September 2, 2020

Blake was still working at the FAO, surprisingly. She had been given 2 weeks off to deal with the trauma of the call, but decided to start going back to work 1 week early.

Today, she was working as a District 2 dispatcher. This meant she would be able to hear numerous voices she was familiar with. At 8:16, just 16 minutes after beginning her shift, she got 2 simultaneous calls, both medicals on the CAD screen. She quickly sent out 3 tone beeps and radioed, "Fire Alarm to all units responding to Box 2167 and Box 2271, District 2, Channel 1 is operations, repeating, District 2, Channel 1 is operations." She then turned on the mixer for incoming units.

"Ambulance 204 to Fire Alarm, we're responding with 3 to Box 2167."

"10-4, responding at 8:16."

"Car 10 to Fire Alarm."

"Car 10."

"I'll be responding to Box 2167."

"10-4." There was then a short pause.

"Car 12 to Fire Alarm, I'm en route to Box 2271."

"10-4, just be advised, the caller states that the victim is now conscious, but still not alert."

"10-4."

"Ambulance 205 to Fire Alarm."

"Ambulance 205."

"We'll be responding with 4, we copy the info."

"10-4, Ambulance 205, responding at 8:18."

At 8:20, another call came in, this time for Friendship Hose Company 19 and Atlesian Fire Company 18 for a Charlie-response medical. She hit the tone beeps again and said, "Fire Alarm to all units responding to Box 2311, District 2, Channel 1 is operations."

"Car 10 is 10-84 at Box 2167."

"10-4."

"Car 12 is 10-84 with Ambulance 205 at Box 2271."

"10-4."

"Ambulance 204 is 10-84."

"10-4."

"Car 19 to Fire Alarm."

"Car 19." By now, Blake was getting tired and yawned.

"You can show me responding to Box 2311."

"10-4, Fire Alarm to Ambulance 208, are you en route?"

"10-4, we're responding, Fire Alarm."

"10-4." Then, there was a 45-second pause.

"Mini Pumper 209 to Fire Alarm."

"Mini 209."

"Show us responding to Box 2311 with a crew of 4."

"10-4, responding at 8:22."

"Car 19 to Fire Alarm, I'll be 10-84."

"10-4, Car 19."

At 5:30, Ruby and Gwen went out to a restaurant to eat. Gwen worked as a police officer on 1st shift, from 12 to 8 in the morning, from Monday through Friday, and then would bid for 12-hour weekend shifts. As they ate their meal, Ruby said, "So can I let you in on a secret?"

"What is it?" Gwen looked interested.

"I personally know the king."

"You know Delwyn IV? How?!"

"Well, one night, my big sister Yang took me out to Vale's 'gaybourhood' and we ran into Delwyn doing a pub crawl in the area, so we joined him. By the way, he is not gay, or bi, or whatever. He frequents the area because apparently, us LGBT people are great bar owners."

Gwen laughed and replied, "I can't argue with that. One of my exes worked as a bartender. She was very skilled at her job."

"I even have Delwyn's cell phone number. Here's a picture of me and Yang with him." She then showed Gwen the picture on her phone. "He goes out in civilian clothing to escape some of the pressures of running a country."

"What if someone wants to kill him?"

"He's got that covered. He carries a concealed gun with him and a bunch of permits. He's a very skilled shot. He invited me and Yang to a target range at the castle. Wanna come? It's on Friday at 7."

"Sure. I could improve my accuracy skills, given my job as a cop."

After the meal, Ruby went over to see Gwen's apartment, located in District 1 of the city. When she opened the door, Gwen said, "It's a bit messy, but whatever."

As Ruby looked around, Gwen reached into a locked cabinet and pulled out a pistol, saying, "This is my service weapon. Per VCPD rules, I have to take it home with me because a lot of people are out to get cops. It's a 6-shot .30 calibre revolver. Since I'm only a regular patrol officer, I can't carry the .45 calibre 7-shot pistols like the sergeant, lieutenants, captains, and chiefs."

"Cool," Ruby replied. "I have a weapon of my own." She then pulled Crescent Rose, in its compact form, out of her backpack. "It's called Crescent Rose. It's a scythe and a sniper rifle. I use it for hunting grimm and self-defence. According to Beacon Academy's headmaster, Ozpin, this is the most dangerous weapon ever designed for hunting, and the most effective." She then displayed its sniper mode, followed by its scythe mode, before turning it off and putting it back.

"Amazing! How old were you when you made that?!"

"14. I was in Signal Academy at the time. I had some help from my uncle, Qrow."

"Oh my God..." Gwen then put her gun away. "So, this may be a ball out of left field, but what turns you on?"

Ruby blushed. "Well... Guys... And girls... Naked, I guess?"

"Well no shit, Sherlock. I mean like acts, fetishes, body types, personality, and whatever."

"Ohhhh... Hmm..." Ruby thought to herself.

"Look, if you aren't comfortable, just tell me, and I'll stop."

"I'm fine. Let's see... Uhhh..."

"You drew a blank, didn't you?"

"I'm trying to figure this out on the fly, Gwen. Be patient. Alright... Well, I'll just write it down. It doesn't feel right to have it come out of my mouth, no pun intended." Ruby then grabbed a piece of paper and a pen.

After writing down a few things, Gwen looked at it and blushed. "Well then... Uhhh... Would you ever... Would you ever consider doing any of this with me?" Gwen then covered her mouth in embarrassment.

Ruby said, "I'd have to think about it... Well... Uhhh... I guess a few things..."

"Which ones?"

Ruby, now as bright red as an apple, pointed them out on the paper. "These."

"So not all the way, but close? Okay..."

At 8:41, Ruby returned to her and Yang's apartment. Yang looked at her and said, "Where the hell were you? You were supposed to be back here at 6:30."

"Yang... Me and Gwen did a few things..." Ruby blushed again.

"You... What?" Yang was confused.

Then, Ruby took a deep breath and said, "Me and Gwen were supposed to just do oral, but we went all the way instead!" She then covered her mouth in embarrassment.

Yang was stunned. "You... Had sex with Gwenllian?"

Ruby nodded.

"Did you agree to it?"

Ruby nodded again.

"Was it fun?"

Ruby hesitated, then nodded yes.

"Then that's all that matters. Welcome to the world of non-virgins, Ruby, population me, Weiss, Blake, and a bunch of other people." Yang then smiled. "Was she gentle with you?"

"Well, I kinda told her to be rough once we started getting way into it."

"Atta girl." Yang then laughed, followed by Ruby uncomfortably laughing. "Did you set up another time for a date?"

"That we did. I plan on asking her to do it again with me afterwards."

"Alright then. Have fun, but be careful and safe. Don't catch anything, got it?"

"Got it." Ruby then poured herself some water. "So, what's new with you?"

"I've been studying this." She then showed Ruby a book called "Firefighter Tactics." "I'm doing this so I can prepare for the test on the 5th. I also got a book called "The Basics Of Rescue Operations" from the Vigilant's library. I still can't believe our fire company can afford its own library for members."

September 3, 2020

At 5, Blake and Sun went out to watch a play at a nearby theatre called the Beverly Playhouse. They came home to Blake's apartment at 9.

"Well that was a fun little production," Blake said. "So, Sun when do you ship out to assist the expansion project?"

"I ship out on September 6 and I'll be back on September 18," Sun replied. "Mistral is supplying 500 hunters and 5,000 soldiers per an agreement with Vale."

"Be careful. It was hell out there."

"Anyways, it appears that events are finally slowing down after that rough August and July. First we had that huge fire, the hunting thing, and then the cop-killings."

Blake remained silent.

"Anything wrong?"

She then sighed and said, "It's nothing. I gotta go study for the fire exam on the 5th." She then gave Sun a quick kiss. "Goodnight."

Sun blushed and replied, "Bye, Blake." He then left the apartment.

Blake pulled out a book from Vigilant's library and read it from cover to cover in a little over an hour and a half. When she finished at 10:37, she fell right to sleep, tired out from the day.

September 4, 2020

Ruby and Gwen took the subway over to the Royal Castle at 7 PM. When they arrived at the gates, Ruby called Delwyn IV by phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's Ruby. We're here with the guns, Delwyn."

"Okay then. I'll radio the guards at the gates to buzz you in."

After a 1 and a half minute pause, the guards opened a door next to the gates. One of them said, "Come on in."

As Ruby and Gwen, both carrying their weapons, were led to the castle by the guards, they looked at the beautifully-crafted gardens and fountains. Ruby asked, "How long does it usually take you guys to get to the king's house, or palace I should say?"

"Well, the Royal Castle of Vale is about 0.35 square miles in size in regards to the grounds," a guard replied. "It takes a while, especially with the other buildings and gates. This place is the most beautiful area in the city, but it's also the most fortified."

The other guard said, "Some ex-guard released a book about the inner workings of this place back a few years ago. He had to release it under a false name then because there was some stuff in there that was originally secret, such as the existence of surface-to-air missiles in the complex, as well as a war command centre underground. So anyways, why did the king invite you 2 here? We know he goes out on some weekends in plainclothes. Did he meet up with you 2?"

"He met me and my sister Yang," Ruby replied. "Gwen here is my girlfriend and a cop. Me and my sister are in the Hunting Corps."

"Nice. Say, were you sent out to the woods for that expansion mission?"

"I was. It was a grueling mission, and I'm gonna have to repeat it sometime in October or November. What branch are you guys in?"

"Obviously, we're in the Guardsmen Corps. I'm a Sergeant. This man next to me is a Captain. We're one of 1,250 guards stationed at the Royal Castle."

After a few more minutes of walking and touring, Delwyn IV met them at the steps to the King's residence. Ruby, Gwen, and the 2 guards saluted him. Delwyn then said, "At ease. So, what's new with you, Ruby?"

"Me and Gwen have been doing well. I gotta take the BF-CFR test tomorrow. What's new with you?"

"I'm meeting the Chancellor of Vacuo in 2 days, so there's that. I also have to attend a Governing Council's meeting tomorrow. I'm a busy man." The 3 of them all laughed.

"Your majesty," Gwen said. "My name is Gwenllian. I am Ruby's girlfriend. It's an honour to meet you."

"Same to you as well. I hear you're a cop."

"I am indeed. I'm fairly new to the force. My dad was a cop for 18 years until he was struck and killed on a highway when I was 15. So, where's the shooting gallery?"

"Right this way!" Delwyn then led the girls into the inside of the residence.

After walking down several grand and magnificent hallways, they went to an elevator.

"This leads to the 3 sub-levels of the basement. The residence would have more, but the castle grounds are only 154 feet above sea level. Down there are some offices, meeting rooms, storage, and the shooting gallery." The 3 of them then walked into the elevator. Delwyn pressed a button to go to the 1st basement sub-level.

After walking more, the 3 checked in and arrived at the shooting range. Ruby said, "This place is huge!"

"Indeed. The shooting gallery is 25 feet tall. The furthest targets are 3000 feet away, and the closest targets are 50 feet away. There are a total of 20 targets. In comparison, the grounds themselves are 4000 feet long north-south and 3000 feet long east west. Obviously, the shooting gallery is north-south. It's designed to allow users to fire not only guns, but also rocket launchers, given the large space behind us to allow for the backblast to dissipate. Remember, don't stand behind anyone firing an explosive weapon." All 3 of them then put ear protectors on.

"Got it." Ruby then deployed Crimson Rose into its sniper mode and aimed at the 3000-foot target.

"You're daring," Gwen said.

Then, Ruby fired. The shot missed the target but only a few feet. "Damn it!"

Delwyn said, "I'm gonna fire an incendiary rocket launcher. This particular model has 4 reloadable tubes. Remember, do NOT stand behind me for this one."

Ruby and Gwen moved to the far right side of Delwyn as he put the sights up, aimed at the 3000-foot target, turned the safety off, and fired an incendiary round. The small target post was hit, and it burned intensely. The smoke was channeled into a vent nearby. A fire suppression system then put the fire out with CO2.

Ruby said, "Amazing!"

Delwyn said, "Wanna try? As long as you're under my watch, it'll be fine."

Ruby said, "Yes!" She then grabbed the launcher from Delwyn's hands as he moved away, got in the correct position, aimed, and fired.

Gwen said, "Awesome!"

September 5, 2020

The day of the big test had arrived. All 174 volunteer firefighters that had taken the course congregated outside of a large gymnasium in the training academy complex. Most were under the age of 20, and many were even under 18.

Yang said to Ruby, "I can't believe how young some of the guys and gals here are. One kid I talked to said she had just turned 14 2 weeks before the class began. Hey Weiss, how old were you when you took this?"

Weiss replied, "14. I was in Vigilant for 2 years before then. I still couldn't go into buildings at calls until I was 16. Actually, on my 16th birthday, I made my first interior attack at a 1-alarm apartment fire. It was right at the end of my party, too. I remember coming home 4 hours later at 1 in the morning the next day and barely falling asleep because I was so excited." She was here to hang out before and after the test finished up.

Blake said, "I hope all our studying paid off."

George then walked over and said, "Hello, girls. And hello, Yang." They both smiled and kissed.

Yang said, "Are you ready for the test?"

"Of course," George replied. "I studied my ass off for the past week, and one of the guys at my company got his hands on an extra copy of the previous BF-CFR test. I took it as practise. He said that the test is different every year, but they do recycle some key questions and reword them."

Another Goodwill firefighter then approached George and said, "Hey George, you gotta read this story in the VCVFA's newspaper."

"What does the Volunteer Weekly have to print this time?" George then read the front page story. "Apparently, a bunch of housing developments in District 3 are pissed that the volunteer fire companies that are there already aren't being fast enough, so they want to form their own companies. There's also talk of forming 2 new companies in the new developments just outside of Beacon Academy."

"So they do," Weiss said. "What will they name them?"

"The 2 new Beacon companies will be called North and South Beacon Fire, respectively. The developments in District 3 want to name their companies after their development's names. The VCPFA is angry at these proposals because they reached an agreement with us to not form any new volunteer companies for 25 years after the 1970s."

"How creative," Weiss replied sarcastically. "And boo fucking hoo if the VCPFA doesn't want new companies. The moratorium is up, and if the citizens in one area feel that their needs aren't being met by existing companies, they have the right to form their own volunteer stations. How do the existing District 3 companies feel?"

"They're all neutral on the issue. On one hand, they like to see the sense of volunteerism spread. On the other, a lot of guys who are proposing these new companies are already paid and/or volunteer firefighters, so they may lose a few guys to the new companies. On another, the guys in District 3 could use all the help they can get with mutual aid and water supply. Almost 65% of the district has no hydrants whatsoever, and a lot of developers are not putting them in to save time."

Blake then said, "Wait up, I think they're calling us in now."

Weiss said, "See ya guys after the test. Good luck to all of you. Who knows? Maybe we'll get a fire tonight afterwards and we can all go do interior ops together."