Chapter 8: Training Preparations

Alex closed the door shut behind him and he started walking down the hallway. He had no idea what to do today. He was still tired from the night before. He hadn't had anymore nightmares in the recent nights, but he knew they were going to come back. They always would, especially when he wasn't prepared for them. He woke up several times in the night, unsure why he couldn't fall asleep. At one point, he had decided to walk outside, but simply stared into the night uninterrupted. He headed towards the courtyard again, deciding he would sit down and enjoy the nice weather, which was quite a change of pace compared to the cold, howling nights he gathered in.

Yang woke up on a cold stone floor. Everything around her, in fact, was made of stone, save for the iron bars keeping her barred in. I love the variety, she thought. She attempted to push herself up, her whole figure feeling like it was weighted down by chains. Wait a minute, she thought as she tried to lift her hand up and felt a yank backwards as she couldn't go any farther, these are chains! She yanked as hard as she could on them. She could barely stand, the weight of the chains holding her down to the point where she almost couldn't stand at all. Surprisingly, I don't find this to be any worse than the last time I went to a nightclub, she thought matter-of-factly. How did things turn out like this? She had gone to plenty of nightclubs before and never once been kidnapped. What made this one any different? Frustrated, Yang tugged at her hair, even managing to pull out a few strands. She stared at them blankly, saddened that nothing happened when she pulled her hair out. It isn't like she expected anything to become of it. Then she saw it, a window that had bars on a wall beside her. Outside, she could see nothing but dark clouds, despite it obviously being daytime. After that, however, nothing else remained. A door and a window, Yang thought, and even chains! I love the excitement that you can bring a girl. She sat there silently for a few moments, then began to grow tired. She knew of no way she was going to get herself out of this one. As she began to nod off, she could have sworn she heard faint noises on the outside wall followed by a noise above her head. As she closed her eyes, she could only think one thing. Is someone scaling these walls?

When he reached the courtyard, Alex spotted a figure silently training. He immediately recognized Midnight's dark hair and agile stance she was using to train for the upcoming fight. The way she was built, Alex found no surprise in the fact that she would assume the position of assassin in their group, always striking from the shadows while also just as efficient in hand-to-hand combat. He walked up to her and shook his head. "How does one train to be an assassin without even having a target," he asked. Midnight froze, probably in shock that someone had caught her off guard so easily. "Well," she said slowly, "it is rather hard. You just run drills against yourself and pretend someone is there. You don't know whether it pays off or not until the real deal." He shrugged. "Well," Alex said sarcastically, "if only someone would be here for you to test your skills on." As he finished saying this, he pointed towards himself with both of his hands to emphasize his point. "It isn't as if I have anything else to do. I feel ready for tomorrow," he said confidently, "nothing wrong with helping a teammate do the same." He looked away from her towards the looming school that was Beacon, just to admire how large it was. That's my school, he thought, I wonder which is bigger: the size of it or the knowledge held within. "So," Alex said turning back towards Midnight, "what do you say we-" he cut off. Midnight was nowhere to be seen. He silently crouched into a defensive position, watching his back. He should have known that if he offered and then turned his back that Midnight wouldn't miss the opportunity. It was her move now, seeing as he was in full defensive stance ready to hold off against her. However, he was terrified, for the courtyard held many tall bushes and walls along with a few select statues. All of these would easily conceal Midnight from his view and he would have to be careful to navigate his way out if he wanted to test her skills to act under time. The goal was plain and simple. He had to reach the exit to the courtyard without being snuck up on. He saw the exit to the courtyard just through an archway. It was so close this was almost too easy. He moved under it and headed towards the exit, failing to watch his back. As he headed under the archway, he heard a figure land on the ground from above, gripping him from behind before he could react. A dagger found its way to rest right underneath his neck. "Woah! I'm still just a practice dummy," he said panicked by the practice simulation. Midnight laughed behind him and sheathed her dagger. "You dare to leave me such an opportunity", she said quietly. Alex noticed she hadn't let him go yet. "Um, Midnight", he said cautiously, "why are you still holding me?" He could feel her figure against him and he was starting to feel his cheeks turning red. However, his statement snapped Midnight out of her small trance. "What," she said in a disoriented fashion, "Oh, sorry!" He turned to look at her, though she wouldn't meet his eyes. He felt the need to break the silence. "Well," Alex said, "you seem well prepared for tomorrow. Keep that up and we will win with no problems." He decided to walk the other way and see what his other teammates were up to. He felt bad as he walked on and acted like he didn't hear the thanks that she muttered back towards him.

Ruby approached the library. It was two stories, one of the bigger libraries found in Vale. It didn't help her search, however, when the building was one more story higher than she had expected. Oh well, Ruby thought, if I have a shred of luck, my first teammate will be somewhere in there. Upon entering the library, she was surrounded by the quiet atmosphere, one she wasn't usually used to. She enjoyed noisy environments just to keep herself occupied. She looked over to the older section, figuring that was about where Weiss would be found. She saw a map nearby and was immediately able to rule out half of the entire first floor. It was a massive children's books section. She looked up and down the rows of books as she searched for Weiss. When she reached the end of the line, she scanned the tables and gasped. Sitting over there at a table was a young girl in white. She was studying a book intently, unaware of Ruby approaching her. "Excuse me," Ruby asked politely, "might you be Weiss Schnee?" The girl sighed. "What do I have to do to get a moment of peace in this library?" She looked up from the book. "Who are you," she asked coldly. "Um, well, I," Ruby stuttered, "I'm Ruby." She recounted her story of her travels to Weiss. At the end of it all, Weiss simply stared at her with an annoyed look on her face. Wow, this is my soon to be teammate? Ruby wondered. After a long period of silence, Weiss finally broke the silence. "Well, I suppose I could turn you down, but it isn't every day that someone makes it into Beacon two years before they should. All right, Ruby Rose, I will join your team. What's next?" Ruby was so excited she almost forgot how to talk. "Okay! I will keep in touch with you. You are the first of three people I need to find. Do you know where I could find some people named Yang Xiao Long or Blake Belladonna? They are the two I was recommended", she said hopefully. Weiss responded, "Well, I don't know if I've ever heard of any names like that. I can't help you there." "Here," she said, handing Ruby a card, "this is where you can contact me when you are ready to." Ruby looked down at the card and almost laughed. It was the card for the florist shop. "Did you miss the part where I found you by going to this shop?" She said amusingly. "You dolt," Weiss responded, "think. If you found me with that shop once, wouldn't you think Winter could manage to point you towards me again? Besides, I visit there all the time to visit my sister." As she said this, she got up. "Well, I suppose it is time I headed home, hopefully to study up more on my skills to become a huntress, seeing as I'm enlisted now." Ruby said her goodbyes and headed out the door to head and meet Alex.

Uriah and Tris were sparring with each other in the training room. He loved to spar with her, because she provided more challenge than any of his other teammates. Well, most of them. Midnight didn't count because she used sneak attacks. Where is the fun in sneaking up, he thought curiously, you don't even get any action. Uriah swung his dual daggers towards Tris, who deflected them with her staff which had split into two with a chain at the middle. They were both wearing armor that would hold back any hits that did land on them. Uriah quickly dropped to the ground and used his feet to sweep Tris off of hers. Tris, disoriented by the fall, did nothing to defend herself as Uriah landed two hits straight into her simultaneously. She felt the dull pain through the armor, but it went as quickly as it came. "Congratulations, once again, Uriah," she said sadly, "you beat me once again!" Uriah felt bad. Aren't you supposed to let the girl win? "Tris," he hesitated, "why don't we go again? You are bound to beat me one of these times." Tris sighed, but smiled suddenly. "First to three," she said suddenly. Uriah was surprised. They never did three straight matches in a row. "You're on," he said, grinning. Before he knew what was happening, Tris was pummeling into him, pushing him across the room to the wall. He narrowly dodged her staff as she sent it flying down towards the spot where he had just been. He jumped up, getting into a defensive stance. He decided instead to attack, much to his demise. She countered his attack and turned him so his back was to her. With the simple opening, she swung her staff and swiped him in the stomach. He fell over with a surprised gasp and landed hard on the ground. Tris offered her hand to help him up. "Well, well, someone isn't on top of their game today." Uriah looked at her, seeing her pride. "Oh settle down," he said, "you said best of three." They both smiled at each other as they positioned for the third round.

Blake moved into the castle and looked around. There were a couple of desks and chairs in the room she was in, making it seem like an office. However, everything was stone besides that. She looked through the desks, searching for the file she was looking for. Frustrated with not finding her objective, she slammed the last desk shut. She stomped down towards the door to a long hallway. She looked steadily down the corridor. She had no cover and if someone were to spot her, she would be in a tight spot. She quickly dashed down the hallway, but stopped when she heard a door open. She looked towards the sound, seeing a door fully opened and a figure coming out. Blake crouched into her combat position, unsheathing Gambol Shroud and ready to fight. However, she was thrown off guard by the unstartling approach of the stranger. Rather than looking surprised by her appearance in the castle, the girl that approached through the door seemed as if she were ready for Blake. Blake didn't let this throw her off for long, and before much longer noticed a strange detail. Is she wearing red heels and a dress? This might just be easier than I expected.