Shadows of the Past (sub-plot/Lucy/private)

"Huh.  Nice looking day today!" he commented as he looked out the window of his classroom.  Having informed the post office to send his mail the the academy instead of his new apartment in Bellmuse let him spend more time at the academy.  He wasn't a workaholic but rather he wanted to make sure he was available in case a student had a question or if they wanted some extra training.  Today however he had planned on meeting the new students at the entrance to the academy.  Having a professor greet you and give you directions always seemed to put someone at ease, or so Alex thought.

He only had two letters come in today, one that had rather lovely looking hand writing on the envelope addressed to him, and the other was simply typed.  Curious, Alex opened the hand written note first.

Spoiler:

"Huh.  That's... interesting." Alex commented as he pulled a picture out of the envelope to see a young woman holding a rather adorable looking toy bunny.  However what perplexed Alex was that he was suppose to be her escort.  For something like that, he should've been notified about it first.  Did that letter get sent to his apartment instead of the academy by mistake?  It was surely possible.  In fact he wouldn't put it passed the Bellmuse mailing service to make a mistake like that.  On the back of the picture was a date and time for when this Lucille would be arriving.  "Today in one hour.  Good thing I don't have any classes for several more hours." Alex said to himself as he headed for the door of his classroom.  While it was true that he hadn't seen any escort mission request with his own eyes, that didn't mean it didn't exist.  With that in mind, he started to head towards the landing area.

He stopped when he remembered the second letter.  He was about to open it when he saw something that made him freeze.  The mailing address was his academy mailbox, but the return address was his apartment.  However he knew for a fact that he didn't try to send this to himself.  Whom ever sent this letter really wanted to make sure that it got to him no matter what.  Alex opened to envelope and noticed that the paper had several different patterns going across it, as did the inside of the envelope.  He recognized that from his prime days.  It was used to mask the contents of letters from any type of scan.  No one could've seen the inside of this letter but him.  Now Alex was suspicious.

Spoiler:

Alex went pale to the point that his face was white as a sheet. Feeling like he was going to pass out, Alex quickly sat down onto one of the student desks. This is impossible... someone knew about the incident that happened to his team! General Ironwood himself to Alex in person that no one could find out unless he told them. And yet someone found out, so now Alex would only trust Ironwood as far as he could throw him. Alex removed the photo from the envelope, and how he really felt like he was going to pass out. The photo was if Lucille, the girl he was suppose to escort today, plugged into some sort of machine. She was an android! Was this threatening letter her "guardians" form of asking him to escort her, or did her guardians want Alex to protect her from who ever sent this blackmail to him?

Either way though, both letters required the same action from him; escort young Lucille to the academy. However Alex wasn't sure if he should. Was she a bomb? Did she need to be protected at all costs? Was she a threat to the students? Was she the key to saving all life from the Grimm? More and more questions filled Alex's head, and there weren't any answers in sight.

So there was only one thing to do; escort the girl to Syne. He wasn't doing it because he was being blackmailed, nor because some android child had asked him to protect her; it was the only way to get to the bottom of this mess he now found himself in, and he had to solve it before anything threatening happened to the academy.

It took him a moment or two to get to where he was suppose to meet Lucille, though when he arrived he had expected her to show up half an hour later. Instead he saw an airship that was approaching from a different angle then the rest, like it wasn't coming from Bellmuse. That had to be her. With a sigh, and after adjusting Obivinator on his back, Alex started to walk towards the airship so he'd be there before it landed and let out it's passengers.

It had taken all six of her guardians to both emotionally and physically support her to get onto the airship...not only did they try and console and encourage her to board the flying metal machine of possible death and destruction, they also pushed her up the ramp and helped her find a very comforting seat as they made all the preparations necessary for her departure to Syne Academy.

Lucy quietly fidgeted in her comfy red chair, plagued by the idea that she was basically moving to a new home, one that didn't have the friendly ice-cream man who gave her a free strawberry ice-cream cone whenever she stopped by, or the lady who always walked by the house with her cute little dogs. Everything was changing, and she just wanted to run back to her home and hide in the basement laboratory until her guardians decided to let her stay home...but she also knew she couldn't do that, and she did want to join the prestigious academy.

She continued to fidget around in her chair, playing with her hair and playing with Mr. Floppsies ears. Eventually, all her cargo had been loaded, and her guardians boarded the ship and took their seats in the same area with her. The man's voice from the speaker mentioned something about being ready to go, and suddenly the giant machine of terror roared to life and lifted them all up into the sky! Panicked, Lucy quickly looked out the window next to her seat and watched as the small area of Bellmuse she called home grew smaller and smaller until it was masked by clouds. She had a sudden sinking feeling in her stomach, and she quickly crunched herself into a ball as best as she could and clung to Mr. Floppsies very tight, closing her eyes and just waiting for it to be over.

It only took about fifteen minutes to reach the academy from her pickup location, but for Lucy it felt like hours of mental discussion and emotional torment, he body flooded with with slight trembles with had momentarily increased to giant tremors when that had met with some brief turbulence. The feeling of the machine landing bothered her more than it taking off, and by the time she was able to get out of her seat she wobbled with every step, careful to make sure she was prepared in case the machine suddenly decided to move again and whisk her away to somewhere far and abandoned. The metal hat on Mr. Floppsies head couldn't possible have a brighter or more neon shade of orange, and at one point Lucy stopped moving, overwhelmed off the idea of stepping into the new world she'd never even seen before.

Lucy breathed in deep, doing her best to suck it up and continue moving...and that's when someone placed a hand on her shoulder. Startled, Lucy jumped about a foot before she noticed it was one of her guardians, Mr. Floppsies's hat flashing briefly to black before settling back to a bright orange.

"Sorry Lucy, I didn't mean to startle you. I just needed to inform you that you must stay here on the ship until we call for you, just to ensure your safety. Could you please wait here for just a few moments while we get everything settled?"

Lucy just nodded very briefly in response, and her guardian smiled before taking off towards the ramp. Lucy didn't move a single inch...well, aside for her trembling. That was the one thing she was very good at: following the rules.

Her 'guardians' quickly come out and moved tons of boxes and crates and gizmos and gadgets of the ship and to their respectful places. This took about ten minutes altogether, very fast and tidy in their work, it was clear that they had been through such an ordeal more than once. When everything was in it's place. the six guardians grouped together in a pattern that almost made them look like security. They then waited for the right person to approach them.

To anyone looking at this, they would notice that all these people were somewhat tall gentlemen dress in white lab coats and black slacks. Some of them wore glasses and two of them hat ears that resembled a cats. The stood there unmoving, waiting for something.

Turns out Alexander Davis was wrong about the airship coming from the opposite direction of Bellmuse. That ship shifted course just enough for Alex to see the Shnee Dust Company's logo as it started to head towards Bellmuse. "Must be carrying a shipment for Dusty's." Alex muttered under his breath. However with his eyes trailing the delivery airship, he noticed another one coming from Bellmuse and heading straight for the castle that housed Syne. After a moment or two the ship touched down at the academy. Hoping that this was the ship he was looking for, and Alex started to walk towards the ship.

However half way there a young woman who seemed to be mesmerized by the book she was reading accidentally bumped into the professor. "Oh! My apologies!" she exclaimed with a clear hint of surprise in her voice, though Alex knew she was lying since he felt a set of fingers that weren't his own dig into his left pocket before coming out. Before she could walk away though Alex blocked her path and held up a hand to stop her, then rotated his hand so his palm was facing the sky. "Take my advice ma'am. Don't pickpocket a huntsman, especially if he's a professor at the nearby academy." Alex stated while holding up his employee ID in his other hand for her to see. Her eyes went wide seeing this, and quickly held up the wallet she took from him. "Thank you. Have a pleasant day." Alex stated while taking back his wallet and putting it into his chest pocket of his teaching uniform before turning to face the approaching airship.

Alex's outfit:

While he had been confronting the thief the ship had landed and six men seemed to be unloading the cargo, and they were clearly with some sort of company judging by the way they were dressed... and they stuck out like Nevermore against a pink skyscraper. They clearly weren't being secretive while they were trying to transport a girl safely to the academy. If they had been more secretive in their movements then the person blackmailing Alex might of not realized where Lucy was being taken and would've left Alex alone so he could escort the girl to the academy in a much more calm state. However that thought made the wise Professor realize something; the person who was blackmailing him wanted Alex to watch over Lucy, but if the blackmailer hadn't done anything then Alex would've escorted the young female android anyway. The blackmailer is either a complete fool, or this person was a control freak that absolutely had to be in control of every single chess piece. Seriously, some times the only way to get the best outcome is to take your hands off the wheel and watch! Why waste time and energy to get a certain outcome when that same outcome would've happened if you had simply watched? This person is an idiot and a control freak. That narrows down the list a bit. Alex thought as he approached the men with white coats and black pants.

He then held up his Syne Academy ID to them. "Professor Alexander Davis of Syne Academy. I believe I was expected." He introduced himself in a tone that carried his voice but also had a gentleness to it.

The group of scientists stood in two rows of three, single file, waiting for their rendezvous to commence...when a taller man with brown hair dressed in some sort of uniform from a war since past waltzed up to them and made himself known...as Alexander Davis, the exact man they were looking for.

"Capital, capital, you are indeed punctual and prompt as well as unambiguous and forthright. We were indeed expecting you, Professor. I assume that you as well acquired an iniquitous vesicle from an anonymous origin?" the man has a rather high and nasally tone, and as if they were in some form of synchronized mechanism, all the scientists reach into their lab coats and retrieved each a red envelope that looked exactly like the one Alex should have received, revealing them momentarily before placing them back into their lab coats...which they also did in unison.

"As you can clearly see, not a single one of us embroiled in this unfortunate and dire happenstance is very appreciative of said happenstance, however we do appreciate your amenable collaboration." this scientist spoke in a lower tone of voice, but still had a bit of an air about it. It was at this point that one of the smaller scientists in the back pushed through to the front. He was wearing glasses and was one of the two with cat ears.

"Seriously, this is why I suggested having myself speak with him!" he spoke in a somewhat flustered manner to the other scientists, who just looked back at him with a combination of irritation and sheepishness. He then turned back to the professor and straightened himself. "I sincerely apologize about my colleagues, but let's quickly get down to the matter. The six of us have been taking care Omega Unit-Ahem, I mean, Ms. Lucille for the past three months. I apologize for dehumanizing her, but no one has really gotten as close to her as poor Sebastian did, rest his soul. Back to the matter at hand, we have just a few basics to run you through before transferring Om-Ms. Lucille into your care, Professor. Here is a short list of things to keep in mind regarding herself, but there are some things you should be told before you settle down to give that a read." the male faunus handed the professor a manila envelope that seemed to contain more than just a list, possibly some sort of object as well.

"There are two basic things you should know, and here's the first: nothing is really wrong with O-Ms. Lucille. Sure, she has social issues, but so does anyone with her diagnosis. So, when she's in a panic or really upset...or really any sort of extreme emotion, do not fret! It's not like she's some sort of bomb or anything, haha." the scientist had a small chuckle before immediately composing himself.

"My apologies, considering the recent events at the academy, that was in poor taste. Moving on now, the second thing you need to know right away is that Ms. Lucille can do things on her own, however this isn't advised until she grows accustom to things or has been thoroughly educated on what she is supposed to be doing. This is why she needs an escort for her stay at the academy. The rest you can find out on your own time."

The scientist was quiet for a moment, then moved closer and spoke softly so that no one but the two of them could hear.

"I assume that you are unhappy with these recent events, so rest assured that neither are we. We are a rather busy bunch, but in our spare time we will be looking deep into this fiasco and trying to find some answers. Oddly enough, we were not the original group of scientists that were assigned to look after her, and no one has been able to find a trace her original guardians..."

The scientists then returned to his orginal stance in front of the professor." We will keep in touch with you, rest assured of this." the man nodded, then pushed his glasses back up. Then he turn and nodded towards the scientists, and two of them hustled to the ship.

"We will carry on with our business here and leave. If you would be so kind as to affiliate Ms. Lucille with her new surrounds, we would appreciate that greatly. She really is a very nice girl." just as he had finished saying that, the scientists made way for Ms. Klug, who very timidly approached the professor and practically crushed poor Mr. Floppsies windpipe.

"Inquiry: ...A-a-are y-you M-Mr. D-D-D-Davis?" she managed to utter, shaking like a leaf.

As the first scientist spoke, Alex could only look at the man with a rather perplexed look. Capital? Unambiguous? The last person who talked in that tone was his father when he first met the guy 5 years ago, and Alex didn't understand him anymore then he understood the man before him. His unusual way of talking, along with all six of them presenting red letters like Alex had gotten, was actually making the professor think that these men were the ones behind sending the blackmailing letter. The second man that spoke up also preferred using overly long words, though this time Alex understood most of it, or at least he hoped it did since it sounded like they were all getting blackmailed. "Sorry, could you repeat that in dumb English? Me don't understand fancy." Alex stated in a flat tone as he crossed his arms over his chest, giving them the benefit of the doubt in that maybe he just didn't fully catch what they were saying.

Finally the faunas spoke up and that man Alex had no problem in understanding. "You're comrades are forgiven. I apologize for my comment as well." Alex replied quickly yet kindly. He then remained silent as the third scientist continued to speak, though one thought did cross Alex's mind. I take that back. This blackmailer isn't a fool. He had something on all of these guys. Alex thought as he accepted the envelope. He was tempted to open it now but since the scientist still had some stuff to say Alex simply tucked it under his arm. As the scientist continued, Alex frowned slightly. If this girl had communication issues and at first was going to have trouble handling the academy on her own, then he was going to have to keep certain students away from her till she grew accustomed to her new life at Syne. However some other students might be capable of helping as well, so he'd have to look them up.

When the scientist leaned in and whispered in his ear though, Alex nodded while letting out a sigh. "Nightmare is the term I'd use. Don't worry she'll be safe in my care, but I will be doing some investigating on my end as well. Keep in mind though; if the original team is gone and your part in this is over now, then this mad man we're up against might consider you all loose ends that need to be silenced. Get yourselves some body guards you can trust. Just tell me one thing; she is aware she's an android, right?" Alex whispered back before he stood back at attention after he got the answer to his question.

When Alex first saw Lucille in person though and saw how nervous she was, he realized he had to figure out how to calm her down in a hurry... then her letter came to mind. He knelt down in front of her so they were at eye level before he spoke up. "Yes, I'm Mr. Davis. You said you like rabbits, yes? My favorite animal is a horse. They're strong, friendly, and very protective of those that they care about. Mind if I ask why you like rabbits?" Alex asked soothingly, hoping to help Lucille calm down.

Lucy trembled quietly for a moment as the man in front of her spoke. It turns out that he was in fact Mr. Davis, and he seemed to be quite the man she thought he would be: gentle, caring, kind, and sweet. She just nodded when he asked her to clarify if she liked rabbits, and then he mentioned that he liked horses and when he explained why, Lucy's trembles died down a bit, Mr. Floppsies's hat changing from his dapper yellow hue to his handsome shade of orange. Mr. Davis went on to ask why she liked rabbits, and this brought the trembles to an almost complete stop, and Mr. Floppsies's hat did not stay it's handsome orange shade for long as it quickly changed to a darker green...almost peridot.

"Response: I-I really love bunni-umm, I mean, r-rabbits. Explanation: They are rather skittish when you first meet them, b-but once they get to know you, th-they are very sweet and gentle...and they are soft and n-nice to c-cuddle with cute long ears. Addition: Also, Mr. Floppsies t-takes care of me as well, he's always there when I'm scared, and he loves me v-very much!" she said the last part more enthusiastically, hugging Mr. Floppsies tight and moving side to side.

"Well Mr. Davis, we shall finish moving out Ms. Klug's living essentials, which will take awhile. If you wouldn't mind, could you maybe give Ms. Klug a tour of the academy, considering she's not aware of the situation she's in?" the scientist hoped that the professor would catch on that to his double entendre.

Lucy bounced in place a little at the idea of being able to view the academy. "Concurrence: Yes, I w-would love a tour of the ac-cademy, Mr. Davis. Inquiry: W-would that b-be alright?" she looked at the rather tall man, her eyes wide with anticipation, waiting for his response.

Lucy seemed to be responding well to what Alex said about him liking horses. It was true, he did like horses. On the team that he had, the same team that his blackmailer knew that Alex had killed, there was female horse faunas that Alex had developed feelings for. If she had survived that horrid day, Alex might of asked her if they could bring their friendship to the next level. That was never going to happen now. Instead of thinking about that though he simply smiled warmly as Lucy started to explain why she likes rabbits, then started to talk about her stuffed animal. As she did so the rabbit's hat turned color so Alex was wondering if she has pressed some sort of button, or wondered if it was more then a toy.

He glanced back at the scientist as he suggested that Alex give her a tour of the academy, but when he said that she wasn't aware of her situation Alex's eyebrows went up. So she wasn't aware that she was an android. In truth Alex expected it considering her letter and the way they were all acting. but he wanted to be sure.

With that though Alex stood up and smiled down at Lucy. "Yes, I'll be happy to give you a tour." he stated calmly before offering Lucy an arm. "Shall we be off? Oh, and is there a place you would like to see first? The Library? My classroom? or shall we just explore the campus? It will take a while mind you."

Mr. Davis seemed like he was the nicest man in the world: he was very polite, and very very kind, offering her a tour and his arm like a proper gentleman. She politely accepted his arm, even though he was rather tall and she didn't really like touching other people, then gasped and gave an excited little hop.

"Excited Rhetoric Inquiry: You have a library?! Exclamation: I love books! Clarification: Well, I-I-I mean, I l-like reading b-books. Explanation: They c-can take you anywhere, like to the zoo, on a pirate ship, or even into space! Excited Rambling: I have this favorite book at home, it's about a bunn-err, rabbit, who may or may not be a vampire and-"

"I apologize to interrupt you, Ms. Klug, but we just wanted to let you know we will be unloading the rest of your belongings and will be leaving shortly thereafter. We hope you enjoy your stay at the academy." the man said, then bowed briefly along with the other scientists.

Lucy turned around and returned the bow. "Affirmative: I understand. Appreciation: I thank you so much for taking care of me the past couple months. Parting Statement: I wish happiness and success for you wherever you go!" she had bowed repeated during that time, being a bit dizzy as she finally stood up. She then turned back to Mr. Davis.

Exclamation: I would love to go see the library! Concideration: Umm, w-well, if that's okay with you Mr. Davis."

Wow. Easily excited. Alex thought as Lucy took his arm and started to ask if the academy had a library. Yeah it had one, and it was rather large to boot! Clearly he was going to be taking there often, though he wasn't sure if they had the book she was talking about. Vampire rabbit? It sounded familiar but he wasn't sure from where. He was about to ask her what other things she liked to do when the scientists bid their fair well and said they were going to prepare her room next. "Alright, take care of yourselves. Lucille and I will be just fine." Alex stated as he patted the hand that Lucy had wrapped her hand around Alex's arm. He then turned to face Lucy when she asked to see the library, and he nodded. "Of course we can see the library first. Shall we?" Alex asked as he motioned with his hand in the general direction of the academy, then his eyes sparkled with a smile. "Wait, vampire rabbit? Isn't that the story in where a rabbit is sucking the juice out of fruits and veggies?" he asked, wondering if he in fact did read that story at one point in time.

As the walked though Alex's mind went back to the safety of the scientists. Once Lucy's belongings were unpacked and were being placed in her room, would their black mailer consider the scientists loose ends and try to eliminate them? It depended on if they were the ones preparing her room or not. If they were then they'd be safe for now. If not... well Alex didn't know what the black mailer was using on them so he or she might have them in their grip for good in which case they would be kept alive. Right now though Alex was hoping that those men didn't end up dead once all the cargo was unloaded.

Shifting his attention back to Lucy and the envelope under his arm, he thought of something that should help him get to know her better. "Well, since you'll be staying with me for a while, I'm going to let you decorate the spare bedroom to how you like it. Right now it's kinda plain. What would you like in it? Plants? Stuffed animals? Maybe posters?"

Lucy really REALLY loved books, and the idea that there was a place at the academy that had lots of books made her very happy, and she was excited to go see the library right away so that she could checkout some books and read them. "Concurrence: Y-yes, please." She was so excited that she had a bit of a bounce in her step, although she was still quite nervous. She couldn't wait to get a book, any book, maybe even finally continue her adventure with...

"Interjection: Oh! Concurrence: Yes, it is! Identification: It's called Bunnicula: A Rabbit-Tale of Mystery! Description: Harold - who is the family dog - and Chester - the family cat - go on a bunch of silly adventures thinking that Bunnicula is a vampire sent to destroy them all! Continuation: Of course, he's not there to hurt them, and while Harold realizes that eventually, Chester is still convinced he's evil and even tries to hurt and starve the poor little bunn-err, rabbit! Wrap-Up: Th-they end up talking Chester to the vet, who still believes that Bunnicula is an evil vampire rabbit, and they help poor little Bunnicula get healthy again! Ramble: That's all in just the first book, and there are many more books with Bunnicula in them, and I wanted to read them all, but I couldn't read them all because I wasn't allowed to go to the library because it could be dangerous, but now I can go to the library and read all the books in the series and finally see what happens to Bunnicula and Howard and Chester and the Monroe family and...oh!" During her ramble, they had made it to the library, but a student had very angrily stormed off from out of the library and almost knocked poor Lucy over. That was when a lady came to the door and seemed upset.

"I'm so sorry, but there is an issue the general computer system today, and I can't register anyone's scrolls outside those of fourth-year students. I can't get any of the new student's finalized in the system because of it, and the glitch includes staff. All we know is that it has something to do with the influx of new students. Unfortunately, I've been ordered to temporarily close the library until this glitch is sorted out. I'm so sorry."

This made poor Lucy's heart flutter, and she quickly ran up to the woman and pulled out a card from the cute little rabbit wallet she had in her hidden dress pocket. "Assurance: B-b-but Mrs. Librarian Lady, I don't need to be finalized, I already have a library card. Continuation: See, it's right here, and it has my name it and everything! Upset Ramble: You can just scan it and it will show my record, I have been very good and never had a late fee and always returned all the books in good condition and I always used the computers responsibly I promise to take care of all the books I check out so please let me read the next book in the Bunnicula series!" she was exasperated and held up her library card to the librarian.

This caused the librarian to sadly smile: this little girl was so desperate just to read a book, she had never seen anyone so up-in-arms about literature before, and it was killing her to let her down. "You must be a new student here, on your first day by the looks of it. I'm sorry dear, but we can't take that card, we have our own version...and I can't get any new ones done at the moment. I hope you return when things are better, I really am sorry."

Lucy just stood there, stunned, as the door to the library closed tight and locked. "Defeated: B-b-b-but...Bunnicula..." she pushed out as her upper body fell over like a kink in a pipe. The poor girl was completely defeated, having been so excited to see the library and read the next book she waited so long for...but something else quickly replaced that: grief and panic.

Lucy's upper body shot straight up and tears were streaming down her face as her face scrunched up and she started to flail around. She opened her mouth and words just began to fly out with no restrain or moderation. "Distraught: Ohnothelibraryiscloseddownnowbecauseofnewstudentssothatmeansit'smyfaultthelibraryclosedIclosedthelibraryattheacademyohnoIpromisedthemIwouldbegoodandnot
hurtorruinanythingandIalreadydidsomethingbadohnoohnoohnonononononoIdidn'tmeantodoitIhopethelibrarianladydoesn'thatemeIswearIlovebooksandreadingthemI
wouldneverdothisonpurposeandnowalltheteachersandstudentscan'treadtheirfavoritebooksohnononoI'vemadsomanypeoplesosadI'msosorryeveryoneIdidn'tmeantothat
gentlemanbeforewasmadatmeI'msosorryMisterIdidn'tmeantodoitIswear!"

Mr. Floppsies's hat was a was a glaring bright yellow that was rather dapper on him, although it was a bit hard to tell as he was being swung every which way.

Alex didn't bother trying to hide his triumphant smile as Lucy seemed to excitedly tell him that he had guessed correctly on the book, but he never would've remembered the name of it. Bunnicula? That had to be the funniest name to a book he had ever heard of. He had read the book once a long time ago, when he was still in Beacon actually. It had been his 3rd year with him and his team being assigned to watch over a field trip of elementary school kids on a long hike through one of the forests. During a rest a child that was having trouble reading asked him to help her make it through the book, and during the rest of that trip Alex had spent with that little girl, helping her read the book. It had been funny and he still remembered how it ended but-

"Wait? A series? Here I was thinking that the book was a stand alone story, not the first in a series! Okay, now I have to read the rest of them!" Alex couldn't help but laugh. Now that was something! Here he was being blackmailed to look after Lucy, but finding himself liking the idea of spending a lot of time with here. However he still needed to find out who was behind the blackmail, and for the moment he didn't have any leads since he hadn't had a chance to do tests on the letter he got.

That was when the two of them found out that the library was closed. While Lucy tried to use an off campus library card to get in Alex knew it wouldn't work and tried to think of a way for Lucy to get the books she wanted to read. He knew she was going to be unhappy... but he didn't realize it would distraught her to such a degree. That was when the wave of words came at him. How the heck could the girl talk that quickly?! However it was clear that he needed to get her to calm down, and in a hurry. Now Alex wished that he had a chance to read the stuff in the envelope he had been handed. Maybe there was an override to get her to calm down he could use, but until he knew about it he'd have to do it the normal way.

"Whoa whoa whoa! Calm down Lucy!" Alex exclaimed as he sank to his knees so they would be eye level and he placed his hands onto her shoulders so she wouldn't run off on him. "It's not your fault. The influx of new students has been constantly rising for the last year. So many have been coming in that no one has had a chance to work on the computer system to see if it can handle so many. The fact that the computers couldn't handle anymore doesn't surprise me. It's not you're fault, you hear me? It wasn't anyone's fault. Just bad luck and no spare time for the computer maintenance man." Alex said in an attempt to calm Lucy down.

"There are other places in the academy to see, like the cafeteria and the training rooms. As for your books..." Alex continued then pulled out his scroll. "Let's see if a digital copy of those books exist on the internet. We might be able to download them to our Scrolls and read them that way. There won't be any paper in our hands, but it could work, right?"

Lucy was starting to settle from her outburst, and it was because of Mr. Davis's words. He was so kind in informing her that it was just a bunch of little things that happened at once that caused the library to be shutdown, and he made it sound like it was just a temporary setback and that the library would be up and running again soon. This made her tears stop as she now knew the library wasn't gone for good. He also offered to take her to another part of the academy for her to view next.

"Decision: I-I would like to go see the cafeteria, i-if you d-don't mind that is."

He also mentioned finding the books she wanted online, and putting them on something called a 'scroll.' Lucy was confused on how that would work. "Inquiry: But, umm...Mr. D-Davis, isn't a sc-scroll a p-p-parchment? How could y-you take something o-off a computer a-and put it on a p-parchment unless you pr-printed it? Assurance: I'm okay th-though, I'd rather wait until I can h-hold the books myself, because even the b-books themselves have stories to tell outside the words wr-written on them!" she stated with a gleaming smile.

They managed to make it just into the cafeteria, and when they walked inside Lucy saw there were LOTS of other people here, and she didn't know any of them. She was very nervous, and she hid behind Mr. Davis as they walked in. She didn't want to as him to leave, because she wanted to see the cafeteria, but all the new people being here was a bit much for her. She just followed behind him and held onto his hand tightly.

Within Alex's mind he let out a sigh of relief.  It seemed as though he had managed to calm Lucy down.  It was true that the library would be back online soon, but in the meantime they would have to use their scrolls to get the books she wanted... wait, did she say she didn't know what a scroll was?  How could she not know?  This was going to prove to be a problem.  Alex gave her a puzzled look, and pulled out his own scroll.  "When I said scroll I meant this." Alex said as he held up the thin white rectangle.  "It's a phone, your identification, a library card, and even a map, and soooo much more!  It got it's name scroll from the way you turn it on." Alex stated as he demonstrated on how to turn on the scroll by pulling apart the white tabs of the scroll to reveal the holographic screen.  "I'll teach you how to use yours." Alex commented kindly before he closed his scroll and pocketed it.  "Though I get your idea of wanting to have the books in actual page form.  There just something about having actual paper in your hand that makes the book seem more... real, right?"

Once they got to the cafeteria and Alex saw how nervous Lucy was, he found himself a little nervous too.  Was she truly this nervous about people and crowds?  If so then she was going to have difficulty handling the academy classes.  Heck she might not even have the guts to go on any hunts at all if she was this nervous.  And if that was the case, then Alex was going to have his hands full.  Bellmuse didn't have the defenses that other towns and cities around the world had, so hunting Grimm was a requirement for the students of the academy... and if Lucy couldn't meet that requirement then she couldn't stay here. How the heck was she supposed to stay at the academy? The answer was she'd either need a special exception from Leena... or she'd be living with him for good instead of eventually moving into a dorm.

Banishing those thoughts from his mind for now, Alex gently squeezed Lucy's hand that was within his own to encourage her. "Moving to a new place is scary I know, but in time you should be able to handle yourself here. Just give yourself time and don't force yourself to adapt." Alex stated calmly, and motioned with his hand towards the food line. "Hungry?"