I woke up to hear screaming and crashing. I rolled of my bed, put my hands over my head and stayed still. I'm not in war anymore, I thought to myself. I looked up to see Yang pinning Weiss against the wall and yelling at her.
"WHY DID YOU DO IT?!" Yang yelled at Weiss.
"I didn't do it, I swear!" Weiss cried out.
Ruby pulled me aside to explain to me what was happening, because I was confused. "Yang found out Weiss cut her hair." Ruby said, looking back at Yang.
"YOU LIAR! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" Yang screamed at Weiss, possibly scaring our neighbors.
"STOP! No need to be little kids over this! Yang just cool off!" I said, trying to help out. Yang had turned around, glared at me, and went back to pinning Weiss.
"WE DON'T NEED ANOTHER OPERATION MARS!" I yelled at Yang, causing her to look back at me.
"Another what?" Yang asked me, letting go of Weiss.
"Operation Mars. It was a militia thing." I said
"Can we hear the story?" Ruby asked.
"How much time we got?" I asked before I started.
"An hour." Someone said.
I felt the butterflies build up in my stomach, and my hands begin to shake nervously.
"I'll never forget our mistakes." I said before the story began.
"We had been operating out in the South of Vale, and the White Fang decided to mess with us." I said. I looked around to see the faces of my team. I saw Ruby's face, interested in my story; Yang's face, with the look of confusion; Weiss, with pain after Yang pinning her, and I saw Blake's face. Blake had a look that said "I'm sorry." She knew what happened, but she wasn't apart of it, or else she wouldn't be standing here.
I cleared my throat, and continued. "The White Fang had kidnapped some of our men, and we were not happy. We found their location, and launched Operation Mars."
"I was in charge of Task Force Charlie, consisting of a few other kids and an adult. We were in charge of taking the compound from the North, and running perimeter control." I told the team.
"Was Elias there?" Weiss had asked me, while rubbing her shoulder.
"No, he wasn't, thankfully." I responded with a tone of relief.
I got back to the story, and tried to remember it correctly.
"We advanced in the cloak of darkness, with our night vision goggles. This was some special ops stuff we were doing, it felt amazing." I said.
"I remember jumping the 5 foot wall, and landing on the soft grass. We landed behind a dumpster, which was good enough cover. I called up Task Force Echo, which was advancing in the South." I said while I stared into space, picturing the memory in my mind.
"I called them up, I remember them picking up, then going silent. Gun shots had rang through the silent night, and we had to edit the plan on the fly. I told my team to reach the hostages, extract them, then run out to cover." I said, with a sound of regret in my voice.
"That was the stupidest decision ever, I should've went to help Echo." I said, punching the wall in anger of my mistake.
"What happened after your instruction?" Blake asked, trying to help me advance the story.
"We ran into the open, and I lost half my men. The grenade flew into the air, and rolled behind Jacobs. The grenade exploded, and sent us all flying. I was launched off my feet, and came crashing down to the ground. There was a ringing noise in my ears, and I tasted the dirt and blood in my mouth."
"We got up, killed the man, and went inside. We cleared the first room, but ran into trouble coming out of it. We came under machine gun fire, and lost another man. We killed the gunner, and found the hostages. It was just Nathan and I left, and this was our only shot. We kicked in the door, and was met with the sight of the hostages getting shot. Immediately I knew that I had messed up. They shot Nathan, killing him, so I ran." I said, while starting to tear up.
"I ran out of the building, and was shot in the leg. I fell, and got very dizzy. I stood up, and continued running. I ran for what felt like was forever, and was picked up by a Stealth hawk. The light was shined on me, and the helicopter proceeded to land in the grass. I got in, and was flown back to base. I was the only survivor of Operation Mars." I said, striking silence into my team.
"I should've died that day. I should've, but I was lucky." I said, laying back onto my bed. The rest of the team had walked off into their morning routines, seeing as I was done with my story.
I was laying in my bed for about 10 minutes, when I felt my stomach growl. I got up to grab some food, because being hungry on a field trip is not fun. I walked barefoot onto the cold floor of the kitchen, and searched for food. I heard the door open behind me, and I hoped it was Ruby.
"Ethan?" The voice asked.
"Yes?" I asked, turning around to see Ruby.
"Wanna sit with me today in class?" She asked me.
"I would love to." I said, smiling.
She left the room, so I continued my search for food. I gave up, so I just tossed some bread in the toaster. TOAST!, I thought. The toast popped up, so I grabbed the crunchy piece of bread. I bit down on it,and felt full.
"What? That's odd." I said. I wrapped the toast in a paper towel, and placed in the fridge. Kinda dumb spot, but eh who cares, I thought to myself. I left the room, and saw Yang apologizing to Weiss. I walked past them, and grabbed my clothes.
I got my stuff, and went to do my other morning stuff. I took a quick shower, got dressed, then looked in the mirror. Why. Why me. Why did I have to live? I should've died with my squad. I'm lucky, I really am, I thought to myself. I started to mess with my wet hair, when someone knocked on the door.
"Can I come in?" The person behind the door asked.
"Um, yeah. I'm just doing my hair." I responded. The door open, to reveal Blake. She came in, and quickly shut the door behind her.
"Ethan. I'm sorry for what we did. I'm sorry for you, going through all this trauma. It must be hard." She told me.
"It is hard. I suffer from a minor case of PTSD, and which is why I take these." I said, holding up a small orange container.
"I, I didn't know you had PTSD." Blake nervously said.
"I'm fine, it's just minor. The pills really do help. Just please don't go telling everyone." I told her. Blake nodded her head, and walked out.
I took out a pill, and got ready to put it in my mouth. I tossed in in my mouth, and took a swig of water. Boom, done. Let's go, I thought.
I walked out of the bathroom, and could hear doors opening in the hallway. I looked at my scroll, which was laying on my bed, and saw the time. I put my scroll in my pocket, and told the team.
"Class is in 20 minutes, wanna start walking there?" I asked the team. Everyone jumped up, and we walked out the door.
I had been walking close to Ruby, and was smiling. We walked past the cafeteria, which had been cooking for other students today. I could smell breakfast tacos, and was sad.
"Man, I freaking love breakfast tacos." I said as we walked by. I looked to my left, and saw Blake giggling.
"Ah, you can probably make them better then the school does." Ruby said, as the looked at me smiling. I smiled back at her, when Weiss asked us something.
"So, are you two, like together now?"
"Oh, no. Just really good friends, that's all." I told Weiss. Man, I really regret not talking to Ruby at Signal. She's pretty awesome, I thought to myself.
It was about a 10 minute walk to Goodwitch's class, so we got there early. Except, it seemed like we were late due to the amount of people there. Half of her classroom was already seated, waiting for instruction. We chose a seat, and sat down. I was of course sitting my Ruby, as we had agreed on earlier this morning.
"Hello students." Goodwitch started to say.
"As you all know, today we are having a field trip. We will be going to the Forever Fall, which is why I will be telling you all some rules I have." She started to say, while reaching into her pocket. She pulled out a small white paper, and started to read off it.
"Always stay with you team. If something happens, you're team will be there to help you. Next, be quiet when I am talking. Especially at Forever Fall, I will most likely give you some instructions, so it's up to you to be quiet. Lastly, don't die." She said, looking up from her paper.
I started to rub my hand against the hard plastic of the desk, and I felt a hand touch mine. I looked at it, and I found it's owner. I looked over to Ruby, and scooted closer to her.
"You're amazing." I whispered to her.
"You too." Ruby replied.
Goodwitch instructed the class to get up, and head to the airship landing in the front of the school.
On the airship, we sat down with JNPR near the front. Well, most of Team JNPR.
"Where's Jaune?" I asked Pyyhra.
"He's been acting, um, odd lately." Pyyhra responded.
"What's he been doing, P?" I asked.
"He's been hanging out with Cardin. I don't know why though, it's kind of odd."
"If I break Cardin's legs Jaune can't hang out with him!" Nora excitedly contributed. We all let out a small laugh, and continued.
"Yeah, odd. I wonder why?" I said to no one in particular.
"Blackmail, maybe?" Ren said, finally saying a word. Ren had been quiet the the whole ride, except for the occasional grunt of agreement.
"But what would Cardin be blackmailing him with?" Ruby said.
"I don't know, but we'll have to find out." Pyyrha said.
"Everyone ok here?" Goodwitch asked us, startling us with her sudden appearince.
"Yes ma'am!" Everyone cheered back. Goodwitch had looked at me, and signaled for me to come over. We walked into another room, and she started questioning me.
"Ethan, was it true you were in the milita?" She asked me. I nodded, and she asked a follow up question.
"Is there anything that I should know that may affect you now?"
"I suffer from a minor case of PTSD. But no one knows, so please don't tell anyone. I'll tell Ozpin myself." I said, making her wave me off.
I walked back to my seat, and found the two teams in a heated argument, sort of.
"NO! CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES ARE BETTER!" Ruby yelled at Nora.
"NO! PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES ARE BETTER!" Nora yelled back. I started to laugh at the argument, and sat back down.
The two had stopped arguing about cookies, and decided to question me instead.
"What was that about?" Nora asked.
"She was wondering about how I was doing in a dorm filled with girls. I said I was fine." I lied.
"Oh, ok." Nora said, as the airship landed.
"ATTENTION. ALL STUDENTS PLEASE EXIT IN AN ORDERLY FASHION. AND QUICKLY." The airship's PA said. We were smart enough to chose seats near the front, and got off quickly.
Once we got off the airship, we started stretching to get ready for our day, and because sitting in a chair for an hour sucks. I was reaching to my toes, fumbled, and got to feel the nice, soft grass. I'm sorry Jacobs. I'm sorry. I thought to myself.
Once all the students were off, Goodwitch started to give instructions.
"Now students. You are all instructed to gather sap from the trees deep inside the forest. Each of you are going to gather one jar of the red sap. However, this forest is filled with the creatures of Grimm, so be sure to stay by your teammates. We will rendezvous back here at 4 o'clock."
"Come on buddy!" I heard Cardin say behind me. I had turned in just enough time to see him walking off with Jaune at his side.
"Well, let's get going!" Ruby said. We had advanced deep into the forest to complete our task.
Nora and Ren were over getting sap from a tree, but Nora was slowing them down by drinking the sap. Yang was getting sap from a tree by herself, and Blake, Ruby, and I were huddled around a tree.
"Wow, I can't wait to see some Grimm! I'm so eager to fight!" Ruby exclaimed.
"Yeah, me too." I said quietly. I had been a little nervous about fighting today, and a little nervous tell them a big secret.
"Well, that's the last of the sap!" Blake said. I got up and grabbed my stuff, getting ready to move out. All of a sudden though, Team CRDL was sprinting through the wood towards us.
"URSA! URSA!" One of them was shouting. Yang had picked him up, similar to how she did Weiss, and questioned him.
"What? Where?" She asked.
"Back there! It's got Cardin!"
"Jaune!" Pyyhra said, dropping her glass jar. She started to take off, towards the direction CRDL came from.
"P! Wait up!" I yelled at her, starting to sprint too.
Ruby was gaining on me, and eventually passed me, and catching up to Pyyhra. Weiss had also shown up, and was somehow gaining on me, even though she was wearing high heels.
"Oh no!" I heard Pyyhra say from the treeline. I got up closer, and saw Jaune fighting the Ursa.
"That's a big Ursa." I said, dumbstruck at the sight of the big beast.
Weiss had pulled out her rapier, and I got Nightfall ready, when Pyyrha told us to wait. Jaune once again attacked the beast, and I was getting worried. The Ursa had swung at him, as Pyyhra held out her arm. All of a sudden, Jaune's shield moved up perfectly, blocking the swing, and he cut off the monster's head.
"Uh, what?" Ruby asked.
"How did you-" Weiss began to say.
"Well, Ruby has her speed, you have your glyphs, my semblance is polarity." Pyyhra told us.
"Wow, you can control poles." Ruby said.
"No, polarity means that she had control over magnetism." I told her.
"Well, magnets are cool too."
"Wait, where are you going?" Weiss asked Pyyrha as she began to walk off.
"Yeah, shouldn't we tell him what just happened?" Ruby said to Pyyrha.
"We could, or perhaps we could keep it our little secret." Pyyrha said, then walking off. We followed her, and met up with the rest of the crew at the airship.
"Ship leaves in 10." Yang told us.
"Thanks." I said, and went to go sit under a tree. Ruby came and joined me under the tree, and we sat in peace, till I asked her something.
"Ruby, can I tell you a secret or two?"
"Sure, why not."
"First off, you have to know this. I suffer from a small case of PTSD." I said.
"What's that?" She asked me.
"PTSD means post-traumatic-stress-disorder. I'm lucky not to have a major case. But I pray for the ones who do." I said.
"What's the other thing?" She asked me.
"Oh yeah. Well, my semblance is kind of, odd, so to say." I said.
"What is it?"
"Technically it's called Trans-molecular short distance transportation, but I call it ninja vanishing. It's cool, but it's a secret. I'm going to use it against Cardin in class today." I told Ruby.
Goodwitch called everyone onto the airship, and we returned to our previous seats, still without Jaune.
"You know what? I'm taking a nap. Wake me when we get to Beacon, please." I said. I had closed my eyes in the uncomfortable airship chair. Slowly, but surely, I fell asleep.
My dream had started, and I knew exactly what it was. I was staring at a group of kids and a few adults hopping a wall.
"Operation Mars." I stated to myself. I tried to wake myself up, but it wasn't working. I tried to scream, and hopefully make myself scream in real life, making my team wake me up. Sadly, my attempt didn't work, as I couldn't talk louder than a whisper for some reason.
I hopped the wall too, and stood looking at an odd sight. It was me, leading my team. I picked up the radio, and called in.
"No. Don't do it. Don't do it!" I whispered. I quickly realized that they couldn't hear me.
The gunfire had started just then, and we started sprinting. The grenade blew up, and I flew. I stood up, and ran. I stood in shock of how fearless I was that night. Nothing was going to stop me.
"Get the sniper ready." I heard a White Fang say, before I woke up.
"Huh? What did I say?" I asked. I saw the looks of confusion on everyone's faces, when I looked out and saw Beacon.
"Nevermind." I said, getting up from the scratchy chair. I started tasting blood in my mouth, but knew it wasn't there. I got off the ship, and sprinted for the dorm.
I was at the dorm before everyone else, and I waited for the team to get here before I left.
"Ethan! Why did you run?" Weiss asked as she entered the dorm.
"I have to leave guys, I'll be back before we have to go back to class." I told them, before grabbing my helmet and keys. I opened the door, walked out, and let out a sigh. I had started walking down the hallway, when Ruby called my name. I had turned around, to see her running down the hallway.
"Ask me. Now. I'm ready." She said.
"What? Oh, that. Ok! Ruby Rose, will you go out with me?" I asked Ruby. I had been waiting ever since the bike shop to ask her that question.
"Yes. Yes I will, Ethan Mullino." She said, then hugged me. I told her I was going to be late, and needed to go. She let go of me, and I continued to walk to my bike.
I walked out of the school, and into the fresh air of Remnant. I walked into the parking lot, and found my bike. I checked my bike, to see if everything was still there. Alas, my paint was still there. After class I'll do it, I thought to myself. I hopped onto my comfortable seat, and inserted my keys into the ignition. I grabbed the rubber handle bars, and revved the engine once. I smiled, and pulled of the parking lot.
I sped down the highway, as I needed to be in downtown Vale in 10 minutes. I dodged in and out of the lanes, trying not to be hit. I managed to reach the building I needed to be, and in enough time. I turned off my bike, took my keys, and walked into the nice, air conditioned building.
"Oh, hello Ethan! Here to see Doctor Frank?" The receptionist lady asked me as I walked in.
"Oh, hello Sally. Uh, yes I do." I told her, taking a seat in the cushioned chairs.
"I'll contact him immediately." Sally said, disappearing into another room.
I waited for Sally to come back out and tell me that he's ready, but it was taking a while. I looked at the clock that hung on the wall, and found out I had been waiting for almost 20 minutes. Man, I hate waiting rooms, I thought to myself. I took out my scroll, and was about to pull up some busy work, when it started ringing. It was Yang. Now, what would she be calling me about? I thought to myself.
"Hello?" I said, holding up my scroll to my face.
"Hey Ethan, were are you?" Yang asked me.
"Um, the doctor's." I said.
"What? Are you ok?" She asked me with a sound of worry in her voice.
"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just a check up." I told her. I wasn't lying, it was a check up for my PTSD.
"Oh, ok. Congrats by the way." She told me before hanging up. I smiled, and heard the wooden door open behind the receptionist's desk.
"He'll see you now." Sally told me. I nodded, and got up from my seat. As I walked through the sleek wooden door, she shut it behind me. I was left, lonely, in a hall of doors. I knew which door to go to, as I had been going to that door for almost 5 years now. I walked through the door, and saw a new nurse. The nurse had a tattoo on the back of her neck, and it was familiar for some reason. When she turned around, I couldn't believe my eyes. It was my foster sister, Jules.
"Jules! Long time no see!" I said to her.
"Ethan! How's Beacon?" She asked me. I took a seat on the bed, covered with scratchy paper, as you were supposed to.
"It's great. I see you followed you career path." I told her. When her parents adopted me, one the first thing I knew about her was she was smart. Everyday I would find her in her room with dolls, pretending to be a doctor. She would even prescribe them pills. She wanted to help people, like me, just in a different way.
We had been talking small talk, and she was doing the normal stuff. Half way through checking my blood pressure though, my scroll started ringing. I hadn't put it in my pocket all the way, and it fell out of my pocket onto the bed. I looked at it, to see Ruby was calling me.
"Can I take it?" I asked my sister, checking to see if she was done. She nodded, and I picked my phone up, and answered the call. I immediantly heard the beatiful voice of Ruby.
"Hey Ethan, um, Cardin came by looking for you. He told us to tell you to be scared." She told me, with a confused tone.
"If he come's back, tell him to get ready for a trip to the E.R." I told Ruby, and hung up.
"Who's that?" Jules asked me.
"Oh, my girlfriend. Just some school stuff." I told her as the doctor walked in.
"Sup Doc." I said as he sat down on a stool. He waved Jules out of the room, and the questions began.
"What brings you here today?" Doc asked me.
"Just another report of my PTSD." I said, staring into space.
"What happened, and when?" He asked me. I found the memory of this morning, and told him.
"Two of my teammates were yelling at each other this morning. It woke me up, and I panicked. I hadn't took my pills yet." I told him.
"Oh, ok. Anything else?" Doc asked.
"No sir." I responded.
"Ok, you can go. We'll charge you electronically." He told me as I walked out of the room.
I waved bye to Sally, and walked into the hot sun. I walked over to my bike, and checked my scroll. Class started in half an hour, and it was a 10 minute drive back to school. I had decided to stop at a nearby store to get Ruby some cookies. I pulled out onto the street, and went to the store. I got into the parking lot, parked near the front, and got off. I walked into the store, and saw the familiar figure. Instead of chasing it this time though, I decided to ignore it, and see what it would do. I walked to the snacks, and grabbed some chocolate chip cookies.
I walked up to the cashier, and the figure was not far away. I managed to see a bit of it, before it took off. It was male, with brown hair. I got my cookies, and went back to my bike. I put the cookies in the little storage department, and hopped on. I went to put the keys in the ignition, and there was a note.
Long time, no see.
375, Candy Apple Loop, Vale.
3:30, Next Week, Saturday Evening.
What the? Who is this person? I thought to myself. I put the note in my pocket, and started the bike. I took off, and went back to Beacon. When I got back to Beacon, I sprinted back up to the room.
"Well, that took a while." Blake said as I walked in. I tossed the Pop tarts at here, and she caught them and ran. I tossed my Gatorade on my bed, and went into the front room.
Ruby and Yang were sitting on the couch, and Ruby turned to see who opened the door.
"Ethan!" Ruby squealed, and jumping over the back of the couch. She sprinted over to me, and hugged me. I felt her soft cloak, and the smell of her rose scented perfume. I hugged back, when Weiss walked in.
"Am I interrupting anything?" She asked as she walked in. We stopped hugging, and responded.
"No." Ruby and I responded in unison.
"Well, I came into to tell you guys that class starts in a few. Blake and I are already walking out, if you wanna join." Weiss told us.
"We probally should." I said, looking at Yang and Ruby. They nodded, so we walked out to grab our books.
I had opened my drawer where my books were, and reached for an old object. I picked up the piece of metal, which had no signifcance to others, and looked at it with revenge in my eyes. I'll kill them. They're good as dead, I thought to myself. I was holding my knife. That knife had been with me my whole life, it was a reminder of the revenge I would take against the militia. They took away my childhood, and I wouldn't be able to take it back.
"You coming?" Blake asked me. I put the knife in my belt, and walked out the door.
"Do you smell that?" Ruby asked once I was outside.
"It smells like...syrup." I said, then stared at JNPR's door. We shrugged it off, and walked to class.
Weiss had seen the look of revenge on my face, and asked me what was wrong.
"I'm going to kill them. All of them. They stripped me of the one thing I needed. A childhood filled of fun and friends and school, not filled with gunfire." I said, wincing at the memories.
"But I thought you volunteered?" Yang asked.
"I did, for my father. He was going to be released if I didn't join. They said he didn't have control over me. He did, we would train, every single day, and they still said it. I joined, to show them he had control over me." I said, feeling the memories tearing apart my heart.
"I'm sorry that you didn't get a childhood." Weiss said, and walked a little faster.
We got to class, and took or seats. I took out a piece of paper, instead of watching Jaune and Cardin fight. I was sketching up a plan to defeat Cardin.
"That's it." I heard Goodwitch said. I was still drawing, when she asked for volunteers.
"I'll fight!" I said.
"Ok, and who will fight Ethan?" Goodwitch asked.
"I will." Cardin said. Both RWBYE and JNPR gave me looks, and I just smiled.
I walked down to the stage, and pulled out my knife. I wasn't using Nightfall because I left it at the dorm. The fight started, and the fun began.
Cardin swung at me, and I dodged. He swung again, and I dodged. He swung once more, and hit me in the chest with his weapon. I felt the coldness of the metal, and the stiffness of the floorboards. I got up, right as he swung. I ninja vanished, going behind him, and kicked him to the lost grip of his weapon, and dropped it, making the floorboards creak.
I smacked him, and I looked up to the "scoreboard" to see his Aura had gone down a bit. I kicked him in the side, making it go down more. I stepped back, letting him fight back. He charged at me, and I charged at him. He swung, and I jumped a few feet in the air. I came down, and crushed him, depleting his Aura to halfway.
I got up to let him fight back, when he grabbed my leg causing me to fall. All of a sudden I felt a warm felling running down my face, and I reached up to feel blood. My nose was bleeding. The switch in my head turned on, and I accepted it. I reached over, grabbed his leg and twisted it. Cardin let out a scream, signaling I broke something.
"ENOUGH!" Goodwitch yelled at me. She used her telekinesis, and flung me against a wall. I hit wall, and the world went black. I blacked out.
I woke up in the nurse's office, with Ruby by my side. I was laying on a soft, white bed, in a room with medical equipment.
"You okay?" Ruby asked me.
"Um, yeah." I told her.
The door had opened, revealing Ozpin. He had been holding his mug, as he always had, and looked at me.
"You, you are a great fighter. Who taught you?" He asked me, taking a seat in a chair in the corner of the room.
"The militia."
"Oh, ok. Just wondering. Thank you for solving our little... problem." He told me, taking a sip from his mug.
"What problem?" I asked.
"Cardin."
"Breaking his leg really showed him." Ruby said.
"How long was I asleep? I asked.
"A few days. Ms Goodwitch went, overboard. But don't worry, you're fine." Ozpin said, before getting up and leaving. With Ozpin leaving, that gave me some quiet time with Ruby.
"How long have you been here?" I asked Ruby, holding her hand.
"Ever since they put you in here. I was worried." She told me. She had reached into her pocket, pulling out a piece of paper.
"This slipped out of your pocket." She said handing it to me.
"Thanks. This person has been following me, and they left this on my bike. I was going to tell everyone about it the day before, and try to get ya'll to go." I said to her.
Ruby had been looking very tired, so I told her something. "Go to sleep. You've earned it." I told her.
"I don't want to leave." She said.
"Then don't. I'm not forcing you to leave." I told her. She smiled, and leaned back in her chair, closing her eyes.
"Goodnight." I said.
Okay, first off I wanna say I'm sorry for the lack of chapters. I've had writers block lately, and alot of schoolwork. My writer's block had gone away, but not the schoolwork. I took some time off of it to finish this chapter, because I felt bad about the lack of writing. Thank you for reading, and have a nice day.
