Setting: Desert

In the middle of nowhere, Violet, Silver, and Zelts were in the jeep watching the battle in front of them. Remus was battling several no-name bounty hunters who wanted the money Turquoise placed on their heads. He was handling all of them with ease. He had a big smile on his face as he defeated his enemies one by one while the others watched and talked about him.

"Yesterday, he almost killed some bounty hunters who were attacking us and he did it impassively, like he didn't see a difference between death and defeat. And when I told him to stop, he agreed so easily that it made me nervous," Zelts told the others.

"He doesn't show mercy to his enemies, not that bad of a trait for a fighter," Silver stated.

"Showing restraint isn't a weakness, it's a strength," Zelts said, to Silver who raised his hands in defense.

"Hey, I'm just making an observation. Makes you wonder what he was like before," Silver said, as he looked at the subject of their conversation.

Remus slashed at two opponents, knocking them down, before placing his sword to the scabbard and moving in to palm strike a man in the chest then again as an uppercut, taking him down. Behind him, three bounty hunters with guns aimed for his back, but Remus turned his head and at the last second, he teleported out of their line of fire. He was above them and had Velocitas Eradico in railgun mode. With the extra seconds his hang time in the air gave him, Remus charged his weapon for a single shot and fired in between the three opponents making an explosion big enough to envelope and knock out his adversaries. When he teleported to the ground, the remaining bounty hunters were having second thoughts and wanted to run away, but the smile on the boy's face meant there was no escape. All they could do was pray that the whims of Fortuna would make this a gentle thrashing.

"He's stronger than this," Silver and Zelts said, simultaneously.

"Hmm?" Their statements broke Violet's focus on the battle.

"Remember the day when you knocked us out and scolded us? When we were sparring together, Remus was much better than this," Silver said.

"I told him to get stronger during the fight and he did, like he could channel it on command. It was surprising," Zelts added, but Violet seemed unimpressed like she already knew this.

"He told me he came from a lab, shut up Silver," Violet said, when she saw him raise his finger to prove his theory of Remus being a robot was true. "He's not a robot, but the lab is where he was taught combat for who knows how long. I don't know how strong he is, but I think the stronger the opponent, Remus responds by showing more strength as well. Only strong foes can bring out his true capabilities."

"Guess that means I'm pretty strong myself if I brought that out of him," Silver said, with confidence, but Violet and Zelts ignored his narcissism and she continued.

"Anyway, despite all this he knows next to nothing about his own past or who he really is. Battling is the only thing he truly knows and I don't think that really helps."

Remus just finished off the last of the bounty hunters then smiled at his victory. "That was fun," Remus said, aloud.

"No, it wasn't," one of the hunters replied, groaning in pain. Violet actually felt pity for the bounty hunters, but she was mostly sad at the unlucky predicament of her friend's life.

"That's not true. You can learn a lot about yourself in the heat of battle," a mysterious voice said, alerting Violet, Silver, and Zelts.

In the car in the back seat was a sweaty Ash Blood, casually sitting in the seat like he was there the whole time. When did he get there? How long was he sitting there? And why didn't any of them notice until now? While he was speaking to them, his eyes were glued on Remus. Silver quickly drew Ceasefire, but Blood was faster as he put his hand on Silver's before he could draw his gun and shoot.

"Please. I'm not here to fight you, any of you. I'm just here for the boy."

Blood's choice of words made Violet and Zelts move in to attack, but Blood expanded his wings, knocking everyone out of the jeep and onto the sandy floor while he flew out and landed between VRSZ and Remus.

Seeing his friends being attacked, Remus teleported in front of Blood and instantly swung his sword, aiming for his head, but his attacked was stopped by Blood grabbing his sword with his left hand. The faunus was unfazed throughout the whole thing. The calmness on his face didn't waver. "Cobalt, listen to what I have to say. It's really important," Blood told him, but Remus remained silent with his eyes focused on Blood.

"Such intensity, I wonder if he can even hear me? He certainly looks the part of the Cobalt family, but the rest remains to be seen," Blood looked at the boy, but this was short lived. Remus teleported again, but left Velocitas Eradico in Blood's hand and teleported behind him to land a palm strike on his backside. This would've worked, but Blood blocked his punch with his right hand, surprising Remus. He tightly held onto his arm to keep him in place.

"Allow me to explain, I'm only here to confirm something. I have no desire to escalate this any further," Blood said to Violet, guessing she was the leader of this vagrant group.

Based on the fact he hasn't attacked anyone yet, his claims seemed truthful so far. "Remus, stand down, please," Violet told her friend.

The fierceness in his eyes disappeared completely. Blood handed him his blade, Remus slowly took his weapon before teleporting to his friends' side. Violet, Remus, and Zelts kept their eyes on Blood while Silver seemed to be struggling to get up.

"M-my body. What did that bastard do to me?" Silver thought as he slowly got up.

With the hostilities gone, Blood began to explain. "My name is Ash Blood, I was hired by Turquoise to eliminate you- Let me finish!" He immediately put his hand up as he saw VRSZ get in fighting stance. "That was my original intent, but something on one of your bounties caught my eye. Remus Cobalt, that name has more meaning than you know."

"You know about Remus?" Violet asked, wishfully.

"The answer's yes and no." His answer only served to confuse them. "More like I know about the Cobalt family."

"So he does have a family?" Silver asked, looking at Remus who didn't seem affected by this at all.

"I came from a no-name town far off from any kingdom, not much happened there except for Grimm stalking around our doorsteps, keeping us prisoners in our own homes. We lived isolated in darkness for a very long time. However, a small light was able to pierce through the darkness. A small family bared arms against the Grimm and helped keep the peace for generations, the Cobalt family, a line of warriors who inspired the people of my home, myself included."

Blood smiled when he thought of his ten year-old self admiring the Cobalts, then he frowned, thinking of his fifteen year-old self running away from a Grimm attack. He looked at Remus slightly irritated.

"Do you think Remus comes from this family?" Zelts asked, but Blood remained silent. "Our friend has no recollection of his past. If what you're saying is true then, please tell us everything you know. It would be a good starting point in helping us piece his memory together," Zelts continued, but what he said piqued Blood's curiosity.

"That's what I came to find out. I wanted to verify if he's really a part of that family or if he's an impostor. The fact that he doesn't know anything about himself, the family, or the weight of the last name he bears makes this even more difficult. You don't even know if that's your real name or something you stole." Blood sounded upset as he directed that last sentence directly at Remus who had his usual nonchalant look, this wasn't helping his case.

"The Cobalts inspired me. I was only able to get this strong because of them, so I have a lot of respect for that family. I won't stand for impostors, anyone who sullies that name will answer to me!" Blood said, more threatening than he intended. Violet, Silver, and Zelts stood in front of Remus with their weapons in hand. He sighed upset that he made things escalate to this level.

"I think it's best if you leave," Violet threatened him.

"I'm sorry. Originally, I just wanted to talk to him, but learning about his...current state, things have changed."

"And what does that mean?" Silver didn't like where this was going.

"If your friend is truly a member of that family, then he should be a capable fighter, it's in his blood. I wish to challenge him to a one-on-one duel to determine if he is who he claims to be. If I see that he is a Cobalt, then I'll tell you what I know." Blood's words put Violet at ease thinking she can finally get some answers on her friend.

"Wait. What happens if he isn't?" Silver added and Blood remained silent for a moment before answering.

"Then I'll do the job I was given and take him to Turquoise."

"We won't let you." Violet's declaration meant nothing to Blood.

"You can try, but none of you will be able to stop me. If you get in my way, I'll crush you all and drag you down to Turquoise as well," Blood said, wiping the sweat of his forehead.

"Let's not battle here and now," he said, looking at the unconscious bodies of weak bounty hunters while trying to cover his face from the sun. "We'll battle tonight at your home. You better prove to me your the real thing." Blood spread his wings, ready to take flight. He turned his head to them. "Don't worry about the location, I know where you live," he said, before taking to the sky.

Violet, Silver, and Zelts looked at each other worried about what's going to happen but all Remus could think about was his upcoming fight. Remus's past and future hangs in the balance.

Additional Information

Ash Blood is based on the folklore of vampires. He doesn't like places like Fortuna that are sunny and hot all the time. He also hates garlic and any food with garlic seasoning.