Chapter 3
The De facto Team
It is now a few hours into the afternoon, Tess and her newly acquired acquaintance Mello are in the mess hall. Mello is laying down on one for the many beds lining the wall with an IV drip giving him nutrients. Tess has taken to writing a journal in case her amnesia decides to get worse for any sort of reason. It would seem everything has been going somewhat well for them, as much as recovering in the ruins of your school could be anyway.
I finished logging everything I had experienced up until this point. Waking up in an infirmary bed, dealing with multiple injuries, finding out I had amnesia, meeting Mello, etc. In all honesty, I wasn't sure how to feel about any of the events unfolding around me. I had no past to look upon, and no close friends to explain. All I knew was something big happened and I was caught in the middle of it all. Putting the journal away in my hoodie's front pocket, I sat and watched Mello rest. Goodwitch came over a few times to check his IV, she always seemed to be busy no matter the time. She was most likely running on auto pilot. I looked out to the grounds and saw a small group of students accompanied by three adults making their way here.
I decided to lay down on the bed across from Mello and take a nap, but before I could do even that the mess hall doors opened loudly. I recoiled at the sound due to my better hearing. And not even giving me a chance to recover my composure I felt multiple arms embrace me.
"Tess, thank god you're alright! We've been so worried about you, especially me!" a boy with white hair and green horns said to me.
"Yeah, thought we'd lost you completely after the whole shit show of an invasion. Glad to see you're still kicking" a girl with black hair and grey wolf ears said while hugging me tightly, her left hand was completely gone and covered with a tightly wrapped bandage.
"It's honestly good to know you're a survivor Tess. As shy as you seem to be, you can't be taken out easily" an older girl with an odd belt around her waist said.
I was about to say something but a small group of adults were calling out to the students that knew me.
"Hey! Give her some space, she looks like she's been through hell" a woman in her early thirties barked at the students.
"Honestly, do you three not have a sense of restraint? Miss Fenchurch doesn't look to be in the best condition" an older man wearing what looked like Atlesian battle armor said in a disappointed tone.
A few of them backed off slightly as I turned to the adult that hadn't spoken yet. He looked like a shark faunus, and very intimidating too. His attention turned to me and he started to approach the side of my bed. I assumed that the three were teachers due to their demeanor towards everyone.
"I knew I was right about you. It seems my class paid off for everyone here, you're not dead so congrats" he said nonchalantly but with a hint of relief.
"Hey tails, you alright? By the looks of it you've healed up quite nicely." the woman said while getting a bit closer to me.
I was confused as to who she was referring to with the nickname "tails". But I assumed she was talking to me. I wasn't exactly sure on how to respond to all these new people that claimed to know me.
"Listen, I don't know how to put this" I started while looking at each of them.
I paused for a short bit of time trying to collect my thoughts. I began to speak: "I don't know who any of you are. You seem like nice people, but I'm stumped on who you really are..."
They all stopped. I sat there for what felt like an eternity, the happiness in their eyes became shock as I told them I didn't know them. The other wolf faunus quickly went to the boy with white hair and led him away slowly. I could barely hear what she was telling him.
"It's ok Itsuki, what matters right now is she's alive. L-look on the bright side, you can always try again..." The wolf faunus said before going out of earshot with the boy I now knew was named Itsuki.
"Please tell me this is a joke...we've been so worried about you Tess" The girl with the odd belt spoke looking at me.
"I wish I were joking, with every fiber of my body I'm telling you the truth" I responded with a more forceful voice.
"I'll handle this Vera" the woman in her early thirties walked past the girl.
"Don't do anything rash Charre, we don't want anything bad to happen" the man in Atlas armor said aloud.
"I'm not gonna do anything, I just wanna be sure of something" the woman I now knew was Charre came up to me and looked me straight in the eyes.
I could see their intensity, but ultimately I was confused as to what she was doing. Before I had a chance to say anything to her at the corner of my eye I could see a kick coming towards me. My body quickly dodged on its own without my control as if it knew what to do. I looked at myself bewildered by what just happened.
"W-what the hell?! Wait, how did I do that, I know I'm fast but not that fast..." I said while quickly shooting a glance at Charre.
"She's telling the truth, in addition her muscle memory and instincts seem to be intact. Can't say the same about her memories though" Charre placed her hands on her hips and turned to the others.
"If it's a case of Amnesia then surely I can fix it" the the man in Atlesian armor said while approaching me.
"I don't think your Semblance will be all too useful Doc, we don't even know how bad it is and if it can even fix it" Charre called out to the older man named Doc.
"Don't doubt me Charre, I'll have Miss Fenchurch back in top shape" Doc said confidently.
I flinched as he got close by instinct. He knelt down and looked me in the eyes and placed his hand on my head. His Aura began to glow and I felt my injuries begin to be mended the sensation was euphoric in a way. The pain in my legs and body disappeared instantly as the glowing finally faded.
"Now Miss Fenchurch, do you remember my name?" he asked while standing back up, he seemed a bit more exhausted that earlier.
"N-not rea-" I stopped as a sharp pain grew at the back of my head.
I fell to my knees as I grabbed the back of my head. The pain dug deep almost forcing me into a fetal position, I squeezed my eyes shut as it continued. I wasn't paying attention to what the others were saying but I felt myself get picked up and placed in one of the beds. I felt the same euphoric sensation from earlier on my head again. The pain was fading but still there, continuously going until finally it alleviated itself. Once the pain was gone I felt my muscles relax, I realized I was sweating most likely due to the pain. The man in Atlesian armor was sitting down on a chair beside my bed, he looked drained beyond belief.
"That's not possible...my semblance should have at least alleviated the amnesia. Why won't it work?" he said in a tired voice while wiping his own brow of sweat.
"Your semblance didn't work, big whoop. I figured it wouldn't work since this is mental injury not a physical injury" Charre said to Doc.
"I'm able to cure and fix almost all ailments and injuries. You can't tell me this is out of my range in abilities!" Doc exclaimed as he attempted to stand but decided against it.
"Listen, I'm not doubting your abilities at all. I'm just saying something that her amnesia is something you can't fix." Charre explained while approaching me again.
"Please don't try and kick me again, sure my injuries are fixed but I might not be so lucky in dodging again" I said while looking up at her.
Charre had to be almost seven feet tall, I had to look up a decent amount to even meet her eyes. She knelt down to be eye level with me, she sighed and put her hand on my head. She began to ruffle my hair and ears a bit before standing back up. I hadn't noticed it, but my tail was wagging quickly while she did so. At the back of my mind I wanted her to keep going but I had my own questions to be asked and answered.
"Listen, I may not know you all but clearly I did before now. Can you, I don't know, introduce yourselves to me?" I asked hoping to get everyone's names to remember.
"Well, I was and most likely still am your teacher. The name's Sekolah, your advanced Grimm studies teacher" the tall shark faunus said while turning to face me completely.
"In any other case, I'm Vera, Vera Levi. I'm part of team LIV or livewire if you wanna go in depth" Vera explained.
She pointed over to the other two who, the wolf faunus who was talking with Itsuki had her arms around him as to give some form of comfort. She saw that Vera was pointing at them and she brought Itsuki back to where I was. Itsuki didn't look the best in terms of emotions from what I could tell, I wanted to ask what was going on but I simply sat there.
"You okay? I saw you fell to your knees earlier, I would've gone sooner but Itsuki needed some tending and Doc was there with you" the wolf faunus explained.
"We're introducing ourselves to her again, so it would be nice if you could ay your name" Charre told her.
"Right, I'm Lydia Rose. You may not remember us, but we were your friends before this whole shit show went down" she motioned to the debris and ruined buildings outside the mess hall she grabbed the bandage portion of her left arm, probably because of the pain.
"S-so you guys were my friends? I-I'm sorry I don't remember you at all, honest" I said with a shaky voice trying to process all this info.
"Well, some of us were more than just friends..." Itsuki said with a low voice, he walked to my right side and took a seat on one of the chairs there.
He waited a few seconds before reaching for my hand, he held it for a few moments and finally let go. In those few seconds he did I could see the pain in his eyes ease just a little bit, but it didn't stay like that. Clearly, I had meant something to him before my apparent case of amnesia.
"Assuming your ears still work, I'm sure you heard Lydia say his name earlier. But for the sake of introductions his name is Itsuki Fuji, your significant other, if you can still classify him as such in your state" Charre said motioning to Itsuki who simply sat on the chair.
"Don't feel like you're obligated to instantly go back to him, you obviously need time to process this. But don't leave him hanging either" Lydia told me while I was starting to stand.
"Listen, it's completely fine if you're skeptical. But there is proof we were in a relationship Tess, I can show you but that's your choice" Itsuki huffed while making an attempt at reaching for his scroll but ultimately waiting for my response.
"Show me, if it involves getting a glimpse of my past I'm all for it..." I responded giving him permission to show me the proof.
I could see his face light up a bit as I said this, he reached for his scroll and motioned me to approach him. He handed it to me, on it was a small gallery of pictures. I scrolled through seeing multiple pictures containing the both of us and the others. A great deal of these pictures showed us with a decent amount of battle damage, however, when I reached the final picture in the gallery I couldn't help but break down internally. The picture showed Itsuki and I dressed up for what seemed to be a dance, I could feel a wave of embarrassment rise within me. Not wanting to show it outwardly I pushed it down until it disappeared, luckily I was somehow good with this.
"I'm at a loss for words here...I can definitely see that we were a thing, but I'm not sure how it'd work out in my state. But, that doesn't mean I'm not willing to try, I'll stay by your side Itsuki. I-it may be a fresh start, but I'd rather that than anything else" I said with a renewed vigor, I would hold onto the connections the Tess that was locked in my mind had made.
Itsuki stood up, the pain in his eyes was immense. He carefully took a step forward and embraced me as to not hurt my recently healed injuries. He was much taller than me, I just about reached chest height with him, the hug he gave me also very felt familiar. A feeling of safety come over me, like nothing would be able to hurt me as long as I was by his side. I could feel him shaking, that was all the signs I needed to know he was crying. I decided to return the embrace he was giving me with my own.
"Great, looks like they're back to normal in a sense. But in any other case we gotta take you all home, can't stay here forever" Charre exclaimed cutting through the small moment Itsuki and I had.
"Couldn't you have given them a bit more time Charre? This is clearly a step in the right direction for them, it might even help her case" Doc said showing some annoyance with Charre.
"Look, they got all the time in the world to hook up again, but this isn't exactly the best place to do that. She needs to be home, as for Itsuki, his "condition" is gonna be a problem" Charre retorted while grabbing a cigarette from a pack in her jacket.
"No smoking on school grounds Charre we may be-
"Come on Doc! You really think they're gonna be enforcing school rules at this time, this whole school is a wasteland at the moment smoking isn't gonna do a thing" Charre cut off Doc while walking out of the building holding a grenade lighter.
"I was simply...nevermind. In any other case, I shall take you all to your respective homes, Itsuki I believe it's if you stay with Miss Fenchurch" Doc explained while motioning us all outside.
"Yeah, that's for the best. Wouldn't want my mom to worry about me..." Itsuki said with a low voice.
We began to walk out of the mess hall and I suddenly remember Mello and the weapons of my former teammates.
"Wait, I gotta do something real quick" I said turning back to my bed.
I grabbed the cloth that held all three weapons. It was heavy but I could carry it a lot more easily now. I also made my way over to Mello, I grabbed a clipboard from another bedside table and wrote my contact information on it. It was best to let him know where I went so he didn't worry. I walked back to Itsuki's side along with everyone else. They all seemed drained of energy unlike earlier. "Maybe finding me relaxed them enough to stop their adrenaline" I thought to myself while we made our way to Vale. Charre was up ahead, she dropped the cigarette butt and stepped on it while turning to face us.
"Finally, we going to Vale now?" she exclaimed while turning her head to face me. She looked at the cloth for a second.
"Yep, we're heading back. Y'know, it's gonna be weird going "home" I can't believe I got two sisters!" Lydia said excitedly.
"And an Aunt, you're not getting away from me that easily Lydia" Charre said with a smug look.
"Oh right, you're with my uncle now. Can't believe I forgot about that..." Lydia's excitement seemed to go into the negatives.
"Listen, this whole situation is gonna be weird for both of us. But Ruby and Yang are gonna be glad to have you around, hell you risked your life to save Yang" Charre pointed a finger at Lydia's left arm.
"If you don't mind me asking. What happened to your hand, it looks painful" I asked.
"Long story short I fought against this one guy named Adam after...nevermind, I'll hold off on saying for now" Lydia explained to me.
I didn't want to press any further since it seemed to be a touchy subject.
"A lot of things happened Tess, we'll explain them to you later but we all need rest" Vera told me.
"Indeed, it's best if we recoup our strength" Sekolah said agreeing with Vera.
I nodded my head while looking forward once more. We passed the main building with the clock tower, it was practically destroyed. But the most ominous part about it was a wyvern of stone hanging off it. I felt very uneasy while looking at it, enough to make me look away out of fear it would come alive.
"What happened there?" I asked still looking away from it.
"We'll be sure to explain that later, it's a looooong story Tess" Lydia told me.
We walked along the path heading towards Vale, I could already see the destruction of buildings along the road. As we stepped into the city I could see shops broken, some buildings were still on fire. In certain areas there wasn't even a building to look at just rubble. We continued walking until Charre noted a collapsed shuttle depot near where we were.
"Wonder if anyone else was lucky enough to get out of here and straight to the evacuation point" Charre said coldly while continuing.
I stared at the collapsed depot and just as I turned to follow everyone else a flash of a memory entered my mind. The voices echoed loudly as I could see the depot collapsing and a girl pushing me away. Her scream, the falling of metal girders and stone, it all was unbearable. But before I could see any more it was gone, I was shaking visibly. I felt a hand grab my shoulder "You alright Tess?" Itsuki said leading me back to the group. I had apparently been standing there for a solid minute shaking violently.
"Y-yeah, I'm fine. Just a little shaken up, I can't believe this was my home..." I said going back to the others.
"It's hard to believe I know, but you're in good hands Tess. I won't let anything happen to you, not again" Itsuki said reassuring me.
"I appreciate that Itsuki, I really do" I said quietly while walking back to the group.
We began entering the more residential area it all felt so familiar, as if I could break through this amnesia and remember everything. This was just wishful thinking on my part, I had lived my entire life in Vale of course my body would have muscle memory to a degree. We continued farther, to everyone's relief this area was left relatively untouched. If it weren't for the view of the entire city in the background I would say everything is still normal. We made a turn past a bar which was closed, the sign read "Ramos Family Bar", it was small but sizeable. Another flash from my memories came up, I could see the inside of the bar was filled with few people. I recognized Charre and the others inside having a drink, my cloak stood out making me easy to distinguish from the others. The flash ended, this time it was fast. Charre stopped to look at the Bar.
"Poor guy, I can't imagine losing a son at such at such a young age. The bastards that did this are gonna get what's coming to them" she said tightening her hand into a fist.
We were now coming up to a two story house it looked quiet, compared to the rest of Vale this was a nice change of scenery. Charre went up ahead with Sekolah and knocked on the door. We were waiting in the front porch, I then heard a lock on the door move. A woman with purple hair slowly opened the door while holding a shotgun. She scanned the faces of everyone in the group and lowered it, her face softened. Charre whispered something to her and the soft expression she had twitched while what I could assume was either fear or sadness rose underneath. Sekolah saw she was about to fall backwards and he moved to support her.
"Calm down Mrs. Fenchurch, she'll be fine. Her condition should get better later on, you can have Doc's word on that" Charre said with a calm tone.
I first assumed she was talking to me since my last name was Fenchurch. I thought about it for a few seconds as the dots became connected. The realization hit me as I took a step forward away from Itsuki. I stumbled up the porch steps and looked her in the eyes. She was barely keeping her composure at the sight of me, I opened my arms to hug her. Without hesitation she threw herself at me and hugged me tightly. I almost lost my balance but managed to catch myself, it was like being coiled by a snake.
"Oh Tess, I've been so worried about you. Imagine giving your own mother a heart attack" She said still hugging me.
"S-sorry mom, I think everything might've been out of my control. C-can't breathe..." I said as I was beginning to lose whatever air I had in my lungs.
"Oh my god, I'm sorry Tess. After what your friends told me I assumed the worst, and now that you're here I can't contain myself" my mom said as she released me and stood up.
Charre spoke up in her monotone voice as I finished standing up myself "I'm all for family reunions, but can we step inside, not exactly private out here is it?"
"Yes! I made some coffee along with biscuits, I figured you all would stop by again" my mom said fixing her apron and blouse, she fully opened the door to allow us inside.
I began to feel more at ease now that I was home to a degree. Somewhere at the back of my mind the Tess that was locked away in my memory was happy to be surrounded by her friends.
A few hours later
I laid down on my bed, it felt familiar. At the very least my body remembered this, I just had to hope my memory loss could be resolved. My ears perked up as I heard muffled footsteps come up to my room. It was probably my mom or one of my friends coming to check up on me. I turned onto my right side, the door to my room was towards the foot of my bed. Whoever entered had a clear view if I was asleep. The dull pain on my left side made itself known again, luckily it was starting to subside at this point.
"Hey Tess, you awake? If you aren't I'll come back another time. I brought you something too..." I heard Charre's voice, there was a placement of a bottle on my nightstand.
I could feel her gaze even through my currently closed eyes, my mind subconsciously told me to constantly be alert if she was around. Suddenly I could see, even through my closed eyelids. My vision was up high, maybe on the wall, I looked down and saw it was my shadow that I was looking through. Charre noticed it.
"Hey, you're her shadow, right?" she asked.
I felt my head nod.
"And you're technically her, can't you dig around her head and bring her memories back?" Charre questioned.
I felt myself shrug and shake my head, my shadow was in control, I was just seeing through it's eyes for now. Charre sighed before speaking up again.
"It was worth a shot, keep an eye on her, yeah?" Charre finished making her way out of my room.
My shadow gave a half salute as Charre closed my door, I opened my eyes. Night vision came in handy, my room seemed well lit even in it's darkness. Looking at my nightstand, there was a small bottle of hard cider, it felt familiar. As far as I knew, something like this was reserved for adults. Had I drunk something like this before losing my memories? I couldn't believe that was a question I'd have to ask myself at any point. I sat up from my bed, it was cold, the wind outside was howling quietly. In the distance I could see Beacon and it's destroyed clocktower.
Vale looked almost dead, there was no hustle and bustle of cars, no airships in the sky coming from the port. It was just the wind, and the occasional sound of distant waves crashing along the coast. Like before with the bar, white figures appeared in my room they seemed to be conversing. No sound came from their mouths, and I didn't know how to read lips. One of the figures was me, the other took the shape of Itsuki, they were looking at an open book or journal on my desk before disappearing into the air. Carefully stepping off the bed I made my way towards the desk, sure enough there were three journals in one of the drawers. Taking a seat on the chair next to the desk I opened the first. It was a diary of sorts, entries dated back to eight years ago. Judging from my age at the moment, these were written when I was nine years old. There were some pictures in in some entries rather than words, they were of my mom and a person I assumed was my dad. He stuck out to me for some reason, but there was nothing about his appearance that made it so.
Below the picture there was an entry unlike the others, it read "Dad came back!". Judging from this entry alone it seemed like my dad left at some point, or was constantly out. I inspected him further, if at any point he came back to Vale I wanted to know his face. It would save a lot of explanation time in the long run too. Every detail was being catalogued, he had black unkempt hair with brown eyes, there was a scar on the left side of his chin as well. There were bags under his eyes, something told me it was either sleep deprivation or just stress in general. His clothes definitely leaned towards sleep deprivation, they consisted of a black undershirt with a white lab coat on top, they almost looked like robes to a degree. The way he smiled in the picture towards my mom made me feel happy, even deep down my conscience remembered who he was. I smiled and looked out my window again, whoever my dad way, he must be a good man. Setting down the journal/diary I picked up the second in the stack.
These were listed two years after the first journal, there were many more entries than pictures. Most detailed about training to be a Huntress or practicing for a small videogame tournament in Vale, but these entries seemed to mention another individual. Someone by the name of Umbra seemed to have been present throughout my childhood, a friend maybe? Some entries stated that I had attempted to make contact with her multiple times every other day. Picking up the first journal I read the few entries again, many did indeed detail Umbra, just like in the second. Descriptions of a secret hideout on near the grounds of Beacon, and small adventures committing acts of vandalism were very prominent. Even if there weren't as many. Towards the end of the journal the few entries became shorter, to the point that they were barely even a sentence. The last entry had a picture attached, it read "No matter where you go, we'll always be friends, until we meet again", on the picture I could see my younger self and another girl. We smiled at the camera with a hedge full of purple flowers in the background. The girl next to me was a cat faunus, she had long black hair, a portion at the front partially covered her right eye which was a crimson red while her left was a bright pink. She was wearing a red sweater with a black choker necklace. I removed the picture from the journal and tucked it away in my hoodie. I did the same with my dad's picture.
Letting out a sigh I closed both journals and laid back into the seat, the cool leather felt nice. I inspected my desk further, there were small souvenirs and trinkets on the small shelves. Some Grimm action figures, a small model Atlesian airship, albeit parts of it were broken off. Stuffed animals, snow globes, etc. It seemed like they were gifts, my mom didn't seem like the kind of person to travel while she took care of me. Logic dictated that these were from my dad, maybe as away of letting us know he constantly thought about us. It was a hunch more than anything, nothing was concrete. I saw the last journal waiting to be opened, it wasn't covered in as much dust as the other two. Opening it, I was met with extremely rough sketches or objects that seemed to be from my room. Others of people I didn't know. There were few entries, most were about causing mischief with a boy named Mark, and what sites would be spray-painted next. But every page was filled with drawings that got better with each turn of the page. Until they stopped. The entries simply stopped at the beginning of last year. "Maybe this was when I left for Beacon?" I though to myself. The breeze outside was picking up the pace, my ears perked up at the sound of a distant roar. Even with my enhanced hearing it was faint, it came from the direction of Beacon, it must have been a stray Grimm being killed by a Hunter.
"I wonder if Vale will ever return to normal...what do you think?" I asked my shadow, my voice was quiet as to not wake my mom. Although with the relief she felt earlier today, it might be the first time since Beacon fell that she slept well.
My shadow simply shrugged, the lack of facial features made it difficult to discern her thoughts. She grabbed a pen from the desk along with a piece of paper. Three words were written, "I don't know", it was a fair response. I sighed, the cool leather was warming up with my body heat, slowly I stood back up and limped to my bed. I needed rest, even though I had been unconscious for a long time, and given a drug to sleep, it wasn't the same as willingly letting your body relax. I pulled the covers over myself and closed my eyes, it took no time at all for sleep to take me, my breathing slowed, my legs stretched and relaxed. I drifted off into what I only could assume was a dream.
A few more hours later
I drifted out of my dream, my covers hugged me tightly as the cool morning air attempted to chill me. Yet the warmth did not allow it, I could see faint light through my eyelids. There were a few faint knocks on my door, I made a motion to sit up but my body felt heavy. There were a few more knocks, now a little harder on the door.
"Tess? Are you awake, your friends and teachers are hear to speak with you...get dressed and come down for some breakfast as soon as you can. Don't push yourself though" my moms voice sounded out, she was muffled, but still easily understandable.
My eyes slowly opened as the light of the morning sun came through my window, with the sudden light I immediately shut them. Slowly sitting up in my bed, which normally already a hassle in the mornings, I could feel an unusual tightness on my back. It was probably where my skin had healed up, my eyes were still closed as I swung my legs off the bed. Looking through my shadows eyes I instructed it to close my curtains, as it did so the light became more manageable. Opening my eyes I saw there were some neatly folded clothes on my desk. It seemed my mom took the liberty of cleaning them up a bit more, aside from my hoodie, I hadn't taken it off to sleep. I took out the photos I stored in it, the picture of my dad and Umbra were much more vibrant now.
There was another knock at the door.
"Who is it..." I called out weakly as I put the photos back in my hoodie.
"It's just me, I came by to check on you again, your friends are in the living room so don't take long ok?" my mom informed me, her smile radiated a pleasing warmth.
"Alright, I'll get changed and go down shortly" I responded weakly, my voice wasn't fully there yet.
"Perfect, I'll see you downstairs soon" she finished as she closed my door gently.
Not wanting to take long I quickly changed into the clean set of clothes on my desk. Dark grey t-shirt, navy blue jeans, and my cloak. Finishing with my socks and sneakers, I slowly stepped out the door and headed downstairs. There were sounds of plates moving in the kitchen as the smell of pancakes filled the air, blueberry to be exact. The light of the morning sun was much more inviting than when I was barely waking up. My movements were still sluggish due to my still healing injuries, but I had enough strength to move around somewhat normally. Turning to the living room I saw Itsuki, Charre, Sekolah, Vera, and Lydia quietly conversing while they were holding onto plates of pancakes. Lydia and Charre were the first to notice me as I moved towards one of the sofas.
"Well, look who finally decided to show up. You get enough beauty sleep, or just feelin lazy?" Charre said with a rather harsh tone, although it seemed more like she had no idea how to start a conversation.
"Charre, it's too early for you to start being a smartass, or whatever you do. Let's just finish eating and then we can get the conversation started" Lydia said while elbowing Charre ever so slightly.
"Sounds to me like you want some private training lessons Lydia, what'll it be, the kill house, obstacle course, or a one-on-one?" Charre said darkly, there might have been an attempt at comedy on her part but I wasn't sure.
"Bring it, I've been-"
"Both of you quiet down, or am I going to have to beat some sense into you?" Sekolah spoke up, his voice was still very rugged, but it had grown somewhat softer. Probably from the rest everyone got after scouring for me for so long.
"Remember everyone, we're meant to be a team, in-fighting is not something I want to experience any time soon" Vera spoke up in a dignified and collected tone.
There was a clash of personalities between them all, it was honestly surprising they were all in the same room and not insulting each other.
"Alright, enough yapping, Tess is up and we're able to finally have this conversation. Take a seat Tess, there's a lot that needs to be discussed, and I'd rather you be sitting for this" Itsuki said finally speaking up in a commanding to ne to everyone but the teachers. It seemed like he was the leader of this defacto team.
"Right, and get the pancakes while they're still hot" Charre said as I took my seat, there was a large tray on the coffee table with a jug of orange juice and pancakes. I grabbed one and turned to Itsuki.
He looked at everyone and nodded before continuing.
"As we all know, Vale and our lives aren't going to be the same ever again. I'm sure you all got the message last night from Goodwitch, right?" Itsuki started.
"She's still your teacher you know, at least use the honorifics" Sekolah stated.
"Right...Miss Goodwitch asked for all of us to meet in the mess hall, I'm not sure why, but it seemed important" Itsuki continued.
"Well, you can't exactly ignore a message from the newly appointed Headmistress now can you. As soon as we're done here we'll head over and see what she wants" Sekolah spoke up again.
"Wait, Headmistress? Is Beacon really going to be used as a school again after all the shit that happened?" Lydia exclaimed, her ears perked up furiously.
"It's the most logical step, someone has to take charge and get things moving again. Vale isn't gonna be a ruined city forever, we just need to make sure the defenses are back in top shape. Maybe get some more weapons around the perimeter but that's just me" Charre said, Lydia didn't try and retort.
"Honestly, I could care less about school right now. A lot of our classmates and good people died, we have to do something-"
"And what do you suggest Itsuki, after all, you are an official Hunter after that bet with Ozpin. Everyone present was given the offer, and you won. Which means, you as the leader are in charge of everyone's lives in this group, so we're following your lead. Spit it out, what's your master plan to avenge the fallen and face whoever plotted their deaths?" Charre exclaimed, her mood seemed worsened, anyone in this current situation would have their mood ruined.
"Right! I forgot I did that, we all became Hunters and Huntresses because of a bet...fucking hell. Well, I don't really know what's next, but I know for a fact that we can't sit around and do nothing" Itsuki responded, there was frustration in his body language.
"Y-You said that Miss Goodwitch sent us a message right? Maybe she'll tell us what to do in the meantime, just by looking at everyone here I can tell we are in no condition to fight" I spoke up, my voice was more cooperative now.
"Right. Sorry if we just started conversing without cluing you in Tess. It's just we've all been worrying about our families, everyone in Vale that stayed is on edge too" Itsuki said, his tone was growing calmer.
"Agreed, what also concerns me is how this entire situation is affecting the other Kingdoms. Especially Vacuo, I hope my parents are doing well in light of all this" Vera said, her statement brought up another multitude of questions for the group.
"Well, Atlas is probably beefing up their security, their airships were hijacked like nothing and fired upon escaping craft. Not to mention a lot of their androids turned on the soldiers, hell they even lost one of their students..." Charre added.
"Ah yes, she was an unfortunate loss to Atlas" a male voice came from the kitchen.
Doc stepped out with a small towel as he dried his hands and stood at one end of the coffee table.
"What was her name again? I didn't managed to catch it due to certain circumstances" Sekolah asked.
"Her name was Penny, Penny Polendina, and unfortunately one of Atlas's experimental projects" Charre said with a grumble as this topic began.
"Experimental project?" I asked.
"Yeah, as far as I know Penny was an experimental android developed to provide more "comfort" to people being rescued. It's all psychological in a sense, would you rather have a human looking android save you, or one that looks like nothing but a robot imitating a human" she asked me, her eyes were like daggers.
"Probably the more human looking version" I responded.
"Well there you go" Charre finished.
Vacuo is probably ok for now as far as I can tell, before communications went down they were reporting the entire thing. Same could be said for Mistral, they were probably silent spectators. Although I wouldn't blame them if they beefed up their own security" Lydia chimed in on the conversation, her words brought some ease to Vera.
"That leaves Vale, considering the literal capital was attacked and left to die, it doesn't look good for anyone living out in the country. If we weren't able to defend ourselves what use is it staying and dying. I'd wager there's gonna be mass exodus to the other Kingdoms in the coming weeks, or week if people are already making plans" Sekolah explained, I could see large amounts of truth behind his words.
Pretty soon even the residential area of Vale would be barren and empty because the people left for greener pastures.
"Regardless, we should be going soon. I don't imagine the Headmistress likes to be left waiting" Doc said, he looked at his Scroll as everyone stood and headed toward the door.
Finishing my own food I slowly stood up.
"So, does anyone have a car? I'm not asking to be lazy, but it would probably be easier on Tess, she's still recovering" Itsuki asked as he turned back to me.
"I have a rental, shouldn't take me too long to go to from Qrow's-"
"Charre, why did you mention my uncle?" Lydia said darkly.
"Come on, you already know why, and don't act like it's a new thing" Charre retorted towards Lydia.
"Alright alright, stop with the bitch fight. Lydia, Charre's taken a liking to your supposed uncle, and you need to be a bit more open with her Charre. Believe me, if I knew you had the chance of becoming my aunt I'd be worried as well" Itsuki exclaimed, he wanted us to get moving as soon as possible.
"Well, I guess it's not that bad, I can spar with Charre a bit more often if that's the case. Oh god, Ruby's gonna flip when she finds out" Lydia said as her mood completely flipped.
"Don't push your luck Lydia, it's not an official thing...and if it was I won't make you life a living hell, I'm not like that" Charre finished as she opened the door.
"Well, you already did make it hell when school was still on, so I'll take it as an improvement" Lydia chimed.
"I'll be back, Qrow rented out a small place nearby so it'll take me a few minutes to pick you all up" Charre said as two metal wires shot out from her waist and propelled her forward.
"I have my own vehicle as well, we'll split up and meet at Beacon. Tess, Itsuki, and Lydia you're coming with me" Doc said as he pulled out a set of keys from his clothes.
I nodded as we climbed into his car, it was extremely clean on the inside, not a single speck of dust covered the interior.
"Jesus Doc, I knew you liked being clean, but not this clean" Lydia exclaimed as she buckled up.
"I'm a doctor, I pride myself in being as clean as possible, we wouldn't want to randomly get sick would we? Especially you Itsuki, your mother wouldn't let me hear the end of it" Doc responded as we made our way through the streets out of the residential district.
"Doc, I know you and my mom have been seeing each other for a while now, but please don't make it your sole mission to become my father. Not saying I don't appreciate it, that guy was an asshole, but it would be better if we just eased into it. Deal?" Itsuki stated as we drove past broken buildings and blocked off streets.
"Very well, but it is quite literally my job to take care of my family, even if it's not official yet. Although, I do eventually plan to speak with Chizu when the situation is a lot more favorable. With everything going on in the world I can't exactly do much" Doc explained as we now passed a large crater which blocked our path completely.
"What the hell happened here? A Grimm can't have caused this right? It's way too smooth to have been them..." Lydia spoke up, there was some amazement in her voice.
"What ever caused it, let's hope we don't encounter it any time soon. We've already got something on our tail, and by the looks of things, anything that got caught here was instantly destroyed" Itsuki followed up, he carefully scanned the rooftops as well as the crater.
"Regardless of what caused the crater, and the thing you angered during classes, we need to go around for now. We'll stop when we reach Beacon's frontal entrance, after that it will be some walking to the mess hall" Doc said, he sounded quite annoyed after having to take a new route to Beacon.
I looked at the crater, the back of my head hurt a but as it seemed familiar for some reason. I couldn't pin it down. The pain faded as soon as it came. We had taken a longer way around the crater and were now passing by a small airship depot, piles upon piles of debris covered the ground. Large cracks from subterranean Grimm were very apparent. Any airships that didn't make it out were too damaged to fly again, or simply had no more fuel to go on. It would be hard to come by now. Doc continued to drive us toward Beacon, we were reaching the partial outskirts of Vale, trees became more common along the sides of the road. It was wide enough to multiple students and vehicles if need be to pass through. We slowed as broken stone pillars came into view. The Beacon clocktower was shattered, it was the same with the comms tower. The things that were mostly unaffected were the dorms, classroom buildings, and the mess hall.
"God, even now this looks depressing. Hell, that's an understatement. I'm glad we found you when we did Tess, then again that was more on Goodwitch's end" Itsuki spoke up after the quiet drive since the crater.
"What did they even do to with all the bodies? Last I saw they were loading them all into shuttles..." Lydia said quietly, it seemed to disturb her.
"Unfortunately, I witnessed something that would make your blood boil, this goes for the three of you" Doc explained as the car came to a stop, we were past the stone pillars and in a large courtyard.
"What is it" Itsuki asked.
"The makeshift "corpse disposal unit" Miss Goodwitch had set up had a history of greatly disliking Faunus. Well, one of them at least, the other was forced to conspire from what I saw. But to get to the point, I saw one of them burning a large pile of Faunus corpses, mostly civilians. As you know, I am very against unnecessary violence or cruelty. But to see those bodies being burnt...I was furious" Doc finished, unbeknownst to him, he had been gripping the wheel tightly without turning to face us.
"Assholes, it's those kinds of people that make me sick" Lydia spoke up, there was malice in her voice.
"Agreed, it doesn't help that the White Fang give us a bad name too" Itsuki followed up, he seemed uncharacteristically angry.
"If it's any consolation, one of them was basically forced to do that stuff. I was barely considered conscious when I was pulled out of that shuttle, but I heard them talking. Goodwitch found out and got one of them reprimanded" I said, Lydia's expression softened while Itsuki stayed rather angry. His mood slowly went back to normal after we sat in silence for a few minutes.
"Are we getting out any time soon? Or are we waiting on the others?" Lydia asked Doc, she had her Scroll opened to check the time.
"We can step out, I would suggest waiting by the mess hall entrance." Doc finished as he waved us away to the mess hall.
Not much time passed until Doc approached with the rest of the group, it was becoming rather windy as we linked back up and stepped inside. Most of the students from my time here were gone, they had most likely recovered and went back to their families. Atlesian androids stood on standby next to a few still occupied beds. I looked ahead and saw Mello was still here, he was asleep. Miss Goodwitch was speaking to a student as we reached her, they were getting ready to be transferred out to another Kingdom where more of their family was. As she finished she turned to us, the bags under her eyes had grown darker the last time I was here. She smiled weakly.
"Good, you all came. We have much to discuss, follow me to one of the classrooms in the adjacent building, the androids will take care of things in my absence" she said as there was a small beep from her clipboard.
The androids on standby came to life and ran through the basic first-aid protocols. Goodwitch began leading us, after a few minutes we reached a classroom that was still perfectly intact. It looked as if students would be coming in soon for class, but that wasn't the case. There were two androids by the teachers desk, there was also an object between them under a large tarp. It seemed like they were guarding it.
"Now that we're in a much more private area, we can get started. Do you all know why I called you in?" Goodwitch asked as we each took a seat.
"Not really, but something tells me it has to do with that" Sekolah pointed to the tarp.
"You're half right Sekolah, but there is another reason" she continued.
"Come on then, no use beating around the bush. Tell us what it is" Charre said impatiently.
"I have a task for you all, I know I have no business in telling you what to do, but it is important" Goodwitch explained.
"A task? What does it entail?" Doc asked.
"I need you all to send a message to Atlas, I know, it sounds impossible I shouldn't have though to ask you. But I have nobody left to turn to...the Hunters and Huntresses I had hired to clear out the Grimm still remaining in Vale have left now that they have been paid. Qrow has left Vale to tend to his nieces, and all the teachers are getting their own affairs in order" Goodwitch continued, it sounded like she was on the verge of collapse due to exhaustion and stress.
"Calm down Miss Goodwitch, we wouldn't want you to pass out on us. Take a seat and continue whenever you're ready" Lydia said as she stood up in case Miss Goodwitch collapsed.
"N-No, I'm quite alright. I have planned for you all to leave in a month's time, you will need to beat the winter before it make travelling dangerous on the way to Atlas. I have also hired a guide of sorts, he will be arriving before this month is done via airship. I suggest your families gather any important belongings before then, I don't doubt they want to relocate to a safer area" Goodwitch continued, she removed her glasses and rubbed the bridge of her nose.
"A month?! Why is the deadline so close, we need time to recover. Tess needs time to recover, she can't even remember the entire school year let alone anything before that. Miss Goodwitch, why did you plan this without letting us know first?" Vera exclaimed, I understood her sentiment. None of us were in top condition.
"I-I had no other choice Miss Levi, Ozpin left me with this task long before Beacon was attacked. He told me if anything were to happen to him...to get a message out to the other Kingdoms, especially Atlas due to their military superiority...I did this to fulfill his wishes" Miss Goodwitch broke down, the toll of caring for the students was finally getting to her. The refined and dignified appearance she had just a bit ago had fallen to pieces, her hands were tied.
"Vera!" Lydia spoke up against Vera's harsh words.
"She's right, we're in no condition to fight Lydia. Let alone travel... But with a month to prepare for an expedition towards Atlas, it's possible to get there as winter is barely starting. We'll need to ensure our supplies account for our weakened states, not to mention, we gotta keep an eye on Itsuki" Charre spoke up as well, she was thinking tactically about the situation at hand.
"But, we don't even know if it's guaranteed we'll make it before winter. We need to account for possible Grimm encounters, bandits, hell maybe even some White Fang cell. I'm sorry to say Lydia but Vera really makes a good point, although, what are the consequences if we don't take the job?" Itsuki asked, he turned to Miss Goodwitch who had simply been listening as the attention turned away from her briefly.
"The consequences, I'm afraid, would be dire. Ozpin said if this message didn't reach Atlas or General Ironwood as soon as possible we would all be in danger. That is all I know, he never fully disclosed what the message was or what the danger of it not reaching Ironwood would be. This is where I must rely on your team Mr. Fuji" Miss Goodwitch explained as we all sat in silence.
"Then we have no choice, we need to go. I don't have many important people besides my own mother and Tess...but as a Hunter we have a responsibility to protect those who can't do it themselves!" Itsuki exclaimed, he seemed to be getting drawn into the role now thrust upon him.
"This also includes me, right? As far as I know, I wasn't part of their team to begin with, so am I obligated to go as well? Regardless of the answer I plan to stick close to my friends if it means I can possibly get my memory back, and if I was forced to stay back it would put me in a bad mood altogether. I'm not the kind of person to sit around and wait for someone to save me" I spoke up, their attention went from Itsuki to me.
"R-Right, I forgot you lost your entire team Miss Fenchurch, I am still sorry for your loss. It is up to Mr. Fuji whether he wants to take you or not, though I suppose if you did accompany them it would form a defacto team of sorts" Goodwitch finished, she waited patiently for our responses.
Itsuki scratched his head, his white hair became messy as I waited. He spoke up, "Listen, I'm not against you joining us. I can't tell you what to do Tess, but I am also not against you hanging back with your mom, you suffered through a lot and I don't want that to happen again"
I silently nodded at his words. He had a point, whatever caused my memory loss had a chance to happen again. But in this world you can't expect it to hand you safety, or a way to achieve your goals, one way or another I would get my memories back.
"I'm going. If I can stick by you guys till the end I will, it's a risk considering my current condition, but with everyone at my side it should be fine" I said confidently, if I stood by them then the risk of losing my memory again is minimized.
Itsuki sighed as he looked at the others, "Any objections?"
"None on my end" Vera responded.
"As long as she heals up along the way, I have no intention of stopping her" Charre followed up.
"Agreed" Lydia said nodding her head.
"Personally, I'll think of this as an extended training lesson in Grimm Studies, so I'm not against her coming along" Sekolah spoke with an attempt at humor, it didn't fit his repertoire by appearance alone but it was still a nice gesture.
"I will need to conduct routine check-ups along the way, but there are no objections from me" Doc finished, it seemed he had already been calculating how much in terms of medical supplies he would need to bring for the journey.
"It's settled then, you're coming with us Tess. Although your mom won't be too happy with us, but I think we'll be fine" Itsuki said, there was a bit of sadness in his eyes. Perhaps he intended for me to stay and recover more.
"Thank you, all of you. There are a few more matters I need to discuss with you all though. One is about what happened in the Vault below Beacon, and the other lies with the object beneath this tarp" Goodwitch regained her composure as she spoke, it seems she gained a second wind.
"I was about to ask, what exactly is below it? Special cargo, or some extra supplies to hang onto?" Charre said, it seemed the tarp had gotten her attention as well.
"You are correct with assuming special cargo Ms. Black" Goodwitch made a motion with her hand as the tarp gained a dim glow around it. It began to rise and revealed what seemed to be a pod of sorts, it had a large glass window from top to bottom.
"Is that?"
"Holy shit"
"Oh no..."
Charre, Lydia, and Itsuki spoke up one after the other, their surprise told me something was off about the pod itself. There was a bit of vapor floating around the inside, it began to dissipate slowly and their reactions became more appropriate. As the vapor cleared I could see locks or bright red hair, a bronze-gold headpiece it was almost like a crown of sorts. There was a sleeping girl inside the pod, she wore red and bronze armor, a skirt, and armored boots. She was asleep from my observations, her breathing was slow, aside from that there were no other movements she made. Like the others I was in shock, but not as much as they were, I had no idea who this girl was.
"Allow me to explain who this girl is, although I am sure you all remember her as she was your classmate, save for you Miss Fenchurch. Pyrrha Nikos was recovered not long ago, and after seeing the commotion in the vault below the school I assume a fight broke out down there" Miss Goodwitch explained, she began pacing the desk up front slowly.
"Well, I can offer some insight. When shit was going down all around us Lydia, Itsuki, and I went down there. In actuality, we managed to catch Ozpin just before his faulty elevator went down. He asked us to accompany him just in case...and as you saw, a fight did indeed break out" Charre explained, there was some remorse in her voice for some reason.
"Yeah... and there was a weird machine towards the back with two pods big enough to hold a person, little did we know the first actually had a person in it while also in critical condition. We then found out Ozpin had chosen Pyrrha to be something called a "Maiden" and something about a transfer of power, to be honest we were more concerned about what was going on up here so I didn't pay too much attention" Lydia followed up.
"And, when Pyrrha stepped into the empty pod Professor Ozpin started the process. She yelled out in pain for a bit before a burning hot arrow struck the first, the girl inside turned to ash and..." Itsuki stopped, he gritted his teeth and balled his hands into fists.
"What's wrong Mr. Fuji...did-"
"W-We ended up fighting. The girl that had shot the arrow had the ability to use fire without the need for Dust, and this wave of power flowed into her after the other had been reduced to nothing. I-I entered a blind rage and..." Itsuki paused again, tears streamed down his cheeks.
I slowly stood up and went to his side, placing my hand on his shoulder seemed to help him slightly, Lydia and Vera approached as well. He calmed down enough to continue through the tears.
"That girl, she separated us with a wall of fire. It was her downfall since it was me she was fighting alone, I overwhelmed her and...I used my weapon to end her then and there. Right through the brain with my sickle...she looked at me with anger and surprise before the same energy began to flow into me" Itsuki finished, he was shaking as his nails, or claws, began to dig into his skin.
"No, that can't have happened. It's impossible!" Miss Goodwitch exclaimed as she stopped pacing and quickly moved to Itsuki.
Even though there was some distance between her, Charre, and Sekolah they had closed the gap quickly. Weapons were raised. It seemed as they were still on edge.
"A-Apologies, I lost my composure, please put down your weapons. But I mean what I said, it is absolutely impossible for you to have gotten anything for killing the new Fall Maiden..." Goodwitch finished, disbelief was written on her face, even body language.
"Well it's not so impossible when I saw it with my own eyes, I felt it become one with me" Itsuki said, he made himself sound as truthful as possible.
"You don't understand, the abilities of a Maiden can only-
"They can only be harbored by females, yes, Ozpin informed us of that as well while we were down there. He himself was surprised when seeing Itsuki after the wall of fire disappeared, in his exact words it should not have been possible. Yet here we are with him having the ability to wield fire" Charre said cutting off Goodwitch whom took offense that her explanation was cut short.
"You see, however, that breaks down Ozpin's entire explanation completely. Under no circumstances- I am getting ahead of myself, there are more pressing matters...I need you to take Miss Nikos with you on the journey to Atlas. They will be able to treat her there, and she has a higher chance of waking up rather than a makeshift infirmary" Goodwitch continued, she allowed her disbelief to be suspended to finish what we had originally been talking about.
"I concur, Miss Nikos needs proper medical attention, and by the looks of the pod she is in provides the much needed stability to an extended period of time. If my hypothesis is correct, she will be stable until the half of next year. Not only do we have a deadline to beat winter, we have another to reach Atlas before her stability begins to decline" Doc spoke up after being quiet for so long. The news about Itsuki killing someone must have shocked him.
"Mr. White, her pod contains everything needed to ensure even if her stability declines it can be preserved even more. I implore all of you to take caution when handling her, if the process went on for as long as I predict she has at most ten percent of the Fall Maiden's power. Which means both Mr. Fuji and Miss Nikos are big targets for malicious groups" Goodwitch finished.
"So what, I'm a living target now? This day is getting worse and worse..." Itsuki responded while shaking his head.
"And that's why we're here to ensure you and Pyrrha don't get kidnapped. Whoever decides to take you will have to go through us first" Charre spoke up, confidence in protecting Itsuki had bettered her mood.
"Not to mention, you'll need some training with your new abilities. I knew Ozpin enough to be entrusted with knowledge of the vault, but that man made it difficult to get even a little bit of information out of him. Even Charre wouldn't be able to break him, and that's a fact" Sekolah said, he adjusted his vest slightly.
"I have no more information regarding the task at hand. I will hold onto the message for Ironwood until your departure, rest, recover, and train for the coming months. Because if you fail, it could very well spell the end for Remnant, I am sorry for thrusting this responsibility on you as I said earlier but there aren't many options left..." Goodwitch finished her sentence and made her way toward the door. As she stepped past the threshold she fell to her knees but was caught by another individual.
"Careful there Miss Goodwitch, we almost lost ya. And, apologies for the abrupt entrance, it seems we left Atlas ahead of schedule" an older mans voice spoke out in a country accent. He stood at the entrance holding Miss Goodwitch who had finally given in to exhaustion.
The man stood tall at the entrance. He wore a large hat that you would see in old western cowboy movies, a fine fitting leather vest with vials of refined Dust nestled in a ammo shoulder strap which also wrapped around his waist. He had a crimson red plaid undershirt which looked thicker in some areas. My guess was armor had to be woven into it similarly to my own clothing. Thick navy blue pants and heavy-duty boots completed the ensemble of clothing he had. On the belt of his pants was a large lasso which was tightly wound to reduce the space it took, his belt buckle had the image of an Ursa on its two back legs ready to attack.
"Who the hell are you?" Sekolah asked as the man stepped into the classroom.
The man smiled, "The name's Dax, Dax Cordovan, at your service"
*Chapter end*