RWBY: Lost and Forgotten
Chapter 53
Hours later
Outside, in Mantle, the news was playing on one of the screens. "Just a few hours ago, a horrible tragedy struck during a voting celebration party." the female newscaster said, gathering a rather large audience. "Penny, the Protector of the City, injured and killed multiple civilians. Among the killed was Chrome Belladonna, son of Kali and Ghira Belladonna, the leaders of Menagerie. What this-" the image suddenly flickered away as Jacques Schnee turned off his TV.
"I must thank you, Arthur." he said as he glanced at Arthur Watts. "You've saved me some trouble."
"No need to thank me." Watts replied with a grin. "That's what friends do."
Deeper inside the Schnee household, however, was another person who saw the news. A person who was devastated to hear it.
But over in Atlas, four young huntresses sat in one room, not saying a word. As the silence grew more and more agitating, their leader spoke. "What now?"
"What now?" Weiss scoffed. "Who knows?! My father is on the council, and that sure as heck isn't good! Penny is framed for muder, and Chrome-" she stopped, her anger boiling over as she gave an animal like growl.
Turning to Blake, she was just staring at the ground, tear streaks on her cheeks. Sighing, Ruby then turned to her older sister who had her fists clenched on her knees. "I'm going to kill him for what he did!" Yang growled, her eyes red as her hair glew a brighter yellow. "He'll pay for what he did to Chrome!"
"Yang-"
Yang stood up and stormed out of the room, punching the wall as she walked by. Heading down the hall, she entered the elevator, pressing a button and waiting. Once it stopped and the doors opened, Yang marched a few rooms down before entering one. Inside, sitting on the bed, was Chrome, alive and, somewhat, well.
"Hey, Yang." he said with a smile, only to wince as he held his side where he had been stabbed by Tyrion's scorpion tail. Yang walked over and wrapped her arms around him, her eyes shifting back to their lilac color.
"I'm glad to see you're awake." Yang replied.
"Yeah... I came to just a few minutes ago." he told her. Yang pulled away and sat beside him. After a few seconds of silence, Chrome sighed. "Jaune filled me in on what happened. He was boosting my aura to help me heal faster." he fell silent for a few seconds. "So, I'm dead, huh?"
"To the public, yes."
Chrome looked to the floor as Qrow entered the room. "Don't look so down kid. One day we'll tell everyone the truth. As for now." He handed Chrome a scroll that had an image of his face but a different name.
"Crimson Ash?" Chrome looked to Qrow.
"You'll need a new identity until all of this blows over." Qrow told him. "Blake, however, insisted on letting your parents know what's going on."
"She told them?"
Qrow just nodded his head. "Try not to draw too much attention to yourself." and with that, he left the room.
Once the door shut, Yang looked to Chrome. "How are you really?"
"Honestly..." Chrome sighed, his cats ears drooping. "It still hurts. Even though the venom's gone and my wound is healed, there's still a slight... burn." Chrome leaned his head back. "Well, the bright side is no one should be trying to kill me... for a while at least."
"True." Yang sighed. "You're sure you're okay?"
"Yang, I'm fine." Chrome said. "I'm sure the burning sensation will go away soon." he pushed himself off the bed but immediately held his side as he winced softly. Yang sprung to her feet to help him. "I"m fine, Yang."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah." he stood up straight. "Just need to walk around a bit."
Heading for the door, he opened it and walked out, Yang close behind. Entering the elevator, they rode it a few floors before leaving. Heading down the hall, he stopped at the room Yang's team was staying in. "You want to see the others?" Yang asked him.
"I want them to know I'm fine." he replied, reaching for the knob.
"You just woke up..."
"I know Weiss and Blake are probably worried about me." he glanced at Yang. "I just want to-" Ruby suddenly opened the door to leave, almost bumping directly into Chrome.
"You're up!" Ruby yelped, getting the attention of her other two teammates.
"Chrome?!" Blake shot to her feet and rushed over to him, pulling her brother in a tight embrace. After a few seconds, she pulled away.
"How are you feeling?" Weiss asked, joining Ruby's side.
"A little sore, but nothing major." Chrome told her. "I wanted to stop by to let you guys know that I'm, well, fine."
"You were poisoned!" Blake stepped forward. "How are you fine?!"
"Well, the nurses, or whoever, stopped it and Jaune stepped in to help me recover my aura faster." Chrome replied. "So, yeah, I'm fine."
"That's good to hear!" Weiss smiled.
"Yeah. Yeah, it is." Chrome chuckled. "So, anything happen while I was out?"
"Other than an invitation from my father for Ironwood to stop by my family's mansion for a 'friendly dinner'?" Weiss asked. "Not much."
"We're all going." Yang said. "But it might be best if you stay here. If Jacques-"
"I'm coming with!" Chrome cut her off.
"Chrome, you can't." Weiss stepped forward. "If my father finds out you're still alive-"
"I don't care!" Chrome growled. "This could be the only time I get to see my biological mother. So, yeah, I'm coming with. And I don't care if Jacques finds out I'm still alive!"
"Chrome..." Blake sighed. "We can't exactly force him to stay behind."
"You're sure about this?" Ruby asked him.
Chrome crossed his arms. "Yes, I am."
End of chapter 53
(I've decided that I'm going to keep the 3rd person narrative from here on out.
I also wanted to add a little sneak peek for the next chapter as a little Christmas present. So, here it is. Hope it gets at least a few of you hyped for the next chapter. I already have it written and ready, too.
So, here it is!
"Excuse me." a voice called to him, causing Chrome to stop in his tracks. Chrome glanced back, ready to run away, but stopped as he saw that the voice came from a woman. A woman who looked remarkably like Weiss and Winter. It was Willow Schnee. "The party is downstairs. What are you doing here?"
Ciao!)