Setting: Moneta
Outside of Moneta, Clair was speaking to her uncle Sterling as she made her way to her new car until she saw Team VRSZ standing in front of it. The look on their faces told her this wasn't a casual visit.
"What's wrong Wallflower?"
Violet informed Clair and Sterling what transpired in Vejovis while Silver ogled Clair's car that used to belong to Absinthe before she took it from them. She refurbished it and customized it to make it look more sleek and much less menacing than it was before. Silver was extremely envious, he missed the good old days when Team VRSZ had a car before Violet blew it up trying to kill him.
"Aw memories," he thought fondly.
"I see, this is déjà vu all over again, about a week ago you came to me for help because dear Zelts went missing. And just like last time, I'll assist you." Clair held a small smile wanting to help her favorite freelancers.
Violet smiled a little as well. "Thanks again Clair. It always feels like I'm too reliant on you."
"Think nothing of it. Technically, young Remus is still a charge in my hospital, so it would be terrible of me to dismiss him before he has fully recovered. My men wi-" Clair was interrupted by the sound of a shotgun. Everyone brought their attention to the direction where the shot was fired. People were running away as soon as they heard it. The one wielding the shotgun, walking through the masses, was Vermilion and his sister Vermilya, wielding her giant ax while seductively eyeing Violet's body up and down.
"VRSZ, you have made it on our vendetta list! Meaning we will won't rest until we pay you back tenfold!" Vermilion shouted. Everyone else seemed annoyed by their unnecessary appearance.
"Violet! It's great to see you again. Not a day goes by where I don't think of you and the great time we spent together. My body still quivers when I think of our moment," Vermiliya said with a euphoric look on her face that looked like she was enjoying herself a little too much.
Everyone's gaze fell on Violet who blushed so hard her face was the deepest shade of red. "None of that ever happened!" she defended. "We just fought that's all...nothing happened! Blood and Remus were there they could tell you...Clair where's Blood!" Violet was trying her best to defend herself from the accusation Vermilya was implying.
"Violet is there something you want to tell us?" Silver asked arching his eyebrow.
"Wallflower, how could... how could you, with her and not with me. I would've helped satisfy your curiosity, though I don't know much myself, I would've been more than happy to explore the unknown with you," Clair said pretending to be a little envious of Vermilya.
Zelts placed a comforting hand on Violet's shoulder and he held a calm expression. She felt relief that her most sensible friend understood her plea. "No matter what road you take, I'll always support," he said firmly.
"Goddammit," she thought a little livid. Violet couldn't be more embarrassed. Everyone was against her and they lost focus on their objective and the source of the diversion were those two twins.
"Wait a minute...we're missing one dirtbag, the little one in blue isn't here... I guess we'll deal with him later, three out of four is still good, now, it's time for our revenge, you bunch of damn dirt-" Vermilion was punched in the face by an enraged Violet. She was emitting an intimidating aura that gave off the impression of a giant feral Grimm that scared some of the people present.
"This is why I love you," Vermilya said blushing deeply before sprinting to Violet to crush her with her ax. She tried to cleave Violet, who nimbly dodged the weapon before kicking her foe in the face. Vermilya fell close to her brother, both were about to get up until they saw Violet towering over them. Her face was hard to describe, it looked like she was so mad that her face turned red or she was too flustered from all the embarrassment.
"Ready for our second date?" Vermilya half teased and it sent Violet's anger to the place of no return.
Everyone watched the horrific sight of Violet thrashing the twins with her bare hands. Silver and Zelts were terrified, Sterling went back inside Moneta, saying he had to check the posted mission assignments as an excuse, and Clair wasn't afraid like the others, but she knew not to bring this subject up ever again. Violet finished her merciless onslaught and returned to her friends who decided to stop teasing her for their own protection. She wiped some the twin's blood of her face as she looked at Clair like everything that just transpired didn't happen.
"So you'll help us find Remus, right?" Violet asked, but it sounded like a demand because of the lingering anger and Clair sweated a little.
"Y-Yes, my men will scout outside our borders for any trace of our little friend. You can rest easy and wait for a report of what they find, I'll let you know the minute they find something, for now, send those two back to prison...or maybe the hospital will be better." Clair looked at the twins knocked out on the ground and almost felt sorry for them. Violet didn't seem to happy with the terms because they weren't as progressive as she wanted them to be, but she didn't know what else they could do.
"I know what you're thinking, but trust me, this is the best course of action for the time being," Zelts said understanding how she feels. "We don't know where they went so we can't fly blind, especially in the desert." Zelts' words were able to quell her fire. He always had a way of bringing Violet back to her senses, she made a wise choice naming him second in command.
"As soon as they find Remus, we'll be kicking ass and living life like always," Silver added with a cocky smile that helped Violet feel better.
"Hmph. My boys are right," she said like they weren't there. "We'll get Remus back and life will go back to the way it was. Nothing's going to change anytime soon." Violet had a small smile when she said that. She and the rest of her team truly believed they get Rems back in one piece.
Setting: The Facility
Lupa was sitting in a chair in front of a table with Velocitas Eradico on top. She was examining the weapon closely with a scanning device that showed the damage the weapon accumulated and in her opinion it wasn't looking good.
"Velocitas Eradico has reached its limit, it's beyond repair," she said out loud while placing her hand on her forehead in distress. Behind her was a large cylinder tank containig light green liquid as she continued with her examination and deduction.
"I shouldn't be surprised that it's damaged, after all, it's only a prototype weapon, and a very experimental one too. The dust inside is quite volatile, and if it takes a strong enough hit, it'll explode and the force would be very destructive. It can't even transform into its railgun mode anymore, even if it could one blast, no matter how big, would cause the dust crystal to go off, for now, the most I can do is repair the sword to a certain extent, but it's on its last leg," she thought then looked back at the cylinder tank.
"Hmmm, the only alternative to reduce the volatility is to find a way for the energy to be used without expelling it from the weapon," she thought to herself then had an idea. She immediately took out a notepad and wrote down some plans for Velocitas Eradico. "This could work."
While she did this, Amilius entered her laboratory and strutted until he stood behind her. Her peeked over her shoulder to see his was working on the sword. "Making some last minute modifications to the prototype? I doubt that'll help. He never used it properly to begin with, I mean, who sees a sword like this and wields it in a reverse grip the moment they get it in their hands." He walked to the container like he owned the room. Lupa didn't like his presence in her private work-space. They made an agreement that their private research and development areas were off-limits to the other and Amilius was clearly violating this rule. With his supposed victory not too long ago, he was basically bragging by breaking their rule. Amilius looked at the tank with a grin then knocked on it several times with the back of his knuckle.
"Don't tap on the glass!" she said gnashing her teeth in anger.
He stopped tapping but looked on."What do think did this to him? You originally designed him to be unbeatable, though he never finished the training process, but still, what could've been powerful enough to nearly kill your lab rat?" Amilius asked truly curious.
"There are an infinite amount of unknown variables in the world of Remnant. As scientists we must accept the fact that there are things we can never be prepared for no matter how prepared we claim to be," she said in a matter of fact tone before turning to face him. "He was never complete, he wasn't ready for the surprises of the outside world just like anyone else, but what you did to him was completely unnecessary, cruel, and unforgivable. He won't be able to get it back no matter how strong the recovery chamber accelerates his body's healing ability. It can hasten the healing of injuries, mend broken bones, but it can't replace organs!"
In the tank was Remus, naked, floating in the liquid wearing an oxygen mask with a tube connected to an oxygen tank placed next to the liquid tank. He was unconscious inside there and he had something new, or for better words, he lost something. Remus' right eye was gone and there was a small horizontal scar where his eye used to be. The scar started to heal a little, but a thin line remained. The eye socket remained closed, it no longer had a reason to open.
"I felt a tad bit overzealous and perhaps I went overboard , I can admit that, but since we're having consecutive matches think of it as a tally to show who won the first round," he said like it was a viable excuse and it didn't satisfy Lupa's anger. "His body will return to normal, your little project will just have to adapt to having one eye." That was the last straw. Lupa sprung from her seat and looked at her so called friend with furious eyes.
"Get out," she said in a low threatening tone.
"...Very well, I'll leave." Amilius walked to the door but stopped to tell her one more thing, "Just remember one thing Lupa. He's the Delta, mine is the Alpha, he will forever be inferior no matter how much you prepare him. And don't think about trying the same stunt you did the last time, he won't make it out of here alive this time. I'll make sure of that." Lupa's shoulders dropped when he said that.
"You failed as a scientist Lupa, you bonded and grew attached to a test subject despite the possible end result. Emotions bring forth much more ruin than weaponry and war. I didn't get attached and because of that I have a true masterpiece, the closest thing in the world to perfection. Learn from your mistakes and you might have a better shot with Epsilon if you choose to start from scratch again, just stay professional this time." He ceased his lecture then took his leave.
Lupa felt pain at what he said, but not from Amilius demeaning her profession as a scientist, but from his cruelty toward Remus in both action and words. She knew her colleague always hated Remus, but she never thought he would do something like cut out his eye to prove a point. She looked over to Remus who was floating in the tank.
"Remus, I'm sorry. I don't think I can stop apologizing for the things I did to you, for what we did to the both of you. I don't know how long you'll be in there or how long I can prolong this, but I'll try. It may be unprofessional as a scientist to say this, but I hope a miracle comes to stop all this once and for all," she thought looking at the boy in the healing chamber with sad eyes.
Outside Lupa's laboratory Amilius was pondering some inquiries that piqued his curiosity. "I always knew that boy was destined for failure, but still, what was out there that was strong enough to harm him to this degree?" he asked to himself then grinned a heinous grin then chuckled to himself as he left to his own workplace.
"He was found in Fortuna? Maybe there's something worthwhile in that nameless place, after all, the things we expect the least from sometimes brings forth things we least expect. If she's preparing her Delta for battle, then there's no reason why I can't do the same with my Alpha? A few battles will strengthen it to my liking,"
He activated the computer in his glasses looking for the exact location of Fortuna. Somewhere else in the Facility the Alpha was standing motionless in a claustrophobic capsule. He didn't show any signs of fear, anxiety or any emotion at all. His face remained stoic, blank, completely void of anything the entire time just like his earlier fight with Remus.
Additional Information
Clair de Lune flirts and teases Violet a lot but she is in fact bisexual. Vermilya is just crazy and attracted to anyone who is good at fighting, unfortunate for Violet that she caught her eye. Violet is straight but people assume otherwise and she is very tired of defending herself.
I always planned on one of the members of VRSZ to be mutilated in some way. The choice was random and it fell on Remus to lose his eye and receive a new scar adjacent to his eye. This would be his second scar with the first being the one across the right side of his head. Actually, I feel like after what happened to him at the end of Volume Two and what's happening to him now, he's getting hurt a lot more than the others ever did. For now he'll just have to endure it all because it's not over.
I'm going to try and make the Vermilion twins recurring characters like I'm trying to do the same for Buff. Team VRSZ is on their enemies list and the team feel like anything the twins will probably be their responsibility in the future.
I'd like to make a shout out to Toy2711 for being a fan of the VRSZ volumes and to Cztm who actually binge read the entire VRSZ series. I'm glad you guys enjoy this fanfiction.
