(Y/N)'s POV
The next few months after we left our home were somewhat eventful. It took us a few days to reach Argus and we spent a few days enjoying the sun. We eventually came across the issue on the lack of funds. We decided to put the Southern Cross to some use to help with getting the resources for our supplies. If anyone needed transportation for themselves or valuable cargo, we took on the job under the table in most cases. People would pay us whatever lien was agreed upon or sometimes people would barter. It was a good gig for us as we traveled. We had food and water, and we always had dust to keep us armed and on the move.
After about a week in Argus, we hopped across the water to Mantle after taking on a simple passenger travel job for a few families that missed their bullhead. Not long after we got to Mantle, we ran into a man known as Pietro Polendina. The man was being held up at gun point by some common street thugs looking to make off with whatever they could get from him when we turned around the same street corner they were standing at. Price and I made quick work of them and got him back to his home and lab safely. We spent some time talking to him for a bit and it turns out he's one of Atlas' finest engineers. We even got the weapons systems on the Southern Cross finished as a token of his gratitude. It took about a two months to do but the end result was better than even I originally hoped. I thought nobody could top Sam Wilson until I saw what Pietro could do. We rebuilt the first boxcar into a turret/combat car with three sets of turrets that can take on even larger enemies if the situation were ever needed. Hell, we even got a missile launcher installed on the other half of our ammo car for added measure.
Our time in Mantle and Atlas ended when we took a job delivering some military grade parts and weaponry to Argus. For the next six months after that, we spent most of our time running around between Anima and Solitas. Friendly innkeepers and town officials from villages and towns that we helped out along the way would help us navigate from town to town.
Price unlocked my aura not long after we left Mantle. After our encounter with those thugs, he said it would be wise to have my aura unlocked in case shit ever went south in the worst way. I ended up unlocking my semblance when Price and I took on a simple grimm extermination job for the village of Shion about a few weeks later. Price and I ended up having to face off against the alpha beowolf. The damn thing tried to pull a fast one on me by charging without warning after a rather odd staredown that lasted for a few minutes. Next thing I knew I jumped out of the way and was floating in mid air. I managed to kill it by "flying" above it, quickly switch my guns into katana mode, and drive the blades into the grimm, killing it in the process. From what I have gathered so far in some of our encounters with grimm over time, I can influence the gravity field around me. Price unlocked his semblance when he was training with his Dad about two years ago. His teleportation abilities have actually saved our asses quite a few times already, especially if we need to make a quick getaway. He can teleport himself as well as people he can come into contact. Most recently, he's been experimenting with taking objects along with him when he uses his semblance. We eventually learned that the more people or larger the object he takes with him, the more strain that is put on him.
Although it was nice to be welcomed into almost anywhere in Anima and parts of Solitas, our search for answers wasn't getting anywhere. It didn't matter how many grimm Price and I killed or how much research we did when and where we could; we were not getting any leads. We decided that we would eventually have to go west towards Vale and Vaccuo.
In a village in eastern Anima...... 1 week ago......
(Y/N): "How are we looking on steam Price?"
Price: "We're sitting on 180 pounds and our fuel supplies are topped off. We're ready to roll when you are."
Village Mayor: "Are you guys sure you don't want to stick around a bit longer? You two have done a lot of good for this town. Those gun turrets of yours frightened away those bandits so fast you would think the largest horde of grimm imaginable was coming after them the day you first arrived."
(Y/N): "Sorry Peter. We're on a quest of our own and we haven't found what we're looking for here. As great as it has been traveling between Mistral and Atlas and with how everyone has treated us the last few months, we gotta push out of our comfort zone."
Peter: "I understand. Just know you guys will always have a home here if you ever decide to settle down somewhere."
(Y/N): "Thanks. It means a lot. We'll definitely try to visit next time we're passing through the area."
Peter: "Good luck out there boys."
Price: "Thanks Mayor!"
We climb back into the cab and take our usual seats.
(Y/N): "Here we go Price! Next Stop, Mistral!"
I give two blasts on Triple 7's whistle and accelerate the train westward. Price and I agreed that we would make a quick stop in Mistral for a restock on supplies and then continue west to the Kingdom of Vale.
Somewhere in a Vale Library.... 6 days ago.....
Callie's POV
I was sitting in a desk in the back corner of the library's archives. Being surrounded by the full bookshelves gave me the privacy that I needed when I was doing my research. Researching ancient history, finding treasures, and solving the mysteries of ancient Remnant has been a hobby of mine for the last few years ever since I read the story about the four maidens.
I continued reading the book I had sitting in front of me, taking down notes at the same time. It seemed that there were four relics that the two brothers gifted man kind: choice, knowledge, creation, and destruction.
The relic that caught my eye the most was the relic of knowledge. It appears to answer a certain amount of questions that user asks every specific period of time. The more I thought about it, the more I realized the endless possibilities that someone could use this relic if they were to ever find it. Clearly, it would be seriously bad news if used by the wrong hands.
I had been looking into the very existence of the relics as well as where to find them with not much luck. Nobody really knows about them or where they are. Even modern historians who are more knowledgeable about them than I am don't even believe they exist and write it off as basic mythology. I, however, believe they do exist. If I can perhaps find the relic of knowledge, maybe I can use it to help me track down the other three. I would go down in history as the greatest archaeologist in recent history! I pull out an audio recorder to document my findings.
Callie: "Callie's log. After doing some digging, I am still coming up with nothing on leads. However, I have a theory. If there are four kingdoms and four relics, maybe there is a connection. Maybe they have something to do with the Kingdom's themselves and more. The only question is where would each relic be hidden at. I want to focus on finding the relic of knowledge first, as I plan to hopefully use it to find the other relics if my theory is proven wrong. If my research has not failed me yet, finding just one of them may put me on the path to finding the locations of the other three."
I stop the recording and I make a call to my friend Jessica in Mistral. She's one of the kingdom's main historian's and she may be able to help me out in my search. I hit her contact info in my scroll and it rings.
Jessica: "Hey Callie! What's going on?"
Callie: "Oh you know, locking myself in the deepest parts of the closest library."
Jessica: "Yea that sounds about right. What can I do for ya?"
Callie: "I may have found myself a lead after doing some research here in Vale regarding the relics. I was wondering if we could meet somewhere to show you what I got. I'd send it all to your scroll but I feel it would be best if I showed you in person."
Jessica: "That is interesting! I don't know how I might be able to help ya. Those old things are just myths and if they did exist they are probably long gone by now. In any case, how about you meet me at this nice place in Mistral not far from my home. I'll send ya the address and location once we hang up."
Callie: "Sure! I'll be there as quick as I can!"
I hang up on my scroll and I start packing my things. Guess I better hop on the next ship to Anima then.
Haven Academy.....5 days ago......
Bruce's POV
I'm finally getting out of this gods forsaken place. When I told that cowering idiot of a headmaster that I was done with this school. He tried to convince me to stay and join another team. Yeah....like that was going to happen. If he didn't act like the whole world was out to get him or something I might have actually taken him more seriously. I had the last of my things and I was ready to go back home and try to forget that I even spent a full year of my life here.
I couldn't save them. Frost, Addison, and AJ were not only my teammates but they were like the brothers I never had. I knew it was a terrible idea to split up. Makes me wish we didn't accept that stupid mission Lionheart gave us. I was their leader and I failed them in the worst possible way. I wasn't strong enough or fast enough. The images of their bodies beaten and torn to shreds still haunt me every night.
I grab the last of my things and begin to take my last walk through the hallways I used to call home. Professor Lionheart steps out of one of the classrooms and sees me.
Lionheart: "Ah. Mr. Speedle. I take it you are officially taking your leave?"
Bruce: "Save your breath Leonardo. There is nothing you could say to convince me to stay. My team is now dead because of me. The worst part of it all is that those responsible are getting away with it. You once told me that you and the other headmaster's never make mistakes when naming someone the leader of a team. I'd say it's safe to say you guys are not always right."
Lionheart: "Bruce. Please...it wasn't your fault."
Bruce: "Sure feels like it is. I got the families of my now dead teammates asking me questions that I don't even have the answers to. If I do have an answer it's not good enough. Some of them even blame me for what happened! I'm not cut out for any of this. Now please step aside."
We share a moment of silence with Leo looking rather distraught. I don't see why he should be. He's not the one that got his entire team killed because of the ill-thought out decisions he made. He finally steps aside and I walk past him with neither of us saying another word.
*timeskip*
I walk into a bar and grill joint known as "Buster's" located on the edge of the city. It's quite the walk down the mountain but I didn't care. I just needed some time to myself. I walk inside and take a seat at the bar. The owner, Benny, turns around and notices me sitting down.
Benny: "Been a while since I've seen you down here Bruce."
Bruce: "And you're probably gonna see me a lot more for a while."
Benny: "You're always welcome around here. What will you be having tonight?"
Bruce: "Whatever is the strongest stuff you got."
Benny: "Coming right up."
Bruce: "Thanks Ben."
Benny turns around and starts making my drink. I'm surprised he hasn't questioned why I asked for the strong stuff already. About a minute later he turns around and hands me the glass.
Benny: "Here ya go."
Bruce: "Thanks. I need this badly."
Benny: "You never were an alcohol drinker. Why the sudden change if ya don't mind me asking?"
Bruce: "I'm sure you heard about what happened to my team?"
Benny: "Hard not to honestly. Word travels fast around here. I just didn't want to insult ya or a put ya off."
Bruce: "It's all good Ben. I just don't know what to do right now. There's a part of me that wants to hunt down those responsible and make them pay for what they did. Then there's the other part of me that just wants to forget I ever spent the last year of my life at that school."
Benny: "Bruce. I have seen tons of scumbags and assholes over the years since I set up shop here. Trust me when I say that no matter what some people will say about you, you are far from being one of those people. My son was K.I.A on a mission several years ago, but not once did I think that his teammates were to blame and you know that."
Bruce: "This is different."
Benny: "Maybe in some aspects. But overall it's not."
Bruce: "Would you foolishly lead your three closest friends to their deaths? I gave the order to split up right before we went in and I found all three of them dead not long after that. Whoever attacked picked them off one by one and finished them off quickly. Why I am still alive I will never know. I should be dead right now. I might have been able to save them if I was just a little bit faster and smarter against those grimm that attacked me."
I pull up my sleeve and show him my right arm.
Bruce: "You see this? This isn't some cheap prop for my next Halloween costume. I lost my actual arm fighting my way to my friends. Now let me ask you again, would you have made the same mistakes I did?"
Benny: "No..... I probably wouldn't."
Bruce: "Exactly. They knew we were coming. They read each of us like a book. "
Benny: "If you ever need anything or if you want to talk, all you have to do is ask."
Bruce: "Yea....thanks."
Benny: "Don't worry about your tab tonight. It's on the house."
I raise my glass acknowledging my thanks. Benny was always the easy going guy you could talk to no matter what the subject was. The last time I was down here I took my team out for a night on the town as a celebration for getting through our first year initiation and as a way to get to know each other better. That's a night I won't ever forget. I stayed at Buster's having drinks until Benny had to kick out everyone who was still around at closing time. It was a long walk back to my family's home. It didn't bother me much, it was just more time for me to think anyway. I need to figure out what I need to do with my life. There is one thing I know for sure, staying in Mistral might not be the greatest idea. Whatever. I'll figure something out eventually.....hopefully.
Mistral - 3 Hours Before Arriving at Beacon..........
3rd POV
The Southern Cross navigates through a number of turns, curves, and hills along the mountainsides. The engine slowly eases its way into the outskirts of the city before coming to a stop. (Y/N) and Price walk into a dust shop and begin loading up on fire dust and gravity dust.
Price: "Thank the gods the people that hired us in the past paid well."
(Y/N): "We used a bit more dust than usual getting here that's why. That's why I always say not to run too fast unless we have to so we can conserve the dust we keep in the ammo car."
Price: "We're hopping across the water to Vale after this right?"
(Y/N): "That's the idea. I hear they have some of the best restaurants around. I'm tempted to grab something to eat there once we land there."
Price and (Y/N) finish topping off the fuel tender and pay the bill.
(Y/N): "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
Price: "Buster's again?"
(Y/N): "Damn straight."
Price: "Well let's go in then I'm starved."
Price and (Y/N) walk across to the bar and walk in.
Meanwhile two men are walking a little ways behind them heading to the bar as well. One is a tall well dressed mustache man, and the other is a muscular middle aged man in an olive green coat over a black sleeve shirt and black pants.
???1: Are you sure this girl is even worth the time and effort?
???2: I don't understand it much myself. But orders are orders. I'm not about to incur her wrath.
???1 Even so. She's just a kid reading up on what one can assume is just one harmless big school history essay.
???2: As much as I agree with you. If our lady wishes for us to bring the girl to her, then it will be done.
???1: I'm curious to see how useful she can prove herself to be to us.
???2: Yes.
???1: Well, this is the place where our new recruit said the girl would be. *Holds the door open* Shall we?"
???2: *Nods and walks in*
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Welp. Looks like things are about to get interesting. The members of Team STAR are about to meet for the first time. How will this go over? Find out next chapter!