Team JPDE had awoken at midday to Dylan donning his armor, followed by Kells and Linda. Jack, as she stood up from her bed and put on her usual day clothes that she wore outside of school, asked "What's up, Dylan, girls? Something coming our way we should know about?" as she also grabbed the pack containing her weapon. Kelly, Linda and the Chief looked to each-other, then to Jack.
"A couple of our friends just popped up in Vale. Got a signal and this time we're going in to recover them." Kelly explained, holding close the sword she'd recovered.
"Oh, wow. Well, thanks for telling us! We never got to tag along when he found you two." Evelyn smirked, readying her batons. "Guess we make up for that mistake now!" It was about noon, so lunchtime. The bunny gal then noted "And we can eat lunch in town!" to which the Spartans all looked to each-other and Cortana chuckled. It was true, they needed backup in case of everything, but... Right now, he wasn't so sure the girls would not reveal the UNSC.
The Chief nodded as they walked out of the Room, then switched off his external helmet microphones and spoke quietly "The moment we reach the girls, I want you to brief'em, Cortana. Tell'em what to say and what not to say." to which he received a hum from Cortana. She agreed... As they walked out of the Dorms to the Bullhead landing, Chief held close his weapon, while Kelly and Linda donned their patrol weapons. Simple Handguns...
Climbing aboard the Bullhead, Penny was the first to ask "So, Dylan. Who are these teammates of yours?"
"Their names are Cal and Daisy." Linda said, leaning forward. "A good scout and a damn fine melee fighter. Daisy has a thing for CQC that I've not seen in many Spartans. Hell, Kelly and Daisy used to train together in hand-to-hand and knife combat." and all gazes turned to Kelly, who gave a thumbs up, arranging her helmet and sword and readying her handgun.
"That's cool." Jack smirked "I wonder if Daisy will want a spar."
"I believe there's a high chance of that, Jack." Penny offered, smiling. "What about Cal? He sounds interesting."
"She is a scout, as I stated. Served as my spotter once during a combat mission and she called out targets, windage and distance so accurately I was questioning her later if she had a range finder installed in her brain." Linda then said, with the girls raising brows and turning to John/Dylan, who was loading magnetic slugs into his magazine, these ones fitted with lightning dust mini-crystals inside.
He turned to them and saw Evelyn staring at him with perverted intrigue, Jack with a grin and Penny with a hint of surprise... He shrugged and asked "What?" so nonchalantly, Evelyn planted a palm on her forehead and laughed. Jack rubbed her eyes, shaking her head. And Penny still sat there, surprise evident in her wide, emerald eyes... Kelly and Linda gazed at each-other, confused...
"Dude... Your entire squad female?" Jack asked.
"No." The soldier returned.
"Then what's with all the women?" Evelyn quipped. John shrugged and turned back to his weapon, making Evelyn sigh in annoyance. She chuckled, then shook her head... The bird swung by overhead of their landing spot in the Commercial District and the soldiers and Huntresses quickly disembarked, keeping their weapons close in case of any threat. As they strolled through the streets, they started feeling unease.
Stepping into the alleyways of the district, where small-time vendors would usually reside, they found them rather desolate, empty, devoid of any sign of life save for trash and small critters like rats. That was until they turned a corner and took pause as they saw a tide of blood stemming from... A squadron of White Fang soldiers turned into corpses, bearing cut marks and bullet wounds from Dust-infused rounds...
Standing, one of them leaning against a wall and twirling a big fuck-off knife in between her fingers and wearing a red armor, the other wearing a set of emerald. Red let the knife balance on the tip of her index finger as she cocked her head to the left. And she took off her helmet, letting the knife fall into her hand, then quickly sheathing it. The blonde, blue-eyed beauty grinned as she saw Chief, Kelly and Linda, then said "Well, hello, ladies and gentleman."
"... Can't believe it's you guys." Cal noted, smiling as she too removed her helmet.
"By the Twin Gods, Dylan... These chicks are hot!" Evelyn grinned. "I mean, not like Kells and Lin aren't hot too, but c'mon! Look at this! Dylan, what kinda Harem are you running?!"
Cal chuckled and Daisy burst into laughter... And Evelyn then froze as she saw the twitching wolf ears and called out "Ohmygawd you're a wolf Faunus!" with a wide smile. Cal raised a brow, then looked to Daisy, who shrugged and nodded. Kelly and Linda also removed their helmets and looked at the corpses around, brows raised, then noticed the weapons the girls brandished.
"You gals took on these White Fang members?" Kelly asked.
"Yup... That's what they're called, huh?" Daisy smirked.
"Yeah." Linda nodded. "It's nice to see you both." Then she made a hand signal to her ear and a quick spell of the name Cortana with her mouth, enough so that JPDE didn't catch it... Well, most of them didn't. Daisy and Cal both nodded, grinning, then Linda added "Well, c'mon. We've got a bird waiting for us to head back to Beacon... Dylan, I and Kells will go talk to the Headmaster about inducting the girls. Do you mind heading right back to the dorm?"
"Not at all." The Chief noted. Cal and Daisy exchanged glances, then nodded to each-other and slid their helmets back on their heads. Kelly and Linda followed suit and they soon heard Cortana talk "... So I didn't get a chance to introduce myself, ladies. Aside from my name, you must know that I'm Chief's personal AI assistant and hacker extraordinaire. Seriously, pit me against any security system and I'll break it."
"Thanks for reminding me... Cortana, the CCTS tower you hacked." The Chief asked, once again restricting his voice to his helmet alone. He heard Cortana hum, then asked "Did you let us get found on purpose? You don't usually slip up like that." and he saw Cortana flash onto his HUD, grinning and crossing her arms. The Spartan gave a half-mouthed grin as a response and said "I figured you would've."
"Had to get found, Chief. Figured we'd have been seen as threats anyway, so why not?" She shrugged.
"Could've saved us the trouble of challenging Ms. Goodwitch." He offered.
"You're no fun, John. Live a little, you gained your childhood back after all... I still am processing how the hell that happened, by the way."
"Hmm." Chief nodded, arranging his ammunition within his armor's pockets. He looked back, to see Penny staring suspiciously at Linda and them. She was hiding it pretty well, but John could tell, even with the girl's smile, she was curious. Must've caught Linda speaking in a whisper to Daisy and Cal about Cortana. He looked forward as they arrived at the Bullhead. The flight back was filled with chatter, that he tried to ignore as he scanned the skyline of Vale...
Back within Vale...
The white-haired boy had exited a store... He had a badge on his chest, reading the name Howard in black letters. He dusted his clothes off, then said to himself "Man, impersonating a cop is fun..." before looking to and stopping a woman and her daughter and asking "'Scuse me, ma'am. Did you see anyone running through here about a week ago? Clad in heavy armor and dashing through the streets."
"Oh, yes, officer." The woman smiled. "I did see the person you're describing."
Score...
"He was with a young, ginger girl. They faced off against a woman with blonde hair from Beacon, if I recall... She tried to grab the man."
NOT SCORE.
"... You mean Glynda Goodwitch, right hand woman of Headmaster Ozpin? And how'd that go?" Howard then inquired. The woman shrugged and answered "They left calmly on a Bullhead without further altercation."
"Alrght... Thanks ma'am..." Howard said, before walking off and swearing to himself several times... If Ozpin had gotten to the Flame first, it'd be quite heavily defended at this point. That meant he'd need the others to have a chance at getting to it... God dammit... God fucking dammit, why did he have to bring her into this? He could've easily done this without issue...
Beacon. Team JPDE's dorm... Later that day.
"Hell. No." Evelyn's voice resounded, clear-cut and powerful.
"Carrots, I swear, get the hell out of my way before I tie your furry ears together and slam you through that door!" Jack returned with anger. Chief rubbed his eyes, then sighed as he heard Jack say "I just want to make Dylan and his teammates some food for when they come back! So move your ass!" to which Evelyn further extended her physical block against the door.
"No... I ain't gonna let you poison Dylan or his friends." Evelyn growled.
"ALRIGHT!" Chief called out, standing up and looking at them as he set the last piece of his armor on the stand. He walked toward the door and stepped between them, then said "Are you actually blocking physical access to the kitchen from Jack?" crossing his arms as he stared at Evelyn, who nodded vehemently and pointed at him, before answering "For your own safety, trust me!"
"... Wow, I need to be safe from food." Chief deadpanned, making Jack snort. He looked to Penny, who was happily brushing her hair, then asked "What's your take on this, Penny?"
Penny looked to Chief, then stood up from her bed and walked up to them, before saying "To be quite honest, Dylan, I believe the best way to solve this would be through a taste test." to which the Chief took a moment. That could actually solve this food issue once and for all. And he'd finally not have to hear them argue over this damn food thing for the rest of the school year.
"Capital idea, Penny." The Spartan nodded.
"... Alright then. Pancakes. Two plates, one from me, one from Evelyn. We'll see who's a better cook right now." Jack snarled.
"You're right the fuck on." Evelyn returned, grinning.
"Oh, and I and Dylan can be judges!" Penny happily suggested. The Chief flinched and shook his head, but before he got another word in, the two girls had already dashed into the kitchen to work... An hour or so passed and the noises coming from the kitchen somewhat worried the Chief. What pancakes, even Remnant ones, would make such sounds while being cooked?
On the inside, however... As they mixed...
"Hey, watch out!" Evelyn snapped.
"You watch out!" Jack returned.
"You're making a damn mess..." Evelyn said, then got elbowed in the face by Jack... By mistake, might we add... And she growled, feeling her nose, then snapped "YOU... YOU OAF ON STILTS!"
"WHAT DID YOU SAY TO ME, CARROT BOOBS?!"
... Chief was afraid of the cleanup more than anything. He shook his head... Anyways, the blunder had ended, with the girls knocking at the door... Evelyn spoke "Uh... Penny, Dylan? We're... Kinda done, but we need to change. Would you mind waiting in the balcony?" to which the Spartan and Atlesian looked at each-other and nodded. They opened the door, sitting out on the balcony... After the girls had changed, the duo saw that the events produced a pair of identical plates of pancakes, with syrup and whipped cream as well as two glasses of milk. The Kitchen, from the single glance Chief had gotten, was totaled.
"... Well, they look normal." Chief offered.
"Yup... Now, shall we begin?" Penny chirped, grabbing her fork and knife... The Chief sat down too, grabbing his utensils. He checked his scroll, then looked to Penny, who nodded and said "Let's go." before the two cut pieces from their respective pancake stacks and ate them... Oh, thank the maker, John found the pancakes to be actually normal, quite tasty even... He'd not eaten these since... Since Eridanus. He sighed, then gave a nod as he saw Penny not react in any bad way to the other stack. Thank goodness, Evelyn was wrong.
Jack smirked, then said "See, told you!" to which Evelyn raised a brow...
As the Chief and Penny switched plates, the Spartan also used the glass of milk to clear the taste of pancakes still lingering in his mouth. He then looked at the other plate expectantly, cutting a piece, putting it in his mouth... And freezing. His training helped in keeping the food in his mouth. This wasn't a normal pancake. The texture, parts of the taste, they were still there... But it was as if it was overfilled with an overpowering, vile taste. The Chief pushed the tainted food behind his tastebuds and swallowed... He shook his head and dunked three gulps of milk down his throat.
As Penny and the Spartan stood up and dusted themselves off... Jack said proudly "Told you there was nothing wrong with my cooking! It's great!"
Sorry, Partner... It really wasn't.
"So? Who won?" Evelyn asked, grinning.
"You did, Evelyn." The girl stated bluntly... Like a hammer.
"What?!" Jack asked, surprised... And John saw a hint of sadness in her eyes. She looked to Chief with hope, but he didn't say anything, sighing... She gasped and started "No, this can't be... This is my mother's recipe. All of the food I make is my mother's recipes and I follow them to a T! I'm sure it can't be that bad!" and Chief saw a tear that the girl quickly hid by looking away.
"... Oh, Gods, so that's what this was about." Evelyn noted, surprised.
"Your pancakes weren't bad, Jack." Penny said calmly, surprising both Evelyn and her. She looked to the Spartan, then asked "Dylan. Barring the taste, how were Jack's pancakes?"
"Barring taste? They felt like they were meant to be pancakes. They just had an overpowering taste... of... I do not know." Chief shrugged, making Jack and Evelyn tilt their heads, confused... Penny smiled, then spoke "Cinnamon. Your pancakes were over-saturated with Cinnamon, Jack." making the girl's eyes go wide. Evelyn took pause for a moment as Jack rambled about ounces and then walked toward the Kitchen. The Chief knew that mess was his to clean... As Evelyn avoided the mess, she found a small container and looked over it...
"You have to be fucking kidding me!" She exclaimed, then stomped out and walked toward Jack, opened the cap of the container and shoved it in Jack's face, before saying "Take a whiff of this!" and putting it below Jack's nostrils... The girl sniffed once and her face contorted into one of disgust, before she backed off and covered her nose, coughing and trying to stop the bile from rising in her throat...
"What did you do to my cinnamon, Carrots!?" She demanded, staring at Evelyn.
"I didn't do shit... This is Mistrali-brand Cinnamon!" The bunny girl snapped.
"Mistrali brand?" The girl once again went wide-eyed... "Oh, my god... How... How stupid was I!?"
"Dylan, to explain the situation to you, there's two varieties of Cinnamon on Remnant. Mistrali and Vacuo... The former is about 10 times as potent." Evelyn noted, chuckling awkwardly.
"And I was blasting my food with the stuff! No wonder everything I made came out tasting like crap!" Jack groaned, planting a palm on her face. "Can you imagine the shit we could've avoided? All the bile wasted? All the endless nights of torture?"
"Had I been less abrasive?" Evelyn sighed.
"And had I been more... Prone to accept criticism?" Jack noted... She chuckled.
"What?" Evelyn raised a brow.
"It's funny... But hey, at least the shit's over, right?" Jack said "Sorry about that, Evelyn." And she rubbed the back of her neck. Evelyn chuckled, then patted her friend on the shoulder and said "It's alright, Jack... I'm sorry for all the stuff I said too." before Jack nodded. The two smiled at each-other, while Chief looked over to Penny, who smiled and gave a thumbs up.
He nodded...
Later on in the night, Chief once again sat alone on the balcony, checking his Scroll as Linda, Daisy, Cal and Kelly joined him on the deck. The lattermost smirked and said "Hey, Chief. Looks like you and your team aren't the only ones cursed by the names missing a letter. Say hello to team Lilac." before sitting down next to the Chief. "So... Any news?"
"Nothing for now. Cortana's working on some anomaly she's found..." Chief noted, staring out into the distance.
"Jeez..." The girls noted.
Play Goblin Slayer OP:Rightfully, by Milli
"That Cortana chick is new, Chief. How long have you been working together?" Daisy inquired, holding an MRE. Chief raised seven fingers, to which the girl nearly choked on her food. He nodded, then shrugged. So AIs were also affected by whatever de-aged them... As Kelly was about to join in and ask what the hell was going on, they all froze as Cortana's image flashed onto the phone with a quick warning.
"Chief, girls, sorry to cut this chatter short, but please take a look at the Scroll. All of you. Now." She demanded rather seriously. The Spartan took the phone and they all gathered, hunched around the small device... A Map of Remnant, more specifically, Vale and its surrounding areas, flashed on. Multiple yellow dots flaked the man, appearing and disappearing at intervals. Chief counted at least 28 dots close by to Vale. A few dozen more outside it, in mountain ranges and near by the seas, on a small island known as Patch... All of the dots appeared at different spots... And all had IFFs.
"Cortana... What is this?" Kelly raised a brow, surprised.
"... I can't honestly say without sounding crazy, Kelly." Cortana's face appeared on a corner of the screen, smiling. The Chief took a moment as Cortana said "It's multiple small Slipspace Ruptures... All of which bear at least one IFF with them. I'm not gonna lie, I'm either losing my mind, Remnant's CCTS systems are, or... These are all what we know very well they are. I've also triangulated where all the powered Ruptures are coming from... And I believe, girls and boy, I may've found the first piece of the puzzle... The first piece that can answer why we're all here. And why we're all at least 7 years below what our real ages are. It's located about 300 Klicks outside Vale, in the mountain range serving as a natural barrier. But the IFFs... There's so many of them... Do you think...?"
"... No way..." Daisy smiled. "No way, you're not telling us..."
"Friendly IFFs? And this many?" Cal steepled her hands together, smiling too as her ears twitched cutely out of joy.
"My God..." Linda smiled too, hiding her mouth with her hand.
"... Spartans, looks like we've got our job cut out for us." John said sternly. "Cortana, see how many dots and IFFs you can isolate at the start and give us coordinates. See if you can't ping them via Radio and tell them to converge on locations nearest to them. If this is truly and honestly them, we can't take any chances." He then ordered calmly. "We all want them home..."
Cortana saluted and said "Aye aye, Chief! Already on it."
"Let's be ready to go out and grab them, girls... Our family's expanding." The Chief gave a nod.
"Aye aye, sir!" The four Spartans cheered silently.
This was it... Something very big was happening...
This was the End of the Beginning...