The shot rings out, as I screamed out, the bullet ripping through her thigh. "No!"

  The soldat looked up and dropped his rifle in surprise, even he was shocked.

  I approached quickly, my hands roaming her thigh where the shot had struck. It went clean through. "I'll be fine.. Get me a Mortician..." She weakly said, her helmet drooping upwards from her tumble.

  "D- Don't worry, one is coming! W- We'll get you okay!" I stammered out, my voice shaky as my rifle clung on with a sling. "You're going to be fine! Amelia, You'll be fine."

  A Mortician arrived, coming up and administering first aid. "She'll be fine, most likely she'll be back by next week." The mortician said, her eyes eying the woman on the ground through her mask.

  "Most likely." She pauses. "Assuming infection doesn't set in."

  ———

  That weekend, I got a letter.

  I reread it. Again. Again.

  It didn't make sense. It was just a leg wound. The Mortician said she'd be fine.

  She'd died, Turns out falling down in a cave would get germs in your body.

  "You okay?" A soldier sat down beside me, his eyes drifting to the letter. The soldier next to me shifted uncomfortably. He glanced at the letter, then at me.

  "...Damn." He paused. "That's rough."

  He sat down beside me. Didn't say anything else. Just sat there.

  I put my head down onto my knees in defeat. 'If I couldn't protect my best friend, then how can I protect myself?'

  —————————

  "Hey." Bulwark taps AM's helmet, waking him up from his daydream.

  "Huh? Oh.. hey Bul'." He says, his voice low. "You okay?" Bulwark asked, crouching down to his level. "I'm... fine." AM said, his voice low.

  "Are you thinking about her again?" He asked, voice somber.

  "..no.." his voice wasn't sure. "Yeah, I was.." he admitted after a few seconds.

  "You have to get over her, she's gone but you can't keep sulking around." Bulwark said. "Trust me, I lost a few good friends from it." He said, looking down.

  "I know, you keep drilling it into my head." He said, voice kind of annoyed, as he stood up. "Are we there yet?" He turned around to the window, showing a large lake.

  Radio approached, hand with her headset, for once, she's only wearing her beret. "Hey, we're arriving soon." She says, looking at the window beside AM. "Woah, that is... beautiful."

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  Bulwark responds. "You should see the empire's capital, it's in a large cave with waterfalls and such, Smells like shit though." He looks over. "Maybe when the Empire and the Nation make peace." He scoffed. "Not in my lifetime."

  "Heh, sounds about right." She responded.

  Storm comes up and puts a hand on Radio's shoulder. "Hey, we're 'docking' soon, whatever that means on this flying contraption." His voice was 'happy', clearly tired from sleeping on the floor in the police station.

  "Right, right." Bulwark said, grabbing his Lewis gun and shield, putting the latter on his back. "Lead the way, Storm."

  As the massive airship docked, the doors opened and students slowly filed out, the troopers standing out like sore thumbs, that were just shot off.

  As they walked out, out came the view of beacon academy..

  A gargantuant building towering even the largest buildings in the world.

  "Oh.. wow." Radio said, her voice showing that she's really stunned, from the sheer size of the thing. "That's.. quite big."

  Nice reference. AM continued, touching a tree, feeling the wood through his leather gloves. "Real, alive, wood.." He said. "Quite.. nice.. haven't touched this in years.."

  "We're supposed to go to the ampitheatre." Storm said, motioning the others to move.

  "Right, right.. Let's move." Bulwark adjusted his Lewis gun, slinging it over his shoulder.

  He stops mid step.

  "Wait where is that?" He askes, turning over.

  "Heh." Radio giggled, pulling out a map. "They were offering maps in the airship." she said, her voice prideful. "It says here... Ampitheatre is that way." she pointed over.

  —————————

  As they entered the building, the bustling atmosphere was coupled with the arguing of a very bitchy white haired woman and the girl from before.

  A tap of the microphone cut through the chatter. "I'll... keep this brief." The green man said.

  "You have traveled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction." His voice was calm.

  "You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step." He continued, before ending the speech there.

  The woman (whos very hot and mom- i'll stop this joke here, fine.) comes up and talks into the microphone. "You will gather in the ballroom tonight; tomorrow, your initiation begins. Be ready. You are all dismissed."

  —————————

  Storm tinkers with his SMG, filling each of his magazines, which he doesn't need to do but does anyway. Radio sits beside him, legs stacked on each other, in a tank-top, reading a book.

  "Didn't think you're one for reading." Storm said, voice monotone. "It's fun, you should try it." She responded, lowering it slightly.

  "Your directives for us to keep our faces covered hinders with that." He responds, looking up from his drum magazines, staring into her eyes.

  Radio tilted her head. "Do you even see the world in color through those red.. goggles?"

  Storm barely glanced up from his magazines. "Not your concern."

  ————

  Ruby sits down beside Yang, looking at the troopers with quiet admiration. "Their guns are so cool.." She said, imagining what she's have with using them.

  Yang turns over, looking at her. "What are you lookin' at sis? Don't tell me you're nerding on their weapons again.." She says, looking over, a small smirk on her lips.

  "N- No! It's their... Ah yeah it was their weapons.." She paused, before looking at them more. "Isn't it also strange they're using their.. head equipment indoors..? Except for the girl.. she seems relaxed."

  ————

  AM crosses his arms like a brat, looking down at his Anti Materiel rifle like it was gonna save him. "Agh, this sucks.. I hate having to use my helmet when there's no threat." He looks at Bulwark, who's doing the peter griffin death pose. "Right? Bul'?"

  "I'm tryna sleep, lad'." He responds.

  "Just answer me." He says, fiddling with his chainmail.

  "I've done it more times than you think." He gets up and turns over. "Had to sleep holding my shield at full guard as a Vanguard once, full kit and everythin'." he said, voice low. "It's not the first time i've done it, yeah?"

  He layed down, helmet clinking against his wall, who's used as a very horrible cushion.

  "Do you actually like sleeping on your wall or what?" He asked, scratching his helmet.

  "Do it for a week straight, you'll learn to appreciate it." He said, hand covering his eye slits.