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11 Years Before the Start of the Series:
"Where are we going?!"
The question of the small girl went unanswered. She had green hair that reached her shoulders, red eyes, pale skin and looked to be no more than five years old. She was covered in bruises and cuts and her clothes, which consisted of only a red t-shirt and shorts, were torn in several places. Behind her, there were several other children. There were two human girls, a human boy, and three faunus boys. All of them looked to have minor bruises and scrapes on their bodies and their clothes were similarly torn in several places. There was a set of bars that separated the children from the cockpit of the airship they were in. Through the bars, the girl could see a robot that was flying the airship. It was painted dark gray, and it had a glowing blue visor.
"I wanna go home!" Cried a faunus boy, tears streaming from his eyes.
"I want to look for my family," said a human girl in a sad voice.
The robot ignored the cries and complaints of the children as it continued to fly the aircraft. The green-haired girl slumped to the floor in defeat as she began to sob, burying her face between her knees as she did so. A human girl, with blonde hair, pale skin, a small number of freckles on her face, and green eyes sat next to the green-haired girl and gave her a warm, comforting hug.
A few minutes of silence before a dark-skinned, red-haired cat faunus spoke up.
"How did you guys end up here?" He asked.
"My home was attacked by Grimm," replied a bull faunus, "and I lost my family. I tried to find them, but that robot took me away."
The bull faunus began to silently sob.
"Same," replied the orange-haired human boy in a sad tone.
The other children nodded their heads in agreement, indicating that they too had suffered similar circumstances.
"Do you think we're going somewhere safe?" Asked a red-haired human girl with medium-colored skin.
"I hope so," replied the blonde girl as she continued to comfort the green-haired girl.
General Ironwood sat at his desk as he busily typed away on his computer terminal. The sound of the door opening alerted him. He looked up to see Dr. Haze enter the room.
"Cassandra," he greeted.
"James," she said with a polite nod, "the candidates have been gathered and are en route to the facility."
"I take it that it wasn't too difficult for the AK-130s to find orphaned survivors from Grimm attacks?"
She scoffed.
"Are you kidding? It was almost too easy. They could have easily found more had you not limited the candidates to a mere one hundred."
"One thing at a time, Cassandra," he replied, "we don't want to bite off more than we can chew."
She shrugged.
"Fair enough. In any case, we should leave soon to greet the candidates."
"I agree. I just need to finish this report," replied the general.
The brilliant doctor nodded before she turned and exited Ironwood's office, leaving him alone. James ran a hand through his hair before he rested his chin between his interlocked fingers. This was it. The moment he and Cassandra planned for the last two years was nigh. He knew that the coming years would be filled with terrible sins. He did not sell himself the delusion that what he was doing was morally right. No. He knew full well what he had authorized. He hated himself for all of this. He hated himself for breaking the heart of the love of his life, he hated himself for authorizing the abduction of children, and he hated himself for what the children would endure in the coming years.
He sighed.
If there was a sliver of relief in any of this, it was knowing that statistically speaking, the children would most likely not have survived for long in the aftermath of the Grimm attacks. He and Cassandra agreed that using orphaned children from Grimm attacks in secluded villages was the most viable option. There were no families left to search for the children and it provided a sort of motivation for the candidates. The Grimm were responsible for the loss of their families. What better way to get back at the monsters responsible than by setting them loose on their witch of a leader when they were ready? The option of abducting children in orphanages was completely out of the question as there would have been people searching for the missing orphans. The option of abducting homeless children within cities had been explored but it was scrapped because it left the possibility of people witnessing the children being taken. Cassandra originally asked for more candidates, but James limited the number to an even one hundred. His duties as both Headmaster and commander in chief of the military demanded much of his time. If he was going to oversee the children's training, then he would need to make the number a manageable one.
Realistically, though, he would not be able to train one hundred candidates by himself. Even though he began to delegate more responsibilities to his subordinates in order to make running both the military and the Academy easier, it still would have been too much. He and Cassandra quickly realized that they would need help to properly train the candidates. The thought of recruiting instructors from within the military crossed their minds, but they quickly pushed it aside as they deemed it as too high a risk. The potential for one whistleblower to leak the program to the Council or the public was too great. They instead opted for the use of a select few mercenary Huntsmen with prior military training. Doctor Haze oversaw their recruitment as well as their large payment. Not only did she choose these Huntsmen based on their skills and abilities, but she chose them for their level of discretion. These mercenaries were known to conduct assignments of questionable legality; therefore, they would be less likely to ask questions or say anything. The trainers were under the impression they were tutors for an advanced Huntsman training program. They had no idea that the children were essentially guinea pigs that would eventually be subjected to human experimentation. The orders specified in their contracts were both simple and crystal clear. They were to live on the remote installation, train the candidates per the general's curriculum, and never speak of what they saw. They weren't allowed to develop attachments of any kind to the children, and they weren't allowed to leave the installation unless they were escorted.
James stood up from his desk as he took a deep breath. It was time to go.
The ride in the airship continued in silence until the children found themselves falling asleep. The ride continued without incident for several hours. The children found themselves abruptly awakened by the sound of a robotic voice.
"Awaken."
The children's eyes readjusted as they looked up at the source of the voice. The robot pilot gazed down at them as the main doors of the aircraft opened, revealing more robots like it with weapons in hand.
"Disembark the aircraft immediately, go where you are told, do not attempt to escape, and do not speak unless spoken to."
The children looked towards the armed robots before they reluctantly nodded. One by one they disembarked the ship, stepping onto the cold, snowy ground. Around them, other children were being led into a large aviation hangar by similar robots. The screams of a child alerted them all. They looked and spotted a small female rabbit faunus who had attempted to escape but was quickly apprehended and tased by one of the robot sentries. The girl fell unconscious as she was carried off into the hangar. The children who stood and watched the incident in shock were snapped out of their stupor by the voice of a sentry.
"Keep moving," it said in its digital voice.
The children complied and continued walking until they joined a long line. The line moved slowly but steadily. Upon closer inspection, it was a line to receive clothing. Each child received a black shirt with a white number in the center front and center back of the shirt. In addition to the shirts, the children were issued green military cargo pants, a web belt, two pairs of green socks, black boots, and a set of dog tags with the same number as the shirt they received inscribed onto it. After they received their clothing, they were directed further inside the hangar to an uncertain fate.
General Ironwood and Doctor Haze stood atop a platform inside the hangar that overlooked the main floor. Below them, they could see a crowd of children beginning to form as more and more children were escorted in by AK-130s. The sounds of cries and sobs from the children echoed throughout the hangar. The hangar was located on an old, decommissioned military installation located north of Mantle. The base was situated in the remote wilderness of Solitas with forests and snowcapped mountains making it difficult to locate. General Ironwood determined it was the optimal location to house and train the candidates. After contracting a construction crew to revamp the vital areas of the base, it was ready to serve as the launch point for the program.
"It looks like you managed to find a healthy diversity of candidates, Cassandra."
"Indeed," she replied, "They come from all backgrounds: male, female, human, and faunus. Forty-nine come from Sanus, twenty-two come from Menagerie, seventeen come from Anima, the final twelve are from Solitas, and all of them are between the ages of five and seven."
"Good work, Cassandra," said the general with an approving nod, "very good work."
Many fearful, tear filled eyes were looking up at the general and the doctor from down below, but their gazes went ignored for the most part. Once the final few candidates were brought in, the main doors to the hangar were sealed. AK-130s stood guard at every potential exit, deterring any would-be escape attempts. The general stepped forward on the platform to a makeshift podium with a microphone. The general cleared his throat before he addressed the crowd of children.
"Good evening," he said. His voice echoed throughout the hangar, earning the complete attention of the children.
"WHERE AM I?!"
"WHO ARE YOU?!"
"I WANT MY MOMMY!"
"I WANT TO GO HOME!"
The incessant questions came without end, preventing the general from continuing to speak. The children's boisterous yelling was beginning to earn the general's ire.
"QUIET!"
The hangar fell silent upon hearing the general's harsh tone of voice.
"As I was saying," he continued, "I understand that all of you have questions. Most of those questions will not be answered at this moment, but I will tell you this now. Your families are gone, your previous homes are gone, the lives you once had are gone, and the names and identities you once had are gone. Under Atlesian Code 50, article 49, you are all hereby conscripted into military service and are therefore trainees. I am General James Ironwood, your new commanding officer. This is your new home, and your fellow trainees are your new family. You will look after and care for each other as you would your own brothers and sisters. Any semblance of individuality you once had dies here. You are no longer individuals for you are now a part of something much greater."
The general inwardly smiled as he saw that the children were paying attention to his speech. Good. It would make things much easier.
"You all have something in common that unites you. You are all survivors of Grimm attacks. The odds of you surviving in the ruins of your remote settlements would have been extremely low had we not found you and brought you here. You are here because our world and its people are facing a grave threat. The Grimm are growing more dangerous and becoming more coordinated as this war for our survival rages on. Eventually, humanity will fall if action is not taken."
The general briefly paused before he continued.
"In time, you will learn the truth about the Grimm and the world, but for now you need only know that humanity's survival rests upon your shoulders. You have been chosen to become the swords and shields of humanity. Consider this the greatest of honors."
The children looked perplexed, glancing at each other to see if one of them understood what was going on.
"All one hundred of you," said the general, "will be trained to become the greatest warriors to have ever walked Remnant. Wars are fought with weapons, but they are won by men and women. We are going to win this war because you will become the best and you will be the first in a new breed of super soldiers. For the next seven years, you will endure hell."
Many of the faces below looked terrified upon hearing the general's ominous words.
"Know that we take no pleasure in the brutal methods that you will be subjected to, but war is hell and so your training will be hell. You will be prepared for the absolute worst. If we have not prepared you for war, then we will have failed you. Every day, from dawn to dusk, you will do what we say, when we say, and how we say. Insubordination and disrespect will not be tolerated and any attempts to escape this installation will be met with severe punishment."
The general's eyes narrowed dangerously at the children before him, earning fearful looks from many of the young candidates.
"Once this meeting concludes, you will be escorted to your barracks. Tomorrow morning you will begin your training and you will meet your other instructors. Without further delay, I would like to introduce Doctor Cassandra Haze."
Ironwood pointed to Dr. Haze, who gave a friendly wave to the children.
"She will oversee your medical care and education and take care of your other needs."
Without another word, the general stepped back and allowed Dr. Haze to take the podium.
"Thank you general," she said before she turned her attention back to the children, "I too would like to thank each and every one of you. You have been called to serve a purpose that no one else on Remnant would be able to. For this reason, you are special. Brutal training will not yield the ultimate warriors by itself, and because of that we are going to make you all more than what you are currently."
There were several confused looks within the crowd below. They had no idea what they were talking about. They just wanted to go home.
"As the general said, in time you will learn and understand your true purpose here. You are still young and innocent, but it is through innocence that we will mold you into the ultimate warriors. From this moment forward you are Guardians. Your assigned numbers will determine which Guardian you are."
The children looked down at either the shirts or the dog-tags they wore to inspect the assigned numbers.
"I want Guardians Zero-Zero-One through Zero-Two-Zero to form up in a line on to my far left. Please be sure to line up in numerical order," said Dr. Haze.
The children merely stared at her until the robot sentries began to move towards them, silently telling them to do as they were told.
Dr. Haze spoke again.
"Guardians Zero-Two-One through Zero-Four-Zero please do the same and line up next to them."
The children moved with haste, albeit reluctantly, as they formed up.
This time General Ironwood spoke up.
"Guardians Zero-Four-One to Zero-Six-Zero form up!"
By this point, the other candidates had gotten the message and proceeded to form up on their own. The general smirked, happy to know that the children were already learning. A minute passed before there were five neat lines of twenty candidates formed up.
"Each line represents a squadron, and each squadron will consist of five Special Mission Units, or SMUs, of four Guardians. For example," the general gestured to the first line of candidates, "the first twenty will comprise Alpha Squadron and the first SMU will be comprised of the first four candidates in line. The following four will be the second, and so on and so forth. Understood?"
He received a few shaky head nods from the crowd, indicating that they understood. Seeing that they understood, the general continued speaking.
"The next line will be Bravo Squadron, the third line will be Charlie Squadron, the fourth will be Delta Squadron, and the last line will be Echo Squadron. Each squadron will be housed in its own section within the barracks. We will go over the finer details of your teams later. Understood?"
Again, he was met with nervous nods from the children. Seeing how that was out of the way, Dr. Haze spoke up.
"As General Ironwood said, these next years will be hell. If you are to survive then you need to depend on your brothers and sisters. Your individuality will not help you here. Only together can you succeed. Think of yourselves as a hand. Each of you is a finger, and without the others you're useless. Alone, a finger can't grasp, or control, or form a fist. You are nothing on your own, and everything together."
She was being metaphorical, of course. When they were finished with them, each Guardian would be equivalent to an army. However, the children needed to understand that they were no longer individuals. Their selfish desires would die here. They needed to learn to depend on each other and work together in order to survive this training program. She paused momentarily before she continued.
"Tomorrow morning you will begin your new lives. For now, follow your escorts. They will show you to your barracks. There you will find spare clothing, toiletries, and your beds. Once you have gotten situated you will be escorted to the dining facility for dinner. Be sure to rest well tonight because you are going to need your rest for tomorrow. I want to thank you all for your sacrifices and want to welcome you to Project Guardian."
"Guardians!" Yelled the general. "Dismissed!"
The children remained silent as they were led out of the hangar and to the barracks by the AK-130s. Once the last candidate exited the hangar, the good doctor turned to face the general.
"What do you think so far?" She asked.
"They're still only children," he replied, "but soon we'll make them into Guardians."
Hope you all enjoyed this one. I wanted to give you a glimpse into Project Guardian itself. As I said last week, things are getting crazy busy at work so I'll be likely posting every two weeks for now. Please share your thoughts in the review section and please share this fic. Thank you!