July 10, 2020

Blake showed up for training at 7:30. She walked into the front door of the fire headquarters and said to a woman at the front desk. "I'm Blake Belladonna. I'm here for fire alarm training." She had her bow on.

"Got it," the woman replied. "Training is in the Fire Alarm Office's conference room. There, you'll be directed by the director."

Blake nodded and said, "Thank you." She then went onto an elevator. As she pressed the button to the 3rd floor, she heard her cellphone ring. She answered it and said, "Hello?"

"Hello, Blake," Sun said on the other end. "How's it going?"

"Oh hey there, Sun. I'm going to job training."

"Really? When will you be done?"

"I'll be home by 4:30. Why?"

"I was thinking we could do something."

Blake smiled. "I see. I'll call you when I go home, Sun. Bye."

"Goodbye, Blake."

Blake then hung up and thought, "Sun has a crush on me. I'm fucking calling it right now. He should know exactly who he's falling for, though."

By 9, the trainees were let loose to the dispatch consoles. Blake was put on the Paging console with a veteran dispatcher named Caol Ó Riagain, who had 25 years of experience. He was also a volunteer firefighter for Protection Fire and Engine Company 1, the oldest fire company in the city. Caol said, "I assume you're new here."

"Exactly," Blake replied. She then took off her bow and revealed her cat ears.

"You're a faunus?" The man was intrigued.

"I am. I'm a Vigilant firefighter."

"Vigilant, eh? You know the Schnees?"

"Weiss is my best friend. Of course I do."

Caol grinned. "Those Schnees love to throw money at their fire company. That's why they can get the best and newest equipment while other vollies in the rural and agricultural parts have to make do with equipment that's over 30 years old. I mean, at least they aren't throwing their money at something illegal and giving back to the community, but still." Then, a call popped up on the CAD screen. "Oh goody, we got a call. You know what, I'll let you dispatch it, new girl. You know what to do?"

"I think so." Blake then got up to the microphone of the radio console, pushed the transmit button, and said, "Vale City Fire Alarm, standby... Mateo Engine 13 for a... Charlie Response medical call at Box... 425."

"Mateo's pager tones are on that console. They're marked with the number 13. Remember, do not hit the siren tone console. This is just an EMS call."

Blake pressed the button for Mateo's tones and then pressed another button saying 'TONE XMIT.' Mateo's pager tones then played out on the radio. Blake then pressed the transmit button again and said, "Vale City Fire Alarm on the air for Box 425 for Mateo Engine 13 for a Charlie Response medical call for... 155 Mayer Street for a 42-year-old male with a history of heart issues complaining of difficulty breathing. Repeating, Vale City Fire Alarm on the air for Box 425 for Mateo Engine 13 for a Charlie Response medical call for 155 Mayer Street. Vale City Fire Alarm signing off at 0908 hours, Training Alarm Operator T875."

"Not bad," said Caol. "Remember, for the number zero, never say zero. You are supposed to say 'oh.' Additionally, always use single digits to spell out a multi-digit number. You called the company 'thirteen' instead of 'one-three' and the man's age as 'forty-two' instead of 'four-two.' Other than those rather miniscule mistakes, you did pretty good. What's your name, again?"

"Blake Belladonna, sir. Thank you."

At 12, Weiss and Jaune were having lunch at a street cafe in Vigilant's area. As they ate, they chit-chatted about how life was treating them after graduation. "My line of work at the moment is pretty much doing stuff at my father's company," Weiss said. "Surprisingly, it's harder than I thought. Some days it can be something as simple as looking something up, and on others, he can call me down to sort through and organise hundreds of documents in one sitting."

"Ouch," Jaune replied. "As for me, I've been doing mostly Signal Academy-related stuff. I work part-time as a teacher there to supplement my hunter's income." (A/N: Hunters have a base pay of 65,000 Valeanian Lien, or 52,000 USD, per year. This goes up depending on years of experience and rank.)

A waiter then came over and said, "Would you 2 like for me to refill your drinks?"

"Yes, please," Weiss replied. "Limonade for me. Jaune, what would you like?" (A/N: Limonade is a soda with a hint of lemon flavouring with sugar. It is popular in France in real life.)

"I would like Green Tea, please."

"Got it. It's on the way." The waiter then took the 2 glasses on the table and walked to the kitchen inside.

Jaune then turned back to Weiss. "So, about us."

"What is it?" Weiss looked confused.

"So we shouldn't hold hands or kiss in public yet, right?"

"It would not be the best idea. Ren already knows, and he doesn't seem too amused."

Weiss then saw Pyrrha's mutilated ghost sitting at a table behind Jaune. She said, "No shit he wouldn't be amused."

Weiss quietly mouthed, "Not now, asshole!"

Jaune said, "Uhhh... Who are you talking to?"

"Me? Uhh... No one... It was nothing..."

"Anyways, the thing is, I would like to do something, though."

Weiss replied, "Kiss on the cheek sounds good, though." She then gave him a peck on the cheek.

Pyrrha's ghost facepalmed and gave Weiss the middle finger. Jaune replied, "Thanks, Weiss."

"Don't mention it, Jaune." She then looked at Pyrrha's ghost and quietly mouthed, "What the hell?!"

Pyrrha replied, "I'm outta here." She then disappeared.

Weiss thought to herself, "What the everloving fuck is up with me?"

At 1:30, Weiss and Ruby ran to the station for a Bravo-response car accident. Ruby said, "Was that Blake dispatching us?"

"I wouldn't be surprised," Weiss replied. "C'mon, get your gear on and get on the rescue rig."

As Weiss got her gear on and jumped into the cab, Ruby tried to join her. However, another firefighter said, "Get on the rear step. All 6 seats are occupied."

Ruby defeatedly replied, "Okay." She then ran to the rear of the rescue-pumper and stepped onto the rear step of the unit. She then grabbed the handlebar above the hose bed and clenched it, holding on tight as the rescue roared out of the station, closely followed by the captain's car.

As the rescue's sirens blared and it drove at speeds of over 50 MPH, Ruby could feel the wind hitting her in the face as she said to herself, "Wow! This feels great!"

Then, they stopped at the accident, which was being attended to by the ambulance and a police car, and Ruby almost hit her face on the rescue. She then stepped off of the rear step, her hair a mess as she grabbed her helmet off of the hose bed and pulled her boots up. Weiss walked to her and said, "How was your first back step ride?"

"Holy shit," Ruby said. "That... That was something else..."

Weiss then patted her on the back and told her, "Good. Now go grab the kitty litter. We need to clean up the fuel."

As Ruby grabbed the litter, the 2 paid firefighter-paramedics, as well as 2 volunteers who had joined them, were busy treating the patient. Ruby then walked over and began pouring litter on the spilled gasoline.

Then, Winter said, "Looks like the car battery is leaking dust. We should probably call for haz-mat assistance from the Airport. Problem is, they're over 45 minutes out."

"We'll wait," the captain of the company said. "In the meantime, I'll request a tone-out from Goodwill for assistance."

Weiss said, "Ugh... I hate waiting this long."

At 6, Sun and Blake hung out at Blake's apartment and were in the middle of an intense game of pool. As Blake lined up a shot on the table, she said, "Wanna know how I got this pool table?"

Sun replied, "Sure. Why not?"

Then, Blake landed the 5 ball into a pocket. "Well, Weiss hooked me up with it. His dad was getting rid of this old one and buying a new one for his house, so she asked me if I wanted it, since I like pool. I said yes, and thus, I got this vintage Armor Sports pool table made in 1959. I restored it in my free-time and now, it looks good as new.

Anyways, how's the Mistralian Hunting Force?

"Same as always," Sun replied. "I'm the Lieutenant in my platoon. Neptune, Sage and Scarlet are still in the enlisted ranks. My entire platoon of 4 sections got sent here for training at Fort Autumn as part of an entire company of hunters. You know, the cross-training exercise where Vale sends hunters to Mistral and Mistral sends hunters here called Exercise Red Leaves. I think Vale sent 3 companies as part of a whole battalion and we sent 1 this year.

How's your military experience going?"

"Not bad. I'm a Corporal. Jaune is the Lieutenant in my platoon. Ruby's a Staff Sergeant and commands the squad I'm in with Yang, Weiss, Nora, Ren, and until she was killed in a car wreck last year, Pyrrha."

"That's terrible. She was a good hunter. How's Jaune doing?"

"He's doing well now. I don't know if he's dating anyone yet."

Then, they were interrupted by Blake's pager. "Will that siren turn on?"

"It just did. The siren tones follow the pager tones. And it sounds like a box alarm."

"Vale City Fire Alarm on the air for Box 297 for a Box Alarm at 47 Bristol Avenue for Vigilant Fire 5 acting Excellence Fire 7, Goodwill Engine 6, Valeanian Legion Ambulance 12 acting Enterprise Steamer 10, Valiant Hook and Ladder 13, and the Assistant District 2 chief. Caller reported his apartment on the 5th floor is full of smoke. The fire alarms are also going off at this location. Repeating, Vale City Fire Alarm on the air for Box 297 for a Box Alarm at 47 Bristol Avenue for Vigilant Fire 5 acting Excellence Fire 7, Goodwill Engine 6, Valeanian Legion Ambulance 12 acting Enterprise Steamer 10, Valiant Hook and Ladder 13, and the Assistant District 2 chief. Vale City Fire Alarm, signing off at 1809 hours, Alarm Operator 341."

Blake said, "I gotta go to that, Sun. You can stay here as long as you want."

"Thanks, Blake." Sun then sat down on a couch as Blake ran out of the apartment.

By the time Blake got to the station, Ambulance 201 was already out the door with the 2 paid firefighters and 4 bunk-in volunteers. 2 other volunteers had started up Truck 201.

As she put her gear on, she saw Ruby and Yang run into the station. Weiss was already in the truck by this point.

Blake said as Ruby ran to her gear, "Sun's back at my apartment."

Ruby replied, "Sun Wukong? Him? You guys are dating?"

Blake slightly blushed and said, "No we aren't. Ruby, we haven't done anything except for play pool."

Yang looked in curiosity, thinking, "So she's out on a date with Sun, of all people? Wait, why am I concerned? I have a boyfriend... Or... Well... You know, that may be the first time I admitted George was my boyfriend. Ugh... Forget about it now, Yang. You got a fire to attend. I wonder if he's there."

Within 3 minutes, the truck pulled out of the station with a full crew of 10, 5 interior. Winter was driving. She said, "Ladies and gents, PD confirmed a Code 99! Howard Greenfield Hose 17 is rolling out!"

Weiss said, "Alright then. Let's get to work."

Blake replied, "5th Floor, huh?"

Yang said to Ruby, "Too bad we can't go in."

At 6:17, as Truck 201 got closer, the District 2 Chief requested a Second Alarm, bringing in 5 more companies, which would include Excellence and Enterprise, who had both just been released from a medical call. Winter said, "Sounds like a really bad one for them to transmit a Second Alarm so soon."

As Yang got out, she spotted George, wearing Goodwill's turnout gear consisting of yellow pants, a black coat, and a yellow helmet. "Hey Georgie! Over here!"

George turned around and ran over to Yang, hugging her and saying, "It's so good to see you, Yang! I bet you could spot me because of my company's radically different gear."

Yang then let go. "Probably. It looks weird compared to my company's gear. Anyways, what's your company gonna do?"

"RIT. It sucks because we can't go in unless a guy gets hurt or trapped. I mean, I can't go in anyways, because I'm still receiving Basic Firefighter training, but still."

"Awwww. I'll stay out here with ya."

As Yang and George watched the fire and awaited orders, Weiss, Winter, and Ren got their masks on and prepared to enter the building with 3 other Vigilant firefighters. As they got ready, Ruby said to Blake, "That air bottle must be heavy."

"Speaking of that," Blake replied as she grabbed an axe to hand to Winter. "I heard we're gonna use SCBA's in training soon. Get hype." She then handed the axe to the now fully-suited up Winter.

Ruby replied excitedly, "I can't wait! We'll finally go into a fire!"

Inside the building, the team of 6 crawled through the burning 5th floor of the wide apartment building. On one side, the floor was fully involved. On the other, there was a rapidly growing smoke condition.

As the team went past a door, Weiss thought she heard someone. "Wait up!"

Winter said, "What is it?"

"I hear something from this door." She then pounded her fist on the door in question.

Ren said, "Alright. Winter, use the axe."

Weiss then shouted to whoever was behind the door, "Back away from the door!"

A female voice called back, "Hilf mir! Hilf mir! Ich bin schwanger!" She then cried out in pain.

"She's pregnant and speaking Atlesian." Weiss then shouted back, "Zurück weg von der Tür! Wir benutzen eine Axt! Bist du verletzt?!"

The lady again cried out in pain. "Das Kind kommt!"

"She's giving birth in there."

Ren replied, "Jesus Christ, couldn't her body have picked a better time than this?"

Weiss then broke the door down and saw a young woman, no older than 25, holding her belly as she tried pushing her baby out. Weiss said, "Wie heißen Sie?"

"Eva... Ich heisse Eva."

"In Ordung. Eva, müssen Sie auf mich hören. Wir haben nicht genug Zeit, um Ihnen heraus zu bringen, bevor das Kind geboren ist. Wir werden Sie bei der Geburt hier zu unterstützen. Nun atmen Sie tief durch und schieben so hart wie du kannst, Eva."

Eva then began to breathe and push in cycles as Ren said, "That's it. Keep doing that."

Winter, watching the doorway, said, "How much longer before the smoke fills all this up?"

Another firefighter said, "A few minutes, 6 minutes tops."

"Shit... That Eva girl better pop that baby out of her hoo-hah quickly, or else we're all screwed."

Weiss then said to Winter, "Radio command and tell them about us."

Winter then radioed, "Vigilant Interior to Vigilant Command, we're tied up with a pregnant patient on the 5th floor, bravo side, who is in labour at this time."

"10-4," Vigilant's captain radioed back from outside. "Do you need extra personnel?"

"Negative. We are good at this time." Winter then sighed.

Ren then said, "I can see the baby's head!"

Weiss assured Eva, "Du machst das großartig, Eva. Nur weiter pushen. Ich kann den Kopf des Kindes zu sehen.

Was ist das Geschlecht des Kindes?"

"Der Doktor sagte, es war ein Mädchen," Eva replied. "Sie ist mein erstes Kind. Mein Verlobter hat mich verlassen, nachdem ich schwanger wurde. Er hasste Kinder." She then pushed again, causing the entire baby's head to be exposed.

Ren and Weiss then held onto the baby's head as several more pushes finally released the newborn from the mother's body. It let out a gasp and cried. Weiss said, "Sie ist schön, Eva. Und ja, es ist ein Mädchen. Der Doktor hatte recht." She then handed the baby to Eva, who began to cry. Weiss thought to herself, "What kind of self-righteous asshole leaves their fiancee alone while she's pregnant? I understand you don't want children and this was probably accidental, but it just seems so wrong. At the very least, he should've waited until the pregnancy was over to break up with her."

"Ich fühle mich so in Konflikt," Eva said between cries. "Ich liebe meine Tochter schon so viel, aber sie erinnert mich an mein Verlobter."

Winter then said to her, "Eva, es ist sein Verlust. Er ist, verdient keine Ihrer Zeit. Sie werden einen anderen Mann oder eine Frau zu finden, wenn Sie in diese Art der Sache, die gut für Sie und Ihr Kind bringt bist. Lassen Sie uns die Hölle hier raus."

Weiss then found a sink in the room and cleaned a knife she carried. She then used it to cut the umbilical cord. She then used a bobby pin to close off the stump of the umbilical cord on the baby. She then held the baby as Ren, Winter, and the other 3 firefighters helped Eva onto her feet. Winter then carried her on her back, foregoing her SCBA set and leaving it to Ren to carry as they ran to the stairs. As they left the room and darted down the hallway, Ren turned back and saw smoke envelop the room they were in.

When they got to the 4th floor, they were greeted by several other firefighters who immediately took Eva. The gang followed them as they then ran to the 3rd floor.

As they then got to the second floor, Eva's placenta began to come out, spilling blood on the floor. Weiss said, "Hurry!"

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, they made it outside. Weiss placed the baby in Eva's arms as she was lifted onto a stretcher and rushed to an ambulance. As the gang began to calm down and take deep breaths, they were greeted by a thunderous round of applause from onlookers and fellow firefighters. Ruby ran up to Weiss and said, "We were really worried back there for a second. I'm glad things turned out okay. Now all we gotta do is disinfect all of you guys' gear."

Hermann walked up to Weiss and patted her on the back, saying, "That was some damn fine work. I'm proud of you, Weiss. Same goes for your sister, Winter. If your mother could only see you guys now..."

Weiss hugged her father back. Winter joined in as well. They both said, "Thank you..."

September 25, 2016

Things had been going well at Beacon Academy for Team RWBY's second year of study so far. The classes, for now, were relatively easy compared to last year, and everyone was in generally high spirits.

After a class in which there had been a pretest, the gang chatted in the library. Yang said, "Pretests are nothing but horse... Feces." Yang had hesitated to use a more explicit word for 'feces' after another student walked by. "It's like sending a completely untrained civvie out to fight a Nevermore or something and expecting them to learn right away."

Ruby replied, "It was haaaaard. I barely knew a thing about 40 of the 50 questions on it. At least it ain't a graded class work assignment. I'm pretty sure Dad would have a fit if he got word that me and you got less than a third of the questions on a test correctly, Yang."

Weiss replied, "Same with my parents."

Blake replied, "Well, my parents are dead, so they kinda can't give an opinion on the matter if I don't do good on the test."

"Wow," Ruby replied. "That's... Uhhh... Dark?"

Then, Weiss' cellphone rang. "Hello? Dad? Why are you...? Wait... Repeat that last sentence again for me, please."

Weiss then paused for a full minute. She then hung up the phone and quietly put it down on the table.

Blake said, "Weiss, what's wrong?"

Weiss then grabbed her cellphone and her bag and quietly walked out of the library.

Yang said, "It sounds serious."

Ruby then checked a news app on her phone. One of the headlines was, "Firefighter Struck and Killed by Drunk Driver at a call." When she saw the picture of the firefighter who was killed, she dropped her phone and gasped.

Yang and Blake then looked at Ruby's phone. Yang said, "Jesus..."

Blake got up and said, "I'm gonna look for Weiss."

Ruby said to Yang, "Her own mother, killed at a call. Damn... You know, me and Weiss do share a few things in common. It's too bad that this is one of them now."

Yang put her arm around Ruby and said, "It's okay. Let's go find Weiss."

Genoveva Schnee, born as Genoveva Ross, was born in 1970. She was the daughter of a firefighter in Excellence Fire Company 7 and first met Hermann Schnee, born in 1968, at a fire in 1985. They fell in love soon afterwards and were married in 1993. Their marriage was tumultuous at times with the pressures of running the Schnee Dust Corporation as well as the attacks against it and the Schnee family by the White Fang.

She was a certified Intermediate Firefighter-EMT and transferred to Vigilant Fire Company 5 in 1991 after moving in with Hermann. She left behind 2 children: Weiss and Winter.

She died in 2016 after a drunk driver struck her at the scene of a gas leak, becoming the first Vigilant firefighter to die in the line of duty since 2009, as well as the 56th and so far last to die since the company's inception in 1818 to 2020. The driver who hit her is currently serving 15 years behind bars for vehicular manslaughter (10), driving while intoxicated for the 3rd time (3), and reckless endangerment (2) resulting from the crash, as well as another 30 years for violently resisting arrest (2), 2 counts of assault on a police officer with a vehicle (10 each), and 4 counts of violation of probation (2 each) from the ensuing high speed chase.