And while Ruby and Silver have to deal with annoying roommates, screaming Lieutenant Commander, mud and shitty weather, Crystal's team just arrived at good old Fort Viridian. Honestly, Blue thinks they hit jackpot, since they all knew the base like the back of their hands. It sure as hell gave the team a crushing wave of nostalgia.
Blue watched the base as they were unloaded the supplies. Ah there's their training grounds, the barracks and the shitty mess hall, can't wait to get back to bossing her kitchen boy around. Speaking of kitchen boy, he was currently helping Yellow move medical equipment and supplies into the infirmary. That's uhh...That's a big barrel of morphine, dang.
"Are you actually going to help us, or do you plan on standing there like Regia's Next Top Model, Blue?" asked a smirking Green.
"Maybe I am, what are you gonna do about it Greeny?" said Blue. "Also Red was supposed to help me, well how will poor little me ever carry those food supplies all alone?"
"Ok, first of all, with how you demolished all of us, except Sapphire, in that arm wrestling competition we had, I doubt you'll need the help and second of all, maybe I'll just tell Sergeant Birch to make you run that course 5 more times?" said Green as a throwback to their first meeting.
"Ah so rude, so cruel Greeny, how could you..." exclaimmed Blue while faking hurt. "Why that course is terrible."
"Oh? So when you did it to me, it wasn't cruel?" asked Green.
"Oh it was, definitely. However you were a slim, scrawny cadet with no training, that course was meant to toughen you up. And look how good it did you, look at them muscles." said Blue while gesturing to his toned body.
And no, Green definitely did not blush at the compliment and looked away. It was just a trick of the light. "S-shut up Blue and get working!"
The lieutenant snickered before she picked a sack of potatoes and started walking towards the mess hall. Ah yes, good old Fort Viridian!
...
After finishing unpacking the new suppliers to the base, the colonel went with the general to start orientation while Yellow, Blue, Red and Green talked outside of the infirmary. They were mostly discussing the new arrangements and the oncoming orientation when a woman with blue hair tied in a ponytail.
"My, my look who we have here, my favourite cadets, Shiro and del Bosque Verde." said the woman. "Haven't seen you two since you finished basics."
"L-lieutenant Clair Dantieu." said Blue and Yellow.
"Actually it's Captain Clair Dantieu. I got promoted. And about time too, but never mind that. I haven't seen Suisei or Birch anywhere, where are they?" asked Clair.
"Sapphire was transferred to Fort Olivine ma'am, and Crystal is helping with the orientation." said Yellow.
Clair seemed pleased with the answer as she nodded. "Well then, I'll look forward to orientation." and then she started walking away.
"Bitch." said Blue once Clair was out of earshot, then she looked at the boys' confused faces before she started explaining. "Clair was our drill instructor back when we were in basics. And she was horrible, 10 times worse than Sapphire. It was raining on our first day, and she made us do that course 8 times before she finally let us go. Half of the cadets got sick but by some miracle she didn't get demoted."
"Probably because of Lance, her cousin. He's a Colonel and the head medic at Fort Fortree." said Yellow.
"Oh yeah, you guys did say that you finished basics there." said Red.
"Yup! World's shittyest medical fort... Anyone who transfers there willingly, is a huge idiot and doomed forever. Transferring out of Fortree had to be the second best decision made in my life." said Blue while dramatizing.
"What's the best one?" asked Green
"Setting Clair's barrack on fire with Sapphire, of course." said Blue while grinning.
...
Ah, orientation...The time where new transfers get to be treated like dirty unsuspecting cadets regardless of rank. Oh and what do you know? Clair is one of those poor transfers. Perfect. Just think of all the things she can do, yes, yees. She hopes it rains during orientation. It would be wonderful to see the Captain drag her ass through mud in pouring rain. Oh yes, it will be perfect.
"Crystal dearie, your spacing out again." said General Oak.
"Ah, I'm sorry sir...I'm was just uhhh really really exited about orientation!" said Crystal with an evil chuckle at the end.
"Ah, well that's wonderful my dear. Keep it up!" said Oak while sweatdropping. The 2 high ranking officers get out of Oak's office and make their way towards the training ground. There they see all the new transfers lined up nicely, waiting for instructions. Oh just look at them, and how clean and proud they look... Well, not for long. Once they check the attendance, General Oak starts his speech about the drills they will be doing today, up and until Colonel Suisei says it's enough. And Colonel Suisei will for certainty say it's not enough until Clair starts crying and spitting sand. Has Crystal ever said how much she loves the general, because she does, and a lot at that.
Yes, Crystal is aware that she's being petty...and maybe a bit childish...but god damn it, that stupid dragon fetish lady has been the bane of her existence for the entirety of basics and now...Now it's time for revenge. Speaking of the goomy pedophile (A\N: Get it, cuz goomy is like a pre evolution, so technically a child? Eh, eeh? Alright Imma shut up now...), there she is, marching towards the bluette.
"Captain Dantieu, is there a problem?" asked Crystal.
"Suisei! Good to see you, and no I don't believe there is a problem, I just wanted to see you." said Clair, as if they were best friends. Crystal's eyebrow started twitching as Clair went on a long talk about honor and greatness and- Oh my god just shut up already...
"- but just so you know, I'll be watching, and if I don't like what I see I might report you to a higher up." said Clair, trying to intimidate her with the old threat used on cadets and lower ranks.
"Oh, yeah? Well good thing I outrank you." said, a very much done with this shit, Crystal. "Now if you're done talking, go sit in line Dantieu. This isn't Fortree."
Clair made a very offended gasp but otherwise didn't say anything as she made her way back in line. After this, Crystal started the drills. First they would have to go through the course for 1h, then comes the desert race, which should take about 5 hours, all of this happening in the hot desert sun, then they go back and eat dinner. They start again tomorrow at 7:30 am after breakfast, and spend the rest of the day in the forest, just like sad little, helpless cadets. Ah wonderful!
And if you're wondering, Clair did start crying and spitting sand, after 2h in the desert and Crystal got every second of it recorded, before yelling at Clair to get her shit together.
...
Red watched with pity as the new transfers dragged their tired feet into the mess hall. Crystal was amazing, but sometimes she was completely ruthless, those tortured souls being the perfect example. Never mind that he used to be one too, back in the hand to hand combat training. It was 9:37 pm, very late after the dinner bell, but they couldn't send them to sleep with their stomachs empty, so him and Blue had to stay extra so they could feed the poor soldiers. Probably tomorrow too, if the colonel had anything to say about it.
He heard Blue snicker and looked back to see Clair with a very ruffled ponytail, angrily stomp her feet towards the nearest table. It seems that Crystal got her revenge after all.
"You know, it's not nice to laugh at the suffering of others. No one heals themselves by wounding another." said Red.
"Ok, first of all, grass types do. Second of all, calm down Socrates, I only snickered!" said Blue.
"Ok, fair. But I still don't get it why you hate her so much. Like yeah, she was your drill instructor, but so was Sapphire mine, and I can't imagine myself do what Crystal did."
"That's because you became friends, I'm sure if you ask any other of her cadets, they'll do the same Crys did. Also, how dare! Sapph is much nicer than that overgrown bagon."
Red laughed while he scooped some stew for the hungry soldier in line. "Honestly, I'm surprised that you yourself didn't do anything horrible to her, yet."
"Oh yeah? Who says I didn't do, anything." said Blue cryptically. Alarmed, Red turned around to see Blue hold up a half empty chilli container, while grinning like a madman.
"Blue no-"
"Too late!"
And just then Clair started choking on her food, while her face was red, no doubt because of the extra spicy food in front of her. Red face palmed as Blue started laughing her butt off at the sight. Even worse, the lieutenant started filming it.
"Blue stop recording! We're gonna get in trouble!" said Red.
"Ah calm down! Who's gonna lecture us? Crystal? I'm sure she's also recording and Oak's asleep. Besides, Sapph needs to see this!" said Blue.
In the end it was Yellow who lectured them, not because she thought what Blue did was wrong. No no, but because Clair came to the infirmary to whine about her sore throat and how it hurt, before Yellow slapped a small bandaid on her neck and told her that she was fine and to stop bothering her, because she's got more important things to do then deal with a whiny captain. The blonde had about 7 soldiers to deal with because of Crystal and she really didn't need to Clair on top of it.
...
Next day it was Green's time to torture the transfers. He got direct orders from the colonel to be ruthless and cruel, well...more than usual at least and he knew exactly why. Clair. Honestly, with all the stories Blue told him last night, after she served dinner to the transfers and rudely barged into his barack, mind you. It was miracle that the girls didn't just run her over with a tank when they saw her.
Now Green liked to think of himself as a fair man, he liked to treat people with the same respect they gave him, give them a chance and all that...however...Crystal may or may not have promised him to only put him on sniper duty for the next 2 weeks if he did this...So you know...
He gave them absolute hell.
And honestly, he doesn't really regret it because, one this just means they'll be extra ready and two Clair pissed him off at the beginning of the exercise, so yeah. He's justified.
At least now he knows why they hate her so much. She really had the audacity to come to him, and tell him she'll be testing his teaching methods. He may not normally outrank her, but during orientation, she was at his mercy. And if he decided to strike her with insubordination, well she certainly won't get very far with that attitude of hers.
Clair walks and talks like she's the Field Marshal, Diantha herself. And he can't wait to knock her down a peg.
Before the exercises starts he explains what they'll be doing. They'll go through Viridian Forest, and he'll timing them through different drills such as climbing and swimming, for example, for the next 5 hours. Then he'll randomly drop them near the west point in the forest and they'll have until tomorrow to get to the east point. Easy, he did the same exercise during basics, the only difference being that he had only 2 pokemon, while they have a full party.
After he dropped them into the forest he went to the east point with Yellow and waited for the transfers to get back. And if he filmed Clair getting dragged back by her Dragonair, then only Sapph has proof of it.
...
Later that day, Sapphire was found in her tent, in the whirl islands, laughing her butt off at videos of Clair getting absolutely humiliated.