Chapter 4: Mother
"Hello, my son."
Cole was struck absolutely dumb by these words. In spite of the sheer carnage around him, his friends pounding on White Fang operatives relentlessly, he could only stand and stare at this strange woman who claimed he was her son. He engaged his semblance; checked her once, twice, a hundred times. There was no mistaking it.
"Ah, how good of you two to get introduced after all these years. Cole, this is Cinder. Or as you'll be calling her from now on, mom," Roman sneered. The two teams stopped and stared in disbelief.
"It's so nice to see you again, Cole," Cinder said with a voice like honey. Cole stepped towards her, his face drained of all color.
"M-mom?" he stammered.
"What's the matter? You look like you've seen a ghost," Cinder remarked with a smirk. "Come to mom, and we have so much to catch up on. After we deal with your little friends, of course."
"Cole!" Amber shouted, but was knocked aside by a White Fang soldier. The Faunus smirked at her from under his mask, when a hammer introduced his face to the pavement. In spite of this, Cole couldn't tear his eyes away. For seventeen years, he'd thought she was dead. For seventeen years he'd been so used to living without a mother. And seventeen years later, here she stood. A ghost, so long dead to his memories it was like meeting a total stranger for the first time. But there was no mistake. She was his mother. She was his mother, and he had to be with her. She was his only family. But his mind flashed back to his friends, and his step faltered. What did she mean, "deal with?" Did she want him to kill them? He began to turn, facing them, before looking back to the woman he called mother.
"Well? Hurry it up!" Roman's commanding voice snapped Cole out of his trance. He looked back to his friends, then to Cinder. He strode over to his friends, the Faunus of the White Fang parting to allow his passage.
"Guys," he began, looking at the group. "Join us."
"Join them? After everything these jerks have put us through?" Rust roared indignantly. He prepared to lunge at Cole, but Amber held up her arm and stopped him.
"Rust, they're just misguided. We can help them," Cole insisted. Rust turned away, and he turned his attention to Amber. She simply shook her head.
"Cole, I love you, but this isn't worth it. What we'd be doing… It goes against everything we always stood for," she said.
"Amber, she's my mother," Cole replied helplessly. Amber turned away. Cole sighed in defeat and looked to Napier. The slender Faunus girl stared at him, her grey eyes catching the moonlight.
"Napier, you of all people should get it. You know what it's like to be different, to be subjugated," Cole pleaded. She nodded, and looked at the soldiers that stood around her.
"I know," she said softly. But she turned away with her teammates. "I know all too well."
"Guys?" Cole asked, looking at team CYAN for help. They shook their heads and stepped away from him. Hanging his head in shame, Cole walked back to Cinder. She pulled him into a hug, but it was uncomfortably warm.
"Poor little Cole, none of your friends want to stand by you," she cooed soothingly into his ear. "Kill them all."
"What?" Cole jumped back, shocked. Cinder smirked maliciously.
"Kill them all. They really aren't your friends, now are they? And they'll only do the same to you. So get them out of the way, for your mother," she said smugly. Cole turned to face his friends, then looked back to Cinder. She was his mother, but was she right? Surely she wouldn't lead him astray…
"Cole!" Napier shouted, surprisingly loud for someone so quiet. Her wolf ears were fully alert as she cried out. "Remember what professor Ozpin told you!"
"Shut up, pup!" Roman roared, bludgeoning the short girl in the face with his cane. She hit the ground with a yelp, and all hell broke loose once again. Blades flashed, guns roared, and limp bodies began to fly down the street haphazardly. The seven friends were holding their own, but just barely. Cole stood in the middle of it, completely astounded. Professor Ozpin? Why was he so significant? He struggled to remember his headmaster's words.
"Blood doesn't make you family. Remember that, Cole."
Blood doesn't make you family? How was that supposed to help him? Cole looked frantically at his friends, then to his mother. Amber hit the ground at his feet with a dull thud. A weak groan escaped her lips as she struggled to climb to her feet. Her strength escaped her, and she collapsed once again.
"Finish her, Cole," Cinder commanded coldly. Cole stared down at his best friend since childhood lying face down in the dirt. At that moment, something in his mind just stopped analyzing everything. And in that one moment of clarity, the moment where Cole was analyzing nothing, he understood everything. It wasn't blood that made you family. It was love. And as Cole looked at the cruel stare of the woman he called mother, and at the limp body of his best friend, he understood. He knelt down and helped Amber climb to her feet.
"You may have given birth to me," Cole growled as he looked up at Cinder. "But you are NOT my mother!"
"Cole!" Amber began, but was distracted by a White Fang soldier swinging his sword at her. She deflected the blow, and Cole began to walk towards Cinder. He slowly sped up into a jog, and then a breakneck charge as he roared angrily. He attempted to deliver a kick, but she absorbed the burst with her aura. Cole delivered a flurry of kicks, but she absorbed each burst of intense heat. She didn't make a move on the offensive, but rather deflected all of his attacks. Was she going easy on her son? No, she was toying with him. He leapt back and attempted to strike her with a powerful roundhouse kick, but at the moment his weapon should have fired she launched a burst of flame into the chutes. An internal device clicked, followed by a horrible grinding noise before two glass canisters with red dust crystals inside ejected from his boots.
The backlash of the hit staggered Cole, and he fell on his backside as Cinder advanced. She sneered coldly as her hands erupted in burning flames.
"Bad idea, son," she hissed with a malicious glow in her eyes. Cole retreated and grabbed one of the glass canisters, hurling it at the woman as she launched her flames. The flames hit the canister, and the crystal exploded in a miasma of red and orange. Cole used the distraction to regroup with his companions. When the smoke cleared, Cinder waved her hand. Several warm circles appeared on the ground beneath the two teams. They began to whistle noisily, and the eight dove out of the way as the ground erupted into massive plumes of flame. Several soldiers began to charge, hoping to press their advantage, when they were stopped by a deep, booming voice.
"Started the party without me, dear?" a man on the rooftop of the nearest shop proclaimed with a laugh, before jumping down to the ground. His long, white jacket flowed behind him as he walked towards the gathered mass. Some soldiers moved to attack him, but a few quick shots from the man's pistol sent them reeling to the ground before they could twitch. His eyes were a royal violet, and his hair was a shimmering golden color. He carried himself with a regal manner that Amber and Cole both recognized instantly. It had been nine years since Cole had seen him last, but now here he was. Staring down his mother with a cocky smirk and a smoking gun, was the one and only Edward Anderson. Or as he was known to Cole…
"Dad?"
"Hey kiddo, I need a favor," Edward answered his son.
"Not until you tell me what the hell's going on!" Cole exclaimed. Edward sighed as he took out a few more soldiers, then stood between Cole and Cinder.
"I'll explain later. Just get outta here," he insisted.
"You!" Cinder shrieked in outrage. She lifted her hand, and crescent pattern of glyphs appeared around Edward. He tried to dive out of the way, but the flaming plumes incinerated the sleeve of his coat. Underneath, instead of flesh and blood, was polished steel and turning gears. Cole stared in awe at the impressive technology his father had acquired. Suddenly, Amber yanked on his hood and began dragging him at high speed down the street. As they fled from the scene, Cole glanced back to see his father's arm transform into a massive flail. As he swung the appendage, taking out several White Fang soldiers in the process, Cinder and Roman retreated to the Bullhead and took off. The small aircraft sailed over their heads, and the group retreated into the night.
Later that night, Team ARCN sat in their dorm in silence. One of Cole's boots sat on its side on the floor, the other had been meticulously dismantled on the desk. Every piece was organized based on where it belonged, with all of the inner workings between the armored shells of the weapon. But one piece was missing. One couldn't tell just by looking at the collection of parts, but Cole knew it was amiss. He held in his hand a small brass piece, barely the size of a roll of coins. It looked like a cross between a bullet casing and a tiny piston, and the uneducated observer would never be able to guess its function. But Cole knew. Cole knew what the piece did. And he knew that until he got a replacement, his weapon would be useless.
That he was useless.
Another week passed. Ozpin accepted the evidence and repealed Rust's expulsion, allowing him to become a fully-fledged student of Beacon Academy once again. The team resumed classes as normal, and things for the most part went back to normal. Nearly a month went by, and everyone seemed happy. Everyone except Cole, that is.
One day, the team sat in the arena watching the spar between two students. The match? Cardin Winchester vs. Jaune Arc. The fight was rather one-sided. Jaune, being the obvious amateur, would charge at Cardin, who would deflect the attack with his mace and then hit him.
"This is the part where you lose," he sneered at the blonde boy.
"Over my dead bod-UGH!" he grunted and dropped as Cardin delivered a knee to his gut. He dropped to the ground and gazed up weakly, resigning himself to death as Cardin prepared to deliver the final blow. Suddenly, a commanding voice stopped him dead in his tracks.
"Cardin, that's enough!" Professor Goodwitch declared abruptly, walking into the center of the arena. "Students, as you can see, Mr. Arc's aura has now dropped into the red. In a tournament-style duel, this would indicate that Jaune is no longer fit for battle, and that the official may call the match. Mr. Arc, it's been weeks now. Please try to refer to your scroll during combat. Gauging your aura will help you decide when it is appropriate to attack, or when it is better to move to a more defensive strategy. We wouldn't want you to be gobbled up by a Beowolf, now would we?"
"Speak for yourself," Cardin muttered under his breath as he turned to leave.
"Remember everyone," Glynda continued, ignoring the snide comment. "The Vytal festival is only a few months away! It won't be long before students from the other kingdoms start arriving in Vale, so keep practicing! Those who choose to compete in the combat tournament will be representing all of Vale."
Amber turned to Cole, looking worriedly. His eyes, usually a vibrant yellow color, were dull and sunken. Dark bags had formed underneath them, and it looked as though he hadn't slept in days. His skin was pale, as though he hadn't seen sunlight in the weeks since the events that transpired in the city. The group stood out of their seats and followed the rest of the students to the lunch room.
The two teams sat around their table, eating and chatting as was normal. Rust and Chris had become fast friends, but he seemed tense around Amelia. But Amber couldn't take her eyes off Cole. Cole, who was merely prodding his filet mignon with his fork. Cole, who was letting his favorite food get cold for no discernable reason. Cole, who clearly had something wrong. And it wasn't his just his problem. It had been the elephant in the room for the last few weeks, although everyone else tried to ignore it. Well, Amber was done ignoring. Cole had let himself slip too far.
"Cole?" she spoke up, causing him to look up.
"What?" he replied quietly.
"Something's bothering you," she said.
"I'm fine," he said, obviously avoiding the subject.
"Cole…"
"I SAID, I'M FINE!" Cole shouted, standing up and storming back to the dorm.
Cole sat alone in the dormitory, the curtains drawn and the room pitch-black. He hugged his knees on the bed, his face an anguished mixture of agony and despair. The door creaked open quietly. A sliver of light fell on his face, and he retreated.
"Close the door," he said. Amber stepped in, closing the door behind her and leaving the two alone with the darkness.
"Cole…" she began softly.
"What do you want?" Cole interrupted.
"I'm worried about you, Cole," she responded.
"I never asked you to be," he retorted dejectedly.
"Is it because of what I said that night?" she asked. Cole froze, and the room was so quiet you could hear a mouse breathe for a moment.
"Amber… You're intelligent, strong, and beautiful… Anyone would be lucky to have you."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You deserve better than me," he stated flatly.
"Who?" she asked?
"I don't know!" Cole shouted, getting to his feet angrily. Even fully upright, he barely came up to her nose. "Why not someone who can actually fight!?"
"Cole, I…"
"That's all I am! I'm supposed to be a huntsman, but what can I do right now? Nothing!"
"Cole…"
"You just don't get it, do you?" he demanded. His hands were balled into fists, and he threw his shoe across the room. It bounced off the wall, off of Amber's bed, and smacked into the remaining half of Flammkhole that remained assembled. It toppled and hit the ground with a dull thunk, and the room was silent again. Amber stepped towards him, but he turned away.
"Amber, I do love you… I've loved you for as long as I can remember. But you don't deserve me. Not while I'm useless like this," he concluded before sitting on his bed once again. Amber sat beside him, and set her hand on top of his.
"Cole, when we were kids… You'd protect me all the time… You wouldn't let anyone call me weak even though I wasn't allowed to fight… That wasn't your Flammkhole that protected me. That was all you. So you're not useless… You're brave, and you have a good heart," she said in a soft tone, resting her head on his shoulder. "So please, don't say these things about you… Because I know the real Cole, and I know they're not true."
"Thanks Amber…" Cole said with a soft smile. "But not having a weapon is a good way to not graduate. I'm not willing to hold the team back."
"Well, what's broken?" she asked. He pulled the small piece out of his shirt pocket and showed it to her, but she only stared blankly at it.
"It's an inertial trigger. When enough force is applied, it trips the piston and fires the device," he explained. He glanced at Amber, who was steadily moving closer to him. He returned the act, but kept talking as their lips almost touched. "But the piston is fused shut, and won't move. That's what's causing the problem."
"One part's broken? That's your problem?" Rust piped in, opening the door widely and clicking on the lights. Amber retreated to her bed in an instant, her eyes wide.
"R-Rust! How long were you standing there?" she demanded.
"Long enough," Napier added cheerfully as she popped out from behind the taller boy. Amber blushed and hid her face in her pillow, and Rust continued to speak.
"If it's just the one part, we can probably find a replacement in the Ryder vault," he said. "The problem is, it's in Mystral and there's no free time to get there."
"And some of us won't be able to afford the airship," Napier added.
"Why bother taking the airship?" a female voice rang out from the hallway. Amelia, Chris, and Night walked down the halls. Amelia was pushing Penelope in her chair.
"What do you mean?" Napier asked.
"You should obviously take the train. It's just as quick, but far more scenic," Amelia replied with a haughty flip of her hair. "And I'm sure a certain influential family member would be able to get you all on free of charge."
"And who would that be?" Rust asked. Amelia glared at him, and turned on her heel to leave.
"Great. Amelia's helping us take the train, but when do we go?" Cole asked.
"There's a field trip coming up," Night offered. "If we talk to Professor Ozpin, I'm sure he'd let us skip to go fix your weapon."
"Now there's an idea," Professor Ozpin said as he appeared randomly in the hall, sipping from his mug.
"Where does everyone keep coming from!?" Amber exclaimed in confusion.
"Now, ordinarily I wouldn't endorse two full teams skipping on an instructional exercise for any reason," Ozpin continued, ignoring Amber. "But I suppose I can't allow a team to go with a member with no weapon. And of course, said team will need an escort to ensure their safe return. So come by my office tomorrow and I'll formally excuse you from the trip."
"Well, sounds like we have a plan," Cole said, standing up.
"Mystral, here we come."
