Setting: Outside the VRSZ Base

For several hours, the members of Team VRSZ were thinking about nothing else but the duel between Remus and Blood. Everyone was a little worried, except Remus, who was playing his video game like it was an ordinary day, which perplexed his friends. If Blood's confident enough to take them all on, then Remus doesn't have a good chance of beating him. They didn't know if he was confident in himself or if he really didn't understand the gravity of the situation, but it didn't matter anymore because it was nightfall.

They stood outside their home for several minutes before Blood appeared, flying down from the moonlit sky and softly landing into the ocean of sand. "I'm here, now face me. Prove to me that you are a true Cobalt."

Violet wanted to talk this out some more, but Remus quickly ran forward, charging toward Blood who did nothing. Like their first encounter, Remus swung his sword down on Blood, but Blood still did nothing until he extended his right hand to his back. Instantly, Remus teleported behind him, but he did so right in Blood's grip, stopping his attack and surprising everyone.

Holding Remus by the throat with one hand, he lifted his opponent to his face with a disappointed look. "I saw you do this the first time we met," Blood began jabbing Remus in the gut then threw him into the sand in front of him. "Fake or not, you're not living up to the Cobalt name."

Remus slowly got up and immediately ran to his opponent. He ran to Blood's side to attack with his sword, but Blood sidestepped and dodged him. Remus continued to attack with a flurry of strikes, but Blood continued to dodge them all with little effort. He even switched between normal grip and reverse grip for more diversity but it still wasn't enough. The other members were watching in astonishment.

"I knew it. Remus can't win," Silver said, to himself, but the others heard him.

"What are you talking about, the fight just started." Violet couldn't understand how he came to such a conclusion so quickly. "What makes you think he already lost?"

"Remember when he stopped me from pulling out Ceasefire, I don't know what it was, but when he touched me I felt...off. It wasn't until he knocked us out of the jeep I figured it out. My body was moving too slow. Despite my brain telling it to move, my body responded sluggishly. I think it's his semblance, it slows down the body of whoever he touches, that's how he's keeping up with Remus, he's slowing him down. This opponent strips Remus of the very foundation of his fighting style, speed, he has no chance of winning."

Violet looked a Silver then at Remus, who didn't look like he's given up. She remembered something she said yesterday;

"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,"

She saw Remus get knocked back to the ground again. He got up and lifted his head looking at his team. Violet looked at him then saw the intensity in his eyes change, she smiled at him before he turned around to face Blood. "No, he won't lose. I believe in him."

Zelts nodded in agreement, but Silver remained skeptical.

Blood looked at Remus, who squatted lower to the ground. "He has that look in his eyes again. I guess this is where he gets serious. Hmm, I already hit him three times with Paralysis, so he won't be using high speed attacks anytime soon. What will you do- huh?" Blood's thoughts were interrupted by Remus running around him again but he was still fast. "The hell? Paralysis shouldn't have worn off yet, but he's still fast!?"

Remus approached him and tried to cut him though Blood was able to barely dodge. Seeing this as a chance to end the fight, Blood threw a hard punch at Remus, but all he hit was blue smoke. Looking around, he didn't see Remus until he saw a bright blue light from above. Remus was in the air with Velocitas Eradico in railgun mode. He fired two shots at Blood, but using his wings, the faunus fighter took a large step backwards. The extra charge of the railgun's energy blasts made two giant clouds of sand big enough to envelope Blood. Unfamiliar with fighting in the desert, Blood got sand in his eyes and he couldn't see what was coming next. Right in front of him, Remus slashed him quickly with his sword, pushing them both out of the sand cloud. This was the first time Remus landed a blow. Due to the flow battle being completely in Blood's favor, everyone was surprised that Remus actually hit him.

"Go Remus! I know you can do it! Keep it up!" Violet loudly cheered him on. Zelts did the same, but with less vigor.

"Since Checkpoint is a semblance and instantaneous, it doesn't rely on any physical movement. I guess it's not affected by Blood's body slowing semblance," Silver thought, as he simply folded his arms and watched, but was silently rooting for the underdog.

Blood watched Remus' movement and came to a conclusion, Paralysis has just worn off. Remus ran circles around Blood and with Paralysis no longer in effect, he ran at a level of speed no one else has ever seen. Moving so fast, he disappeared with kicked up sand being the only indicator of his location, it was as if he was using his semblance to confuse his foe, even Blood was having a hard time keeping track. Remus moved in to slash him, but Blood blocked with his arms. His aura took a strong hit. The speed of the attack made Remus landed far behind Blood but he quickly moved to his opponent's backside at high speed.

"I knew he was fast, but this is unreal. Has he always been like this?" Zelts said amazed.

"I said it once, I'll say it again, that kid ain't human," Silver added. "Not to mention the fact that Blood can still fend him off is terrifying. I've never seen Remus this strong, but the outcome's a given,"

"He's attacking but not defending, if I time it right, I can touch him and slow him down," Blood thought.

He turned around and jabbed at Remus, but right before he could attack, Remus sidestepped then disappeared and reappeared behind him.

"Feinting!?" Blood realized and on instinct, he opened his wings to force Remus back and succeeded, but Remus continued to move around too fast for the others to see.

While running, he switched his weapon to railgun mode and kept it in his right hand. He teleported in front of Blood and landing a palm strike, but Blood blocked it with a fist. Remus followed up with hand-to-hand combat with one hand holding his weapon, Blood was catching up and meeting him blow for blow.

"He's slowing down again," Silver said, causing Violet's and Zelts to stop cheering and inspect the battle further.

"He's right," Zelts agreed, confusing Violet before she saw what they saw.

Blood was able to catch and counter every one of Remus' attacks and then began to go on the offensive, landing jabs and blows until Remus was still and helpless.

"It's like Silver said, his semblance slows down his opponents every time he makes physical contact with them, it doesn't matter if he's attacking or defending, just touching is enough. If Remus avoided a close-quarter fight, he might've had small chance of winning, but now...it's over," Zelts said, upset that his friend had forsaken his last hope.

Violet saw that Blood stopped fighting to look at Remus who wasn't moving at all. He stood there like a statue, no movement could be seen.

"Don't give up! I believe in you Remus! Come on, pull off an upset!" Violet shouted, with confidence that her friend could win, but this time, neither Silver or Zelts cheered. They believed the duel has reached its end.

Blood flexed his wings, grabbed Remus by his shirt, and flew high into the sky while carrying his opponent. With his foe defenseless, Blood continued to pummel him with hard punches to the guts and chest. In the middle of the barrage, he noticed, with a punch to the stomach, Remus' aura shielding has finally been depleted. He stopped his assault and held Remus by the throat like he did when the fight started. Staring at his frozen opponent, Blood grunted in disappointment before speaking.

"You're good, but not good enough. I was hoping you'd prove me wrong, that you were a member of...hmm?" Blood stopped talking when he noticed something odd. Velocitas Eradico was glowing a bright, blue color. The charge it was giving off was very strong and Blood looked at Remus' hand as his finger was slowly but surely going to pull the trigger.

"This whole time, no, when he first changed it and fought me hand-to-hand. He knew this would happen, he planned it. He let me slow him down so I wouldn't notice he was trying to fire. And with all that time, the charge on this thing is strong. He went above and beyond for this moment," Blood thought then Remus' hand finally pulled the trigger with the railgun right on his chest. "I can't dodge it,"

When fully charged, Velocitas Eradico ammunition changes from energy pulses to a powerful laser beam and Blood took the full force of it. The beam continued to discharge and pushed Blood all the way into the ground, burying him into the sand. Blood's aura was completely depleted. The force of the laser not only pushed Blood back down to Remnant, but the kickback propelled Remus further into the sky.

Team VRSZ remained quiet at what they just witnessed until Violet smiled in happiness and cheered for her friend. Zelts and Silver remained stunned. When Velocitas Eradico finished firing, Remus stopped ascending into the air and began to fall from the sky. Violet's expression shifted from joy to shock as Remus wasn't moving.

"Silver! Zelts!"

Silver activated his semblance and began to glow while Zelts parted his shield into wingblades. Before either of them could do anything else, a shadowy figure erupted from the sand below and swiftly flew up to catch Remus.

Blood was in the sky, carrying an unconscious Remus in his arms. He looked at the boy to see if he was alright then moved down in front of Team VRSZ who were confused by the fact helped their friend. He gave him to Zelts to carry and began to answer their silent question. "I said I would fight him and determine if he was a Cobalt or not. I never said he had to win to prove it. He's too young, reckless, has zero defense, and needs more discipline, but...he's the real thing, a Cobalt, still a greenhorn, but a Cobalt all the same."

Blood looked at the unconscious boy and smiled. "Can we take this inside, after a fight like that I'd like to sit down," Blood asked, and Violet complied, happy that she could finally get some answers on Remus' past.

Setting: VRSZ Base

Everyone was in the kitchen except for Remus who was left in the living room to rest on the couch.

"So, Remus is a member of this Cobalt family? Where are they? Are they in the town you described? How do we get there?" Violet let out a barrage a questions and Blood had to put his pale hands up to stop her.

"Easy. I'm not going anywhere. I'll answer your questions. The first thing I should tell you might not be what you want to hear but it was to be said. The Cobalt family is dead." His words created a chilling atmosphere for everyone else.

"Remember when I told you the town was always surrounded Grimm? One day, they decided to attack with everything they had. The Cobalts and the people of the village rallied and did their best to defend everyone, but even they couldn't overcome the difference in numbers. It was a war of attrition. The Grimm's merciless carnage destroyed everything and killed everyone, except me. I wanted to be brave and fight, but I ran away long before the battle turned ugly and it'll haunt me for the rest of my life," Blood said, depressed and putting his head in his hands, thinking about the events of the past.

His brooding brought the mood down in the room and the others could feel it. They felt awkward about what to say next until Zelts continued the conversation. "So, the family is gone? Even the people who'd know about them?" Blood nodded as his answer.

"If anything, I'd say he's last living Cobalt, their legacy lives on in him."

"That means we're back to square one." Violet sadly looked at the subject of their conversation sleeping soundly on the couch like nothing in the background was happening. Zelts looked at Silver with a smirk while Silver rolled his eyes, grunted to himself, and gave Zelts one hundred Lien in cash from their bet whether Remus was a robot or not. He put the spoils of the wager in his pocket with an air of triumph.

"Oh, Blood, I have to ask you. This village you two are from, does it have some kind of laboratory or research facility? Remus seemed to have lost his a lot of his memories. The earliest thing he could recall was his time in a laboratory." Violet hoped he could help, but Blood looked confused.

"No, there wasn't anything like that in the village. Whatever happened to him probably happened after the Grimm attacked. Judging by his age and when the events transpired, he was probably the runt of the liter, too young to remember or too traumatizing for a child."

Blood's answer left Violet unfulfilled after everything that happened today. Sensing his teammate's displeasure, Silver didn't want this day to go to waste and entered the conversation.

"Blood, earlier you said Turquoise sent you to eliminate us. Does that mean you know where she is?" Silver's question reignited Violet's interest as she waited for an answer.

Before Blood gave them an answer he looked at Remus for a long time.

"All this time, I thought I was the only survivor, that I was all alone in the world but now-" Blood paused as he continued to look at Remus. "The two of us are all that remain of our home, we share a bond, one that I don't want anyone to take away, not even Turquoise. I never had any real allegiance to her to begin with, so if you want to know anything, I'll tell you. Her headquarters is located near the outskirts of Fortuna. She's alone, but I wouldn't mistake her for an easy target. I felt a little uneasy when I was talking with her." Before they could thank him, he got up and walked to the front door.

"I'll be going now."

"You're leaving?" Zelts asked, surprised he would leave this late at night.

"Yeah, I'm not a fan of places like Fortuna, too much sun for me, but I think I found a reason to visit more often. Oh, and as a token of friendship, I'll spread the word that you guys defeated me and I was forced to withdraw. With the reputation I accumulated over the years, my failure will make people think twice about coming after you."

"Thanks for everything," Violet said, grateful for all of his help. Blood slightly turned his head and grinned before closing the door behind him. The sound of wings flapping could be heard, signaling Blood's departure.

Just as he left, Remus finally woke up with a big yawn and the others gathered around him.

"Hey buddy, how you feeling? You know? After you got your ass kicked?" Silver said, casually, and Remus scanned his surroundings. Everyone noticed something different about his eyes, they weren't as empty or blank as they were before. His eyes had a little more life in them. Not only his eyes, but his whole demeanor seemed lighter and less rigid.

"You can learn a lot about yourself in the heat of battle," Blood's words came back in Violet's mind. Perhaps there was more truth to that then she originally thought.

"Wh-what happened? Did I win?" Remus asked, still a little groggy. Silver was ready to repeat himself until Violet elbowed his arm. She put a hand on Remus' shoulder to get his attention and answered his question.

"No, but you made a new friend." She smiled and Remus smiled in return, but unlike the all other times he copied someone else's smile, this one was true and genuine. Violet thought his real smile looked real nice.

A several hours later, everyone were in their respective rooms. Silver was sitting on his bed where he thought about how Remus fought Blood.

"Even if he didn't win, he's still strong, too strong to overlook," Silver thought, with a serious face before pulling out his scroll. He opened a list with names typed in, including Royal, Turquoise, and Zelts. Silver typed and Remus' name appeared on the list then he thought about something else that happened during the fight.

He remembered how Violet cheered for Remus. "It didn't changed the outcome of the battle, but she was able to give him the strength to keep going. And it's not the cliche 'My friends are my power" garbage, but something else. She's the opposite of conventional heroes you see on TV. She doesn't gain strength from friends, but gives them strength. A rare, innate ability that isn't a semblance or any kind of magic, it's just...Violet. That could be a problem. Not only that,"

Silver reached into his pocket and pulled out the tracing device Violet put on him. "She's cunning, resourceful, and dangerous. I kind of respect her. Oh well, I wasn't expecting things to go this route, but Greyhound sent me to do a job, no turning back now," he said, with an amused look that changed back to seriousness before he typed Violet's name onto the list.

Violet was in her room about to get in her bed before she heard someone knock on her door. She told the boys her bedroom was off-limits, but she made an exception since the person knocked. "It's unlocked," she said, before yawning loudly.

The person who opened the door was Silver and he didn't have his usual mischievous face, but a stern one. She didn't know what he wanted until she looked down at his hand. He was holding her tracer. She was shocked that he found it and was probably here to confront her about it. Not sure what to expect, she reached behind her bed, out of Silver's sight, and grabbed her belt holding her Vorpal Swords.

Silver kept his straight-laced face and the first thing he did was say four words.

"We need to talk."

Additional Information

Blood is a bat faunus with bat wings he hides by using them as a cowl. He is from the same place as Remus but travels the world of Remnant.

Onyx is also a faunus based on the sable species but more information on him will be in future chapters.

One half of Remus' past has been revealed, the other half won't appear for a while.

Silver isn't the only one to recognize Violet's innate ability to make people stronger, two other people have as well.