XX62
Okay...she's gone. I swear she knows I'm doing this, if she finds out that I actually took her advice she'll never let me live it down. I'm serious, constant teasing, she still acts seventeen. Gez, why do I put up with that woman...oh right.
I took a look at my previous entry, it's been a few days seeing as how I didn't want to bring this to Vaccuo and risk losing it while I was working. It was a simple delivery thankfully, nothing when awry except the fact I had to handle a Deathstalker.
Nothing I didn't learn to handle at The Facility...like that segway? No? Okay…
XX51
The flight was long, I didn't have an exact location but I had a vague idea of where we were. Southern Vale, specifically the Wild Forest; a forest near the southeastern coast of Vale. There were no other settlements for miles upon miles, so The Facility stood alone within the forest; constantly battered by Grimm and bandits, but it still stood.
I looked out the Bullhead's window as we approached, it looked like a military compound, tall concrete looking walls and barbed wire defended it from outside forces and various types of buildings; I saw one that looked like a single story townhouse next to a multi-story brick factory and another building that looked like a big apartment building along with a few other brick factories.
"I thought there would be...more." The boy across from me said, looking out his own window.
"Yeah, it does seem kinda cramped." I admitted as the Bullhead began to slow and descend toward a landing platform on top of the largest brick factory building, little did I know that the building was actually lovingly called The Factory.
"We're in the middle of the Grimmlands, we wanted to make ourselves as small of a target as possible." We were surprised to hear Aster's quiet voice, he'd been silent the entire flight.
"Making a training facility in the middle of the Wilds doesn't seem like that hot of an idea to be honest." I turned the dark haired boy across from me, he was gazing at the compound with an air of anxiety.
"When the founders built The Facility, they didn't want their trade secrets being stolen by rivals or even kingdoms," Aster said before a dull thud rang out as the Bullhead landed, "Off."
"So...we just get out?" I asked as the Bullhead powered down, standing and shouldering my bag and making sure Crocea Mors was attached to my belt as the bay door of the Bullhead opened.
"Guess so…" Not-Tom muttered, standing and slinging his pack over his shoulders; this is the first time I realized that he was shorter than me, probably standing a little taller than Yang or Blake height wise.
We exited the Bullhead and we're greeted with the sight of a girl who couldn't have been two or three years older than me at that time with dark brown hair in a braid over her shoulder and amber eyes that locked onto us as a smile broke out on her face as she almost skipped towards us, "Hey, guys. You the new Initiates?"
The boy beside me seemed very off put by the girl's cheer so I decided to respond for the both of us, "Yeah, I'm-"
"No names. Sorry, it's protocol with us. Until you get your shiny new callsign we'll just have to call you guys Initiate," She interrupted before releasing a small giggle, "Sorry, I didn't even tell you my callsign. I'm Recorder."
"Recorder? And I thought Aster was bad…"
Recorder looked at the boy beside me and smiled, "I can see you're just a ray of sunshine."
"Oh, definitely. It's all ice cream and gumdrops over here." The sarcasm was thick in his voice.
"Ooh, can I have some?"
He wasn't prepared for the response, blushing softly before facepalming and mumbling something. Recorder laughed softly before turning and motioning for us to follow her, "Come on, i'll show you the Factory then the barracks."
We followed Recorder down a stairwell and into the Factory. Despite the name, the Factory was actually a series of training rooms. Each one was different and unique, each pertaining to a certain subject for the Couriers to learn. I remember walking down the hallways and being overwhelmed as I read the nameplates above each classroom and listened to Recorder explain each class.
Marksmanship
Armed Combat
Unarmed Combat
Explosives
Stealth
Survival
Health and Fitness
Courier Rules of Engagement
"Eight classes huh?" Not-Tom asked as we walked down the brick and worn wood hallways, it had a certain charm to it to be honest.
"Yep! Mr. Canus just streamlines the program so we're working at maximum efficiency now." Recorder cheered happily, causing me to smile awkwardly. As I would later learn, she was always this happy… Always.
"So what do you do here, Recorder?" I asked, wanting to steer the two of them away from an argument that I had a feeling would break out if I didn't intervene.
"Well, ironically enough," She rubbed the back of her neck as she suppressed a blush, "I record Initiate's progress and report directly to Mr. Canus, it was a position I was given after I got hurt on a delivery a few months back. I'm almost healed though so I should be back to delivering packages soon."
"So how'd you get the callsign 'Recorder' then?" Not-Tom asked.
"Well...when I was going through training I would constantly have to write everything down because I couldn't remember anything and 'Writer' didn't have the same ring to it as 'Recorder'," She smiled as we now stood in front of the main entrance to the Factory, "So I'm Recorder and that's been your tour of the Factory, come on; let's go see the rest of The Facility."
Apparently, the apartment building I had seen from above was housing for the staff and the small group of mercenaries that the RCC hired to supplement defense for The Facility. The single story townhouse I had seen was "the barracks", though that was a loose term seeming as how it could house ten, had a full bathroom as well as a common room and kitchen. The other brick factories I'd seen were testing facilities, where they tested and created new weapons, technologies, armors and God knows what else. I definitely didn't at the time.
"Come on, the other Initiates got here a few hours ago." Recorder lead us into the barracks where we found a pair of teens my age arguing in the middle of the common room
"I can't believe you forgot!"
"Why would I remember your stuff?!"
"We're brother and sister! Shouldn't you be helping me!?"
"Remembering your suitcase isn't my problem, Bian-! Sis!"
A short girl with long white hair tied up in a ponytail and emerald eyes stared up at a taller boy with short but wild, pale, red hair with matching emerald eyes.
"Aarghghrhhaha! You're so unreasonable!"
"I'm unreasonable! You're the one pissed off at me for not remembering your suitcase."
"Are we interrupting something?" I asked, taking advantage of a short silence.
"Yes!" The siblings shouted in unison before turning back and arguing with each other once again.
"Great. Siblings who are at each other's throats." Not-Tom muttered sourly.
"I swear, my sister is usually more reasonable than this." The brother said before turning back to his sister.
"I can't believe you'd say-"
"Shut up!" Recorder shouted, narrowing her eyes at the pair, silencing the arguing siblings who looked at her as though she had just grown a second and third head, "Now, Frost and Coal, meet our new Initiates.
"Coal," Not-Tom pointed to the brother before pointing to the girl, "Frost."
"Switch em," The boy said before reaching out, "Frost."
I shook his hand, "Ja-...I don't have a callsign yet."
"They're supposed to be ironic I've been told," Frost said before shaking Not-Tom's hand, "Hopefully your guy's aren't so far off."
"How's your's far off?" I asked as Frost padded back, a carefree smile on his face as his sister confined to glare at him.
"Well, my name is 'Frost' but I can do this," A small green and red flame flickered to life between his fingers before he closed his hand dramatically, snuffing the flame, "My semblance."
"I named you 'Frost' because you're a hot-head, it's a joke." Recorder pouted.
"Yeah, cause you're such a joker." Not-Tom deadpanned.
"Why are you so grumpy?" Recorder asked, hands on her as she huffed at my grumpy brother in arms.
"The exact opposite of a joker." Coal mused quietly, almost to herself. Almost.
Recorder gasped, a huge smile on her face as Not-Tom's fell, "No. Nonononono, that is not my callsign."
"Frost-"
"Noooo."
"-Coal-"
"Noooo. Recorder, stop."
"Meet, Joker." Recorder gestured to the newly named boy with a smirk.
"You did that out of spite." Joker accused, pointing at the girl with his usually stoic face in a snarl.
"Spite? No. The want to get you to show some emotion besides...boredom and sarcastic angst? Yes." Recorder said with a certain kind of smile, a smile that told everyone that she held all the cards.
"I-... You-... How-..." Joker trailed off before covering his face and groaning into both hands.
"Frustration and embarrassment are new ones." I admitted, smirking ever so subtly at the fellow Initiate.
"Shut it, Blondie." Joker spat before tossing his bag onto the big wooden round table in the center of the common room. At the moment the table was empty and bare but as the weeks passed it would become cluttered with half eaten sandwiches from Coal's forgetful tendencies, opened textbooks and discarded coffee cups from late night study sessions.
It's where we really became a family of sorts, I learned that spending eighteen hours or more a day with someone for two months tends to bring you become very close to them.
"Well that's not a good callsign, this is why I'm in charge of naming you guys and you're just an Initiate." Recorder said before relaxing in one of the high back leather chairs wheelie chairs and spinning around.
"Is...there a room where I can put this?" I asked, shrugging my bag and gesturing to Crocea Mors on my waist as Joker and Recorder continued their back and forth dance.
"Bunk room. Down the hall, second right." Coal said quietly and coolly, totally unlike her previous altercation with her brother. In the bunk room I found five double bunks in a neat row along the back wall, a black duffel bag sat on one of the bottom bunks and a white jacket sat on the bottom bunk beside it; Frost and Coal had already staked their claim.
I tossed my bag onto the bunk above Frost's, I had always wanted the top bunk las a kid, and headed back to the common room to see that everyone had settled down. Coal had settled down into one of the chairs and typed away on her scroll while Frost settled into the beat-up couch and Joker appeared to be in the kitchen and cooking.
"Where's Recorder?" I asked as I entered the room.
"Came and gone, said she'd be back in the morning to get us for our classes." Coal murmured.
"Guess this is the part where we get to know each other." Joker said, walking into the common room. Frost's head perked up and he broke out into a wide grin before hopping up and beginning toward where I had just left.
"I have just the thing for this occasion."
"Is he always like this?" Joker asked after Frost had disappeared, leaning against the table and looking down at Coal.
"Hotheaded, impulsive, loud? Absolutely."
"I heard that you frigid bitch," Frost called from down the hall before walking back into the common room, brandishing a bottle of whiskey, "In my professional experience people tend to be more loose lipped when drinking, so we shall drink."
"Ru-...Frost! No." Coal said, standing suddenly and attempting to snatch the bottle from her much taller sibling.
"Sit down, shorty," Frost said, slapping his sister's hands away before tossing the bottle to Joker who fumbled with it for a few seconds before managing to hold the bottle, "Blondie, get some glasses."
It took a second for me to realize that Frost had been talking to me. I went into the kitchen and somehow opened every other cupboard before finding the glasses, because life is weird, and brought the four glasses to the table.
"I'm not into whiskey." Joker deadpanned before setting the bottle down and sprawling out on the couch.
"You're into it tonight, mother fucker." Frost grabbed Joker by his wrist and pulled him off the couch and over to the table, Joker protesting the entire time.
"Let me go you crazy bastard!"
"Not happening, J." Frost grunted as he lifted Joker into one of the tall chairs and pushed it all the way in, securing Joker's spot at the table.
I sat down, I wasn't exactly in a position to refuse and I had the feeling that if I did Frost wouldn't of had any of my shit; plus, I was surrounded by unfamiliar people in an unfamiliar place...I wanted them to like me, or at least not hate me.
I didn't know that these three people would become part of the what was basically my second family.
Needless to say, we all drank. A lot. Too much. Way too much. Like, I don't remember ninety-nine percent of that night...I just remember that it was where they gave me my callsign, my unfitting name.
It was definitely a weird morning, waking up to the sound of Recorder asking why we were passed out on the table with a splitting headache, I wouldn't learn for a while why exactly they started calling me Rogue.
Weeks passed and I grew, I grew into someone else. I would be lying if I said Joker, Frost and, Coal didn't influence me because they did. I'm going to skip most of my time at the Facility, mostly for legal reasons seeing as how I'm not allowed to divulge the RCC's training methods.
I will talk about the last week though, or at least some of it. It started in an odd way, I was called to The Depot; it's a place where the RCC developed and tested potential technology, both their own and outsider's, and weapons.
Weapons being the reason I was requested at the Depot.
I had just finished my final unarmed test, passed with an eighty-one, and was relaxing in the barracks with Coal; I'd gotten insanely close with her and the guys over the past several weeks, maybe a little too comfortable.
"Hey, Rogue." I looked up from my scroll towards the corner of the common room where Coal stood, examining her back in the mirror.
"Hm?"
"Do you think my ass is small?"
I nearly choked on my tongue and Coal on the other hand was, as usual, deadpan and stoic. Frost had made it very clear to me and Joker that Coal was off limits and this wasn't the first time she said these kinda things to just get under her brother's skin, but he wasn't here so I guessed she was asking a genuine question.
"A cupcake is still cake."
Coal turned and quirked an eyebrow at me before smirking ever so slightly, a smirk exactly like Frost's, "That was strangely inspirational, Rogue. If I didn't know you better, I'd say you were hitting on me."
"I would, but I enjoy living and Frost doesn't like anyone messing with his baby sister." I huffed as Coal laid on the other side of the couch, letting her feet rest on my chest and her head rest on one of my sneakers.
"I'm twelve minutes older than Ru-... Frost."
"Still not used to it?"
"Not quite, he isn't either unfortunately," Coal sighed softly before smiling at me, "You're different, Rogue."
"Am I?"
"Yeah, you're less...awkward. Less...wimpy."
"Oh, so now you're insulting me?" I kicked her head softly.
"If I was insulting you, that wouldn't be a question," Coal pushed her foot up into my chin while laughing before her laugh died off, "Do you… think I've changed?"
"Oh absolutely," I said, pushing her foot away, "You've gone from 'cold heartless bitch' to 'cold heartless bitchy sister whose cool sometimes'."
"Keep talking like that and I might start thinking that you're actually into me," Coal jabbed before gasping and reaching into her pocket, retrieving her scroll and flipping through it, "Speaking of who's into who, my brother tell you about Recorder and Joker?"
"What about em?"
"You're gonna love this, it'll make great ammunition against Joker." Coal tapped away on her scroll for a few seconds before showing me a picture that was obviously taken without the subjects' consent, the subjects being Joker and Recorder mid steamy kiss.
"Woah!" I exclaimed, it was surprising; seeing two people I now considered some of my closest friends sticking their tongues down each others throats.
"I know right! It gets better." Coal swiped and swiped and swiped and swiped, with each swipe more clothes came off and well...it was obvious Frost ditched before seeing anything he didn't want to see.
I pulled away and sat on the couch normally while looking at the scroll as Coal readjusted herself, "I would have never guess that they were-"
"Who were what?"
"OH MY GOD!" Me and Coal screamed in fear and surprise, we recognized the voice instantly. Recorder.
Now let me take a moment to describe my fear. Now I know what you're thinking, why am I, the handsome and brave Jaune Arc, scared of a five foot five girl who is also hailed as the sweetest things since sugar?
Well, how do I say this?
…
Recorder is fucking terrifying.
I had seen her lay out at least a dozen fully qualified Courier who were all roughly the size of a Bullhead. She's damn near psychopathic in a fight, not to mention scary fast, scary strong and, deadly with her bow; Nyx. So you can only imagine my fear when I realized she had walked in on what was basically me and Coal talking shit.
But Coal...that little...she had the perfect out. Coal turned to Recorder and smiled sweetly, "Jaune was showing me pictures of you and Joker during an...intimate moment."
Recorder marched forward and I felt my heart drop into my stomach, her sweet smile had disappeared and was replaced with a neutral expression, she was the current epitome of fear in my mind. I got off lucky though, Recorder simply took the scroll and snapped it in half.
The look on Coal's face warmed my heart, it had been her scroll after all; I had just been holding it. Recorder discarded the scroll to the floor behind her before glaring at Coal, "Now that that's done, tell me who actually took pictures of me and Gi- Joker."
So she knew his real name, this is when I realized how close they'd really gotten.
"I just told you, it was R-"
"Rogue is too nice to do something like this, so it was either you or your brother and we all know I can break both of you. So-"
"Frost. He was having a late study session with Proctor Felix and caught you two stumbling into your place in the staff apartments there." Coal rattled quickly, the tiny little rat; I'm not one to judge though, I probably would have snitched just as quick.
"Thank you," Recorder murmured before her smile reappeared out of nowhere and was directed towards me, "Wrench wants you in the Depot, something about steel-dust plate meshing techniques and a bulldog."
I was gone like a bat out of hell, the full wrath of Recorder was not something I was eager to see and I had a feeling Coal was about to feel it in all it's hateful glory.
When I'd walked through the large warehouse doors, metallic scraping and bang filled my ears. Workbenches and testing stations were taking up every spare inch of the Depot and technicians looked to be working tirelessly to the beat of a heavy bassline that steamed from some insanely large speakers in the back of the warehouse. The voices of technicians filtered the music out in a way though as I walked through the strange building.
"Is the caliber large enough on this thing?!"
"Hell if I know! Hey, Twitch, how's that new mask coming?! Click needs it yesterday!"
"I delegated to Rocket!"
"Rocket is slow as fuck! It's why we call him Rocket!"
"Did you put batteries in the det switch?"
"Uhhh… Shit…"
"Dammit, Ash… Hold up, I got some at my bench."
"Thanks, Ronin. 'Preciate it!"
"You're all sociopaths!"
"So fucking what?! Get to work!"
"It's euphoric, isn't it?" My wandering eyes returned front and center and came face to mask with a technician wearing torn up jeans and a sleeveless black hoodie with a white shirt underneath. I couldn't see his face, a black mask with small white scribbles covering the metal covered it.
"I guess you can say that." I said simply before remembering my reason for coming to the Depot in the first place, "Sorry man, do you know where Wrench is?"
"You're looking at him, Kid," Wrench exclaimed, cocking his head. "You're Rogue, I could tell from the fish outta water look and well, that beauty," He pointed to Crocea Mors hanging on my waist before turning and beginning to walk away, "Let's walk and talk."
"Know why you're here?"
"I don't, Recorder said it was something about metal-dust plate meshing techniques and a bulldog."
"Yeah, Wrench Junior got outta my place and I'm gonna need you to find him. Cool?" I stuttered to a stop as we walked into what was clearly Wrench's work area, the work bench and surrounding area was filled with junk and broken pieces of machinery as well as a broken Atlantian Knight droid.
"You can't be serious." I muttered before Wrench reached under his workbench and pulled out a sledgehammer and brought it down on something on the workbench that Wrench was blocking with his body.
"You're right, I'm not," Wrench tossed something over his shoulder and I watched as the broken shell of a toaster. "I fucking hate that thing but my sister gave it to me for my birthday," Wrench spun and leaned against his workbench, "They're all evolving to replace us on the food chain ya know."
"Who?"
"Animals man."
"Even puppies?" You can understand my scepticism.
"Especially puppies."
"I'm not trying to get us back on track or anything buuuut, can we get back on track?" I asked, seemingly shaking the masked tech out of his puppy fueled rant.
"Yeah, R. So…" Wrench clasped his hands before pointing both index fingers to Crocea Mors, "I'm gonna need that beauty."
"What," I asked, subconsciously grabbing my weapon, "Why?"
"Let's cut the shit, Jaune," I hadn't heard my actual name in almost two months, I was so stunned by the sound of my own name that I didn't even stop to consider how he knew my name; thankfully he answered that almost immediately, "That weapon is kinda sorta famous as fuck, it's even talked in some history classes and everyone who's taken that class will know that it's attached to the Arc Family."
"So?"
Wrench groaned before rubbing his mask, which I imagined offered zero relief to the massive migraine I was probably giving him, "And what if one of those people sees a Courier using it? And what they want you package? And what if they kidnap and torture your family to get it? And what if they come after me to get it? We're buddies! You don't want to be the reason I'm found in a gutter right?"
"I...no, I don't want anyone to be hurt because of my job."
"Exactly! So I'm gonna make it better...but also different."
"Like, making it so I can combine my sword and shield into a bigger sword?"
"That's stupid and you're stupid for suggesting that," Wrench was suddenly in front of me and unhooked Crocea Mors from my belt before I could even protest, "Oh, why must goodbyes be so sweet and sorrowful?"
"What are you going to do to Crocea Mors?"
"Change it's appearance, make it better, maybe add a gun. Depends on how high I am when I get around to it." This did not boost my confidence, I wasn't exactly against improvements to Crocea More though. It was pretty old school and with everything is had learned at The Facility, it would seem like kind of a waste just to limit myself to what could be considered an obsolete weapon.
"Is...there anything else you wanted to talk to me about?" I asked cautiously, he'd already snagged my weapon and I wasn't exactly sure what else I had to give him.
I, for the most part, lacked common sense.
"Yeah, we gotta talk about your mask," Wrench tapped his own mask for emphasis, "They're standard issue but you can make it look as pretty or as basic as your heart desires."
Wrench picked up a bare metal mask not to different from his own, a simple mask with interlocking plates that protected and fit tightly around the neck, "So any special requests?"
Dammit she moves fast, who old takes two hours to grocery shop? Gotta hide this before she comes in…
AN: This chapter isn't an info dump kinda...shut up. (By the way, that was sarcasm. I don't want there to be a misunderstanding) Welcome back to Courier...how are you? I'm probably gonna disappear for a bit, I'm gonna be staying at a friends place for a week or two and also just got a new job so I won't have a lot of time to write but I'll be back once things slow back down.