The rain drizzled down the windows of our room, dancing to the sound of distant thunder. The ash colored clouds dominated the sky, refusing to let any of the morning sunrise seep through the window; a fitting mood for today. It had been months since the fall of Beacon, and the kingdom was unable to recover as fast as everyone was hoping. Most left to go start life somewhere without the constant reminder of death and misery every time they look outside, and today the team CFVY was going to join that bandwagon. With a sigh I sat up in my cot, glancing around to see if any of the others were awake yet. None of them were; they all looked so happy and comfortable lost in their dreams of a better place than where we actually were. I silently got out of bed, ensuring to make as little sound as possible as I headed for the kitchen. Snaking my way around the shoes, weapons, and equipment scattered all around the floor I approached the door of our room, diligently turning the handle and opening the door I stepped outside into the hall. 'It's gonna be a long day, time for some espresso' I thought to myself.
Heading towards the kitchen I grabbed my special mug Velvet got for me after losing the fight to Emerald and Mercury in the tournament, it was matt black with a gold color lip with my crosshair emblem etched into the side. Upon grabbing it I yawned and began the morning ritual of making coffee. In the midst of making coffee I checked the time, 9:18 AM. '42 minutes until we say goodbye.' With a sigh and steaming hot coffee in hand I walked back to the room to be the wake up call for the rest of my team. I peered around the corner, all of them still asleep, I hated the idea of waking them up from their peaceful dreams and bring them back into the real world. I found my way back over and took a seat on my cot. With a deep inhale I gathered the means to wake them up. "Time to get up sleepy butts!" I yelled followed by disagreeing groans and shifting around from my team Members. "Wha- what time is it?" Velvet groggily replied. "Almost nine twenty your flight leaves in a half hour guys." After a quiet pause Yatsuhashi slowly sat up, he wiped his hand down the length of his face before he looked at me "Ugh, Coco do we have to do this? Why not wait until we can all get a flight together? It would be so much easier for all of us" I took a sip of my coffee to buy time so I could formulate a response. I didn't want them to go to Haven academy alone, but very few ships came to the Atlas military camp in Valve that was built for the few hundred survivors of the Beacon battle. This flight was their chance to be happy again, and if there were not enough seats open for me on their flight that's ok, my team always came first. With muted sigh I placed my coffee mug down in my lap and looked at Yatsu.
"If we wait for a ship with enough open seats for all of us we will be here for months, this is the best opportunity we have. And it won't be that bad, I have a flight tomorrow morning. I'll meet you guys in Haven by this weekend, and we can finally stop sitting here moping and find out who was behind all this." Yatsu looked at his feet and shook his head, he knew I was right even if it didn't agree with his morals. Fox hopped swiftly out of his cot and began to stretch, shortly followed by several pops. He slowly plopped down back on his cot and ran his fingers through his hair before addressing me. "We just don't want you to go alone, you know how the flights are now days. Seems like every day we hear about some ship full of passengers that gets shot down by bandits, or attacked by Grimm, whatever the case may be, they all have the same exact outcome: No survivors. Ever. Regardless if huntsmen and huntresses were on board." "Which is the exact reason you guys need to take care of each other and be safe!" I quickly rebuttaled "I know the crashes are a serious threat we face, but you guys have tickets for tanker armed to the teeth with Atlas military. Anything dumb enough to even try and touch that ship with obliterated before it even gets close." Velvet got up and took a seat next to me, water welling in the corner of her eyes "You didn't answer his question, what about the ship that YOU take to meet us in Haven? What if you get shot down and swarmed by grimm? Or taken as prisoner by bandits? You tell me what then Coco?"
I looked down at my coffee for a second before daring to meet Velvet's gaze, a single tear ran down her cheek, making what I was about to say that much harder. "Look guys…" I desperately struggled to find the right words but nothing was coming to mind, "I-uhh I'll be fine. I mean the last cruiser that left here made it to Mistral without any problems so I wouldn't worry too much about it. And when I arrive in Haven unscaved you all owe me a nice extra large espresso" A small smirk appeared across my face, trying to lighten the mood. Velvet quickly locked me into a painfully tight hug, making me spill some of my coffee onto the floor "Please, Coco. Please Don't die" "Bun-bun I'm not gonna die" letting out a little chuckle, as Velvet's iron grip loosened and she pulled away. I placed my hand on her shoulder and locked eyes with her "I promise that ok? I have ever lied to you?" Velvet wiped the remaining tears from her eyes before replying under her breath "No, no you haven't" "And I'm not gonna start now, or ever ok? You have my word." I proceeded to set down my coffee and wrap my arm around Velvet. I had never seen her be this distraught before. Yatsu stood up from his cot and walked over to us, even he had the beginning of tears forming in his eyes. "How can you ensure that Coco? How can you ensure something you can't even control?" His voice was choked up, fist clenched as he desperately held back the tears. "It's hard to explain, but I can promise you I will make it to Haven alive, and we will see each other again" Yatsu let out a huge sigh, whether it was a sigh of relief or displeasure I couldn't tell. I stood up releasing the emotionally vulnerable bunny sitting on my cot.
I bent down, picked up my coffee, and slowly headed towards the door. Before I exited the door frame I glanced back at them, all looking directly at me. With a smile I said "Well come on your flights almost boarding, vámonos!" Unwillingly, they slowly started moving and packing up their things. After watching their painfully slow packing abilities for a few seconds I walked down the hall back towards the kitchen. 'Wow was not expecting that his morning' I set my coffee on the counter placing my arms outstretched on the edge of the tabletop. Damn, now this is going to be even harder than I originally thought with all that emotional baggage. It was nice to know they cared that much about me, since our first year we had become an unbreakably close family. I hope I didn't come off as insensitive to them. It's just that as the leader you have to be the rock for everyone else, can't show your weakness especially in a time of weakness. I gathered myself and proceeded to pour the remainder of my coffee down the drain, I didn't need it anymore I am wide awake after that fiasco of emotions. I left the mug in the sink and took a minute to gather my thoughts, after all what they said wasn't wrong. My chances of getting to Haven were notably lower than theirs. I liked it this way, I would much rather be the one at risk than any of them but I'm sure that's how they feel about me as well. After recollecting myself I put on a brave face and prepared to walk back to the room, hoping I wouldn't be bombarded again with questions I didn't have the answer for. I proceeded down the hall and into the room placing both hand on my hips and I entered.
"You guys ready?" after a quick survey of the room, majority of the stuff was off the floor and placed in their respectful bags. "Almost" Fox responded desperately trying to close his suitcase that was overstuffed with gear. I let out a little giggle and walked into the room, "Make sure you call me as soon you land in Haven, it'll put my mind at ease" "We will, will you do the same for us before you leave tomorrow morning?" Velvet responded, her eyes were full of excitement and joy. "Absolutely" I smiled and brought her in for a hug. She happily accepted rushed into my arms "I'm gonna miss you Coco" "I'm gonna miss you to Bun-bun" I stated pulling out of the hug "and I guess I'll miss Yatsu and Fox a bit as well" I kept my arms extended outwards as an invitation for a hug that neither of them seemed to take. "Oh c'mon boys it's OK to show affection every once in awhile" I snarkily remarked. Yatsu smirked and walked over to me, he wrapped his arms around me firmly before lifting me off the ground and started shaking me from side to side "I'm gonna miss you Coco" "I'm gonna miss you to Yatsu" I managed to squeak amidst his death grip hug. He set me down back down, allowing me to finally breathe again. After regaining my breath I looked at to Fox who had his arms stretched out, I walked over and embraced his hug "Hey you take care of these dorks for me alright?" "Huh, I will" he responded before releasing me. "Actually I think I'm gonna leave Velvet in charge, she'll make sure you boys stay in line and don't do anything stupid." "YES!" She screamed before quickly covering her mouth after realizing how loud she was. "Ha, Velvet will make a great leader" Yastu playfully joked. "Now now, she may be a little hyper but she's got the aptitude for it." I added "I know I was only jo-" a knock at the abruptly door cut Yatsu off. "Who is it?" "Uh transportation commission, I'm here to take you to your flight" I quickly grabbed my scroll to check the time "9:52? Has it really already been over half an hour?" After a quick exchange of blank stares and confused looks I responded "Ok, we'll be right out!"
Everyone grabbed their bags and headed towards the front door, I swiftly darted over to my cot and started putting on my boots as well as tossing on a dark brown jacket before dashing to catch up with my team. Upon exiting the front door I was greeted by a damp and foggy Vale, the rain had come to a stop but dew drops from its recent presence lingered everywhere. On the street in front of our temporary apartment was a black four door sedan, were Yatsu was in the middle of trying to cram himself into the passenger seat of, and Fox and Velvet were placing their luggages into the trunk. With a deep breath of the refreshing morning air I began my walk down to the car, being careful to avoid any puddles that scattered the sidewalk. By the time I reached the car Yatsu somehow managed to squeeze into the passenger seat, albeit hunched over. After a few moments gaze at that amusing sight, I reached out and opened the door and climbed into the back seat, maneuvering my way into the middle. The interior of the sedan was red, red everything. Red roof, floor, leather seats, everything. The little tears and stains that littered the interior told me this car was far from new and had seen much better days. The loud thud of the trunk shutting snapped me out of my critical thoughts, followed a few moments later by Fox and Velvet opening the back doors and getting in, leaving me sandwiched tightly in between both of them. As the back doors closed the driver turned around in his seat and looked at us "Alright you guys ready?" which followed by a short and uncomfortable pause. "Yes, we are" I said forcing a small smile across my face. With a nod the driver turned back around, put the car in drive, and started our way to the airship landing pads. Luckily it wouldn't be much of a drive, it was stationed in what used to be a park only a few blocks from where our home was.
The whole ride there was mute other than the slight hum of the engine and occasional puddle we ran over. Not a word was said, we were all thinking about the same thing. This could be it, a real threat that team CFVY would never get the chance to be back together after the next few minutes. With a quiet sigh I took off my sunglasses and cleaned them with the corner of my shirt, gave me something to do instead of just seat here awkwardly. After a few seconds they had been restored to their mirror sharp reflection that displayed me and my ever so clear facial expression: misery. "Ok, here we are" the driver announced shattering the silence. Everyone's head darted forward as we pulled around the corner, unmasking the colossal airship that was hiding behind the building. The ship was just barely able to squeeze in between the surrounding buildings and fit snugly on the landing pad. "Wow" Yatsu stated before the taxi came to a halt on the side of the road. Without hesitation all of us hopped out all gazing up at the towering airship "Do you think the pilot is compensating for something?" I joked. Followed by a laugh and playful shove from Velvet. "C'mon stop looking at the big ship like you have never seen one" I parented "you're gonna miss your flights." "We seriously just stepped out of the car, we have plenty of time" Fox protested. "Final call for all passengers, final call for all passengers" the intercom echoed throughout the block. "You planned that didn't you Coco?" Yatsu grinned "Eh not really, but sometimes things just happen." Shaking his head Fox walked back to the trunk to retrieve the suitcases, bringing all three back and giving them to their owners. Without any words we started to walk up to the gates. I shoved my hands into my pockets, it was an uncomfortable walk up to them.
When we reached the gate we joined the short line that lead to a single Atlas soldier who was scanning tickets. Being in line gave me a fairly close view through the windows and into the cabin of the ship. People from from all over Remnant gazed outside at the shambles that was once a major city. Some even pulling out their scrolls and taking pictures of the city and the silhouette through the fog of a distant but fallen Beacon tower with a grimm dragon frozen on top of it. Velvet tugged on my sleeve drawing my attention to her. By now the line had moved and Yatsu was in the middle of getting his ticket scanned. "What is it bun-bun?" "I have a plan" she sneered at me with a smug smile "A plan? A plan for what?" "How were gonna get you on the ship!" she declared under her breath "You see the guy scanning tickets? Flirt with him so he'll let you on." "What!? No I'm not gonna.." "Do it! If there are three thing you're good at it's kicking ass, fashion sense, and flirting to get what you want, I would know" "Hey!" I snapped back under my breath. "Next in line please" the soldier called. Velvet hastily walked up and handed him her ticket, before glancing back at me and mouthing "Do it." I shook my head no, despite wanting to go with them being caught without a ticket on an Atlas military tanker? That would land me ten years in jail, and I already had paid for my flight tomorrow morning. "Next in line please" "Oh, I don't have a ticket I just wanted to say goodbye to my team" "Then step out of the gates then so we can take off" he unenthusiastically stated. Wow this guy is a bitc.. "Actually…" Velvet jumped in "She walked up here because she had something that she wanted to say to you, but I guess her nerves got the best of her." He looked away from Velvet and back at me with a slight grin on his face "Oh yea? Then what did you want to say?"
Behind him Velvet gave me a thumbs up before I looked back the now intrigued soldier, I swear that little bunny is gonna get it when I land in Haven tomorrow. Clearing my throat I struggled with what to say "I uhh… I just wanted to say make sure they arrive safe for me?" "Will do." He responded before closing the gate and walking towards the ship. Velvet looked at me dumbfounded before dashing back over towards the gate a little angry "What was that? He was totally into you! You could have totally got on if you had just done what I said." "Oh since when are you the leader of the team bun-bun? But I'm not sneaking on and getting caught Velvet, the whole point of this next step is to start fresh and find out who was behind turning our hometown into shambles; and that's gonna be really hard to do when I'm locked behind bars for a decade or two" "Oh he would have given you a ticket!" "No he wouldn't have, he didn't have any he scans them he doesn't hand them out" I argued back. "HEY!" a stuck up familiar male voice called out "We're taking off now, get onboard and to your seat" the soldier pointed at Velvet before pointing at me "You at the gate, leave." "Oh and he is a stuck up little bitch as well" I stated. Velvet shook her head "I wish you weren't so stubborn. Look I- I gotta go. I'll see you tomorrow… hopefully." Teary eyed Velvet threw her arms around me and into a hug "You will" I promised before she released her grip and turned around. Yatsu and Fox were both looking at me from the ramp that led into the inside of the airship. I waved goodbye to them and they waved back at me. After a few seconds Velvet made it up to them, before turning around to look at me one last time. Yatsu, Fox, and Velvet all slowly turned away from me and walked their way up the ramp until they were inside. The ramp began to rise off the ground and return to its closed position.
'Well that's that then' I felt a tears start to run down my cheeks, it could all be over now. I just hope they make it safe and sound. I headed back towards the street, before long the loud roar of the engines grabbed my attention. Wind created from the thrust of take off stook the trees and blew a few scraps of debris and dust into the air. I looked back at the ship that was delicately but swiftly raising itself above the buildings. Once it had reached the open sky it slowly turned before proceeding to fly away, leaving me all all alone and without out my team for the first time since the arrival day of our freshman year at Beacon. With a sigh I headed back to the black taxi, still parked on the side of the road. As I approached the passenger window rolled down followed by "Hey do you need a ride back?" from the driver. "Yes please" I responded opening the door and taking a seat. Without wait he put the car into drive and began to drive back. "If you don't mind me asking, why didn't you get a flight out of here? And go with your team?" "Wait, how do you know they are my team?" I inquired "Umm your team CFVY? You know the team that was in the tournament this year. I watched you guys fight." "Oh…" I started "Well I wanted to go with them, I really did. But the Atlas tanker flights always fill up so quickly and by the time we went to go buy tickets there were only three seats left. So I made them go and I'll fly out tomorrow on a cruiser instead. " He nodded his head "It's crazy how fast those tankers fill up. It's the only real safe way to travel now and that leads to thousands of people from every kingdom waiting until seats become available then within a hour or two all of them are bought out. It just seems you got unlucky that there wasn't just one more seat open." "Ya…" I agreed looking out at the rain running down my window. He pulled up outside of our house, and put the car into park.
"Hey I didn't mean to word it like that, I'm sorry" "You're fine" I answered "I didn't take it the wrong way, and at least I know they will arrive safely." he nodded and smiled. I reached for the door and stepped out onto the sidewalk. "Hey what time does your flight leave tomorrow I'll come pick you up" "Bright and early, 6am" I commented back with a smile. "I'll be here" he smiled back. "Thanks" I closed the door and within a few seconds he started his way down the street. A slight drizzle had started to come down, motivating me to get inside quickly. I walked up to our door and unlocked it before heading inside the small ground floor apartment. As soon as I stepped inside it hit me, this is gonna be a long day. Just me, myself, and I. I walked over into the bedroom, empty cots still set up. I wandered over to the wall mounted TV and turned it on before sitting on my cot to take of my shoes and plug in my scroll. With my shoes off I took a deep breath I lied back on my cot, pulling a blanket over me. My attention drifted to the TV, it was a VNN news reporting about another transportation ship that didn't arrive on time and a search party was being sent out to find it's passengers. 'Maybe Fox was right, this really is on the news all the time.' I reached for the remote and turned off the TV. I didn't want to hear about a ship crash with my flight on one halfway across the globe tomorrow. With a sigh I turned on my side and closed my eyes, the room felt much colder and empty with them all gone. Even though I it was early morning all I wanted to do was go back to sleep and just leave for Haven without any issues along the way. After easing my mind and assuring myself that they would land safe, and that I would see them again tomorrow, I slowly drifted into sleep.
AN: So that's the first chapter of my (planned to be decent length) story. After getting no conclusion to where or what team CFVY is doing during volume 4 I decided to make my own :P. I hope you all enjoyed as I have some interesting plans coming up that will hopefully make this a very enjoyable reading experience. I won't be able to put out another chapter for quite some time as I will not be home for quite a few weeks. Next chapter should be out by the end of June, then it will be back to normal uploads. Cheers!