William stops in his tracks behind Roman. Seeing the morning sun as a good sign, he adjusts his head, and sleeve, and thinks of his heart. The warmth of the sun engulfs his face, and if asked, he would lie if he would tell he isn't nervous.
A big sign is right above a rather tall factory building, with the appearance of large docks. Made of rather worn-down wood, but still significantly great one - for the northern part of the Federation standards - one wouldn't think it is one of the most used transportation companies in the Federation. Tonic Tune Company, is the big sign. They make bicycles, and motorcycles, and are one of the main sources of the engines that are available in this hemisphere.
Obviously, it is quite a wealthy privately owned company, but it doesn't show on the surface.
“This company? I heard of it. Are we going by boat or plane?” William asks, wondering and hoping for Roman's answer. He walks faster before him, with his back facing William.
“Plane? If so, that would be quite good, but it's the former. What do you take planes for? They are an easy target for high-Rank Dark beings and are hard to maintain. Though, there are some planes here too, I suppose.” Roman tells as he walks past the main entrance, and appears to be looking for something. His eyes travel back and forth until he finds the right sidewalk beside this huge building complex.
There is a lone door, which he hits a few times with his clutched hand. In about half a minute, a stern-looking lady opens the door.
“Whatcha want?” she asks in quite the unmodest way. Tattoos litter her visible skin, and dark lines make some animals noticeable. It looks quite artistic and even her face isn't without them. Wearing a tank top, and shorts with a rather slim body type, one would question if she isn't part of some gang.
However, this isn't any kind of Outside. This is a Federation.
Roman takes some piece of paper from his pocket and shows it to her face. Lady leans in the entrance door, bothered by something, but it seems to be her schtick. A single glance at the paper reveals a sigh of understanding but no doubt since she notices a youngster behind Roman, who is no rookie from his aura, and persona alone.
“Right. Come on in then,” she says, sidestepping and making a place for the both of them to walk inside. William follows Roman's lead, oblivious to the lady's eyes glued to his right hand. She perhaps noticed his Emblem, engulfing his flesh, and making an impression of Vectors noticeable. She observes him even afterward when they come inside. Not much care is in the entrances and exteriors of this place, but William figures he is at some shady part of this large complex. It isn't anything fancy, like the Institution of the Emblem that he saw before. Some rooms and places below it are obviously old and used.
“You the half's late folks, so you gotta wait a bit for the big ol' show. There's som late ones. Usual, stuff.” the lady tells in a weird tone as if her english isn't that of this hemisphere. Pointing toward the distant hallway, she disappears to some other room.
Roman already knows what to expect, so he gestures for William to follow and not doubt that lady with some doubts.
Following him, he sees the surrounding halls and rooms, going up, or down the stairs, but it all seems like a regular warehouse, with an office setting for any kind of company. It is nothing strange or nothing out of ordinary. Though, he would lie if the next entry into a large area doesn't surprise him.
A large hallway reveals a massive indoor factory place. Docks and multi-story floors have hundreds of workers in play. Hundreds of feet long, the entrance is at the start of something larger, oversing place. One can't see how long it actually is, even when one is apparently far above ground level. Surprisingly, a lot of stuff is under the surface, but he sees a section to the right, that has open water to the surface. That's where the dock is, revealing quite a massive facility that one would see at the beginning of the 21st century, and not in the midst of the apocalypse in the 22nd.
Military contracts, vehicles, engines, helicopters, and all kinds of vehicles are built in the underground facilities on the left. Quite a sum of care goes into them, making Wiliam doubt how many resources and adjustments in the current era would be required for this sort of thing. Well, the Federation is about the only place he could imagine achieving this.
It's quite massive, surprising William, who stops on his spot, glancing around with curiosity at some factory that leads to this place. The factory doesn't seem that tall from an outside perspective, yet here he sees a town on its own hidden beneath it.
Aside from the entrance, there are stairs leading to the right side of this balcony that is part of the surface complex. Even Roman stops for a moment, remembering or trying to see what he should expect, but at this point, he knows the way.
Following his quick descent, William follows suit, eying the sight of the factory.
This is the kind of stuff he longed to see for a long time, but he never had an opportunity of seeing something like this. It is unsurprisingly, since the Outside never had a chance to retain this sort of unity, nor opportunity.
At the end of the staircase, William ends up on the ground and on the main level of the factory deck, which is a huge open space like the one, he saw in the Federation - where the helicopter, Luke picked him up with, ended.
The floor looks to be from some hard material. Not wood, but some kind of hard-surfaced stone, with an almost metallic glint to it. It's hard under his shoes and should provide enough protection and stability for the weight of the machines built in this place.
At some point, Roman starts his walk, and Williams follows. No workers bother them, as they should. Their work is their priority and any outside influence doesn't matter to them at all.
It comes later when Roman walks to a different kind of section of this level. It seems like a private, and well-developed hangar of some sort. It has a large gate in the middle, with military men before it.
“Greetings gentlemen. I suppose you are the expectant visitors for the Academy?” an absolute unit of a man says, standing before Roman and William right across the closed gate.
“That is right.” Roman nods, forgetting the paper. “The Academy kind of shit. I heard there is still some time left, but I expected something better than this, but I guess I expected too much from this,” he says, speaking his honesty, but the man doesn't find his words all that strange, nor upsetting. It seems that these guards aren't members or people of the Academy, and are bodyguards, or personnel of this factory.
“We are simple providers for the larger purpose. If the passengers are late, too bad for them, and what you are finding wrong with our services, isn't up to us, but yourself.” The man says, smiling and flexing crossed arms around his chest. Dressed in brown and common fabric uniform, he is at least 2 meters tall and quite larger than Roman.
“Hoh... Interesting. I never heard someone talk such intriguing shit...” Roman chuckles but doesn't do much more than that.
“Well, sorry for that, I slipped. Heheheh.” the man suddenly laughed, as if realizing his mistake. Joking or not, giving a Walker - who is enough to become an Instructor - this kind of service, isn't good. “The time is still enough, sir. Clearing things up and waiting is currently underway. We will leave at 10:30. You have still around 30 minutes. Right, my name is Jordan. A humble commander of the 2nd division of Soundless Bodyguards under mister Tuner.”
Jordan salutes like a good soldier, but Roman has no mental capacity to care about it.
“Yea. Yea. How marvelous.” he comments, shaking his head in disinterest before looking in some other direction. Pointing to the gate, he wants to get over this and go inside.
Jordan backs away and opens it to the side, revealing a gust of wind, along with shaded lights. Even if he could make more arguments, there is no way to fight the Walkers, who are part of this important project regarding the Emblem Academy. He could only accept the vivid personalities some of them have. The wonder of how powerful some of them are, also briefly appears in his head.
Though, as he opens the door, letting Roman walk inside, Jordan watches William next, who appears interested in him.
“Hello, mister Jordan. What sort of vehicle are we getting into? How long it will take? What sort of engine is there? What is the general structure of making a large-scale boat in this sort of ridiculous dock?” William shoves him with questions, leaving Jordan surprised, and slightly taken aback.
“Y-you a young fella. I can tell that, as well as your sincerity. Hehehe.” Joran says, relaxing his nervousness when Roman leaves. “Are you prepared for this journey, young Walker?” he asks instead of answering his question or eying the visible bright crimson mark on William's arm.
“I am,” William replies by clutching his fist and confirming his words with a firm nod.
“Then.” Jordan puts his arm around his shoulders, beginning a small tour for this youngster that doesn't seems like the old Walkers. It is no wonder since the more you live in this era, the more... strange Walker could get. “There is a Dock 1, 2, 3, and all the way to the 28th. Some are larger than others, but it ain't like those tanker docks that the biggest boss has in the Northern District. Over there, they have direct orders from the Assembly, while we are only a privately owned company. A bit of investment comes from the Academy since there is still a need for regular travel to their isles and their needs. Recourses, food, and so such things need a great and consistent flow. That's what our main business is at the moment, while everything that you see o the left side of things is mostly a secondary business.”
William listens in an attentive manner and doesn't mind the exciting prospect of this man who sounds like he knows his words.
This little journey of explanation and wonders doesn't take that long. Jordan has to remind himself of time and take William back to the previous location which is the hangar under the Academy.
Waving and thanking Jordan in return, William walks into the gate while looking for Roman, who couldn't be bothered about Jordan's and William's brief tour.
The inside of this hangar turns out to be kind of empty in the beginning, with very few people there. There are some buildings and smaller hangars inside. Why build a building inside a building? William doesn't know the answer to that, but it sure feels strange, and deficient. Some of these buildings must be where Roman is, so William enters the few, but doesn't find him.
Though, he finds quite large groups of people at some of them. Those are awaiting Walkers resting inside. Most are quiet waiting for the Trial with nervousness, seriousness, and unhinged hopes. “What folks... Quite distant and serious. Some of them are also older than me... I guess those are the older ones, as Roman said, and not the first-timers? I guess their appearance is normal, and their hopes should be high like mine. It happens when a thing as important as the Trial to the Emblem Academy, is before us.” William thinks, and finally enters the next small hangar where he sees Roman, conversing with some robust muscular man and a lady in some slick and smooth uniform.
There are more unique people around than in the previous buildings. Mostly adults, there are still occasional youngsters amongst them, but most of them are middle-aged, and older Walkers. Those are the Instructor, or so William guesses.
Noticing a new fella in the building, most don't pay a new youngster much attention, apart from some looks at his right hand. William still doesn't care about hiding it, since the uniform he got from Mi-Yung will await the Trial. For now, he is satisfied with having no way to hide his Emblem, which may be contributed to having time to get used to it.
William walks with his sleeves open as if nothing matters.
“Sorry for the delay, Roman. Greeting sir. Hello miss.” William walks to Roman, figuring that he wasted some time with Jordan. He also greets the two Walkers beside him.
“Oh, William? I don't care much about it. Most like you are either waiting somewhere, hiding, or nervously walking around like birds flying before the storm.” Roman turns, giving William some context that doesn't matter. “Anyway, there was some change in orders. Nothing bad. Just 15 additional minutes until we go. Here are....” Roman says, gesturing his hand to introduce the two Walkers who know one another. It isn't that surprising, considering Roman's involvement with the Academy and the fact, that high ranks Walkers are a rarity. Most of them know each other to some extent.
“This madman, and a unit of a storming man, is nicknamed Ropp. Quite a unit of a man and this is Evellyn Knox a current vice-instructor for the Academy training grounds, and a few other thigns.” Roman says, giving William a better view of the two people. In fact, one is more apparent than the other.
Ropp is huge and towers over William by more than a meter and a half. He smiles in his usual, steady, and quite terrifying attempt to make his first impression and even pats William's head. “Hello, there little man. Good weather down there? You Roman's little work? Heheheh. I look forward to seeing the good results that I found surprising. His work on you must have been quite some time, having it?”
William flinches down a little, fearing this man's grip, and touch, which isn't all that great. His pained shoulders from this pat don't help with his nervousness either. Fortunately, he leaves him alone after a couple of moments along with a satisfied grin.
Evellyn makes only a couple of comments about the work, hesitation, and ethics of a being great Walker before taking her leave. She greets some folks she is familiar with, before moving somewhere else as a high-rank Academy personnel.
This leaves William alone with Roman and Ropp, who seems familiar with each other, but Wiliam doesn't seem to know why, or the reason. They seem more different than have things in common. Be it in the body, personality, and overall feel, it is strange to call them comrades, let alone casual friends.
“Anyway, I heard Roman's involvement, so what sort of progress have you made, little Gale?” Ropp asks all of a sudden, crouching down, to seek William's face, or his Emblem closer.
Ropp wears a large cloth, in the style of a robe or something, but it still is tight, enveloping and making his muscles more than apparent. Though who knows how much fabric it took to create this robe.
Hearing his question, but ignoring the fact of his last name, William glances into his eyes, fearful, but unwavering. Roman also looks at William to see his response.
“I got somewhat stronger. Is that what I should tell?” he answers, unsure what to tell further to that sort of question. Strong? He did get strong on that last date of his training, but can't help but wonder what sort of help it will be in the Trials. That is something Roman never told him about. The context, and the following things in the Trials.
By now, he understands why most young Walkers distance themselves from their Instructor. It isn't that pleasant to be watched and asked by curious instructors. Most are standing around in groups, chatting, and spending time after being already familiar with each other, or thinking of the past.
“You did?? Calling oneself strong. Excellent! If someone says so from Roman's training, I guess that speaks for itself.” Ropp chuckles, flexing his arms, and letting the fibers visible on his skin turn in excitement.
“Leave this alone,” Roman argues to Ropp. “Instead, where is your little work? I would never guess you would ever be interested in Instructing the young. Is another Apocalypse around the corner or what?” Roman tells with a clear mocking tone, making Ropp get up, and step forward in faked agitation.
“Oh! He is somewhere, but let me just say it for our sake. I don't care about this Trial, nor this instructing bullshit one bit. The payment was just too good not to take it, and incidentally, I was quite needed for this specific person, or so he said and wished. That's about it.” Ropp explains as if the matter of fact isn't even worth telling. Though, he still tells pretty much everything. Probably to boost his ego, and make some excuses for Roman's question.
In the following minutes, William still spends time with them, since he doesn't know anyone in this place, nor feel confident to get others.
Soon enough, through the chatting and some things that Ropp seems to know better than Roman, William understands what will happen in the Trials.
There will be 3 rounds of special rounds of some tests revolving around the Walker's might, stamina, or missions. Even Ropp or Roman has no clue about the further specifics, which leaves William perplexed. 3 rounds? Might or stamina? That doesn't explain anything. Another is, they - even the Instructors - will simply follow the Academy Trial for now, and no one knows if instructors will get involved or not.
It is a bit strange to consider high-level Instructions in such a thing, but William doesn't question it that much. It's probably another course of strangeness what Walkers do, and Academy should be the primmest example of that.
After 10 minutes of talking, there is a sudden introduction of someone else. This person appears in this room like a bolt of lightning, while every present Instroctur jolts their attention to him. Mist, lighting, and trembles surround this person's feet and body. Appearing all of a sudden means one thing, and the attire makes it that much more obvious. A dark suit, and a straight and stoic face.
“A butler?” Roman deducts, no longer continuing with talking to Ropp or William.
“Greetings and good day to you. Instructors and a couple of youngsters of our trials, it's pleasure to announce the beginning of the Trials. We are leaving in 8 minutes.” the man tells. His clean and young face reveals no indication of his age, but his posture, voice, and overall dark suit attire make it apparent that he is older than he looks. “I suppose the majority are present, so let's move out.” the butler says after looking around, and with his hands behind his back, walks out of this hanger, uncaring about the eyes of the instructors, or young Walkers.
“So little is being said. I guess trials are still the same as ever. Messy.” Roman sneers and follows the butter like most people outside, William included.