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5:24 PM/Month: REDACTED/Location: Camp Currahee, Outskirts/

Ruby Rose gritted her teeth and looked down the scope of the MA5K carbine she had been handed, told to use. It was heavy in her hands, and she could barely hold it, especially with that faint throbbing along her backside. Being hit by training rounds hurt a lot. Heck, she shouldn't be up at this point. Ruby should've been on the ground, resting from the pain. But no, here she was.

It was a miracle she could stand—an honest to god miracle. Then again, Ruby wasn't putting much thought into it. If her body could keep moving, she'd keep moving, even in pain. After all, they couldn't fail.

Her right eye continued to look down the rail-mounted scope, waiting for something, anything. Then it came, a hail of gunfire. In the corner of her scope, Ruby could see James rushing out with that 'shield.' She kept track of her teammate watched as he slid into place and propped up his bark 'shield.' Ruby then quickly turned her attention to the source of the gunfire.

On the opposing side of the forest, her eyes focused as she scanned the environment. She saw trees, foliage, bark, branches, and then a flash followed by a shimmer. Her breath hitched as her finger squeezed the trigger, and a burst came out from her rifle, heading right for where she saw the target.

Ruby's aim had been off. Her rounds slammed into the tree next to the Instructor, causing the Instructor's attention to turn away from James and instead move toward their current position. Gulping, Ruby didn't hesitate to fire again at the moving Instructor. This time, her shots landed and painted the Instructor's translucent form with ripples causing their 'invisibility' to destabilize, revealing the muted colors of their armor. Ruby fired again, this time landing another successful shot on her target's side, causing even their head to jerk slightly from one of the rounds, hitting their head.

Ruby had to admit that this was not as bad as she had expected. Sure, her arms were feeling a bit shaky from the gun firing, but all and all, she was getting the hang of it. Ruby's victory was short-lived, though James' gunfire was then partly directed to her general location. She heard how the bark of the nearby trees thudded with rounds and how training rounds whizzed by. Ruby almost felt the need to jump out from her spot and panic, but she couldn't. Ruby was needed at her current location and, as such, fired the MA5K until she heard nothing from the gun. Her eyes went wide. She pulled her eye from the scope and scrambled to remember what that meant.

She was out of ammo, and so too were the Instructors if the near lack of gunfire was to prove anything. Ruby rolled her back onto the tree she had been safely placed at; she ejected the magazine of the weapon and scrambled to grab one of the other ones she had left right next to her on the ground. Ruby's heart raced as she loaded the magazine in and pushed in the bolt or whatever its name was. She then brought herself back into her previous position and looked into the scope, her finger on the trigger in a matter of seconds as she began firing again.

Ruby had noticed that James had moved from his last position; this brought her some relief. She had partially forgotten about him and was glad that he was okay. After all, she'd hate to see one of her teammates getting harmed. Those training rounds hurt like heck. She hoped James never had to feel that, even if he was a bit of a meanie.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, ugh, angh! IT HURTS!" Ruby heard James cry out in pain. A whimper, a plea that made it through the sound of gunfire. "Someone! PLEASE! HELP!" She moved from her position and rushed towards James, a part of her glad that the gunfire drew inwards into the forest as she did. Though as she came to James' side, she noticed the bruises forming on his skin. She grimaced at the sight of James' back, knowing that the pain was terrible; her own back ached at the thought.

A minute or so passed before Ruby was able to help James up, getting his arm around her shoulder and carrying him off, all the while speaking reassurance.

"I got you, James. We're going to win, and just like how you helped me, I am going to help you! We're a team, and teammates help each other out." Ruby's voice remained ever cheerful.

Ruby hadn't even noticed that she had forgotten the rifle she had been using, dropped in her action to help James.

Ruby was confident in the team. They couldn't lose! Not with so much on the line, they all had to succeed. How else were they going to kill all the monsters? Ruby gently placed James against a nearby tree before she took a step back and looked around. She noticed that the gunfire had died out and that there was no sound to be made. Her heart thumped within her chest, eyes scanning the environment as sweat beaded down the side of her head.

"Crap," Ruby whispered to herself; she hadn't thought this through. Her hand attempted to grip the rifle she had been using, though, to her surprise, it was not there. Her eyes went wide as panic rose through her body. She heard shuffling, crunching, something moving in the distance. Ruby breathed through her nose heavily, her body tensing as she prepared herself for whatever was to come. Her heart pumped, blood rushing.

Her breath hitched.

Ruby made up her mind, her next move. A blind charge. She rushed forward into the forest only to find that she came face to face with Mason as she did. She let out a gasp and tripped, falling face-first into the ground. "Ow," her muffled voice came out.

"You okay?" Mason asked in a monotone voice.

Ruby pushed herself back up and dusted off her clothing, "Yep! Never better, hurting a little, but I'm okay."

Her eyes brightly beamed as she looked at her teammate, taking in the scratches and bruises along his arms and face, "So, did you guys win? I mean, you did, but, uh, well, I uh..." Her words began to fumble and fall out of her mouth incoherently.

Mason stared at her blankly, only for a small smile to cross his face, "Yeah, we won, and we're fine." Though his smile began to fade quickly, "You, uh, can stop talking now."

Ruby relaxed her shoulders and let out a big sigh of relief, "That is good cause I left that gun you gave me somewhere, and if you had been one of those adults, I'd... I don't know what I would've done. Punch them maybe?" She heard a small snort come from Mason. "Hey, that isn't funny! This is a serious business!"

Mason scratched the back of his head and replied bluntly, "Sorry, didn't mean to. It's just you're uh... lively."

Ruby furrowed her brow, trying to figure out if he meant that in a good way or not. She let out a little bratty huff, puffed her cheeks up, and stomped her foot.

"What are you doing?" Mason asked with a growing frown on his face.

She responded in kind, though she found herself unable to give a clear answer. Instead, she went what came first to mind, "I don't know."

Mason stared at her for a good minute or three before changing the subject entirely, "Where's James?"

"Back the way I came, put him up against a tree. He took a lot of hits like it was as bad as when I got shot! At least he isn't alone. Every one of us got hurt today, right?" She watched as Mason gave an affirmative nod. "Yay, we can all be hurt-buddies!" Ruby raised her arms into the air. She let out a cheer of victory, one that was sure to keep the positivity up.

"Hurt-buddies?" Mason quirked a brow with an unamused frown.

His look did not deter Ruby, so she excitedly explained what she had meant. "Yeah, cause we're buddies that are hurting together! We are all in pain."

Mason continued to look amused, "That seems rather morbid."

"Morbid?" Ruby rubbed a finger against her chin, wondering what the word meant. She asked Mason, "What is that?"

She noted the way Mason rolled his eyes and sighed, "Don't worry about it." She watched as Mason scratched at the back of his head, "Come on, let's get going."

Ruby nodded her head before she quickly asked, "Okay, well, um, wanna go grab James before getting that flag? He's kind of heavy..." She sheepishly said that last part. Ruby preferred not to call James fat, even if he was working it off, and well, she wasn't exactly a fitting example of someone good at lifting stuff. Her arms were weak.

Mason let out a little chuckle and quickly responded, "Sure, though I have to let you know that we're all getting exhausted here. So stick close, don't fall behind. Don't think we'll have the energy to really carry anyone else." Mason moved around Ruby, heading back up the path she had run down.

Ruby trudged along, shocked, astonished by such a statement, "What? I'm not going to fall behind. I'm like super up and stuff, there is just no way I could fall behind."

"You say that, but-"

Ruby quickly interrupted Mason, "No fair, I thought you were nice." She was not having any of that, and she wouldn't stand for it.

"Just because I don't say anything about you doesn't make me nice. It makes me polite. There's a lot I would like to say, but it isn't exactly helpful or polite towards you. Besides, you're trying your best, at least that is what I keep hearing. That and I can tolerate you compared to James. You don't actively try and be negative".

"Your sister thinks otherwise." She frowned at the thought of what Lisa thought of her. She couldn't figure out what made the girl so angry at her.

Mason loudly sighed as he continued to walk, not even bothering to stop and look back at Ruby, "My sister is my sister. I can't control what she thinks. She'll grow on you eventually." He paused for a moment before adding, "Hopefully."

Ruby felt her chances plummet at such an addition. "Hopefully? Ugh, but that'll never happen! She's so mean!" Once she realized what she said, Ruby punched herself in the stomach; she couldn't be so negative!

Mason stared at Ruby, his eyes squinting. It was clear he didn't pick up on why she punched herself. "Can you blame her?" Mason didn't address the punch at all.

"Huh? What, how does that even make sense?" Ruby furrowed her brow and looked at Mason.

"She and I have lost our family and a friend. And more. Just like everyone else," Mason explained as he walked up to James, lifted him onto his shoulder, and began to walk back the way they came.

"Gina, right?" Ruby asked almost softly.

Mason passed Ruby as she said that, "Huh?"

Ruby repeated herself, "Gina, was that the friend's name?"

Mason sighed and stopped in his tracks, placing James up against a tree for a moment. "Yeah it was. Let me guess, my sister yelled at you?" He turned his head to look back at her, a frown on his face.

"Yeah." Ruby sheepishly rubbed at her right arm, "She did, and it wasn't pleasant." She paused for a moment and then looked off to the side, "But, uh, we should get going, stop talking. Right?"

"Agreed, come on." Ruby watched as Mason grabbed James once more before proceeding forward; she followed quickly behind. She moved through brush and all sorts of greenery. Branches and leaves brushed up against her legs with each step she took.

It took the rest of the day for them to complete the training session and head back. Night came, and the team found themselves lined up perfectly outside of a building.

James was on the verge of collapsing and, as such, leaned against Cameron. Everyone else was in similar states of exhaustion. Barely able to stand, sweat running down the side of their faces, clothes drenched in sweat, wet and damp. Clothing clinging to their skins. Dirt, grime, and bruises covered their bodies.

They had been through hell.

Ruby stood exhausted, hunched over, barely able to stand on her own two feet. The world was somewhat spinny from her viewpoint. The sun was gone; she was sweaty, covered in dirt, grime, and bruises. Her body ached or throbbed. She wasn't sure which. Ruby was convinced, though, that everything was going well; they were back in Camp Currahee, lined up against a wall, she wasn't sure where. Floodlights pointed at them.

It didn't matter, though.

Ruby had succeeded. They as a team had won! Everyone brought back the flag and everyone. It just took longer than expected, which had been a significant pain for her.

Ruby's stomach growled and grumbled, hungry for food.

Footsteps drew Ruby's attention from her hungry stomach to the right. She watched as Mendez stepped into view, his figure casting a shadow over them projected by the floodlights.

"Candidates, Team Delinquent, excellent job out there today," Mendez firmly spoke with his arms behind his back, "though some of you need to learn to keep your breakfast in." It was clear that he was referring to James. Mendez continued to speak, "Now, I know that you all are tired, and are itching food, but you won't be getting any just yet."

Ruby felt the urge to sigh but kept her mouth shut partly due to not wanting to incur Mendez's wrath and mostly because she couldn't. Ruby's eyes looked to her right again, and she did her best to see her team's expression but the shadow cast over them by Mendez made it hard to see their faces. So her attention returned to Mendez.

"We're going to talk about what happened out there today."

Ruby just stared at Mendez blankly, unsure if she should speak or not or be afraid of being chewed out if she did choose to speak. She bit the inside of her lower lip, heart thumping in her chest.

"First off, you all need to be more observant of your surroundings; if this had been a serious operation, you would all be dead. The enemy does not just miss a chance at a slip-up. Second," Ruby felt the eyes of Mendez focus on her, "Ruby, you did a remarkable job toughening up. Anyone else would've passed out a long time ago."

Relief washed over Ruby at such words, her heart and body pounding in joy. Then throbbing, aching in pain to replace said joy. Her legs wobbled, knees shaking.

Mendez continued to list off to them all, "Third, you did well against the Instructors, but your team was fortunate, lucky. I saw a lot of sloppy work out there. The enemy takes advantage of that. Fourth, good job using an improvised object, but still, you got lucky. Fifth, James, good job working with Winter and acquiring enemy weaponry. Use everything at your disposal. Sixth, your team worked together, an improvement over your prior exercises. Seventh, Mason, you did well with explaining proper gun safety and how to use firearms." He paused for a minute, taking a moment to let what he said sink in. After that moment passed, he continued to speak.

"You all did an admirable job today, a definite improvement, but you all have a long way to go. That only leaves one more thing. Your team does not have a defined leader. As such, I want you all to elect one by tomorrow morning." Mendez's gaze bore down on all of them. Shudders ran up Ruby's spine as Mendez stared down at them, "Dismissed, get yourself some water and food, figure out who is going to be your leader and then head to bed." He left after that.

Ruby's legs gave out, and she fell on her ass, breathing heavily, sweat still running down the side of her face. She laid her head back against the dirt beneath her and stared up at the stars.

While the rest of the team began to talk amongst each other, Ruby heard Winter breathe out a sigh of relief and asked a question aloud, "How did he know about all that stuff?"

"Cameras or something, something we can't see. It's a dumb question to ask, if I am honest. Besides, we have more important things to attend to, like figuring out who will be the leader," Mason answered.

Winter chuckled dryly, "Right, well, we can rule out James from team leader?"

"Hey... Fuck you, Rich Bitch," a weak and tired James snapped back.

"You know, I realized back during the exercise that your insults aren't that creative," Winter said matter-of-factly.

"Fuck you," James spat back.

Winter snorted and retorted, "Original."

"Knock it off, both of you." Mason said. "Ruby, get up; we need to go and eat and then figure out who the team leader will be."

Ruby groaned as she pulled herself up, eyes blinking a bit as she thought of something, "Hey, why not you, Mason? Why don't you be our team leader?" She turned her head to look at the boy.

Mason raised a brow at this, confused. "What, why me? Why not you? After all, you were the one that at least came up with something." He finished before presenting his hand to Ruby

"Eh, I don't think I'd be a good team leader, and I mean, uh. Well, you were the one to put the plan into motion and stuff. I came up with the idea. Besides, I don't think I'd enjoy yelling at everyone," Ruby explained as she rolled her shoulders and took Mason's hand.

/

Author's Note:

So lesson's learned from this, as we are nearing the midpoint of this arc, I suck at writing kids and I might need to better pace myself. But overall, besides this being a minor pain in the ass I did find some enjoyment out of this chapter. Uh, also I may begin to look for another beta reader. But that remains to be seen. Note I haven't gotten into drama or anything, just life-changing stuff for people. Irl is IRL. So stuff happens, I am just glad to get this out.

Also, something to make mention of, I did split this chapter. The flow just wasn't feeling right so the next chapter is also going to be Ruby perspective again, so I am sorry for the short length, but I wanted this to flow better.