Team CRMN stood at the beginning of the obstacle course, looking out at the task ahead of them. Four levitating platforms moved back and forth, whilst lasers shot forth from the far wall, clearly designed to incapacitate whoever stood on the platforms.
"Reed and I will go high." Crimson stated. "Melanie and Nina, go low."
Crimson began running up the platforms, dodging the lasers as he went. Reed merely flew straight up. Melanie dropped below the platforms, kicking off the wall to avoid landing in a pool of acid, but now having to fight against the heavy wind from a fan at the end of the hall. Nina formed an ice slide to drop down to the bottom, where a series of walls with small gaps slid forward. Crimson leaped off the top platform onto the floor, narrowly avoiding a spike as Reed passed over head. Crimson saw a retracting bridge, and dropped under it to find a flamethrower. He used his semblance to disperse the flames, and continued onward. Reed flew over a lava pool, avoiding a massive hammer that swung at him from the ceiling. Melanie reached the end of the hall, and saw an opening above her. She leaped up, pushing off the wall for a second leap to bring her up to the edge. Crimson walked over, extending his hand to help her up. She took it, letting him pull her into the next room. Nina was ducking and diving through the small gaps in the walls, gradually advancing until she reached a portal at the end of the hall. She leaped through, clinging onto a wall. When she looked down, a pack of beowolves sat in a pit, snarling up at her.
"Eep! Uh, little help here?!" She called.
Reed flew over, giving her a lift up to the top of the platform. Melanie and Crimson caught up, using gravity dust to maneuver over a massive fan. Ahead of them was a massive piston that slammed into the room below every few seconds. In the room, there was a small hole dropping down to a section below. Across however, there was another platform. Reed and Nina, being the fastest, dropped down through the hole moments before the piston would have crushed them. Crimson and Melanie ran over the top of the piston to the adjacent platform. A large boulder rolled out of an opening at them. The two took cover in a small trench before hopping out to reach an opening in the floor. Meanwhile, Nina and Reed were maneuvering down rotating platforms that randomly electrified. Crimson and Melanie found that the walls of the opening were covered in spikes, leaving them no other option but to jump straight down. As they fell, gravity around them shifted, hurling them against the far wall. Crimson stabbed his armblades into the wall to gradually crawl towards the next room, whilst Melanie began jumping off of suspended platforms in the air. All four entered the next room at the same time, finding a large gate waiting for them, and another opening in the floor. Skittering footsteps could be heard approaching, as a deathstalker emerged.
"What's the plan?" Melanie asked.
Crimson gave the creature a look. "Our goal is to make it to the end of the course, that's our priority. Don't engage it unless absolutely necessary, and don't leave a teammate to face it alone. We stick together on this one...alright, go!"
The team rushed forward, heading for the hole. Nina was the fastest, using her semblance to skate across the ground. The deathstalker saw, and went to strike with its tail.
"Nina, wall!" Crimson shouted.
Nina immediately raised a wall of ice to block the tail strike as she slid to a stop right by the hole. Meanwhile, Reed flew up to an electrified platform, and redirected the surge right at the deathstalker. The shock paralyzed the Grimm long enough for Reed to join Nina. Melanie managed to reach them soon after, throwing a dagger in one of the deathstalker's eyes to blind and stun it. Crimson slid in with a blast of flames that pushed the creature back, before ushering everyone down the opening. He was the last to follow, as all four slid down a ramp into the goal. A buzzer went off, announcing their victory, and the simulation ended.
"Well done." Ozpin stated, clapping lightly. "Far from perfect, but well done nonetheless."
Crimson smiled and nodded. "Thank you, professor Ozpin."
"If I might offer a critique." Ozpin began. "You were right to prioritize your mission, but the four of you could have defeated that deathstalker nonetheless. The only thing more dangerous than a Grimm is an experienced one. Do you understand?"
Crimson paused. "I think so..."
"Good." Ozpin grinned. "Then you're dismissed. Go enjoy the rest of your day."
As they stepped out, Melanie nudged Crimson with her elbow. "So...how should we celebrate?"
Crimson paused. "You're the one that wants to celebrate?"
She shrugged. "I'm trying to...team bond, or...whatever. I just thought, since we passed that exam and all...you know..."
"I think it's a great idea!" Nina cut in.
Crimson chuckled. "Reed?"
"Ozpin did tell us to enjoy the rest of the day." He pointed out.
"Alright, so how do we do this?" Crimson asked.
Melanie pondered for a moment. "We could...hang out at my place?" She suggested it a little hesitantly.
"I thought you were..." Crimson paused. "...you said you...didn't...have a home."
"I...kinda...stay in an abandoned warehouse..." Melanie admitted. "But it's big enough for us to...you know...hang out, have fun...that kinda stuff."
Reed raised an eyebrow. "So...what do you do for fun?"
"Uh..." She paused. "Not much...you?"
Crimson scratched his head. "Video games."
"Books." Reed stated.
Nina hummed. "Honestly...just being with you guys is fun." Everyone looked at her. "What? It's true."
Crimson turned back to Melanie. "If you're sure you're okay with it then we'd be happy to spend the day with you."
She smiled. "Alright then. Follow me."
They made their way to where the slums met the docks, and sure enough, there was an abandoned warehouse right there. Melanie led them in, giving a cautionary look around as she entered.
"Dad? Are you here?" She called
There was no answer...just eerie silence.
Nina covered her nose. "What's that smell?"
"Alcohol." Melanie answered. "You guys wait down here, I'll go check on him."
Melanie went up to the room her father slept in. She crept in, seeing him passed out in the corner...a bottle still clutched in his hand. His stomach visibly rose and fell with his breathing, so she left him there.
"He's asleep." She told the others. "We should stay down here...I don't wanna disturb him."
The others nodded their agreement, though a look from Crimson made it clear that they knew there was more to it than what she said. Reed and Nina were looking around the vast, mostly empty space.
"So...what do we do?" Reed asked.
"We could...talk?" Melanie suggested.
Crimson raised an eyebrow. "What about?"
"Well...apparently, our parents were on a team together." Melanie said.
Reed took a seat on a crate. "They were? I knew Crimson's father was teammates with my dad, but..."
"Team SPRJ." Crimson stated. "And that means...Phillip and Sarah Lemay...I knew that name sounded familiar."
"You knew?" Melanie questioned.
Crimson shook his head. "Mom and Dad used to talk about them, but I didn't put it together until just now."
"Richard only told me a few days ago." Melanie confessed. "It's...funny, I guess...that we all end up on a team together...but, I'm happy. You guys are...good for me."
Nina pulled Melanie into a surprise hug. "I knew you were nice!"
Crimson chuckled. "For the record...I'm happy too. I know we're barely at the tail end of the semester, but...you guys really do feel like a family to me."
"I'd drink to that, but I think my dad finished all the beer off." Melanie joked.
The team laughed, and continued discussing things, learning more of each other. As the day tapered off into night, Crimson, Reed, and Nina took their leave. Melanie insisted on staying to check on her father...yet despite the pleasantries, once they were gone, Melanie felt...hollow...there was still so much she was hiding...so much she could never tell them. She stepped over to a crate containing the RedOwl logo, and lifted the lid. Inside were high-tech pieces of gear, and a mask, all colored black. She ran her hand along a piece of it, wiping off a later of dust. With a somewhat relieved sigh, she closed the crate, and walked away.
