Okay, here we have the second chapter. Hopefully it's a bit more interesting than the last. Anyway, I want to give a huge thanks to Masterpick again for helping me figure out a bunch of different writing strategies and techniques and all that. But really, this chapter would be so much worse if he wasn't there, helping me edit and pointing out all my errors.
Also, I want to keep this to a weekly update. So by that logic, I'm a day late. But I hope you don't mind. The editing phase was just really difficult and I was really pressed for time.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy this next chapte!r Reviews are appreciated but don't forget to Fav and Follow if you like it. Enjoy!
As Dusk drove down the main path, he turned right, up towards the Exo-Suit training and maintenance buildings. Dusk said something about them being up the hill on the way there, but she was too caught up in her thoughts about Yang.
Ruby gazed upon the small structures. She couldn't imagine what amazing things they had inside.
Dusk slowed to a stop in front of the training building. Above the sliding doors, the words '03 - TRAINING' were painted on the wall, the paint starting to fade. A look at the map next to the door confirmed that it was the third building on the map directory. The training building was to the right of the road with the maintenance station to the left. Ruby noticed they were just one storey, unlike most other buildings in the facility. They might have been the smallest.
Dusk had already gotten out of the UTV and strolled towards the small building, Ruby following close behind.
As the metal doors slid open, Ruby marveled at the mesmerizing sight. She noticed that the hallway was dim with a metal column in the middle of the room, wires running up it. She looked to the left, seeing a soldier with an exo-suit, glowing slightly orange. He was moving at an extraordinary pace, easily dodging another soldier that was trying to land a hit on him. He sped around the room, leaving nothing but a cloud of dust for the other soldier. His exo let out a long hiss every so often, preventing it from overheating or something like that. When he used the boosters to jump, slide or dash, there was a puff or hiss and a flash as the thrusters fired. Ruby could only hope she could use one out in the field.
Dusk spoke up, noticing Ruby's fascination. "If I'm not wrong, that's what you're gonna have." he said, earning a surprised gasp from Ruby.
"I'm gonna get an Exo-Suit thingy?" the young girl almost yelled. Dusk chuckled and nodded, leaving out that he was talking about the ability the soldier was using, not the exo. "In fact, we already have one lined up, just for you." he said with a smirk on his face.
The two continued to walk, Ruby taking notice of the display in the other window. A man effortlessly climbing up a flat metal wall. He had some sort of bulky gloves on. He jumped off the wall and slammed his hands back against it. Ruby and Dusk reached the end of the short hallway and Dusk put his ID card on a pad near the door.
"Iff I know Yang, she should be in here." he said confidently. Ruby nodded, not really paying attention to what Dusk was saying. She was too busy taking in the sight of the training room. It wasn't at all what she expected.
Ruby took note of the bar in the far right corner of the large room, thinking that it might come in handy after a long day. She moved her attention to the large climbing wall in the center of the room, getting a better look at it. There were no footholds or rocks, whatsoever. He must have been using those gloves that she saw earlier to climb up the flat surface. Behind the climbing wall, Ruby noticed the firing range. Bulletproof glass sealed the range off from the rest of the room, a few soldiers practising their aim. They were firing at red holographic targets and seemed to be avoiding the blue ones.
The sounds of nearing combat took her breath away, even more so as her eyes fell upon the combatant.
Yang.
The blonde stood on an elevated platform where everyone could see her and four other fighters, all afraid to go anywhere near her. All except for one.T Of course, there was a fight. Yang was surrounded by four other soldiers, each looking terrified to go near her.
Yang had a certain smile on her face, a smile that she only had when she was certain she'd win the fight she was in. Ruby had no doubt that Yang would drop them with ease.
A soldier ran at her while her back was turned, ready to jump at her. Yang moved the side and spun to face him, sticking her arm out to the side, clotheslining the man who ran at her. Two more enemies closed in on her from opposite sides, each throwing a punch.
Yang dodged one but took the other, just above her hip, causing her to stumble. She quickly turned back around and put her fists up. The blonde quickly stepped closer and threw her fist forward and hit one of them in the stomach and once again in the jaw. She heard the crack as her knuckles impacted against her opponent's face. He didn't get up.
The remaining fighter nervously backed away from Yang, sweat dripping down his face. The blonde quickly stepped forward and kneed him in the stomach, following through with an uppercut, knocking him out.
Yang turned to see that the other combatant had disappeared.
"Shit..." she muttered under her breath, not wanting to seem afraid. This last opponent was different. They were using a cloak. Yang knew them quite well and had a good idea of most of their tactics. Mind games was one of them.
Her opponent, still cloaked, tackled Yang from behind. T Her opponent seemed to have appeared out of nowhere and, within seconds, they had their arms wrapped around Yang. They struggled on the ground for a moment but the attacker was soon shaken off. Yang stood up and put her fists up in a defensive position. She watched her enemy slowly rise to their feet and circle around her. Yang started to move, too, around in a circle, like two boxers, more like Yang's preferred style.
Yang felt her breathing become shaky as her opponent lunged forward and launched their fist into Yang's stomach. She felt her breath knocked out of her, almost as if she had a huge weight dropped on her. The attacker drew back, however, giving Yang a moment to recover.
She took a few deep breaths and waited for the next attack. Sure enough, the other combatant threw their fists forward, one after the other, only to be blocked by Yang's forearms. They followed through with a wide kick, coming in from the side, seeming awfully sloppy. Despite the lack of technique, it still hit Yang's ribs like a train, knocking her off balance. Her opponent rushed forward and pushed Yang to the ground, quickly scrambling on top of her, pinning her arms to the ground. Yang tensed and her breaths began to shorten, seeing no mercy in her opponents amber eyes.
Yang chuckled and relaxed her muscles. "Okay, Blake. You can get off me now." she insisted. Blake stood up off of her and offered Yang a hand, the girl below her taking it. Ruby looked over at Yang but her attention was directed to the girl that had beaten her. The way her raven-like hair flowed down her shoulders and contrasted her pale skin. She walked tall but seemed somewhat introverted. Almost like she was hiding something in plain sight, but Ruby couldn't find it just by looking at her.
Yang grabbed her towel off the floor and wiped the sweat off her face. She hopped down from the platform and Blake followed. The two strolled towards Dusk and Ruby, a smile appearing on Yang's face when she saw her younger sister. The sisters ran towards each other, quickly wrapping each other in a hug. Ruby tucked her head in Yang's neck and sighed happily.
"I missed you so much. Dad did, too." the smaller girl said quietly. Yang just held her tighter.
"I missed you, too, Ruby." Yang replied. Dusk and Blake stepped to the side to give the two girls a moment of privacy. They stood there in a hug for a minute or two, not paying any attention to anything else. Not even Dusk clearing his throat.
He cleared his throat loudly, one more time, catching Yang and Ruby's attention. The two separated, but Yang kept an arm around her sister's shoulder, holding Ruby at her side.
"Nice job there, Yang." Dusk said, admiring her skill in hand-to-hand combat. Yang only smiled back at Dusk.
"So, what do you guys do when you're not on missions?" Ruby piped up. Dusk and Yang thought for a moment. Yang usually just trained and Dusk was busy running errands for Ozpin. They never really had time for anything else.
"Ozpin's always got something for me to do, so I'm never really off the job." Dusk explained. Ruby looked to Yang.
"I'm always training with Blake. Either that, or some cocky guy wants to challenge me. I always win." Yang said proudly. She gave Ruby a noogie and asked "What have you been doing while I was gone? Were you still with the local military?"
Ruby nodded and reached her hand up to grab Yang's arm. She grasped it but realised that something was wrong. Yang's skin wasn't soft and warm. It was cold and solid. Ruby stepped away and looked at Yang's arm, still holding it firmly. Yang shot Dusk a guilty look and the blonde man looked worried.
What Ruby was touching wasn't Yang's skin. It was some sort of metal. She looked at Yang with horror.
"Your arm…" she whispered in disbelief. Yang sighed and pushed Ruby's hand away from her arm. "I'm sorry, Ruby. I should have told you but I never got the chance." she tried to explain. Ruby noticed the genuine remorse in her sister's eyes but she was still angry.
"No! You have a robotic arm! You've lost a piece of you!" Ruby yelled. Her eyes were wide with shock.
"I've come to terms with that fact. I'm fine." Yang said in a soothing voice. Ruby didn't care. She stepped back and looked at Dusk, giving him a look that asked Did you know? Dusk nodded solemnly.
"You may be fine with it but you've replaced that piece of you with a robotic arm? How could you do that to yourself?" she asked loudly, trying not to get angry.
"It's synthetic…" Dusk whispered sheepishly, suddenly scared of the small girl. Ruby glared at him, her eyes burning with anger, not that she showed it in any other way.
"Ruby, you're overreacting. Calm down." Yang said sternly, already sick of Ruby's dramatic behaviour. She was acting just as she did when she was a child. She'd over exaggerate every little thing, never letting up. Ruby sighed and was about to yell again but she was stopped by a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Ozpin standing behind her with a mug in his hand. He let go of her and took a sip out of his mug before speaking.
"Ruby. I'm sorry no one told you about Yang's," he paused, Yang looking to the ground. "...situation." he said calmly. "But that's no reason to have an outburst. Besides, you want to make a good first impression, no?"
"How about we get you in a training simulator? You should shoot something." Dusk suggested. Ruby let out a defeated sigh and nodded.
The older man gave Ruby a pat on the back and guided her out the door. Yang sighed and let her shoulders slump down. Soon, she was the one with a hand on her shoulder.
"She'll be fine, Yang." Ozpin said reassuringly. Yang nodded and looked at the ground. She took a deep breath and shifted her gaze up to Blake's face.
"Is that blood? We'll have to get you patched up." Yang suggested absently. She stepped away from Ozpin and nodded. "I'll talk to her later. Hopefully she'll calm down after a training op."
Yang began to walk out towards the door leading to the hallway, Blake silently following. Ozpin had faith in Yang and Ruby. As soon as the new recruit from Atlas arrived, they'd have to learn to work together. Whether they liked it or not.
Dusk had taken Ruby back to the UTV and they went straight ahead, towards a large building that looked like a huge warehouse. "That's the training sim building. Normally you'd have to go through a whole bunch of tests to get your Exo fitted for you but I prefer to do it this way. By trial and error. We run a few training sims, each with a different type and size of Exo and we find out which works best." Dusk explained. He seemed eager to get in there himself, wringing his hands back and forth. He constantly stretched his fingers, obviously hinting at his trigger finger itching.
Ruby nodded and looked up at the looming building before her. She watched the large door slide to the side, adding to its warehouse-like appearance. Ruby noticed that they didn't function like a normal military. Of course, they weren't. They weren't an army, as they didn't serve a single kingdom or continent. They did what the normal military couldn't, their main force their spec ops agents. That's how they afforded all their fancy equipment. While they did mainly assist with the military in the kingdoms, that was unpaid and seen as usual military activity. However, outside of kingdoms was the kind of work they charged for.
Dusk stopped the vehicle and got out, Ruby trailing behind him. Ruby stepped into a room that wasn't as large as she thought. She was stunned by the weapons they had in the small room, however. "Welcome to the prep room. Everything you'll need and have in a real mission is in here. Equipment, weapons, fancy technology… and Exos." he said, as if he were flaunting it.
Dusk strolled over to the shotgun rack, watching Ruby attentively. She ran towards the sniper rack. At least, that's what the soldiers called it. The higher-ups referred to them as 'high power, long range dispatch rifles'. That translates to 'gun that kills people from far away'. And Ruby loved them. She reached for an NA-45; a low damage rifle with a faster fire rate. However, there was a special feature that Ruby admired about these guns. There was three firing modes. The first was a standard semi-auto. The second was a less accurate, lower damage mode that increased the fire rate further. The final mode was an explosive round. The first shot was always a primer round. Meaning, if you shoot once, it sets an explosive at the point of the bullets impact. The next shot will be the detonator; it makes the first shot go boom.
"You more of a sniper person?" Dusk asked with intrigue. Ruby nodded vigorously, grasping the rifle tightly to her chest and nursing it like a baby. Dusk picked up an S-12, a full-auto shotgun. He then casually perused the assault rifles, going past the big bulky ones and the tiny pea shooters and straight to the HBRa3. He picked it up and seemed to be testing its weight. "Nine point one." Ruby murmured. Dusk turned around to look at Ruby as she blushed and looked down.
"What?" he asked, sounding confused. Ruby sighed. "Nine point one pounds. That's how much the HBRa3 weighs." she murmured again, not seeming so embarrassed anymore. Dusk shook his head in disbelief, smiling at the small girl. "You really like guns, don't you? I'm impressed."
Ruby moved over to where Dusk was standing. He still held the HBRa3 but was now also holding a Bal-27. "I'd go for the HBR." Ruby input. Dusk put down the Bal and aimed down the sights of the HBRa3. He nodded and put the Bal back on the rack properly. He stepped over to a large bulletproof door and grabbed a handle on the side, pulling it open and revealing a collection of Exo suits.
"I think we should go without them for this first round. I want to see how you do in regular combat." Dusk stated. Ruby nodded, disappointment evident in her eyes. Dusk felt guilty for not letting her use the Exo but this was the one rule he followed. Never let someone use an Exo without seeing them in normal combat.
"Got everything you need?" Dusk asked, sorting through a metal ammo box next to the gun rack before grabbing a magazine and jabbing it into the receiver of his HBRa3.
"Yep. But I think you need to switch off your safety." she told him. Dusk shook his head and smiled.
"There is no safety." he said matter-of-factly. Ruby cocked her head to the side with a confused look on her face. Dusk held his gun up and pointed it at Ruby with one hand. He squeezed the trigger and Ruby flinched, only to hear a click. Dusk then pointed the barrel a little bit to the right, squeezed the trigger and let a few bullets fly out. "Automatic safety. It basically refuses to fire at anyone registered with Beacon."
"What if someone turns on you?" Ruby asked, suddenly intrigued. Dusk shrugged and pulled his pistol out.
"That's what sidearms are for. Sidearms have manual safety switches. Always carry one. Not that anyone's gonna turn on you." he said, casually putting his pistol away.
"What's that? That handgun; I've never seen anything like it." she said, a hint of amazement in her voice.
"This," he said, gesturing to the pistol in its holster on his belt. "is the Beacon .45. Custom designed by our private manufacturers, right here." he said, once again sounding proud.
Ruby nodded as she examined the gun from a distance. Dusk stepped forward and flipped the gun in his hand so the barrel was pointed towards himself and held it out towards Ruby. "Try it. It's decent. More of an all-rounder." he offered. Ruby gracefully accepted the gun and put it in her holster.
That's when she realised. She was still in her civilian clothing. "Wait! I need to get changed! I don't even have armour!" she yelled with a panicked tone.
Dusk chuckled and unstrapped his body armour, knee pads and elbow pads. He chucked them towards Ruby, who caught them. "What about you?" she asked, concerned.
Dusk shrugged and walked towards an elevator in the corner of the room, to the right of the Exo suits. "I'm willing to bet that I'm tougher than you. I'm not afraid to take a few training rounds to the chest. But it's not like we'll be shot anyway, if you're any good." he said, teasing her with the last sentence.
"But I'm a sniper! I'll be at a distance and, with your loadout, I'm pretty sure you won't be any further away than me." Ruby argued.
"Ruby. Just because it's your first day here, doesn't mean you get special treatment." Dusk replied sharply.
"But this is special treatment!" Ruby pointed out, getting annoyed with the older man's constant arguing.
"Doesn't matter anyway. Hurry up, they'll start without us." Dusk said sternly, stepping into the elevator. "Come on." he instructed, gesturing to his side, telling her to get in the elevator. She complied and stood by his side, closing a small gate behind her.
After that, they plunged down into darkness.