Chapter 2: An Atlas for the Orphaned

Viralious just lays there on his back, holding his sister while she cries looking at his home slowly burning away. Sharp cries echo in his brain and his eyes burn looking at the soft yellow light in front of him.

Slowly He begins to shift towards a sitting position and holds his 2 year old sister out in front of him and begins to examine her for any injuries. Other then the fact she is crying bloody murder, she seems to have avoided the worst of it.

She's got better luck than me at least…

Realizing that she is still crying, he begins to hum a tune that his mother would slowly sing to get her to go to sleep.

I've screwed this up royally. It was supposed to be simple: kill my uncle, expose the truth and continue on with my life.

A crash from the house in front of him awakens him from his thoughts as the second story just fell through the first. As this occurs he hears the frantic voice of his stepfather scream out his sister's name and slowly muffle into a cry calling out her name.

Viralious takes a deep breath and looks at his sister. She slowly begins to fall asleep, whether from calming down from his humming or exhaustion he couldn't say. He then begins to stand

As he stands up he turns to look at the house in flames and slowly begins walking towards the sounds of his stepfather crying. He then looks down at the small girl bundled in his arms wrapped in red and dark hair and says " I've never seen Mom so happy except the day you came home so promise me, promise that you'll be safe" he said then smirking "or when do get into trouble you do give me a call, and stay away from your uncle"

On the ground Viralious's stepfather is crying tears of pure anguish and hugging a sobbing blonde girl. He's slowly crying out Viralious's sisters name between the tears.

Breathing in deep, Viralious says in a tone both loud and soft. "Don't worry I got her" while placing his sister down on the ground between the two. His stepfather looks up from his crying fit to see the little girl in red sleeping on the ground. Then he moves quicker than you would think for a man his age picking her up and placing her in a protective hug.

Viralious breathes a sigh of relief when he sees his stepfather notice the small ups and downs of the little girl breathing. He then turns away and begins walking towards his pack. His stepfather then calls out

"Wait Viralious what do you think you are doing, you you… your recklessness nearly killed your sister! Why did you attack-"

"Because I was avenging Mom… Look I get you're pissed because I endangered your daughter and my sister, but I didn't plan for this to happen I only planned to… Kill the bastard that took away my mother and your wife." Viralious said with wavering vigor

"BUT IT HAPPENED AND WE NEARLY LOST R-"

"DON'T YOU THINK I DON'T FUCKING KNOW THAT!" Viralious interrupted! " Look, it's going to be better if I just leave. I don't know if I'll ever make this right again. But Dad, I'm truly sorry about how things turned out." Viralious said with a defeated look on his face as he walked away.

His stepfather screamed for him to get back here and that they weren't over, but he didn't care; he knew he wouldn't follow him; he had two little girls to look after. Walking over to the bag he placed in front of the path he bent down and placed it on his back, dragging his scroll out of it he calls the fire department to report a fire at his house and to send emergency medical just in case.

Viralious then turns to the woods with the worn dirt path towards town…Breathing in, he takes the first step into the unknown.

Viralious reached Vale without a problem, honestly the confusion of the fire allowed for him to slip onto a boat going from the patch without much trouble. Stopping at a coffee shop to get some breakfast with the money he took with him. He decides to look at his options

"Well I can rule out Shade Academy for sure" he says while looking at a newspaper sitting on the table

"Probably should rule out Beacon as well" He said to no one in particular,

It's too close to home or what was home if I'm trying to disappear a boat ride and a half is not nearly far enough away.

Taking a sip of his coffee he slowly looks at his remaining options on his scroll, while ignoring calls from his uncle and stepfather. Wincing slightly as he lets one from his twin sister go to voicemail

Honestly, neither one looks appealing so I could go either way.

Viralious then gets up and begins walking towards the airship station as he might as well make the decision based on price at this point…

It would seem like a great Idea until the ticket to both Mistral and Atlas were only one Lien different. Seriously one Lien that's not even enough to pick up a soda while I wait

With a sigh Viralious decides to make the decision the old same way his mother had decided what to make for dinner most nights, Flip a coin…

Or he would if he had one. After all, Lien was mostly cards or digital nowadays. who carried coins anymore.

Facepalming at his predicament, he then turns to see an older blonde woman in an almost regal appearance. She appears to be holding what looks like a riding crop and talking to a portly gentleman stroking his mustache.

Thinking to himself well it can't be any worse then asking what the riding crop is for

Viralious walks over and calls out to the pair "Excuse me, you wouldn't happen to have a coin I could borrow?"

The blonde turns to him looking somewhat relieved and holds up her hand one moment and begins digging around in her pockets, while the older man turns and says

"Ahh so the younger generation is asking for help from his seniors for something as simple as a coin. I wonder what decisions he will make from it! Why this reminds me of the time when I was riding through a village north of Glenn and had just finished slaying a nasty group of beowolves the Innkeeper decided to give me a pint for my troubles which I used to get the local-" the portly gentleman kept going Viralious just stopped listening as the blonde threw him a small silver coin.

Viralious thanked the blonde and then said "Ok heads Atlas, tails Haven" and threw the coin in the air.

Time seemed to stand still as the coin flew through the air, Viralious's future depended on one simple coin toss and he knew not what to expect.

Slowly the coin began to fall and for a second Viralious could have sworn it glowed pink for a second then it landed heads.

Viralious looked at the coin, then slowly smirked… Atlas huh? Well, it's certainly the last place my uncle would look, it's the exact opposite of Vacuo.

Then a memory from his mother's funeral rang through his head.

General Ironwood shook his hand along with his stepdad and said,

"If there is anything I can do to help you in these dark times please let me know, she was a dear friend."

Flashing back to reality, Viralious realized he had his in! He could use that as a favor to get his transcripts accepted and put in this year!

Bending down, Viralious picks up the coin and thanks the blonde woman as he tosses it back to her before walking towards the ticketing booth and purchasing a ticket to Atlas.

As Viralious walked away the blonde woman smirked and said to her still rambling partner "What's wrong with Beacon?"

One 13 hour airship ride later

Status report: It's fucking cold! Viralious thought as he walked out of the airship, his clothes were not suited for cold weather! Without the heating system or his aura he was sure he would have frozen to death just getting off the ship.

Come on Viralious you're going to be here for the next four years, a little bit of cold isn't going to stop you from becoming a huntsman!

Slowly he began walking towards the shuttles to Atlas academy and waited for a shuttle to arrive.

Stepping on board he was surprised when no one asked him for his scroll for ID purposes, chalking it up to that he looked like a student and no one would be stupid enough to attack a school for huntsmen. he figured it was just paranoia.

Stepping off the shuttle he looks at the sheer size of it, and how it looks like it's glowing even though it's midday… Stepping towards the main hall he begins to walk towards the secretaries office or where he thinks it is until he realizes he has no idea where he's going…

Slightly annoyed at his lack of foresight he begins to look up maps of Atlas academy on his scroll… Only to realize that it was dead from the 13 hour airship ride. Noticing a plug he sighs and takes a seat plugging in his scroll to charge.


Character Change: Viralious - Eckhart Slate

Location Atlas Academy: Ironwoods office


Two figures sit within the General's office neither speaking a word to the other.

On one side is the General of the Atlas Military and Headmaster of the Academy; wearing his simple uniform and reading a report on his desk

Across from him is a young man no older than 17 dressed in a white undershirt covered by a blue officers vest. On his hands are simple black gloves with a small blue glow to the edges signaling woven dust. His pants are similarly drab, being simple gray, seemingly armored at the knees and fitting into a tight pair of blue gray combat boots.

Atop his head his black hair is styled in a simple cut, short to ensure it doesn't get in the way during combat. A gray headset is around both his ears, a stark contrast to his pale skin. His dark green eyes wander down towards his hip as he observes the general shift from the papers to his scroll.

On his hip, sits his weapon, a simple large pistol, adapted to fire 12 shots before reloading. His weapon Impartial Amends is derived from his uncle's, only unlike that one it's not completed yet, hence the meeting between the two now. If he can get the necessary parts to finish it before he starts his schooling.

Ironwood coughs to get his nephew's attention.

"I think that yes I could lend you some spare equipment to make a prototype of the drones you proposed," a small smirk starting to show on Eckhart's face "except I cannot provide you with any further hard-light dust"

The smirk fell. The hard-light dust was the whole reason he put together the meeting, he could get the parts. It was the dust that hung the project up, without it the targeting system would be off!

Faking a smile to hide his annoyance Eckhart looks up at his uncle and says,

"Thank you for your generosity, uncle. I understand the situation." Though you spend the dust on shitty robots "I'll make do with what I have"

Slowly Eckhart begins to get up to leave the office when his uncle calls out

"I understand you're not excited about not getting the Dust but Atlas needs it more right now. Your weapon has served you fine for years and can go a little bit longer without that upgrade. So how about we forget the bureaucracy and get lunch as family" Ironwood says with a smile that shows no warmth.

"Alright Uncle that sounds… Like a waste of time, idiotic, unnecessary… pleasant." Eckhart responds

The two began walking towards the elevator out of the general's office.

Reaching the ground floor the two don't speak, only the sound of their in-sync steps echo throughout the halls. They would have remained in silence if they didn't stumble upon a young man sitting on the ground cursing at his scroll.


Character Change:Eckhart Slate - Viralious

Location Atlas Academy: Entrance hall


How hard was it to find a map of one of the four official Huntsman academies on remnant? It should be easy, one would think…

Except it truly wasn't for some reason Viralious couldn't find a single map or image of the layout.

"You would think they would at least have a map available for download for the new students or some student would have posted it online but no, life's just got to be a bitch" Viralious exclaimed

"Excuse me, The campus is closed. What are you doing here and why are you on the floor?" a stern voice came from his right.

Slightly startled, Viralious jumps up and sees the General and a boy that looks to be his age only with a much blander color palette. Straightening out, he moves his hands to be at his side to show he means no harm.

"Came to talk to General Ironwood and to ask a favour of him. As for sitting on the floor, charging my scroll to find a map of this building as it was dead."

The general raises an eyebrow and looks closer at Viralious then a realization pops over his face. "Wait a minute aren't you su-"

Interrupting the general Viralious says

"At my mother's funeral you said if there was anything you could do to help let you know. Well I'm here to let you know that what you can do to help is accept my transcripts and enroll me in Atlas Academy as a student."

Ironwood stood their blinking at Viralious before clearing his throat and speaking

"I think it would be best to discuss this in my office. Eckhart. Do you mind if we postpone lunch a little bit?"

Eckhart looks at Viralious then glances at the weapon on his hips and gives a smirk…

"Yes Uncle how about I sort through some designs while you talk"

With that the three walked towards Ironwoods office

"Please just call me Viralious, General" Viralious says after the General addressed him

"And why would that be Mr. R-"

"I'm not going to use my mothers name until her murderer is put in the ground" Viralious interupts.

Ironwood looks at Viralious then to his desk before continuing

"You have lofty goals then as I don't think you would be able to kill all of the Grimm although you could certainly try"

"Don't bullshit with me, General. I know you also saw the real cause of death, A gunshot through the heart not a Grimm." Viralious retorts with slight venom in his voice.

Ironwood just stared blankly at viralious seemingly surprised someone would challenge him. Meanwhile, Eckhart watched from the side of the room a small smirk could almost be seen on his face.

Recomposing himself, Ironwood began to speak in a more commanding tone.

"Ok Mr. R- Viralious. If a bullet is what killed your mother then who fired it?"

Viralious' stare bore straight through Ironwood as he spoke with the most calm tone he could manage,

"Simply the only other person in the forest at the time besides me and her, my uncle."

Ironwood's eyes went wider with shock and surprise losing his composure he begins

"I have known your uncle for a long time, Viralious and I doubt he would have…"

Stopping mid-sentence, Ironwood ponders the notion and sees the line of thinking and the intensity in Viralious' eyes. Clearing his throat.

"I'll look into it myself and decide what's true. Now onto the matter of your acceptance into Atlas Academy. I'm sorry to inform you that there is just not enough time. The semester begins in 3 days and I can't get your transcript together in time. Best I could do is get you on an airship to Vacuo so you could go to Shade like you originally were going to."

Viralious looked at Ironwood in pure confusion then slowly rage began to bubble up inside him then shimmer down in sadness.

Turning preparing to leave the office Viralious meekly speaks,

"I und-"

"Have him go through the aptitude test, if he has the skills he says he has then he should pass no problem. You could then cross check with his transcripts when they get here. I mean he flew all the way here from Vale just to come to Atlas, we should at least acknowledge his determination." Eckhart says from the corner of the room.

Ironwood and Viralious both looked at Eckhart as if he had three heads. Then slowly Ironwood turned to Viralious and said something Viralious wasn't expecting

"Alright fine Eckhart, tomorrow we'll have him go through a modified aptitude test. For now he can stay in the guest building. Please show him to his room and Viralious. Go to the workshop and fix your weapon. I can see the broken pieces from here."

Eckhart raised an eyebrow at this comment then looked at Viralious and smiled.

"But what about lunch, Uncle?"

Ironwood simply responds with

"That was before I had to get an aptitude test put together, one you suggested, Eckhart. We can take a raincheck for today and go tomorrow if you wish"

Eckhart simply nodded and beckoned Viralious to follow.

The two made their way to the Guest Dormitories where Viralious' scroll was temporarily added to open one one the single rooms.

As Viralious threw his back onto the bed, Eckhart spoke,

"You should hit the forge, that weapon seems like it was chewed through by a Sabyr. I can lend you some parts if you need"

Viralious looked at the boy with increasing suspicion,

"What are you planning? We've only just met."

Eckhart simply scoffed and began to walk off as he answered,

"I simply want to see where this goes, it's been a long while since someone had a backbone to stand up against my Uncle. So the workshop is on the third floor past the dust shop, there should be some spare parts in there. I'll probably see you there."

And with that Eckhart walked off, leaving Viralious to stare in confusion at what was this boy's plan and how did he fit into it.

A/N

A little bit of fanservice from everyone's favorite Beacon teachers were placed there for fan service so don't expect them to play into the story.

As for the Atlas part of the chapter, small bits of foreshadowing and introducing the second member of Team VIEW properly in the Story: Eckhart Slate. The straight man of the group, his design is meant to invoke a mini-Ironwood but his personality is that of a typical Atlassian.

Not much to say right now, but that's ok the Authors notes will get longer as the story goes on and I explain my thought process. Until next time though

-Xcom Out