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Shots rang out, signaling Geo and Ciel's chance to run to the building with the terminal. The two barely made it before the sniper placed them back in their sights.
"I pray you're right about this. I'll call the others to let them know," Ciel said. "Hopefully, we'll have an escape route set. Go search for the terminal." Geo nodded before running off.
Ciel crouched behind a wall as she dialed Penny's number. The Scroll rang a few times before it connected. "Penny we-" she was cut off, as gunfire echoed through the microphone.
"Friend Ciel, I have Friend Neon and Friend Katt with me. We are currently avoiding any and all combatants to the best of our ability!" the android spoke in a cheerful tone. "I have locked on to your position and should be there in approximately 5 minutes and 34 seconds!"
"Copy that. We have secured the building with the terminal. Geo is locating it as we speak," Ciel attempted to get a visual on the sniper, recoiling back as a bullet whizzed by her face through the window. "Be warned, we have a sniper in the building south east of our location. Can I ask you to secure an escape for Geo and I?" Ciel asked, knowing Penny would be all too willing to help.
"Yes, of course, Friend Ciel! We will make sure the most sensational escape plan is in order." Ciel thanked her..
"Geo! Have you found the terminal yet?!" she shouted, hoping her spiky haired companion could hear her.
"Yeah! I'm downloading the data now, should be good to leave soon!" he yelled back from upstairs.
"Penny, we have the data. Please keep us updated on your plan."
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"This was your plan?!" Geo shouted as they sprinted. Gunshots echoing behind them as they were being pursued by other would-be students. The snowy forest on the outskirts of the town provided a little cover from their attackers.
"It was the most logical, yes! A simple, straight line to the extraction zone seemed appropriate," Penny said, a cheery grin plastered on her face. "The threat of our pursuers should truly put a pep in our step!"
Flynt yelped as a round pinged off his shoulder. "What the hell?! These guys are relentless," he exclaimed, "Go find your own data, dickheads!"
"Look! The extraction zone isn't too far! I can see the red smoke from here!" the faunus of the group pointed out. The group's morale boosted as they got closer.
Only to come crumbling down as a team of four students stood in the way between them and sweet freedom.
"Give us the thumb drive and we promise we won't hurt you," the ugly one of the team threatened, stepping forward to seem intimidating. Geo couldn't help but laugh at the poor kid.
"You assholes just stood around waiting for other students to grab the data so you could poach it? Talk about lazy!" he took a moment to breathe and recover. "Yeah, we're not gonna let you take it from us." The team blocking their path looked pissed, each one of their faces contorted into either a snarl or a scowl.
"Don't say we didn't warn you," the edgy looking one said.
Geo's squad sprung into action, still very aware of the group still following them. Flynt pulled out his trumpet and activated his Semblance, splitting into four copies of himself. He aimed his sonic weapon at the ground in between him and the group. All four versions of him started playing, kicking up the dirt and snow into the air.
Penny joined in, using some of her repulsor weaponry to continue creating a smoke screen. The team of five ran into the cloud, hoping for it to cover their blind charge to the safe zone.
"Fuck! I can't see anything!" one of their attackers screamed out. "Hunter, you gotta stop them!"
Geo's senses screamed for him to dodge at the last second, as a dagger appeared from behind him, aimed at his back. "Shit!" he yelped out. The dagger wielding boy disappeared back into the cloud around him. "Careful, one of them can fight through the smoke!" he warned before getting back to running. Neon tapped him on his shoulder as she overtook him and he tossed her the thumb drive.
His senses didn't pick up the blade flying towards his neck as he gave her their saving grace, however a glowing green hand swatted it away before fading way as quickly as it appeared. A gunshot was heard as Geo made it out of the smoke. Ciel was providing covering fire as they closed in on the extraction zone.
"This one's ours!" Ciel commanded, aiming her heavily modified revolver at the now exposed dagger wielding boy. His team was behind him, snarling as they realized their chance at an easy pass had failed.
"Tch," the ugly one shot them a glare before calling his team off to search for another team to prey upon. As they walked away, the five teens cheered- minus Ciel, she just smirked and crossed her arms, happy to watch her new team celebrate. Neon gave a death grip of a hug to both Flynt and Geo, Penny joining in to squeeze the rest of whatever air they had left in them.
They had done it. They passed initiation.
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All the students gathered once more in the auditorium they were in the previous day. Some looked confident, others downtrodden. Geo and his group could not have been happier, even Ciel had a small smirk on her face as they watched General Ironwood and Winter walk onto the stage.
"I'll make this brief. The names and faces on the screen behind me are those who have passed initiation," Winter said. The oversized display lit up, revealing students Geo had yet to meet. As the images continued to be shown, multiple students that had looked downright depressed earlier stood much taller, smiles replacing the frowns. Many of the students who had looked confident and boastful were now outraged.
Noticing the change in attitude, the General spoke, "The mission we had assigned to you was not one of combat and thievery," his voice boomed across the auditorium, silencing those who were speaking. "I specifically told you all that this was a combat test. Those who took to fighting and stealing the thumb drives of teams who had secured a terminal are not welcomed here at Atlas academy. You have shown yourselves to not only be selfish, but even treasonous if you believed it would benefit you."
"Any student who willingly attacked another, and not out of self defense, will be rejected and barred from applying again," he scanned the room with a hardened look as he finished his speech. Geo couldn't help but admire the sheer presence of the man. Reminds me of Ace, if he didn't have that stupid smirk on his face at all times.
"To those whose names and faces were on this display," Winter pumped her fist to her chest, "Welcome to Atlas."
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Geo hummed as he and his newfound team entered their shared dorm. It was one of the few, if only, five man suites available on the campus. He thought back to the short conversation he shared with Ironwood and Winter.
"The typical team consists of four Hunstmen," Ironwood began.
"However, your team is anything but typical," Winter continued her commanding officer's statement. "There are an odd number of students this year, meaning you, Mr Stelar, have the choice of being in a five person team, or being alone."
Geo weighed his options. Solving issues alone was something he and Mega had come to accept as the norm. It was what they were used to. On the other hand, having allies never hurt, and the group of quickly made friends certainly would be interesting to work with…
He was pulled from his thoughts when he heard a squeal at a frequency so high, he felt his ears ring.
"Oh my god! These beds are awesome!" Neon couldn't contain her excitement. The object of her reaction was one of the five pods built into the room. Geo checked out his own as Neon continued to gush over hers, Flynt avidly agreeing with his orange friend.
The pods themselves contained controls for the firmness of the bed, the temperature, and whatever scenery that would help with relaxing. Geo instantly set it to a starry night sky.
"I must agree, these dorms are much nicer than anything I could have imagined," Ciel said, impressed by the tech. "From my understanding, other academies do not go all out when it comes to the living situations."
"I think Atlas must pride themselves in making a show of how nice it is to be here. I mean, the cafeteria alone is insane," Flynt remarked as he folded and put away his clothes. "Multiple five star chefs that are there to cook anything we ask of them? I could get used to this."
"This dorm is simply sensational! I must tell my father when I see him," Penny beamed. "He actually has a hand in creating these sleeping pods!"
"No shit?" Geo's interest piqued. The eccentric ginger tilted her head at the statement.
"I'm not sure what fecal matter has to do with anything, Just Geo…" she trailed off, confused.
"Penny?"
"Yes, Just Geo?"
"It's a saying."
"Oh…"
"And you can call us all by our first names, y'know? No titles," Neon teased, still smiling over her bed.
"But then how will others know that we are friends?" the poor girl asked.
"They'll know because we are fraternizing and enjoying each other's company," Ciel, of all people, chimed in. Noticing the attention on her, she blushed and coughed inter her fist. "W-what? Just because I am stern does not mean I don't like you all. You are all competent."
"Riiiiight…" Flynt slowly nodded. "Well, we like you, too," he laughed a little before pausing for a second to think. "I just realized we probably have to make a name for our team," he said, turning to them all as he finished putting away his belongings. "Any ideas?"
"We don't exactly have the best combination of letters…" Neon mumbled. The others grunted their agreement as they joined in on thinking.
"What about Snowpierce? SSNPC? Stelar, Soleil, Neon, Penny, and Coal?" Geo threw the idea out there, feeling as though it was a shot in the dark. The others looked at him for a second and considered it.
"I mean, it's really all we got. And there's no rule that it has to be a color, right?" Flynt said, throwing his hands up and shrugging. "I'm down for it."
"I like it! Sounds all mysterious and cool," Neon nodded at the idea, a grin forming on her face.
"It is a sensational idea for a name, Geo! I am ecstatic to be on Team Snowpierce with you."
"I concur," Ciel had a pleased look on her face. Well, as pleased as a smirk can seem. "I believe we are to report the decided team name to Winter before classes begin."
As if Atlas was listening in on them, each of their Scrolls buzzed. A message from the school stated exactly that, as well as their class schedules. Geo took note of the large empty blocks in the days, but he chalked it up to that being time for training.
I'm definitely not in terrible shape, but all that running earlier really put into perspective how fit I'm gonna have to be, the brunette thought to himself. I guess I'll wake up early tomorrow to go on a run or something. Also gotta figure out if and when I should reveal Mega. He looked down at his gauntlet, pressing a button. The gauntlet collapsed into itself, forming a thick bracelet in a dark shade of blue. But for now, let's just get to knowing these guys.
Geo grinned as he joined back into the conversation his team was having. They were talking about where they all grew up. Neon and Flynt had both originally lived in Mantle, but Neon moved to Mistral when the White Fang had really started to get violent.
Ciel was from a very long line of high ranking military officials, which explained her demeanor. Geo balked at the idea of having a class size of 500 students. He was so used to the small and close-knit community of Echo Ridge, the mere idea of that number sounded awful, and he said just that.
"It wasn't terrible," Ciel reminisced, "The teachers just couldn't spend too much time with each student individually, but that was what tutors were for, I suppose."
When it was Geo's turn, he froze up, unsure exactly what to say. He settled on having lived in a small settlement in the countryside of Vale.
"It was just me and my mom. Dad wasn't around a lot cuz he had to work." The rest of his team seemed to accept it. Penny followed up, saying that she was raised in Atlas by her father and Uncle ironwood.
That got a reaction.
"Ironwood is your uncle!?" Flynt and Neon shouted at once. Ciel pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling a headache already forming. It was going so well, too…
"Well, not exactly, no…" the ginger shrank back a little bit. "He and my father are very close, so I have spent much of my time with him while I was-" she paused for a second to find the right phrasing, "Growing up." Flynt and Neon didn't question it, still harping on about her connection to the most powerful man in Atlas. Ciel and Geo exchanged a glance before both chuckled, pitying the poor girl and steering the conversation to some stories of before they became students.
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Atlas mornings were cold, Geo couldn't help but think as he stretched his legs by the track. He had woken up at 5:30, way earlier than he was used to, but he deemed it worth it. As much as a two man powerhouse Mega and I are, it doesn't mean much if my heart gives out while we're running… He shook his head, killing that thought process before it festered. Standing up, he noticed a familiar face with a gold star-like design on her forehead.
"Good morning, Geo," Ciel greeted. "Are you also going for a run before class?" she asked, a slight yawn escaped her lips. "Excuse me, I hadn't slept that well in a long while. It was difficult to remove myself from bed." Geo chuckled at that and shook his head.
"No worries, I'm in the same boat," he replied. "I can feel the dark circles under my eyes. I need my beauty sleep- you don't get to look this good without a full eight hours of sleep, you know," he joked, earning an amused smirk back.
Which, when it comes to Ciel, is like her laughing quite loudly. At least, Geo sure hoped so.
"That's precisely why I went to bed first last night. The pods are surprisingly sound proof," she said, the remnants of a smirk still visible as she tried to pull a stern face. Geo rolled his eyes before making his way over to the track. Ciel followed closely behind.
The Sun eventually rose and beamed down on them as they ran, feeling its warmth in the cold Atlas morning air. Slowly, more students gathered on the track, mainly upperclassmen, who took a liking to the two first-years.
"You two are smart, not wasting the free time they give us," a tall and broad man said to them. "Though, we always see a few new faces every year running on the first day. Most quit after the first week."
"Why's that?" Geo asked, tired, but still running in pace with the rest of the group. The large man laughed heartily.
"Not everyone likes waking up early just to feel like they're gonna hurl. If you don't feel it now, you definitely will when we finish in about…" the man checked his watch, "an hour."
Geo and Ciel suddenly felt sick. An hour was not a short amount of time, especially as they'd been running for half of that already.
"Oh, don't gimme that. You gotta remember the number one rule from Zombie World: Always have good cardio," he paused, "Well, I guess we'd be running to the Grimm, rather than away, most days."
An hour later, Geo found himself heaving on the fake grass in the center of the track. Ciel had handled it a little better, given she was still standing and able to grab water for the two of them. She offered him a hand and a bottle as he sat up. Waving his hand and deciding that sitting was better, he nodded his thanks for the water.
"You may not want to chug that," the girl warned. "I'd rather not see a new pile of stomach acid at my feet," she glowered. Taking her advice, he sipped the water slowly. His throat was sore from screaming along to military chants and songs (as vulgar as they were) for the duration of their run, and the water helped him regain the ability to speak.
"I can definitely see why people would quit," he managed to say, voice hoarse. Ciel looked at him while taking a sip of her water. "Not saying that I'm going to, but man is this tough."
"Tough is what I would call Atlas overall. We pride ourselves on our military, and it's plain as day to see why," she turned her head to the group of upperclassmen, who were all laughing and messing about now that their run was over. "Most students here will end up enlisting in some format. I'm aware of at least one special operations squad that consists of only top ranked students from this academy. Ace-Ops, I believe is their name."
Geo nodded at the info. He could easily imagine a powerful team like that, but he had to wonder how many of them were on the same team while in the academy. It'd be interesting to talk to them at some point, if the chance arises.
Ciel sat down, joining him in looking at the other students. "Also, Geo, I remember you saying you could see Electromagnetic waves while we were being shot at," she turned her head to look at him curiously. "How exactly is that possible?"
Geo thought for a moment on how to answer. He had his visualizer on his forehead as usual, so he handed them to her. "Just have a look. It's super disorienting- don't say I didn't warn you."
She looked at the glasses hesitantly before accepting them. Slowly, she put the visualizer on and gasped.
Her vision exploded with color.
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"Welcome to Grimm Studies. I am Doctor Allen Po," an older man greeted the class, writing his name on an old-fashioned chalkboard. He wore an all black suit with a white tie, his graying hair and beard matching his monochrome look. "You will learn about each and every known type of Grimm, along with their weaknesses and strengths."
"There are no exams in my class, however, there are weekly assignments. Each one will require you to research ways of culling a specific Grimm in a specific scenario," the man explained. "Perhaps I may even drop you into said scenarios- a practical test, if you will," he said with a mischievous smile. "Only time will tell, of course."
Up in the rows of students, Team Snowpierce listened intently. Flynt and Neon had exchanged glances when the Doctor mentioned fighting Grimm.
"I kinda hope we get to kill some rare Grimm," the jazz enthusiast whispered to the cat faunus. The girl nodded, an eager look in her eyes.
"Any excuse to bash some mindless beasts is fine with me," she said as the professor continued to explain the curriculum of the class.
Once dismissed, Snowpierce decided to explore the campus grounds some more, taking note of all the important facilities. The main one that caught Geo's attention was the combat simulation rooms. He watched on in fascination as a team took on robotic opponents in a constantly changing environment. The floors and walls would change periodically, causing the students to change their approach,
He noticed Penny by his side. She smiled at him when their eyes met. "My father helped with the design of these simulation rooms," she wasn't boastful as she explained it, simply stating facts. Geo hummed.
"Your father sounds like a genius. I couldn't imagine how long it took to get these rooms to function the way they do," he looked back at the team fighting, the terrain shifting once more. "It seems almost reactive, like the room can determine where their weak points are and adjusts itself to help them learn." Penny nodded.
"It was at the request of Uncle Ironwood himself," she brought a finger to her chin to think. She quickly turned to Geo, excitement was written on her face. "I believe you should meet Father. You and Mega both!"
Geo looked at her, a thoughtful expression on his face. He recalled his conversation with Ciel earlier.
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"A device like this is incredible, though it seems confusing, trying to figure out where each one of these 'Wave Roads'- as you call them- go," the darker skinned girl shifted her arms, her left one supporting her head while her right tucked over her knees as she sat. "I don't truly understand all of it, but I'm sure Penny and her father, Pietro, would be over the moon to discuss this with you," Ciel paused. "Or as Penny would say, 'sensational'," she chuckled.
Geo thought for a moment, considering if he should tell Ciel and the rest of his team about Mega. Penny already knew, so he supposed there was no harm in it.
"I'm not sure if you remember, but Penny said something about an AI two days ago," he started. Getting a nod in response, he continued, "Well, she was referring to my partner, and the reason I have my gauntlet." He pressed on his bracelet, letting it morph back into its gauntlet form for dramatic effect.
He pulled out his Scroll and handed it to her.
"Ciel, meet Mega."
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Surprisingly, his stern running buddy took the info pretty well, clearly used to the idea of advanced technology thanks to her involvement with Penny.
On the other hand, Neon and Flynt had so many questions. Mega tried to answer all of them, but gave up once Neon asked if he was a dog or something.
Penny tilted her head and Geo realized he had spaced out. Rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment, he finally responded to her offer. "Sorry, Ciel said the same thing about me meeting your dad. Yeah, I think it'd be cool to meet him and talk about all the tech he's worked on!"
"Sensational, Geo! I will get in touch with Father at once!" Penny skipped away, leaving Geo to follow as they rejoined their team. It was around time for their second class for the day, this time taught by Winter.
The group of five made their way into the large classroom and settled down in one of the rows. Below them, a roughly thirty meter wide arena sat in the middle of the room. In the center of it, Winter Schnee stood.
Once all the students were seated, she spoke.
"As you are aware, I am Specialist Winter Schnee. I will be your combat instructor for the duration of your stay here at Atlas academy," her voice boomed through the room. "Every day, many of you will trade blows with each other down here in this ring. I expect nothing but 100% of your effort every time you fight," she stomped once on the ground, the sound echoed. "Am I understood?"
The class replied in unison 'Yes, Ma'am!' Nodding her approval, she continued, "The fights that take place in this ring have only one rule: Combat will cease once a combatants Aura is below 30%, or if a combatant is knocked outside the ring." Winter scanned the room, her eyes landing on Geo. "You, there, Geo Stelar of Team SSNPC. You will be fighting first." Geo stood up.
"Yes, Ma'am!"
"Your opponent will be Kobalt Bleu of Team KNGT," the instructor directed. A tall man with long blue hair stood up. "You both have 5 minutes to prepare." The two young men nodded, with Kobalt leaving to grab his weapon. Geo remained, revealing his bracelet as his gauntlet.
Upon Kobalt's return, the men each synced up their Scroll's Aura tracker with the display. The two then each took to a side of the ring, eyeing each other up.
Kobalt was equipped with an ornate dagger and a mechashift-looking SMG.
"Are both combatants ready?" Kobalt and Geo nodded their affirmation.
"Begin!"
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And that's chapter 4. I tried my best to make this chapter big. Have it finally get the story rolling.
Yeah, so, a 5 man team. I liked them all too much to allow for only a 4 man, or for Geo to be a loner (like he pretty much always was in the SF games), therefore, team SSNPC was born.
You have no idea how difficult it was creating that team name, by the way. I spent like a good 30 minutes just trying to think of something.
Anyway, leave any comments/reviews if you'd like. Feedback is always appreciated!