Author's Note
This chapter includes the perspectives of Team CMZN (Crimson).
Charrie Ravenmore
Mahony Drewstrife
Zolo Yelick
Nicholas Kaobeth (Ravenmore)
Enjoy the flashback!
Ten years earlier…..
Charrie
The Fallen Phantom quickly decays into ash after I stab my blade through it's back. That's the fiftieth one I've defeated tonight, and it looks like the rest of my team have defeated at least forty each. I think it's time for a break then.
After regrouping with the team, we find a few fallen logs to sit on before opening our thermoses.
"Another exhilarating hunt wouldn't you say?" comes the voice of Nicholas, my enthusiastic beloved. His gunblade is similar to mine, but the one belonging to me is a family weapon.
"Of course, but we could be able to make it more efficient with some more planning." says Mahony, our tactician. A compound mahogany longbow rests on his lap, with his quiver of platinum arrows ready for action, and a hunting knife resting in a leather sheath.
"Whatever, I just want to relax for a bit." Ugh, that's Zolo. He's lazy and apathetic with his studies, but he can fight...decently at least. That silver greatsword is terribly unwieldy and his skills with throwing knives are...adequate.
However, I'm more concerned right now about my son. He's still at home right now with a few maids watching over him, but I want to see him so badly. Even though he's only a six year old, he can already handle a dagger well. That's impressive.
We all sip hot chocolate before gathering the remains of the Fallen Phantoms. Luxus fragments. They go for a very high price back in Faygold, since they are used for weapon forging. Oh! I'm getting a message on my phone. It's from Predator Unit HQ and Mahony's father.
"To Team CMZN. You have a new mission in the town of Polk. You will be heading out tomorrow, and make sure you are prepared for anything. I've sent a mission document to everyone. Good luck on the hunt. -Joseph Drewstrife"
Alright then, that gives me a chance to do training with my son, and I think Nicholas will want to talk with him as well. Hopefully he can start on swordplay soon…
Ten minutes later….
Ah, it's good to be home. Nicholas and I have just taken a bus back to Faygold, before stopping in front of our mansion. Two maids have already dashed out to greet us….but only Nicholas returns the greeting as I quickly storm into the mansion before stopping in front of my son's door. Oops. Better check if he's sleeping first. I slowly push the door open….
"Mom! You're home! Can we have dinner now?" comes my son's voice before he jumps into my arms after I open the door. Sigh...I'm about to start crying..
Nicholas
After dismissing the maids, I head upstairs to witness another tender reunion between mother and son. I don't blame her. Some of our mission take weeks, and that prevents us from seeing our only son. Charrie then picks him up before bringing him over to me.
"Dad! Let's go out for dinner tonight! Or is that off limits?" my son Chris exclaims.
I don't see anything wrong with a little celebration. Although..the only places open this late would be the more...shady restaurants. I think it would be alright if both of us are accompanying Chris, but..
After a bit of debating, we agree to head towards the questionable side of town fully armed. Both Charrie and I have our gunblades loaded, and Chris has a combat knife sheathed in his belt. Now then..let's go.
We enter the shady part of Faygold, and we all are wearing cloaks with the hoods up. Too bad Zolo and Mahony couldn't join us...Chris looks adorable in his ruby cloak. However, we still haven't decided what we're going to eat. Oh, what's that lovely smell? I point it out to Chris, who quickly dashes towards the smell...It turns out to be a small ramen place. I'd really like to have something hearty right now, so this works.
Stepping through the ragged wooden door, we realize how crowded the place is. Smokers...potential hookers...Oh well, better just grab our food and get out.
Around five minutes later, we've gotten three regular ramen bowls to go before we start to head back towards our mansion. Because we need to check up on Chris' progress.
Back at the mansion, Chris and I have taken our positions within our indoor dueling arena. I've drawn my gunblade, and Chris is ready with his knife. Hopefully he'll be able to use a regular sword soon though. Charrie is standing on the side, ready to count us in.
"Okay! The usual son vs father training! In 3...2...1...GO!"
Quickly firing off three rounds, Chris dodges two while parrying the other with his knife. Then I dash forwards to slash at him. CLANG! Our blades clash, but I know that I'll overpower Chris shortly...Agh!
My ensured victory is destroyed when Chris tosses another knife that he kept underneath his sleeve. While I quickly block the surprise attack, he knocks me over before bringing his knife to my throat.
"It's over Dad!"
I yield.
Charrie
Wow. I wonder where Chris learned about sneak attacks, because we never taught him about those. Although, this is his first victory against Nicholas. So while my husband is getting that knife wound treated, I walk over to Chris, who is sitting on the floor sipping from a water bottle.
"Where'd you learn to pull off surprise attacks like that sweetie?" I question.
"Oh, I scared one of the maids by hiding a spider plushie in my sleeve, so I figured I could do the same with a knife when fighting Dad." he replies.
Ah. That's good, Chris is turning mundane experiences into combat techniques. He's learning fast...I'll need to get him his first sword soon.
The next day…
Chris is still sleeping, so I'm getting all of my supplies for the mission Joseph assigned to my team ready. Rations, water, backpack, ammo, and my Flayer S-Class Carbine, Nightbane. I also do maintenance on my gunblade. This will be passed onto Chris when he's older...Oh gosh, I shouldn't be thinking about this right now. Better get ready for the mission.
A little while later, I've met up with the rest of my team, and we're on a train bound for Polk. The train was practically deserted, apart from one cloaked figure sitting a few seats ahead of us.
We arrive at Polk seven minutes later. Crap. The town seems to be under attack by something! Quickly drawing our weapons, I lead Team CMZN into battle!
There were Fallen Phantoms, but there were also Agony Binders. These devilish creatures shot dark energy bolts that sap a person's strength extremely fast. I'm able to pick them off in the back, while the rest of my team handles the Fallen Phantoms. It's not that hard...This is just like a normal hunt...I think?
However, they keep on coming. I'm about to run out of ammo in my gunblade when Zolo calls us over.
"Hurry! Into this barn!"
Nicholas, Mahony, and I dash inside before barring the door. BLAM! SMASH! Whew. That was a close call….?! Just as I turn around, Zolo has a grenade primed and ready….and he throws it directly at us.
BOOOM!
…..I can barely move. There are multiple pieces of shrapnel embedded in my arms and legs, rendering them useless. Nicholas and Mahony have been thrown in other directions, and I can't see them from here. My vision is starting to go blurry...but I can make out one person standing above me. Zolo. He points his greatsword at me before muttering something under his breath. I can just barely make it out.
"I'll take good care of him."
Then he brings his sword against me, and that's the last thing I remember.
Zolo
I feel both horrible and pleased at the same time. Outsmarting Charrie? That takes a lot of luck and a sudden surprise. Killing her like this? Okay, that's nauseating. Both Nicholas and Mahony have been knocked out, while my "friends" take out the rest of the threat. One of my closest friends, Jakob, walks in to inspect the setup.
"It was a good plan Zolo. You wanted Nicholas as your test subject after all, but why didn't you choose...a more worthy candidate?"
Nicholas would've put up less resistance. Scarlet Nightmare is a weapon to be feared, especially in Charrie's hands. Speaking of which..I need to retrieve that...huh? Where is it?
"GAAAH!"
I spin around to see Jakob receiving a knife through his neck. There's a cloaked figure behind me, and their hood falls off to reveal..Chris.
"Get away from Mom!" he screams before charging me with his knife. Pitiful. I smack him on the back of the neck, knocking him out cold.
I already know that Jakob is beyond saving, but his last words did have their intended effect….A different test subject?
"This will be interesting…"
Five years later….
"I hope you know what you're doing honey." comes the voice of my wife, Yuela.
Oh I know. With Chris' memory mostly wiped from my lab's serum, he'll be ready for the DNA injections once he turns eighteen. He's no longer a Ravenmore. He's part of the Yelick family now.
Christopher (11 Years old)
I don't know where I am or really what I'm doing anymore. However, in my back pocket, I kept a crimson ring. I had no idea why I felt attached to it, but I hid it...what does it mean?
