A/N: I'm updating again! Sorry for taking so long, I've been in a kind of….writing slump, so to get rid of it…I'm writing. ^_^;; I've been a bit busy as well, with school and shit. :P So, my updates are probably gonna' be less frequent…but I don't plan on canceling any of the fanfics I have up! So, here's the next chapter, and I'm gonna' try and make this chapter longer than usual, if my slump will let me and leave me alone. -_-
"Rubedo, you're supposed to hit the target!" Albedo teasingly exclaimed as Rubedo aimed his gun, fired, and missed the target. He scowled at the gun in his hands before he aimed again. He narrowed his eyes at the target, concentrating all his energy into hitting it, and fired. It's been two years since the professor had first mentioned the training, but it wasn't until now that the professor actually got around to doing the training. Apparently he was too busy tuning up other experiments, including their "brothers" who they had yet to meet, and he also had to make the training areas. Much to the three's disappointment, the professor made them help him during that little project of making the extra training rooms. But now, they had finally started! (And about time too.)
"Hey, what do ya' know?! The Bookworm's actually good at something other than reading!" Albedo cheered as the navy blue headed U.R.T.V. managed to get another bulls-eye. Nigredo just grinned, already used to the name "Bookworm" from Albedo, and turned to Rubedo, who sighed and hung his head low in embarrassment. He had missed again. Albedo couldn't help but snicker at the unfortunate red head, but quickly stopped when the professor entered the small training room. The room was you average shooting range. Multiple rows of tan stalls with each target, a gun, and headphones to lesson the noise, of course, the three U.R.T.V.s didn't bother to put them on, but overall, the room was lacking in the department of originality,
"I'm glad to see you guys are training so hard," he remarked as he walked up to them. Then, he took a look at the targets, and was overall pleased. Jr. had missed all except 1, which Albedo claimed that that one was a fluke, Albedo missed 5 out of 10, and Nigredo had missed a whopping 2 out of 10.
"Alright, for starting out these scores are very good, but we still need practice. When you three are done with this training, you'll be making bulls-eyes every time with your eyes closed."
"Sure, if the target is right in front of me I will…" Rubedo muttered under his breath. The other two quietly snickered at the comment, while the professor continued on, ignoring the red head's comment.
"..Now then, we also need to start on strategy, and not just any strategy, but…. war strategy, or battle strategy." He announced, "and because of that, we'll start with the history of war, so we can get a feel of how a battle and how war works. Now then, the library is this way…" Albedo and Rubedo both let out a groan of dismay while Nigredo grinned.
"This training isn't so bad…" Nigredo remarked as they headed towards the library. Albedo and Jr. both glared at the smug Nigredo, while the professor just hummed a tune to himself, completely oblivious to their conversation.
"This training is hell…." Albedo grumbled under his breath, Rubedo nodded in agreement.
"I know you three have an amazing intelligence for your age, after all, I was the one who planted that intelligence in you," the three rolled their eyes at the obvious pride the professor had as he stated this, "but it's best that we harness that intelligence, for future reference." He opened the door to the library and gestured to a small table with four chairs that lay amongst the shelves of books surrounding the table. As the three took a seat, Rubedo and Albedo eyed the thick brown covered book in front of each of them with annoyance.
"Do they really need to be this thick?" Rubedo asked as he flipped to the back of the book to see how many pages there were. Albedo on the other hand went for something more….easy, he simply grabbed a stapler that was on the table and compared it to the weight of the book by using his arms as a balance. The professor continued on with his lecture, and much to Nigredo's amusement, the professor's right eye had started to twitch.
"Mankind has an interesting," he stressed the word "interesting" as he yanked the stapler from Albedo's hand, ", rich," he silenced Nigredo's snickering by shooting a glare at him," and big" he fixed Jr. with a stern look that motivated Jr. to put down the book and listen, " history, that yes, the books need to be thick to tell at least of half of it," Albedo and Jr. both slumped into their chairs, a bored look on their face, didn't look like this part of the training was gonna' end anytime soon, "now then, let's start at chapter one…"
"….That was the most boring thing I've ever done…..and I'm gonna' have to sit through it again tomorrow!!" Rubedo complained as they left the library a few hours later. Albedo grunted in agreement while Nigredo shrugged.
"I thought it was fun." Albedo shot him a deadpan look.
"That's because you're…. Bookworm, boring stuff is your idea of…non boring." Nigredo scowled in response and stuck his tongue out at Albedo while Rubedo snickered.
"How about….we go to the city! To celebrate the fact we didn't fall asleep through it all! I mean, it's still early, around 3(PM), so we got plenty of time before it gets dark!" Jr. suddenly suggested. The white haired U.R.T.V. eagerly agreed while Nigredo shrugged…again, Jr., assuming the shrug meant, "Yes" grinned, "Then come on! Last one there has to do everyone's chores for a week!" the blue haired U.R.T.V. got a look of pure disbelief on his face.
"You don't mean the whole way?! As in run to the city from here!" he demanded in surprise. The two others grinned.
"Of course we do….and there's no way I'm gonna' be last!" Albedo confirmed, then, Albedo and Rubedo quickly took off, leaving Nigredo behind. He slumped his shoulder and sighed.
"Looks like I got chores…" he grumbled to himself as he sprinted off to the city. Meanwhile, back at the lab, the professor walked out of the library shortly after the three boys hurriedly left the room. He softly shut the door behind him with a sigh and looked up with tired eyes, it seemed the weight of Miltia…no…it was the weight the universe that rested on the professor's shoulders, and the weight of it all made him so tired. And soon…. he had to give that horrible weight to the U.R.T.V.s in a few years. He didn't want to, but he had to. That was his purpose of creating them, but…it felt wrong to use them like this, he was their creator, and their creator only created them….to fight…to fight that monstrosity he wishes to see, the demon he wished study, at the future expense of billions, maybe even trillions of lives! He shook his head to get rid of the dark dreary thoughts. It was time to focus on what was happening now, he still had to work out more kinks in the earlier U.R.T.V.s, get all of the boys through their training within 3 years at the most, not to mention keep the three "special cases" in line. He let out another sigh as he entered the lab, oh yes; things were going to be difficult indeed. No use giving up now…..the game had already started, and he was going to win.
"Oi, Nigredo there you are! We were startin' to think you went back to the lab!" Jr. teased as the noticed the boy walk towards them with his shoulders slumped in exhaustion and sweat bathing his face. His tongue lolled out and his eyes were half lidded as he slowly dragged his feet inch by inch until he stood before the two.
"Oh shut up.." he grumbled under his breath as he collapsed onto the paved ground. The people amongst them ignored the small group of boys with the odd hair colors and even odder face resemblances. Each one of them too caught up in their own lives, to notice theirs.
"So what do you guys wanna' do?" Albedo questioned as he looked around for some sign of fun. The other two shrugged, the red head looked around for some sort of amusement while the blue head just continued to sit on the ground with his shoulders slumped, gasping for breath.
"How about we race to-"
"NO!" Nigredo loudly cut in to Rubedo's suggestion, "I don't feel like collapsing…again anytime soon, thank you very much!" he snapped. The two others laughed at the scowling boy.
"I was only kidding!" Albedo managed to say between laughs.
"Yeah, take it easy! Besides, you need more exercise if that short run tired you out so much!"
"That's just because you guys run to here everyday! It's not human!" Nigredo defensibly pointed out. The comment only served to make Albedo and Rubedo laugh even louder, the other people still ignoring the three.
"We….We aren't human, Bookworm!" Albedo managed to gasp in between his loud laughter. Nigredo just turned his head away from the guffawing pair in an indignant huff, and let out a small growl of annoyance, before something caught his eye……
A/N: Wonder what? :P Yeah, I kind of breezed passed through years of their lives, and I've decided to make this into the three U.R.T.V.s past. ^_^ Hope you guys like it, please R&R, thanks!