Natalie Evans's Story

-wrong place-

Vale - Outer region of commercial district - 6:30 AM

With a final exhale, Ricochet dropped the box into place and wiped the lone bead of sweat off his forehead, giving the cardboard a last pat into place alongside its brethren. ”I think that’s all of them, ma’am.” He stretched his arms out and concluded his work for the day, the shopkeeper’s admiration was enough of a reward. The boy gave the product of half an hour work, a stack of boxes chock-full of cooking supplies, a grin as he shot his employer a thumbs-up. Another set of hands around the shop can really make wonders. Too bad I only gave birth to children who hang around the academy like it’s a safe haven.” The woman pouted and slumped behind the serving counter. Rico sighed and shut the door to the storage room behind him, then paced his way over to the mother who could easily be mistaken for a woman in mourning. The student only shook his head at the depressing sight. He turned to face the coffee machine, following through the speedy procedure of refueling his thermos with bitter goodness.

”Well, they’ve both grown to be quite eminent characters, if I do say so myself. Definitely a pair of juniors I can be proud of training with.” He lightly pressed the rim of the cup to his lips and gave leeway for a chug of the invigorating beverage to make its way down into a descent. ”But they don’t even stop by during the weekend. Not even when there’s a break! They just act like the woman who birthed them is equivalent to discarded trash on the sidewalk!” Rico could already notice the symptoms preceding a waterfall of emotional tears, he would have to move quickly to defuse this time bomb. ”...I guess that proves how important they are! I’m sure if they managed to get some free time, they would make their way over here in a heartbeat! They would fly- no, leap there way from Beacon to here.” The student offered a reassuring smile as solace, in hopes of her not breaking into a turmoil of denial. The shopkeeper seemed to have taken Rico’s consolation as the truth and pieced herself back together. ”Anyways… If there’s anything else you need help with, I’ll happily obl-”

”Ricochet, it’s time to return to the campus.” A voice resounded over the chime activated by the shop’s door creaking open. A man stood in the frame, dressed in fine garnishing presenting himself as a member of the upper echelons of society. ”Oh. Sup Mr. Vhan! You heard him, ma’am. Seems that the academy needs its trump card!” The boy made a haughty grin to further bolster his already prevalent ego. At least he knew when to show restraint. He walked over to the entrance where his weapon, Alacrity, rested against the wall. In one fluent motion the student grabbed it by the sling, twisted it midair and hefted it over his shoulder. The two gave the cook a farewell and made their way for where the aircraft was parked.

Rico wasn’t moving at the same expedited pace as Vhan, a teacher known for being one of the friendlier members of the faculty. The student took his time, taking in the sights of the residential area. Even though it was barely light out, the city was still lively at this hour. Shopkeeps prepared their stores for another day, kids played in the streets before school, it was a tranquil scene overall. ”You know, Mr. Vhan, this place grows on you. I could wake up here every morning and feel ready to tackle another grueling day.” Rico had maintained a policy of visiting the area on a daily basis, after all, he got his rear in gear at the peak of dawn. Even if he wasn’t visiting the down, he was most likely training in the academy halls. If his teammates were to ever wake up, and he was still sound asleep, they would know that something’s awry. The teacher only gave his pupil a lackadaisical smile, until his attention was diverted to his device’s beeping. Vhan shifted through his coat’s pocket and placed the contraption to his head as they reached the craft.

”Mhmmm. Alright. Got it. We’re en route now. Come on, Ricochet, we can’t miss the morning assembly.”

”What? It’s just a morning assembly. Can’t we linger a little bit mo-”

”No. Get in the transport. Now.” The usual lenient smile abruptly evaporated, replaced by a commanding gaze staring daggers at the student. Rico followed suit and quietly nodded, raising his foot to step onto the aircraft

Beacon - Now

Rico slammed his foot onto the ground as he broke into a sprint, dead-set on a course to the auditorium. The announcement was nearing its conclusion by the time he had reached the entrance. Before him was a sea of students draped in the same uniform, somewhere in there was his team. A few questions were bouncing around in his mind as he scoped around for his comrades. Why only senior squads? What was so detrimental about this assembly? If it wasn’t for the fact that Terry’s cerulean hair wasn’t such an irregularly bright hue, he probably wouldn’t have been able to locate the trio. Ricochet made his way through the coagulated body of students, most of them were familiar faces which gave him right of passage. It might have also been the fact that the guy was known for carrying his rifle at all times, and there was even a rumor that a safety didn’t even exist on the thing. Of course one was implemented into the mechanism but Rico never made the effort to extinguish such claims. He allowed them to continue their circulation through the student body’s veins, just for his own personal amusement. It wasn’t long before he wound up next to his squad. Despair-induc- Glynda was finishing up with her speech.

”So this is why Vhan was hellbent on getting me here… Eh. Guess they’re organizing the forces. So, squad leader, what’s on our agenda?” Rico smirked at the trio and nodded. It was same old same old. Go in, wreck some Grimm, fly out in slow-motion, the whole enchilada. But if a situation like this has even Ozpin rattled, something must’ve been amiss. He patiently awaited Terry’s orders and the opinions of his fellow squadmates.

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"What about... that one? I've always liked the snow." Natalie mused, her steps coming to a halt behind Terry and Ricochet. She pointed towards a mission somewhere up in the corner. "Not the easiest one, but it'll be a soft landing for you two!" She was never great with landing. Natalie had managed to accidentally burrow herself underground the first time she was launched. The second time, she had collided with someone in mid-air, and on and on for the third, the fourth. Every time the spectacle was violent, sudden, and typically ended badly.

Though, jokes aside - she felt unease creep up her spine as she scanned all the missions. She always had this feeling. Every time she stood on a launch pad, every time she saw the Grimm. She always assumed many huntresses felt it - it was impossible for every single one of them to be fearless, after all. And besides, who could blame her? All news on the Grimm was always dire. Their world was slowly disappearing one settlement at a time.

So, that’s why they were all gathered? Was this assemblage of senior students the pinnacle of the academy’s operations? One thing they did accomplish for sure was making the air too sparse or heavy to breathe. The amount of carbon dioxide circulating through the hall was nearly unbearable, Ricochet was half-tempted to shout out at somebody to open a few windows. Of course, this order would be accompanied by a slew of unnecessary slurs and bashings, but that’s just how the guy rolled. Born and raised with a sailor’s mouth daunting enough to challenge Atlas’ finest navy generals. ”...I wonder how they managed to cook up all these missions? I don’t even see a single senior squad absent. Guess they were holding out on us~!” He didn’t take the academy heads to wait for all of these operations to accumulate. But surely they were expecting a few spineless units to drop out, so there probably weren’t that many to go around. A line was already coming into fruition, meaning that missions were already being plucked from the scroll, like grapes from a vine. It was like watching a bunch of conscripts fall into a column, a disjointed mess of forced soldiers greener than grass. Fortunately, most of the squads knew what they were doing since they had managed to survive for a few years.

Rico wasn’t always the most decisive person, but he had a good taste in picking their battles. Considering that he had just ran all the way from the port, he was planning on taking a few moments of respite to catch his breath. That was his plan, until he felt a surprisingly firm grip grasp his arm and pull him towards the line. Ricochet looked back at Natalie and Jackson with a pleading gaze screaming ”Please. Save me.” Yet rather than coming to the student’s rescue, they merely exchanged glances and left the brunette to his fate. It seemed that a teal-haired girl screaming at the top of her lungs dragging an armed student behind her was enough to clear a path. Soon enough the whole squad had assembled before the array of missions and delved into the countless passages of text. There wasn’t one which really piqued his fancy, most of them were just babysitting or blatant Search and Destroy tasks.

Team TNJR was one of the more lightly equipped squads, armour wise. Only Terry sported any type of clad, while the the other three advocated that any protective wear would slow them down. That would’ve been the case for their leader, if it wasn’t for her speed-enhancing semblance, which negated the hindrance of her armor and kept her on par with the rest. Missions which required speed and agility was the squad’s forte. Rico stared up at the board, an enthusiastic grin stretched across his face at the possibilities fulfilling his criteria. Both Natalie and Terry offered up their options, but it was ultimately the latter’s proposition which was decided upon. He was surprised to see his comrades so hyped for a mission entailing fighting mercs. Alacrity didn’t exactly have any non-lethal rounds possible for its chambering, so it was evident that blood was bound to be spread. Rico already had a mindset mentally prepared to kill others of his species, but he wasn’t so sure about his comrades. The boy just shrugged to himself as he read the remainder of the form and shoved it into his pocket. ”I’m not quite sure how grimm and bandits come into the same equation, but eh, can’t say I’m not fascinated by how such a feat will transpire. Sure, I think Alacrity’s fine with such a scenario.” He gave a boasting nod to the rifle slung around him and continued to sign the enlistment scroll.

”Not sure how long we have until we deploy… Preferably, I’d like to get a refill, but anything’s fine.” To prove his point, he chugged down the last of the refreshment and slipped the thermos into his coat. ”Hope you’ve overcome your motion sickness, Jackson. Not sure if they’ll have a surplus of barf bags whilst we’re fighting off waves of foes.” Rico playfully smirked at his fellow teammate, then turned to Natalie and Terry, ”Guess we should wrap up whatever we want to do on Beacon before our departure. No need for the long faces, we’ll be fine! We’ll just operate as usual, with Jackson and Terry on Vanguard, and Natalie and myself in the rear. Just same old same old.” He flashed the group his iconic grin of uncontained eagerness, but the set of teeth suddenly devolved into a more serious expression.

”...Is what I want to say. But something tells me things’ll be different this time. We need to keep our heads high and on the prize. No slip-ups, or the whole thing's botched.” It was very rare to see Rico actually taking things seriously, but such an abrupt change in demeanor was needed. The student quickly changed back to his nonchalant self and smiled yet again, ”Well. Let’s wreck a few adversaries, shall we?”

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"Well... Grimm are a part of everybody's life now. They'll be a given in nearly any mission we take." Natalie said, reading over Terry's shoulder, running a hand through her hair with a small sigh. "And, I could see why bandits and mercenaries would be interested in weapons - or, in this case, a single weapon. It's likely either rather large, or maybe a prototype."

"Then again, why isn't the military transporting this weapon? They're just as effective against stray Grimm as we are - they just need a few more people." Natalie didn't keep speaking - she didn't want to mention that she wasn't very eager to fight what remained of their race, even if they were outlaws. With how fast the Grimm advanced, she felt that they could hardly afford to.

And, well, considering exactly what type of weapon they'd be escorting - it almost seemed overkill to send not only a duo of trained huntresses, but an entire team of near-graduates as well. They could honestly only send one or two and have a much speedier, and likely safer delivery.

Natalie was bumped by an eager trainee - almost stumbling into Jackson. A reprimand rose in her throat, but she couldn't seem to find the offender amongst the crowd behind her. Terry seemed to be right - everyone was eager to move, to prove their worth. Was it truly wise to send so many untested trainees into the field, even protected? Was team TNJR ready?

Even Ricochet seemed more somber than usual. "It's usually my job to fuss - or what, did we swap and I never noticed? Because I tend to notice such things." Natalie remarked, a small smile lifting her features for a moment. "Ah, regardless... Terry's made our choice. Let's go."

She gave Jackson a pat on the arm - she was never really sure when he was dozing off - and pushed through the throng as best she could, cutting a path for the teammates that hopefully lied just a step behind, wanting to get to their own shuttle as soon as possible.

Thank god they didn't use the pads anymore.

(The girl in question is supposed to be Weiss.)

Team TNJR
Beacon Academy Flight Deck
0600
Disembarking

"Hello, my name is Weiss Schnee, yes, heiress to the S.D.C. Empire, I and my partner Ruby Rose will be your chaperones on this mission. We will be taking this Atlesian Dropship to get to the SDC headquarters in Armament, to meet a team of guards to assist in the transportation of a very important item. We are unable to transport it by air because of its volatility and the fact that it was tried previously and the transport was attack by a murder of Nevermore, from Armament we will be using the rail system to travel, making as few stops as possible, half way on our return we will be stopping at the border City of Calgary, where Yang Xaoi Long and Blake Belladonna will be joining the mission. Any Questions?"

i cri everytim

Ricochet arrived ten minutes before his comrades and babysitters, almost instantaneously slumping down to sit on a bench. The boy took measured bites out of a loaf of bread and washed down the rough texture with swigs of coffee. He repeated the process of gritting his teeth and tearing away part after part, a way of sating his hunger. Chances are, his teammates were in the midst of waking up and preparing for the mission ahead, meanwhile he had done everything of the sort an hour before hand. He couldn’t let any of them see his sorry excuse of a sleeping face. The student aimlessly watched as the sun progressively crested the horizon. But the color of the sky brought along with the light wasn’t the usual vibrant hue, but a somber grey, as if even the heavens were foreboding the fate of the team. Of course, Rico didn’t buy that superstitious nonsense, and merely listed off the emotionally draining scene as an overabundance of mist. But it definitely put a damper on the motivation he was trying to build up while chowing on the academy’s excuse for food. He was half-tempted to sprint back to the kitchen and throw the remainder of the loaf at the head chef, with the force of a million disappointed bread enthusiasts.

A pair of footsteps stopped Rico from his internal rant, glancing behind him to see whoever was approaching. His eyes ran across the cobblestone and finally rested on what he presumed to be the accompanying huntresses. One seemed extremely energetic even though most people would be zombies at his hour, and could even pass for being Rico’s little sister, considering how similar they looked. The other strutted with so much pompousness that it was almost mind-numbing, it strangled the boy just by looking at her. She was definitely aware that her looks weren’t the only thing that were pretentious. No, chances are, she had some wealthy background placing her in the highest echelon in society from birth. But, since she was still alive, she had probably abandoned the idea that her company’s minions would assist her, and faded into the common mindset of all hunters. Ricochet gave them a cursory wave while inhaling the remainder of his breakfast, then got to his own two feet, as his teammates weren’t far behind.

”Jeeze~. Making Alacrity wait isn’t very nice. I swear, this rifle has a mind of it’s own.” The student smirked as he paced his way over to his friends and gave them their own morning greetings; a light tap on Jericho’s shoulder, a cordial pat on his leader’s head, and since he valued his own life, high fived Natalie so she wouldn’t cast him off the academy. It wasn’t long before they segued into the debriefing of their mission. It turns out that Ricochet’s reticle was dead on its target, as the aforementioned rich chick introduced herself as an empress within the dust industry, meanwhile the Ruby’s name obviously referenced her hair and style of apparel.

”Personally, I’d see it more feasible that we should’ve taken a train from Vale’s station and ridden it to Atlas, but eh, not our money that’s being burned here. Besides, that’s the Atlasian way. Got a problem? Throw money at it. Jeeze, I already miss the homeland.” Being birthed in Atlas, Rico was already aware of the technological strives made within the country. Although its creations made positive changes on Remnant, sometimes the experiments concocted in their were borderline herecy. And on top of that, they were transporting it via train, and a private one at that. They were trying to keep civilian casualties to a minimum, but knowing their luck, a few accidents on the railway were destined to happen. Rico just hoped they would dispense a decent amount of guards to protect the weapon itself, so his comrades could actually deal with their foes without worry.

”...Well, I would ask for a train schedule, but I hope Atlas is smart enough to close off all stations today. Not that people will simply list off the abrupt denial of all] routes as an enigma, but public awareness is the least of our worries. So the only question I have to ask is… Shall we get a move on?” Yet again, the eager grin made a resurgence, along with a coat hanging loosely from his shoulders.

Derp, I did it too :B

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Morning. Why did it it have to be morning? Jerry was a lot of things- punctual, musically inclined, eccentric, and far too intelligent for his own good.

However, a damnable morning person was something Jerry certainly was not. Rubbing the never-ending crust from his eyes, he could scarcely remember any shred of information the morning announcement provided, nor what he was supposed to do following. It was fortuitous, then, that Natalie had the foresight to give him a courtesy nudge- otherwise, he wouldn't have made it to the dropship that was to take him to his destination!

"Damn," he mumbled to himself, staggering behind his teammates, "Today's not my day for making good impressions..."

Jerry's drinking habit wasn't exactly a secret to the students and staff at Beacon- it was usually looked over, however, due to his stellar classroom performance and contributions to the institution. He would also never so much as think of showing up to a debriefing hung over. Unfortunately for him, his "just-got-out-of-bed" stagger is eerily similar to his "just-recently-became-somewhat-sober" stagger, which he was sure would go over well with a certain cycloptic virtuoso on his team.

Not that he was abhorrent of Natalie's motherly demeanor- quite frankly, he enjoyed the pleasure of her company. All too often, however, her overbearing would remind him of his eldest sister, who harped on him much the same way. It was an encounter that he was far too tired to handle today.

Catching his second wind, he was the last to enter the dropship, where Rico greeted him with his usual, older-brother-love-tap. This always amused him, as Rico would always have to ironically reach up to touch his shoulder. He let out a stupid grin and took a seat next to his companion, taking in all of what Weiss had to say.

At the offer to ask questions, Jerry sheepishly raised his hand. "Um, yeah, I have a few questions!" He scanned the room for approval, before quickly realizing that this was not a classroom. He cleared his throat, and voiced his concern.

"Well, first of all, do you think you can tell us a bit about the weapon? You mentioned that it was too volatile to transport by air, so why is taking a train any better? How are you containing it? It's not gonna blow up on us or anything, is it?"

He rubbed his eyes before voicing his second concern, "Also, you're next in line for the Empire, right? You're being super vague about the specifics of this weapon, which tells me there's some kind of secret that's above our pay grade. But if it's so important, why reach out to us students? Surely you've got more highly qualified Hunters or Huntresses you could reach out to?"

Although his intent was simply to garner more information about the task at hand, tact was never Jerry's strong suit, and his questions could have easily been misconstrued as rude or disrespectful. As luck would have it, Jerry is also quite terrible with body language, and would have been completely oblivious to anyone exuding any form of awkwardness.

Fart Sparklessss

Weiss was flabbergasted at what questions the young huntsman asked her, with all her self control she smiled and spoke as calmly as possible, "I honestly have no clue what we are transporting, myself, but I do know that it may turn the tides and help us secure the walls of the cities. If you don't want to go, by all means stay here and explain it to Ozpin, Goodwitch and Ironwood why you abandoned your team." with a swish of her hair and a quick turn Weiss sauntered towards the dropship and took her seat.

"Weiss, did you really need to speak to him like that?" a younger woman said as she sat across from her.

"Don't be a dolt! I will not allow insubordination amongst the ranks of the newly graduated hunters, it shows bad form." she replied.

"You realize who you sound like, right?" Ruby said with a smirk.