Chapter 7, Like Father, Like Son Part II
The council meeting continued to infuriate Kallius long after he left the palace, just as it usually did whenever he was required to attend them. He stood pondering in the back of the Gunship as his gaze peered out over the Kingdom of Beacon. The Council's unanimous rejection of his plans to breach the Fortress of Valyndor infiltrated him, especially with all the advances the Grimm have made these past few days. The Kingdoms all seemed too preoccupied with defending themselves instead of each other.
Just as Akara had asked of them long ago.
Kallius sighed, narrowing his head. His thoughts turned to his predecessor and close friend.
"We could sure use you here, Lukas. Everything seems to be falling apart," Kallius said.
"I give them a chance at hope, but they still refuse to think beyond their borders."
In these desperate times, the Alliance seemed to be falling apart the longer this war went on. Most notably, King Jauque and the Kingdom of Atlas's continuous intolerance contributed to the Alliance. However, Jauque was solely to blame, not all of Atlas. General Ironwood and his loyal first lieutenant shared Kallius's anger at the King's disdain toward the other Kingdoms.
In the past, Atlas contributed to the Alliance more than any other Kingdom, even more so than Ataria. Only for King Jauque to force General Ironwood to focus on their borders to better protect the people of Atlas. He knew it wasn't the people King Jauque was concerned about. He could hardly care less for his people. Atlas could burn to the very ground, and he could care less as long as he was still King and had all the riches of Atlas. Nothing else mattered to him more.
Not even his children.
"We can't seem to get them to listen to reason. But I guess not even you could," Kallius continued with a slight chuckle.
"Royals seem not to care about anything unless it's for their benefit. Honestly, I don't see how some of them could be worthy of these powers they were given."
One of the pilots called from the cockpit.
"General, you might want to come see this." They said.
Kallius sauntered to the Gunship's cockpit. He saw a large white Atlas battle cruiser hovering high above Fort Baston.
"Atlas ship?" The General asked.
Upon further inspection of the ship, he noticed what appeared to be a white dragon painted over its hall—the very crest of the royal family of the Kingdom of Atlas. Only one ship of the Atlas fleet, in particular, bore that symbol, and it could only be under the command of General Ironwood's First Lieutenant.
The Gunship descended over the landing Platform below. Two women of a similar age approached the craft and stood in formation before the opening side of the Gunship. One was a tall, darker-skinned woman with short black hair, brown eyes, and black hair tied in a bun behind her head. She wore yellow armor over top of the standard beacon uniform. The other was a tall, fair-skinned young woman with white hair tied in a bun on the left side of her head and stale blue eyes, wearing the standard Atlas Uniform.
Kallias stepped down from the opening and approached them.
"Luatenant Winter, this is an unexpected pleasure," Kallius greeted with a nod.
"Pardon my sudden appearance, General Kallius; I came to inspect my sister's training." Winter insisted.
"Well, I can assure you, Winter, her training is proceeding at the standard capacity. As is all our candidates," Kallius insisted.
Winter gave a simple nod.
"I expect nothing less from Beacon's top elite." Winter proclaimed.
Kallius turned to his first Luatenant.
"Speaking of our candidates, Kasha, how is today's training sequence going?" he asked.
"If by candidates, you mean the kids, you are just in time. They are over at the Dome now," Kasha insisted.
"They are about to begin their team training."
"Capture the flag. It would be good to see how their training has been going," Kallius said.
"I concur. It would be informative to see how well my sister has been proceeding in her training," Winter proclaimed.
The three turned and made their way to the Bases Training Dome. Kasha came up next to Kallius, throwing a glance up at him. He, in turn, glanced back down at her and was met with her inquisitive glance—one that Kallius was all too used to seeing. If there was anything Kasha excelled at, it was getting information out of people somehow. She certainly had her ways with him, often making them feel like a married couple.
"Well... how did it go? Have they accepted the plans for Valynder?" Kasha asked curiously.
Kallius narrowed her eyes. He was hardly surprised by the question. He knew she would want to know how the council meeting had gone and whether the royals had accepted their plans to attack Valynder.
"I'm afraid the Council has refused our plans. They will not be providing aid to the assault." Kallius proclaimed.
Kasha sighed.
"Why am I not surprised?" She said shaking her head.
"They are too concerned that it would leave her borders open for attack by the Grimm," Kallius said.
"Some more than others, that is..."
"Let me guess... Jauque?" Kasha asked curiously.
The mention of her father caused Winter to shift her glance back at them. Seeing Kallius nod his head, she all but wished she could be surprised. Like them, she was not surprised by her father's actions. She and the rest of the Atlas Military were undoubtedly well aware of their King's true intentions. Being more preoccupied, their kingdom prospered above all the others. Like Kallius, she did not condone his actions.
Nor did General Ironwood.
"What do they expect us to do? We cannot stay on the defensive for this entire war." Kasha insisted.
"I agree. But none of the other Kingdoms are willing to do otherwise," Kallius proclaimed to him.
"Not with what is at stake."
Fort Baston training dome.
"Training segment: Capture the Flag now in session." The voice said over the intercom.
Jaune and his teammates stood at the center of the Dome, which was taking shape around them for the training segment. Several feet from where they stood, they saw four distinct platforms rising from the floor, each reaching higher than the last. A blue flag spawned over the top of the final platform—the very one that they were to claim in this training session. It seemed easy enough of an objective, but it would be easier said than done.
Jaune breathed, drawing his sword from his side as his shield took form over his left arm, readying himself for what was to come. From his left, his teammates already have their weapons in their hands. However, some of them appeared to have the same mindset as he had. While Ren seemed focused like he always did during their training, two of their teammates seemed not to be taking it seriously.
Most notably, Nora Valkyrie.
Nora's attention was directed at Ren. She looked at him with a grin, leaning over her large hammer.
"Hey, Ren. You are looking really good today," she said, blushing.
Nora was sixteen years old, fair-skinned, with orange short hair and aqua eyes. She wore a collared black sleeveless vest with a sleeveless white shirt underneath, a small heart-shaped above her breast line, a white detached sleeve, and pink gloves and sported a pink skit.
Ren hardly even noticed, continuing to peer forward at the platforms overhead. His gaze was mainly directed at their objective: the flag itself.
"Nora... stay focused here!" Jaune advised her.
"Hey... I'm focused." Nora insisted.
However, she wasn't the only one who was distracted. Off to his right, both Rwby Rose and Weiss Schnee. Weiss seemed focused on their training like Ren and Jaune were, holding her weapon, Mytenaster, in a defensive stance. Weiss was the sorceress of their team, having been born with pure magic. She worked the hardest out of everyone else, determined to prove herself. Most notably to Kallius and the other
She was the same age as Jaune, Ren, and Nora, with long white hair tied into a ponytail over the right side of her head, light blue eyes, and a white combat skirt and coat with a red line underneath. The weapon she held resembled both a sword and a magic wand.
She peered ahead momentarily, only to be startled by her teammate next to her.
"Ready, Bestie?!" Ruby exclaimed.
Weiss let out a sudden, startled gasp. Only to scoff, rolling her eyes in irritant as she glanced at Ruby.
"Yes, Ruby..." she said, hardly hiding the irritancy in her voice.
Ruby nodded her head, too caught up in her excitement to even notice the tone of her voice. Unlike her teammates, Rwby was a year younger than the others. She had short black hair with red tips and wore a black combat skirt with her weapon over her back.
Being the youngest of their team, at only fifteen years old, Ruby had been recruited right out of combat school. She hadn't even passed the second term before being recruited by Kallius himself, who believed she was a promising candidate despite her age. What he saw in her was quite the mystery, most notably Weiss, who was often annoyed by Ruby's antics. She believed she was too young to be a candidate, and it often infuriated her how Ruby never took it seriously, seeing it as just fun and games. She was like the little sister that she never wanted.
"Alright, let's do this!" She exclaimed, drawing her Cresent rose from behind.
Crescent Rose transformed from its storage mode into a large scythe. She twirled around before coming to hold it behind her back.
"Match begins in... 10... 9..."
Jaune turned forward, holding Crocea More at the ready, her shield before him. The others all stood at the ready for the match.
Flint and Messua were watching from the Dome's control room. Flint crossed his arms over his chest, brooding as he always did.
"What do you think their chances will be this time?" He asked, glancing at Messua.
She shook her head to him.
"I'm not sure. I hope they can keep themselves together this time," Messua insisted.
"You can say that again." Flint insisted.
The door to the control room slid open behind them. They looked back and saw Kallius, Winter, and Asha standing on the other side. The two quickly stood at attention.
"General." Messua said.
"At ease," Kallius said with a nod of his head.
Kallius walked into the control room with both Winter and Kasha at his side. They stood before the viewport, staring down at his five candidates. Down below, his students stood at the ready as the announcer continued to count down.
"We're in luck. Their training is about to begin," Kallius insisted as he glanced at Winter.
"How fortunate. This shall prove most informative." Winter said.
"3... 2... 1... BEGIN!"
Jaune and the others suddenly lunged forward. Like an army of Knights, they charged toward the towering platforms as if it were a castle they sought to conquer.
However, no castle was without its walls. Nor armies to defend it.
Several light blue holographic reflections of Grimm spawn upon the scene. The Grimm raised their blasters at the five teens and fired light blue laser beams at them. Jaune reacted quickly, raising his shield as he blocked one of the plasma bolts.
"Quick, Ren, I..." Jaune said, glancing back to see they weren't there.
"Ren...?"
Once more, the team broke formation after being met with their artificial opposition.
Both Ren and Nore quickly ran toward one of the nearby barriers. Ren fired his duel pistols back at the holograms, laying down cover fire for them. Nora narrowed down behind the barrier as her hammer became its grenade launcher. She then peered over the barrier and proceeded to fire several grenades into the air. The grenades all came down over the holograms with a massive explosion, causing many to disburse. Those remaining continued to push forward toward them, firing their blasters.
"Weiss..." Jaune asked as he turned to his left.
Meanwhile, Weiss proceeded to cast several combative spells against the holographic Grim. Waving Mytenaster like a wizard's wand, she chanted one of her spells.
"Iccera Winthar!" She announced as she raised Mytenaster into the air before pointing it forward.
A beam of ice magic shot from the very tip of Mytenaster at the holograms, suddenly disbursing with several icy spikes in their lace. She then attempted to cast another spell upon some of the others, only for something to suddenly zip past her with great speed and a massive gust of wind that swept past her, nearly causing her to lose her balance.
"I got you back, Bestie!" Rwby exclaimed.
"Hey!" Weiss exclaimed.
With a swing of her scythe, she slashed through several holograms in her wake like a field of long grass. The holograms all suddenly disbursed as she came to land only a few feet from where they once stood. Glancing back at Weiss, she smiled and gave her a grin and a thumbs up, only for Weiss to roll her eyes at her. However, the moment was not to last as more Grimm holograms appeared and opened fire upon them.
Jaune sighed, shaking his head. He then shifted his gaze toward the platforms, mainly at the tallest one that bore the very flag over its top. He knew he couldn't rely on the others at this point. There wasn't enough time; he had to get the flag and do it fast.
He glanced at the advancing Grimm, who continued pelting him with blaster fire. He raised his shield, blocking the blue plasma bolts. He then pushed forward toward the holographic Grimm. Raising his sword, he delivered a clean slash at the hologram with Crocea More, causing them to disburse. He then swung his sword around All the while, he tried to block any incoming fire from the others with his shield.
"You got to be kidding me," Flint growled.
Kallius watched on with a disappointed scowl at the display he witnessed. He uttered a sigh, shaking his head. Once more, his chosen candidates refused to act as a team, as was the point of this training session. Instead, they were disorganized and acting independently. They didn't even provide each other with covering fire. Hardly the progress he had expected nor what he promised Winter.
He glanced at Winter, who was standing off to his right. Her disapproving scowl met him there.
"I was under the impression they were making progress in their training, Kallius," Winter said as she turned to him.
Kallius turned forward as he peered down into the Dome. He, too, was disappointed at the progress of his chosen candidates. However, he was more so disappointed by one in particular. That Being...
Jaune.
While he seemed to be the only one focused on their objective, he, like the others, neglected the rest of the team and was going after the flag on his own. It was a reckless decision on his part, especially from the Team Leader.
Jaune swung Crocea more as he cut down each hologram, pushing through toward the platforms. He charged at the hologram and proceeded to fire its blaster at him. Jaune raised his shield and blocked their shots before delivering a clean sword slash. The blade of Crocea More cleaved through the hologram, which disbursed with a flash of blue light, clearing the way to the platforms.
Jaune ceased his chance and raced toward the platforms. Suddenly, from behind the barrier, Nora appeared with her grenade laundry in hand.
"Fire in the HOLE!" She exclaimed.
Nora proceeded to fire a single grenade toward the platform. Just as Jaune was only several feet from the first platform, one of Nora's grenades came before him. Jaune acted quickly, raising his shield before the grenade went off. The impact of the blast sent him falling back over the ground.
Nora gasped.
"Jaune!" She exclaimed.
"Nora, look out!" Ren called.
Ren rushed back to her and shoved out of the way before being struck by a laser bolt. Ren tumbled to the ground, receiving a massive jolt from the laser bolt, but it was not lethal.
"Ren!" She exclaimed, rushing over to him.
All the while, Weiss and Rwby were becoming overwhelmed by the Grimm holograms. Ruby leaped about, twirling Cresent rose as she tried to block their shots. It then transformed into its riffle mode, where she fired several shots. She suddenly heard Weiss behind her, waving Mytenaster about as she tried casting her spells at them.
"Hang on, Weiss, I'm coming!" Ruby exclaimed.
She then turned and rushed into the air, firing her rifle at some of the Grimm surrounding Weiss. Just as Weiss was about to cast a fire spell, several of Ruby's shots zipped past her, startling her and nearly causing her to lose her balance. The Fire spell shot off in the opposite direction, and Weiss turned back to her in frustration.
"Ruby!" She exclaimed.
Weiss was suddenly shot by a stun blast from one of the holograms, which sent her to the floor.
"Weiss!" Ruby exclaimed.
Though in an attempt to rush to her, Ruby was also shot by one of the holograms.
Kallius had seen well enough of the match. He turned back to the officer behind the controls of the dome.
"Call off the Match... Now!" Kallius ordered them.
Kallius stormed out of the control room as the Dome alarms went off. Winter and Kasha quickly accompanied the General, leaving Flint and Messua to watch on as they left.
"Oh, boy, this isn't going to be good," Flint said.
The Dome alarms wailed high above. The Grimm holograms suddenly paused as if time had frozen, followed by the announcer over the intercom.
"Training Simulation Terminated!" The AI announcer said above.
The Holograms suddenly disbursed in a bright white flash of light, disappearing without a trace. The stadium, in turn, reverted to its former status. Jaune narrowed his head as he uttered a sigh of contempt. He knew they had failed the simulation and had already failed long before they had begun.
"Damn it!" He whispered to himself.
He got back off the floor, turning back to look at his teammates—the plasma blasts' side effects had worn off. Nora helped Ren regain his feet while Weiss and Ruby leaned off the stadium floor. At that moment, the main doors to the dome slid open, and Kallius stood on the other side with a stern expression. One that gave Jaune and his teammates a clear message of his displeasure with their training session.
Immediately, the five stood in a line before the Beacon General, who sauntered inside the dome. Kasha and Winter followed suit as they stood off to each side of him. The sight of her older sister and the mere thought of her seeing how badly their training had gone caused Weiss to tense up. She glanced to the side as she was met with her sister's stern expression.
Kallius stepped forward toward his five candidates.
"I cannot express how disappointing you all have performed. You have completely missed the point of this training," The General told them as he walked along the line they formed.
"You were all supposed to act as a team but were completely disorganized. And what's worse, you all acted alone. A Team that does not act as one has no hope on the battlefield."
Kallius came to stand before Jaune, directing his stern glance to the Team Leader. Jaune narrowed his glance. He knew Kallius blamed him personally for their failure as a team. He was the Team Leader, after all. A team of Knights is only as good as the one who leads them into battle. Though he was the only one on the Team without a semblance, that meant very little.
Kallius glanced over at Ruby, standing at the end of the line.
"Miss Rose, your actions today were reckless and endangered your teammate. If this wasn't a simulation, that could have cost them their life," Kallius proclaimed to her.
Ruby bowed her head in shame, shifting her glance to the side.
"See now?!" Weiss said.
"I wouldn't be so condescending, Miss Schnee. You're to blame for this as everyone else," Kallius proclaimed to her.
Weiss was appalled.
"What... but... I," Weiss said.
"You neglected your teammates. A true team member works with their fellow Knights," Kallius insisted.
"They do not leave them behind in the face of adversity."
Kallius shifted his glance toward both Ren and Nora.
"And that goes for the two of you as well." He insisted.
Nora glanced away as she rubbed her forearm, knowing precisely what he meant. All the while, Ren stood upright like a Beacon Trooper, showing little emotion despite being ashamed of his actions. Kallius turned forward.
"You all have a long way to go before being considered a team. I can only hope this match will prove to be something to learn from," Kallius insisted to them.
Kallius turned back to Jaune.
"Arc!" He said.
Jaune turned back to Kallius.
"Yes, sir?" he asked.
"I expect you in my office at O'800!" The General proclaimed.
Jaune nodded his head to her.
"Yes, General." He said.
"You're all dismissed!"Kallius proclaimed.
With that, Kallius left for the central doorway of the Domes, leaving his students with his words to ponder. Winter gave her sister a disappointed scowl before turning and following Kallius, much to the dismay of Weiss. Kasha was the last to follow as she looked back at the five. Instead of a disappointed scowl, she gave a more sympathetic look to the five teens. Especially Jaune, who knew Kallius was harder on him than the others.
She sighed before turning and walking back toward the doorway of the Dome.