Welcome back to the adventures of Team KOLD! We've gotten to Season 2, which is probably still my favourite season. Time to get started, but before that, to those not following my other fictions, may I give a belated Merry Christmas to all you lovely people!
You might notice this chapter to be a bit on the short side, but it serves as a nice little interlude before Season 2 really gets underway.
Season 2
Chapter 18: Down Time
Title Song: Tender Feeling (Persona 3 OST)
The Cross Continental Transmit tower, or CCT, is one of the most important landmarks of the city of Vale. It was here that long distance communications between the Kingdoms could take place with no lag or possible interferance.
Lilo stepped into the elevator, "Welcome to the Cross Continental Transmit tower, please scan your scroll." The wolf faunus did so, putting her scroll against the scanner. "Confirmed, welcome Miss Fuchsia, how may we help you today?"
"Communications please," Lilo replied. The elevator ascended until it stopped on a floor. A woman on a screen gave the appearance of sitting behind a desk. "Yo. Can I use a terminal? I wanna make a call to Menagerie," She asked.
"Of course, terminal 5, let us know when you're done," Lilo nodded, stepping over to the given screen. She plugged in her scroll and made a call.
The screen lit up with a face. "Fuchsia household?" The recipient of the call was a woman with red hair in the style of a bun, wearing a formal kimono of the same colour, with silver trimming around the edges. Her hair had a pair of ears poking from the top. "Clarent speaking."
"Hi mother," Lilo smiled, waving.
"Lilo dear, how are you?" The matriarch of the Fuchsia family asked.
"I've been doing fine," Lilo smiled. "Classes are interesting, Professor Port occasionally treats us to controlled grimm fights in Grimm studies, Oobleck is a bit hyper in History of Remnant, but he's respectable to Faunus, Goodwitch has the best class by far, combat class, I've yet to lose a fight, but I'm waiting for a challenge from Yang, the heavy hitter of a fellow first year team."
"And your classmates?" Asked Clarent.
"I'm a part of Team KOLD. Koa Maru is our leader, he's cool, and his feelings for the Faunus are strong in favour. His fighting style is the most unique I've ever seen, using a pair of boomerangs. Onyx Stone is our own definition of a walking tank, his semblance bolsters aura around himself or an ally. Lastly, there's Jasmine Diali, weapon expert and one of the cutest fox Faunus I've met, poor thing had quite an experience with the White Fang as a child, it still haunts her, whatever they did."
"Well, I'm glad you made some new friends, I know you always struggled to make any back here," Clarent smiled. She glanced off screen, "Oh, your brother's here, you want me to get him for you?"
"That's partially why I'm here," Lilo nodded.
A moment later, a dark grey-haired young man stood in the camera shot. His hair had streaks of fuchsia in it, and two ears poked out of his hair. He had a scar across his right eye and had a fair amount of stubble from cheek to cheek.
"Hey Grey, how's things back home?" Lilo asked.
"Well, White Fang are causing unrest here. News has reached us that they made an attempted robbery in Vale, but were thwarted by huntsmen in training," Grey Fuchsia said. "Don't suppose you know anything about that?"
"Actually, two of my team were involved in stopping that happen. They had an encounter with a familiar face to them. Some meathead with a chainsaw that caused them problems in the past," Lilo shrugged.
Grey sighed. "As long as you remember to keep yourselves safe, I trust you to do what is right."
"I will big bro. Just promise you'll keep our home safe," Lilo smiled back.
"Sure… We miss you kid, not just in the house, but the guard here too. If my job permits, I might have time to stop by and watch a fight in the Vytal Festival," Grey said.
"I can't wait. Trust me, you won't be disappointed!" Lilo punched her palm playfully.
"I gotta go, shipping routes are becoming more difficult to manage around here, might have to make a request for huntsmen to come help us out," Grey sighed. He disappeared from the screen.
Clarent stepped back into frame, "I've got to get going too. The Belladonnas have agreed to talk about new trade routes for Fuchsia Silks," She said. "Young wolf, you keep fighting your way. Follow your dreams. I'll tell Cherry you called. She's at school at the moment. Top of her class too."
"Tell her I love her. I love all of you. I'll be home to see you when the summer break begins," Lilo smiled.
The call ended with smiles from both mother and daughter. Lilo looked down at Snowfall and Shadow, "Come on, let's get back to Beacon."
"Hragh!" Onyx cried out, swinging his axe. His eyes were closed as he swung, both arms tense as he pulled the axe back.
Compared to Koa, Lilo and Jasmine… I've got so little live combat experience… He thought. He opened his eyes, twirling his axe into it's firing position, firing three times, large dust rounds blasting from the muzzle at the tip of the shaft.
All I've got is you… Obsidian Rage… grandfather's pride and joy. Mother and Father… why didn't you let me make my own weapon… I know I was your only son, but that's not an excuse to keep me from experiencing what I want. To want to serve Remnant and it's kingdoms. Being a huntsman… it's all I want.
Looking down at the weapon again, he frowned. "Maybe it's time to move on from the past… Obsidian Rage… you got me here… but you're not my weapon. Jaune has made it work with Crocea Mors, but… I just don't feel the same spark with you…" He sighed.
I think I'm going to need to talk to Ruby. She's the one that uses a similar weapon type, maybe she can help me find my own weapon style. Either her or Professor Maru.
He powered down his axe, putting the shaft back on his back. Heading towards the dorms, she knocked on Team RWBY's door. Weiss answered it. He noticed the girl was wearing a simple white t-shirt and sweats, maybe she'd just been to the gym.
"Afternoon Weiss," He smiled.
"Onyx, hello," The Schnee heiress smiled back. "Can I help you?"
"Maybe… do you know where Ruby is?" He asked.
Weiss pointed over her shoulder. The girl in red was lying on her stomach on the floor, reading a comic book. She looked up at the two Atlesians.
"Ruby, can I speak to you about something?" Asked the teen in black.
The hyperactive team leader hopped to her feet. "Sure," She put a bookmark in her comic, tossing it up onto her bed. "What about?"
"Weapon-!" The moment he said the word, she grasped his wrists.
"What about them?" She asked. Weiss realised she was not needed anymore, and headed for the shower, grabbing a spare set of casual clothes.
"Let's head to the combat arena, I'll explain there," He offered.
"Right… So you want to start from scratch with a new weapon?" Ruby asked once he had explained his situation.
"A polearm, maybe something between Crescent Rose and Nora's hammer. I feel like a two stage weapon will be better than my strange blunderbuss axe," Onyx nodded.
Ruby walked over to the blackboard. Goodwitch rarely used it, but it was there just in case she had some suggestions that needed a diagram. Ruby started by drawing Crescent Rose, her faithful scythe/sniper rifle combo. She then drew Nora's hammer.
"Polearms…" Ruby pulled up a list of options. Expanding the scroll into a tablet mode, she put it next to her.
"Maybe… either an ahlspeiss, a featherstaff, or go back to the axe maybe…" Ruby suggested, listing the three choices between the two other heavy weapons.
Onyx's mind was racing as he thought of ways the new weapon possibilities he had. "I got an idea… but I'll need your help." He took the eraser and swiped the entire board clean. He then drew his idea in the first form.
"An axe? You wanna keep the core?" She asked.
"I have to. It's still my grandfather's weapon. To just dismantle the entire thing and start again with a new fighting style won't work. I just can't let go of the past entirely. You know?" Onyx asked.
Ruby had paused, gripping the red hood she wore like always. "Yeah… I think I do…" She said, alarmingly mellow for her bright attitude.
"But an axe won't be enough, I want to be more capable from range, got an idea?" He asked her, bringing her back to her cheerful self.
Ruby took the chalk back. "Maybe if we…" The two spent the rest of the day muttering between them.
On the outskirts of Beacon grounds, the duo of Koa and Jasmine were sat on a pair of rocks across from each other. "Try again Jas, watch, by the end of this semester, we'll have you singing again."
The fox girl smiled at the support of her friend. Clearing her throat, "He…o …Oa, how are …ou …day?" She asked.
"It's ok Jas, we'll get there. It might just require time and patience. Who knows, if we have to fight together, it could be the magic moment you've been wanting," Koa said, patting her knee.
"Than… ou," Jasmine said, before coughing. "It's o…, we'll …tinue to pra…ti…e when we …an, we'll get there."
"As your best friend, I promise to help you find your voice again," Koa swapped, coming to sit on her rock and putting a reassuring arm around her shoulders.
The two decided to call it a day with the voice practice, choosing to watch the sun set across the city of Vale. "Jasmine… did I ever tell you why I decided to become a huntsman?"
She shook her head.
"It's because I want to make sure that what happened to Melodious never happens again. It wasn't just you and me who were affected that day. Garnet, Azura, old man Forrest. So many of our village died that day, and many more were scared for life," Koa said. "I want to live in a society where humans and faunus can live together in harmony, without the need for fear of the other."
"Sam… …ere," He turned, focusing on Jasmine's speech. "The …hite Fang have …ut so much fear in…o humans an… faunus."
The two childhood friends continued to watch the sun fall, hands subconsciously wrapping around each other, Jasmine putting her head to relax on Koa's shoulder.
We've already been through so much… fights with the White Fang, Grimm, Torchwick, that chainsaw guy… Koa thought, glancing at the fox girl leaning into him, before looking back at the sun. I have to get stronger. Not just to protect the innocents, but the one I love with all my heart.
He's done so much for me… I need to get stronger, so I can return the favour… Jasmine snuck a glance up at his face, staring out at the golden glow crossing Vale. Because I love him. I used to think of it as a silly childhood crush, but I now know for sure that I cannot live without him beside me.
The two continued to watch until the lights of Beacon lit up, meaning they had to come back to avoid breaking curfew. Goodwitch is not someone you want to run into for breaking curfew.
That night, the four members of Team KOLD carried out their usual order of readying for sleep. It was reverse order night, so the girls got first water, while the boys brought up the rear.
"I got to speak with my family today. Too bad Cherry wasn't there… I miss her, and I know she misses me," Lilo spoke up.
"You've never mentioned your family," Koa noted with a raised eyebrow.
"Got my mama and pops, they run a chain out of Menagerie called Fuchsia Silk. Stuff is super soft to sleep in, but it has other uses. My bro, Grey, is the chief of the guard. He's the one that organises the patrols to neighbouring islands plagued by Grimm, and makes sure ships make it through the region. Cherry is my lil' sis. Honestly, her semblance makes it impossible to be angry. She's an absolute treasure to be around," Lilo said. She glanced at one of the photos on the window ledge.
"I'm an only child, but I discovered the feeling of what a little sister would feel like today…" Onyx yawned. "Ruby's a hyperactive, weapon loving cookie monster and the more I was working with her this afternoon, the more I realised that she's a real beacon in the dark."
"Yeah, I get that feeling too. Wait, why were you with Ruby?" Lilo asked.
"Wanting to improve my weapon. She volunteered. I'd ask you Jasmine, but you've got your vocal chords full trying to make a full sentence, no offence," Onyx shrugged.
"No' …aken," Jasmine croaked back.
"My dad's a foreman in the mines, but he doesn't let his workers go endlessly and without breaks. He gets a bit of grief from Schnee Sr, but they're old classmates so it's hard for him to stay mad at father. Mother's a teacher at Mantle Academy. She didn't want me doing huntsman work, so I left to find my own path," Onyx continued.
"You've all met my mom, teacher at Signal, great cook too. Dad's a doctor, works at Vale General Hospital in the city, both are hard workers. Luckily, dad was home when I was about to go out looking for Jas, just to find her collapsed on our doorstep. He took her to the spare room and made her feel better," Koa said.
He sighed. "Sorry Jas. Here we are talking about our family…" He paused, seeing her soft eyes peeping down over the side of her bed. She nodded down to him.
"Jasmine's family had the same structure as Lilo's. However, she was the Cherry of her family. Both her brother and sister were huntsman and huntress. Were on the same team. Garnet and Sky Diali. As for her mom, she was a pharmacist. Had a nice little establishment out the side of their house. Her dad was a chemist. Worked perfectly for them. Both made excellent local remedies and pick-me-ups," Koa said, holding his hand up, which Jasmine took gingerly.
"Well, I know we can never substitute for the real thing, but a team is like a family," Lilo smiled over.
"And I'm sure we can fill some of that empty gap. We will never let you be alone again, promise," Onyx added.
Jasmine smiled. "Than… uys…" She whispered. With that, they all went to sleep, their bonds even stronger than before.
Koa: Cute little ending there, and this entire chapter was filled with lovely moments.
Lilo: Yeah, including Onyx developing a little sister feeling in Ruby, could be interesting in the future.
Onyx: Shut it. Unlike my feelings, it seems our esteemed leader and his best friend have gotten closer than normal.
Jasmine: No ...ea wha... ou are on a...out.
All: Next time: Toppling the Queen!