SCHOOL TIME. DAY 01.
Chief sighed, arranging something he never thought, nor wanted to wear. A school uniform... A white shirt, underneath a brown jacket, with a red tie around his neck and a pair of brown trousers and black dress shoes. Whilst not physically that different from UNSC Dress Uniforms, this felt... Odd. The Spartan was so used to wearing his UNSC Gear and was so proud of it that resigning it in the room for this...
It felt like treason, to some degree...
He sighed, trying to ignore that nagging feeling in the back of his head that he was doing something wrong, before he looked over at the item laying next to him on the sink. A white smart device that acted as a multitude of things, ranging from a simple telephone to the key to their room. He picked it up, opened it and saw a dark-blue avatar's face flash on the screen. Cortana, now with slightly longer hair than before, gave a smile to the chief as she spoke through an earpiece "Looking dapper, John. The school uniform really does fit ya."
"Thanks." He sighed.
"Oh, what's with the long face? C'mon, it'll be fun! It's school! Your first time going to an actual, proper school! You should be excited to meet new people!" Cortana cheered him on through his earpiece, which he'd hidden very well. It was a small communication bead that all Spartans also hauled alongside their armor's comm devices, just in case. He gave a nod... To which Cortana sighed and rolled her eyes "Alright, listen, I've been triangulating Kelly and Linda's UNSC signal... And I'm almost done finding out where it is in relation to Beacon. Come after classes to me and I can get you a location."
"Thanks again." He noted, arranging his uniform.
"Right-o, John. Oops, I mean Dylan." She smirked "Go out there and at least try to have fun. We'll keep in touch via the earpiece."
The Spartan gave a nod, then closed his scroll and slid it into his pocket, before walking toward the door and asking "Evelyn! Are you done?" words which garnered a chuckle. Evelyn's response was a shrewd "I dunno. Am I~?" that made the Chief tap his foot. Inhaling, he spoke again with a more serious tone "Evelyn..." and heard her answer "Dy~ylan!" yet again in a similar fashion...
"... You know what, I'm coming out." The Spartan said, pushing the door open and walking out.
"And women everywhere rejoiced!" Evelyn snarkly replied. He heard Cortana actually burst into laughter again at that one. She either needed a tune-up, or grew sense of humor while they wound up above Remnant. The Spartan didn't know eitherway... He took a moment of pause as he walked out, to see Evelyn. She was grinning, her bunny ears floppy as usual, but not under that hat of hers. The way her uniform hugged her forms was... Something to behold. The Spartan felt his heart skip a beat and blinked, trying to look away, but unable to... Thigh-highs, a short skirt... With her snark still present, she asked "So, how do I look, Dylan?"
"John... I'm detecting increased hormonal activity... A given without the Thyroid implant, but, just out of courtesy... You okay?" Cortana spoke, but with an undertone of smug. Chief felt a tinge of heat on his cheeks, but quickly managed to suppress it. Breathing in, then out. He needed to get that thyroid implant fixed and soon... Nodding quickly to Evelyn, the girl grinned even more, before turning to him and walking up to him... He was still about a forehead above her, ears not counted...
"Uh, may I come out?" Penny asked.
"Yes." John hummed, making Evelyn chuckle as they saw Penny walk out of the kitchen. He never bothered to ask why they were all changing in separate locations... Alas, Penny's uniform fit quite well. Not as well as her hand-tailored clothes, but it still did work. One thing John had noticed was that she still had the collar around her neck... He wanted to ask about it, but...
"Hey, Penny. What's up with the collar?" Evelyn asked, voicing it before he could... And with less tact.
The girl placed a hand on the item, then chuckled awkwardly and said "Eheh... Y'see, I've got this..." She took a moment to think about it "Scar! Yes, a positively nasty scar that I have to hide behind this collar as not to be repulsive!" And the Spartan could swear he saw her blushing as she hiccuped. She was hiding something, but for now, it was best not to press the matter.
"Uhh, Jack, if you don't mind coming out as well." John said, to distract attention from Penny before Evelyn started to ask anymore questions... Without word, Jack came over from the Balcony... And the Spartan and everyone else in the room froze as they saw her clad in a male student's uniform, rather than the commonplace female. Her hair was caught in a messy ponytail and she had a calm smile on her face... Until she noticed the stares she got.
"Uhm... What's wrong, guys?" Jack asked, brow raised.
"... You're wearing a male uniform." John said, he himself a bit surprised. She wore it better than he did...
She shrugged "So?"
"... You're serious." Evelyn noted with disgruntlement.
"Yeah... What's wrong with it?" Jack smirked. She wasn't serious... Evelyn let out a few grunts and angry words that chief couldn't make out... Then walked over to the door and slammed her forehead against it once... Twice... That was a third time. Jack looked to Chief with a raised brow, then asked "What's her problem?" pointing at Evelyn. Penny walked up to them...
"Perhaps it has something to do with... It looking better on you than it does on Dylan." Penny offered her take. Both the Spartan and Jack shrugged, before they went to remove their lilac-haired bunny friend from the doorway and go to class. The Spartan found himself having to follow Evelyn and the others through the corridors since he himself wasn't that well-versed with Beacon's walkways, save perhaps for the mess hall and shooting range. He looked to the girls...
"Can I ask one of you to take me to a tour of Beacon after this? I find myself lacking knowledge of where the Classrooms are." He asked... And the girls turned, before Evelyn jumped at the chance with a grin, stopping the other two before they could say anything... The Spartan froze as the girl's grin widened... Oh, God, he was so gonna regret asking for that...
"I'm up for it, if you gals don't mind." Evelyn said...
"I'm okay with it." Penny said with a smile.
"... As long as you don't try and do anything to him." Jack noted. "But maybe after classes." And the Spartan immediately regretted this decision. No questions asked, no time, he just regretted that. As they walked further out into Beacon and toward where the Classes were, they found themselves entering a semi-amphitheater room, almost resembling of an university campus building, which made sense considering Beacon being an Academy. They walked toward the back seats and sat down.
"Any idea how the teachers in Beacon are?" He asked Jack and Evelyn. Both shrugged.
"Been a while since we've been here." The blonde noted. "So for all we know, teachers have changed." and the Spartan nodded, before looking ahead as the teacher entered the class... A rotund man with a bushy mustache, eyebrows and comb-over grey hair. Atop him was a framed weapon. A blunderbuss with an ax embedded into the stock... Interesting.
His voice was pompous, joyous, as he started "Hello, my dear students, and welcome back to the second semester of your wonderful stay here at Beacon!" Quite proudly, as he paced in front of the class, behind his desk. "I am happy to see you all still coming to my class with such enthusiasm! But alas, it seems we have a new team that joins us! Four new students. Team..." He looked at the Registry and started reading out the name "J... P... D... E. My, what a peculiar name for a team. If you don't mind standing up." before gazing back toward the team.
That was the attention of the room on them... The Spartan preferred not to, but alas, he joined his teammates in standing up to be greeted... He looked down below, to see Ruby, grinning to her ears, while the other three, whom he was yet to meet, stared back at him. He nodded to them, then looked ahead as the Professor smiled... At least os the Spartan though, with that 'stache covering his mouth, then said "Welcome! Welcome! It is good to see new students, even this late into the school year, join us for a good education on how to be huntsmen! I am professor Port! Please, do take your seats now!"
As the team took their seats, the man spoke again "Why, this reminds me of that one time as a youngster..."
And the team all took pause upon hearing the groans of the entire class. Chief presumed that this meant Port's stories would be abnormal to listen to. Still, he waited calmly as the man started to speak, paying attention to every word he was speaking... And the entire story lasted for about the entire class... He shook his head as the man continued to talk for the last bits of the hour... "... And there I was, standing victorious over the disappearing carcass of that Grimm beowolf, covered by the dirt and mud of the beautiful forest! As I set up camp, I rewarded myself by starting to brew a kettle of chamomile tea, but yet as I stood by my campsite with utmost calm and the kettle whistled, I found myself taken by surprised by an Oppel! The dastardly, bat-like creature threw me away from my weapon and, had I no Aura, nor the speed to reach my beloved girl, I would have been dead, for certain! Now, what did you understand from all of this, Children?"
"You're kidding me, we were supposed to pay attention?!" Ruby asked a friend in whisper.
"Yes, you dolt, of course you were!" She answered, her voice thinner than Ruby's...
The Spartan took pause, thinking for a moment what the answer was. The Grimm beowolves couldn't smell him due to the mud and dirt and the Oppel couldn't directly track him due to no negative emotion being shown... But the Kettle whistled. Chief raised his hand and Port gave a nod, before John/Dylan stood up and spoke calmly "Is it the fact that, perhaps, the Grimm are more alike to their counterparts in the animal kingdom?"
"Co-rrect! Young man, you have hit the nail right on the head. Children, the Grimm and their forms are bound by a set of laws similar to the Animals they draw their forms from. The Beowolves' smell is keen, the Oppel's hearing is powerful and they utilize echolocation. All of these advanced animal senses can be fooled! Remember this, for it may help you in the midst of combat!" and just as he was about to start anew, the bell rang. The man gave a nod, then told them "Farewell, children! Have a good day and I will see you next Monday!"
The Spartan stood up with his team and turned to Jack, who gave a nod and said "Nice work. How the hell did you even pay attention through all that? You and Penny were possibly the only two I saw here who did that. Evelyn fell fast asleep midway through and even I was on the breaking point." while Evelyn yawned, with Penny continuing a chat the two started before the lesson.
"Training." Chief noted simply. "Be a soldier for long enough and you get used to hearing long-winded stories."
All Jack could do was grin as they walked toward the mess hall. Within it, the Spartan had acquired a conservative portion of potato puree and fried chicken, as well as a brownie off to the side. For a school that's meant to amass a small army, it was pretty interesting that they served good food every so often. The Spartan heard a ping in his ear and Cortana spoke "Go visit the headmaster as soon as you can... Tell Evelyn the tour can wait. I got Kelly and Linda tracked."
John hummed as Evelyn and Penny spoke.
Footsteps came up to their table. John turned his head to see it was Ruby who'd come over. She waved, then said "Hey, guys." as a white-haired girl walked up next to her. Ruby continued "How'd you manage to pay attention through all of that, Dylan?" and gazed upon the Chief. He gave the same answer as he gave to his teammates "Training" and he saw the girl beside her give a respectful nod.
"So, you four are new to the school... How's it being in a team with three gi-" Ruby wanted to ask, but paused and looked over to Jack, who was grinning as she ate. "Don't take this the wrong way, but... You are a girl, right?" She then asked, receiving an elbow from her teammate. Jack chuckled, then swallowed the forkful of food and said "Yup. Born like that."
"Oh, sorry for the confusion, it's just you got the male uniform and it looks so good on you and all..." Ruby said quickly, smiling awkwardly. Jack gave a nod and a quick 'thank you' before turning toward the white-haired girl who joined them, arms crossed and froze. With the same thin voice from before, that spoke to Ruby during class, she said "Ruby, you haven't finished your food."
"Awh, come on, Weiss, I wanted to come say hi." Ruby whined.
"Mhm..." The white-haired girl said, then turned to John/Dylan and said "Welcome to Beacon." Respectfully. "You've got an attention span not many in Beacon can be proud of, lasting through the professor's lessons." She then complimented. The Spartan gave a nod and answered "Likewise, miss..." And he raised a brow, surprising the girl. She scratched her chin. The Chief took a moment to observe her... White hair caught and neatly arranged on the right side of her head, with a crown of sorts, deep blue eyes, a white combat dress, jack and high-heeled boots. She was also cute, petite... And very smart from the looks of things.
"You don't know who I am?" She asked. Dylan shook his head... And he saw Evelyn and Penny grin.
"Ah... My name is Weiss Schnee. What is yours?" Weiss offered.
"Dylan Braun." The Chief answered.
"So you're that soldier that's been rumored about around Beacon." Weiss gave a half smile. "A pleasure to meet you."
"Likewise... I presume you're Ruby's teammate with a... Supposedly better sense of fashion, as Penny pointed out to me." The Spartan noted and he saw Weiss grin, while Ruby frowned. He shrugged as he saw the Schnee gal push her hair over her shoulder and coyly answer "Well, it would make sense of you to assume that. It surely couldn't be either Yang or Blake."
"WHAT?!" John heard a voice cry out afar.
"Excuse me, Ice Queen?" A thicker voice said smugly. Why was every girl in Beacon a different kind of knockout, the Spartan couldn't help but wonder... And then wonder why he thought that. A beauty with a mane of blonde hair, a pair of lilac eyes and a grin worth days walked up to the table, a hand on her hip. She waved to Dylan and the others and said "Hi all. Guess you're the team Ruby wouldn't shut up about..." before she turned her attention to Dylan and winked "And you're the guy she made that crazy gun for... Man, she didn't mention you're cute." before patting Ruby on the back, pulling her hood up over her head and quipping "Sis, ya trying to nab a guy before me?"
"Y-Yang, it's not like that!" Ruby squeaked out in embarrassment, pulling the hood off her head. Weiss rolled her eyes.
"I'm Ruby's big sis, Yang Xiao-Long." The blonde pointed at herself with a thumb. "What's yer name, Handsome?"
"Dylan. A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Yang." The Spartan noted... Before realizing "You're the one who used 'Common Sense' on her... Aren't you?" and thus making Yang take a moment... Her grin vanished completely as she processed what he'd said... Then it reappeared a second later as she burst into laughter. Ruby pouted, blushing and glaring silver daggers at the chief. The Spartan shrugged as he got eyed by his three new teammates.
"Oh my gosh, she actually said that?!" Yang asked through the laughter.
"DYLAN! THAT WAS MEANT TO BE PERSONAL!" Ruby screeched angrily, still glaring at the chief. Like a smol puppy.
"It was?" The Spartan asked monotonously.
"YES!"
"What are you three doing here?" A black-haired beauty with a bow and even stranger clothing than the others asked. In her right hand was an open book with a rather colorful cover. Her amber eyes stared at the four at the table and at her three teammates. She looked to the Chief and gave him a nod, before saying "I'm Blake Belladonna. A pleasure to make your acquaintance."
"Likewise. I'm Dylan." The Spartan said... He was getting to used to this name... And it was annoying for it being barely a few days since he was here.
"Oh, hey, Blakey! We were just here to meet Dylan and co. We never got your names, though." Yang observed, nodding to Evelyn and Jack, then waving "Hey, Penny! Welcome to Beacon, by the way!" and receiving a happy wave back from Penny. The Spartan looked to Evelyn, who grinned and nodded, before standing up and extending her hand to Yang.
"Name's Evelyn Damerot. Pleasure to meet you,girls!" She said as she and Yang shook hands.
"Likewise, Evelyn." Yang nodded, before turning to Jack and saying "Ah, hey! A fellow blonde! Finally!"
Jack chuckled, taken for a moment out of her stupor, before she said "Hey there. Name's Jacqueline B. Ivory, but do call me Jack, 'kay Yang?"
"'Kay! Nice to meetcha." The cheerful blonde brawler said. "Damn, Dylan, a lot of boys would like to be in your position, surrounded by so many cuties." She then quipped, winking at him again "Do call if you need sparring partners outside your team." and then ruffled Ruby's hair. Aside from Penny, his teammates had suddenly grown shit-eating grins on their faces... The Spartan didn't understand. Even Cortana was laughing.
"So... Dylan. You do not know of the Schnee Dust Company?" Weiss raised a brow. The Spartan's answer was a quiet shake of his head. The girl tapped her lip, then said "I see... Well, I believe your teammates can brief you on that. We can talk later, if you so wish." to which the Spartan gave a nod... And heard a scream "OH, COME ON!" The Spartan was starting to question what that was right now.
"Very well." Weiss said, smiling "We'll see each-other soon, Dylan. It was nice to make your acquaintance"
"SERIOUSLY!?" Again... Who was screaming?
"Yeah, see ya, D-Man!" Yang smirked
"Later." Blake waved, giving a nod to him.
"See you, Dylan. Remind me to ask you how you did that later." Ruby smiled as well as they walked back to their table. The Spartan could swear he heard bickering from among the team. Most of it directed at Weiss, nonetheless. What did he do...? He'd have to ask himself that later. He quickly finished his lunch, bid a quick goodbye to the girls and told them he had an errand to run, as asked by Ozpin, before leaving to grab his armor.
Now fully kitted after about half an hour of fiddling with it, the Spartan strode toward the Landing Pad, Caliburn on his back and he himself ready for battle. He saw Ozpin awaiting for him there already, with a Bullhead drop ship ready to go. Chief greeted the man with a tilt of his head, to which Ozpin responded "Are you certain this signal is allied, Master Chief?"
"Hopefully so, sir." The Spartan noted calmly.
"How did you catch the carrier wave that transported it here, anyways?" Ozpin asked, looking at him.
"Sir, my armor has a special receptor for friendly IFFs and radio. Both of which were active before my ship went down." He noted "I am sure this is some portion of my team... Of my people... Still alive out there." and Ozpin sighed. He waved the Spartan aboard without another word, taking him for granted, then showed the pilot to wait a moment. The man looked over his glasses at the Chief...
Then spoke "You are a man who knows how to hide things, Chief... I've noticed some hesitance when you talked about your kingdom. If you've anything to say to me, to clarify, I trust you will." to which the Chief simply gave a nod... Ozpin was a suspicious man, probably with every right to be so. It was highly likely that he had seen many things as headmaster of Beacon... Chief knew the thousand yard stare when he saw one...
Ozpin waved the pilot off, then saluted the Chief and said "Bring them home, Master Chief!"
He planned to...
... Combat on the ground had gotten worse. Left with nothing but a sword and an M6 Magnum with just a magazine, Kelly swiped and slashed and stabbed, but after quite a few days of continuous fighting and running, even the famed Spartan scout was getting tired... Linda had gotten to wield a local sniper to suppress the Grimm. It was a 50 caliber rifle with a scope, but with more ammo than what her Sniper had. She stowed her own sniper on her back and fired from the 50 BMG rifle... They'd been pinned down by a Grimm Flyer the locals called 'Nevermore' and a horde of smaller creatures emerging from shrubbery and thick underbrush.
"Fuck..." Cobalt said, panting as he leaned on his rifle-staff. "This is too much...
"Noticed." Kelly snapped the neck of a Beowolf and sliced another, but she too started to breathe heavily. Linda snapped another shot into a Grimm creature that tried to attack the Scout gal from behind. This made 50 times Linda had saved her butt, while Kelly had only saved the sniper at least 35 times... She was gonna owe Linda something or other when they got to this 'Vale' place... And for the first time in her life, Kelly too felt the need for a cold, stiff drink like many Marines she'd heard.
Dodging hardened, large quills launched as projectiles by the Nevermore, Kelly nearly fell over. The other Huntsmen tried to keep the creature away with enough flak... But Kelly was shocked as it dived toward her. She dodged a beak attack, then stabbed into the side of the creature's neck, where she found exposed feathers and flesh. Black mist seeped from the wound and the angry, scarlet-eyed, oversized raven screamed at Kelly, almost blowing her helmet's audio sensors. She gritted her teeth, kicked the creature in the mouth and jumped backward into a flip, landing on her feet as the damn thing scurried toward her...
And she gasped as lightning thundered from the dark sky... And a high-powered, Mach-speed bolt struck through the creature's bone mask, shattering it, blowing its eyes out and sending the corpse tumbling to the side. Another pair of shots echoed in the distance and two bigger Grimm creatures, Ursai, were killed off. And above, an aircraft, thick, with little in the way of armor plating, hovered...
Kelly and Linda both gasped and the Sniper joined Kells as an IFF Flared on screen... An unbelievable IFF... And they saw the Supersoldier clad in the emerald MJOLNIR suit jump down and, with a single blow, shatter the ground below him as he landed. He spun the strange gravity bludgeon in his hand and pummeled three Grimm, sewing them together simply due to the force of the weapon striking them. Their corpses, if they didn't vaporize, flew, halved, into the thick shrubbery of the forest.
"Oh, my goodness... Linda, tell me I'm not seeing things." Kelly asked her friend as the Spartan turned toward them... MJOLNIR Mark VI Armor... Dented, scratched, burned... But with a faint scribbled number on the left side of the plating... 117. The ID Tag confirmed the number... Linda was the first to step up, with Kelly following behind the shooter...
"John? Is that... Really you?" Linda asked with disbelief, her lip trembling in her helmet...
"Linda... Kelly..." John himself spoke, his youthful voice still recognizable. Kelly gasped, then did a sign John recognized. Putting her left hand to her face and using her index and middle finger, she made a semicircle on her helmet's face plate, specifically her visor... A Smile... The Spartan Smile. John couldn't help but actually smile behind his helmet as he placed a hand on Kelly's shoulder, then on Linda's and gave them a nod, responding with the Spartan Smile himself. The girls wanted to hug him, but he was their superior... So instead they saluted proudly.
Chief saluted too... Then spun about and punted a Grimm Creep with his armored boot, sending it sky-high. Kelly chuckled as she readied her sword, then said "Nice kick." as she readied herself to fight. Chief hummed, then readied his Bludgeon, to which Linda raised a brow and walked up beside them too, 50 cal ready. The trio soon heard a voice in their helmets... "Hey, girls! Miss me?"
"Cortana..." Linda said, almost melancholic
"I'll be damned, girl, I was about to ask..." Kelly chuckled.
"Ain't no time for a reunion now. Gotta clear a landing spot for the Pilot... Good to see you both again, though. We have much to talk about, but for now... Sic'em!" Cortana quipped.
The trio of Spartans took fighting stances... And engaged, the two girls now with renewed vigor. John lanced forward, pummeling a Grimm into a tree with his elbow, before slamming another into the floor with his bludgeon and then switching to rifle mode and firing. A round punched through an Ursa, cooking it from the inside out as it exploded... A fire dust crystal embedded within the round. Smart, Ruby. Smart.
Kelly joined in, slicing a Beowolf's arm off and kicking its teeth in as it tried to bite at the Chief, before stabbing it in the throat and throwing it toward another of its companions just before it dissolved. She nodded to Chief, who nodded back. His teammates hadn't rusted in the years he's been out. Linda's sniper thundered twice and a pair of Grimm wound up with neat holes in heir throats, falling to the ground.
Another six shots from the sniper and Linda then joined in, her Bowie Knife out and stabbing. She grabbed a Grimm by the throat and stabbed it at least seven times, before lobbing its head off and tossing the corpse aside. She jumped onto a second one, slit its throat, grabbed a third and tossed it into its friends, then drew her handgun and shot through five more. She threw her knife into a Creep, pinning it to a tree trunk and then kicking it through said tree trunk. She retrieved the knife, then grabbed a Beowolf by the spikes, snapped one off, shoved it down its throat and kicked the creature aside.
All 3 now switched to ranged equipment and emptied entire magazines, with Chief's rounds exploding on contact and killing several dozen of the horde... Enough so to thin it out. The trio of Spartans cooperated, nailing target after target with precise fire. Any smart Grimm ran away before the onslaught became worse... And the Chief raised his clenched fist, showing the Spartans to cease fire. The moment he did that, both Kelly and Linda stopped shooting, only scanning the treeline... Whatever was left of it.
John stowed his weapon on his back, then took his helmet off. Kelly and Linda did the same, revealing their younger looks. Both girls were not holding back their smiles, despite their training. Kelly walked up to John and shoved him in the shoulder, before saying "Sorry, sir, but... All of us thought you were dead. You could've at least called..." and Linda joined Kelly.
"It was a long sleep..." Chief sighed. "Good to see you girls are well, though."
"Likewise, John." Linda noted. "Now, Cortana said there's a lot to be explained right now... We gonna talk aboard the bird?" She then asked as the Bullhead touched down to help the evacuation. The Chief nodded to them. The trio started walking toward the aircraft and loaded up... And from here on out, a lot of explanations would be needed to the two Blue Team members... Many they wouldn't believe at the start. But this was the Chief. Their friend since childhood. They'd do just fine. For the time being, though, the Spartan had to find IDs for them... If not keep their real names, had Cortana any access to their files pre-Recruitment.