Well... my internet is screwed... I haven't been able to update because our stupid internet company takes 5 DAYS! to come out and fix our crappy internet... and I missed the Battlefield 1 beta... :(

And now onto the Tempest hate session...

Naughtbeast

Chapter 27:

Why does he have to ensure they're all pissed at us?

The boot camp that was started by Tempest was in its final stages and everyone was now thoroughly pissed. Tempest had done everything that would have been considered a normal day of training for Militia troops... and then decided to spice things up a bit. He had instructed everyone to switch weapons with their partners and be able to perform with at least 50% efficiency during the combat drill or they would have to learn how to do push-ups. Most of everyone went pretty well, Kira having to just use a basic Carbine as she was technically partnered with Sid. Weiss continuously complained about how heavy Crescent Rose was and the ridiculous recoil, with Ruby complaining about how light Mytenaster was and how useless the Dust cylinder was. Blake could barely keep up with the recoil of Ember Celica, not even being able to use them properly with about 100 different miss-fires, and Yang continuously complained about the lack of firepower in Gambol Shroud and tangling its cord several times.

Jaune could barely manage to figure out how Pyrrha's weapon worked, managing to accidentally transform it in the middle of the drill and cut himself several times. Pyrrha was handling everything the best, Crocea Mors not really proving much of a challenge and the G2A4 was practically the same as her rifle form of Milo, being able to complete the test on the first try. Rosaline was definitely handling it the worst, being partners with Demon she had to switch for his odachi/chaingun combo weapon. She had no idea how to even use a sword so she had to use the chaingun function. Unfortunately for her, it was meant for someone with Demon's strength level… which was unfortunate for her. Every time she fired for more than a single, quick trigger pull, the weapon would kick back so much that she would be aiming about a two metres above the target. She had eventually figured out to set it up on a tripod but still couldn't fire in full-auto without becoming ridiculously off-target.

After that exercise, everyone was thoroughly pissed off so Tempest decided to make them even more so. He had made them complete a normal, military grade obstacle course… blindfolded… with their hands tied behind their backs… while shooting at them from the sidelines. Literally, everyone failed except for Blake who had nimbly completed it using her faunus skills to their full potential, as well as Yang… who had become so pissed off that she activated her semblance and melted through every obstacle. After that, Tempest ensured that he was getting the point across and led them through another set of challenges. He had shifted them into two teams and made them play volleyball… with live grenades. They had been set to detonate every time the hit the floor and not when someone hit them and didn't have a timing fuse. When he said that they would be doing it with live grenades, everyone just laughed it off without a second thought and played a bit haphazardly for the first part. They kept it in the air for about a minute before Jaune stumbled… and the grenade detonated at his feet and sent him flying.

To say that it got them going would be an understatement as they literally became the most attentive people in the world right there and then. Josh had hidden behind everyone since he didn't have an aura and managed to avoid it for most of the game… until it came his way. He had quickly sent it back over to the other side but at the wrong angle… causing it to detonate at Ruby's feet. She was fine but Yang was giving him a look that would turn him to ash if looks could kill. After that, Tempest decided it would be a fun idea if they had 1 on 1 fights… blindfolded of course. They were allowed to use their weapons but they had to be told how to fight by one of their teammates. First off it was Yang vs Pyrrha with Ruby and Jaune commanding respectively. Ruby had just told Yang to shoot in every direction as fast as possible, working for a while until she ran out of ammo. Pyrrha had been hit a couple of times but most of them had grazed off her shield. Jaune then led her up to Yang and from there it was a pretty one-sided fight. Ruby had no idea what any type of boxing moves were called so every time she said something that she thought was right, Yang followed through perfectly… but it was just the wrong command. Pyrrha eventually won with Jaune's superior commanding techniques and quick-thinking.

Next up for the match was Jaeger vs Kira with Weiss and Rosaline commanding respectively. Kira had managed to win for the mere reason that when Jaeger had turned invisible, Rosaline had instructed her to shift her weapon into the two-handed kopesh and created a mini-tornado which flung Jaeger around until his aura hit red. Tempest had told them that the training would either end now or end much later at night depending on their next move. They were instructed to choose someone that hadn't fought yet that they believed to be the weakest. Rosaline had heard this and immediately stepped forward, knowing it would be her anyway. Tempest then instructed someone who they thought would be the next-best instructor who hadn't gone yet, the rest of them picking Josh. Tempest had then told them what would be happening. It would be him vs Rosaline with Josh telling him what to do and Rosaline could pick who she wanted to instruct her. If the winner was Rosaline, then the training would end now and they could all make it back for dinner… however, if the winner was Tempest, then they would have to be 'instructed' how to do push-ups and sit-ups once again until after dinner was officially finished.

Everyone had groaned at this until Tempest told them that if they refused they would be doing laps in the morning as well. Rosaline was told to pick someone, taking her time to decide, before finally selecting Demon as her instructor. He had been gratified and took his position at the side of the arena, Josh doing the same on the other side. Tempest jumped down into the arena and loaded his shotguns and pulled on a blindfold, Rosaline walking down and checking the mags in her Smart Pistols. After she was done, she put on her blindfold, but Demon knew that wouldn't cut it.

"Rosaline, pull the blindfold over your ears so that you can't hear" he instructed, knowing it sounded completely stupid.

"WHAT! I won't even be able to hear you!" she complained, taking off the blindfold to look at him like he was insane.

He chucked down a small earbud and motioned to his ear, Rosaline getting the idea and put it in her right ear before slipping the blindfold over her ears as well. Tempest had smiled when he heard the exchange and began spinning his shotguns in anticipation. Demon activated the comms system in his helmet and linked it to the bud he had given Rosaline.

"Hello? Testing, testing 1 2 3… if you can hear me give me a thumbs up" Demon instructed, receiving a thumbs up from Rosaline. Demon nodded for the match to begin and Weiss walked into the centre with Mytenaster drawn. She stabbed it into the ground and a large clock glyph appeared just above her, counting down from ten. She walked off stage and they all waited for the glyph to countdown, everyone shouting encouragement to Rosaline.

"Ok Rosaline, the match is just about to begin so I'm going to need you to aim just in front of you and tell me when you hear yourself get target lock. I'll route the sound system of your pistols so that you can hear it"

Rosaline nodded on stage and they all waited until the timer finished. It hit zero and Josh immediately told Tempest to begin firing his shotguns. He obliged and slowly walked forward as he did.

"Ok Rosaline, fire as soon as you hear the locks confirm, until then jump back and use your parkour-kit to get height"

Rosaline pulled the triggers on both her pistols, unleashing both clips at Tempest, all of the shots finding its mark, and jumped backwards about 20 metres from Tempest, managing to avoid the bullets coming her way. She dropped the clips from the pistols and loaded new ones in quickly from two thigh holsters that held side-facing mags. Josh yelled at Tempest to fire his grenade launchers, aiming them slightly away from his body to ensure for maximum coverage.

"Rosaline, run forward at full speed and jump when I tell you to" Demon instructed, knowing that if Rosaline had heard him, she would still think of him as being insane. Rosaline sprinted forward just as Tempest fired two grenades, narrowly missing Rosaline herself and exploding just behind her. Josh then shouted for Tempest to fire his shotguns, hoping to catch Rosaline as she came closer.

"Jump…" Demon casually stated into the mouthpiece, the girl leaping straight over Tempest and landing behind him. "Activate your knives then slash horizontally behind you"

Rosaline switched her pistols to their knife form and slashed, catching Tempest in the side with both blades. He recoiled slightly before swinging his guns around to try and catch Rosaline while she was still close.

"Roll backwards…"

Rosaline narrowly missed the blades that were on the shotguns and rolled out about 3 metres from him. Josh yelled for him to pull out a grenade and roll it forward before jumping back.

"Kick out with your left foot then reload"

Rosaline managed to kick the grenade and loaded her pistols as the grenade contacted with Tempest and sending him flying from the exploding. When she finished reloading, she aimed her pistols and fired as soon as it signalled that it was locked. This put Tempest just above red, enraging him and making hum pull off his blindfold and began running at Rosaline, guns blazing. She got hit a couple of times and lost her calm, beginning to run in the opposite direction. Demon saw something that could potentially help him and let the situation play out. Rosaline was running full-pelt and Tempest was hot on her heels firing his shotguns.

"Ok Rosaline, Tempest is now cheating so you need to keep calm if we're going to win. In a couple of moments, you're going to need to jump and kick out with both your legs as you do, hopefully, you'll kick off the wall. Then I need you to spin around and kick out with your left leg, hitting him on the side of the head and ending the battle… if everything goes to plan"

She didn't give any signs of hearing him and Demon panicked for a moment, hoping that she would at least follow his instructions when he gave them.

"NOW!" he shouted, Rosaline obeying the instructions. She jumped and kicked off the wall, spinning round and catching Tempest on the side of his head with her foot before he could register what was happening. His aura hit the red and he hit the floor hard as Rosaline flew past and couldn't right herself in the air, landing on her but on the floor.

"ROSALINE WINS!" cheered Ruby from the sidelines, rejoicing that training was finally over. Rosaline pulled off her blindfold and sent a warm smile Demon's way, melting his heart. He smiled back and walked over to her and helped her up, pulling her up to stand.

"Nice try Tempest but you just got your ass handed to you by an IMC grunt…" he jeered, prodding Tempest as he lied half knocked out on the floor. Yang walked over and kicked him in the side for good measure, eliciting a groan from the man.

"Serves you right for this pointless training stuff!" she added as everyone else walked up to join them.

"As much as I'd like to agree with you… it wasn't pointless" announced Demon, smiling a bit under his helmet.

"WHAT! How can that have possibly helped us?" asked Weiss, anger flaring within her.

Demon responded by pulling out his pistol and firing at Yang… which she blocked with Gambol Shroud. She had grabbed it right off Blake's back and used the katana blade to block the bullet. Everyone just stared until Yang broke the silence.

"Holy crap… how did that happen?"

"Well, I could tell you but I believe Markus has already compiled a database on how it has helped" Demon mentioned, pointing to Markus who was typing rapidly on his data-pad.

"Well… as I have been analysing everything for the entirety of this and making a spectre do everything for me…" he said, gesturing to someone that looked exactly the same as him up in the stands. At the press of a button on his pad, it flickered for a second and revealed a MARVN which bowed then walked off. "I can say that you have all shortened the nerve endings in your brain due to the stress-inducing training, allowing increased reaction speed, as well as giving you an increased combat rating with the adding of new weapons to your arsenal"

"Combat rating?" Weiss asked, putting her hands on her hips accusationally.

"It is the way that the Militia determines the ranking of pilots, allowing them to properly assign pilots in relation to the danger levels expected on a mission. Yours is around 2365 by the way"

When Demon heard this, he scoffed loudly and collapsed into laughter.

"What's his problem?" asked Kira, giving him weird looks.

Demon tried to say something but collapsed in another fit of laughter. Josh decided to take the reins of the conversation and let them in on what he was laughing about.

"You see, Demon here is the best pilot in the entire Militia… let's just say his score is a tad above that"

"What do you mean by a tad?" asked Rosaline, curious about just how good he was. During the first days of her initiation, she had heard rumours from the other initiates about the best pilot the Militia had… Demon. She had heard of his exploits, his copious amounts of confirmed kills, the amount of property damage he had caused to the IMC and of course the bounty that was placed on his head… 1,000,000 credits.

By this time, Demon had finally finished his fit of laughter although he didn't get off the floor.

"My score is somewhere around 4998 if they haven't changed it after I died…" he said, looking at all their faces of disbelief.

"WHAT! And I'm now even 2500! What gives?" Weiss complained.

"You see, the pilot score is a combination of not only your combat effectiveness but also your variability, adaptability, mental stability and knowledge. Demon scored so high because he has 100% combat effectiveness with all weapons listed within the Militia's arsenal, he has received a kill with at least 287 different improvised weapons, he can pilot every craft used by the IMC and Militia short of a carrier, he receives no negative effects after battles as he shows no signs of PTSD and his engineering skills allow him to fix every piece of issued equipment on the battlefield with limited supplies"

Everyone stared in disbelief at what was being said… how could an 18-year-old manage all of that?

"You have no idea how hard it was when I had to kill some pilot with a billiard ball…" Demon added, reminiscing the day that happened, smiling a bit at the look on the Pilot's face when he saw that Demon wasn't even holding a weapon in the middle of a battle.

"So what are everyone else's?" Blake asked, a bit curious about how everyone else was rated.

"Well, no one here scored above 3500 on the test with all the information I could gather… The highest scorers were Kira, Tempest and Blake while the lowest were Jaune, Ruby and Me"

"How come Blake is higher than me! No offence…" Weiss asked, adding the last part for the faunus' benefit.

"The main reason is because of mental stability and the versatility of weapons, as far as I can tell you haven't seen a proper battle and have never killed a person, Kira, Tempest and Blake have all seen combat"

Blake looked alarmingly at Markus, scared about how he knew she had killed someone before. Demon saw this and saw something that he saw on many young recruits after their first days of battle… regret. She either was forced to kill the victim or it was an accident… something that she obviously didn't want to remember.

"Blake… when you work in the military for as long as we have, you begin to grow used to the look of killers all around you. When you are suddenly surrounded by civilians who have never taken someone's life, that look is gone and anyone who has it sticks out like a sore thumb" Demon informed the girl, calming her worries a bit.

"I didn't mean to do it… I was walking around the city one day and I came across a wolf faunus being mugged. I tried to step in but before I could, the attacker pulled a gun and aimed it at the man. I was still learning how to use Gambol Shroud at the time so when I threw it, I missed… or more accurately I hit. I sliced his throat and he bled out in seconds. The man continuously thanked me, saying that if I hadn't then he would have died… but I could never live with the knowledge that I had killed a person, even if they were a killer themselves"

Everyone sat in silence for a while, contemplating the fact that Blake had actually killed someone, apparently she hadn't told her team everything.

"Why didn't you tell us?" asked Weiss, still fuming that she had technically broken their promise.

"How would have you reacted? Knowing that I was part of the White Fang and that I had killed people? Would you have honestly accepted me as your teammate?" asked the enraged faunus.

Her question was met with silence, the answer unspoken.

"I would not consider that to be much trouble…" Markus said, not quite grasping the seriousness of the situation. "Demon here has accumulated quite the kill tally over his career as a pilot. The last time the monthly score press release marked his total kill count as 6574 kills"

"The count is wrong…" Demon announced, dipping his head in shame.

"What?" asked Rosaline, not sure if he was actually serious.

"The count is wrong… It only includes confirmed Pilot kills… I have thousands more of unconfirmed kills, spectre destroys and grunt kills… the count is wrong…"

"Thousands?" asked Jaune, not believing that that much killing was possible.

"From the first day of my induction into the Militia, I have had no breaks other than the travel time between planets. When I slept in the bed in my room on the first day was the first time in 2 years that I have slept on anything other than dirt, metal or the military issued bunks… every time a I was offered a vacation I turned it down instantly… I was given several accounts of medical discharge by my doctor for extreme sleep deprivation, being labelled as a hazard on the battlefield and had to bribe them every time to ensure I wasn't discharged. When I joined the Militia, war became my life. Every day I would be sent to a random planet and was pointed at something that I needed to kill. Most Pilots within the Militia survive maybe 3 months in total, never really taking up too much space and they were just another number in the files to be put away for the year. Only 367 Pilots have survived past a year of active duty, with only 127 surviving past two years… I have been rated to be more effective at taking out IMC than an entire battalion of grunts. In my line of work killing is just the job description… they don't care how you do it. So yeah… I have killed thousands and I don't care because I know that they were just as much of a monster as me… the count would be around 10,000 by now…"

"TEN THOUSAND!" Ruby nearly screamed in disbelief.

"Around about…"

"AROUND ABOUT! HOW CAN YOU BE THIS CASUAL!" Yang shouted.

"I'm casual because it brings back memories… I may not show signs of PTSD but I am still haunted by my killings. If I had talked about it and tried to reconcile I would've killed myself ages ago. I save myself by forgetting whatever they look like, turning them into just another person to add to the list…"

Josh walked over and put his hand on Demon's shoulder, trying to comfort him a little.

"I don't think any less of you… we've all done some things we regret… some more than others"

"You can talk… you're just a pacifist… you haven't killed that many people… I would drown in the amount of blood I've spilled"

"I may be a pacifist but I've seen some shit… I've had to re-attach arms, cut out lungs, burn off arm stumps and was sent to clean up the camp in New Manchea"

"New Manchea? You might have been sent there to retrieve the dog tags… but I was there when it happened… I was forced to watch everything… EVERYTHING!"

"What happened there?" asked Pyrrha, a bit scared of the answer. Demon just casually turned to her, knowing the reaction he would receive"

"A massacre… an entire colony killed because they were suspected Militia conspirators. They rounded up every single person on the entire world and slowly began executing them in a slow chain, hoping that they would scare the people into telling them anything they knew… when they didn't tell them anything they were decapitated with machete's for added effect… they didn't care about who you were… men, women and children… all executed the same… and since none of them knew anything… you can guess what happened"

Jaune began gagging as he imagined it, the others face's turned green as they all tried to comprehend the massacre.

"The only reason I survived… was because I was part of the Militia garrison stationed there… we were forced to watch so that we knew full well it was because of us that this was happening… they had killed 98% of all civilians when the re-enforcements had arrived and evacuated everyone"

Demon couldn't hold the memories back and just decided to let them flow, seeing everything again, seeing the massacre… seeing everyone die. They flashed in the front of his eyes at insane speeds but he still saw every detail, every person… every single speck of blood that covered the ground. He slowly managed to bring himself to something that he had hated for it to happen… he cried. It started slowly at first, no one really noticing, until he collapsed to the floor and cradled his head in his arms and let it flow. No one knew what to do, either having no idea how to help or being scared of what would happen if they interrupted. Slowly, Rosaline kneeled down and hugged him, letting him cry into the crook of her shoulder. As he did, he motioned for everyone to leave, most of them being a bit hesitant before she just stared at them with killer intent.

It took a few minutes for Demon to get the images out of his head, glad that it was finally over, before he finally actually registered that Rosaline was cradling him. He immediately jumped out of her grasp, stumbling a few metres away, then turned back to see a hurt look on her face. He immediately cursed under his breath, hating himself for causing more pain than he should have.

"I'm sorry..." he said, not quite sure what to say.

"It's ok… you were just thinking through some hard things. Just know that if you have anything you need to get out there… you can tell me" she consoled, giving him a warm smile.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Anything…"

"Do you think I am a monster?"

She was a bit taken back by this, not really being able to answer for a few second.

"Ummm… no… I don't think you are… you were just doing what you thought was right. A monster does things even though they know they are doing something wrong. In the IMC we were taught to think of you like monsters… but I can bet on my life that you were told the same thing during your training. Being a monster is a relative term. To a mouse, a cat is a monster, while to us it is just a pet… many people may think you're a monster but I don't… to me you're a kind and caring person who believes in everything he does"

"Thanks…"

"Hey, you know you still haven't taken me to that coffee shop you promised to after the dance"

Demon's face turned a bit red, happy that he was always wearing a helmet to hide his face. He didn't have a chance to respond before Rosaline talked again.

"Tomorrow after school I'm free so it would be nice if we could go then… how does that sound?"

He nodded and walked over and hugged her again before walking off back to his dorm, not caring that he was missing dinner. He went back to his pod and opened the mini-bar that he kept underneath his workbench. Pulling out a large bottle of beer that he had procured while having to walk around an abandoned city for a day, he looked over the label.

"Hmm… time to drown my fears and doubts away in the sweet nectar that is beer"

He pulled off his mask and downed the entire bottle in a single swig, feeling the burning sensation on the back of his throat.

Time to wake up in the morning with a massive hangover… fun for the whole family…

And with that went over and curled up on the couch, trying to get to sleep but failing miserably.

Hmm… maybe if I drink more beer…