*Adrian's Temporary Abode, Beacon Academy*
Upon entering the room, Adrian had to admit, Ozpin certainly gave the students all the comfort they need. And to think, these are what the dorms look like, what'll my permanent room be then?
Unlike the large rooms in the military base which held single beds for all recruits, small but good enough, the dorm rooms of Beacon were something that reminded him of home, of better times. A single desk, four beds, empty shelves and a bookcase with nothing inside and a bathroom, he was being spoiled with at this point.
Even if everything looked nice, he was annoyed that his crates weren't returned yet. Perhaps the staff would come for his comment later, but with the night getting even darker, Adrian needed to get ready to sleep soon.
Glancing to the far-left bed, he saw a bundle of clothes and a few books stacked on top of one another, someone had left him a gift, or something more. Walking over, he picked up the note that associated itself with the bundles and read through carefully.
Welcome to the dorm you will be occupying for the time being, until we have sorted through any inconveniences and important information. Along with the note you are currently reading, I have given you some sufficient clothing to wear until you are able to purchase your own as well as books carefully hand-picked for you to obtain a better understanding of our world. I hope what we have given to you suits your needs.
- Headmaster Ozpin
Adrian wasn't surprised, Ozpin had proven himself to be a hospitable host, even if his intentions lied among the haze. But his mind lingered on when Ozpin had sent these things, obviously after he had arrived at Beacon, but also before when?
Adrian simply sighed and grabbed the clothes. "Sneaky bastard, too damn sneaky."
Getting himself into the bathroom, he stripped himself of his clothing and everything else before hopping into the shower and turning on the water, not too cold, yet not too hot either, just the perfect temperature.
Adrian let the water fall onto him slowly, it felt like eternity since he had a shower even if it was just a day in that facility. Cleaning himself over, he let some water fall onto his hands, a solemn look in his eyes, remembering darker times.
He would never forget Black Mesa even if someone had shot him in the brain. He was a lowly ranked soldier when he was thrust into a scenario he had no idea on. He only idly watched on or did what he could, but that never worked either.
The good and the bad, it didn't matter, everyone and everything he knew or had met and seen were burned into the dirt, and it was all his fault.
He groaned to himself, he hated the self-pity at this point. Taking the time to take some shampoo and body wash to clean himself over once more, he soon got out, using a towel placed inside the bathroom clean his being thoroughly, rough but effective.
He put on the clothes, some underwear, a simple grey shirt, combat boots and some cargo pants. Wouldn't be surprised if Ozpin also hand-picked the clothes too. He picked up his PCV, helmet and gas-mask and exited, placing them neatly onto the lacklustre table in the dorm room.
Tired as any man who had gone through a facility full of aliens and traitors, Adrian threw himself onto an empty bed, finding himself melting in the touch of the bed, figuratively of course.
"God, I have to admit, this feels good." He grunted as he turned himself over to the books on his left. Deciding to take one, he let his hand out and gripped onto a book which he looked over.
"Grimm Bestiary Guide, this should be a good read." Adrian softly smiled.
He liked reading after all.
*Team CFVY's Dorm, Beacon Academy*
When the day had started for Coco and her team, it would've been like any other. Work, spar, and work again, maybe some homework in between all of it too. But while all the older years were sent to the auditorium watching the first-years undergo the initiation, she was confused seeing a grown man in the mess of it all.
He certainly piked her interest, his big gun reminded much of her own weapon and his skill to up against a Death Stalker and survive was surprising for what she presumed was a misplaced Atlas soldier.
But she and her team had heard everything else too, the fact he practically had been living under a rock made Coco mentally want to slap him. No knowledge of Dust, Grimm, Aura, nothing at all.
Aura, as soon as she worded that, she remembered what this Adrian guy had said: "My… parents… never really told me about Aura when I was growing up. I survived in this world with just my wits and training from my drill instructor, Dwight T. Barnes."
Fighting the Grimm, with no Aura to protect him at all. Provided he had his 'PCV' to do the same thing but maybe even without it, he could've blazed through the initiation easily with the skill this 'Dwight T. Barnes' trained into him. He probably was a very good Huntsman.
But the unfamiliar terms had also stuck with Coco and her team. 'HECU' and 'Black Operations', Adrian had explained they were both Altesian Special Forces specialising in cover-ups and unfamiliar environments, but the digging she, Fox and Yatsuhashi had done showed nothing at all. She had the uncomfortable feeling he was lying about it all.
But she wouldn't fret for long, as Velvet entered the dorm, Coco would get her answers.
"Velvet!" Coco got herself up to confront her partner. "How was the tour with green and mysterious?"
"Better than I thought actually." The rabbit Faunus grinned.
"Oh? Maybe after you saw his performance you got the hots for him?" Coco teased.
"No, I found out he was something more than a fighter." Velvet had answered seriously, and this indicated something either good or bad. Fox and Yatsuhashi looked over to hear what she had to say while Coco titled her glasses down.
"I swear to god if he-
"N-no! He didn't!" Velvet diffused before Coco could make the decision to rip Adrian a new one.
"Then what exactly?" Fox questioned. Yatsuhashi only raised his eyebrows, wanting to know too.
"Well…" Velvet sat herself onto her bed, Coco sat on her left and Fox on her right, while Yatsuhashi stood next to Coco. "The walk towards the dorms was awkward and scary. Coco, you always told me that not everyone is what they seem, that maybe he secretly despised me."
"Well, I'm just good when it comes to caring for my team." Coco firmly stated.
"He complimented you on that you know."
"Wait what? Really?" Coco's eyes widened at that comment.
"I told him about how you taught me to be careful, he said that you taught me well, saying he also had to go through something too." Velvet smiled at that memory.
"He has good intentions, I am glad of that." Yatsuhashi spoke for the first time since Velvet had entered.
"I agree with Yatsu. I'm glad you've managed to make a friend out of someone." Fox nodded his head.
"Yep! My bunny's finally gonna grow out of her shell!" Coco playfully put the Faunus into a headlock with said Faunus whining to be let go.
"Coco! Please let me explain the rest!" The girl in question obliged and let her go, Velvet smiled and chuckled, she liked her headlocks, but now wasn't the time.
"Anyway, like I was saying, I thought he'd get offended but to quote from him: "Only a dumbass with their shrivelled brain up their ass would get mad when you say things like that.""
Silence filled the room, Velvet felt severely uncomfortable as her teammates stared blankly at her. Then Coco ended it with a slow clap that didn't stop, followed by a light size of laughter. "As far as you lot know, me and Adrian, we're already friends."
They all laughed, Velvet especially. Coco wasn't very welcoming of newcomers, but Adrian unintentionally and seemingly had softened her up for a moment, it warmed the hearts of everyone in the room.
"Anyway, that's not even the weird part. He straight up admitted to me, not afraid at all… about wanting to be a Faunus, because of our attributes." Team CFY were almost flabbergasted as Velvet said that. The mysterious Atlas soldier who took on a Death Stalker and survived admitted to wishing to Oum he could be a Faunus, such a weird way of thinking, but also considerate.
"Heart of gold." Yatsuhashi murmured to himself as Velvet continued.
"I talked about the first-years, Team CRDL, the ones who picked on me as soon as they exited the auditorium."
"Sheesh, yeah those pricks. Took the lot of you just so I couldn't break his nose with my handbag, I'll still do it anyway but." Coco interjected.
"He gave me some advice, I shouldn't stoop to their level, I shouldn't try to convince them otherwise since they won't listen, but also to talk some sense and maybe stop it before it gets worse."
"Huh, seems like Adrian knows a few things about your predicament." Fox added.
"He does, I asked him how, he had to deal with bullies too."
"Takes one to know one. Ask him anything else?" Coco asked.
"No, he needed to sleep so I didn't want to disrupt that." Velvet was suddenly taken into another headlock along with a playful noogie, an act all partners should do. "That's the Velvet I know and love! Polite as ever!"
"Gah! Coco! Stop!"
"If you say so," Coco let go of a flustered Velvet as she rubbed her head. "We should get ready for tomorrow. We'll thank this Adrian guy if we find him."
Yatsuhashi nodded, Fox just shrugged and followed the order and Velvet decided to have a shower before bed. Grabbing her clothes, she couldn't help but squeal internally. She would've never imagined a soldier from Atlas to be so nice to her.
Maybe Adrian could change things for the better.
*Team RWBY's Dorm, Beacon Academy*
Meanwhile, the newly appointed Team RWBY, led none other by Ruby Rose, we're simply spending some time laying back and occasionally conversing.
Ruby was especially ecstatic yet also worried about being the leader. Did she really have what it took to be that kind of person? Doubt clouded all her thoughts, Yang, Blake or maybe even Weiss could do better, they had the extra training and had finished their schools. But Ruby, she was misplaced and confused much like Adrian.
Adrian Shephard.
He was a leader, she wasn't. She had noticed how he led the others. Firm, steady, confident, stalwart, all qualities of a leader, Ruby didn't have those qualities. Could she be just like him? If she tried hard enough, maybe. But all these thoughts put her into a state of momentary sadness as she cuddled up onto her bed clad in her pyjamas, not wishing to speak right now.
The half-sister on the other hand, Yang Xiao Long, knew she had that potential to be the leader they all needed. Dammit it all, she had stop Roman Torchwick, nefarious and cut-throat criminal of Vale, that was proof enough for her. She was nothing but proud of the reclusive rose.
But she had noticed her sadness, her blank stares into space, she needed to fix that.
"Hey Rubes, you doing fine?"
"No, not at all actually," Ruby answered
Yang stood up and walked, soon sitting next to her sister as the little rose pouted. "What's up Ruby? You can talk to me."
"Well… can I really be a leader? I don't feel like I deserve it."
"Oh, come on Rubes! You stopped Roman Torchwick and made that kick-ass plan against the Nevermore! I'd say that's proof enough!"
"But Yang, everyone else has trained for this! I'm just a girl who's been sent into Beacon two years early!" She put her hands on her face, stressed about it all. "Oh, why can't I be like Adrian!"
"Wait, Adrian? Mysterious Atlas soldier guy? What about him?"
Ruby simply found her face suddenly go red as she realised she had said that aloud. "You saw him during the initiation, he led like he done it like, thousands of times. I didn't even want to be leader in the first place! I'm taking the opportunity from someone who really wanted it, like you or Blake, even Weiss."
Blake looked away from the book she was reading. "Not really."
Weiss made no comment.
"Bull. Shit. Ruby, you may not be as experienced, but we're all still learning, we can't be perfect but we can do what we can. You care for all of us, don't you?"
Ruby suddenly jolted upwards, surprising the golden girl. "Of course I do! You're all my team! Why wouldn't I?!"
"That just proves my point," Yang placed her hand on Ruby shoulder, she needed to make her happy again. "You may not think you're the best, but you care for your team, for all of us. I consider that one heck of a start, you agree with me, right?"
Ruby nodded, finding herself in the embrace of Yang's arms soon after. "Ruby, I don't care if you're a good leader or not, perfect or complete trash, as long as you keep your head high and don't let others weigh you down, you'll be one of the best."
"T-thank you, Yang."
Blake couldn't help but smile at their sisterly love, it keenly reminded her of younger days, where her father and mother would always come to her aid whenever a problem was at hand. She decided not to bask too much into those types of topics as she continued with her book.
Weiss however, was simply quite mixed hearing all of this. Ruby was right, she shouldn't have been leader in the first place, Yang was much too care-free and Blake was much too quiet. Weiss, she was the perfect candidate, good and better refined at all their qualities by a hundred. But to hear the dolt's doubts, she couldn't help but feel guilty, yet also sadistically happy about all of it. Ruby was pure incompetence.
But what if Yang was right?
She didn't have to care on the blonde's sayings. Staring at the wall to avert her attention away from the two, she fell into her own world, where she was leader, where she had the power to change Remnant, the power to do something better.
The ultimate Huntress, Weiss Schnee.
Yang had gotten up and patted her sister lightly on the back. "Even if you have your doubts, do what I do, power through 'til you're the last one standing!"
Ruby nodded vigorously, "I do have my doubts Yang, but I'll have to pull through, it's the only way."
Yang whooped as she celebrated. "That's the way! Go Team RWBY!"
Yang herself had plans to help her sister, but she let them go for now as the newly-born antics of Team RWBY continued.
*Team JNPR's Dorm, Beacon Academy*
Much could also be said for Jaune Arc, the leader of Team JNPR. Leader? LEADER?! These were his first thoughts, and they lingered with him like overgrown moss.
Hell, when Ozpin had made that announcement, the knight had been severely surprised, too surprised. He had expected Pyrrha or Ren, maybe even Nora. They had… combat experience.
Jaune however, knew he did not, what-so-ever. That flood of Grimm during the Initiation would have killed him had it not been for Pyrrha's constant intervention, even Adrian didn't need help, doing perfectly fine.
Adrian, the "Atlas Trooper", as Beacon students liked to call him.
Adrian was constantly miles ahead of Jaune, he had a sword and shield, simple. Adrian had night-vision, a big gun capable of putting down a Nevermore and some sort of cannon that instantly blew any Grimm out of existence, besides the larger ones.
Jaune mumbled to himself, sifting through his baggage as he thought of Adrian's perfection, his cool weapons, even his generic yet even cooler nickname.
Jaune had also failed to notice Pyrrha walking right up to him.
"Jaune, is something wrong?" Jaune jumped hearing Pyrrha's voice. Rubbing the back of his head, he had to reply. "Y-yeah! Everything's just fine, all… of it… okay no nothing is fine at all."
"Jaune," Pyrrha sat on the floor with her legs bundled in her arms as she spoke. "If something is going on with our leader which we don't know about, then I feel it's our responsibility to fix that."
"YEAH!" Nora screamed as loud as she could. Ren had to shut her up before the warrior could start speaking again.
"So, what's wrong Jaune?"
The boy in question sighed. "I just feel like… crap."
"And how may I fix that?" Pyrrha asked.
"Maybe… I just need some time, alone, to think."
Pyrrha understood as she nodded, rising before going back to doing whatever she was doing. Jaune saw in the corners of his eyes the girl shoot her a worrying look, before turning back.
Jaune had seriously wanted to admit things to her and his team. But that'd mean he'd open up more, and that'd lead to them finding out how he had gotten into Beacon in the first place, which was certainly troubling.
Kick him out, hate his guts, break an arm, or leg. Too many things to count. But the blonde knight ignored them, as long as he stayed detached from the rest, he'd be fine.
*Ozpin's Office, Beacon Academy*
Ozpin shut down his Scroll, closing his eyes to consider what had just happened. The others around him had mixed reactions to the finishing of the footage, Glynda and Peach clenched their fists in pure anger, Oobleck had grabbed a chair and sat down, drumming his fingers on his thigh and Port had tried to stay calm, but eventually spoke his word.
"This… all of that was quite disturbing." Port had started off.
"Yes." Ozpin blankly stated, thinking of what they had just seen.
[Flashback, X hours prior]
Soon after Ozpin had succeeded with shutting up Goodwitch and Peach's argument, they continued watching Adrian's journey. Adrian finding an injured Engineer in a garage, he contacted the Medic outside via his radio, who came through soon after.
Luckily for the Engineer, the Medic had stuck a syringe into the man, healing most of the minor wounds and numbing the rest. The three reunited with the rest and the newly-rescued Engineer, who called himself 'Private Wilfred Olsen' cut through the door the Medic had tried to get through, all met by a single turret on the other side.
"Damn! Luckily I didn't kick the door in!" Wilfred exclaimed.
After dealing with the turret with a well-timed grenade, the band of marines were off once again, walking through halls full of trip mines and dead bodies. The band soon found two more marines camping out near the transit system.
"Corporal what the hell is going on here? Nobody told us about Black Operations in the mission briefing!" The soldier with the bandana said.
"Yeah! I mean we are all on the same team, right? Right!?" The other soldier who had the same gear as Adrian expressed his worry.
"To make it clear, they're no longer with us. Rather they're here to exterminate us." Adrian cemented.
"God damn straight!" Calico shouted from behind Adrian.
"Well hell Corporal! We can't just stay here then! We were sent in without knowing a thing, not even what the mission was." Gas-Mask informed.
"Same here, but we're on our own mission now, getting out of here alive is top priority." Adrian nodded to the group behind him, all giving out whoops and cheers.
"Then we'll come with you Corporal, we won't fail you!" Bandana straightened himself and smiled.
"There's a room with the controls to the transit doors right next to us, we scouted some Assassins hiding inside, but now we've got six of us!" Gas-Mask pointed where he was speaking about.
"Then let's make hell Marines!"Adrian and Bandana, who identified as "Corporal Jackson Jones" formulated a quick plan with the others giving their own opinions and came up with a simple formation. Two separate groups lead by one of the corporals. Adrian, Calico, Medic and Elihah would be up front. Jackson, Gas-Mask and Wilfred at the back.
All silently treaded their way into the control room. Surrounded with boxes, Adrian knew the Assassins would ambush them first opportunity they saw, and they did. As soon as the company entered they were quick to ambush the lot, but they were ready.
"Cover fire! Don't let 'em near you!"
"Shit! Keep them pinned down!"
"Medic!"
"Gas-Mask, spray the lot!"
"Precision weapons! Aim for their heads!"
The professors were quite impressed with the skill on both sides. The Assassins were all exclusively female, flipping and running sporadically to avoid being shot while also precisely firing at the marines with their silenced pistols. Yet the rogue HECU had power, numbers and leadership by their side, more powerful than a hundred cannons.
"Fuck! Help me get her off!" Jackson could see Wilfred down and attempting to stop a stabbing by an Assassin.
"Adrian, deal with her!"
"Get off him, don't you even dare!" Adrian took out his Desert Eagle, firing a round through her head, shattering the skull and splattering blood all over the private.
"Damn, talk about messy!" Wilfred laughed as he got himself up.
It honestly bewildered the professors that some of the soldiers were enjoying the combat, others were desperately fighting and Adrian was even more brutal than he was during the Initiation, taking the time to cave skulls in with his Pipe Wrench while swearing constantly.
"Mr. Shephard is especially… over-protective of his team." Goodwitch spoke, the other professors murmured their own comments, agreeing with Goodwitch's statement on Adrian's ruthlessness.
"That is true, but it shows his loyalty, does it not?" Ozpin raised his eyes to get his point across.
They all nodded before resuming the video, now most of the Assassins were killed, with two surrounded and disarmed. Adrian took to opening the transit doors via the controls while the rest interrogated the two Assassins.
"Why were you sent here?"
No answer.
"Who ordered you to kill us?"
Silence filled the air.
"Silent treatment eh?"
Now the two both nodded.
"We should just kill 'em! Get it-
"NO! That's unproductive. Tie them up or watch them, we can use them as bargaining tools." Adrian shouted from up top. The marines didn't complain since it sounded reasonable enough.
Jackson used his bandana to tie up one of them while the other had two pistols aimed at her head. They both knew two against seven would be a death wish so both remained silent until reinforcements arrived, whenever they would come.
Now with the transit doors open, the seven along with the captured trekked onwards. Adrian smashed open crates with his wrench and shared whatever was inside. Soon they found another hallway and ordered their captives to go forward in case any Black Ops were there.
They were indeed correct, as Black Operations were just around the corner. Wilfred volunteered to go ahead and try and gain passage without fighting. He stepped forward, placing his pistol on the back of one of the two Assassins' head.
"Alright! We've got two of your friends here, so let us go through an-
He never finished that sentence, and never would as a soldier expertly shot through both the hostage and Wilfred's head, killing both in an instant.
"NOOOO!" Adrian was truly enraged as he pulled out his M16 and shot a grenade, missing them entirely.
"Fuck, get behind!"
"Take them all down!"
Gunfire rung and bodies fell as both sides chattered among themselves to survive.
"Take them down now!"
"Gas-Mask, get down!"
"Keep firing!"
"This is Black Operations! We need back-up now!"
"Kill them!"
The symphony of a firefight died down as bodies of Black Operations littered the floor. Two had surrendered and placed their weapons down. The Assassin with the tied hands was strangely sobbing despite her training and silence beforehand.
"Don't fire! We surrender!" One of them pleaded.
"We have families, please!" The other was on his knees praying.
"Bullshit!"
Adrian was mourning the death of Wilfred, who couldn't even die peacefully as his eyes stared blankly into nothing. He shifted his hand over Wilfred's eyes to close them while taking his dog-tags and muttering the HECU motto. Getting up and confronting the argument, he finally snapped.
"No… no more, my order is final. CAPICHE?!"
The team of six were all taken aback by Adrian's outburst, and so said nothing as Adrian punched one of the soldiers in the face and kicked his stomach.
"Names. NOW."
"C-Captain Ollie Redmond o-of Alpha Company." The injured one managed to call out.
"Sergeant Major Helix Lewin of Delta Team, they were killed so I rendezvoused with Alpha Company." The other one spoke.
"I would shoot you both in the head right now… But is what you say true?"
"Of course, it damn is! We were sent in to clean up your mess by any means, I didn't know the means let our own die!" Ollie shrieked.
"Look man, help us get out of here. We can't take any chances and you'd like information, right?" Helix pleaded once more.
God dammit… Fine, but if you gun down my men, you're both dead meat. Understand?"
"We got it, we'll help with getting you through our territory too."
'That makes me a happy man Ollie."
Adrian left the two to get up and grab their M16s, turning on the safety to show their allegiance. He walked through Calico and Gas-Mask covering Wilfred's corpse and Jackson alongside Elihah and Medic were considering their next move. Walking up to the now sniffling Assassin, Helix rushed to him.
"Hey man, I think you should let her go."
"And you can keep her under control?"
"If she's with us, she'll be fine."
Adrian sighed and ordered the Assassin to stand up and turn around. Unwrapping the bandana on her hands and tossing it to Jackson, who nodded and smiled, he tapped her on the shoulder and she turned around.
"Name?"
"…"
"Alright, I won't-
"David."
"David? That's a man's name, y'know that?"
"My parents… wanted a boy."
"Oh… Well, care to join us?"
"As long as I'm with Ollie and Helix, and as long as you can get us all out as well."
"Alright. We'll all be out and free, mark my words."
"Thank you."
Adrian took out his pistol, which David took. With the conglomerate of HECU and Black Operations, they looked around for access to a transit car. Finding a lever that would give them one, they pulled it down and got to the transit car, finding out it was much too small.
Ollie and Medic decided to voice their ideas. The more equipped members of this team would onto the sides of the tracks and keep watch while the weaker ones would stay on the car and drive it forward.
And so, it was decided, Adrian, Medic, Ollie, Helix, Jackson, Gas-Mask and Elihah would go up front while David and Calico operated the car.
Soon enough, with enough time and patience, the car came to a stop where a single Black Ops soldier held cover behind some sandbags. Calico feinted injury to not expose their cover.
"David! Where the fuck have you been?!"
"U-um, gathering prisoners, I've only found the one."
"Prisoners? The fuck is wrong with you? We kill them and get out! Simple!"
"What about information?"
"No need. Just kill him. Now."
"Alright, listen here…"
David confronted the soldier, and then quickly pulled him into a choke-hold. The soldier rammed his head back and dazed her before spin-kicking her into a wall where she received a knee to the stomach. She threw a punch and a few kicks before knocking the soldier out with a chop to the head, doing a downwards slam-kick just to make sure.
"Coast is clear, we can move now."
The nine moved through, helping each other up a spot above and crouching under a vent. Adrian took the lead and took the grate down with his wrench, hearing a voice call out to someone.
[_== WE ARE NOT ALONE ==_]
"It's ready! You must go! Now!"
Wanting to find out more, Adrian rushed to some buttons, preparing to open the door until Jackson stopped him from doing so.
"Adrian, we can't just charge in without a plan, let's consider what's on the other side."
Fortunately for them, the voice made it very clear what was on the other side.
"Hurry up, Freeman, I can't keep it open forever!"
"FREEMAN?!"
All except Adrian shouted as loud as they could as Jackson pushed Adrian aside and slammed on the green button, opening the metal door. But it was too late as they all saw a glimpse of Freeman jumping into some portal before disappearing.
"Damn, we should go after him!" Medic suggested, everyone agreed except for Adrian, who hardened up in annoyance.
NO! Forget about Freeman, he's no longer priority, we are! We keep moving and surviving!"
No one argued, he was right. Freeman was just optional choice now. Their lives mattered.
"There's a portal up on the bridge! We need to get to it somehow. Deal with the aliens, hopefully the infrastructure fails to our favour."
They all nodded. Turning off the safety to their guns, they easily wiped the floor with these new floating aliens and soon after that, they had some time to talk with the person on the intercom.
"Hey intercom! Where's Freeman going?"
"Xen, he's stopping the source!"
"Well look at that you lot, guess Freeman had good intentions."
All of them kicked the ground, others grunted and some audibly voiced their disagreements. But there was no time for arguments as the bridge Adrian was hoping would fall did indeed fall.
"Quickly, the bridge is down! Up! Now!"
"Good luck to the nine of you!"
Calico and David went in first, then the remainder as Adrian went in last, checking his surroundings before getting inside. The camera to his HUD suddenly went dark, allowing the professors some time to talk.
"Adrian is certainly a hero indeed." Port lied back onto his chair as he went into thought.
"Yes, despite everything he Is still the voice of reason. His team greatly interest me too." Oobleck turned to Ozpin for his opinion.
"Yes. All have put aside differences and grudges for one thing. Survival."
"Indeed. Although Wilfred's death does also concern me greatly of Adrian's state of mind." Goodwitch mused to the rest.
"Yes. His absolute brutality due to the deaths of others and over-protectiveness does present some issues." Peach worried.
"That is true, but it will be dealt with." Ozpin nodded to the others as the footage finally came back to reveal some strange world.
"Ugh… Where the hell…?"
"Adrian! Get off me!"
"Hey! Stop groping where you shouldn't be!"
"Dammit it was an accident!"
"Stop messing around, and can Helmet get off me!"
"That's Calico to you, Oppy!"
"Hey. Uh, are you lot done?"
"DONE?! If someone gets off me then we can consider us done!"
The mound that was Adrian's team collapsed as each got out of the pile and stood up, dusting themselves off before staring wonderfully at what was presented before them.
"Where… What the hell…?" Calico stumbled all about, confused where he was.
"Woah. Where are we?" Gas-Mask asked the others.
Adrian was the last to get up, walking through his team as he got up front before turning to the others.
"Xen." Adrian simply stated. They were all surprised, so this is where all the aliens were coming from.
"Well now, Freeman should be here then." Medic smiled.
"Don't think so. We're probably far away from the target. We need to find a way out." Ollie suggested, Adrian gave him a nod and Jackson showed his trust by smiling as well.
"Up there, another portal! We can get back if we get through there." David pointed to a portal above them, much too far to reach by conventional means.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's move." Adrian decided the first thing to do was to jump to the small island below and step onto its skin-looking hole. He was scared sick when the thing sent him flying into the air, screaming his head off as he landed safely onto another rock.
The others follow suit as they flew from floating outcrop to floating outcrop. They were all surprised even further when a scientist was suddenly teleported from way up above and sent falling to his death. There was nothing they could do but watch as his bones cracked and his life ended. But the gravity had caused not too much damage and he dropped some sort of cannon.
Adrian picked it up and read the words on a wire: "BLACK MESA XV11382 – DISPLACER"
"Like it already."
Adrian took the weapon for himself, feeling it would be useful in the future. The team jumped to each floating outcrop via the skin holes until one of them propelled them far enough to get into the portal. Adrian like before, was the last to get in as the black consumed the footage once more.
"Xen, so these are where the aliens come from." Oobleck cited.
"Hmm. Interesting." Port added.
"The flora is quite sparse, but these were simple platforms. It is still interesting considering flora can survive there." Peach went in closer to examine more.
Goodwitch turned to see if Ozpin would make a comment, but he didn't. She presumed he would voice his opinion when the footage ended so she stayed silent for the time being.
The footage came back to life and Adrian groaned and got himself up, now back in Black Mesa but also in a new direction. It seemed he also came in late, as the others were either conversing or resting themselves.
[_== CRUSH DEPTH ==_]
"How long was I gone?" Adrian mumbled as he shook his head.
"At least 3 or 4 minutes, not too long." Ollie said, who was sitting down and checking over his M16.
Adrian sighed, at least it wasn't an hour or more. Everyone had gotten up as Adrian made the order to search around for supplies, but none of them left each other's sides. There was no more talk as silence reigned supreme until a peculiar incident appeared before them.
"Ah, finally. Someone to help me out of this debacle." A singular scientist wearing some sort of suit was stuck inside a tank surrounded by water. If the glass broke he would die easily.
Adrian got as close as he could to the glass. "What's the problem?"
"I'm afraid I've trapped myself here to escape those beasts. Would you be so kind as to operate that transporter?"
"Done and dusted." Medic called out as he stood behind the controls.
"Yeah, some aliens, but they went down fast enough." Elihah spoke out as he dragged two corpses of Pit Drones from behind the controls.
Medic saw a bright yellow button and pressed it down. Sparks and noises run out as the scientist was soon teleported from the tank to the room itself, in a small structure as large as a bookcase. The bars raised and he walked out with a wave.
"Thank you for releasing me. I can help you access any security area in this lab."
"Huh, that helps us a bunch." Gas-Mask chuckled at their luck.
"We would've just killed you, but Adrian over here made it pretty clear we just get out alive. Plus, we need information on some of the stuff around here too." Medic added.
"Then so be it. Follow me."
The scientist led the team through some hallways before reaching an access panel, opening the locked door using his ID. The next hallway has a tank with its glass shattered as the scientist walked over to open the next door, if Helix hadn't stopped him.
"The wires cut. It won't work and it won't take a genius to figure that out. We need another way in."
"The opened tank has an opening to the top. We could get in through the vents." David pointed to the tank with the shattered glass.
All agreed with her as they went through, even the scientist had joined them, considering he'd be safe with nine guns around him. All walked through the vents, confronting Pit Drones that were quickly taken down. All advanced with Adrian up front who broke down obstructions with his wrench until one led to the room they had intended to get into.
"That's a teleporter! Perhaps we can teleport inside the aquarium." The scientist sighted said teleporter and cheered in glee.
"Yeah, but that teleporter looks broken, and there's a lot of us." Calico brought the scientist back to reality.
"Then we squeeze ourselves in, and that teleporter might not work after one of us uses it." Adrian shared. All agreed so made with what they had.
The squeeze inside was extremely difficult. Adrian, Gas-Mask and the scientist made the most mass while David had the least, but she felt like she was being squished with the amount to males that surrounded her.
"What if something goes wrong?" David asked.
"Meh, at least we got to try something new." Helix answered.
The button was pressed as the teleporter did its work. Sparks and explosions filled everything as the team got extremely worried of what would happen if this were to happen. But it worked and the footage went dark once more.
The professors watching made no comments however.
The footage flashed back to life as Adrian's heavy breathing could be heard. Some were swimming to the opening on his right, while Ollie and Helix helped the scientist get through. Adrian followed and got out of the water, all coughing.
After checking through their weapons and themselves, they walked through the tiny hallway, confronting Headcrabs which were quickly grabbed and thrown down to be killed by gunfire. Headcrab Zombies also used their sharpened hands in an attempt to kill the living, but were eliminated too easily as the team got into a vent and started crouch-walking.
It didn't last long though as Adrian up front soon fell onto a grate and broke it. He flailed as he landed into the water, swimming upwards before calling out to the others.
"Just jump down! Some help the scientist and all of you just get to the ladder!"
They followed the orders and got onto solid ground, greeted with Headcrabs, Headcrabs Zombies and one Gonome, all gunned down expertly.
"We're running low Adrian, we'll need more."
"Yeah. Try and aim for the heads and use your knives too."
The team soon entered another room and went down, killing anything that stood between them. They continued downwards until they found a valve which Helix turned, not expecting something to be released because of it.
"What the fu-
"Ichthyosaur. Extremely dangerous and big. Someone needs to deal with it."
Adrian took out the Displacer and 'ahemed' to get everyone's attention.
"I'll deal with it."
Adrian climbed back up to the platform before taking a deep breath and jumping into the water. The Ichthyosaur was barely out of its cage before Adrian fired the Displacer. It acted almost like a cannon of sorts and a ball of energy raced towards the creature, collapsing it before disappearing out of thin air.
"Damn! Talk about kick-ass."
Adrian reached the window where they had watched the alien being freed. Banging on the glass, he gave a thumbs up before returning to open waters and waited for the others, who came soon after.
"Alright. You lot just follow me now."
They all agreed as they got themselves wet once more, swimming with Adrian as they saw a room with another valve inside. Adrian once inside turned it before pointed upwards, all understood as they swam up gasping for air, the water no longer submerging them as the doors closed to prevent water coming in.
The doors to another hallway opened and they all walked through. The normality of conversations, call-outs and weapon checking resumed its course until they were confronted with an electrical field.
"Crap, how're we getting through?" Calico sighed.
Adrian and Jackson did not let them think ahead as both drew their Desert Eagles and fired at a near-by power switch, but Adrian did it faster.
"I win."
"Damn, good shot."
Walking through the corpses, they continued until reaching another room and suddenly ambushed by aliens. All took cover and others provided cover-fire as the aliens that first came through were less than hard. The third one would prove more difficult.
"What is that thing?!"
"I don't know! Kill it before it kills us!"
The alien suddenly teleported before reappearing behind Helix and swatting him away like a fly. Firing its Shock Roach towards the soldiers, they all were overcome with paranoia as it teleported constantly before reappearing elsewhere and hitting someone and teleporting once more before anyone could fire a shot.
"It makes noise when it teleports! Defence on the scientist, don't panic and keep your ears clean for any movement.
This constant game of cat and mice did not end until it teleported behind Adrian, who spun around at the sound and slammed through its eye with extreme force. Blinded, it screeched as it teleported unknowingly into Gas-Mask's weapon, who let it have it as the alien was riddled with holes.
"What the hell was that thing?" Gas-Mask breathed heavily as he looked over it.
"Shock Trooper, we'll call them that. Their weapons hurt like hell, plus it kind of surprised us." Adrian coined the alien by a term now.
"Let's make sure that doesn't happen again." Ollie grunted as they all continued forth.
Unlocking a door that was previously locked, they trudged on until before seeing another portal in front of them. All jumped in and Adrian was the last, going through as the footage went dark for another time.
"Was that not one of the aliens who kidnapped that scientist earlier on?" Peach asked the others.
"It most certainly was. Troubling to think that they can teleport in and out spontaneously at will." Oobleck mused while stroking his chin.
"And even if an invasion sounds far-fetched, it would be troubling having to deal with these 'Shock Troopers'." Goodwitch gave her two cents to the surrounding professors.
"Indeed, I'm almost glad we haven't tampered with teleportation technology, knowing these aliens used it to invade." Port worried.
"If these are pressing concerns, I'd rather we talk about them after we've gotten what we need of Adrian's footage." Ozpin simply shut up their thoughts for now.
The footage resumed as a quick trip back to Zen took place the team going through the portal that was also quite near them. This time, they were sent to the other location instantaneously, but Adrian paid no mind as he continued with his team.
Another door unlocked and some more walking found them in another hallway with an Ichthyosaur habitat.
"Adrian, if you would mind?"Medic offered.
"Yeah, I know, but damn how many of these things are there?"
Two blasts from the Displacer after, Adrian pointed to a vent in the habitat, adding that he could break the grate with his wrench. Going in first and removing said grating, the vent led up to an unsubmerged piping system. Giving the thumbs-up, the others followed suit.
[_== VICARIOUS REALITY ==_]
Climbing out to the piping system using some collapsed debris, they faced Headcrabs lying lazily on corpses, all shot and died quickly as they went on. Walking through what they'd seen as the containment areas, the scientist decided to speak his mind.
"Ah yes, the Containment Areas. We've managed to capture and study many of the creatures of Xen. Many of them are still hostile, so do be careful."
They would've all already knew, but they walked on. A door at the end of the hallway was locked, so they turned back only to be ambushed by some Pit Drones and a Shock Trooper, all screeching orders in their alien language.
"Shit, fall back!"
"Adrian, deal with the Shock Trooper! We'll deal with the other small things!"
"Got it. Get the scientist some cover!"
"Cover fire! Cover fire! Don't let the bastards through!"
Adrian jumped onto a Pit Drone, using it to propel himself towards the Shock Trooper, wrench and knife in hand. It teleported quickly and reappeared behind him, grabbing his leg and slamming him onto the floor. Adrian turned himself to see its foot try to crush his head, dodging just in time.
He drew out his Desert Eagle and fired twice, sending the alien back and dazing it as he threw a crippling right hook onto its head, tripping it and slammed down onto his chest with the wrench, breaking its ribs and rupturing the lungs. As the creature struggled to breathe, he fired a quick shot to end its misery.
"Phew, too close for comfort."
Looking behind to see his team, he sighed in relief, only for that relief to become annoyance as the creature's living gun strapped itself to his arm, feeling the tingling sensation as it bonded with the corporal's skin.
"I don't think it'll be coming off." Helix mumbled.
"No shit, at least it should do some good."
Adrian saw a window that had broken, leading to the habitat. Ordering everyone to get in, they all followed him, with the scientist coming down last as he was caught by them. They had no time to move forward though as another new alien entered the fray.
"Big guy! Big guy!"
"Get that scientist out of here! Gas-Mask, Helix, Ollie, Elihah, fire at will! Me, Jackson and David will provide suppression! Everyone else, move around and find a way out of here!"
The battle with the big alien was tough. Not only was it highly resistant to bullets, but also fired purple balls of energy that hit Gas-Mask once. His PCV took most of the damage but he was sent flying back as the others watched.
"Alright, we should keep each other's asses safe." Helix suggested.
"And if one of us dies?" Elihah asked.
"Tough luck pal!" Helix laughed as he fired a grenade onto the creature.
"Fuck you, I'm not meeting Lady Death any time soon." Elihah used an entire clip to injure it further.
"Fuck you too! Just cover my ass!" Helix got up and rushed to a different position.
The creature was now angry with how much it was getting injured, so decided to ram itself straight into anyone moving elsewhere. Adrian and David distracted it for short periods while the others fired more and more, it was bleeding, but not a lot.
"We're running short here!" David announced.
"Shit, that's thing's coming close!" Elihah fired some more rounds.
"Get over here! Cover's decent!" Helix waved a hand over and Elihah obliged.
Elihah made a mad dash over to Helix's position, but his equipment weighed him down significantly and it was hard to run at full speed. To make matters worse, the big alien had saw him and made its own mad dash towards the marine. Helix knew instantly what would happen.
Elihah wouldn't make it.
Time seemed to slow down as Helix pondered on what to do. Save his own skin, or save the skin of someone he barely knew. He knew that David and Ollie needed him, yet he had also seen Adrian's pain in losing that Wilfred person. He stared at Elihah desperately dashing, the fear in his eyes as the alien got nearer and nearer.
The needs of the many outweigh the few.
Helix rushed up to Elihah as he was confused why the Black Ops soldier was doing, not being able to even ask as Helix threw him to the side and opened fire his last shots onto the alien before its head collided with his chest, feeling everything break as he was thrown far off.
He hated being the hero sometimes, but damn did it also feel good.
"YOU MOTHERFUCKER!" Elihah raged as he dual wielded his Desert Eagle and M16 and fired.
"MEDIC, HELIX NEEDS YOU!" David cried out to the man in question, as he reached the broken Helix and dragged him away.
"FIRE ON THAT FUCKING SHIT UNTIL IT'S BURNS!" Ollie was not one for swearing, but when his own went down, he made exceptions.
The alien couldn't handle the amount the gun-fire placed on it as everyone's rage rained down on it, bullets eventually ripped through its hide and blood soaked the ground as the beast finally fell, the anger and rage were all it heard as the void took over its mind, and every memory.
Everyone had rushed over to Helix, who Medic was tending to, he had everything out trying to keep the soldier alive, but the look on his face told otherwise.
"Will he…?" David asked, yet didn't want the answer.
"His ribs are broken and his lungs are ripped apart, internal bleeding is already taking effect and the morphine won't do anything to numb the pain. He's not gonna make it." Medic shook his head and went to packing up his medical equipment, there was nothing he could do.
"This… THIS WAS ALL YOUR FAULT ADRIAN!" Ollie pushed Adrian and punched him in the face. Hard.
"OH, SO I'M THE ONE WHO FUCKED UP?! I TRIED EVERYTHING I COULD TO HELP YOU, AT LEAST BE GRATEFUL FOR THAT!" It was clear that Adrian was torn, maybe even crying.
"HELP?! HE'S DYING FOR CHRIST SAKE, HOW DO YOU CALL THAT HELP, ASSHOLE?!" Ollie pointed to Helix's dying body, about to throw another punch if Helix didn't stop him.
"C-could you two… just… shut up and l-listen to me?"
Everyone, including a bickering Adrian and Ollie stood silent as they listen to what the degrading soldier had to say.
"L-look… Ollie, you did… perfectly. Adrian too… I made the decision… to help. E-Elihah wasn't… wasn't going to make it. Fuc-fuck… look, don't argue you two… you're not getting out that way."
"Then what? What about you?" Ollie threw a hand at him.
"Let Death… Death can take me. Y-you two… never spli-t up, you need… Oliie, Adrian. And Adrian, you… n-need Ollie. Don't… mourn for me now, d-do that once y-you get out of this… shithole."
"Helix, I'm… sorry I couldn't get you out…" Adrian sat down and clenched his fists.
"Don't worry… I'm… I'm dying with people I've come to respect… Adrian… here…"
Helix, with help from David, managed to grab a Walkman from one of his pouches, it only contained one song, "Guns 'N Roses – Patience".
"It's… a damn good song… Remember me, Helix Lewin… first to go… last to mourn…"
"Say hello to Lady Death for me, and tell me if she's a looker." Elihah was the last Helix would hear, as he held his hand in a comradely way.
"Hehe… I-I sure will, you greasy HECU bastard… hehe…"
TRIAGE AT DAWN
- KELLY BAILEY, HALF-LIFE 2 OST
Helix's body soon had the life taken out of it as it went limp, and finally as Helix breathed his last breath.
Sergeant Helix Lewin, cover-up soldier, swearer, bad-ass fighter, now dead.
David could no longer handle it as she full-on bawled her tears out, with Ollie comforting her.
Medic and Jackson looked over the corpse, shaking their heads and sighing. Another soldier lost.
Calico went to pat Elihah on the back as he shifted his hand over Helix's eyes, removing his goggles and balaclava beforehand.
Gas-Mask kicked the ground, if only he had taken the hit.
The scientist offered to carry his body somewhere safe, none of them argued, or had the will to.
Adrian simply ripped off his dog tags and sat back down.
What would they do now? They'd get out of Black Mesa, for Helix, for Wilfred, for those unfortunates, the unlucky, the afraid.
[Flashback Ends]
But that was another story, a story to be told within due time.
*Adrian's Temporary Abode, Beacon Academy*
Adrian had finished up reading the bestiary, and now he was nothing but tired. Getting up, he went to turn off the lights and returned to bed, pondering on a few thoughts in his mind.
He was here now, Remnant. But what about the past? He couldn't forget. Maybe if he tried, but he never could make it go away.
He shut himself up, shut his eyes and slept the hours away, the void over-took his eyes as he rested. At least this was voluntary unlike last time.
But a man, a soldier like him, he would never sleep well. Not with Black Mesa so fresh within him.
God, this took so long to do.
Due to the fact that making Adrian's journey through Black Mesa a three-parter is... kind of pushing it, I'm saving it for later on in the fanfiction. Let's just say a new audience will get to see his journey alongside the people reading this.
You may be wondering why they're so many characters, well they were all NPCs who follow you, ones who also didn't follow you because their programming prohibited them to or they died literal seconds after they ran out of usefulness for Gearbox to keep them alive. I figured I'd try to give them names and some personalities, seems to be working fine for me so far.
I'm always trying to keep these chapters under 10,000 words, but if you lot want more than I can gladly deliver.
And also, upload times for these chapters will be random, I think you shouldn't have time-frames unless you have a lot of time or your chapters are extremely short, which are two things I don't have.
Anywho, review time:
Artyom-Dreizhen - Mhm, gotta agree with you. Adrian's just a blank slate ready to be given some colour, make him a good guy, make him a bad guy, silent characters with no solidified endings or backstory tend to be the best characters to use in cross-overs.
The usual saying goes, have any criticism? Feel free to speak and I'll make sure I can follow. And give any friendly comments too if you're feeling it.
Until then, adios.
- MimicLegend