With the addition of this chapter, I will be re-titling the first two chapters, making this one part 3 of the current arc.
Volume 1, Chapter 3
Immersion Part 3
Training. Now there's a word that filled me with equal parts excitement and dread. On the one hand, I was over the moon at the thought of potentially becoming both skilled enough and strong enough to pull off some of the moves I'd seen in some martial arts movies, and maybe some of the more outlandish stuff I'd seen in animated films... Such as running up walls and smashing boulders with just my fists. But on the other hand, I knew that the road to reach that level of prowess was going to be long and by no means easy; while before I came to Remnant, I had been six feet tall and about 150 pounds, I could probably count on two hands the number of times I had exercised in the two years before The Accident. But at the same time, whatever cosmic phenomenon had messed with my eyes and hair had also seen fit to modify my physical size; I hadn't noticed until that morning, but I had gone from being in the smaller (yet taller) range of being average sized to having a semi-athletic build. I was by no means ripped... But I had visible muscle tone... And abs. Oh did I love finally having abs. The only thing that I didn't like was that I had also apparently shrunk a couple of inches... But, since I had apparently been de-aged, that at least made sense; I was just glad it hadn't shrunk me any further. But I digress. The gist of the matter is, I was given a pass on the physical conditioning, needing only to keep up a regular routine in order to maintain my new-found fitness.
So, with the physical fitness prerequisite being met, and my own backstory confirming that, at least in the realm of mathematics, science, and language, I was more than competent for my apparent age, the focus of my training would thus be on developing combat skills, and correcting my rather obvious lack of even the most basic facets of the world of Remnant. The latter was simple enough; merely conversing with my companions about the things I'd see on a regular basis would do well enough in making me not look like an idiot every time I went out into the world, and I could just read a few history books to achieve a basic understanding of world history. But combat would require a more hands on approach... And in order to quickly reach a level Cinder deemed acceptable, I would be taking the most hands on approach possible short of being put in a live situation...
Caerulean had been called many things in his twenty-two years of life. Intelligent, considerate, and funny most certainly being on the list. Attractive, too, thanks to having what could be equally called either a pretty boy face or a decently handsome one. Yet, at the same time, he'd somehow never been very good at attracting the interest of the fairer sex, so it was with a good deal of surprise that he realized that the pressure on the one side of his body was, in fact, a girl using him as a pillow/teddy bear/space heater combination. Of course, that isn't to say he'd never found himself in such a situation... But it certainly had not happened often in his life. And especially not with someone that small. And unfamiliar...
Oh. Wait. That's Neo. Which means that no, I didn't... At least I don't think I did...
A quick glance downwards revealed that they were both still fully clothed and atop the covers.
We didn't... And the fact that I'm still in this place means I didn't just dream it all up. Unless this is a dream within a dream, which I suppose could be possible, but I don't think I'm the type to have Inception-like dreams, so I'm gonna assume that's a no.
Caerulean sighed resignedly; that train of thought was on the fast track to nowhere. As much as he might have wanted it to be, this was no dream, which meant that, regardless of how it had come to be, this was his new reality. And the reality of the moment was that he was currently lying in bed, with a girl currently cuddling up to him; it wasn't a terrible reality to find ones' self in.
Except for the fact that he'd knowingly and willingly chosen to cast his lot in with a group of criminals. Well, mercenaries, which, for Caerulean at least, wasn't quite as bad, but still...
What was I thinking?!
Sure, the types of jobs Cinder claimed they took didn't sound too bad (the occasional assassination aside), but the crux of the matter was that if he was going to stick with this group, he would eventually find himself forced to hurt and possibly even kill others, be it to complete a mission or purely in self defense; he wasn't sure if he could do it. Yet, somehow, he'd already done it once... Unless Cinder had lied. Which was definitely a possibility... Yet, she had seemed so interested in acquiring his apparent talent... no, she was probably correct, and he truly had killed that man.
In self defense, if what Cinder said was any indication. I need to stop dwelling on that.
So with no small effort, Caerulean decided to just appreciate the moment and settle back in the bed, opting not to wake the slumbering Neo; just because he couldn't go back to sleep didn't mean she deserved to be woken up... Though, he did wonder just when they were all expected to be up and ready for the day. Cinder may not have appeared much older than her three subordinates (Lee's guess placed her somewhere in her mid-twenties), but she oozed confidence in a way that left no doubt that she was The Boss, and surely The Boss had a basic schedule her minions were expected to keep outside of special... operations.
HONNNNK! HONNNNK! HONNNNK! HONNNNK!
Apparently, Caerulean was psychic. With a groan, he sat up in bed, dislodging Neo in the process, and cast his eyes about for the source of the alarm; he hadn't seen one when he woke up yesterday?
"For Dust's sake, Merc! Shut it off already, I'm up!"
In what appeared to be a well practiced motion, Mercury didn't even look as he snaked his arm out and slammed a fist down atop the offending device, which had been located... directly beneath his head, in the space between the bed and the floor.
"Five more minutes, Em..."
"I am not waking your ass up if you fall asleep again!"
"Good..."
Caerulean just chuckled at the interaction before turning his gaze down to look at Neo, who was currently blinking the sleep out of her eyes.
"Rise and shine, short stuff!"
The girl just rolled her eyes at him before hopping out of bed. "Don't call me that."
Caerulean smirked. "Whatever you say... half-pint."
And he was promptly rewarded with a swat to the chest... Which actually hurt somewhat.
"Sorry."
"You better be."
Caerulean was left flabbergasted when she briskly stomped away from him... But not before pausing to effortlessly drag Mercury out of his bunk as she passed. Which drew chuckles from both himself and Emerald.
"Is... She not a morning person?" Caerulean asked Emerald as she finished making up her bunk, "Or did I just manage to piss her off somehow?"
A pitying sigh was what he received in response to that query from its' intended recipient; it was from the grounded Mercury (who was stubbornly refusing to get off the ground) that he got an actual response from. "You called her short, Lee. Short people never like being reminded of that."
Caerulean face-palmed. Of course, that should have been an obvious trigger.
"I'll just have to make it up to her later." He decided before turning to make up the bed... Which really just consisted of smoothing out the sheets and reconfiguring the pillows, seeing as he and Neo had fallen asleep above the covers. "Now, correct me if I'm wrong, Merc, but shouldn't you be getting up now? I may not know any of you very well, but I'm willing to bet Cinder isn't the type to be cool with you just lazing about in bed all morning."
"No, she's not," Emerald interjected, punctuating it with a kick to Mercury's legs... Which barely got a grunt out of him. "Now seriously, Mercury, get up. We're gonna have a long day ahead of us, and the last thing we need is to waste time listening to Cinder tear you a new one, as entertaining as that would be."
Caerulean raised a brow at the scene. "Is he always like this in the morning?"
"He's pretty much useless before 8 unless there's something really important going on."
"Hmm..."
Just then, the sound of running water could be heard coming from the restroom... Which gave Cerulean an idea.
"You grab his arms, I'll get his legs?"
"O-kaaaaaaay. But I don't see where you're going with this?"
"Oh, you will here in a moment."
A couple of moments later, the two were carrying a sleeping Mercury out of the bedroom... And towards the restroom.
"Oh. I like this plan." Emerald smirked as Cerulean backed through the door, receiving a thumbs up from a smiling Neo.
"On three... One... Two... Three!"
And with a heave, the two teenagers tossed the still sleeping one into a tub of cold water, making sure to jump backwards to avoid the splash.
"Waaaah! The hell!?"
And with one final, synchronized shtak-eating grin, the offending teens sprinted out of the restroom, leaving Mercury alone to process the rude awakening.
"I really hate you guys sometimes..."
Caerulean rolled his eyes before returning to his cereal; Mercury, it seemed, was still upset over the morning's earlier incident. But, it was as he and Emerald had said earlier; they were to have a long (and in his own case, important) day, so it really wouldn't do to sleep in; to quote a proverb that had been ancient in his home universe, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. And today was the day he'd be taking that first step. Speaking of which...
"So... Any idea when Cinder is supposed to show up?"
"Somebody's excited."
Indeed, the excitement had leaked into Caerulean's voice, and Neo had been quick to call him out on it. Still, he felt it was perfectly justified.
"Hey, just because you're all used to being able to deflect bullets with just your soul and then throw down kung fu moves like Jet Li doesn't mean someone who was normal until yesterday can't get excited about soon being able to do the same!"
"Well, he's not wrong."
"Thank you, Merc!"
"It's still entertaining from our side of things though."
"Screw you, Merc..."
"Awe, don't take it so personally," Neo chimed in. "We've just never seen anybody this excited to learn how to fight."
"What, you guys weren't like that back before your auras were unlocked?"
"Well... Maybe. I can't speak for them, but in my case I was so young that I don't really remember what I was feeling."
"Liar." Caerulean scoffed. "I bet you were just as excited as I am; you probably did a little happy dance, too."
"Believe what you want; I really don't remember. But..." Neo smirked, a devious glint coming into her eyes. "I'll make sure to remember how your training goes."
Suddenly, Caerulean feared that he wasn't going to enjoy this as much as he thought he would. But he'd be damned if he let that deter him! He had the capability to shatter boulders with his fists now, so he couldn't allow fear of the journey take away from his yearning for the destination! The road would be long, it would be tough, but in the end, it would be totally worth it! He just had to get the crown, save the town and Mr. Kra-
"Remnant to Caerulean! Come in, Lee!"
"Bwah! Emerald, don't do that!" And by that, Cerulean meant invade his personal space to yell right into his ear. He felt justified in jumping about a foot in the air, even if it did lead to Mercury and Neo laughing at him. Emerald herself just seemed to be exasperated... Which was becoming a bit of a recurring theme, he noticed.
"Well maybe I wouldn't have to if you'd stop zoning out so often!"
"Sorry, sorry... I was just repsyching myself for today. What did you want, again?"
"I was asking how you can understand her so easily!"
"Wait, what? I thought we went over this already, she's telepathic..?"
"Yes, but not so much so that she can perfectly transfer what she's thinking into other people's heads! Yet here you are having a conversation with her as easily as you would with one of us."
Caerulean just had to raise a brow at that. "I don't know what you're talking about; she makes perfect sense to me."
"I can't send more than images and emotions to most people, and even that has to be supported with body language most of the time. But don't tell them that."
"And apparently, I'm not allowed to tell you why that is. I guess the only advice I have for you is to try harder?"
Emerald huffed in irritation, but had little choice but to accept that answer; it wasn't as if Neo was about to clarify.
As for Caerulean himself, he had noticed that nobody answered his original question... But he wasn't about to make a pest of himself by repeating it. Instead, he opted to take a moment to really examine his new room mates; while he had made some basic observations the previous day, he hadn't yet taken the time to go in depth. But with the natural lull in the conversation, and all that was currently being done was eating, he felt he could take a moment to consciously add to their dossiers. Caerulean decided to start with Emerald, seeing as he'd just gotten done having a conversation with her; being sat on the next face in the clockwise direction of the square table made doing so convenient.
Emerald, as he had noted the previous day, had minty green hair (which, quite frankly, Caerulean thought was pretty cool) that was pulled back into a single long pony tail, not quite reaching her derriere when she was standing, but it wasn't one of those pony tails where literally all of the person's hair is being pulled back from their face; rather, it was more like what would be a natural curtain of hair was bound together by a red elastic band, and then somehow separated into two tails that didn't quite reach her derriere, allowing her to also have bangs that just barely hung down over her eyes, which reminded him of blood (which was somehow both terrifying and exotic, due to him not being used to it). Both of these features contrasted her dark skin, that he would place somewhere between milk chocolate and mocha (slightly darker than his own). And her outfit showed off a good deal of it, leaving her entire flat yet curvy midriff and lower back exposed, as well as a pair of admittedly shapely calves and the entirety of her arms. Despite this, her outfit remained mostly tasteful, albeit odd (chaps, I'm looking at you!), but from what he had been told, most Hunters or Hunter-like (in terms of aura and prowess) individuals tended to dress uniquely and distinctively. Emerald was no exception, combining a white ribbon-collared green sports bra (or is that technically a halter top?) for her top, while she wore brown chaps over green capris on bottom. For accessories, she had... Single-half-fingered white gloves? Lee didn't know just what to call those, but they were apparently a thing... as were her gun/sickle/kusarigama things.
And all of that on a body that looks very well specialized towards dexterity and agility... Though, color of her eyes aside, you wouldn't expect someone with a face that inviting to be capable of treachery. Definitely the thief of the group.
Directly across from Lee, and thus next on the list, sat Mercury. Discounting his hair and eyes, which were both a slightly blueish, grey color that resembled the element he shared a name with, Mercury looked like he was just your average, trendy cool guy, down to the pretty boy face and nonchalant sneer. Sporty, two-tone collared shirt with half-tail, matching pants, steel-capped boots, and fingerless gloves. What made him stand out, however, were the boots... Which also just happened to be shotguns.
Close combat specialist... And likely a high-level martial artist, based on his weapons of choice. Prefers kicking, obviously. I'll definitely be taking pointers from that guy.
And last, but most certainly not least, was Neo, short for Neopolitan, whose parents had clearly held an appreciation for pun-based humor, which she herself seemed to take to the next level with her outfit... Which, Cerulean had to say, was easily the classiest there. A pink-lined white crop-topped tail coat... Or did that make it a tailed-bolero jacket? Bolero tail coat? Whatever the proper name for it was, it would have left her midriff bare when worn (it currently was draped across the back of her chair)... Except that she wore a plain, black-brown corset beneath it, which itself didn't quite reach her hips, leaving a band of pale but healthy skin around her waist and a rather impressive amount of cleavage for someone of her relative size exposed (the latter of which Caerulean earned a wink for from the girl when she caught him looking). Brown pants of a lighter shade than her corset, along with belts which matched the corset, covered her legs, which Caerulean noticed were quite shapely as well. Add in the literal neapolitan hair (half pink, half brown, with white streaks in the pink portion), which rolled in a few waves all the way down her back, and eyes which could seemingly alternate between two of those colors at will, and you would arrive at a very stylish young woman. Actually, he decided that 'fabulous' would be the better word. The only thing that Caerulean might have found ridiculous were the white, knee-high 5 or 6 inch high-heeled boots... But the woman was only 4'9" (just under 1.45 meters) with them, so he could understand they were necessary.
Of the group, she's the only one I've yet to see exhibit any sort of weapon... But the parasol by the door matches her color scheme and seems pretty sturdy. Wouldn't surprise me if the canopy is actually made of kevlar or something... In which case the handle is probably also a saber or some such bladed implement. Simply being with a group like this means she's got to have some sort of extraordinary talent with weapons, and if that parasol is indeed her weapon of choice, combined with those extreme heels... I'm going to wager she's skilled enough to compensate, which would also make her the most skilled fighter in the room... Though Mercury probably has an edge on her simply by being larger and presumably stronger... Then again, she did drag him out of bed without even slowing down...
While he didn't let it dampen his enthusiasm any, Lee was feeling really out of place at the moment; in contrast to their customized and stand-out appearances, he was merely wearing a (torn) black T-shirt with "Kill la Kill" printed in orange block lettering next to a figure of a girl in a sailor uniform wielding a scissor blade, dark grey jeans, and a pair of steel toed boots. Which would have certainly stood out in his own world, but his palette was lacking compared to these three. Granted, he did have unique eyes; he doubted there were very many people walking around Remnant with sectoral heterochromia (as opposed to Neo's heterochromia iridum) eyes with two alternately colored sections on each eye, and perfectly mirrored no less (imagine an iris, divide it into six sections, then fill in the two directly at the 3 and 9 'oclock positions with blue, while the other four sections are green). His physical appearance was otherwise attractive enough but unspectacular. He had tanned skin that he would define as being somewhere between olive and honey in shade, but lighter in tone, as well as black hair that was healthy enough and currently just brushed and combed into a sorta-faux hawk. Along with some gel to get it to stay like that, he would definitely need to procure some better gear at some point. But that was a problem for later. Right then, Lee had more pressing concerns... Such as Cinder finally entering the room.
"I see you are all awake. I take it that you are ready to begin the day?"
A chorus of affirmatives greeted her.
"Very well, let us be off."
"Why am I not surprised?"
Caerulean's rhetorical question, grumbled under his breath, was in response to having been told that in order to properly assess his current standing, he would be starting with hand-to-hand sparring matches. Which, while it was probably the only form of combat he could expect to have any form of skill it, was still probably going to result in nothing less than him getting his ass handed to him. And to that effect, the group had migrated to a private training facility.
Well, at least my first opponent is Emerald.
Of course, that statement could be compared to an average human in Dragon Ball being tasked with fighting each of the Z fighters in order, and then being glad that Yamcha (or perhaps Krillin, depending on the saga) was the first opponent; sure, he might be the weakest/least skilled fighter among them, but that didn't mean he couldn't still take your Average Joe ass down before you had time to even try.
Then again, Cinder said that she unlocked my aura, and, at least from what I understand, aura here doesn't seem to work the same way as ki in the Dragonball series; everyone has a finite amount, and more experience simply translates to using it more efficiently... I'm at a disadvantage, sure, but purely in skill. Simply having my aura unlocked means that, physically, I should be able to keep up with her well enough that I may have a chance...
That was Caerulean's hope, anyway, as he finished doing some preliminary stretches, all while observing his green-themed opponent doing the same across from him... Which reminded him that she seemed to be more of a speed and flexibility type.
Right. With that in mind, my best bet will be to grab her in order to prevent that speed from becoming my downfall, and hope that I'm strong enough to overpower her with grappling techniques.
Strategy in place, Caerulean stepped up to the mat, confidently taking up his best approximation at a fighting stance; legs bent slightly in a horse stance, with his body at an angle towards his opponent. His offhand held semi-curled in front of him at shoulder height, palm at a 135 degree angle to the ground, elbow crooked somewhere between a 30 and a 45 degree angle. Main hand, next to his chin, palm flat, fingers pointing a line through his off hand straight to his opponent. His entire body lightly bobbing up and down in time with his breath, which he was taking efforts to control. He did his best to ignore the giggling he could 'hear' from Neo. The taunt that came from Emerald, however, wasn't quite as easy to shrug off.
"Well, at least you look like you have at least some idea of what you're supposed to be doing. You ready to lose, Lee?"
For the briefest of moments, he found himself regretting how often he'd needled her so far... But then he decided he may as well try to use that.
"The only thing I'm ready to do is wipe that smug grin off your face, Em!"
The banter, friendly as it was, served as an excellent way to keep Lee focused; he'd be damned if he let her win without putting up at least a half-way decent fight!
"I take it you're ready then?" Mercury interjected, for once not sounding either smug or bored. Caerulean responded with a nod.
"Emerald?"
A confidently affirmative grunt as she flipped into her own pose... Which, to Cerulean's slight surprise, turned out to be Ty Lee's from The Last Airbender series, in the one episode that she went to the beach with Azula and Co., where she balances on the volleyball net right after kicking the ball out of the air. Normally, he would have found that maneuver just plain awesome, but seeing as he was about to fight her...
I'm boned.
"Alright then. Three..."
Emerald straightened herself back up into something resembling an actual combat stance, rather than a flashy pose.
"Two..."
Lee took a deep breath to calm himself.
"One... Fight!"
Cerulean's eyes widened in surprise as, almost quicker than he could see, Emerald shot towards him... With her right leg extended?
Time seemed to slow to a crawl as Cerulean reacted. Offhand, already held in front, was raised and moved slightly to the side... Where it impacted Emerald's oncoming ankle, bringing her roundhouse kick to an abrupt stop. Continuing the motion, Cerulean pivoted on the same foot while at the same time uncoiling his main arm like a striking viper, driving his knifed main hand directly into the girl's sternum.
"Oof!" The widening of Emerald's eyes as the air was forcefully expelled from her lungs only fueled Cerulean's sudden surge of confidence. Taking advantage of both the surprise and Emerald's current lack of air, Cerulean rotated the wrist of his off hand, changing his position from blocking her kick to having a hold of her by the leg, then used his right ankle, currently next to Emerald's, to sweep Emerald's remaining leg from beneath her while falling forwards, slamming the thief to the ground with 165 pounds of man pinning her there.
"And the victory goes to Cerulean. Damn, Lee. Nice combo."
Cerulean merely grinned towards Mercury before lifting himself up off of Emerald, offering the greenette a hand up once he'd done so.
"Yes, that was indeed a well thought out maneuver. However, do not hesitate between blocking and attacking next time; had Emerald recovered from her surprise any more expeditiously, she would have easily had time to cause said maneuver to fail. On that note, Emerald, you now know that Cerulean is capable of keeping up with your speed, at least to an extent. Unless you possess the element of surprise, attempting an instant take down against an opponent you know little to nothing about is nothing short of folly; underestimating an opponent can and very likely will lead to defeat, such as which you just experienced."
Both teens winced, but replied with a "Yes ma'am" before returning to their respective ends of the training mat.
As much as I wish I could say otherwise, that first victory proved to be nothing more than luck; Emerald underestimated me, and I was just skilled enough to take advantage of that before she could recover. After that first match, however, we fought four more, and I lost each and every time. Yet not as swiftly or painfully as I had feared; combined with just a little bit of skill, my new physique proved to be quite resilient to Emerald's style of swift, accurate strikes, so long as I didn't let her hit any pressure points. But while I can't say I ever completely overcame that particular weakness, I most certainly did develop some sort of resistance to such tactics over the next several months, and with that resistance, came the chance to actually counter Emerald... Until, eventually, I would able to fight equally with her... at least in unarmed combat. But like I said, that wouldn't be for months. In the meantime, there were other problems that needed to be addressed...
