Friday, 20th March 79AGW.

Home, Argus City.

6:45 AM.

Lima stared at the man across the kitchen table, wondering if he somehow knew. He’d been growing more paranoid every day, and the man had said some things that may have indicated that he was secretly aware of his plan all along. Was Sage waiting until the last minute before pulling the rug out from under him? Had he somehow enrolled him into Haven already?

Did he know?!

“Stop glaring at me, you little shit,” Sage snorted, “I haven’t even done anything to deserve it, at least not today anyway.”

Lima went over the man’s words with a fine-tooth comb, was it some hidden reference to having already foiled his master plan? No, he couldn’t know, he didn’t have access to any of the acceptance letters, they had only arrived half an hour ago. Sage didn’t have access to Haven’s systems yet to check his enrolment either, he would need to be on campus for that.

“I'm waiting for you to tell me you also applied to be a first-year student as well, just to fuck me up even more," Lima said slowly.

"Don’t be ridiculous, I applied to all four years in case you got shunted ahead.” Sage grinned.

Lima scoffed.

“Bastard,” Lima muttered, before shaking his head. “Have you spoken to Midori yet?”

“Last night actually,” Sage said happily as he scratched at his white stubble, “She sounded pretty happy that we were coming back, she said she misses you even! No idea why.”

“Bastard,” Lima responded automatically, “It’s because I’m the greatest sibling anyone could ever ask for, obviously.”

“Midori is far too kind a soul to put up with your crap,” Sage said immediately, smirking. “You better behave yourself.”

Lima stared at the man like he’d just turned into a King Taijitu.

“My crap!?” Lima cried, “You’re the one who needs to calm their tits! Midori was probably happy to get a break from your nonsense these last couple of years.”

“Hah!” Sage barked, “I’d never do anything to make my dear child sad, you’re just a special case.”

“Fuck you!” Lima said in disbelief.

Sage just laughed.

Saturday, 21st March 79AGW.

The Wall, Argus City.

10:45 PM.

Tomorrow was the day, well, tomorrow was the night anyway; at 9:00 PM exactly according to his scroll and the listed time tables for the ‘Argus Limited.’ It was a four-day journey, from Argus to Mistral, with a brief stopover at Wind Path along the way.

That meant he should be arriving in Mistral on Wednesday the 25th​, sometime in the afternoon. He would only have a couple of hours to visit Midori before his next train, but he would have to make do.

There was a piercing cry of what was most likely a Nevermore from the south-east, and Lima turned his head to try and locate it. The personnel manning the wall were already on it, however, and he could see the hundreds of Dust rounds flicking out into the darkness, seconds before a massive spotlight caught the creature just as it was disintegrating.

“Idiot,” Lima grinned, “Imagine attacking the wall head-on.”

It wasn’t exactly uncommon for flying Grimm to approach the walls, and it was almost always the smaller, younger ones that hadn’t learned to avoid the mounted weapons placements. Lima sat back on his hands and stared out into the darkness, but no more Grimm tried their luck.

Most of his paranoia had faded as the deadline approached, and Sage took no discernible actions to indicate that he had discovered his nefarious plot. He was pretty sure he was in the clear now, which meant that he would actually have to go through with it all.

He wasn’t sure he actually expected it to work out, but the idea of heading off on his own sounded exciting.

It had been four years since Sage had dragged him from Mistral to Argus to attend Sanctum. It was almost six years before that when he had first met the man. A decade was more than enough time spent with the boisterous man, and it was time to strike out on his own.

He loved the guy, don’t get him wrong. Sage had dragged him up from a life on the streets, gave him a home and sibling, Midori. He had trained him, fed him, clothed him, and everything else in between. Lima would always be thankful for everything Sage had done for him. But he could be thankful from halfway across the planet because god damn was the man a complete bastard.

Lima turned around and looked out over the city skyline.

Argus was a massive city, one of the largest non-capital cities in the world, in fact, home to something like twelve million Humans and Faunus packed into two thousand square kilometers. They even had an Atlesian military outpost just out of the city, sitting pretty in the shallows.

Vale made it look like a hovel in comparison.

While Argus was barely under the cutoff for a ‘megacity’ classification, Vale absolutely shattered it. It was home to almost a hundred million people and sprawled over a great deal of the west coast of Anima. It wasn’t even the most populated city in the world either-that honor went to Mantle and Atlas; part of the reason that Argus was so large, to begin with, was because of all the trading going on between them and Mantle.

Lima wondered what Beacon was like, he’d had a look at some of the pictures, and it was interesting, at least compared to most of Anima’s architecture.

The houses of Argus were all built-in narrow lots, sitting multiple stories tall, with large skyscrapers dotting the city everywhere you looked. The entire thing was framed by two natural rock formations, the mountainous terrain providing an additional barrier between Argus and any of the land-based Grimm. The suspension bridge struck out across the ocean, branching off to a series of islands where Atlas had set up their base to help defend the profitable city.

There was also the wall that sat beneath him, a massive construction that had been around for much longer then he’d been alive. Finished just after the great war almost Eighty years back.

Lima would miss the place.

Sunday, 22nd​ March 79AGW.

Train Station, Argus City.

8:55 PM.

Lima waited impatiently in the queue for the last guy to finish flirting and move the hell out of the way. The woman behind the counter looked strained once the man finally flounced away, and he stepped up without fanfare.

“Hey, missy, wanna hit the bars later?” Lima said, deepening his voice as much as he could.

The woman started laughing.

“I thought he would never stop talking.” She admitted, “Ticket?”

He tugged it out of his pocket before handing it over.

“I’m almost late, I was about to take drastic measures,” Lima laughed, “Guy must have had a sixth sense.”

The woman inspected it for barely a second before nodding.

“It doesn’t leave until five passed nine, so you still have a few minutes,” The woman smiled, directing his attention to the doors. “I wouldn’t dawdle for too long.”

“You sure you don’t want me to hang around for a bit of a flirt?” Lima snickered.

The woman just shook her head, amused, and tossed him a wave as he left. Lima took her advice and boarded the ‘Argus Limited’ without delay; there was no way his master plan was going to fall apart because he dicked about on the platform.

The train was wide, and the ceiling was at least two stories high; It also had enough cars that they vanished into the tunnel far beyond sight. A member of the train staff pointed him in the direction of his assigned sleeping quarters.

When he reached the right car, there was a single thin corridor that ran the length of it, with rooms taking up the right-hand side. Each room had two bunk beds, and he tossed his bags on the top one. There were private rooms, but they had cost almost twice the amount; they also had all been booked already. There were public cars all down the train as well, so if he wanted to get away from whoever he was boarding with, he would have plenty of options.

Lima climbed up onto the top bunk and grinned to himself; he’d done it.

Sanctum was closed for the next week or so, and Sage thought he was staying at a friend's house for the night, and wouldn’t expect him back until Monday afternoon for hand-to-hand practice. By the time he found the note he’d left the man under his pillow, he would be halfway to Mistral.

“I am the smartest man who ever lived.” Lima said happily, “Fear my brain for it is mighty.”

“Hey, mighty-brain,” A familiar voice said excitedly.

Lima blinked and rolled over to study the woman who had just chucked her things on the bed beneath him. Bright red hair caught his eye, and he realized who it was.

“Cherrie?” Lima asked curiously, “I thought you were going to Haven?”

“I am!” Cherrie said happily, before popping back up to her feet and meeting his eyes. “This is the train to Mistral.”

“I know it is, Cherrie,” Lima rolled his eyes, “It takes like three days to get to Mistral; why are you leaving so early? The Semester doesn’t start until the 6th​.”

“Oh!” Cherrie smiled, “I’m going to stay with my older sister she lives there, we planned out an entire week of things to do!”

“Makes sense to me,” Lima said pleasantly.

“Why are you leaving early?” Cherrie asked curiously, just as the train started to move.

“I’m going to Beacon, I’ve got a lot of trains in my future,” Lima smiled, he’d better set the tone for the trip early. “I can’t believe you’re going to Haven, Ew.”

“Hey!” Cherrie squawked, offended.

Sunday, 23rd​ March 79AGW.

Argus Limited, Anima.

6:55 PM.

“That’s what you get, you old bastard!” Lima said gleefully, “I told you I’d get you back! Have fun teaching at Haven for four years, Idiot!”

“You little fucker!” Sage laughed, the signal was pretty weak out here, so it came over the line pretty crackly. “I wasn’t expecting it either, damn.”

Lima laughed.

“It was hard keeping a straight face every time you told me about all the shit you were going to do,” Lima admitted, “I almost cracked yesterday.”

“That’s why you were smirking at breakfast!” Sage said in sudden understanding. “I was checking everything in my office in case you’d done something.”

“Yep,” Lima said, amused, “You’re not anywhere near as mad as I thought you’d be, kind of takes some of the fun out of it, you know?”

“Good! You don’t deserve any credit, you little shit,” Sage laughed, “You better not slack off in your training while you’re gone, I didn’t spend years training you so you could die to some fucking Beowolf-which one did you pick anyway?”

Lima waved at Cherrie as she entered the sleeping quarters, she grinned at him.

“Beacon,” Lima said easily, it was far too late for the man to do anything at this point. “I didn't want to go to a desert or freeze my ass off up in Atlas.”

“They’ve got a heating system setup even better than the one here in Argus,” Sage reminded him, “I wouldn’t have chosen Shade either though, fuck all that sand.”

Lima was in complete agreement.

“Any tips for the young hero setting out on his quest to woo all the pretty maidens in the land?” Lima winked at Cherrie, “Wear a condom doesn’t count before you suggest it.”

Cherrie immediately gave him the finger, ouch.

“You’ll probably need to wear two of them if you ever manage to get a girl into the sack, you sensitive prick,” Sage said immediately. “Good luck!”

Lima’s mouth fell open at the sudden critical hit.

“Fuck you!” Lima cried into his scroll. “Idiot! Bastard-”

His scroll beeped, and he stared at it in disbelief; he hung upon him.

“Wow, that was a thing I just witnessed.” Cherrie giggled, “He really gets under your skin, doesn’t he?”

“Ugh.” Lima groaned. “You have no idea.”

Sunday, 25th​ March 79AGW.

Midori’s Home, Mistral.

8:43 PM.

“He didn’t!” Midori laughed, lifting her hand to cover her mouth.

Lima pouted at his sister, she was supposed to be on his side here.

“He did dammit!” Lima complained, clearing his throat. “Hello, students of Sanctum, it has come to my attention that a student who goes by the name Lima Morta was seen crying over what could only be described as a third-degree boo-boo. If this poor sensitive soul is listening, please hang in there, Champ.”

Midori fell backward onto the couch and gave a full-on belly laugh at his imitation of the old bastard.

“It’s not funny!” Lima cried.

“It's super funny!” Midori laughed.

“I had people coming up to me for weeks saying hang in there champ!” Lima whined, “How did you even survive him raising you?”

Midori managed to recover after a brief struggle with another onset of giggles before she finally replied.

“He didn’t do anything like that to me,” Midori smiled prettily, “Mum was still around back then, though, so it might have had something to do with it.”

Lima just nodded; he’d never met Midori’s mum, she had died long before he had even met Sage. They both spoke of her with great fondness, and he couldn’t help but think he would have liked the woman, had he met her. Midori was in her early thirties, while Sage was creeping on towards seventy now. Despite the age gap, they had always gotten along pretty well.

“You better brace yourself for four years with him then,” Lima grinned, “He was talking about bullying you into making him some grandkids before I left.”

“Oh god,” Midori laughed, “I have that to look forward to, do I? Maybe I’ll come to Beacon with you, is thirty too old to become a Huntress?”

Lima grinned at the woman before glancing down at his scroll, shit, he was running out of time.

“Trains leaving soon,” Lima sighed. “It was good seeing you again, I’ll try not to make you wait another four years this time.”

Midori pulled him into a hug.

“You can always call me if you want to talk,” Midori said happily, “Beacon has one of the transmit towers like Haven does, right?”

“Yeah,” Lima nodded and pulled back. “I’ll make sure I keep in touch, be safe, okay?”

He picked up his bags and headed for the door.

“I should be the one telling you that,” Midori shook her head, “You’re going off to fight monsters.”

Lima paused at the doorway and grinned.

“I was born for this,” Lima said imperiously. “Cya later, Midori.”

“Be safe, Lima,” Midori said it anyway, but he was already gone.

Sunday, 28th​ March 79AGW.

Minstral Limited, Anima.

6:49 PM.

They had just left Shion Village behind, and a small number of passengers had hopped off at their destination. Now they were on route to Port Line, which meant they would be traveling over the ocean soon, which he was looking forward to.

Lima had spotted another familiar mop of red hair, but this time it wasn’t Cherrie; she had gotten off at Mistral with a tearful goodbye. Apparently, she was the type to get attached quickly. This time it was that celebrity girl from Argus, the one from the tournaments, whose name he couldn’t remember, something starting with ‘P.’

He flagged her down the next time he saw her.

“Hey, uh-Piper!” Lima tried, “Pepper?”

The girl was looking at him strangely. Given her hair was bright red, it was likely something that was red.

“Pomegranate?” Lima tried hopefully.

“Are you talking to me?” Pomegranate said curiously.

Oh! Her eyes were green! His were green as well, but they were a much lighter shade, hers were quite dark.

“Pawpaw!” Lima said triumphantly. “How's it hanging? Shouldn’t you be headed towards Haven?”

Pawpaw looked nonplussed for a moment before she tilted her head.

“My name is Pyrrha Nikos, not Pawpaw,” Pyrrha said, bemused. “I’m doing well, thank you; I am attending Beacon, I assume you are doing so as well given you are still on the train, Lima Morta.”

Lima frowned, how the heck did she know his name?

“What the hell is a Pyrrha? How was I supposed to guess that one?” Lima said incredulously, before shaking his head, “How do you know my name; We have never spoken before, ever. Explain yourself this instant, Pawpaw.”

“I heard it quite often over the PA system back at Sanctum,” Pyrrha said, amused, “Did you ever get that third-degree boo-boo looked at?”

Lima groaned; of course, she knew about that.

“You know too much,” Lima said sadly, “I’m afraid I can’t let you reach Beacon alive, Pawpaw.”

Pyrrha laughed.

“Do not worry, I will keep your terrible secrets hidden, Lima,” Pyrrha promised happily. “Why did you choose Beacon?”

“Sage Jett. He was moving to Mistral to be the first year combat-instructor at Haven.” Lima admitted, “I wanted to avoid any more stage five ouchies to my reputation by getting the hell away from the old fossil.”

“He is a very strong Huntsman, very experienced as well,” Pyrrha said thoughtfully, “I enjoyed his classes.”

“Yeah, well; you try sparring with him daily and come tell me how much fun you had.” Lima huffed, “He’s kicked my ass so many times by now; that whenever I get a cold, I sneeze shoelaces.”

Pyrrha let out a startled laugh at the phrase but gave him a more critical look over.

“We were never in the same class,” Pyrrha said thoughtfully, “I can’t remember seeing you fight in any of the larger combat simulations either.”

“I did enough fighting at home that I never really sighed up for any of the war games,” Lima admitted. “You gave up on getting five in a row at the Mistral Regional Tournament, huh? Why’d you choose Beacon?”

Pyrrha blinked and shuffled awkwardly for a moment.

“I wanted to…take a step back, from all the fame.” Pyrrha said slowly, “I thought I could find that on another continent.”

Lima just nodded.

“Both of us are running away, huh?” Lima snickered, turning on his heel. “Well, Pawpaw, go forth and enjoy your relative anonymity while you have the chance. Don’t be a stranger.”

Lima tossed her a wave and headed back towards his quarters, it was getting pretty late.

“It was nice speaking with you, Lima!” Pyrrha called quickly, caught off guard by his sudden exit.