WNTR: A RWBY Fanfiction

Six

Teal galloped down the hallway until she struck an obstacle and fell to the floor with an 'oof!', she looked up at what she had run into and realised that it wasn't a what, it was a who, and that who happened to be Cherry.

"Hey! What's the big- Oh hi," The girl peered at Teal through her fringe, "Teal right?" She nodded and Cherry extended a hand to help her up, "What did you crash into me for? Someone chasing you?" She held the blue haired girl by her shoulders and looked over them to check for any potential attackers, Teal shook her head and giggled.

"I just wasn't looking where I was going that's all."

"Oh, well, where are the rest of them?" Teal hummed to ask who she was referring to, "Your team?" Teal thought for a moment, as though she actually didn't know where they were, then looked back up at Cherry and grinned.

"They're getting dressed! I think." Cherry laughed and turned to look down the corridor they were stood in; when she saw that there was no one there she huffed in annoyance and turned back to Teal.

"Well my thoughtful teammates have left without us, so would you like to join me for breakfast?" She was answered with a nod and the two headed off towards the enticing smells of bacon and fresh bread.

***

"The last time she slept properly, she lost one of the most important people in her life."

Wynter didn't move, she was trying to process the gravity contained within the words Rain had just said. The purple haired girl sleepily closed her eyes momentarily as a single tear slipped down her cheek, it hurt to think about, but Rain knew that she deserved to know.

"What... What happened?" Wynter's green eyes were wide with both sympathy and curiosity, by that time, Navi had stirred and was facing the two from her hammock with her head resting on her arm. Rain greeted her then sighed and spoke in a solemn voice.

"Teal and I never attended a training academy like Signal, instead, we were part of something called 'Project Thunder', we had both been there as long as we can remember, perhaps longer."

"'Project Thunder'?"

"They never told us much, but I managed to overhear it was some sort of secret experiment commissioned by the military."

"The military?!"

"Yes, apparently we were the first of a new type of super Soldier'" Rain let out a bitter chuckle, "they said we should have been honoured, they said we were the start of a new generation, it didn't feel like that."

"Did they treat you badly?" Navi shot Wynter a small glare, warning her not to pry too much.

"Not at first, we were so young, so the nurses tried to give us the best life they could in between all the training and tests." She paused and wiped another tear from her face, "Then one day, when we were about 10, the nurses and doctors were replaced with people in long white coats, they brought soldiers with them, and I remember their eyes being so cold, so... lifeless. It scared me." Wynter moved from her bed to sit beside the tall girl, who was hunched over on hers. "According to one of them, we were taking too long to produce favourable results, and so they had no choice but to take over the research."

Rain was visibly shaking by that point, and Wynter took to rubbing comforting circles on the girl's back as she continued, "After that, conditions got very bad very fast, the training was torture, and Teal got weaker and weaker, she just couldn't keep up, which led to punishment after punishment. Every night she'd be thrown into the cell we slept in hours after we had been permitted to sleep, and her eyes would be red from crying. Every. Night."