Chapter 3: The Final Piece

The three boys walked the streets to the other side of town as the sun began to rise.

"Are you sure you know where you're going?" Cyrus asked. "We've been walking for almost an hour."

"Royal Weaponry?" Damien replied smugly. He sniffed the air. "Nope, still a few blocks to go." He turned back to the other two, who were unimpressed. "Oooookay. Just trying to lighten the mood after that harsh introduction. Look. Vale's a bigger city than it looks."

"Just keep walking," Sebastian spat. Damien turned back around and grunted in frustration. They walked a few more blocks until they came to a large sign that read: "Royal Weaponry: Regal Quality, Consumer Prices." Damien turned back to the others, and they collectively shrugged.

"I guess this is it," Cyrus said as he opened the door, his package in hand.

They walked in to find a boy about their age cleaning up some broken glass shards near one of the weapon cases. He was wearing a black sleeveless hoodie, a pair of faded black jeans and black work boots. His eyes glowed an electric blue, and hair was short and faded on the sides. Cyrus tilted his head and noticed a lightning bolt shaved into the right side. He approached the boy, while the others looked around. The boy rose and brushed himself off.

"Morning, folks. What can I help you with?"

"Uh, I have a delivery," Cyrus said, looking around at all the empty, broken cases."For, uh… Ash Royal?"

The boy's eyes narrowed.

"From who?" He asked skeptically.

"Cherny Smithing." Cyrus said

"Oh yeah? I don't recognize you," The boy said, glancing at Cyrus's armor. "And you seem a little far from home to be making deliveries, friend."

"I, uh- look. Just take the damn package. You can call Ferro if you want. He'll vouch for me."

The boy paused for a moment, then cautiously took the package and opened it. Seeing the shipment complete and unharmed, he sighed with relief and set the box down. Cyrus breathed a little easier as well.

"Alright, everything seems to be in order," the boy said with a nod. He gestured toward the shattered empty cases and smiled awkwardly. "Apologies for the skepticism. As you can see, you can't be too careful."

Cyrus shrugged.

"Not a big deal," he said. He began looking the boy up and down, shaking his head in disbelief. "So, you're Ash Royal, huh? Aren't you a little young to be running a weapon shop?" Cyrus asked.

The boy chuckled, but a louder cackle came from the front of the store. It was Damien.

"Yes. Yes he is." he smirked, unable to keep a straight face while giving his remark. "Actually, this is Axel. Ash's son." Damien approached the young shopkeep, shaking his hand. "How ya been, man?"

Axel's smile faded as he gestured around the shop.

"Well, as you can probably imagine, we're in a bit of a hole as of late. Some White Fang member came in and stole everything that wasn't nailed down, and even some stuff that was. Dad says we'll be fine, but I'm not so sure. We've been working our asses off trying to make more product, but it's a lot to do for just the two of us." His head drooped slightly. He looked tired.

Damien backed off slightly.

"I'm sorry man, I didn't know it was this bad. Heck, if I had known, I would've gone after the guy for you."

Axel shook his head, his demeanor turning cold and numb.

"It's alright. I'll find a way to fix this. Even if that means tracking down the bastard that did it myself." He took a deep breath and sighed, relaxing a bit. "But, that's a job for another day. Right now I've gotta pack."

The room went silent. Cyrus and Damien looked at each other, and Sebastian looked over from one of the empty weapons cases he was looking at.

Damien stood there, confused. "Y-you're leaving?" he asked.

"Didn't you just say it was just you and your father here?" Sebastian added rather aggressively. "You're just gonna leave him to fix this by himself?"

Axel put his hands up.

"Look, whoever you are-"

"Name's Sebastian."

"Right. Sebastian. I don't really have a choice-"

"Sure you do, pal. You can't just leave your family to fend for themselves after something like this."

Axel recoiled, surprised at the harsh reaction.

"Dude. relax. This was my dad's idea. He said that going to school and becoming a huntsman was my dream, and he wasn't going to let me throw it away for him. He assured me he'd be fine. I don't like this either, but if I become a Huntsman I can help get the shop up and running better than it ever had bef-."

Damien cut him off.

"Wait. School? YOU'RE going to Beacon?" he said with a slight giggle.

"Yeah, what of it?"

Damien straightened up and recomposed himself.

"Nothing. I knew you made weapons, I just didn't take you for much of a fighter yourself."

"Yeah, well there's a lot you don't know," Axel grunted as he turned to head up the stairs to the apartment. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got packing to do. It was, uh, 'nice' meeting you all."

"Actually, do you mind if I stay here for a bit?" asked Cyrus.

Axel was confused. "Stay? I thought you were just on a delivery run. Don't you need to return to Atlas or something?"

This caught Sebastian's attention as well.

"Yeah, didn't you tell us that's what you're here for?"

"Okay, so I might've left out a few details. You see, I'm going to Beacon too."

"That doesn't explain why you're still wearing that armor." questioned Damien.

Cyrus started to get frustrated.

"I was in a rush, okay? I had to leave with Smithy since he was leaving close to when I got done doing guard duty for the day."

"Smithy?" Sebastian asked.

"Fabro Cherny, Ferro's son. Goes by Smithy. He works with his dad, delivering parts and-"

"Alright, we get it. Relax." Sebastian said, waving him off. He folded his arms and eyed the boy quizzically. "But why didn't you just tell us that in the first place?"

"No offense, but two random guys about to beat the shit out of each other in the street don't really give off 'trustworthy' vibes. I figured I could get away with lying for the time being until we got here." Cyrus turned back to Axel. "So can I stay here until we leave for Beacon or not?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Axel replied, "It'll be nice to know somebody when I get there. However, if you're gonna stick around, you could help clean this place up." he said, a small smirk forming on his face. "I got most of it already, but there's still stuff you can do."

The rest of the group sighed with dread as they were put to work cleaning the store. The four hung out and worked in the shop for the rest of the day, until Damien and Sebastian said they had to leave.

"See ya 'round, guys!" Damien said as he and Sebastian walked out of the store. "Hey, Sebastian, there's a cheap hotel not that far from here if you're looking for a place to crash. I could spot you some cash that should get you in for a night." Damien handed Sebastian a small roll of cash to get him in.

"Thanks, Damien." Sebastian accepted the cash and followed Damien down the street before his scroll suddenly rang. He answered.

"Hello, Damien." A woman's voice said.

"Professor Peach." Damien acknowledged.

"Tomorrow's the big day. You know where to go?"

"Yep. All set."

"Great! I look forward to seeing you at school!" Peach exclaimed before hanging up.

"Professor- wait, are you going to Beacon too?" Sebastian jumped in, overhearing the conversation. What were the chances that they were all going to the same place?

"Yeah. I saved, well… 'saved', Professor Peach from a bunch of armed thugs. Turns out she really didn't need my help, but apparently, she thought I was worth enrolling at the academy. Wait, 'too?' Does that mean you've enrolled as well?" Damien asked, staring at Sebastian in shock. "You never mentioned that before."

"Sorry, there wasn't a good moment for me. But yeah, I'm going. I've got the acceptance letter in my back pocket here." He took it out and handed it to Damien, who unfolded it and examined it.

"Huh. Seems you really are. But what's your purpose for going there?" He asked Sebastian, who took a second to answer.

"See, I think of it as a better start for myself. I've needed a place to plant my feet and Beacon just seemed like a good option. I mean don't get me wrong, being in training to become a Huntsman is cool and all, just... It's just I didn't think that far ahead when I signed up, really." He casually laughed to play it all off, not wanting to reveal anything that could jeopardize him.

"Oookay then." Damien bought what Sebastian had to say, moving forward with the conversation. "Anyway, it seems we're here." They stopped in front of what could barely be called a hotel seeing how incredibly run down its features were.

"THIS is the place?" Sebastian looked disgusted at the sight before him.

"Better than where I'M sleeping tonight!" Damien remarked.

"Where is that exactly?"

"Someplace that doesn't cost anything. A good rooftop, or a slum nearby oughta do it." Damien looked to the nearby buildings.

"But the cash. You surely have some left, don't you?"

Damien shook his head."Nope. Gave it all to you. Consider it an apology for this morning." he said chuckling. "Look, before you get on my case about this. I've been living like this, well, my entire life. My parents vanished without a trace when I was a baby. I've had a few people look out for me, but for the most part I've been sleeping from place to place. I'd get a roof over my head in the form of a tarp if I was lucky. So I have no problem denying myself this luxury so you can have it." Damien gave his story.

"I'm sorry to hear all that," Sebastian spoke apologetically. "I actually know how that feels myself, so it's a little comforting to know I wasn't alone in being a drifter."

"You, a drifter?" Damien looked at him puzzled but grinned when he noticed Sebastian's outfit. "Frankly, you look the part so I can see it. What made you become a drifter?"

There was a pause of silence from Sebastian. Damien took notice that there was a tinge of pain in his face. Did he accidentally bring up bad memories for the boy?

"It's… not something I really want to talk about. I hope you don't mind that."

"It's cool. Sorry for bringing that on you," Damien apologized. They had been standing in front of the door while they talked, neither one of them really taking notice until now. "We should probably get in there." Sebastian nodded in response.

They walked into the hotel, and Sebastian's nostrils were immediately assaulted by a musty odor emanating from the lobby. His face scrunched up and he covered his nose.

"What a smell. This place could really use some Febreeze."

"Some what?" Damien raised an eyebrow and stared at Sebastian blankly, confused.

"You wouldn't get it. But they do." He said with a witty smile, pointing behind him.

"Who are you pointing to?" Damien asked as he glanced over Sebastian's shoulder, a look of pure dumbfoundedness plastered all over his face.

"Nobody."

Damien sighed at Sebastian's attempt with witty humor. "Just hang on a sec, I'll set you up the night."

They approach the women at the desk and kindly greet them. "What can I do for you two today?"

"Just dropping my friend here to stay for the night." Damien kindly told the desk woman, and she reached over to the key rack, handing Sebastian the one to the room he'd be staying in. He exchanged the cash for the key before taking it and turning back to Damien.

"Owe you one for this."

"Nah, don't worry about it."

"If you say so. You're gonna be okay out there?"

"Like I said, don't worry about it. I've done this plenty of times." Damien turned to the front doors and walked out, giving Sebastian a wave goodbye behind him. "Enjoy your stay!"

"Will do," Sebastian yelled back as he walked to his room. "Or at least try to."

Finding his room, Sebastian unlocked the door and plopped down onto the bed. It certainly felt like a hotel quality bed, if Sebastian actually knew what hotel quality felt like. Putting his hands behind his head on the pillow, he thought about what had recently transpired.

Some wild things are going on here in Vale, and I'm not even at Beacon yet! Those three guys, Cyrus, Damien, and Axel… they're… characters to say the least. I'm not sure I can place my trust in them just yet. Also, I shouldn't mention any of my crap to them. It's not their problem in the first place, and hopefully soon, not my problem either.

Sebastian closed his eyes, hoping that for once, just once, he could get a peaceful night's sleep.