Ch48: That Really Long One Just to Show I'm Not Dead
AN: College.
…
"Huh."
…
"Never expected this to happen."
…
"Least it won't be tooboring."
…
"Is he alright?! Don't just stop in the middle like that!"
"Sorry sir, it's just been a long day. Stressful, but your son's alright, he'll make it through. His vitals are stabilizing. Honestly didn't think he'd make it for a minute there."
"I knew he'd pull through. Kid's just too stubborn to let something as simple as death stop him."
"We'll need to keep him here for observation. Just a week or so, nothing very long. How's your other kid doing? The blonde? How's she taking it?"
"She's… Dealing with it."
"We're a… high-turnover post so we've got a number of psychologists. You're more than welcome to bring her in for a few sessions. Your main hospital took a hit so we've got all kinds of people coming through here."
"I'll think about it. She can be a bit stubborn."
"Ughhhh…" I groan aloud, blinking. 'Feels weird. Really weird.' I hear running and realize there's someone standing next to me. '"Neo?"'
'"Kurt! You're alright!"' She sounds rather relieved and almost on the verge of tears.
'"Nice to see you too... What happened? I saw the dragon, then Cinder hit me with something. Then it got… Weird."' I look over at her. She looks both relieved and concerned.
'"Weird how?"'
'"Just… Weird. Hard to explain if you weren't there. So what happened? Half my face hurts like hell, and that's just the good part of me."' Neo reaches for something. A mirror. She's keeping the reflective side away from me. She hands the small mirror to me.
I've got bandages across the right half of my face.
"Well at least that explains why it feels like I'm half blind." I say, turning my head side to side to get a better look.
"About that." The doctor says. The guy looks AC, seeing as he's wearing what looks like a light suit of combat armor, with a pair of red crossed scalpels on the right shoulder plate, and a red '27' on the left. "We had to take it out."
"What." I deadpan.
"Your eye was half-shredded by shrapnel and cooked well done along with a good third of your face. We had to remove it. We put a putty mixture in to seal it up and prevent infection." He looks to the door and I feel a few people standing just outside. "We'll need to keep you here a week for observation. You were pretty damn lucky that none of it punched through to your brain. One of your visitors has a… proposition for you. Anyway, I have more patients to help. I will be back later to check up on you." The doctor says, walking out.
"Umm. Alright then." I mutter, chuckling a little bit.
"Hey Kurt, how are you feeling?" Dad asks, seeming rather more haggard than I'm used to.
"Nothing minor, just a good deal of pain. Especially in my eye. Which I DON'T EVEN HAVE ANYMORE!" I shout. "Although it is an incredibly interesting insight into how phantom pain works. Or it would be if my tail still didn't hurt like hell every other week!" I say, still rather pissed. "Damn Taurus." I mutter under my breath.
"Well, that phrase's been getting a lot of use as of late." Dad says.
"What the hell did he do now." I say, my voice echoing darkly. Dad looks a slight bit shocked. I'm guessing that I'm not the only one who heard that echo.
"Umm… He fought Yang…"
"No…" I say. "Is she alright?! What happened!?"
"She lost her arm. Right arm, just about the elbow."
"At least she's still alive." I say, slightly relieved. "And Remnant's got some pretty advanced tech. You guys have prosthetics right?" I ask.
"Well yeah! Of course. Atlas has the best of course, but getting any of it is another matter."
"If you asked nicely, I'm pretty sure that these guys could work out a deal with you, now that I think about it." I muse.
"I'll think about it Kurt." Dad chuckles.
"Ruby!" I say, remembering what happened. "Pyrrha! What happened to them? Are. They. Alright?" I ask, getting a little panicked.
"I was afraid you'd ask that." Dad says, rubbing the back of his neck. "Ruby's fine!" He quickly says, seeing my expression. "She's been unconscious for a day or so, exhaustion the docs tell me. She wasn't hurt so I moved her home."
"And what about Pyrrha? What happened to her?" I ask, noticing how dad failed to mention her. I feel the knot of fear in my gut twist just that much more. It had lessened after I learned my sisters and Neo were alright, but I knew that the battle probably got much worse after I went down.
"Her funeral is in three days. The CCT's down so we couldn't reach her family. We tried, but nothing much gets out that doesn't belong to Atlas. Or Schnee. I heard what you and Ruby did yesterday, but the medic who pulled you three off the tower says that she was nothing you could have done. The arrow got her straight through the heart. The doctor said that nothing short of a full surgical suite had any chance of saving her."
"Is Torch still open?" I ask.
"It's still intact. We're working on how best to go about the academy situation but it's still in running order."
"Good. I need to use the forge."
"The doctor sai-"
"I need to pay my respects dad. I'll let the doctor perform a check-up but then I need to go to the forge for a while. When I'm done I'll come back here." I choke up a bit. "I just need to leave her something… fitting."
"Well Kurt, I didn't know you we-"
"It's not religious. Just a measure of respect from a warrior to a fallen sister-in-arms. Nothing less than that." I say, my voice slightly depressed. "She was amazing, you know. Watching her fight was like watching a masterpiece come alive in steel and skill and bronze." I say, my tone filled with steel and the fires of the forge.
"I guess they can't say no to that." Dad says.
"We can." Brimstone says, standing in the doorway, helmet clipped to his belt. "But we won't. The whole damned affair never gets any easier. I'll vouch for you." He says, Three walking in behind him, his helmet also off. Three's green eyes are pensive, and his head bald.
"The doctor said that someone had a… proposition for me." I venture, remembering what the doctor said.
"Yes, actually, I do. Still sharp as ever, that's a good sign." He smirks a little, almost imperceptibly, before taking on a professional air. "I want to talk to you about two things, both sort of related."
"I'd guess one of them's my eye, right?"
"Yeah, actually. Considering how you were severely injured under our watch we're going to provide you with two main options: either we replace your eye or we give you the monetary equivalent of the replacement."
"How would giving me a new eye work? Is it like a cybernetic thing or squishy like my other one?"
"Either option is possible. Giving you a flesh and blood eye would take a while longer though, seeing as we'd have to grow it with your DNA using blood samples and cell cultures. The cybernetics are actually more popular among the troops. Depending on the model they're actually better than your flesh eyes. Targeting systems, IRNV, energy lances and 100x optical zoom."
"Is there a catalog?" I ask, somewhat jokingly, with Neo and Dad standing on either side of my bed. Brimstone turns around, pulls an iPad-type thing from off the top of the desk behind him and hands it to me.
"The power button is on the side and it's keyed to your fingerprint. The cybernetic eyes are listed under 'Optical replacements'. Don't worry about the prices and if you want anything marked 'experimental', it goes through me first." He says.
"Sweet." I say, flipping through the specified models. "How long would the entire process take?"
"Just a week or so for production, transport and installation surgery. Then it'd be a few days to recover from the surgery itself and then a few weeks to acclimatize yourself to the cybernetic. So about a month including acclimatization."
"Okay. So I'd be out of the field for about a month." I say pensively. Dad and Brimstone both give me a strange look. Dad's is a bit concerned and proud while Brimstone's is... well, if I had to imagine what he's thinking it'd probably be something along the lines of just as planned.
"What's with the rush Kurt? Don't you want to spend some time at home for once?" Dad says, joking with a slight undercurrent of concern. I'm not surprised, seeing as the only two people in the family that made it out unscathed were him and the dog. Seriously, Zwei is freaking indestructible.
"I just don't like the idea of being combat-ineffective for any extended period of time." I say. "And either way, at the very least I'd check up with you on a regular basis." Brimstone coughs lightly into his fist. I nod to him. He waves at the door and Sven and Ivan walk in.
"I'm going to be blunt to you four." Brimstone says as he gestures to us. "Kurt Wagner, Neapolitan and Ivan Redovitch. The Alpha Company wants to hire you."
"Why?" I ask.
"Here." He says, handing me another pad. "We're offering you a position as Special Forces/Elite Pathfinders, this is the job description and everything we can tell you that's not too heavily classified. We'll give you some time to think about it." He says, walking out. Three's still leaning on the back wall and he walks up to us.
"Nice to see you're doing well Kurt. You had us scared for a bit there." He smirks. "But it's good to see you all in one piece." His face quickly turns solemn. "I know I'm imposing, with you just waking up and checking with your friends and all but would you mind if we just talked here alone for a while. There's something I need to discuss with you."
"Alright then." I say, somewhat suspiciously. I shrug at Neo, Dad, Ivan and Sven. "I'll be here if you need me I guess." I say, and watch as they all file out. Neo leans on the wall a few yards down the hallway. Ivan and Sven walk off together, and Dad checks his scroll and heads off somewhere.
"So, you wanted to talk to me?" I say. Three shuts the door and taps a few buttons on a pad next to it.
"Have you ever felt anything off about me? Kinda like deja vu? Or a sense that something's just a bit different between me and the rest of my fireteam?"
"Yeah. A bit, and I would guess you've felt similar things with regards to me."
"Yeah. I'm what's called an 'Anima'. We're pretty much space wizards, psychics, that kinda thing. That's a bit of an oversimplification but I think you get the point. I'm one and you're almost certainly one. We just need to run a few tests on you after the doc OKs it. To confirm what type of Anima you are exactly."
"And how exactly does that work?"
"To be honest every time they tell me it gets more confusing. But the short version is we're going to use a special device to find what is effectively a second nervous system in your body. Based on the position, arrangement, and type of these nerves we can determine roughly what it is that you are capable of. For example I'm more of a mental Animus. I can read minds, do telepathy and form energy bolts. The others have taken to calling those 'mind bullets'. But the powers vary from person to person. Some people can lift tanks with their minds. Others can rip them apart with their hands. There are others I could tell you about, but the specifics are classified."
"And how common are these abilities?"
"Well, that's also classified but a part of the reason Brimstone gave you the offer is the fact that you're almost certainly one of us. Suffice to say that 'us' doesn't include very many people."
"And what exactly are the other parts of the reason for the offer? I can guarantee you that at least two thirds of hunter cadets are as good as or better than us and professional hunters simply blow us out of the water. So why Ivan, Neo and I?"
"First of all, you're the only people out of that group we know we can trust. From Sven's reports we can tell that you haven't spread the big secret to very many people." He smirks. "And then there's the fact that you remind us of the people we went through advanced training with. We kinda see a bit of ourselves in you kids. And we like what we see."
"Well that seems to be a rather flimsy argument for recruiting four barely-adults into military service."
"Well technically you'll still have to go through a battery of tests to get the slot in the program. Sven's in a pre-program training course right now and the next battery of tests are in eight months or so. They're every two years. Anyone not recruited into the program at least five months before the tests is ineligible for that battery of tests. So yeah. Don't take too long to make your decision."
"And what happens if I don't make the tests?"
"What do you think happened to me?" He smirks and turns around to leave. "But I don't have any doubts about you and your team Kurt. You all have the right look to you. I honestly have a hard time believing that you've only been training here a year and half, you and Ivan hit quite a bit above your level."
"Ivan's only been here a few months." I say.
"Really? You two didn't show up at the same time?"
"I don't think so. When I found him he was being interrogated by some terrorists. He said they'd found him in the forests nearby and had been keeping him there for a while. Don't know how long, but he was still in good enough shape to curse rather… loudly… in Russian. Actually how I found him." Three gives me a look. "What? If you hear a guy cursing loudly in something that sounds Russian on a planet where everyone speaks English, would that not spark curiosity?"
"Fair point." He gestures, conceding. "But seriously, you guys act like you've had some degree of SF training. Ganted it's mixed in with a bit of Hunter training but still."
"No clue. Seriously. If anything it's from our previous lives, but since we're both amnesiac about everything up to our arrival here we've got no clue." I shrug. "Either way, when I showed up I was wearing-" I start counting off on my hand. "Cargo pants, a shirt, my greatcoat, my Colt: empty, five magazines, a spare round, an Iphone and charger, and a folding knife." I say, gesturing over to the pile of my stuff. "The greatcoat, knife and Colt should be over there. Along with a good deal of other hardware, if everything on me made it back in one piece."
"Huh." Three walks to the pile and picks up the Colt, checks the chamber and safety, and then examines it. "Damn, this thing's old. Definitely not a modern model, no gauss coils and made with some almost obsolete materials."
"Gauss coils. Never got the chance to ask about those. How effective are they?"
"If you use the highest power selection on our rifles, you can reliably take out tanks. Granted it burns out a fresh set of coils after 20 rounds, and it helps to take into account the usual rules of tank hunting but you can do it."
"And how exactly could I obtain gauss coils?"
"They're standard-issue. If you join up, that is."
"Always a price." I chuckle.
"Well." Three says, checking something in his helmet. "I guess I should be going now, don't want to keep your guests waiting too long." He walks over to the side of my bed and holds out a hand. I take it. "Try not to do anything too dangerous while you're healing." He says, shaking my hand. When he leaves, I feel something in my hand. A small, metal card inscribed with something. A metal business card. Well then. Before I can read it, Neo walks in and hops onto the bed, laying down next to me, I slide over to give us both some room. I place the card next to the datapads on a side table. She snuggles up to me.
"So," I say, turning to look her in the eyes. "What'd I miss?" She looks me in the eyes.
'"After the dropship picked you up we fought our way back to the airship docks, there were still some students and teachers holding out along with some Atlesians and the other soldiers we came here with. Apparently they were supposed to leave but refused to until everyone was out. We waited for another set of airships to take the others back to the city then we left in the armored trucks that we came in. Then we watched as they finished your surgery. And then we waited."
"How long was I out?"
'"Three days and eleven hours."'
"Well."
'"Your aura was shattered and you were hurt badly. They said you'd take at least a week."'
"Well I guess I'm just stubborn."
"I'll say." I hear from Dad.
"You're one to talk, old man."
Dad just chuckles.
"So, what happened to everyone else? JNPR, RWBY, and the rest of Beacon?"
"Well." He sighs.
"Not good, I'm guessing."
"No. Ruby managed to take out the dragon, sorta."
"How?"
"You'd have to ask Qrow, but good luck getting him to say much of anything." He says, slightly bitter. "But the Dragon-Grimm… thing… isn't exactly dead. It's stuck there, not doing anything."
"...Wait… Did she petrify the damn thing?"
"Petrify?"
"Turned it to stone."
"Seems like it. But it looks like it's still attracting Grimm. Beacon's pretty much overrun."
I chuckle. "So my little sister's Medusa…" I laugh.
"What? Like the Grimm? Wha-"
"Nononono." I hold up a hand to forestall anything further, still chuckling a bit. "Medusa, an ancient legend from back where I'm from. A half woman, half snake, with hair made of snakes that could turn people to stone with but a glance." I say, smirking a bit. "Not a perfect comparison, seeing as Ruby's neither a monster nor cursed by a wrathful god, but still kinda funny to me." I take a second to recompose myself. "So, Ruby's fine?"
"The soldiers that brought you here also picked up Ruby and Pyrrha. The doctor said Ruby was fading in and out of consciousness but eventually just went under on the way back. He also said she should be waking up within the week."
"Let me know when she wakes up, okay?"
"The CCT's down."
"Dammit." I mutter. "So how are Weiss, Blake and JNPR?"
"According to Yang, Weiss' father took her back to Atlas and Blake left. She didn't say where to."
"Well. Seems like I'll have some work to do when I get outta here." I say, already plotting.
"And that would include?" Dad asks, while Neo looks at me with a knowing smile.
"I've said it before Dad. I'm going to war. I don't care who's in command. It could be me, it could be these guys" I gesture to the facility. "It could be the good General Ironwood. All I know is that war is coming. We didn't want it but it's here. The Wehrmacht marches on Poland. To hope and pray for peace is useless. All attempts to negotiate with our foe shall be for naught and any resource not put to the full and immediate mobilization of this world's free peoples is a resource wasted." I say, staring out the window to my right and seeing the scars of combat upon the city. "We must stand as one or we will die alone." I say. "Which is why sitting in this MURPHYDAMNED BED is really going to piss me off." I say, putting my arm around Neo. "Or at least it will when there's nobody around." I say, giving Neo a small kiss on the forehead.
"So, what's Ozpin going to do about Beacon? He going to move it to Signal?"
Dad pales a bit and grimaces. "Ozpin's missing. Nobody knows what happened to him, not even Qrow."
"Oh. I honestly thought that he was some degree of immortal." I say.
Dad just gives me a strange look.
"I dunno, he just gave off that kinda vibe to me. He seemed like he was more powerful than he looked. After all, he was in charge of a combat school. Kinda seems like a skill-based position, don't it."
Neo rests her head on my shoulder and nuzzles into my neck. I place my chin on top of her head.
"So, how long do you think it will take for classes to begin again?"
"A while. Getting the CCT back up is still the top priority, once Atlas can get the parts together for a new one.
"And about how long would 'a while' be?"
"Minimum of four months to assemble the parts. At least one for travel, assuming nothing goes missing. Or at least according to Ironwood."
"You met with Ironwood? When?"
"Just a day ago. He left as many troops as he could spare before he left for Atlas."
"They're gonna have to seriously rework their military." I mutter.
"Huh?"
"I mean, their entire strategy was based around remotely-controlled foot mobiles and mechs. They have been recently taught the painful lesson that those can be hacked. Of course that lesson pales in comparison to the fact that they now lack the long-range communications provided by the CCT. As such, they must now adapt to two major flaws in their military." I sigh. "And in addition, the four kingdoms must now either dig in or launch an offensive."
"You sound like you've got it all planned out already." Dad chuckles.
"Like hell I do." I respond with a laugh. "I just know what needs to happen, not the how. I feel my skills lie more in the troubleshooting department. I find trouble…"
"Or it finds you." Dad remarks.
"Indeed." I smirk. "And I shoot it. Repeatedly. Until it ceases to be trouble."
"Why do I get the feeling that you're going to get into some sort of quest as soon as you possibly can?"
"Well I have kinda been foreshadowing something along those lines. Although I'm seriously considering signing up with this outfit." I say, gesturing to the room around me. "After the rest of the team and I go over the legalese and documentationary stuff."
'"Were any of those actually words?"'
'"Not in the slightest."'
"Alright then, I'll leave you to it. I need to make sure I'm at home in case Ruby wakes up. I'll check up on you around lunch tomorrow." Dad says, and waves as he walks out.
"Wait." I say, and Dad turns to look at me. "I'll probably be at Signal just after lunch, in the forge. Also," I think for a second, "Does Signal have much in the way of bronze?"
"I think so." Dad says, and waves as he walks out.
"Now we just wait until Ivan and Sven get back to talk about important things."
'"So what now?"'
'"Whatever you wish to do, my dear. Within reason, of course."' I smirk as we stare into each other's eyes. We lean into each other and lock lips.
(Sat, Y+1, M+5, D+8)
[Recovery Room 45, Firebase Alpha]
AN: Still the same day, just felt the need to point that out
I sense Ivan and Sven approach the room. It's a little annoying attempting to locate them due to the sheer number of people in the hallways. Although finding Ivan is easier, due to the fact that almost nobody in the entire base has an Aura. It really helps to identify people, like a shining beacon of shiny soul-shininess… that shines. It's very shiny. Neo snuggles into my arm and I tap her on the nose.
'"Boop."'
'"Isn't that the pink girl's thing?… Nora, isn't it-"'
'"Yep. Correct on both counts. But I like it, so I decided to take it."'
'"Just like you took my heart."' We both stare for a second before we break down giggling. Me aloud and her in my head, although she mimicked the physical motion rather well.
"Looks like you two were having fun." Sven says, as he and Ivan walk into the room.
"Up yours, Sven." I smirk. "So, now that everyone's all together, I do believe that we've been given a job offer." I say, picking the datapad up off of the side table to my right. Which was actually kind of annoying, considering my newly-acquired blind spot. Fortunately I'm not actually fully blind to that area, considering my extranatural sensory abilities, but it is still annoying not having my right eye. And the putty they'd filled the hole with is starting to itch. Which seems like a small problem compared to the fact that I can sense the rough number of people in the medbay. It's a rather significant number. And also just a bit unpleasant, considering the number of people in a… distinct… amount of pain and suffering.
"So, let's just open this thing up." I mutter, placing my thumb to a highlighted area for scanning. "C'mere you two." I say, waving Ivan and Sven over. I shift to the right, Neo moves onto my lap and Ivan vaults over the hospital bed's rail and lands next to me. Sven smirks and walks over to the other side of the bed, ending up on my right. "Did you get one of these Sven?" I ask, tapping the screen. "The job offer, that is."
"Yes, a few months ago, after I got through basic and the SABs."
"Eh?"
"Service Aptitude Batteries. A series of tests to determine where you would best fit in the Armed Services. Also used to screen for Special Forces and other programs, which is how I got here."
"Fair enough. So why'd you join up?"
"Why does anyone else join the army? Fight for humanity, see the galaxy, and all that kinda stuff. The fact that my family have been mercs for nearly two centuries didn't exactly broaden my choices either."
"Two centuries?" Ivan says, sounding slightly impressed.
"Closer to one and a half centuries but yeah, ever since the the late 25th century at least one member of my immediate bloodline was in service with a Private Security group. So far members of my family have served in two world wars, at least twelve major conflicts and upwards of a hundred guerilla conflicts, brushfire wars, and 'combat advisements'. As it turns out, that's not all that uncommon amongst mercenary families."
"Mercenary families? How common is that particular phenomenon?"
"Rather common. Considering the fact that most of human territory is made up of small territories, and the rest is a few megacorps. Armaments Technology is one of those, and Alpha Company is the militarized wing."
"Huh. Well then. While I would love to hear the whole history lesson right now, methinks we should get back on track. So. Job description."
"Kurt. There. Am I reading this right?" Ivan asks, pointing to a sentence.
"If it says 'Ten year tour of duty' then yes, or we're both going crazy… er."
'"Neo?"'
'"I see it too. And I do like that paycheck. And over ten years..."'
"Well Neo you do make a good point." I chuckle. "Ivan, look at that paycheck."
"Where? Oh wait… I see it… Hoooo-leeee shit."
"Yeah, the pay's not bad either." Sven says with a smirk.
"I'd say so, but if they're willing to pay this much, what the hell exactly are we going to go up against."
"Well I don't know exactly, but if the rumors I heard are right, then a fireteam of people like Brimstone were the first sent in to Remnant. Fireteam… Gladius, I think it was."
"Aaanndd?" I ask.
"Well they're PRAETORIANs, best of the best and damnation take the rest kinda thing. And considering the local… wildlife… I would imagine Command considered it more efficient to send a fireteam of four highly trained killing machines in semi-powered armor armed with top-spec… well.. Everything… to a planet in the middle of the almost literal ass-end of nowhere."
"Fair point. I mean, I haven't really been that far outside the city, and while Mountain Glenn wasn't all that terrible, I get the sense that things get worse in an exponential way, as opposed to your usual gradually becoming more terrible kinda way. I get the feeling that an above-average amount of Murphy's Law was applied to this planet."
"Fair enough, you've been here longer than me after all." Sven says.
"How long have you guys been here, actually?" Ivan pipes up from my left.
"About a year, from preliminary recce to what you see now. We tend to scale up fast."
"How fast?" I ask.
"Five firebases. One in or near each city plus one tossed somewhere else, just for good measure."
"And you've been to all of them?"
"The ones that have cities around or near them yes. Not the fifth. Don't even know where it is."
"Alright then. So, back to this tablet-y thing." I scroll down a bit.
[Later, Recovery Room 45, Firebase Alpha]
"Hey doc, I'll be gone for a bit. Just an FYI." I say, poking my head out of the doorframe while flagging down someone who looks vaguely doctorrish.
"Wait what?"
"I'll be back in a coupla hours."
"Where are-"
*BAMF*
'That felt soo good. Haven't done that in far too long.'
I walk up to the door and knock on it and wait until someone opens it.
"Kurt!" I hear as a red blur performs a rather impressive flying tackle from halfway across the living room, past a rather stunned dad and straight into a man still recovering from something roughly equivalent to taking a fragmentation grenade full-on in the face.
*THUD*
*THUMP*
"AGGHHHHHHGHHGHHGHGHGHGH!"
"Sorry."
"It's alright Ruby. It's nice to see you too." I chuckle as I stand up and pat myself down.
"I'm just glad that you're still…" She says, hugging me tightly.
"Hey. Nobody's more glad about that than I. How's Yang taking it?" I say, hugging her back until she lets go.
"Not very well." She says sadly.
"Well, let's see if I can do anything about that." I say, walking inside.
"Nice to see you back Kurt." Dad says.
"Hasn't been THAT long." I chuckle. "And either way, I'm kinda looking at this as an upgrade. An unintentional, unrequested, incredibly painful upgrade."
"Upgrade?" Ruby asks.
"Yeah, Alpha Company's going to pay for a new eye. I could have chosen a biological replacement, but personally I think the cybernetic replacement will be better. And I've already chosen the model. Full visual spectrum, laser targeting, full HUD compatibility, limited AI/APP integration potential, a fancy red tint and, most importantly, A FRICKIN' LASER BEAM PROJECTOR INTEGRATED INTO THE RETINA." I say, VERY excited. "In other words. I can LITERALLY give a death glare with this thing."
Ruby proceeds to squee. It is the squeesest squee that I have ever witnessed being squeed.
"Aaaaannnnddd there go my ears." I say flatly, as they are still ringing. I rub my ears a bit. One of the few downsides of being Faunas, an increased susceptibility to sound and light-based assault is probably at the top of the list.
"PUPPY!" I shout. As I see our dog poke his head into the room. I lunge towards him, landing stomach-first on the ground in front of Zwei and grabbing him behind the ears and rubbing him. He licks my face happily. "I missed you puppy."
"Really?" Dad says. "You weren't that excited about seeing me."
"You aren't small, fluffy and adorable. Or a puppy."
"Well I will grant you that." He says, walking over to me, still on the floor.
*ARF* Zwei happily licks my face as I hold his face in front of mine.
"Whosaflufflypuppy? Youare! Youare!" I say in that voice everyone uses when talking to animals and small children.
After another few minutes of puppytime, I decide that it would be a good idea to visit my generally more… fiery… sister.
I stand up.
"So Yang's in your guys' room?" I ask.
"Yeah. She's kinda mopey." Ruby says.
"More like full-on depressed." Dad says.
"I was afraid of that." I respond, patting myself down. "Let's see if I can help." I mutter.
"Feel free to try, but we've just been letting her work it through." Dad says.
"Well, I guess I'll see if a different tack helps." I say, turning around and walking to Ruby and Yang's room. Once I reach it I rap my knuckles against the doorframe and walk in. "Hey Yang." I say, walking up to her as she lay in her bed, staring aimlessly out the window.
"Hey Kurt. Where've you been?" She says, her voice monotone.
"It's rude not to look at people when you're talking to them." I say, a hint of mirth in my tone.
She grudgingly turns to look at me.
"What happened to you?" She says, a hint of concern present.
"Cinder happened. I got to the top of the tower a bit before Ruby. Damn close business. Guess I won't be winning any beauty contests anytime soon." I chuckle a bit ruefully.
"How can you be joking at a time like this? We lost so much…"
"Really? I hadn't noticed. That's kinda how life works. You live, you love and you lose. I've lost quite a bit already." I chuckle a bit. "I've lost-" I start counting on my fingers "In order of most recent to least recent." I add. "My right eye, a good friend and honorable warrior, my favorite school, countless classmates and teachers, a good deal of my sanity and innocence, my tail, and before that, every day of roughly two decades of my life." I sigh. "I still wonder about that, you know? What was it like? Who was I? What'd I miss? Did I have a loving family? Friends? What did I do? What kind of person was I?" I ask softly and place a bare hand on her shoulder. "The most important thing, however, is this: it never stopped me." I look Yang right in the (right) eye. "I will never let it stop me. The only thing those bastards can ever do is give me a reason to fight harder. Every slight, every wound, every death is another reason for me to burn them and all they stand for into ash. To let this pain and sorrow stop me would be nothing less than an insult to all who have fallen before me. So I now I must lick my wounds, mourn the fallen, and make my preparations. But when I'm healed, when I'm ready, when I know where they are and when the time is right… Nothing will stop me. And when you're ready once more, I expect nothing less from you." I say to her, softening my voice on the last sentence. I grab her other shoulder and pull her into a hug. "I know you'll make it through this." I say as she hesitantly returns my gesture as best she can.
"You can let go now." She says, a slight hint of mirth behind her words.
"On a more serious note though, what happened to everyone else? I know how K(rak)IN ended up, but the rest of JNPR and half of RWBY never actually came up."
Yang sighs.
"I thought you wanted to cheer me up?"
"I want you to cheer up soon. Mourning the fallen is an important step in healing. And after all, I still need to know what happened to my friends."
"Why don't you ask Ruby?"
"Well you were the only one of us not unconscious this entire time."
She sighs again. "Jaune, Ren and Nora are all as fine as they could be right now."
"Weiss and Blake?"
"Blake left."
"What."
"She left. She ran. Sun told me. Once everything was over, she just left. She abandoned us."
In return, I sigh. "That's what she always used to say, isn't it?" I stare at the ceiling for a second and groan. "She thought that because her semblance was best suited to helping her run away, that she was doomed to live a life of flight."
"I thought she'd gotten over that."
"Apparently not." I sit down on the edge of the bed. "And Weiss?"
"Her father took her back to Atlas." Yang says bitterly.
"When?"
"Just a few days ago."
"Great. Now everyone's all gone to the winds." I mutter. "If you ever need help with something, try and let me know. I'll probably be out for a while. Thinking of signing up with Alpha Company."
"I thought you wanted to be hunter too."
"Well Beacon's not going to be livable anytime soon. And I've got a bone to pick with the White Fang and Cinder's crew. Plus, merc-ing sounds fun. Join the army- see the world- meet new and exciting people- and then proceed to shoot them in the face. Ya know, the usual spiel. And after all, it gives me a chance to run around the planet with my teammates, play with guns, and solve new and complex problems. Usually with said guns and teammates."
"You've got it all planned out, don't you."
"Like hell I do." I chuckle. "Ever since I woke up in the middle of that damn forest I've been flying by the metaphorical seat of my pants." I say, pointing out the window to the forest beyond and patting the holster on my left hip. "And I damn near paid for that with my life. Multiple times, in fact." I chuckle softly.
"You've changed. You used to be much more, well, cheery."
"You're one to speak." I smirk. "Now, if you'll excuse me I've got things to do."
"What? What kind of things. You don't do things."
"Yes, I do indeed. These are forge things, which I will be using Signal's forge to make. Because somehow my fanciest guns are still in what is now effectively a bunker in the center of a large, grimm-infested and likely soon-to-be bombed-out school. So. I will be making things, mass producing specialty ammunition and a couple of things to leave for a good friend. And all of it running on one eye." I stand up and walk to the door. "Get up on your feet and do something, you'll feel better." I make a curt wave and walk out.
"Yeah. I'll think about it."
I turn a corner in the hallway and see dad and Ruby staring at me. Dad raises an eyebrow and gestures questioningly towards Yang's room.
"I'm not a psychologist. I may have helped, but I'm not entirely sure. Best guess is at least she'll be out of the bed and doing something. Either way I can only be out of the medbay for so long before the docs get angry so I'll be at Signal working on a couple of personal projects. I'll be back later." I say, before another thought pops into my head. "Oyeah! I'm on the waiting list for a cybernetic eye."
"Cool!" Ruby shouts, running up to me. "What'll it do?"
"Full spectrum visual sensors, HUD uplink, laser projector and a target designator. All free of charge since the injury happened on their watch and because they're currently trying to get KrakIN to sign up with them. Got a couple of fancy tablets with the details and everything."
"So, you're going to turn them down right?" Ruby says, skipping over the- "Of course the new eye is reallysupercoolandallandlasersaresocoolbuthardtocoolandhowaretheygoingtfiththatallinsuchasmall-" 'Aaaand there's the Ruby I all know and love. I know some people look down on her as some idealistic little immature kid, and while those traits occasionally show themselves, she's so much smarter than most people give her credit.' I muse as she goes off thinking out loud spittingwordslikeaminigunspitsbullets.
"Quite frankly I've got no clue how they do it, but I guess I'll figure it all out at some point. But, more importantly, why did you think I was just going to dismiss their offer? I'm not angry or hurt or anything bad, just a bit confused."
"Well, I thought you wanted to become a Hunter to help people, to defend Remnant."
"I joined to defend people, yes. But being a Hunter is kinda unlikely as of now. Seeing how Beacon's been overrun and a decent chunk of the teaching staff missing, dead or wounded I don't think there's much room for advancement in that particular direction. Joining the Alpha Company is just my way of moving forwards. Plus-" I grin cruelly and crack my knuckles. "These guys seem like they're gearing up for war with the 'fang, the Grimm, and whoever it is that CInder's with, and I have a score to settle with them. There are a number of people who need to be given a nice pat on the back… from a few hundred meters away… with an anti-materiel rifle." I flash a predatory smile. "In the bullet's way, the White Death's prey." I bring my rifle to my shoulder and stare down the sights, pointed off to the side. "Say goodbye." I say, mimicking recoil. "Bang."
"I'm going to be honest here Kurt, I'm not sure you're thinking straight here. I think you should just calm down and pull yourself back together, we should have a new, temporary, school prepared near Signal in about eight to twelve months." Dad says.
"That's not soon enough. The enemy won't just wait around for us to all finish Hunter training. Back on Terra, basic training took about three months at the longest, with extra time tacked on for specialist training. That's Alpha Company's model too. In three months I'll be ready for combat. And in about eight or so months, I'll be put through a battery of tests for some spec-opsy type program. Of course during all of this, I'll be effectively a corporal in charge of my current team, rebranded as a fireteam and we'll be paired with another fireteam and placed under tutelage of a pair of veterans. In all honesty I'll probably be as safe as I was at Beacon, if not more so."
"I'm not so sure about that last one Kurt." Dad says.
"Well either way, I've got things to do and daylight's a-burnin. So if you could sign me a note for Signal's forge I've got a couple of things to work on for Tuesday."
"What are you even talking about?"
"I'm going to make something for the funeral, my own way of paying my respects." I say solemnly.
"Alright then." Dad says, sympathy in his tone.
(Mon, Y+1, M+5, D+10)
[Recruitment office, Firebase Alpha]
"Are you three absolutely certain about this?" The recruiter asks. "I am required to tell you that once you sign on you are required to serve for ten years and barring medical or conduct discharge you will be contractually obliged to follow the chain of command and submit to the official Alpha Company Codes of Military Justice. All of this begins the second you finish signing your name to the recruitment documents. I will leave the room and you three will be allowed to deliberate without any supervision or interference on our part. When you leave the room, hand me the three tablets on the table there. If they've been signed then basic training will start as soon as the Docs okay you." The recruiter points to me. "So, you'll have as much time as you want to discuss amongst yourselves. Technically no Alpha Company personnel can be present during the signing, so Initiate Hall cannot be present. C'mon." Sven and the recruiter (who actually lacks a name patch on his fatigues) both leave the room.
"So, anyone have anything they'd like to say?" I ask of my teammates.
Neo shakes her head. '"I've been a mercenary for five or six years already, and I don't have any problems going back. At least there'll be more action than being a Hunter. And better pay."'
'"Fair enough."'
"I've got no problems with this. It's not like we've got many more marketable skills." He says, leaning on the desk in the middle of the room. "Plus these guys are Terrans, they're the closest we'll ever get to our old homes."
"And I personally think that this looks fun as all hell. Plus, to be entirely fair, I remain entirely unimpressed with the military forces of Remnant. They're professionals to a point, but the last time they had a major war was generations ago. They're not used to much beyond low-intensity policing ops. And the most experienced individuals at arms aren't even formally organized, with the sole exception of maybe a company or two of Atlesian 'specialists'. At least Alpha's a trained, organized force. With air support. And an orbital element. Which makes me almost giddy with excitement." I realize I've gone a bit off topic. "Well, either way, it sounds like we're all agreed. Shall we?" I say, taking a couple of steps to the central desk and take the three tablets off of the desktop and pass them around. We each turn the tablets on and quickly read through the contracts once more before using a provided stylus to sign our names. Next the tablet prompts me to press my finger to a lighted section. I follow the instruction and feel a slight prick as the tablet takes what I assume to be a blood sample.
Ivan mutters something in Russian.
"Having trouble?" I ask with a smirk.
"Blasted tablet isn't working with my finger!" He says angrily.
"You do know there's a stylus, right? Top left corner, inset into the case." I advise.
"Oh… well then. Quiet you!" He says, pointing a finger at Neo, who's smirking and miming a giggle. In response she grins evilly and mimes shock. "Don't play innocent with me." Ivan "I know what you've done." He smirks and turns to me. "And whom you've done."
"Which makes me wonder why you're messing with her, even as a joke. Seriously, even I'm not usually that crazy." Neo sticks out her tongue. I spin towards her and point. "And don't antagonize him, he does have a rocket launcher, after all. And a tendency to gossip." I quickly redirect, in time to see Ivan's smirk shift to a fake pout. A surprisingly convincing pout.
'"What? I can't mess around with my gay friend?"'
The metaphorical gears in my head grind to a halt, with the sound of a scratching record. "Wait. Really?" I reverse again to Neo, whose face bears a slight smirk. "Who with? And why hasn't anybody told me about this… development?" Ivan starts to sidle towards the door. I spin on the spot and jab a finger towards him accusingly. "And don't you try to get out of this. When we get out of here we're all going back to my room and we're going to talk about this. But seriously. Ivan?" I say, softening my tone.
"Yeess?" He says, with some trepidation.
"Who's the lucky guy?"