Liam sat in the small room Ozpin provided for him. Apparently, it was used for storage at some point. But it had been repurposed for guest use now—a single bed against one wall and a small closet against the other. A separate small window near the roof provided little light. Plain white wallpaper and a white door made the room very mind-numbing.
"Feels like a padded room," Liam muttered to himself as he put away the rest of his armour. He left the helmet on the bed while he put away the rest. His rifle sat in the corner of the closet. Liam walked back to the bed and sat down. He picked the helmet and cradled it in his hands. A thumb ran over the swooping eagle that symbolized GDI.
He turned the helmet and pulled it over his head. He tapped the side of his helmet. EVA gave off a confirmation beep. "EVA, replay the message from earlier."
"An-ll-DI-sonnel-ease-pond-Thi-ander-Hill-ablished-all base-forest. An-GDI ass-res-end-coordin-immdia-ick-up."
"Try to pinpoint the source," Liam requested as he sat on his bed. He watched as EVA did its best to triangulate where the transmission came from. EVA pulled up what maps it could gather from the local communications. It took some brute force, but EVA finally communicated with the Scroll Ozpin gave Liam. Before long, EVA came up with a rough estimate. It appeared to have originated from the south, past the river and farther down the coast.
Liam hummed to himself as he deactivated EVA. He set his helmet beside himself on the bed. He grabbed the pair of blue jeans off the foot of the bed. Next came the white t-shirt and socks. Ozpin had been kind enough to provide a couple of clothes changes since Liam would be at Beacon for the foreseeable future.
And, by extension, Remnant. Liam still couldn't wrap his head around that he was on a completely different planet. It was bizarre and confusing. Especially with this whole thing about someone's soul protecting their bodies and the Grimm. But that all would have to wait. Liam's main priority would be to link up with any remaining GDI forces in the area.
From there, they could figure something out. And hopefully, get in contact with all four kingdoms to rally support. Since GDI needs new funding. And with the absence of Tiberium, bringing a constant flow of resources was going to be difficult. There was a lot to think about as Liam walked down the hallway of a dormitory. But his first concern was finding the mess. He couldn't do much on an empty stomach.
Before long, Liam found the cafeteria. He had a tray of food in front of him. Liam sat towards the back, where there were fewer students to disturb him. He poked at his food with his fork as he looked around. He noticed several students with varying skin and hair colours, even unnatural hair colours.
He spotted a girl with ivory white hair at the end of the cafeteria, along with so many others. He lanced a piece of meat on his tray and shoved it quickly into his mouth. He chewed on it as he watched the other end of the cafeteria get antsier and antsier. He watched as several students starting moving away from one table in particular. He swore he saw what looked like a cream pie fall off the girl's face with ivory hair. Before long, every student started to rush out of the cafeteria.
Before Liam even had a chance to move, pandemonium ensued. Tables and benches were flung in several directions. Before long, a tower of tables and benches was constructed on one end of the cafeteria. Liam lay on the ground rubbing the back of his head with a wince. He heard maniacal cackling followed by someone taunting, 'I'm queen of the castle.' He slowly sat up to find himself near the back wall of the cafeteria.
He stood up and found himself behind the big tower of tables and benches. He could see under the stacked tables and saw some vending machines at the front of the tower. He walked out alongside the building of tables and saw two teams start to fight. He watched the teens closest to him throw or launch an ungodly amount of watermelons at the others. He took a glance to his left and noticed one of the base tables of the towers behind one of the vending machines on its side. He took a seat as he observed the ongoing brawl.
He watched the watermelons be obliterated by a blonde girl who had two fully-cooked turkeys on her fists. The raven-haired girl followed behind the blonde, flipped in the air and landed in front of the blonde. She grabbed a couple baguettes off the ground and helped the blonde finish off the watermelon assault. He watched the blonde literally punch with enough force to send the turkeys flying off her fists. He kept his disbelief in check as he watched as one of the turkeys hit one of the two boys square in the face. The blonde boy did a complete three-sixty turn before taking the second turkey to the chest, sending him flying back.
Liam watched the raven-haired girl engage in a duel with baguettes against a red-haired girl from his side of the cafeteria. He watched them trade blows before the raven-haired girl jumped and flipped away, using her semblance as a distraction. "Hmm, that would be useful in the field," Liam muttered to himself, gently rubbing his chin in thought. But before long, the raven-haired girl was knocked away and further down the cafeteria by the red-haired girl. The blonde girl managed to break a baguette that came flying at her like a spear. Then she managed to intercept the second that came soaring in fast and kicked it in two.
But the third one took her out and knocked her on her back. Then the brunette girl with red tips jumped over the blonde and began surfing across the line of tables with a metal tray. That's when he was noticed. The brunette girl's shock caused her to lose balance and flail rapidly to maintain it. She eventually fell on her ass and off the side of the table. Liam stood up from the table with a smile and walked over to her.
He offered a hand to help her up. The girl rubbed the back of her head with a wince before she looked up. She smiled sheepishly before taking Liam's hand. She was quickly pulled to her feet as the seven other teens gathered her and Liam. Liam then noticed a young man with a monkey tail walk over, followed by a young man with blue hair and goggles. He looked at all ten teens gathered around him and put on a smile.
They all seemed a bit taken aback by the scars on his face. So he lifted his foot onto the bench in front of him. He gave off a calm smile as he looked over the students, "So, what's up?"
Seven out of the eight teens that participated in the food fight seem to grow timid and anxious. The orange-haired girl seemed to be smiling excitedly compared to everyone else. She was the one that responded, "We were just having some fun! We wanted to see who's the best team."
"Oh, really? What did you decide?" Liam asked with a slight smile on his face.
"We were pretty evenly matched before we were rudely interrupted," Nora responded with a pout.
Liam chuckled as he looked past the teens to see Ozpin and Glynda at the cafeteria's doors. Glynda didn't seem impressed with the situation. Ozpin had a smile as he watched Liam interact with his students. Liam walked around the teens, "Excuse me."
He gave a polite smile as he walked up to Ozpin and Glynda. Ozpin gave a slight nod as Glynda just scowled. Ozpin was the first to speak, "I'm glad to see you getting along with the students."
"Seems like they were in the middle of a food fight when I appeared," Liam lightly chuckled as he walked up. Ozpin nodded along as Glynda moved to put the entire cafeteria back in order. Liam watched in amazement as Glynda quickly rearranged the cafeteria.
"Damn," Liam muttered as he turned to Ozpin again. Ozpin turned and started to walk out of the cafeteria. Glynda followed behind him as soon as she was done. "Follow us, Mr. Roberts," Ozpin said over his shoulder.
Liam followed both teachers out of the cafeteria onto the stone path. He stuffed his hands in his pockets as they walked. After a couple of turns, the central tower came into sight. Ozpin finally spoke up, "It seems the Council of Vale is eager to test your skills. We'll discuss more when we arrive in my office."
Liam only nodded as he looked around. Several of the students were already staring at him. A few of them averted their gaze when he met their eyes. Others seemed to appraise him, see what he was worth. See if they could take him in a one-on-one. Liam didn't care for the pettiness of proving himself to be better.
He turned his attention back to the walk to the tower. As they entered, Ozpin spoke up again, "The council wants to send you on a mission. A small encampment of White Fang are set up deep in the Emerald Forest. Deeper than how far I usually send my students."
Liam nodded as they entered the elevator. He stood at the back as Ozpin hit the button for his office. They stood in silence for several minutes while the elevator climbed. When they got to the top, they all exited the elevator. Ozpin walked around his desk to his seat. Glynda stood beside the desk with her arms crossed.
Liam stood in the middle of the room as Ozpin brought his terminal. He quickly entered a couple commands, and rather suddenly, a video call connected. Three Vale councillors sat on the rounded side of the half-circle table. All three were shrouded in darkness for some strange reason. The middle councillor sat forward and appeared to be looking Liam over.
"So this Liam Roberts. Not what I expected, to be honest," The councillor said as he sat back in his chair.
"Councillor," Ozpin said with a warned tone. Liam wasn't bothered by the politician's stance. He had grown somewhat accustomed to people of power being underwhelmed. Especially when they didn't know he was a commando.
"What's the mission?" Liam asked to stop any wanted chatter from happening. Everyone turned their attention as he stood at attention with his arms behind his back.
"There's a camp of White Fang terrorists set up in the Emerald Forest. We don't know what they're up to. But we would like to," The councillor on the left spoke up. "We also view this as the perfect opportunity to see how well you operate. If these reports from Professor Ozpin are true, of course."
"Kill or capture?" Liam asked as his gaze shifted between the three councillors.
"Capture preferred. We want to interrogate those involved and find out why the White Fang set up in the Emerald Forest," The councillor on the right said.
"Understood," Liam said with a nod.
"Good, you deploy within two hours. Expect some resistance from the terrorists. Some of them are fanatical, others not so much," The middle councillor said. Liam nodded in understanding. With that, the video call ended.
"I will have a Bullhead prepped for your departure. In the meantime, do what you need to get ready," Ozpin said to Liam as Ozpin went to work. Liam nodded once again and walked to the elevator. He entered the elevator and left the tower.
Almost two hours later, Liam stood in front of one of the landing pads. He stood and waited for the Bullhead to appear fully clad in his white commando armour. Rail carbine in hand as he watched several students meander by. Several noticed him in his armour and gave him weird looks. He paid them no mind.
He noticed the kids from the earlier food fight—specifically, the brunette girl with red tips. She seemed to be staring intently at him. Abruptly she rushed towards him. She had burst into rose petals. As she got close, she changed back to normal and stopped mere inches from him. She was practically drooling over his carbine.
Liam took a step back in surprise from her swift rush up to him. She stared at his carbine with stars in her eyes. She spurted as she tried to form words. Liam spoke up, "How can I help you?"
She stepped back, chuckled in embarrassment and rubbed the back of her head awkwardly. The rest of her team followed behind her. The white-haired girl looked a little annoyed. The raven-haired girl looked indifferent, while the blonde seemed to be amused.
"Sorry about that. My sister can get a bit excited whenever she sees a new weapon," The blonde girl spoke delightedly. She gently elbowed the brunette, who chuckled awkwardly. Liam smiled under his helmet.
"You know, I never got your names when I was in the cafeteria," Liam said as he moved his rifle and cradled it in his arms like a baby.
"Wait, that was you!?" The brunette nearly shouted and pointed at him.
"Yes, that was me. Name's Liam, by the way," Liam answered as he chuckled from the outburst.
The brunette spurted as the blonde girl spoke up, "Well, I'm Yang. My flabbergasted sister here is Ruby. The white-haired Heiress is Weiss. And the one distracted by the book is Blake."
Liam looked at all the girls made a mental note of their names.
"What are you doing out here?" Weiss asked as she placed a hand on her hip. Just based on her expression, she didn't look too thrilled to be out here.
"Waiting on transport. I have a mission to attend to," Liam responded, not adding too much detail to his words.
"Where are you going?" Yang asked, her curiosity taking hold.
"I can't divulge anything. I'm sorry," Liam responded as he looked between the four girls. Just as he finished saying that, the whine of jet engines overhead signalled the arrival of the Bullhead.
"I guess that's my ride," Liam said as he turned to watch the Bullhead land. He then looked over his shoulder to the girls, "I guess I'll see around. This shouldn't take too long."
With that said, he stopped cradling his rifle and walked towards the Bullhead.