Welcome to Hell: PART II

Uma's POV

I made my way to the mess hall and quietly entered through one of the wooden double doors. Seeing no one inside, I relaxed a bit and went to the long table in the center of the room and started to make myself a cup of coffee. As I poured the hot, brown liquid into a white teacup, I noted that it actually smelled good. It was nothing like the sludge I was used to. Whoever made it must have had some sort of special touch. Adding milk and more sugar than I ought, I stirred it all up and took a long sip from it. It tasted even better than it smelled. Things were already looking promising in the Special Ops sector.

Suddenly, my peace was broken by the gentle creak of the door opening. Looking up from my seat I saw a copper-haired woman enter the room. She was small and nymph-like with honey eyes and an innocent face. She looked to be about my age.

"Your hair's so pretty," the woman commented, smiling sweetly at me.

I touched the end of my loose braid nervously before returning a polite smile. "Thank you," I tell her, my cheeks reddening.

The copper headed woman sat down in front of me and began to make herself a cup of coffee. "I wish my hair could grow long like that. How does it stay so nice?" She asked.

"Um, good genes I guess?" I said shrugging. If it wasn't already apparent, I was horrible at receiving compliments. "My mother had long hair, same as mine," I told her. Images of my late mother cropped up in my mind and I had to squash the slight pang in my chest at the thought of her. She was a beautiful woman, or at least I had always thought so.

The sweet woman across from me laughed then having just realized something. He bell-like voice shook me from my thoughts. "I'm sorry, I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Petra Ral," She said, extending her hand to me.

"Uma Belova," I say, reaching across the table and taking it. "I just joined Squad Levi today."

"Really? That's great! Now I don't have to be the only girl around here," she said with a wink.

I forced a laugh and luckily the sound of the door opening once more covered its obvious discomfort. A tall, blond man entered the room, casually rubbing sleep from his eyes.

"Hey, Eld come over and meet the new girl. This is Uma Belova," she said, a little too happily for how early it was.

The man looked over at me with mild curiosity as he rounded the table.

"That's strange, Levi never said anything about a new member," he said taking a seat next to Petra. "I'm Eld by the way."

"Nice to meet you," I said.

"Likewise." He seemed pretty even-keeled and down to earth.

Within the next twenty minutes all the other squad mates entered the dining room. One by one they introduced themselves. Some were curious, even a bit put off by my sudden ascension into their ranks while others, like Petra, were happy to have me onboard. I was beginning to get the feeling that my transfer was pretty unorthodox. By the end of the hour I had met Petra, Eld, Oluo, Gunther, and Franc. All of them had impressive field records and, if their placement in Squad Levi wasn't enough to prove it, they could all hold their own in a battle.

"I'm assuming you've all had a chance to meet Uma Belova, the new addition to the squad," Levi commented, making his way to the table. "She will be on probation until I say otherwise."

Probation? That was news to me, though I shouldn't have been surprised. Basically, I couldn't fuck up for the next few months or else I would be kicked back down into the lower ranks. It was certainly something to think about during my time here.

"Everyone finish up. Combat drills start in fifteen minutes."

TITANTITANTITANTITANTITAN

The training fields for the Special Operations Unit were behind the main building. It seemed we had our own private base. Though the facilities we had were by no means new, it was still very impressive we had access to them. Our first exercise for the day was hand-to-hand combat drills. Even in the Survey Corp, such training was thought to be useful. In many ways, they were… in my experience humans were just as capable of being your enemy as a Titan was.

Opinions aside, I was interested in testing my metal against my new comrades. Did I really have what it takes to be a part of Squad Levi? This probation period meant that command must have their doubts about me. Yet, I was here because Levi apparently wanted me to be… or so he had said. I was still unsure if I had an ally in him or not. I tended to think yes, but it was a tentative yes at best. If I wanted to stay here, I had to show both him and command that I measured up. Thankfully, I always enjoyed a challenge.

We broke up into groups of two to spar with one another. After three rounds, we were to switch partners until we fought everyone in the squad. My first partner was Oluo. He seemed to be a boastful, self-important sort of man. From what I had gleaned during breakfast, his conversations usually centered on making himself seem tough or impressive. It was a joke really. He already had the necessary stats to prove he was good… he didn't need to try so hard.

As we faced off with one another, Oluo regarded me with a smug look, as if he had already won the match. He was underestimating me. I could already tell what he was thinking… that this green horn was no match for him. He didn't know what I had up my sleeve, though. Taking in a deep breath, I slowly let it out, focusing my mind.

Receiving the signal to begin, Oluo put up his fists in a boxing position, his strong side wide as a barn. I held up my hands in a non-threatening open palm position. It was a strangely weak looking stance that caused Oluo to snort.

"You're making this too easy, rookie," he said, zeroing in on me. "This is going to be over real quick."

Yes it is, I thought as he came at me without hesitation. Reeling his fist all the way back, he shot forwards with a power punch, intending to knock me out me in one strength-driven move. Expecting this, I bent my back knee only slightly, taking my body out of the path of his fist. Without a target to stop his momentum, Oluo went tripping past me, his arm outstretched in front of him. I turned and kicked him in the butt, sending him to the ground.

"What the hell?" he snapped, his face reddening in embarrassment. "Did you even move?"

I simply nodded in response. This was quickly becoming fun.

"Tch, whatever, nice trick," he grumbled, looking down his nose at me. "And now that I know it, I'm going to kick your ass. You only get lucky once."

We took our positions again and he immediately came at me, hoping to land a heavy blow. Just as he charged into range, I bent my back knee for support and raised my right foot in front of me, causing Oluo to jam his kneecap into it. The added force of my kick to his forward momentum completely immobilized his attack. He howled out in pain, doubling over, and while he was distracted I downed him again with two simple moves.

"The hell?!" He cried, rocking on the ground, his battered knee in hand. "How did you…?"

"It doesn't take much to stop an idiot," I told him, a smug grin tugging at my lips. I couldn't help but feel slightly satisfied with myself.

"You're using cheap tricks, Belova!" He accused.

I merely shrugged. "True, but I'm winning aren't I?"

"It's still cheating," he whined.

"Bullshit, there is no cheating when it comes to fighting for your life," I tell him, my tone suddenly becoming caustic. "Do you think your silly rules and fancy techniques are going to help you in a fight where it's either you win or you die?"

I could sense the tension rising around us. Several sparring partners had stopped fighting and wandered over to listen to our quarrel. Eld stepped forwards and offered his opinion. "I'm not going to say your wrong, Uma, but the rules are put in place for a reason. They promote structure and dignity in battle."

"Have you ever fought another human being to the death before?" I asked. No one answered me. "There is no dignity in it."

The mood turned black then and everyone looked at me like I had two heads. Suddenly, the awkward moment was broken by Levi's voice as it cut through the tense silence. "Why are you all standing around? Did Oluo shit his pants?" He asked, standing a bit away from the group with his arms crossed. What was with this guy and bodily functions?

"No, Sir!" Oluo answered, his cheeks turning red as he scrambling to his feet.

"Then get back to work," he said. The group around us dispelled and we went back to doing combat drills.

Oluo and I didn't continue our conversation after that. However, instead of drilling in silence as I was expecting, he asked me to teach him some of my moves. Being proud, he was somewhat sheepish about it, begrudging even. But he was still interested to learn, so I taught him a couple things. He gave me some good pointers as well. When we switched out partners, we both left feeling a little humbled.

I really didn't want anyone to hate me… not right off the bat, anyways. In fact, I felt it was better to just slide by unnoticed. Unfortunately, I didn't exactly give off that impression and it was only day one. I could feel that my stunt on the training grounds was going to set the mood for the rest of my time here. You only get one chance to make a first impression. Proving to them that I wasn't a psycho, jerk, or otherwise was going to be an uphill battle. What a shit deal.

TITANTITANTITANTITANTITAN

After sparring, I returned to my room and began unpacking my things. Since I didn't have much, I figured I could get it all done before lunchtime. I was putting out my civilian clothes when Franc, another member of Squad Levi, came into the room.

"So when did you kill a man?" He asked gruffly, leaning on my doorframe. Franc was an older, burly soldier who practically dwarfed me.

"Excuse me?" I replied dryly, put off by his boldness.

"That's what you implied today during training, right? Don't tell me it was all bullshit."

Now he was getting smart with me. I hated guys like him- ones who thought their overabundance strength was an acceptable substitute for intelligence. They always ended up getting killed.

"It's none of your business," I tell him.

He laughed, entering my room with a confident stride. "I knew it, you were just playing around." He said, rudely poking me in the shoulder.

I immediately swiped his hand away, annoyed. "Tch, I never play. Now get out."

Franc was being highly irritating and I really didn't know why other than maybe he was trying to intimidate me. What he didn't know was I was only moments away from downing him. First of all, I hated being touched and second, I hated being teased so that was already two counts against him… I would not tolerate a third.

"Don't be so touchy, Belova." A second later, I felt him tug on a lock of my unbound hair. "When are you going to get this cut anyway? You're a soldier, not a princess…"

Deftly grabbing his outstretched hand, I tugged him towards me and nailed him in the face with my open palm. Once he was stunned, I pushed the big lug down on his ass. It wasn't enough to injure him but enough to make him feel like an idiot.

"You're right, I'm not a princess," I muttered looking down my nose at him. "If you touch me again, I'll send you out that window."

"Shit, princess, what the hell?" He yelled from his place on the floor, rubbing his nose in pain.

"What is this?" I heard from the doorway. We both turned our heads to see Levi standing in the hallway, regarding us with his usual vapid gaze.

"Nothing, Sir!" Franc said, from his place on the ground.

"The floor was wet and Franc slipped," I told him, holding out my hand to help Franc up. The older man looked at it with some distrust but then decided to take it.

"Whatever…" Levi said. It was obvious he did not believe my story but both Franc and I were complacent with it so he didn't bother to question it. "3DMG drills start in five minutes so get off your asses," he informed us.

"Yes, Sir!" we both saluted in unison. The Captain merely rolled his eyes as he continued down the hall. Franc and I immediately exchanged hateful glares. We were about to get into it once more until Levi poked his head back into my room. Both of us went ridged as we looked to him.

"Oh, and Belova? Keep your floor clean."

AN: Please review! Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, I tried very hard to stay true to everyone's character while allowing Uma to have her own opinions about them. Franc is a character of my own creation. Obviously he's not around when Erin joins Squad Levi, but his story shapes Uma's future as a soldier. When creating Franc, I pictured a seasoned knight of the long sword. He's gritty, rough, and possesses the wisdom of the common man. He would have been a great sword for hire if he weren't so loyal.