{Aaron's Perspective}
So you're probably wondering how long it's been since the last chapter. Well quite a lot of time has passed since then, and I'm here to provide a brief summary of what happened on my end.
So there I was at the table in front of Taiyang, I asked him politely if I could take Ruby and Yang along with JNPR to head to Mistral.
He declined and told me that he doesn't want his girls to leave him.
I made the decision to sneak them out.
Yang found a new outfit to go with the occasion, her volume 4 outfit. Which I'll admit, I didn't know she had just laying around apparently.
Ruby was hesitant at first but after a pep-talk and a lot of convincing with cookies she became determined to head to Mistal.
So under the falling snow, we all made our escape.
Ruby left Tai a note, and we just left. Granted we took a boat to Anima despite my protests but apparently everyone wants to save money or something.
Even though Airports are a thing here, Like seriously, what the hell are they thinking?
And now that we're caught up, Some shenanigans:
I called Keoth who just so happened to have Justin in the same room.
Honestly I never thought I'd see the day where Keoth and Justin came from the same microphone.
-So let me get this straight Justin said You tried to ask Tai politely, and when that got turned down you managed to convince not only Ruby but Yang to go with you and JNPR?
"Yep. that's literally what I just explained." I repeated.
Might I ask how? Keoth asked.
"Ruby took a lot of cookies. Yang took a small conversation before I could convince her to leave with us."
I could imagine them looking at each other in confusion on the other end of the line before Justin responded You definitely know how to surprise us.
I shrugged, "It's what I do best. Besides, you know damn well how I can convince people. Remember AmongUs?" I then remembered the other reason I called. "How you holding up Keoth?"
Well… my rehabilitation is going better, I'm able to walk around on my own. With some help. Keoth said with a bit of disdain in his voice Other than that they're planning on seeing if I'm ready for combat.
Justin then said Though that might wait another day, Ironwood called me in to upgrade my arm.
He put that on so soon? "It's been about 5 months man, and you already put that on?"
… about that… Justin started I have had it on for about 3-4 months.
This… motherfucker… "So you got over your trauma already?"
No… not entirely. There's still my nightmares. Justin answered But… well I can't say it's getting easier.
I can sort of understand where he's coming from. "So you're still struggling with Yang's PTSD I'm guessing."
Worse. Justin corrected. He's been taunting me…
Ah… what he personifies his anger problems. His 'beast' as he calls it. "I see. Has he been goading you to take revenge I presume."
… Yeah…
Oh damn… "Well you might want to train more before you attempt anything."
You don't think I already knew that? Dude was overpowering me without even trying! Justin shrieked.
"Sir, you're getting too hostile." I deadpanned.
Keoth then added Settle down.
I then heard a faint voice in the background.
I have to go. Winter is here. Justin told us Have fun with your talk. We were using Keoth's scroll anyway.
And like that Justin's footsteps faded out from the background.
So where are you right now? Keoth asked.
"A village in the middle of nowhere Anima." I answered.
About to fight the Poltergeist? He asked.
"Yep. I'm getting new clothes too. Since everyone else already has. With Jaune getting his later… Hopefully he doesn't get that dumbass upgrade that makes his sword heavier." I answered.
Keoth sighed. Well, I doubt I'll be any help. Probably still gonna go through rehabilitation before I do anything combat-oriented.
"So you're gonna disappear from us for a bit?" I asked.
Yeah, but I'll call once and a while when I'm not busy. Keoth answered.
Then a thought occurred "Wait… did he say Winter was there?"
Ironwood's orders. Besides with her ship disabled it made him keep Winter closer for some reason you and I can suspect why. Keoth explained.
"Ok I get that, but doesn't this seem a little too convenient to Justin?" I asked him.
Keoth paused for a moment as if he were thinking before yelling OH FOR FOX SAKE!
{Justin/Achilles' perspective}
With Winter being here I don't really know how I'm gonna convince Weiss to leave. Maybe a grandiose speech of the greater good or something. I'm still workshopping things here.
But that'll have to wait. Right now I have a few questions on my mind. And Winter typing away on that scroll pad isn't exactly easing my nerves. "So… I thought you would be stationed in Mistral about now…"
"My ship was tampered with." She explained. "It prevented me from accomplishing my original duties. Ironwood was not pleased with that so I have been ordered to bunker here for a time until he has regained trust in me."
That stings to hear… I should really have more foresight when it comes to these things. "Sorry to hear that."
"Don't be. It was probably some radical individuals who did that." She brushed off my apology.
"Did you at least get footage?" I asked coyly.
"We did. But nothing identifiable aside from double-joints on the thumbs." She explained once more.
Wait, did I do that by mistake? "Double jointed thumbs? How… peculiar."
Winter nodded without giving me so much as a glance. "Indeed, though it's going to be tough to track down since double-joints aren't that uncommon."
Phew. Close call "How did you figure out the double jointed-ness of their thumbs anyway?"
She didn't answer, instead she just said "We're here."
And as we entered I saw Ironwood, Pietro, and Penny oddly enough. Better she's not in pieces.
"Salutations friend Achilles!" Penny greeted me.
I waved half-heartedly back "Hey Penny."
I then turned to Ironwood and Pietro.
Surprisingly this room was big enough for all of us.
Ironwood gestured to a machine behind him and told me to sit beside it.
And so I did with a question forming in the back of my head "Why don't I just remove my arm?"
Pietro answered "Well you still need time to adjust to your prosthetic appendage."
I raised an eyebrow at him "I've been using it around the Schnee manor. I don't see why I should keep it on whilst you upgrade me."
Pietro gave a soft sigh while his robotic wheelchair clanked over to a monitor. "Your nervous system is slowly intertwining into your arm, eventually it won't know the difference between your old and new arm. Assuming you haven't taken it off for four days in a row." he explained.
With my free hand I scratched the back of my neck with a nervous chuckle. "I kinda… take it off when I sleep and shower."
Pietro shot a confused look at me.
"Look, it's uncomfortable to sleep with it on. All the sharp pointy bolts n' stuff dig into my skin. Plus having an ice cold thing hit your side in the middle of the night is worse than when Rose would put her feet on my back in the middle of the night." I explained. "Also I have no idea if this arm is water-proof so I'd rather take precautions.
Everyone in that room was baffled at my statement. So much so they all blinked in unison.
With a groan I then said "Besides that, it tends to get tangled in my hair that Jacques refuses to let me cut more than a few inches."
Ironwood raised an eyebrow.
I explained "According to him, my hair is now 'a part of my brand' and he refuses to let me do anything aside from keep it constantly conditioned so as to not look 'too much like a greaser'.Why the fuck he wants me to stay on brand is beyond me."
"Language please." Ironwood cautioned.
Peitro then chimed in "Well whenever you're ready, place your left arm in the machine.
I did as instructed. A door closed just enough for my arm to remain comfortable while the tiny machines that were making upgrades to my arm were busy. There is a glass pane on the side that lets me see what it was doing.
Remember that cut-out I mentioned a while back? Small robotic claws removed that to reveal an empty cavity in my arm no bigger than a tiny box. Other tiny robotic arms were removing other plates underneath my arm too.
I looked up at Pietro inquisitively and asked "So… what's going on here?"
Ironwood happily explained "Pietro and I came up with the design, I wanted to add a grapple hook and a wrist blade to your arm. Pietro here wanted you to get used to it before we did any of those upgrades."
Ironwood then stroked his 5 o' clock shadow as I looked back down at my prosthetic arm as he mused "Should increase the likelihood of your survival next time you-"
I then shot my head back up and pleaded "Please don't add the blade. I-I can't…"
"You 'can't' or you won't?" Winter asked.
I didn't answer that. I don't know how to answer that if I'll be honest.
Winter seemed to pick up on it.
A metallic box with wires was inserted into my arm as well as a device that looked similar to the Hidden Blade from Assassin's Creed. And after a minute or so of welding and things getting screwed into place, my arm was released.
I clenched and released my prosthetic hand a few times before Ironwood spoke up "Follow me."
And so I did alongside Winter. Which made me more nervous. "Where are we going?" I asked Ironwood.
He turned his head slightly to my general direction and answered "Where else? Atlas' training room."
"Isn't that in Atlas Academy?" I asked.
"It is," Winter answered "But we have our shortcuts to avoid traffic."
Makes sense. "So only the Atlesian military has access to these halls?"
"And huntsmen." Ironwood added. "However, with certain restricted areas such as that one room I showed you."
Fair enough. Can't let the huntsmen know the reality of the world they live in. And certainly can't tell them about Earth from my perspective. Lord knows what Keoth has already said.
Soon enough after traveling in silence we made it. I passed by a group with one individual who looked like Nilla. I waved to her before Ironwood called to me.
And so there we were in the training room.
"This room can be altered to mimic most terrain." Ironwood explained. "This will be used to test your grapple hook."
I raised a brow at him "And that's all right?"
Ironwood and Winter exchanged looks.
"And that's all… right?" I repeated with more worry.
"Sure…" Ironwood answered.
I turned towards the exit that shut immediately.
That's not a good sign.
Winter apparently handed off the scroll tablet to Ironwood. Seeing as he changed some settings. "First things first, we need to see if that grapple hook is up to standard." He then looked up at me "I understand you had one on your gauntlet before-"
"-My arm got chopped. Yeah I did." I finished.
He nodded "Alright, let's see you in action then."
Some pillars erected from the ground raising up towards the ceiling.
Ironwood gestured for me to begin.
So I aimed up towards the pillar nearest to me. The grapple hook launcher popped up and fired not a moment sooner and before I knew it, I was pulled with the force of the grapple hook retracting and using my own body weight to swing towards the next pillar.
While channeling my inner Spiderman I didn't know I had, I repeated that for the other three before falling back to the ground, landing in the superhero pose. Still hurts my knees. I glanced at my arm as soon as I stood back up with an impressed nod.
Ironwood and Winter joined me with Ironwood commenting "Impressive. Where'd you learn that?"
I rubbed the back of my neck explaining "Video Games, and comics"
He raised an eyebrow. However, he shrugged and turned to Winter.
Winter nodded then turned to me. She then tossed an unsheathed sword at me.
I fumbled with the catch. Thankfully I grabbed the handle. "What the hell?! You can't just throw a naked sword at me! I could have chopped my other arm off!"
Winter pointed her sword at me with an uncaring face. "Get yourself ready."
I raised an eyebrow "I'm sorry what-"
Before I got an answer, she charged at me and knocked the sword clean out of my hands.
I glanced at where it landed. Then looked back at Winter as she turned around and took a few steps back.
I then glanced at Ironwood and asked him "What was that about?"
Ironwood sighed softly "Achilles, we're trying to help you with your trauma. We felt it was necessary for you to train against someone with higher skill than you."
I glanced between him and Winter a few times before I asked. "Ok I just have one question. ARE Y'ALL FUCKING MENTAL?!" as I gestured to Winter.
Winter glared at me. "What do you not wish to train with me?"
"NO!" I yelled. "Look I appreciate what y'all think you're doing, but I'm done with combat right now." I glanced down at my robotic arm with the hidden blade still attached. I tried to yank it off to no success.
Before I could put my arm back down I suddenly found the edge of Winter's blade on my robot arm.
… good to know it can be something I can use to counter. If I could stand my ground and not go sailing into the nearest wall.
I stood back up with Winter kicking the training blade over to me. "Pick it up." Winter ordered.
"No." I replied.
She pointed her blade at my chin. "That wasn't a request."
I sighed agitatedly as I picked the blade up with my robot hand. Then I transferred it to my right.
Immediately my hand started shaking again. It's been so long since I've held a weapon. Yet I can't bring myself to actually use it.
While I was distracted, Winter disarmed me again. "Again." She barked.
I went to pick it up and turned to her.
Once again she showed her years of experience and disarmed me before I got a chance to see what was happening.
The blade fell some 10 feet away.
Winter ordered "Pick it up."
"No." I replied sternly.
I looked towards the exit she was standing behind. It was open for a brief moment as Ironwood, Penny, and Pietro stepped through it.
As soon as it shut, Winter made an ice wall in front of it. "You will stay here until you learn to hold your sword."
I narrowed my eyes at her "I don't know what you think you're doing. But it's the wrong way to go about this."
She kept her blade pointed at me without words.
I glanced back down at the blade that was knocked from my hands. It's a fairly standard blade with a hand-and-a-half grip and a 4 foot blade.
I sighed and went to go pick it up. '
I hesitated with my hand hovering over the handle.
I wasn't too sure whether or not to pick it up again. Something in my mind wanted me to pick it up while the other refused.
Winter seemed to have noticed and ordered once more "Pick it up."
I glared at her and asked "Why? I'm not going back into combat anytime soon."
She paced around me as she told me "Your friend Keoth has made leaps of progress in his rehabilitation and relearning how to navigate without his sight."
I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, I'm aware, he's told me as much."
She lowered her blade finally as she continued "Yet the only progress you've made is putting on your prosthetic."
I stood back up and turned to her "Because this," I gestured my robotic hand towards her. "Means I've accepted that I lost, but that doesn't mean I'm ready for combat."
"Even though that was what we designed it for?" She asked.
I threw my hands out to the side and retorted "So what if it was designed for combat? What he did to me…" I shook my head. "Doesn't matter, even if I train I doubt I'll be able to defend myself."
Winter tilted her head at me "You mean to tell me you're giving up?"
"No," I replied, "I'm just choosing my battles."
"By avoiding them?" She asked.
"Yes," I told her, "I have no interest for revenge or vengeance. All I care about right now is myself."
I then looked down at my robotic arm that is now weaponized. I then turned back to her and asked "Why does everyone want me back out there anyway?"
"You're not well." She answered.
"I am fine." I argued back "Y'all can't accept the fact I changed."
"Because this isn't you-"
"AND HOW WOULD YOU KNOW WHO I AM?!" I yelled back. "You barely know me outside of Weiss. Other than that, you and I are strangers."
She stood her ground, with her eyes narrowing at me. "My sister," She started "Wrote a great deal about you during your time at Beacon. How you seemingly never gave up even if the circumstances say otherwise."
"Other than the time at the docks." I muttered under my breath.
"She even told me in person how you helped her unlock her summoning." She noted.
I crossed my arm at her as she paced past me.
She continued "So to see you standing before me, with an entirely different personality." She then used her blade to kick the training blade over to me.
I stopped it with my foot as she finished her sentence "Makes me think you're lying to not only yourself, but to everyone else."
I glared at her "I should be taking my time to recover. I don't need to go back into combat so soon."
"It's been 5 months since Beacon fell." She reminded me, "And you still can't find the courage to pick up a blade and avenge those who have fallen?"
I shrugged and put my hands in my pockets and shrugged "Who are they to me? Other than strangers."
Winter's reaction told me all I needed to know. That I shouldn't think like that, but at the moment I can't think of anything else.
She dipped her head for a moment before raising it back up, her expression softened as she sheathed her blade. "We can pick this up another time. For now, I think Keoth was due for a combat exercise.
I looked down at the blade as Winter asked me "Could you pick up that blade and place it on the table behind you?"
I picked it up with my opposite hand and walked over to said table and placed it in its sheath. I then walked to the exit.
Just before I exited Winter called my name "Achilles, you may not see it now, but there will come a time where you have to decide whether to fight your hardest or whimper away. It is my hope you take my words into consideration."
I gave a simple nod and left.
