and filled with students carrying materials back and forth. Neo was guided up to a reception desk where he was given a membership form to sign.

After that Bryn took them towards an open shop where the students could be any material, "This here is the Matter Shop and these are your credits, you get fifty every two weeks which you can trade in for any material you need. If you need any more then you'll need to pay for it out of your own pocket."

The credits were simple coins with the symbol of the school on one side and on the other was the wrench and hammer.

Bryn turned to Bethany with a grin on his face, "So, Bethany you want to give that project another try?"

Neo could see a grin spread across her face as she spoke to him, "The Inventors club gets requests from people for objects, one of the longest standing ones is a request from the council. They wanted a way to survive outside of the magic influence of the bubbles, so they want us to build something that'll allow them to do that."

Bryn snorted, "Yeh, the request has been there for longer than I have been working here. But with Bethany's help we managed to get the first few steps toward some prototypes. we ran out of money and split up after Bethany graduated, so progress was slow but recently we've gathered the necessary money for some important items."

Neo looked towards Bethany, who had an innocent smile on her face, and sighed inwardly. He was, however, interested in seeing it. "I would love to see this instrument of human doom."

Bryn laughed at him, "Not likely an instrument of human doom, as they still won't be able to see us. And it certainly is not a portable device."

They were led through the warehouse past the science vault, and into another door. In the middle of the room was a metal object as tall as Bethany with her stilts on and as thick a Gie shoulders. It was at this point Neo put a fake smile on his face as Bethany and Bryn excitedly delved into the inner workings of the machine, their theories leading up to it, and future ideas and problems.

Neo, when he could, suggested ideas, which to his surprise were taken as good ideas. Like the geomagnetic field around Earth and his questioning on how it could affect magic. Otherwise Neo was ignored and he just enjoyed watching the two passionately talk.

Neo decided to look around for something to do and remembered that he needed to make a fish bowl. Forming up a space bubble in front of him, he thought, 'How to do this, form glass beads.’ Dozens of beads started falling out of the space. "Whoops," Neo said as he enclosed the space. With a pile of beads forming in the bottom he started manipulating the glass beads into one blob, then, with the image of a fish bowl in his head, he pulled and solidified until he had his .Yawning as the bowl slowly fell into his hands, he inspected it for any faults but as far as Neo could tell it was perfect.

"What do you think, do you like it?" Neo asked Seren, but he got a reply from everyone apart from Gie.

Bethany said, "Yes, it’s beautifully simple."

Bryn replied with a simple, "Yes, it's a fish bowl."

Neo smiled and laughed a little as he spoke, "Sorry, I wasn't talking to you guys."

Taping his arm but he remembered something, "Right, I haven't told you, I named the living metal Seren. Say hi Seren."

A silver hand crept out from under Neo's sleeves and gave a little wave before retreating back underneath. Bethany and Bryn awkwardly waved back. Gie didn't move or register Seren. 'Gie' Neo thought 'I wonder if Gie needs a new face? Let's see if this works. Hopefully this'll bring back a talking Gie.'

Neo reformed his mana and summoned a stone slab. Looking at Gie, Neo had to decided what sort of face would look good on the rock body. It definitely needed a strong face, otherwise it would just be a stark contrast which wouldn't be nice for anyone to see.

Once he had a good outline of Gie's face, Neo started to manipulate and mould the stone into the image he had, a strong chin, big bushy eyebrows, deep brown eyes, a mouth, and a nose. After curving the stone a little so that it would fit over Gie's face, he had to readjust a few parts.

After lowering it out of his space he picked it up and stood up, wobbling a little seeing that Bethany and Bryn had gone back to talking, and handed it to Gie. Gie slowly opened its hand to grasp it, there was a slight robotic feel to its action. Once Neo had placed it in his hand, Gie moved his hand up to his face where there was a blue flash. He brought his hand back down and Neo saw the eyes he had made glowed slightly blue. Before Neo could say anything Gie stepped forward, engulfing Neo in a hug and a much more cultured and intelligent voice spoke, "Thank you Neo!"

It was the last thing Neo heard before he blacked out.