Author's Note:

I'm very thankful for the short episodes as I am still very busy outside of this fic.

Cover Art: Cruz7808

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Chapter 3- Barriers to Entry

"Eh I don't mind." Yang shrugged as Jaune hit play.

"Barriers to Entry" appeared on screen with the theme.

Fade in to the canyon where Tucker is seen doing squats. Washington watches him.

Tucker: "Sixty! Sixty-One! Sixty-Two! Sixty-Three! Sixty-Four! Sixty-Five! Sixty-Six! Sixty-Seven! Sixty-Eight! Sixty-Nine…"

Washington: "Tucker, you can't keep stopping on Sixty-Nine."

"At least get to seventy. Seven sets of ten." Nora crossed her arms.

"He's stopping at 69 for a reason." Yang laughed.

Ruby groaned, "Of course he is."

"I don't understand." Weiss frowned.

Yang snorted, Ruby sighed.

"Sixty-nine is a.. sex position." Ruby explained.

Yang cackled at Weiss's expression and Ruby giggled despite herself. Weiss scoffed.

"At least Wash has him doing a different kind of squat, that's the kind to train one leg at a time. It kills." Yang commented.

"I like squats." Pyrrha admitted.

"Me too." Blake nodded, "I prefer leg workouts to any other."

"I prefer core workouts." Pyrrha added.

"That's because you're insane." Ruby shook her head, "I hate core workouts."

"I like working on my Arms!" Nora flexed.

"I love running- er cardio workouts." Ruby shrugged.

"I like to train my endurance." Ren hummed.

"Arms for me too." Yang gave Nora a grin.

"I prefer workouts that train my balance." Weiss sat up.

"...I don't like any, I guess arms?" Jaune shrugged.

"Yeah!" Nora cheered, flexing again.

Tucker: "No! This time, my legs went out."

"That's what she said." Yang quipped.

"Nora please break her legs." Ruby begged.

"I'd never do that to Yang." Nora crossed her arms.

"I would." Ruby, Blake, and Weiss chorused.

Washington: "(sighs) Come on."

Tucker: "Ohhoh, Holy Christ! I haven't been this sore since that bachelorette party on Bourbon Street."

Weiss and Yang rolled their eyes.

Washington: "You want me to believe you banged an entire bachelorette party?"

Tucker: "I want you to, but really the groom just showed up and cracked three of my ribs."

"Not undeserved." Weiss chuckled.

"At least he was honest, with Church he lied about his exploits." Pyrrha pointed out.

"I think he wanted to impress Church.. or annoy him." Jaune guessed.

Ruby laughed, "Church was right, Tucker and Caboose did have a competition for his attention."

Washington: "That's what I thought."

Tucker: "Why do we have to train so much? We never had to do squats when Church was in charge."

"It's important to train." Pyrrha commented.

"Our uncle and dad always said that a huntress is never done training." Ruby recalled. "

"Wise words." Ren nodded.

Washington: "Exactly. I'd say you two have fallen out of shape, but generally in order to fall out of something you have to be in it first."

Blake laughed.

"Caboose is already in shape." Nora defended, "He's even stronger than Tex!"

"God's way of compensating according to Tucker and Church." Ren recalled.

Ruby and Yang laughed.

Tucker: "Hey, that's funny! You should try comedy Wash. Why make one person miserable, when you can work over an entire room?"

Washington: "Alright! Time for sprints."

Blake laughed again, "Wash is perfect for blue team."

"I bet even he could get Grif to train." Nora added. "I should take notes!"

"Please no." Jaune begged.

Tucker: "Fuck you!"

Washington: "I want five laps around the canyon."

Tucker: "Die in a fire."

Washington: "Six laps, around the canyon!"

"He's harsher than Ms. Goodwitch." Jaune's face fell.

"I'd say they're about the same." Blake chuckled.

"All of this is reminding me, after this show no more lazing around! We need to get ready for the big fight!" Nora grinned.

"But we have been getting ready." Jaune argued, "We have new and improved weapons and we practiced against them!" Jaune gestured to team RWBY.

Nora glanced at them, Ren hummed. "Besides us team RWBY is at the top of our grade."

"Aww thanks!" Ruby grinned, "You guys pulled some crazy stunts against us when we played capture the flag though, thanks to you we'll be prepared for anything!"

Tucker: "Hey! Why isn't Caboose down here? Shouldn't you be making him do dumbbell hurls, or inverted push-ups or something?"

"I love throwing dumbbells!" Nora grinned.

"Windows don't." Ren sighed.

"Ugh inverted push ups hurt my head." Ruby whined, "All the blood gives me a headache."

"It should be hurting your arms." Yang smirked, "I don't think you're doing them right. Do you go all the way down?"

"...yes."

"I'll be watching you next exercise hour." Yang made an 'I'm watching you.' Gesture at Ruby who groaned.

Washington: "I think he's having one of his... off days."

Tucker: "Oh…"

"Off days?" Pyrrha frowned.

Cut to the Red base interior. Sarge walks down a ramp and speaks to Grif and Simmons

Sarge: "Men! It has come to my attention that we have been approaching this base problem from the wrong direction."

Simmons: "What do you mean?"

Sarge: "I mean we've been approaching it from the outside. What we should have been focusing on was the interior, the layout is all wrong. Upon reflection, I realized that a man of my military expertise, requires more private quarters, a place where I can reflect on my vast victories. And contemplate, on my non-existent failures."

"Yeah he deserves it." Nora agreed.

"He wants to build himself his own room?" Blake raised an eyebrow.

"A marked improvement from firing at his own walls with a tank." Weiss shook her head.

Grif: "Is the place called denial?"

Weiss and Blake snickered.

"Sarge has failed a few times. Tex stole blue teams flag back him, she also beat him and his men up in season eight." Weiss began to list.

"That's against Tex, Sarge has always won against blue team." Nora smirked. "And I mean the original blue team, Wash on blue team doesn't count either."

Sarge: "Which is why I ordered Private Grif here to erect this new wall."

Simmons looks around for a wall

Simmons: "Okay, I give up."

"I don't see anything." Blake squinted.

"Me neither." Weiss frowned.

Grif: "The sandbags."

Cut to a view of the sandbags.

Nora snorted, Ruby and Yang burst out laughing. Jaune and Pyrrha chuckled, and a small smile spread across Weiss's and Blake's faces. Ren shook his head at the poor wall.

Simmons: "What?! That's the wall?"

Simmons and Grif approach the small pile of sandbags.

Sarge: "Grif! I asked you to give me a proper erection, not to stiff me!"

Yang snorted, "That's what she-"

"Stop it." Ruby groaned.

Simmons: "SO glad Donut's not here."

Yang burst out laughing, "I want Donut here for that reason alone."

"I wonder where he is." Jaune pondered.

Grif: "Hey! It's not like I'm some expert carpenter or something."

Simmons: "This isn't even carpentry, this is stacking things in a straight line... poorly."

"Both defend their building skills and both are bad at it." Blake commented.

"Grif is definitely worse." Weiss chuckled.

"Forget everything I said last episode." Ruby added. "He didn't even cover the whole floor, he could have at least made a line."

"Yeah, instead of a line in the sand he could have made a line of sand." Yang joked.

Grif: "Well, it's all I could find, so build a bridge and get over it!"

Simmons: "Hey Grif, when I build a bridge, should I use a few sandbags, or you know, something fucking useful?!"

The group laughed.

"I love their dynamic." Blake chuckled.

"They're in love, why can't they see it?" Nora paraphrased a quote from Tucker.

The group laughed again.

Sarge: "Useful or not, I hereby declare that from this point forward, this side of the wall is to be reserved for my own personal use."

Simmons: "Wait wait wait, you get half of the base all to yourself? What about me and Grif?"

"Ohh I should do that." Ruby grinned.

"No." Weiss shook her head.

"There's already little space as it is." Blake added.

"Sharing is caring." Yang continued.

"But I'm team leader, and I, like Sarge need somewhere to contemplate my non-existent failures and my many victories." Ruby rubbed her chin.

"I can send you to stare at the corner." Yang suggested.

Weiss smirked, "I like that idea."

"Hey! you can't make me." Ruby crossed her arms and stuck out her tongue.

"I outrank you.. in fact I deserve my own personal space." Weiss hummed, rubbing her chin like Ruby did not so long ago.

"To contemplate your many failures!" Ruby accused.

"You two have let the power of leadership go to your heads." Yang shook her head, interrupting Weiss before she could snap back.

"Let's lock them out of the room." Blake whispered to Yang who gave her a thumbs up.

Sarge: "Sorry Simmons, afraid I can't hear you from the next room. These walls are just too thick!"

"That sounded like a compliment to Grif." Jaune's eyes widened.

Sarge backs up from the two.

Simmons: "But I-"

Sarge: "Enjoy your new roommate! (chuckles)"

"Weren't they already roommates?" Ruby raised an eyebrow.

"I guess they bunked separately at Blood Gulch." Yang shrugged.

Sarge leaves with a chuckle.

Grif: "Ground rules, if there's a sock on the door, don't come in!"

Simmons: "But we don't have socks, or a door."

"No privacy." Yang grimaced, "Must suck."

"I agree." Blake nodded.

"Me and Ruby shared a room for a while so we were used to it when we came here." Yang commented. "But I mean, we still had a door."

"Simmons should have thought about that when he designed the base." Ruby giggled.

Grif: "And I don't have an internet connection, but we've all gotta find some way to masturbate, now don't we?"

"Gross." Weiss grimaced.

"Do we need to have a, 'It's natural' talk?" Yang asked and a smirk.

"No we do not!" Weiss growled with a heavy blush on her face.

Cut to Caboose looking at a mirror. Wash approaches him from behind.

Caboose: "(depressed) Sigh. Groan. Oh, woe is me. Oh, I don't know what that even means."

"Me neither." Nora admitted.

Pyrrha sighed, "I feel bad for Caboose, he's lost Church again."

"He got over it pretty quickly last time." Weiss pointed out.

"Well it is Caboose.." Pyrrha explained.

"Yeah.. it is." Weiss nodded. "I hope he will be alright, Caboose is sometimes the most respectable of the group."

Ruby frowned. "..Something's weird." Ruby sat up and thought for a minute as she scrutinized the screen. "His helmet!"

"You're right his helmet is different- er well it's the same as the others which is wrong." Blake commented.

"I bet it's like Carolina's helmet, the new game probably doesn't have his old helmet." Jaune guessed.

Washington: "(awkwardly) Still standing in the corner, Caboose?"

Caboose: "Oh yeah, Yeah, I just... yeah, I just miss Church sometimes."

Washington: "I know you do, buddy. He was your leader for a very long time. (walks closer to Caboose)"

"It's good that Wash and Tucker are letting Caboose grieve you know.. not forcing him to train." Jaune commented.

"And I'm glad that Wash is there for him." Pyrrha smiled.

"Me too, he cares about them. He really is like their mother." Blake chuckled.

Caboose: "Yeah, I am just...I, I am just so lost without him! I... I don't even recognize my own face!"

Washington: "(awkwardly) Well, you don't have your old helmet anymore, Caboose. Also, your helmet and face are not the same thing."

Blake chuckled, "He's very awkward trying to help him."

"Ruby used to be so awkward when she tried to cheer people up." Yang laughed. "And then she just started saying nope."

"Nope!" Ruby giggled. "Works every time."

Caboose: "Oh, god, that explains the blinking contest. (walks towards the ledge, sounding distraught) Why'd ya have to tell me that? Aghh, you just made it worse."

Washington: "(walks over to Caboose's side) Look, Caboose. I'm sure that somewhere out there, Church is thinking about how much he misses you too."

"...ehh I don't know about that." Ruby winced.

Caboose: "(sounding hopeful) You really think so?"

Cut to a flashback of Caboose, Church, and Washington. Caboose speaks loudly over Church.

Church: "Shut up. Just shut your mouth. ...Shut up. Shut up. CABOOSE, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, SHUT THE FU-"

Caboose: "(indistinct rambling) WE'LL GO ON ADVENTURES TOGETHER, WHILE WE RIDE BIKES AND SOLVE CRIMES! AND THEN WE'RE GONNA GO TO THE FAIR AND THEN WE'RE GONNA DRESS UP! AND THEN WE'RE GONNA FINGERPAINT-"

The group burst out laughing.

"I think Church really might miss Caboose." Ruby smiled, "Caboose is in charge of remembering him."

Cut back to the present.

"Man, seeing the old graphics shows how much better they looked." Yang commented.

"Yeah I was thinking the same thing." Ruby nodded.

"Me too, the colors and textures were much better in the old game. And from what you three have said." Blake gestured to Ruby, Yang, and Jaune. "That game is a lot older than the current one."

"It has to be, because there was a game that came out after it. The one used for the memory unit." Jaune explained.

Washington: "(unsure) Yeah. ...Why don't you go for a walk? Take a little time to clear your head."

Caboose: "Yeah. Yeah, I just... yeah, I'll go on a walk by myself, I guess. (starts walking away) That won't be depressing at all. (off-screen) Ohh. Oh god. I'm walking by myself now. Ohhhhhh. Ohhhhhh."

"Walks are very calming." Ren hummed.

"Not for him, I don't think anything besides Church can cheer him up." Pyrrha sighed.

"It'll just take time." Yang reassured her.

Washington: "(sighs) What am I going to do with him? (spots Tucker outside walking at slow pace) I said sprints, Private Tucker!"

Blake began to laugh uncontrollably.

Tucker: "(while running away) I'm going to spit in your next meal! And it's not going to be spit, if you know what I'm talking about!"

The episode ends.

"I was expecting a bow chicka bow wow." Yang commented.

Nora crossed her arms. "Weak, Sarge would have poisoned his next meal.. or ordered Simmons to do it."

What did you think of the chapter?

What do you think will happen in Vol 9 of RWBY?