Chapter 57- Tenth Percentile
I have extra time on my hands because of the Coronavirus. Schools, many public places, etc have been closed in my area.
"He is! I respect professor Port." Weiss huffed.
Blake grimaced slightly, "I respect him too, but not enough to listen to his ramblings."
"He does teach important lessons." Ren commented, "Grimm theory, strategies to avoid attracting Grimm, how to defeat certain Grimm, and more."
"I just wish he would teach those lessons without the stories around them." Yang sighed. "At least he captures Grimm for us to fight."
"We're fortunate enough to have him early in the day." Pyrrha commented. "Grimm don't last long in captivity."
Weiss chuckled, "The boarbatusk I fought was glad to be out of its cage."
"He hasn't been able to catch anything near as cool as a boarbatusk again, you got to fight the only one." Nora complained.
"I think he's able to, just isn't allowed to." Pyrrha chuckled, "I distinctly remember Professor Goodwitch scolding him some time after that class."
Nora groaned, "Well if he can't bring them here why can't we go to them."
"You should bring that up with professor Port, but he probably has a reason- er professor Goodwitch probably has a reason." Pyrrha corrected herself.
Nora nodded, "After the season, and after me and Yang fight!"
Yang grinned and Ren nodded, "My bets are still on Nora, you may be using her hammer in the fight but Nora can still pack a punch, especially with your gauntlets."
Yang shrugged, "I've never fought with a hammer, but it can't be too hard."
Ruby and Nora groaned.
"Try getting used to the weight." Nora laughed, "You can be strong but you need balance."
Ruby nodded, "Remember how long it took me to get used to the one sided weight of Crescent Rose?"
Yang pursed her lips, "Good point."
Jaune looked between them, "Well if you're done, I'm ready for the next episode. We should be getting really close."
Ren nodded, "The past two seasons have been 19 episodes."
"Tenth Percentile" appeared on the screen with the theme.
"What does that mean?" Nora asked.
"It's the group that scored above only ten percent of the people who took a test." Ren explained.
Yang sighed, "Are they making this a theme? Last episode was standardized testing and now this."
Ren grimaced, "I hope it doesn't become a theme, I like the memory themed titles much more."
Fade in to Sarge running up to Simmons and Grif meddling with FILSS
FILSS: "That is not an approved operation-hey! Watch it buddy!"
"They're messing with her treads." Yang quipped.
Simmons: "Can you show me the data logs?"
FILSS: "Affirmative."
Sarge: "Simmons, any progress in restoring the Blues?"
"FILSS's entry on the blues is missing." Pyrrha commented, "I fear she may not be able to help."
Blake grinned, "I have a guess for something that could happen, but it might be a spoiler."
"What?" Ruby asked.
Blake shrugged, "A guess, just what I think could happen."
"Well it's just a guess, go ahead." Jaune gestured for her to say it.
"I'm guessing FILSS won't be able to restore the blues, but if they go to the base Tex and Church went to. They can, it'll be their incentive to leave." Blake explained.
"That sounds like it could happen." Jaune nodded.
"I've noticed you look at stories from an.. objective view. Like looking at a format." Ren commented.
Blake nodded, "I read a lot, it's kind of instinctive."
Simmons: "It's a lot of data entry Sir. I was thinking I could hack the mainframe and reroute the data stream to-"
"Hack the mainframe." Jaune chuckled, "He's the one who got mad at Grif for suggesting that."
FILSS: "Or, we could just restore from an archive database."
Blake grinned, "Here it comes."
"Sounds like your theory is coming true." Ruby commented.
"That means you spoiled it for us!" Nora shouted.
Blake chuckled, "So it's only a spoiler if I'm right?"
"Yes." Nora nodded.
Simmons: "What?"
FILSS: "This is an off-site fallback facility. It is designed to have archives in case of data loss. Blue Team rosters would certainly be a part of that."
Simmons: "Really?"
Blake frowned, "Hmm."
FILSS: "Yes. In fact, I am glad you pointed out the database anomaly. I had noticed it before, but did not have time to investigate. Strange."
Simmons: "Oh. Okay, yeah, restore that then."
FILSS: "Done."
Pyrrha laughed, "It was that easy."
Blake nodded, "Yeah…"
"You were wrong, not a spoiler." Nora grinned.
Blake smiled, "See that's what I like about this show, it doesn't have a regular format. It's unexpected."
"It still took you a while to like the show." Ruby pointed out.
Blake nodded, "Well it was childish and vulgar, still is somewhat."
Weiss chuckled and nodded in agreement.
Simmons: "Great."
Pyrrha frowned, "He sounds upset, he just finished their goal for almost two seasons."
"It was kind of too easy though." Nora explained, "Like getting ready to fight a huge Grimm only to fight a beowolf."
Pyrrha chuckled, "That explains it, thank you Nora.
FILSS: "You seem disappointed. Did I do it too quickly, and make you look bad?"
Simmons: "No…"
Nora giggled, "She stole his thunder."
FILSS: "I could always pretend that you hacked me, if it would make you look better to your friends."
Simmons: "Stop patronizing me."
FILSS: "Affirmative. Patronizing subroutines are now offline."
Blake laughed, "That's still patronizing."
Simmons: "You're still patronizing me aren't you."
FILSS: "Kind of."
"I like FILSS." Blake smiled.
"I do too." Weiss added, "She's kind of like Lopez."
"Good thing he's not dead." Nora smiled, "I wonder when Donut and Lopez will come back."
Jaune shrugged, "It was a deleted scene, so probably not for a while."
"Or at all." Blake remarked dryly, "It was deleted for a reason."
Nora gasped, "Have you no heart! They wouldn't dangle Donut being alive in front of us only for him to actually be dead."
Blake shrugged, "Maybe, it wouldn't make sense to film the scene if he was planned to stay dead."
Grif: "Hmm."
Sarge: "What is it Grif?"
Grif: "This is weird, i-if I'm reading this right there's a bunch of other red and blue bases."
"I thought they already knew that, they've at least…" Ruby began counting on her fingers. "Fanatics, rats nest? I think that's what it was, wherever Caboose was." She mumbled "Been to three others!"
"The windmill too." Blake added.
"Four!" Ruby nodded.
Sarge: "Of course there are Grif! The war is huge. The fate of the Galaxy rests in the balance."
Jaune raised an eyebrow, "They were training right? For the freelancers. Wash said it in season six."
Blake nodded, "But none of them believed him."
Grif: "Or, not."
Sarge: "What's that mean?"
"Looks like they're about to find the truth themselves." Ren commented.
Pyrrha bit her nails, "I don't like this."
Grif: "Here, check this out, I'm looking at the list of missions for all the different bases, and some of them look... familiar."
"They had a mission?" Ruby asked.
"Wasn't it something like, kill all the blues, do not die. Try to win." Jaune said sarcastically.
Yang snorted, "Yeah, Those were the top secret plans in Lopez's head."
Weiss laughed, "I bet he switched them to Spanish just to make it harder for the rest."
Simmons: "Let me see. Huh, apparently they set up bases in various locations and then send a Freelancer in for... training purposes."
Sarge: "Training?"
Grif: "Practice."
Sarge: "Practice?"
Simmons: "Yeah, the Reds and Blues are just there to test the skills of the Freelancers."
"Just like Wash said." Blake mumbled.
Sarge: "You mean the Blues."
Simmons: "No I mean both of them, ah- both of us. It says here that 'simulation bases will present scenarios that may occur for Freelancer agents in a galactic battle field.'"
"I doubt freelancers would face anything like the reds and blues in a real battlefield." Weiss commented.
Sarge: "Simuwatshin?"
Grif: "He means we're like lab rats."
"Grif is straight to the point, that's exactly what they are." Jaune commented. "We had that theory too."
"It's finally confirmed." Blake added.
Jaune nodded, "There's a small theory I've had for a bit, but I don't think it's right."
"What is it?" Nora asked, "Is it that Church is actually a ghost! Sarge and Caboose are freelancers? That the Meta is an A.I!"
Jaune and everyone else gave her quizzical looks. "No." Jaune started, "It was that the portal room in season two is the base they're in right now."
Nora sagged, "Oh.. boooring!"
"Interesting theory." Ren smiled, "There's nothing to prove it wrong."
"Or true." Jaune shrugged.
Sarge: "What- what- that's nonsense! We've been through so much! We had that whole battle with the Blues for the, somethinerother and, then we set off that bomb thingy, and we got blasted through time, and we met an alien and that guy got pregnant."
Yang laughed, "That's a better summary of the blood gulch chronicles than I could have done."
Nora grinned, "Because it's Sarge."
Simmons: "According to this that isss, Scenario 3."
Sarge: "Three!?"
Grif: "Why us though?"
Simmons: "Let me see, let me see, thuh... 'bases are outfitted with matching weapons and vehicles to ensure long conflict and are staffed by... low level operatives?'"
Pyrrha frowned, "Ensuring a stalemate, that's cruel."
"Everything they did to the Reds and Blues is cruel." Weiss added, "If they sent freelancers into every base, what do you think happened when they sent the Meta in? Back when he was agent Maine."
Blake grimaced, "If he was anything like he is now, it would have been bad."
Grif: "Hey, who's that report calling low level? Stupid report. Punch it."
Simmons: "The candidates for Red and Blue squads will be culled from enlisted army ranks based on low test scores and poor field skills so as to not be missed on our-"
Grif: "That actually does sound like me. What about you, I thought you were smart? Did you have low test scores too?"
"Tenth percentile." Ren nodded, "The episode title makes sense now."
"And their incompetence." Weiss chuckled.
"What was Simmons saying?" Pyrrha asked. "As to not be missed by their what?"
Weiss frowned, "Their commanding officers? the freelancer Project wasn't very legal."
Pyrrha shook her head, "It's just wrong."
Jaune nodded, "If I was a soldier, I would have been in the tenth percentile. I'd be a Red or Blue."
"Jaune you've made leaps an-" Pyrrha started.
Jaune laughed, "Pyrrha I meant before you started training me."
"Oh sorry." Pyrrha apologized.
Simmons: "Hey those time limits aren't fair, it should be important that I know the information, not how fast I know it."
Yang laughed, "That sums up my rant I could have gone on last episode."
Ruby groaned, "I know! I'm fast but not on tests! You're supposed to be able to think."
Weiss nodded, "I support teachers and the school system. But I agree with you. At least things like that aren't here, but at Atlas…"
Ruby chuckled, "Professor Ozpin probably didn't allow it, his way of teaching is...let's just say odd."
Grif: "Geeze, guess I hit a nerve."
Simmons: "And don't even get me started on the number 2 pencils."
"I've actually never had a problem with that." Yang commented.
Grif: "Well Sarge, I always said Command was full of- Sarge?"
Cut to Sarge walking away slowly.
Nora gasped, "No. no! Not a serious sad moment with Sarge! He's always been funny!"
Cut to Caboose standing in front of a makeshift red base.
"What's that?" Nora asked halfheartedly.
Caboose: "Ah that's good. Eh, maybe a little to the left."
Grif: "What is all this?"
Caboose: "Oh, this is new Red Base. Welcome."
Pyrrha smiled, "He built a new red base? That's sweet."
Simmons: "When did you build this?"
Caboose: "Oh I didn't build this. Your Sergeant did."
Pyrrha frowned, "Oh, still sweet that he's helping."
Grif: "What? He built this? When?"
Caboose: "Oh, just now."
Grif: "He walked out of the room like ten seconds ago!"
"What? Oh I thought some time had passed." Weiss frowned.
"Sarge is a fast builder." Nora grinned, "Maybe it won't be sad! Just Sarge being Sarge!"
Caboose: "Oh he got sad about something so he's making a Red Base here. And I am helping. I am great at building forts. See, I already built a Blue Base."
Cut to the familiar couch fort with a chair and a blanket many of us made as kids. Except it has a blue flag attached to a broomstick
Caboose: "Ours has blankets."
Ruby laughed, "I made those kinds of forts when I was a kid!"
"You made them? I made them for you!" Yang shouted.
Sarge: "Go away!"
Nora's smile fell.
Simmons: "Sarge, what is all this?"
Sarge: "Simmons, didn't you hear? We're cannon fodder. Practice! Well if I'm the leader of junk, I may as well have a base made out of junk! Pretty appropriate, right?"
"Leader of junk? His whole team isn't Grifs!" Nora groaned.
"Grif isn't that bad." Pyrrha crossed her arms.
Grif: "Looks like shit."
Pyrrha sighed, "Nevermind."
Sarge: "That was rhetorical, dirtbag."
Simmons: "Well Sir, I think this is an excellent strategy. The Blues'll never-"
Sarge: "Blues? Simmons, don't you get it yet? Grif was right all along."
"No…" Nora sagged, "Sarge is not ok."
"He'll be alright." Jaune tried to comfort her.
Grif: "Thank you Sir."
Sarge: "Don't call me that any more."
Nora crossed her arms, "I don't Sarge like this."
"I do, This scene is great." Blake commented with her eyes glued to the screen.
Simmons: "Sarge, this place is one lie after another. We don't know if-"
Sarge: "Oh, we know. I know. You wanna fool yourself go ahead."
Nora smiled weakly, "He's still Sarge though, just sad."
Simmons: "You're just upset Sir."
Sarge: "Don't, call me that."
Simmons: "What? Call you what?"
Sarge: "Sir. From now on, you call me by my name: Sarge. Or S-Dog. I'm not in charge any more. I quit."
Nora laughed, "S-Dog! I like it. This was a lot less sad than I thought it would be."
"I like that you're looking on the bright side." Pyrrha smiled.
"Unless Sarge quitting means he's done fighting forever, he'll stop being mean to Grif, he's already stopped ordering them around, he left his post and now he'll leave the show forever!" Nora panicked.
Ren, knowing Nora well didn't react. "He won't leave, and he'll always be mean to Grif."
"Aww, thank Ren." Nora smiled.
Simmons: "...You what?"
Grif: "Uh-oh. I get the feeling somebody else's world just got rocked."
Nora's smile faded again, "Nooooo!" She wailed under her breath.
Caboose: "Yeh, I'll start working on another fort."
Pyrrha chuckled, "I like his fort."
Jaune nodded, "Me and my sisters also made those kinds of forts."
"It's a sibling thing." Ruby nodded.
Cut to the ice field with Church following Tex
Church: "Tex, stop. Where are we going?"
Tex: "There's only one person left who knows what happened to me. The Director."
Weiss growled, "Who got off free because of a technicality. No punishment for torturing yourself. As if he didn't torture other people."
Blake nodded, "He reminds me of… nevermind."
Weiss sighed, "I know, but he is not as bad as the director… I hope not anyway." Weiss mumbled.
Church: "The Director, nobody even knows who he is."
"They don't know who he is? Secretive." Blake mumbled.
Tex: "I can think of two people who might know: Wash and the Meta."
Church: "Wash and Meta, are you kidding me? Tex, forget all this. What if they don't even know?"
Tex: "Then I get to kill Wash and Meta. If I can't find the Director, I'll just dismantle everything he ever built."
Yang grinned, "What a badass."
Church: "Tex I think the Director built all this for you."
Yang frowned, "I still need to know why she is so important to the Director. She's something else entirely and not a byproduct. That's all we know."
"And she split from the Alpha." Ren added.
Ruby nodded, "Who is based off the Director."
"A memory of someone?" Yang asked, "We already guessed that but she's still her own person."
"It's confusing, but I'm sure we'll get answers eventually." Jaune said as he hit play.
Tex: "Ugh, even more reason to burn it all to the ground."
Yang chuckled.
Church: "Facing Wash and Meta, is suicide, even if we knew where they were. We don't. How the hell are you gonna find them?"
Tex: "They'll find us."
Church: "Oh so what, we just hole up? And wait for them to come without ever even knowing when that's gonna be?"
Tex: "No, they'll come now."
Tex draws her pistol.
Yang grinned, "She's getting ready for a fight! Tex vs the Meta and Washington!"
"It's going to be so cool!" Nora added.
"They'd have to animate that." Jaune nodded.
"Three expert fighters!" Pyrrha grinned, "It will be interesting to see what they can do."
Church: "How? Are you just gonna call them on the phone?"
Tex: "Somethin' like that."
Tex shoots Church
Church: "Tex?"
Church falls.
Yang's entire frame was shocked, "What?"
"A recovery beacon." Jaune sighed, "It couldn't activate in the facility but it will out there."
"She shot Church..she shot Church!" Ruby growled.
"She's like Washington." Blake frowned.
"She Washingtoned him!" Nora shouted.
Tex: "I needed you to come. Sheila said the recovery beacon wouldn't activate, until we left the storage facility."
Jaune nodded and sighed, "She knew he would follow her."
Church: "Tex?"
Tex: "I didn't ask to be paired with you. I didn't wanna come back. But I'm here now, so I'm gonna put an end to this."
Blake frowned, "What does she mean by that?"
"Being paired with the Alpha?" Ren suggested.
Blake nodded, "That makes sense."
Church: "Tex, I would have helped you."
Tex: "You can't even help yourself. That's why you made me, Church. You made me to take on all the things you can't handle. Just like you always have. Well guess what, I'm gonna handle it. Wash and Meta will be coming now. I have some things to get ready."
Blake gasped, "It's like what Washington said happened to the other fragments."
"Church couldn't handle the torture so he made Tex to help him." Ruby shook her head.
Yang sighed, "That's..sweet in a way. He depended on her."
Jaune nodded, "She's something else entirely."
Church: "Tex... why are you doing this?"
Tex: "Funny you should ask. That's exactly what I plan to find out."
"Cryptic." Yang commented.
Cut to Wash in the desert with a sweet guitar riff and the sound of a recovery beacon.
Washington: "What is that? Where is that coming from? It can't be."
Meta: *something*
Washington: "I'm getting it too. I should have known he might end up there."
"Tex's plan is going to work like a charm." Yang commented.
Doc: "What is it?"
Washington: "It's a recovery beacon. It's him; it's Epsilon. Doc, go get a vehicle. Meta, you grab the memory unit."
Pyrrha smiled, "He trusts that Doc won't take the vehicle and leave."
Meta: *something*
Doc: "But where are we going?"
Washington: "We're going to the only place that's left."
Cut to black.
"Things picked up so fast, I can't wait for the fight!" Yang grinned.
"I know! I just hope Sarge gets better, but he's Sarge." Nora waved her hand in a dismissive gesture.
"It was a great episode, we likely only have two more episodes." Ren explained.
My pm's/Reviews are open to
-Suggestions for this Fic
-Side Story Suggestions
-Advice on writing
-Comments
-Pointing out any and all mistakes
-Questions, any and all
-Deleted scenes and where to find them
-Fanart
