A/N: Here's Chapter 3! Enjoy reading.

EDIT: 10/29/2016 Chapter edited for consistency

Beacon Academy

Ten years before Amber's coma

"You can do it Cobalt!" Amber yelled proudly. Up above the roof of his dormitory, Cobalt wore his prototype power armor for the very first time. He was extremely nervous, and the clouds didn't help to settle his nerves since it seemed like it might rain and ruin the experiment.

Cobalt, before he became a hunter, was just a lowly student at Beacon Academy. A senior who wasn't sure where he wanted to be once he graduated. He now sported thick glasses, had shorter hair, and wore braces. Due to this appearance he wasn't exactly known as the popular type.

He was the type of student who would be in the back of the classroom, quiet and alone, until the teacher asked him a question during class. He would know the answer, of course, but often his "good kid" behavior would upset the status quo of his peers. He soon became the type of student who would be a constant target for bullies. The one who would be stuffed in a locker by the stronger more capable hunters-to-be. The type of guy who always got tagged by 'kick me' signs and getting swirlys in the restroom. However, there was one student who cared for the bumbling Cobalt.

Amber had been at Cobalt's side since day one, ever since they were admitted to Beacon Academy. After the incident in the Coronas household, Amber's family had stood by him since then. While his father was disabled, Amber's father took him in as their own. Amber had loved him like a brother. Then again, unlike Cobalt, she was a part of the popular crowd, with the hip young trendy kids who were the royalty of Beacon Academy.

Amber didn't care about her status in the school when she took care of him. Whenever the bullies stuffed him the locker, she was there to open the door; where he fell instantly. When he got tagged with a kick me sign she would remove it quickly. When he got swirlied she was there to dry him up. Her fellow peers avoided her like the plague, since she continued to stay by him, but that didn't stop her from loving him.

In response, he wasn't sure about this type of affection, but only Amber could understand and be level with him. He only found comfort in seeing her. When he proposed to make his powered armor suit she was with him every step of the way. He believed that this would be the new way of hunting Grimm, as it's a more protected form of hunting. Whatever his motives were, Amber saw his sincerity and went along for the ride.

They both scrounged the salvage yards outside Beacon to find bits and pieces of scrap metal to create the armor. They made the armor from helmet to boot in an efficient manner. They found spare parts to create the electrical system that runs the armor. They even snuck in the science labs in Beacon Academy to take some dust that powered the electrical system of the suit.

The armor was crude and plain, with a thick layer of rust that permeated his breastplate. A belt of orange erosion wrapped around his greaves and boots. The armor is, after all, a prototype. He can make those designs he dreamed of once the armor was a success. The rockets, which provided him transport, were fueled by Dust and hidden underneath the back of his chest piece. A button hidden inside his right greave opened the rocket packs.

His helmet was a round dome with no intricate designs. In contrast, the helmet was the nerve center of the armor. The heads up display showed his surroundings and scanned what the possible trajectory of his flight path would be.

Weeks of planning, building, and a series of explosions, they were ready to test drive their new creation. The first test? The propulsion system to fly the armor. How do they test it? By dropping down a ten story balcony to see if it works! But who will be the brave sucker...soul...to do it? Certainly not Amber. She was just there for moral support. Not as a test dummy. So it was up to Cobalt to see if their work was not in vain.

He put his helmet on and the heads up display activated, and navy lights flashed across his face. The night sky was the first to appear once his helmet became operational. The crisp night sky calmed the nervous boy down. Clouds thinly covered the moon as the rest of the sky was still clear.

"You can do it Cobalt!" Amber yelled loudly once again. "I hope." She mumbled under her breath.

The boy looked down at her, just a distant figure on the ground below. He gulped nervously, his small bit of confidence quickly fading as his vision began to swim. "I…can't…" Cobalt said before he ran back to the door. However, before he could get close, he found Qrow Branwen blocking his only way to freedom. His fellow senior became the bane of Cobalt's existence upon entering Beacon. He was the one who would stuff him in the locker. The one who would put the kick me signs on his back. The one who would give him his daily swirly.

"Where do you think you're going Colbee?" He asked nonchalantly. Cobalt moved back as his adversary slowly moved toward him. His arm blade popped out of his greaves as Qrow withdrew his sword from his sheathe.

"I don't want any trouble." Cobalt said nervously. "I'm just trying this new armor out." Cobalt started to sweat underneath his armor. Qrow lunged at the armored Cobalt. Sparks flew as his sword slash made contact, but it didn't cut through his armor. Cobalt paused in surprise that he was actually well protected, but Qrow kept advancing slowly and he was forced back toward the ledge. He had nowhere to run unless he jumped off and let the rockets do its work. He waved to the bully as a last cry for mercy. He was shaking his head as Qrow smiled wickedly.

"Looks like trouble just found you." He said arrogantly. He kicked the armored weakling, and Cobalt started to fall quickly from the roof. At ground level Amber was paralyzed by fear as she was helpless to do anything. All she could do was stand there…and watch.

Like a rag doll, Cobalt was at the mercy of gravity. He needed to quickly turn on his jets or else he will be road pizza in a heartbeat. A statistic in the Beacon Academy suicide list. He didn't want that to happen. Not at this moment at least. His right greave opened up to reveal a handle with a red button to ignite the rockets. His wings on the armor shot up immediately, but the rockets weren't engaging. He kept pressing the button but he only heard his engines sputter and immediately stall.

Ten stories. Nine stories. Eight stories. He kept pressing the button. Still no response from his rockets. Seven stories. Six stories. Come on turn on why don't you, Cobalt thought anxiously. Five stories. Four stories. Three stories. He pressed the button and still the rockets were stubborn to turn on. Two stories. One story. Then silence.

Did I just die? Then he felt heat underneath him. I'm not dead. I can't believe I'm not dead. His rockets engaged just feet off the ground. Facing towards the sky, the hum of the rocket pack was music to his ears. Cobalt sighed and lets out a hardy guffaw as his experiment became reality. Amber was relieved and sighed loudly as she smiled, seeing her friend succeed once in his life. He leveled off and disengaged his thrusters causing him to land on his feet. The rockets withdrew to its original position as he removed his helmet. Amber rushed to him and embraced him tightly.

"I just want to say…" Cobalt stopped mid-sentence as she lunged her face towards him to kiss him. His tension of the night melted away as they made out. She leaned back and let out a huge sigh. They ended their make out session and both blushed and turned away. He snickered, and for the first time in a while he had a genuine smile. She smiled back and offered her hand. He held her hand as they left the dormitories. She raised her free hand as Qrow nodded and headed towards the door from the roof.

"Thank you." Cobalt continued.

"For what?" She replied she leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Well you didn't let me finish. You kissed me after all." She giggled as Cobalt continued, "Thank for being there when no one else is around."

"It's the least I could do. At least I got to learn how to make an armored suit with you. But let's celebrate our victory by sleeping. How's that?"

"Yeah you're right." He said exhaustedly as he let out a huge yawn. He stretched his right arm and wrapped it around Amber. She leaned close as they started walking towards the school. Cobalt looked to the sky and noticed that the clouds had broken up and the moon appeared. "Oh man! The moon now shows up! It could've been nice to see the moon from up there."

"Cobalt!" Amber says as she gives him a playful shove.

"All right! All right!" Cobalt said amusingly.

A/N: Reviews and comments are welcome. Chapter 4 is on the way.