*Bullhead, Nearing Beacon Academy*
The ride to Beacon was nothing but awkward to Adrian. He was currently in some V-22 Osprey with Professor Ozpin and Goodwitch, all of them distracted with their own little things.
Ozpin simply stared out into the sky, watching the clouds go by as he took some sips from his mug. Goodwitch was doing the same although not for the same reason as Ozpin, making herself look ordinary as she kept a watchful eye on the mysterious soldier. And Adrian was standing still, away from the two as he collected his thoughts.
The adrenaline had stopped flowing once he had gotten on, and he soon realized the perilous situation he was in. No money, no place to go to, no connections at all. This is really bad. Adrian looked back at the two. Ozpin's nice, well the creepy and suspicious kind of nice, and Goodwitch is just bad at trying to conceal her eyes from me.
"Professor Goodwitch, I know you're watching me," The woman in question quickly turned away blushing, clenching her fists in both anger and embarrassment. "Look, trust comes in two ways, doing something for someone and admitting a few things. I'm not going to trust you if you keep staring at me like that." Adrian blankly stated.
"Well Mr. Shephard, then I'd like to know where this Santego Military Base is! For what I know Ironwood certainly has no base with such name." Goodwitch replied.
"Glynda," Ozpin turned to her, his look indicating her to just keep her mouth shut. "We can question Mr. Shephard later. For now, let's make sure our guest is comfortable." He ushered Adrian to come forward as he made some room for Adrian to stand beside him.
"Damn, this is one hell of a view." Adrian awed, all the buildings, the shops down below and people walking about. It almost seemed like an American city at this point.
"Yes, Vale is surely wonderful." Ozpin smiled, he loved this city even if he didn't visit it often.
The two continued to stare at the view that was in front of them, Adrian constantly looked around, watching the buildings and people fly by as the Osprey headed closer to Beacon. Ozpin stared at him in curiosity.
"Remind you of something, Mr. Shephard?" He questioned, Adrian simply stared back, then laughed.
"Yeah, it does." Adrian stopped, then looked down in grief. "Rather not talk about it."
"I fully understand, we'll be at Beacon in about 2 minutes, anything else?" Ozpin asked.
"Well, these Ospreys, they look better than the ones back home. Which government built them exactly?"
"Atlas, and to an extent the SDC," Glynda blurted in. "Sorry Ozpin, I just couldn't handle myself being so quiet."
"Apology accepted, Glynda." Ozpin had taken note of how he had called them "Ospreys" instead of Bullheads. Peculiar, another questioned to be answered in due time.
Suddenly the door to the cock-pit opened slightly. Adrian half expected the G-Man to pop up and greet him with some cryptic bullshit. Luckily this wasn't the case as the head of the co-pilot popped out from the opening.
"Sir, we're here, I suggest you hold onto something." None of the three really listened, with how slowly the Bullhead was flying, all were sure they'd be fine as they landed on a landing pad smack-bang facing Beacon Academy.
"Welcome Mr, Shephard, to Beacon Academy!" Ozpin exclaimed his words with the upmost confidence, which was rewarded with Adrian's eye-widening and stationary position as they walked out.
Beacon Academy, in an American viewpoint, looked more like some ancient monument that had faced the pains of time. Large almost European-like spires rose in the distance, it was beautiful in a way. The longest tower stood in the middle, a shining monument that was Beacon Academy. Adrian just shook his head in disbelief.
"Ozpin, you sure you're a professor and not a multi-millionaire?!" Adrian managed to spew out, Ozpin laughed at this point, this disbelief was comforting to him.
"I am the Headmaster of Beacon Academy, something I forgot to mention," Ozpin added. "My office is just ahead, the tallest tower of them all, Beacon Tower." Ozpin smirked, he liked the view the tower gave him, the view of his most wonderful academy.
Adrian only looked at him bewildered, before laughing as well. "Damn Ozpin, you are one lucky Headmaster." Both men laughed, it was certainly something.
"Yes, Beacon Academy is quite beautiful, the best of the best I believe," Goodwitch stated, cutting them both from laughing, although she was smiling, "But we have things we must attend to. Professor Oobleck is waiting for you at the Main Avenue, I and Ozpin must get the students into the teams."
Ozpin nodded at Glynda's comment and Adrian murmured an audible "Got it." Ozpin pointed where he needed to go, "There's a statue in the middle of the Avenue, you can't miss it." Adrian gave a lazy salute and both parties were on their way soon enough.
Adrian kept his pace as he stared at all the wonders of Beacon. The Santego Military Base was situated in a canyon region in Arizona so all he could see were shades of orange, red and yellow among other things, as well as dry and heated conditions which Adrian admitted to himself he missed.
Beacon Academy was much different however. The greenery complimented the white-painted architecture, the commotion of students, possibly returning from their initiation gave the academy life it couldn't have. Approaching the Main Avenue which was flocked with to-be students, he could hear conversations about normal things. This warmed Adrian, especially after what Black Mesa had done to him.
Black Mesa, he would never forget that place, even with this new life ahead of him. The aliens, Black Operations, the death of all those innocent scientists and guards, the death of his HECU brothers who had sacrificed their lives for him, or those he couldn't protect. That damn bomb, fucking nuke. Adrian clenched his teeth. That failure would haunt him forever. He would make whoever activated it go through endless pain.
Adrian only realised he was standing still in a sea of teens. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he continued walking forward to meet this Professor Oobleck. Among the crowd, he had attempted to look for Ruby and Weiss, maybe even Jaune and Pyrrha, but there were nowhere, maybe they'd come later.
Seeing the statue in the Main Avenue, which had some people on a rock outcropping, with a Beowolf below them. Humans triumph in the end and Grimm shall not, I see. Adrian paced forward, seeing a green-haired man with unkempt clothes, he had a mug like Ozpin but took a sip from the cup ever two seconds. Wow, talk about an addiction.
Another man stood beside him. He was quite plump to say the least, and had grey hair and a finely kept moustache. He also was much more formal with his clothing than the green-haired man. Both smiled at Adrian as they made their way towards him.
"And you, my brave man, must be Adrian Shephard!" The plump one sung, "I am Professor Peter Port, and I am impressed by such bravery as yours!"
"Uhm, thanks?" The green-haired man then sped in front of Port, maybe even teleported with how fast he had gone.
"You must be Shephard! The mysterious soldier who suddenly appeared in the Emerald Forest! Professor Bartholomew Oobleck at your service! Mind if I ask you a few questions?" He spouted out, Adrian stepped back, mildly startled.
"After, you take me where Ozpin assigned you to accompany me to." Adrian commented, pointing a finger, "But it's a damn pleasure to meet the both of you."
"The pleasure is all mine!" Port straightened himself and smiled.
"Yes yes, my apologies." Oobleck nodded and allowed Adrian to follow him and Port to wherever they needed to go.
Adrian had noticed the horde of teens had nearly gone, or even disappeared as most entered the Main Avenue's gate. Port greeted the new to-be students with confidence while Oobleck grinned. Adrian just sighed, tired of standing around for so long. He could hear Port's distinct voice telling a trio of his exploits. They sounded far-fetched but considering Adrian had no idea about the Grimm at all, he'd have to believe it for now.
"Truth be told, most of those stories aren't real at all. But they're a treat to listen to, wouldn't you say?" Oobleck took a gulp from his mug while Adrian shrugged, he didn't know Port that much so he couldn't make any empty assumptions.
"Fair enough," Oobleck looked at Port, now clearly distracted with telling his stories to the passing huntsmen and huntresses in training. Oobleck shook his head, but chuckled too, "Well, I'll send a message through his Scroll of our departure, he'll be with us soon after."
"Scroll?" Adrian questioned. There was Grimm and Dust, huntsmen and huntresses, and now Scrolls? He expected an actual scroll from what Oobleck had told him but catching onto his 'message through his Scroll', he must have been talking about a phone of some sort.
"A question to be answered once we get to my office." Oobleck waved a hand for Adrian to follow him as they went on their way.
The two entered the gate as the full landscape of Beacon Academy revealed itself. Adrian continued to look around astonished by the size of this supposed school. Oobleck on the other hand, decided to talk of the history of Beacon Academy, with the mention of being one of the best huntsman and huntress academies in Remnant.
If Beacon Academy really was one of the best academies, Adrian had his work cut out for him. He was a good soldier, but was below Black Operation's standards, just the cannon fodder of the U.S Special Forces before the best arrived. Considering he didn't have an Aura at all and these kids had strength that could outmatch even the best of America's government forces, Adrian knew he'd have to do some learning, even if he was already out of his schooling days.
The mention of Remnant also surprised him, so he really wasn't on some weird and twisted version of Earth, but a different planet entirely. Adrian wished he would be on Earth right now, at least he'd have some sort of chance, but he was out-matched and sure to die here if he wasn't careful.
Soon approaching Oobleck's office, he opened the door before shutting it quickly. "Ahem, excuse me for some time Mr. Shephard, I need to… fix a few things."
"What? I'm not going to judge you for anything. Just let me in my legs could fracture themselves if I keep on with this." Adrian grunted out as he looked to his legs in instinct.
"If you insist." Oobleck pushed the door open lightly as he and Adrian went inside. Desperately looking for a seat, he saw one at the front of what was to be presumed as Oobleck's desk. Sitting down, he sighed in relaxation as he finally could stop all this standing. He took the time to survey Oobleck's office, it was interesting as most things were in this place.
The shelves that stood on the sidelines had books organized into neat rows, each labelled with a subject, from 'Grimm' to a strange new term, 'Faunus'. He had a cupboard that housed several mugs of different qualities, even coffees and cocoas arranged under it.
Oobleck's desk was messy, as to be expected. Papers littered the upper face and two mugs sat on the sides, far away from spilling onto any important papers of worth. A lamp was placed onto the right of Adrian's seat and a pendulum was on the left, swinging softly as an awkward silence filled the room.
The most notable thing in Oobleck's room however, was a hastily set-up TV which sat upon a small coffee table. There seemed to be some game stuck on a pause menu. Too anyone on Remnant, it seemed like any normal game. But to Adrian, he already knew what Oobleck had been up to.
"Did you just use my PS2 to play Transformers?" Specifically, Oobleck had made an attempt to beat Starscream, something Adrian also could not do. "Heh, Transformers: Armada was one of my guilty pleasures during my time at my boot camp." He admitted.
"I see." Oobleck then nodded to himself before continuing. "Now, if you don't know what I do, I am Beacon's professor in history. Ozpin had your crates given to a specific professor for study. Port has your weapons and ammunition, Peach has the crate of whatever was inside, and I, your personal belongings."
Adrian narrowed his eyes, he would seriously give Oobleck an ass-whooping if he decided to look through his diary or his more personal items. The professor noticed this and coughed. "Don't worry, I only took what interested me, your personal history does not. For now, anyway." Adrian 'humphed' in response. Oobleck continued.
"I've taken most of the games along with the movies and they all interest me greatly. None of them have been recorded in the kingdom's databases along with the CCT. Tell me, these ones interest me a lot." Oobleck proceeded to open a drawer and take out the original Star Wars movies. "Care to explain?"
"Those DVDs," Adrian had gotten very serious, startling Oobleck who didn't expect this. "Those DVDs, are some of the best things I've seen. God bless George Lucas." He leaned back onto his chair and Oobleck stared blankly.
Oobleck voiced his other interests "Now how about th-
By the time Oobleck had brought the entirety of the DVD case into view. Adrian had snatched it away gaining a yelp from the professor. Quickly opening the case, he extracted the DVD itself before breaking it in half and expertly throwing it into a distant bin.
Oobleck was quite angered by Adrian's actions. "But that Feli-
"Shut it doc," Adrian ordered, "Just be glad you didn't see the contents of the damn thing." Noticing the boiling anger, Oobleck obliged and decided to lighten the mood by taking out the games instead.
The next few hours with Oobleck had Adrian explain the DVDs and games which Oobleck took interest in, noting down some of his words. In turn, Adrian had asked the professor about some of the new unfamiliar terms, of which Oobleck also explained in detail. His talk about the Faunus had him most interested.
The Faunus, humans with animalistic traits, from tails to ears and even claws. Subjected to racism due to their traits, Adrian was ashamed at such a fact, the racism made no sense at all, especially if the Humans and Faunus could work together to benefit them both. Almost like the HECU and Freeman. Adrian thought to himself.
"Got everything Oobleck?" Adrian asked.
"Yes, yes I have." Oobleck closed his notebook. "Hmm, strange, Port hasn't come yet."
"Maybe somewhere else." Adrian suggested.
Suddenly, Oobleck's Scroll rung with him excusing himself as he went outside to take the call. Adrian took some of this down-time to consider his dilemma again. Stuck in a new world with no way to contact Earth at all, basically broke thanks to Remnant using a currency called 'Lien', out-matched in every way and sure to die and he wasn't sure if he would disclose what happened in Black Mesa or keep it to himself. No one should ever go through the experience like that. Ever.
Oobleck burst through the door calmly as he grinned. "Mr. Shephard, Headmaster Ozpin requires your attention. Please, let me take you to his office." Adrian grunted in agreeance and both exited from Oobleck's office, and on their way to Ozpin's. Eventually reaching the door to his office, Adrian was confused. Oobleck had clearly told him this was the CCT.
"Isn't this the CCT?" Adrian titled his head.
"Well yes, but Ozpin's office is just up above." Adrian 'humphed' again, impressed with Ozpin's stature in this academy. The two both entered the tower with the workers greeting the professor, and some reluctant to speak with Adrian. They soon reached the elevator, and the few final steps to Ozpin's office.
"So," Oobleck coughed as the elevator doors closed. "Enjoying Beacon?"
Adrian shrugged, "Impressive, but I got to know the place a little more I guess."
"Hmm, I see." Oobleck awkwardly paused before continuing. "I do hope you get to stay you're an interesting man."
"Thanks for the thought, I guess." Adrian nodded as the doors opened. Both stepped out and were greeted by both Ozpin and Goodwitch who had taken their place a few metres from them.
"Mr. Shephard, a pleasure to see you. Please, take a seat and let's have that discussion I was talking about." He offered the seat that was in front of his desk. "And Oobleck, you may stay for the meanwhile, I have the distinct feeling I'll need you for something later."
Oobleck sat down at one of the couches on the sides while Adrian made his way to Ozpin's offered chair, Glynda gave him a hard and cold stare, which Adrian ignored as he sat down and got himself comfortable. He also had a distinct feeling this wasn't going to go well.
"Now that we are finally here, I wanted to ask," Ozpin put down his mug, "I presume you received your training from Atlas, correct?"
Adrian paused reluctantly to think, I could cross off the risk of them finding out I'm from another world, but at the same time that'd caused more risks too, if the Atlesian military have their own chain of command. Furthermore, if I tell them I'm from another dimension entirely, I can gain their trust and earn myself some leverage, but that'd put more attention on me too…
Adrian sighed, "Sir, if I could. Promise me what I'm about to say stays between the professors only?"
Ozpin closed his eyes to ponder as well, then opened them smiling. "You chose to save my students without a second thought, so I will listen, and there will be no judgement."
"Good." Adrian nodded, then coughed for the long explanation ahead. "Never trained in Atlas, was trained by Drill Instructors Dwight T. Barnes and Sharpe in the Santego Military Base. Located in Arizona, west of New Mexico." Adrian started.
"Arizona and New Mexico…" Ozpin 'hmmed' before continuing. "I would say these are simply places in Vacuo, but that is very unlikely."
"Correct," Adrian clapped his hands lightly, complimenting Ozpin's nature. "What if I were to say… I'm not from Remnant?"
"That it would be highly far-fetched, but not possible." Ozpin smirked.
"Preposterous! So, you're saying you're from another planet?! Dimension?! Ozpin this man is clearly spewing lies!" Goodwitch inputted.
"I agree with Ozpin! If you are from another dimension or even planet entirely, this could change the whole of Remnant!" Oobleck shouted in the background.
Adrian chuckled, "At least some people believe me," Raising his eyes at Goodwitch who simply looked away. The professors were pleasantly amused when Adrian proceeded to unlatch the gas-mask from his face and remove his helmet, revealing the man underneath it.
Adrian was quite young for a soldier with his experience, only 4 years older than most huntsman and huntresses in training. He had slick black hair that had clearly been cut down to the bare minimum. His eyes sagged, clearly, he was tired from his arrival and his face held a constant scowl no matter what emotion he conveyed.
"Here," Adrian handed over his helmet and mask to Ozpin, "Don't know if Remnant's technology is compatible to mine, but let's just do what we can. USB port's on the helmet's side, linked to some software that connects to the mask's in-built heads-up display."
Ozpin examined both helmet and mask, before finding the necessary port and fishing out his Scroll. Plugging them both together using a USB wire, his Scroll's screen suddenly shifted into a menu with the HECU logo on the bottom right:
[INTERFACING…]
[…]
[…]
[…]
[INTERFACING COMPLETE!]
[DESTROY FOOTAGE]
[REVIEW FOOTAGE]
[UPLOAD FOOTAGE]
[HELP]
[EXIT]
Choosing the 'Upload Footage' option, the screen opened to another, this one being a little less morale-boosting than most:
[PROCESS HINDERED, ABORTING UNLOCK SEQUENCE!]
[AUTHORISATION REQUIRED:]
FACIAL RECOGNITION
PASSWORD REQUIREMENT
[PLEASE CHOOSE AN OPTION BEFORE CONTINUING!]
:CONTINUE:
Ozpin chose the 'Facial Recognition' option and continued before sliding the Scroll to Adrian. "If you could mind?" He asked. Adrian shrugged and let the Scroll do its magic, or whatever it did before the screen switched to the next:
[AUTHORISATION COMPLETE, WELCOME: CORPORAL ADRIAN SHEPHARD]
[UPLOAD TO "OZPIN'S SCROLL"?]
:YES:
:NO:
Ozpin chose 'Yes'. Now it was just the waiting to get through:
[UPLOADING…]
[…]
[…]
[…]
[UPLOADING COMPLETE, CLOSING MENU NOW…]
With the upload complete, Ozpin disconnected the wire and went through his Scroll's flies, giving Adrian his mask and helmet beforehand, eventually finding the footage he and Goodwitch had been looking for. Ozpin made sure to check through the extra information before the video player popped up.
Adrian along with Ozpin and Goodwitch saw what presumed to be Adrian looking around. The environment was unfamiliar to the natives, but Adrian knew that this was the moment where he had gotten a discarded PCV and gas-mask inside Black Mesa.
The footage continued, with Adrian confronting a man who was inspecting a corpse. Some weird creature had latched itself to its head and the arms had shrivelled up horribly, with the hands becoming claws. The most degrading thing was that the chest had completely blew up, showing all the insides in a grotesque state.
Ozpin had ushered Oobleck to also inspect the footage as the three professors heard what he had to say.
"Have you ever seen such a magnificent species? These… crabs can completely control their host's nervous system. Can you imagine what the next stage of mutation looks like?"
"Hmm, interesting he put his work over other lives." Ozpin blankly said.
Goodwitch was disgusted by the man's behaviour. "I have to agree with you Ozpin, these men are just disrespecting the victim's demise. He should be remembered and given some sort of burial, not have his body be probed and examined."
"Certainly interesting! If these crabs control the nervous system entirely they must be a parasite of some sort! But what a poor shame to the victim indeed…" Oobleck uttered, mixed with intrigue and sorrow.
"Yeah, how interesting indeed." Adrian growled sarcastically. Goodwitch caught onto this and was indeed very mad.
"Excuse you?! You have no right be disrespecting a profe-
"Glynda." Ozpin stopped her before she could bark some sense into the soldier. He pointed to the body, but more especially, the clothes had on. Her face grew from annoyed to regret in an instant.
"Oh…" Goodwitch had realised that the victim was one of the HECU. Oobleck had hit a personal spot on Adrian with Goodwitch defending Oobleck too. "I was too quick to fully consider it. I'm sorry Adrian, it must be hard losing brothers-in-arms like that."
"It is," Adrian took a breather. "We have a motto: "Never leave another Marine for dead, or you'll be a dead man yourself." When the HECU evacuated, only a few decided to or could leave. Many others stuck with their friends until they died or couldn't get out in time."
Goodwitch audibly swore to herself, Oobleck shook his head in disbelief for himself and Ozpin wore a morose look on his face.
"I presume now this is enough proof that you are indeed, from another dimension." Ozpin looked at the two professors flanking his sides.
"Of course, we must look into this more. We could find ourselves looking at something quite dangerous." Oobleck suggested.
"I agree. But this begs the question. Adrian, how did you get here exactly?" Goodwitch requested.
"I honestly have no clue. But this suited guy, called himself the G-Man, sent me here." Adrian answered.
"And why is that so?" Ozpin asked.
"To protect it," Adrian stated. "Watch over it to make sure nothing will go wrong. I've already fucked up, I don't want that happening again…" Adrian scrunched his face in anger. Fucking nuke…
Ozpin smiled, Adrian looked at the man appalled. "Mr. Shephard, I think I have the perfect job, or profession for you."
Goodwitch shot a look at Ozpin, clearly scared. "Ozpin, you're not thinking…"
"I am Glynda, I am." Ozpin called back. "Adrian, how would you like to become a Huntsman?"
"Become a full-fledged Huntsman? Not even some formal training beforehand?" Adrian scratched his head in bewilderment.
"There will be formal training, with both academic and combat. But we believe that with the skillset the HECU has trained you into, you exceed the students in many factors, apart from Aura and Semblance." Goodwitch bumped into the conversation once again.
"Any other perks I should know?" Adrian pondered openly.
"You will receive your own Scroll, and the use of the academy facilities. All necessities you need will be paid by the academy, in exchange of your skills to be put into good use during personally assigned missions." Ozpin answered.
"You're a saviour Ozpin," Adrian cheered internally, "Least it solves that problem. But can I ask for one thing?"
Ozpin nodded, "Be my guest."
"Private place, just for me and me only. If your friend Port's already gone through my weapons I expect the Spore Launcher and Barnacle Grapple gave him a surprise." Adrian let out a grunt thinking about it.
"It will be arranged, although you will need to sleep somewhere for the night. I've already called up a student to take you somewhere adequate." Ozpin took his mug and swallowed the contents. "You may leave now, I will call you again when the professors have reviewed your footage."
Oobleck gave out a hand for Adrian to shake, of which the marine did. Goodwitch coughed, gaining Adrian's attention. "Mr. Shephard, please do not make any trouble that I will have to fix." The two went into an intense staring contest, until Adrian smiled.
"Don't worry Goodwitch, if there's trouble, I'll be the one walking into it. Unintentionally of course." Adrian patted Goodwitch on the back, which caused the professor to shift away.
The three looked on as Adrian left for the elevator with his hands in his pockets. As he was inside, he put his gas-mask and helmet back on and faced to the professors, giving a quick 'goodbye' in the form of a wave before the elevator doors shut tightly, bring the soldier back down to more suitable levels. Rubbing his temples, Ozpin lifted himself from the chair.
"I'll be pondering about our current predicament. Glynda, inform Port and Peach to come immediately. Their input would be most welcomed with the footage we now have."
None of them knew what terrible events would unfold, the failure of Black Mesa, all conveniently given to a very powerful man and his accomplices.
*CCT Tower, Beacon Academy*
Night had finally shown itself to Remnant, and to Adrian. No light was powerful enough to rid of the stars that were placed among the skies. He always loved looking up, thinking of what was beyond all of it. His friends had gotten him into space, and they all made wacked theories of aliens and inhabitable planets. It seemed too far, but possible to experience these things.
That was until Black Mesa happened.
Aliens became real, maybe even entire planets. But there was no friendly interaction and adrenaline rush of landing on something entirely extra-terrestrial.
Only the screams of terrified or confident marines and unfamiliar dread as the aliens ripped apart the facility and everyone into pieces. Xen, then what the scientists had dubbed "Race X".
Adrian shook his head, he was in a new world where these things never happened. I shouldn't be crying over spilt milk; just enjoy the fact I have a new start. He looked towards where he was heading to, the Beacon Dorms, then to the student who was accompanying him to the dorms.
Velvet Scarlatina, a second-year student, or to be more accurate, an absolutely shy second-year student. She was currently in Beacon Academy's uniform and was clearly nervous around Adrian. When Adrian had gotten outside to meet her, she had yelped at his unfamiliar attire and shakenly helped Adrian to the dorms.
"Kids." Adrian muttered under his breath. "Velvet, is this because of your Faunus heritage?" Velvet had a pair of rabbit ear on her head, and considering what Oobleck had told him about the Faunus, he understood.
Velvet jumped, dumbstruck at this uneducated answer. "O-of course not! It's j-just that-
"I look like a scary son of a gun." Adrian fully laughed, scaring Velvet significantly. "You should've seen me the first time I introduced myself, had a scared little girl and a rapier pointed to my neck."
"Oh, that's unfortunate…" It was cold, and Velvet attempted to keep herself warm. "Cold… night. Isn't it?" Velvet said, needing to spark a not-so awkward conversation.
"It is," Adrian whistled, acknowledging the temperature. "I trained in sweltering places, cold isn't a thing where I came from."
Velvet softly smiled. "Are you from Vacuo then?"
"Y-yeah I am." Another lie, he didn't need his identity spilled to people he barely knew.
"Nice." Velvet turned away from Adrian, the two locked into an awkward situation where neither could speak to one another.
Velvet went red. Oh, I'm embarrassing myself so badly, where's Coco when you need her?
Adrian started humming a tune. This is nice, nothing going on at all. Definitely, completely, nothing is happening that is awkward at all.
Adrian stopped. Velvet noticed and turned to him confused. Adrian simply pointed opposite of where she was facing. "These are the dorms, right?"
Velvet turned, they were at their destination and she had done an abysmal job at being a welcoming guest. "U-uh, um, y-yes we're here! Finally! L-let's go before it gets colder." Adrian shrugged as the two made their way inside.
The dorms overwhelmed Adrian with a sense of comfort, like a cuddly toy bear that was in major need of hugging. Noting that this was a place were teenagers had their fun and did their things, Adrian was quite blessed with the familiarity it brought, of all his friends at boot camp. It warmed him from the freeze outside.
It was a shame his friend we're all dead though.
Adrian shook his head and took a breather. If the G-Man had given him a path better than the last, he had to respect that by welcoming it. He had the feeling he would be here for a while anyway, no Earth, no crazy cover-ups and especially, no killer aliens. It felt good.
Focusing back on where he was heading, Velvet had held herself near a door, presumably a dorm for him. He opened the door to take a quick look, then closed it again, content with what little he had seen.
"Well, before you go, I just wanted to say something." Adrian turned to Velvet and rested himself on a wall.
"S-sure! What about?" Velvet politely asked.
"Just wanted to clear up some dust in the air. Firstly," He crossed his arms. "Do you think of me as a Faunus hater?"
Velvet was aghast, she wanted to run but her legs refused so she stood her ground. "Wha-
Adrian put his finger up, Velvet saw it as a sign to shut up and listen. Adrian sighed, "Velvet, just be honest, please. Liars where I'm from tend to be beaten up or 'exiled' from everyone."
"W-well…" Velvet stuttered, nervous of the outcome of what she was going to say. "Well, I don't think you as a r-racist, but Coco's always told me to be wary of strangers. They tend to not be as nice as they look. Not to mention I have a few bullies that are picking on me…"
Adrian stayed silent and Velvet was ready to sprint if he had taken offense to what she had just admitted. It only really made her want to do just that when Adrian laughed, clapping his hands slowly and lightly.
"This Coco, she taught you well Velvet. You should always be wary, and I say that's a good thing considering what I've had to go through." He had a quick thought of Race X's intervention, but shook it off and let Velvet speak.
"W-wait, you're not mad. At all?" The bunny girl questioned.
"Why should I be? Only a dumbass with their shrivelled brain up their ass would get mad when you say things like that." Adrian blankly mused. "Besides, now that you said this, can I just admit something too?"
"S-sure."
"I would love to be a Faunus, just the truth. I heard about their traits and all that. Imagine me being a bear Faunus with razor-sharp claws and night-vision. Man, I'm sure I'd love it."
Velvet was shocked, mixed feelings of happiness and fear welled up inside her. "Bu-
"Shut it for a sec Velvet," Adrian saw Velvet shut, he continued. "I know about the racism between Humans and Faunus, and it's pretty bad stuff. I'd say Remnant's fucked if the two don't learn to co-operate. I'll put it bluntly, racists really need to get their fingers out of their eyes and see the good in people like you, and all Faunus too."
"But Ad-
"It's hard, I wouldn't know but it must be." Adrian interrupted her sentence again. "People say this a lot, it takes little effort to fight, but it takes sheer willpower to ignore it all. I assume with these bullies tagging you, you've been keeping quiet?"
"Yes. I have. But they're new here, first-years too. I believe they're a team called CRDL." Velvet looked down ashamed.
"You're a good kid Velvet. These wack-jobs pick on you because you're not as sociable as others and being a Faunus too, but hey you there in time. And it doesn't hurt to smack some sense into others, if push comes to shove, you'll be the better person if you just keep pushing, because the shovers tend to be… idiots."
Adrian placed her hand on Velvet's shoulder which had her face tint red. "If they come back for, just don't bother, hard to talk sense into bullies anyway. Words are better than actions in all honesty, so use that."
Adrian went to open the door to his temporary abode. Before he could get in however, Velvet held onto Adrian's arm and he looked back to see why. Velvet had a tear running down her right eye.
"Thank you so much Adrian," She sniffed. "I was nervous before, but I'm glad I met you."
"No worries Velvet, you've got good intentions despite your not-so-good sociability. I can get behind that."
A question clicked in Velvet's mind, I could be touchy but Adrian was competent enough to answer without a harsh remark.
"How… do you know all this, handling bullies?"
Adrian gently pushed her hand away from his arm, he looked back at the girl. Velvet could see his eyes… they were quite friendly to say the least, but she felt a hint of remorse in them.
"I dealt with some. I know the pain all too well."
Velvet stood back as the door closed. Something unexpected had happened, but she was sure this new arrival would change Beacon quite a bit with his presence.
*Ozpin's Office, Beacon Academy*
"Why do we always have to clean up a mess the grunts can't handle?"
"Tell me about it. I just wanna deliver the package and get out of here."
"Yeah. Sooner or later the grunts are gonna figure it out."
"God damn it! Be careful with that thing! One false move and this whole facility is gone!"
"I've got it covered, I'm not stupid. You just keep your eyes open, there are still some targets running around out there, especially Freeman and Shephard."
The conglomerate that was Ozpin, Goodwitch, Port, Oobleck and Peach had their eyes stuck onto the screen as they watched what Adrian had whispered in the footage as "Black Operations" conversing before he rushed out of his hiding place to fight them.
"Get down! I hea-
The soldier was too late to say anything else as Adrian shoved his combat knife into his throat, the gurgling of the dying soldier replaced with a loud shot as Adrian whipped out his Desert Eagle and blew a hole into the other's head.
"Contact! HECU! Take him down!"
Black Ops soldiers surrounded him left and right, but Adrian was ready. Pulling the pin of a grenade, he threw it to the left where three soldiers panicked.
"Oh shi-
The grenade blew into a flaming ball of heat instantly, destroying and burning any Black Ops in its vicinity as their gibs flew in a bloody wonder. Using the body of the Black Ops with the cut throat, he swung it to the right where his attackers sprayed their bullets, ripping into their former living comrade and into Adrian, although most of the PCV took the damage.
"Don't let him escape! Command wants all dead, just kill the fucker!"
"This grunt's putting up a fight!"
"Then fight harder! If we can kill a few of them with no setbacks, then this one just needs the special treatment!"
"Copy, full force soldiers!"
Adrian threw the body at them and ducked behind a crate. Taking out his M16, he peeked above and fired at the remaining Black Ops as their bodies fell on by one, occasionally getting back under cover to reload. One soldier had a grenade propelled towards him as his body separated itself.
Adrian waited or the gunfire to end before lifting himself from the crate. He walked up to a soldier with bullet wounds around his body and gave the dead man a swift kick.
"I don't know what Black Operations is doing here. But I'm not here to die, nor is my team, never."
Ozpin paused the video and rubbed his temples, Goodwitch was taken aback by such death. Port looked solemn, Oobleck cleaned his glasses and sighed and Peach was the worst out of them, with her slowly crying as she pieced together Adrian's handiwork during his time at this facility.
They had seen all of it. All the pain Adrian had inside him was shown in this footage. Adrian after waking up, had found his team had died due to the aliens that had suddenly appeared. One scientist was helpful enough to explain that the aliens came through an event called a "Resonance Cascade" which he elaborated on, and that they had overrun the facility soon after.
Thus, began Adrian's journey, first beginning with him heading towards a supposed extraction point, meeting the aliens overrunning the facility and one security guard who met a terrible fate by electrocution. Adrian reached a radio that broadcasted one message: "Attention to all marines! We are pulling out of Black Mesa!"
The battle for power was turning to the alien's favour as Shephard raced to escape lest he get abandoned and left for dead. In his troubles, he and the professors saw new aliens not even known to the Black Mesa staff. But the most troubling thing was the guard that Adrian encountered. Otis:
"Mmm, candy."
All the professors, even Footage Adrian were dumbfounded at the guard's actions. A whole facility falling apart and lives being taken every second, and one single man decides that candy was the most important thing on his list?!
"Stupid machines! Why don't these ever seem to work?"
"Ummmm…"
"Hey ya, you wouldn't have a quarter I can borrow, would ya?"
"No, but I can help you get out of here."
"Fair enough! Name's Otis, and you are?"
"Adrian, now let's go Otis. We've got more important things to do."
They trekked forward, reaching a scientist and his security guard conversing:
"Have you seen the new IG88?"
No I haven't, but a friend of mine-
"W-what is that thing?! What the hell?!"
"I don't know, I've never seen that species before!"
"Don't worry sir I can take 'em! Argh! Urk!"
"No! NO! PLEASE! I DON'T WANT TO DIE! AAAAAAAAAAAH!"
"Those poor bastards, we couldn't save them…" Otis said, sad to see a guard and his scientist go.
Despite this scene, Adrian and Otis pushed forward and reached a room, where a single scientist yelped at Adrian breaking the glass, it wasn't bullet-proof, good. Otis had gone to unlock a locker with some supplies:
"Oh no. You are one of the… them. Can't we just get along?"
"Don't worry, I won't hurt you."
"What about your other friends, they killed all mine."
"But, why?"
"I don't know. But I do know that now we can't rely on them for rescue."
"God damn it all. Otis, I'm going to need a favour."
"What's up partner?"
"If what the guy saying is true, you're no longer safe with me. Take him and get out of here before the HECU come. Find your own way out."
"But-
"Just go, get out of here. No more death, not on my watch."
"G-good luck then, Adrian. Our friendship was short."
"Glad you see me as a friend Otis, see you someday."
Otis and the scientist picked themselves up and left:
"I… know they won't make it. They just won't. But I want them too. Stay safe you two."
Adrian shook his head and grabbed the things in the locker Otis unlocked before moving, eventually rallying to the extraction point where they found a man relaying a message:
"Come in Cooper! Do you copy?! Forget about Freeman! We're abandoning the base! If you have any last bomb targets, mark them on the Tactical Map! Otherwise, get the hell outta there! Repeat: we are pulling out and commencing air strikes! Give us targets or get below! Come on and respond Cooper!"
They saw Adrian continue on, and see a marine abusing a hapless scientist:
"Where's Freeman! I know you know where that maniac is!"
"I-I don't know what you're talking about! I don't know where he is!"
"Liar! Tell me or get a bullet through the head!"
Adrian intervened, placing a hand on his shoulder and shaking some sense into him:
"Come on! He doesn't know anything! Just let him go and let's get out of here!"
"No please, please don't leave us here!"
"You don't get to leave, dirtbag!"
"He can't what?! Why not?!"
"Didn't you hear Corporal? We've been sent to kill everyone here and even we can't do that anymore! Aliens are god damn everywhere!"
To say the least, everyone was shocked and horrified, apart from Ozpin who kept himself level and Adrian who had somewhat knew beforehand. Adrian could've become a merciless killer had he received the command to. His crash looked like some sort of blessing in disguise at this point.
They could hear Adrian mumble on about how "this was some messed up bullshit" as a gunshot rang. They all flinched, knowing it was the scientist receiving that bullet.
The marines fled alongside Adrian, who was right behind them. But as he was about to make it, the door to the Osprey was suddenly closing and Adrian had no time to get through as it shut fully. Adrian roared as he slammed his fist onto the door's window, watching as the Osprey took off. Strangely he had made it look like he was looking at something else.
With Adrian now trapped in Black Mesa, he ventured forward and went deeper into the facility, fighting against what the scientists had called 'Vortigaunts' and what Adrian had coined 'Headcrab Zombies' and 'Gonomes' as well as watching the Xen flora overtake the environment which interested Peach.
They watched on as Adrian reached more familiar environments. Reaching a supply truck, they saw a marine collapse in pain clearly dying from his injuries. Adrian checked him, but it was already too late.
"You've got to get out of here! Listen to me Shephard! Those… things! They'll kill all of us! Just keep fucking running!"
The room was filled with condolences for Shephard as he watched a comrade fall. Adrian was taking it quite personally as he kicked the ground in rage. It was crystal that being a Corporal wasn't an easy task, considering the HECU were spread thin.
Adrian ripped out the HECU soldier's dogtags and took what he needed before continuing, hardening himself after his comrade's death. It was here Adrian and the professors met a new species of alien of whom Adrian called "Pit Drones".
Going room by room to clear them out and make a path, they encountered a lone scientist huddled in a corner, the only thing separating him from the Pit Drones were a table and some boxes.
"I don't know what's worse, you soldiers under orders to silence the facility or these vile aliens!"
"God, damn it, I'm not to silence anyone! I just want answers to what the fuck is going on in this place!"
"I'll tell you what happened! These aliens along with your men started killing everyone on sight! And not to mention these new aliens even we don't know about! We're defenceless here! I knew those guards were nothing but useless space!"
"Then come with me then, hiding her isn't worth anything. And you can answer some questions too. We both want to get out of here, right?"
"No, I prefer I stay here. It's safe and no one will get to me. I don't need a mindless killing machine following me around."
"You're not going to last ja-
"I said leave! I clearly don't want to go, so leave!"
Adrian was defeated and kicked a box, the stress clearly getting to him. Ozpin watched on while the rest shook their heads dismissively. You have a semblance of a chance to be saved, yet you don't take it because you think you're superior to everyone! Goodwitch mused to herself as Adrian walked away from the egotistic scientist.
The travelling was fairly calm after the meeting with the scientists, with the random Headcrab here and there, nothing a few bullets couldn't kill. After more walking and shooting. Adrian and the professors found a displaced tile that led to a hiding place. Taking the ladder down, a scientist was on their left. The professors scrunched up. Scientists weren't the moralistic type of people in Black Mesa.
"Hello there! When all the fighting started, I hid myself here. I don't think any of them above have survived."
"Glad you did, apparently HECU issued the order to kill everyone here. It's fucking ridiculous."
"O-oh my, I hope you didn't come to kill me, have you?"
"No sir, I never received the orders thus I won't follow them. Besides, I have morals unlike the shitty people I've been meeting."
"T-thank you. What should I do now? I can't just stay here."
"You can't come with me, soldier's kill you on sight. I'm afraid you're stuck here until a guard comes here. I'm sorry."
"Don't fret. It's safe here anyway, I can leave once the noise dissipates."
"Then stay safe… Dr. Alexander Barthomo."
"Likewise… Corporal Adrian Shephard."
Adrian left Alexander's safe space and soldiered on. Finding a wire and clambering on, Adrian climbed himself in another intersection in the hallways when a voice rang out:
"Squad! Quiet down!"
Adrian had attempted to use the elevator access terminal, but it backfired and exploded before he could do anything. He decided to bang on the remaining maintenance door, gaining the attention of the squad on the other side:
"The current situation is looking pretty gri- Hold on someone's on the other side, don't open it! Could be those damn aliens!"
"Do I sound like an alien to you?!"
Corporal Shephard?! We've been left behind as well. We're onto your position now, stand back from the maintenance door, we're gonna blow it!"
Adrian took cover behind a table as the door blew itself open, revealing two HECU soldiers on the other side. Getting up, he went to greet them:
"Shephard! Looks like someone really screwed up Corporal! Seems the brass bit off more than they could chew. Spread out thin and low chance we're making it out of here."
"Yeah! Well forget about Freeman! We gotta save our own asses. Government's abandoned us and we don't need to follow orders anymore!"
"You with us Corporal? We could use some leadership."
"Glad to always help you two, and any of my fellows. Let's just get out of here. No more killing unless we have to, we're on our own now."
"Moving out Corporal!"
"Let's get the hell out of here!"
Heading back to the intersection, one of them took out a blowtorch and smiled, walking towards the elevator access door:
"Stand back Corporal, this'll only take a minute."
"I didn't get your names. Identify."
"Private Calico Jones, the one on the door is Lance Corporal Elihah Debon."
"Alright, keep on lookout you two. Calico you're up front with me. Elihah, check our six."
"Got it!"
"Sure, after I take this door down!"
The door was kicked down by Elihah and the three made it into the elevator. As soon as it opened, Vortigaunts attacked their position. But with Adrian's leadership the three were unstoppable as they tore through each one with ease, with some of the aliens even running away at their prowess.
The professors we're impressed with the HECU's skills, especially Calico who shot down Vorties left and right considering his rank as a Private. Provided, they had PCVs which took some of the brute force the aliens were packing but even without them they at least exceeded a first-year team and an Atlesian squad.
"I'm glad Adrian is on our side…" Goodwitch stated, earning nods from the other professors.
"Quite Glynda, quite." Ozpin watched blankly at the playing footage.
The three continued on, killing anything that threatened them with death. At one point, they had to swing towards a fallen walkway. Adrian and Elihah had breezed through it but Calico had nearly met his end after miscalculating his jump until Adrian grabbed him by the arm and hoisted him up.
"Thanks sir."
"Don't worry Private, I just want us to get out of here alive, all of us."
They continued on, eventually finding a room to restock. Adrian walked towards a radio and got the right frequency as it relayed a message:
"Mayday! Mayday! Anyone copy?! This is Tango Charlie… and we are under attack. Repeat! Black Operators… immediately! Over!"
"Black Operations? Why are they attacking us? We'd be working together in this, wouldn't we…?"
"Black Operations?! Damn bastards are killing our own!" Elihah roared.
"This is messed up! First day fighting and I'm stuck here!" Calico put his hands on his head, worried of their predicament.
"Come on Calico, if you die, I'll give those Black Ops a new one." Adrian seethed.
The group continued forward, finding a massive hole that led upwards, where a Medic was angrily kicking a door. He noticed the three:
"Shephard?! Calico?! Elihah?! What the hell were you doing down there? Listen, we need to get our asses down to the extraction point near Lambda sector. With any luck, we'll even get a shot at Freeman on our way out. Now this transit system should take us there but the door is sealed up pretty tight. Elihah, do you mind?"
"I think my blowtorch is going to run out of juice, won't open that door with what I've got. We'll need another Engineer."
"Damn it all. Shephard, any bright ideas?"
"I'll look around, stay here and keep the area secure."
"Alright!" The Medic gave a thumbs-up.
"You got it!" Elihah shook his head.
"Stay safe sir." Calico held a solemn look on his face.
And after a brief look-around and a loud scuffle, we're back to where we were previously.
"What do you make of all of this?" Ozpin asked his colleagues.
"Aliens! Distant dimensions! Science that exceeds even ours!" Oobleck had the urge to jump up and down. "Sadly though, these aliens have less than good intentions."
"Certainly interesting creatures Adrian has seen! I would like to have tussled with a Bullsquid as he called it." Port let out a halved laugh. "I agree with Oobleck though. All of this is… wrong."
"Of course it is!" Peach jumped and confronted the hearty man. "Although yes, the alien plant life is certainly interesting, that doesn't equate to how much lives are being lost, alien or human!"
"Correct." Goodwitch stated. "If I'm right, the HECU were sent as a cover-up force. And now even the government is having trouble and are now covering up the cover-up. Not to mention the incompetence on all sides."
"Yes yes. The guards aren't all that equipped, scientists barely know how to fight. Marines are losing the battle and Black Operations certainly isn't doing any favours to help." Port spoke.
"This is all true. I can see why Adrian wanted to keep this between the staff and him. No man, woman or child should experience things such as this. The public would no doubt attract the Grimm knowing two alien races are out there, bent to take over worlds to their will." Ozpin chimed in.
"How much of this horror do we have to go through?" Peach questioned.
"The amount of footage equates to exactly one day. We could skip the travelling and note down the important events." Oobleck suggested.
"A DAY, ALL OF THIS HAPPENED IN A DAY?!" Peach shrieked.
"Calm down Alnabatiu, I've seen worse than this." Goodwitch added.
"But all this senseless killin-
"They are following orders, most of them are." Ozpin barged into the argument. "Some follow the orders of the superior, others look out for themselves or for others. But all share a similarity, the need to survive."
"Allow me to be the voice of reason. The HECU and Black Operations are simply following orders. The aliens, Xen and 'Race X' are seemingly in an attempt to overthrow and take over, suggested with the alien flora. And the staff of Black Mesa? They look out for one another against these threats. They all have their reason, there is no senselessness behind it. But it is wrong, yes."
Peach took a deep breath and coughed. Goodwitch straightened herself.
"Oh, and Glynda, this may not look too horrible in your eyes, but we must place ourselves in Adrian's perspective. He was clearly stressed and in constant confusion protecting a band of his fellow marines as well as the disheartening attitude around him." Ozpin added.
"I understand Ozpin." Goodwitch replied.
"Good. Now let's stop this bickering. I have another feeling that events will only get more interesting as we watch on…"
Sorry for the wait I guess, kept you waiting huh?
I'd like to inform my readers beforehand, I will be making Adrian's journey in Black Mesa a bit more... emotional? He's a semi-finished canvas basically ready to have other paint added onto it (Gearbox or Valve describes OpFor as canon and non-canon, a Schrodinger's Cat of the Half-Life series). I'll also say, Adrian's ties to Black Operations will be a bit closer for some added dynamic.
All the HECU also will look the same besides from the added "thingy-ma-bob on the helmet that records the FPP (first-person perspective) of the marine). I personally believe that letting the characters see the event for themselves is more effective than them being told it.
Also cutting this chapter short. If my chapters go above 10,000 words, then I consider myself dragging it out.
Now, time to answer some stuff, from uh... one reviewer:
Guest (Bob) - Noting on your concerns:
1. I'll keep practicing my pacing, don't worry.
2. I tend to add as much as I can to a story so I can enthral readers into playing out the story in their head. But little can equate to more sometimes so I'll try and do that next chapter.
3. I completely understand what you say when I project too much into fixed personalities. I'm changing them a little too quickly for other's tastes. So I'll keep it slow and steady for the remainder of this fanfiction.
4. This concern confused me a bit. I'll need some more explanation on the "human emotional spacing" part. But I'm going to presume that you weren't so pleased with Weiss' interaction with Adrian/other characters and the to-be Team RWBY's fight with the Nevermore. I'll work on fixing that later.
With everything wrapped up and done with, next chapter will have Team RWBY, JNPR and CFVY's thoughts on Adrian as well as the professors watching the rest of the footage.
So adios, and see you lot soon.
-MimicLegend
(P.S: 'Alnabatiu' is Arabic for "botanist", not a good name but it would be the Latin translation instead, and that isn't as pleasant)