Walking through the crowded docks, watching in awe as strong sailors carried various crates containing herbs, spices, dust and perhaps even weapons. The docks were one of the main attractions of Vale. A gathering point for trade and wealth, where every man and woman could sell and buy their goods. Civilian transport ships docked, leaving tourist, transfer students to explore the city. Mostly restricted to personnel only, the docks were often an off-limit area for normal everyday civilians. A ship docked, the captain smiled at his crew, and they started off-loading crates that had the Schnee company logo on them.
Freddy, as he continued his walk through the docks, was flabbergasted at the sight of so many ships. He lived in a small town back on Earth, far away from the ocean. There were lakes, and small wooden fisher boats would often sail by. But nothing compared them to the luxurious yachts that were displayed before his very eyes. It was definitely a sight to behold. Freddy stopped to take a look at one of the nearby yachts, wondering what it would be like to own one of them and set sails on the seven seas... if Remnant even had seven seas to begin with. The English Channel was always a favorite of his. The channel was not a long sail from Rotterdam harbor. England was a beautiful country.
Freddy was snapped out of his thoughts when a gloved hand made its way on his shoulder. Turning around, Freddy was greeted by a sailor who looked a bit familiar. "Can I help you?" Freddy asked, raising a suspicious eyebrow at the sailor.
The sailor nodded, taking his hand of Freddy's shoulder. The docks are off-limit to civilians here. You can either move to port A-17 to go to the tourist section or leave the docks in its entirety." The sailor replied, making it very obvious he did not want Freddy in this particular area.
Freddy shook his head, before replying. "I am sorry for the inconvenience, but I am afraid I cannot leave until I retrieve my necklace that I lost here. It was a family artifact that has been passed down from generation to generation. It is worth a lot of money."
"How much money are we talking?" The sailor asked, inching closer to Freddy with a raised eyebrow of his own. "I would be happy to go and look for it."
Freddy held his hand to his chin and hummed. "Well, last time I asked my great grandfather he told me it was worth about... ten thousand Lien." Freddy replied. "Of course, it's worth nothing when it falls into the wrong hands." He sighed.
The sailors' eyes lit up and, were this a cartoon situation, dollar signs would have appeared and replaced his eyes for a brief moment. This was easy money. "Where was the last time you saw it? Do you remember the port? Who was working that day?" The questions kept coming, and Freddy knew what the sailor was after. He smiled inwardly. Ramses wasn't the only one who had a way with words. The necklace story was going to buy him some time.
"Last time I did some brainstorming... I believe it was port B4." Freddy said a random number and letter, hoping there was in fact a port with those exact numbers.
"That's on the other side of the harbor..." The sailor trailed off, looking to his side. "Okay, tell you what, you go search the tourist area. Maybe someone has found the necklace and returned it to the lost and found section. I will go to port B4 and search there. I will come to the tourist section and return the necklace to the lost and found stand there." He said, bowing his head. "You have my word."
Freddy saw the ever-so slightest smirk appear on the man's face. Freddy nodded his head and replied. "I thank you for your generous offer, and I will gladly accept it. There is a reward for you as well, should you be the one to find it first."
Nodding enthusiastically, the sailor took off in incredible speed to what Freddy presumed to be port B4. Shaking his head, Freddy turned left and headed into the docks he remembered when he first set foot in Remnant. Freddy made his way over to the one dock he remembered, avoiding several sailors who were moving in and out of said dock by hiding behind fuel barrels. After the coast seemed clear, Freddy entered. Looking around the dock, he realized in what a dirty place he had woken up in. Fungus and trash littered the place. There was bird feces everywhere and the stench, oh the stench! It was almost unbearable. Why didn't he just ask Ramses to come here? He was used to these kinds of smells.
Freddy continued walking, avoiding several excrement covered fruits while doing so, and making sure not to breath in through his nose. He bends over and inspected the ground. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. He shook his head and walked towards a nearby set of crates which had a lot of dust on them. Not the fuel and weapon type of dust, but actual dust. Reaching said crates he noticed that the side of one of the crates had a strange silhouette printed on it. It was almost as of something had been laying against it. Freddy bended his knees and sat down on the floor, leaning his back into the silhouette and realized it aligned perfectly with his body structure. This was his silhouette. This was where he had woken up. Now it all came back to him. After having woken up he didn't remember a lot. He remembered a disgusting smell when cleaning the smoker area of the bar, but that was it. This smell... it brought back memories.
"Hey, where do you want us to put these crates?"
"I don't care. Just put them were they won't stand in our way."
Not good. Those were voices, presumably sailors. Freddy made his way behind the crates and peeked his head out of a small gap between to crates which hadn't been properly aligned—something that would have pissed Ramses off, since his slight OCD behavior sometimes gets the best of him. Freddy watched as five men, dressed in what Freddy could only assume was new sailor clothing, entered the dock. They were the strangest persons Freddy had seen so far, and that's saying a lot. They were wearing masks and were carrying... wait, were those guns?! Did he just end up in some kind of mafia torture chamber or something? Freddy inhaled sharply and continued watching as the men looked over some of the crates that were stored in the dock.
"This is enough Dust to support at least twenty percent of our factions." One of the men said, chuckling to himself. "As much as I hate to admit it, that Roman Torchwhick is a genuis. I mean tonight he's holding some kind of meeting to show off his new toy or whatever, right?" He asked the other men, who nodded. "Okay, lock this place up! We return tomorrow to transport the last of the goods!"
"Sir, yes sir!" The other four men shouted union, moving out of the docks.
'Oh no, this is not a good situation!' Freddy thought to himself. 'If I don't get out of here I will be in big trouble! Quick, Freddy! Think! What would Ramses do in this situation? Hm, he would probably say something so stupid that would catch the man off guard and make a run for it. But this guy has a gun. Is there not another way out?'
He looked to his side and saw a docking point for a small fisher boat. He could swim out of here... but that would mean jumping into that disgusting looking water and ruining his clothes. The last clothes he had from Earth. Such a hard decision...
Crack!
'Twas a twig Freddy had stepped on. A tiny twig that cracked so loud it caught the attention of the armed man, who was now turning around with a raised weapon.
"Who's there?" The man asked, moving towards the crate. "Come out with arms raised or I will shoot you!" The man shouted.
Were it not for the mask, Freddy could have sworn the man's eyes had a burning fire in them. It looked like this dock really was off-limit. Inhaling deeply Freddy fixed his eyes his eyes on the docking point and waited for the man to get closer. Time seemed to freeze for him as he watched the man close in with every step he took. This was going to be a risky move, and he could practically feel the adrenaline pumping through his veins. Perhaps this as why he found the decision to make a run for it so easy. The human pain suppressant and jackass drug is what some would call adrenaline. The man had finally come close enough, and Freddy pushed the crates he was standing behind with such force that, even though the crates seemed to be somewhat empty, they fell over with little effort. The man, caught off guard by crates suddenly losing their grip and falling, was unable to process what happened and was subsequently thrown backwards by the impact of the crates and covered by them.
"Gah!" The man exclaimed as a crate fell on his leg. "Help me!" He pleaded.
Freddy dashed towards the docking point and jumped into the freezing water. His chest tightened and it felt like all air had left his lungs. No matter. He still pushed forward and started swimming out of the dock, noticing faint screams and demands coming from the dock he had just escaped. Swimming in ice-cold sea water was dangerous, Hypothermia being one of the main risks. If he kept swimming and focused on his breathing it should be alright. Although the freezing cold was killing him right now, he knew he couldn't stop and rest. It felt like hours until he had reached the harbor again. He climbed out of the water by using the stairs of a nearby pier. The wind was blowing softly against his wet clothes, and it send another chill down his spine. He finally got off the ladder and stood on the pier, receiving worried and confused glances from various people.
"I'm never going skinny dipping again." Freddy announced as he made his way through the crowd of people who had gathered around him. He let out a sigh as he looked at his pockets and realized he had left his scroll in one of them when he jumped. He shook his head and took it out, hoping it would still be working. He pressed the central button folded out the scroll. The starting screen booted up and the message 'Welcome, Freddy Willers' appeared on screen. Freddy wiped his eyes clean of sea water and clicked on the briefcase icon that was displayed on his front page.
Freddy watched as the scroll dialed a number and beeped a few times. After a few seconds, someone answered.
"New phone, who dis?"
"Ramses, is that you?" Freddy asked, inhaling a bit of snot that threatened to drip down his nose. "I have some bad news." He continued, lowering his head. Ramses raised an eyebrow, but motioned for Freddy to continue. "Well first of: My clothes are ruined now. Do you know what sea water will do to you? Second of all I was almost shot and killed by mask wearing maniacs with guns. And third but not last... I couldn't find anything at all." He sighed sadly, wiping his nose. "I found the docks, and I even found the place I had woken up in. But before I could continue searching those men came in. I froze and got scared."
Ramses let out a sigh of his own. "I can't blame you for freezing up. If someone came in, holding a gun in his hand I would have done the exact same thing, uncle. But do you mind telling me why you're wet?" Ramses asked.
Freddy laughed a bit before replying. "I kind of had to make a run for it, and the sea was my only option." He admitted shamefully. "I have no idea where to go from here on out. I'm wet and it's already starting to get dark out here."
Ramses hummed in thought before replying. "Head back to Beacon. Today was obviously a failure. But this is a mistake we both learned something from. From now on you and me are going on these 'exploring missions together. And you learnt that sea water makes those tight clothes of yours even more disgusting."
"My clothes are not disgusting. It's an art form." Freddy countered.
"An art form? Who made it, Pablo THICCasso?" Ramses replied, laughing to himself. "God, I am too good for this. Okay, see you later buddy. I hope you have your tickets for the ride back home. See ya!"
And thus, the connection was ended, and Freddy was left wondering if he indeed still had his ticket. Digging into his pocket he pulled out something slimy. Was that... oh, sea weed. How original. Freddy sighed and stood u, dusting himself off. He dug his hand into his other pocket and pulled out ten Lien. It was wet and crumbled up, but it was still money. No tickets. Looks like he was going to have to get himself a taxi. Now if only he could find that handsome sailor that walked passed him when he entered the harbor...
"Who was that, Ramses?" Jaune asked, taking a sip from his lemon tea which had finally started to cool down, making it easier for Jaune to take bigger sips. "It sounded bad." He added.
"That," I replied, placing a bottle of Atlesian Single Malt whiskey on the counter. Aged fifteen years, might I add. "Was my uncle. He got into some trouble in Vale." He shrugged.
Jaune jumped at that, getting ready to take his leave. "Does he need help?" He asked.
"Nah, he's fine." I waved it off, motioning Jaune to sit back down. Jaune did so and continued to enjoy his tea. "So, Jizzthroat, I'm just going to be blunt with my questions, since, you know, we're friends." I said, inching closer to him. "Have you got a date yet? Is she hot... and single?"
Jaune seemingly choked on his tea and coughed a few timed before replying. "W-Where did those questions come from?" He stuttered, his face turning red.
"Just curious, that's all." I replied, leaning on the tap which held a new brand of APA. Basically, APA is the equivalent of IPA, meaning Imperial Pale Ale. Peculiar how Atlas seems to have one of the biggest alcoholic influence on Remnant. Sorry, I'm getting off topic here. "So, have you?" I asked.
Jaune let out a sigh before shaking his head, resting it on the palm of his hand. "Well I was going to try and ask Weiss to the dance but that's going to be a lost cause." He admitted. "I mean she's so pretty and has a status I could only wish for. I just don't get why she keeps on treating me like I don't exist."
"If she treats you like you don't exist, doesn't that mean she knows you exist? How else can she be treating you like you don't exist?" I retorted, a smirk appearing on my face when Jaune's reaction became that of a pedophile wondering why he was in the adult section of a toy store. Deciding not to torture him further, I continued on a more serious note. "Listen, Jaune, girls are a complicated thing. In the past having a fat ass was a bad thing, and now it's suddenly a good thing. Girls are like... a ticking time-bomb. Cut the wrong wire and they will explode. Now Weiss has... enough wires that will trigger an explosion. And you, being the in-experienced bomb squad rookie are trying to dismantle that bomb. But that bomb will just explode right in your face, dude."
Jaune let out an exaggerated grunt of disappointment. "Is she really that many leagues above me?" He asked. His disappointment only deepened when I nodded my head and added with a shrug. He ran a hand through his hair. "Well then to answer your question: no, I do not have a date. How about you?" He asked.
Alright, that caught me off guard. "Mind telling me why you think I need to get a date?" I questioned him, raising an eyebrow. "Do you think there's something wrong with my love life? Because let me tell you... there is, actually." I sighed, lowering my head. "The only woman I've ever kissed was my mother."
Jaune raised a skeptical eyebrow at me. "You've got to be joking. What are you, gay?"
I looked up at him with a big smile planted on my face. "Ayyy, look at this guy! Nice job, dude. That's another step closer to becoming just like me. Insulting someone at their lowest point and making them even more depressed than they already were. You're a quick learner." I patted his head jokingly. "Now you need to start testing your newfound technique on other people. I suggest Weiss." I grinned from ear to ear.
Jaune shook his head. "Nope, I'd rather not get impaled."
I held my chin. "How about Cardin? I feel like he deserves it."
Again, Jaune shook his head. "Sorry, but even though I stood up to the guy doesn't mean I'm looking to pick a fight with him. I'll only retaliate when he starts messing with me or my friends again." He explained.
"An honorable view. Some people could really learn from that." I said.
Jaune's expression turned into one of optimism, and his face lit up. "Really?"
"Nah, nigga." I replied.
Jaune glared at me for a brief moment, but realized who he was having a conversation with and seemed to brush my comment aside. He appeared to be in some kind of deep thought. Whatever was going through his mind must have been fucked, because the smile on his face was kind of creeping me out.
"You okay there, killer?" I asked, hesitantly reaching out for his shoulder. He suddenly sprung up and spoke up.
"I have a proposition for you, to see which one of us is the real lady's man." He said, grinning. "We both try to get a date for the dance. First one to get one wins. Loser has to endure the other one's homework for a month."
I laughed, motioning to the bar. "Hey, smartass, in case you haven't noticed; I don't have any homework. I'm a bartender. I work here. So how about we change the rules? I make your homework. But if you lose you have to scrub Freddy's back every time he takes a shower for an entire month. And might I add that Freddy really likes to take long relaxing showers at least twice a day if he gets the chance." I smirked.
Jaune returned my smirk with one of his own and clasped my hand in his. "Seems a bit unfair. Okay, to even it you have to make my homework and do my laundrey." He said, shaking my hand and adding more grip. I returned the favor and now it was becoming more of a challenge who could crush the other's hand. Eventually we both let go and Jaune immediately left the bar and decided he would still try his chances with Weiss. Looks like my little pep talk didn't even convince him to go after someone else. But don't worry, Arkos shippers, I got your backs.
