RWBY: Team CRML
Chapter 24
One week later
Chrome
Without many options, Chrome and Nicci made their way to the next village over that had a dock. The only thing the two of them could afford was a boat ride to Menagerie. However, Chrome didn't like the idea of leaving without even looking for Yang or the others. But he had no idea where they had gone to. Blake was the only one he even had an idea of where she was at.
"Do you want to talk?" Nicci asked, her voice almost a whisper.
"No."
"Oh..." she looked to the ground.
Pulling out his scroll, he went down to Yang's name. Opening their messages, a notification popped up. "Out of range. Your message may not be received."
Ignoring it, he began texting her, telling her that he hated not knowing what had happened to her and how he wished he was there. He wanted to let her know he was okay and that she was always on his mind.
Sending the message, Chrome closed his scroll and put it away. "How's your eye?" Nicci asked.
"It's fucked." Chrome replied. "I can't see out of it."
The two of them fell silent again. Seeing the village come into view, Chrome let out a sigh of relief. "Finally." The two of them continued heading to the village.
Liam
Over in Raven's village, Liam had begun to come to. He had been unconscious for the past week as his body healed.
A girl with short brown hair and tattoos was tending to him as he slowly woke up. Feeling a sharp pain, Liam quickly sat up only for the girl to place a hand on his chest. "Easy. You're safe."
Breathing heavily, the girl noticed this and handed him a small pill and a cup of water. "This'll dull the pain."
Taking it, the pain quickly subsided. "Thank you."
"Your aura had healed most of your wound but it'll still hurt for a while." the girl told him.
"What're you-?" looking at where his left arm should be, he fell into a shocked silence.
"You lost it in Beacon." the girl informed him. "We're not entirely sure when or how."
Placing his remaining hand on his forehead as he closed his eyes, Liam tried to remember. "I..." an image of Mist and Cinder flashed through his mind. Gasping as he pulled back, his breathing quickly became eradic.
"It's probably best you don't think about it." she told him. The girl stood up. "I'll go let Raven know you're awake and she'll let you know what's going to happen as well as fill you in on a few things."
As she headed towards the exit, Liam quickly stopped her. "Wait." the girl glanced back at him. "Who are you?"
"My name is Vernal." she replied. Pushing the tent flap aside, she left the tent.
Sitting in silence, Liam took another look at his missing arm as he thought about what had happened at Beacon. Instead of letting himself fall into a pit of depression, Liam got to his feet, holding his shoulder as he got up.
Walking to the tent entrance, he pushed it aside. As the sun shone directly into his eyes, Liam raised his arm to block the light.
"What are you doing up?" Raven said as she walked up to her nephew. "You should be resting."
"I can't." Liam told her. "Is there anything I can do to help out?"
"You can go lay back down." Raven replied.
"Raven, I need to do something to keep my mind off..." Liam looked to his wound. "I just..." fighting back tears, he looked to his aunt. "I need something to do. I can't sit around. Not now."
Realizing what he was saying, Raven nodded. "Very well. But there are some things we need to talk about."
"Like what?" Liam asked.
"Your mother."
"My...mom?" Liam repeated. "You knew my mom?"
"So, Qrow never did tell you..." Raven sighed. "Come with me."
Following her back into her tent, the two sat down by the table. Vernal walked in and began making tea for the two of them.
"What can you tell me about her?" Liam asked.
She took a breath. "She was...everything I'm not." Raven told him. "She was a great fighter. A terrific person. And one of the best teammates I'd ever had."
"Teammates?" Liam asked. "You two went on Huntsman missions together?"
"We...attended Beacon together." Raven told him.
"But weren't you on a team with dad, uncle Tai and...Summer..?" Liam said her name slowly. As Raven looked her nephew in the eye, she slowly nodded. "No. No. You're telling me..? No... Why would-? There's just... Summer was my..." he trailed off.
"She didn't want to put you in any danger." Raven told him. "Because she had silver eyes, she was a target."
"Whose target?" Liam asked, his voice came out a bit shaky.
Raven took a deep breath. "Salem's."
Marek
Elsewhere, Marek was wandering around Vale. As he walked, a muffled ding came from his scroll that was in his pocket. Pulling it out, he noticed he was in range of two other students from Beacon, Yang and "Ruby..."
Pressing her name, it began to ring. "Marek?" Ruby's voice came from the other side. "Marek, are you okay?"
"Ruby?"
"Where are you?" she asked.
"Vale..?" Marek said, unsure. "I don't know anymore."
"Mar... we can... if you stay..." the connection began to fail.
"Ruby? Ruby, can you hear me?"
"My dad will... in Patch..."
"Patch?"
"Come to Pat-" her voice cut entirely. Looking at his scroll, a notification read 'signal lost'.
Placing his scroll in his pocket, he tried to understand what she meant. "Patch, huh?" he began making his way there.
Liam
As Raven told him about his mother, he couldn't believe what he was hearing. He sat in a stunned silence. "So...my mother couldn't be part of my life because of Salem?" Liam asked.
"Yes."
"But she was perfectly fine with putting Ruby in danger?" he asked.
"I guess she just couldn't let another kid go." Raven replied. "Can you really blame her? It destroyed Summer when she had to let you go. She went through major lengths to make sure you and Ruby both were hidden from Salem. But that didn't stop her from being part of your life."
"I..." Liam sighed. "I guess. It's just...I had so many things I wanted to say when I found my mom. I wanted to ask why she wasn't there. Why she didn't want me. But I guess she was there the entire time. She didn't abandon me like I thought."
"She loved you, Liam."
"I wish I could say the same thing to her." Liam said softly.
"Liam, whatever you do, do not got after Salem."
"Why?"
"She can't be stopped." Raven replied. "I know because I've tried. So has Qrow and Tai. Even Ozpin has tried and all of us have failed. Don't try to fight her. Once she knows you have the silver eyes ability, you'll be as good as dead."
Liam was silent for a few seconds. "I can't make any promises."
Raven sighed. "I was afraid you'd say that." she stood up and Vernal walked over to collect the tea cups. "Whenever you're ready, we can begin your training. Until then, get some rest and come to me or Vernal when you want something to do."
Liam stood up. "I'll do that."
"Oh! One more thing." she walked over to a chest laying next to her bed roll. Opening it, she pulled out a pure white cloak. Walking back over to Liam, she handed it out to him. "This was Summer's. I thought you might want to have it."
Liam stared at it for a few seconds before taking it from his aunt. "Thank you, Raven." he went to put it on but had a bit of trouble because of his missing arm.
Noticing this, Raven helped him put it on. Taking a step back, she couldn't believe how much he looked like her. Staring at Liam, he pulled the hood over his head. "Thank you so much, Raven. This means a lot to me."
"You're welcome, Liam."
End of chapter 24
