I realized I never specified that due to the EM stuff in the SF games, Geo essentially has "Aura". It functions closer to his HP when Wave Changed than anything, but I digress. I apologize for that mishap.
I basically wrote myself into a corner, so there's no way I can explain it now time-line wise unless I create a really out-of-place flashback before this fight.
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"Begin!"
The two teens dashed towards each other. Kobalt quickly fired a few shots inaccurately, hoping for Geo to chicken out and give the blue haired teen the advantage. Geo flinched, but kept his pace. Sliding a Sword Battle Card into his gauntlet, the two boys' blades clashed, sending a ring through the room. From the seats, Neon whistled, excited to finally see her teammate's fancy weapon.
Kobalt threw his weight behind his dagger and brought his SMG up to fire. A burst rang out, Geo rolling to the side to avoid tanking a full magazine of Dust and lead. The brown haired boy ran parallel to Kobalt, taking a few rounds to his Aura. Once the SMG's mag ran dry, Geo's gauntlet shifted as he slid in a Gatling Gun card. His opponent's eyes went wide, the boy now scrambling to reload his weapon.
Geo led his shot at his now moving target, letting a quick burst of bullets fly out of his arm cannon. The other boy dove, throwing his dagger at the brown haired teen. Side-stepping, he failed to notice the thin cable running from Kobalt to the weapon, or the feral grin on his face.
Within a moment Kobalt was upon Geo, slashing and stabbing in quick succession, forcing the brunette closer and closer to ring out. Kobalt swung his dagger downwards and Geo intercepted it with his gauntlet, redirecting it off to the side. Sensing his moment to escape a loss via ring-out, he elbowed Kobalt in the chest, sending him back. He tossed a Mini Grenade, courtesy of the Battle Card, at his foe's feet, launching the boy a little further and forcing his Aura to flare against the damage.
Geo glanced at the display above the ring, seeing that he was at 60%, while his opponent had just dropped to 45%.
The ornate dagger flew through the kicked up dirt and dust, whizzing by Geo's ear, quickly followed up by the blade's owner. A fist made direct contact with the spiky haired boy's gut, causing Geo to fold over for a moment. Through his coughs, he activated a Windy Attack card, blowing the dust, and his opponent, away in a burst of wind.
Kobalt was knocked through the air, leaving him vulnerable to a final attack from Geo. The gauntlet, now in buster form, shone brightly. A large condensed ball of energy formed in the barrel before being fired at Kobalt.
"Winner by Aura depletion - Geo Stelar!" Winter called out. The teen wiped his brow of sweat and exhaled sharply. He walked over and offered his hand to help the other student up, who gladly took it.
"Nice weapon you got there," Kobalt managed out, voice a little scratchy. As he stood up, with the help of Geo, Winter cleared her throat and began her dissection of the fight.
"Stelar, your quick thinking saved you from a ring-out, and the explosion you caused to create a smoke was a smart idea," she complimented. Geo smiled at the praise. "However, you did not capitalize on the sudden advantage you had , leaving you open to the counterattack you received." His smile faded, replaced with a determined look. Winter shifted her attention to the other boy.
"Bleu, putting pressure on your opponent with overwhelming attacks is admirable. That being said, you lacked usage of your ranged options. You fight as if your SMG is a secondary option, rather than a weapon to use in tandem with your dagger." Kobalt nodded at the critique, willing to improve where he could.
Winter dismissed the teens before calling the next duo to fight.
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The cafeteria was the place that felt the most alive, in Geo's opinion. While he made his choice to study here because of the tech, he hoped it wouldn't feel so cold between classes.
So, the cafeteria was where his team would meet to unwind until evening.
"Your weapon is quite powerful," Ciel noted as she and Geo waited while the other three members found a table to sit at. Their food was being prepared by one of the many high end chefs Atlas had hired. "I recall you stating it is related to Mega, but I have to wonder how it functions. I noticed the cards you were installing into it before each attack."
Geo nodded in understanding before explaining, "It functions off EM tech, and the cards contain data that the gauntlet reads to change form." Ciel hummed at that.
"It does seem like a bit of an oversight that you must input the cards manually every time you wish to switch tactics, though it isn't too dissimilar to mechashift," the blue eyed girl replied. "We may need to fight as a team to see where we all fall behind and try to rectify any gaps- ah, our food is ready." Ciel and Geo grabbed their plates and made their way over to the rest of Team Snowpierce.
Lunch was a chatty time for the team, what with Neon and Flynt's constant bickering, the occasional sarcasm from Ciel and Geo, and Penny's… Penny-ness? That seemed like the only descriptor that felt right, Geo thought. Eventually, the conversation topic wound up on the fight from earlier. Neon had asked the same question as Ciel, with Flynt and Penny giving him very curious looks, clearly wanting to know as well.
Sighing, the boy re-explained how his gauntlet worked. Penny pointed out the same flaw as Ciel, but added that her father may be able to assist in any modifications, should he desire them.
"I might take you up on that, considering I still gotta meet him to talk about EM tech anyway," Geo conceded. "Also, Ciel had the idea of doing some group spars to see how we would work together and improve individually," he said, earning noises of agreement from his team. "If we have time tonight, I'd like to try out the training rooms we saw earlier today." Geo stretched with a yawn. "That is, if I'm not feeling exhausted from fighting earlier."
"If that's enough to take you out of commission for an entire day, we might have to push you even harder tonight," Flynt joked before stabbing his steak and cutting another piece.
The team fell back into inane chatter as they ate. Once they finished, they started heading to their next class. History and Tactics, Geo recalled as they walked. Sounds straightforward enough.
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The class, as he soon found out, was not straightforward. In his defense, he wasn't from Remnant, so half the history he found himself listening to that seemed like stuff he should've known, he just didn't. The very short talk about tactics was interesting, however, and Geo found himself very focused on the battle plans of past battles during the Great War.
The plans that were devised and carried out felt archaic, but the general knowledge and logic still felt applicable, even if combat had evolved since then. Neon didn't seem to think so, choosing to doodle in her notebook instead, with Flynt occasionally elbowing her so she'd pay attention.
The class ended soon after the tactics segment, leaving Geo and his team with little else to do for the rest of the day.
"It is only 3 in the afternoon, so we have plenty of time to ourselves," Flynt stated as they walked out of class.
"Oh, I know! We could go visit Penny's dad!" the cat faunus of the group exclaimed, earning a few looks for her volume. Not that she cared, really. Ciel sent a worried glance towards Penny, but the redhead had the biggest smile on her face.
"It would be sensational if you all could meet Father! I would love to introduce all my friends to him!" she beamed.
At least we'll have a fun afternoon, Geo thought.
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The trip to Penny's father's lab wasn't as long as Geo and company expected, with it being close-by to the academy. The lab itself was gray and white, the usual Atlas colors, and spacious.
"Oho! Hello! Penny mentioned she was bringing friends. I hadn't realized she had made so many already!" a larger gentleman in a four-legged walker-chair greeted them. "Ah, where are my manners! I am Pietro Polendina, it is splendid to meet you all," Penny's father introduced himself to the group, who each shook his hand with their own introductions. Upon Geo's turn, Pietro had an excited smile. "I heard about your situation from the General. I would love to meet Omega-Xis, if possible!"
Not wanting to disappoint the man who was possibly the only one who could help him with EM tech, he nodded and asked Mega to come out.
Geo had also forgotten to mention to his team that his 'AI partner' could manifest in reality, so when the AM-ian appeared, Neon dramatically fainted into Flynt's arms. The trumpeter wasn't much better, his jaw on the floor. Ciel sighed, rubbing her temples, refusing to comment on the situation.
Penny and Pietro, on the other hand, were on top of Mega in an instant.
"Amazing! I've never seen such a being, nor even imagined one could exist!"
"Oh, Father, this is simply sensational! I cannot wait to see what you are capable of, Mega!"
The alien, never one for being crowded around, backed up a little bit. "Hey, now, take it easy. I haven't been out in a while. Take a step back and then we can talk, alright?" his gruff voice rang out. The father-daughter duo, realizing their mistake, gave Mega some room. He grunted his thanks.
Geo stepped next to his partner. "He's always had a short temper, so don't take it personally," he said with a nervous laugh. Pietro gave him an understanding look before turning to the rest of Geo's team.
"Penny, how about you show your friends the rest of this lab? Geo and I have a bit to discuss." The redhead looked ready to protest, but Pietro lifted his hand to stop her. "I'll fill you in on the details after, okay?"
"Of course, Father," Penny said, leading Ciel, Neon, and Flynt out of the room. Once they exited, Pietro refocused on Mega, grabbing a monitor to scan the alien. His eyes widened and he scrambled for a notepad. "You're entirely made of EM waves!" he exclaimed, ignoring Mega's indignant 'No, really?'. Pietro pulled out every single scanner he had to try to understand Mega's make up.
"This is truly remarkable," the older man said. "We'd have to revisit this another day once I have the proper equipment."
"As long as you can help us with possibly getting home."
"I may be able to help dial in on the EM wave disturbance that caused you to be here, yes," Pietro said. "I'll talk to Ironwood about that. In the meantime," he looked towards Geo. "Penny mentioned the gauntlet and if I could improve it somehow." Geo nodded, expanding the weapon from its bracelet form.
Pietro took a look over it and asked if Geo could take it off.
"I actually don't know. Let's see if I can…" he trailed off, shifting the gauntlet back to the compact form and sliding it over and off his wrist. "That answers that, I guess."
Handing the bracelet over to Pietro, Geo watched as the man inspected it. "I see the slot for the cards that you use," he mulled over that for a moment. "Do the cards contain data themselves, or do they just act as instructions for the gauntlet?"
"The kid's cards run off EM wave data directly on them," Mega answered for Geo.
Pietro hummed in thought before voicing the same flaw that Ciel observed earlier. "It might be possible for this to be modified with an internal memory that we could upload the cards into." Geo nodded at the idea. Pietro continued, "It could also be possible to utilize some of the prosthetics technology to allow you to switch weapons on-the-fly with a thought," the man motioned to his walker. "Similar to how this operates."
Geo considered the modifications. He had never really thought of adding a way of removing the physical cards from the equation, so used to just manually equipping them every time he was in combat. If this can be done, I wonder what other modifications we can make, he thought to himself. Deciding that it couldn't hurt to add more versatility to his trusty weapon, he agreed to the proposed changes.
"Splendid. If you leave it here overnight, I will hopefully have a functioning prototype- if not the completed weapon- by tomorrow evening," the inventor said. Geo must have had a worried look on his face, as Mega shook his head and spoke up.
"Kid, if you're really worried about leaving the gauntlet here, I'll stick around to make sure no funny business occurs-"
"I can guarantee that."
"-So let's just give it a shot," the AM-ian suggested, easing Geo's worries to a degree.
"Alright. Can we exchange numbers while we're here, just in case something happens or if I happen to have any more ideas for modifications?"
"Of course, my boy."
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The second evening Team Snowpierce spent together in their dorm was peaceful-
"We have to elect a team leader," Ciel stated plainly.
Well, except for that.
Atlas had decided it was up to each team to pick a leader, and had waited until after the first day to do so. Thankfully, it wasn't a stressful decision for the team, but it did leave them with a tough choice between two very (un)lucky individuals.
Geo and Ciel were the only two on the team that hadn't flat out refused it (like Neon and Flynt), or had made some excuse (like Penny). Geo sighed, while Ciel pinched the bridge of her nose. Neither truly wanted the role of leader, but neither could say it didn't intrigue them.
Thankfully, the message that had been sent to their Scrolls had a piece of fine print saying that the leader could be changed at any given time after two weeks. The dark skinned girl had volunteered Geo as the first leader, saying "I have been in the military life since I was born, however I'm more of a follower than a leader. I'm sure you have what it takes, and should you feel the need, I can step up."
Geo couldn't change her mind if he tried. With a deep sigh, he responded to the message.
He was now leader of Team Snowpierce. Sure as hell don't feel like it, though.
Within a minute, he received an automated reply with an updated course schedule. It added an 8 AM slot for Leadership 101. Geo wasn't sure what exactly that would entail, or how they would be taught leadership, believing it was something some people were born with. At least it was an early class and something he'd already be awake and alert for.
Placing his Scroll on his nightstand next to his pod, he turned back to his team. He was feeling a bit petty, and what better way to get back at his team for volunteering him as tribute than a new daily team activity.
"As soon as I get my gauntlet- and Mega- back from Pietro, we will be running combat tests every night," Neon and Flynt flinched at that idea (Ha! Flynt-ched!). Penny looked completely unbothered, once again claiming she is combat ready, while Ciel gave him a salute. "I may even ask some upperclassmen of ours for some spars to really whip us into shape," Geo's grin was feral.
Team Snowpierce was going to be forged in fire. And their smith was Geo Stelar.
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The command room above Atlas academy served a multitude of purposes. This time, serving as a room for a quiet and intense match of chess between the General and his right-hand woman. The silence was only broken with a single "Check" from Winter.
Ironwood hummed, forced to move his king out of harm's way. "I truly believed Ms. Soleil would have taken charge of our pet project team," he said, watching Winter take his remaining knight off the board.
"Given her background, it would have made sense," the Specialist replied. "Though, I cannot say I am not intrigued by the opportunity to mold a leader out of the enigma that is Mr. Stelar," she paused as Ironwood advanced a pawn.
"It will be interesting to see how he develops," Ironwood brought his hand to his chin to think. "I did hear from Pietro today, he mentioned helping Mr. Stelar to improve his weapon."
"That man truly can't help himself when it comes to technology that he did not create," Winter huffed, noticing her imminent loss. "I forfeit this round. What does that make the score?"
Ironwood checked the tally he had been keeping on a spare piece of paper. "Just tonight? I am at 17, while you're at an admirable…" he pulled out a pair of (unnecessary) reading glasses, earning a glare and a roll of the eyes from Winter. "2. An admirable 2."
"You're lucky you are my commanding officer, sir," Winter said flatly, rearranging her side of the board before taking a sip of tea from her mug.
"And you're lucky I let you get away with the snide comments you give me, Specialist," the thinly veiled threat proving itself banter as the two chuckled.
The two continued with their rounds of chess, with Winter losing much more than she won. "I wonder, what sort of topics will you be covering tomorrow?" she asked the General. He paused for a moment to think.
"The standard. I'm not sure why you ask such a thing, it's the same every year," he said, distracted slightly from the out-of-place question. He missed Winter putting his king into checkmate.
The command room now served as a soundproof frustration room.
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After his and Ciel's morning run (and his necessary shower), Geo made his way to the room of his new class. Inside, he found General Ironwood along with some other students. Some of them looked miserable, while others were confident and eager.
Geo took a seat next to Kobalt, the blue haired boy nodding his greeting. Once the rest of the students arrived, the General began the class. After a quick moment to teach them all how to salute and address authority properly, the true lesson began.
Ironwood paced slowly at the front of the class as he spoke, "Leadership is not solely about having your subordinates follow your every order. Leadership is about delegation; it is about planning ahead and adapting when those plans fall through." He stopped in the middle of the room. "None of you are leaders just yet, and I want you all to remember that. Should any of you show signs of ego, I will personally make sure that it is quelled."
"That being said, I mentioned delegation. Your first assignment from me is to assign at least one student from your team as a medic. Those who you assign as such will have extra courses to help them learn to fill their role, similar to these sessions."
"Lastly, there will be a list of courses that you may assign to your team members should you feel it beneficial. This list will be sent to your Scrolls. I trust you will use these to improve your team."
The rest of the class was spent learning how to file paperwork properly. As the General said, "The difference between a successful mission with a prepared team, and an unsuccessful mission is how paperwork is handled. It never hurts to request more supplies prior to a mission if you are worried it may go on longer, or have worse conditions, than you originally expected."
Geo sighed as he finished with his practice work. He wasn't feeling too warm on the idea of being a leader, but he wasn't going to be a quitter when it came to it.
Wouldn't be the first time I've had to keep going to not let someone else down.
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Time flew by, with lunchtime coming around sooner than Geo had thought. His team, all with their trays of food, sat together at one of the many round tables in the cafeteria. He discussed the need of a medic, and almost immediately Penny volunteered.
"It would make the most sense that I would be the medic," she said. "I have vast knowledge of human anatomy and physiology." No one argued against it.
"That settles that," Geo shrugged slightly, taking another bite of his meal. Swallowing, he continued, "I also have a list of courses I can assign to you all. I'd rather not have to force you to do things, so I'd like to show you all so we can plan who would be best for what," the leader of Snowpierce pulled out his Scroll with the details. He turned to Ciel as he read off one of the courses, "No offense, Ciel, but I think Interrogation & Information Gathering would be perfect for your already stern personality."
The blue-eyed girl simply nodded, not seeing anything wrong with his assessment. "I am aware of how I present myself. I wouldn't mind learning how Atlas handles those skills."
Flynt peeked over his shoulder at the list. "No shot, they have a course on bullhead piloting?! That sounds awesome-" his excitement was cut short by the fine print under the listing, "For second years or above. Dammit. Hm, that Explosives & Ordinance class seems pretty cool. Always had a knack with Dust and explosions."
"Just no experiments in the room, please," Geo quipped. "Lastly, we just need one for Neon. There's an Infiltration & Sabotage class, if that sounds good with you?" he asked the orange cat faunus. She gave a shrug in return.
"I'll do whatever you think I'd be good at, boss," she cracked her knuckles and stretched her arms above her head. "I'm a directed force, just point me at it, and I'll get it done."
Geo didn't need to be told twice, registering his team for the courses. "Just don't hate me if it means you have to roll out of your comfy pod before the sun even rises," he teased, the conversation going back to stories from their past. Neon recounted a harrowing tale of fighting off hundreds of Grimm-
"It was actually like 1 Beowolf-"
-With no backup-
"We weren't even second years at our prep schools, there was a Huntsman there with us-"
-Flynt was bleeding out-
"I got a small cut on my leg from a thorn bush I didn't see-"
Neon puffed her cheeks in frustration. Huffing, she karate chopped the fedora wearing teen on the head. "Ruin all my fun, why don'tcha." Geo and his team laughed- Ciel chuckled lightly- at their antics.
I wonder how Mega is doing…
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And chapter 5 is done. Half of this was added on to the original chapter plan. I just didn't want the pacing to get absolutely fucked, so I added some padding, and some more plotlines than I had originally expected.
Hell, I might even start making character sheets to make sure I don't mess up how I'm portraying everyone. I know I basically made Neon and Flynt as Nora and Ren clones. I'm trying to separate the two pairs by making Neon a little more sane and calculating (once I finally show her with the Infiltration stuff), and have Flynt as more of a openly expressive version of Ren.
