From the bottom to the top (Titanfall x RWBY)

Chapter 15: Rose's Secret(s)

Rose's PoV:

I woke up in the mouth of a cave. Remembering that I passed out in the middle of a freezing lake, I looked around, seeing no one.

"Jeeze, finally awake?" There was the gross sound of bones breaking and the person cried out in pain.

"GOD DAMN IT, YOU FU-!"

Another hit.

"STOP FU-!"

Yet another hit and then there was silence. Confused, I tried searching for the origin of the noise, but it was way too dark. Suddenly, a flare was lit and I was able to see Locus with an unconscious Felix at his feet.

Locus dropped the flare and looked at me. "This is the third time you've tried to take your life."

I held my head between my legs. Mumbling, I corrected Locus. "Hundredth."

He heard. "Hundredth?!? The hell is wrong with you?!?!"

Slowly, I started to sob. "Do you really want to know?!? I was raised in the IMC, a bunch of liars, thieves, and murderers! I'm not innocent! At age nine, I got my own Titan and did what was ordered of me!" My sobs turned into screams of anger. "I killed unarmed citizens without mercy! What's worse, I ENJOYED IT!!! This went on for YEARS before the Militia had to CAPTURE ME TO MAKE ME SEE MY WRONGS!!! AND AS SOON AS I SAW THAT, I TRIED COMMITTING SUICIDE AND ORDERED MY TITAN TO SELF-DESTRUCT! CAN YOU IMAGINE THE PAIN I FELT????????? I WAS EVEN ORDERED AS AN IMC PILOT TO KILL MY OWN DAMN FAMILY AND I DID SO WITHOUT REMORSE!!!!!!!! Can-! Can-!" I broke down, crying.

"Rose, I-." Locus tried approaching me, but I swung a Data Knife his way.

"NO! I DON'T WANT YOUR EMPTY WORDS!!!!"

Leaping to my feet, I sprinted out of the cave, only to find that we were surrounded by freezing rapids. Tears sprawling down my face, I tried to run into the water, but a metal hand stopped me.

"Don't."

I looked to my right and saw a Simulacrum gazing at me. Baring my teeth, I punched him right in his stupid optics and sprinted into the waters. It began to pull me away and I swiftly started to lose consciousness as I couldn't keep my head above the water. Right before I was able to pass out, a giant hand of metal shot down into the water and pulled me out. Vision blurry, I was barely able to make out that it was TOM and he had been given a snowy paint job.

"TOM??? What are you doing?!? Let me go, that's an order!"

"PROTOCOL-"

"I DON'T CARE ABOUT THE STUPID PROTOCOL, LET ME DIE AS I DESERVE!"

Slowly, TOM curled his free hand into a fist and gazed at it. I gazed with him.

"TOM? What are you-?"

"THIS IS FOR YOUR OWN GOOD, PILOT."

And with that, I lost consciousness. Waking up some time after, I realized I was in the dorm again. Frowning, I went straight to the kitchenette and reached for a knife, but a metallic hand stopped me.

"UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF PROFESSOR OZPIN, YOU ARE HEREBY UNALLOWED TO NEAR DANGEROUS ITEMS AND/OR LEAVE THIS ROOM."

I gazed at the Stalker frame TOM was controlling. "TOM..."

"THERE WILL BE NO NEGOTIATIONS."

I bared my teeth. "TOM-87878, I order you to release me!"

"VOICE COMMANDS OFFLINE."

My eyes widened. "What-? That can't be-!"

"I DISABLED THE VOICE COMMAND FUNCTIONS MYSELF, KNOWING ALL TOO WELL YOU'D USE THEM TO HARM YOURSELF."