RWBY: Team CRML
Chapter 39
Chrome
Making it back to the house, Chrome saw his father, sister and Sun fighting the Albains. "Nicci!" pointing to the window, Nicci got the hint and rushed over.
Bursting through it, Nicci rolled to her feet as Chrome jumped in and landed next to the two brothers. Kicking Fennec back, Chrome quickly spun around, slashing his weapon at Corsac.
As the two recovered, they both went to attack Chrome but he jumped back and next to his family. "Chrome?"
"Where's mom?!" Chrome asked.
"I'm not sure, we got ambushed right away." Blake replied.
"Once we take down Corsac and Fennec-"
"No, go now." Ghira told his son.
"But-"
"We can handle these two." Blake said. "Now go!"
Chrome nodded before he and Nicci rushed out of the room and into the hallway. Stopping at an intersection, the two heard fighting coming from down the hall. Chrome and Nicci shared a quick glance before nodding and heading off in different directions with Nicci heading towards the fighting and Chrome heading away.
Running into the room and the end of the hall, Chrome rushed to the door at the other end but stopped when a whip struck the ground in front of him. Looking to his left, Ilia stood on the balcony, weapon at her side.
"Ilia!"
Liam
Hearing a knock at the door, it suddenly opened as Ruby peeked in. "Liam?"
He was sitting at the desk in the corner of the room, looking over his weapon. "Yeah?"
"Qrow says that Lionheart has a raiding party to get the Spring Maiden from Raven's camp." Ruby told him. "He wants to walk us through it tomorrow."
"The Spring Maiden is in Raven's camp?" Liam asked.
"You're coming, right?"
"I...I dunno, Ruby." Liam shrugged. "It'd feel like I'd be betraying her." he sighed. "I'll think go to hear it but don't get your hopes up."
"Alright."
Chrome
Slowly drawing his weapons, Ilia took off her White Fang mask. "You come here to hide, Ilia?"
"I didn't want this..."
"And yet you're here." Chrome growled.
"I don't have a choice!" Ilia replied.
"There's always a choice!" Chrome shot back. "And you're making all of the wrong ones."
Ilia moved her gaze to the ground.
"Just stay out of my way." Chrome told her before moving towards the door.
As he took a step, Ilia launched herself towards him, knocking him down as she rolled a few feet away. The two of them quickly got to their feet.
As Chrome took a defensive stance, Ilia began attacking him. Blocking strike after strike, Chrome jumped back, landing on the balcony railing. Aiming his weapons at Ilia, he began firing off shot after shot.
Ilia used her whip to block each shot. "You're making a mistake, Ilia!" Chrome shouted at her. As he fired off a few more shots, his weapons clicked, signaling he was out of ammo.
Taking advantage of this, Ilia attacked even more than before. As Chrome tried to block each attack, his weapon was knocked out of his grasp. As it spun to the ground, Ilia attacked again, hitting Chrome in his shoulder.
Falling onto the balcony, Ilia took this chance to dim the lights. "Seriously?!" Chrome shouted as he sat with his back against the railing. "You do know I can still see in the dark, right?"
Ilia didn't respond.
Reloading the magazines in his weapons to dust filled ones, one fire and one ice, Chrome peeked over the railing, aiming his weapons.
Ilia was nowhere to be seen.
Carefully vaulting over the railing, Chrome dropped back down to the first floor. As his feet hit the ground, Ilia rushed up behind him with a handful of dust. Hearing her footsteps, Chrome turned around only for Ilia to throw the dust into his eye.
Backing away as he growled in pain, Chrome fell onto his back as he tried to wipe the dust from his eye. Blinking as his vision slowly began to clear, he saw Ilia standing over him with her weapon raised.
Kicking her feet out from her, she fell onto her back, launching fire dust into the balcony and causing it to catch fire. As Chrome got to his feet, he managed to wipe the rest of the dust from his eye.
As Ilia got up, she kicked Chrome back. Keeping his balance, Chrome took his stance as Ilia picked up her weapon. Aiming at Ilia, Chrome shot the ice rounds at her but Ilia blocked each one. "Quit taking potshots and fight me like you mean it!" Ilia shouted.
Once Chrome ran out of ammo, Ilia went to attack only to realize her weapon was frozen. Looking to Chrome, he rushed her. Knocking her weapon from her grasp, Chrome grabbed her arm before kicking her legs out from under her, making her fall onto her back.
Grabbing her other arm, Chrome pinned her down. "Get off me!" Ilia shouted.
"Ilia, please." Chrome said softly.
"Let me go!" she struggled under his grip.
"You're a good person but you're making all the wrong choices!" Chrome continued.
"Let. Me. Go!" Ilia's eyes began to fill with tears.
"Is this really what your parents would've wanted?" Chrome asked.
"I don't know what to do!" Ilia shouted, her voice breaking as tears rolled down her cheeks. "I don't know what to do..." Ilia stopped struggling.
Suddenly, Corsac was thrown into the room, followed by Ghira with his claws extended. Noticing his son, Ghira hesitated. "Chrome!"
Fennec jumped onto Ghira's back, stabbing him in the shoulder. "Dad!"
With Chrome distracted, Ilia manages to kick him off of her and into a chair. Toppling over it, Chrome hit his head on the ground, dazing him.
Ghira and Corsac clash fists before pushing against each others strength as their hands interlock. Ilia watched the whole thing in disbelief. "Ilia!" Fennec shouted. "What are you doing?! Fight!"
As Fennec charged at Ghira, Blake and Sun jumped through the hole in the wall, knocking him back. The two noticed Chrome slowly getting to his feet, holding the side of his head.
"Help him!" Blake told Sun.
"Got it!"
Sun rushed over and attacked Ilia with his gunchucks, quickly overwhelming her and pinning her against a concrete pillar. As Ilia struggles, the pillar begins to crack.
"Sun, stop!" Chrome shouted, getting their attention.
Using the distraction to her advantage, Ilia pushed Chrome back but fell to the ground, under the balcony. As the balcony falls onto Ilia, Ghira moved under it to hold it up. "Go!"
Ilia quickly gets out of the way as Ghira struggles under the weight of the balcony. Sun used his semblance to help Ghira. Fennec got to his feet and began to charge at Ghira. Seeing this, Blake threw her weapon at her father, having it wrap around him before pulling him free of the balcony just as Fennec dove under it in an attempt to attack Ghira. The balcony crushed Fennec.
A few seconds pass as the doors opens to Kali dragging Yuma into the room. "Mom!" Chrome and Blake rush over and hug their mother.
As they're hugging, Corsac gets to his feet. "What have you done? You ruined everything...EVERYTHING!
Corsac angrily runs forward, but suddenly, Ilia wraps her whip around his body, electrocuting him and knocking him unconscious. With the battle over, Ilia starts to cry and falls to her knees as she breaks down.
Outside of the Belladonna's home, a large crowd of Faunus gathers outside, noticing the smoke coming from the building.
"Back! Everyone, stay back! We've got people inside doing their best." one of the guards said.
From the smoky doorway, Ghira walks out carrying the motionless bodies of a White Fang soldier and a Menagerie Guard on each of his shoulders. He hands the bodies to two guards.
"Get in there! Search for any stragglers!"
More guards walk out keeping Corsac restrained, followed by Blake, Kali, Sun, Ilia and Chrome.
"We came as soon as we got the call." the guard notices Corsac. "And Fennec?"
Ghira sadly shakes his head.
"Was it worth it?" the guard asked Fennec.
Corsac looks down, defeated. As the commotion continues, Blake shares brief looks with Sun, Chrome and Ilia. Blake takes a deep sigh as she goes down the steps. Ghira notices his daughter walking away.
"Blake!"
Before Ghira could go any further, his wife stops him, and both look on. Blake then stops at one of the steps as she begins to address the crowd.
"Humans didn't do this." she pointed at the smoke coming from her house. "We did this: Faunus. We did this to ourselves. We are just as capable of hate and violence as the humans, but I don't think any of us would jump at the chance to point that out. So why are we letting Adam do it for us?! By doing nothing and staying silent, we let others speak and act in our place. And if we're not proud of the choices they make, then we have no one to blame but ourselves. This is the message that Adam Taurus will bring to the world if no one stops him. But we can stop him! You have to understand that all of you are looking for simple answers to a very complicated problem. And I can't give that to you. I don't know how to make hate go away, I don't. But I know that this kind of violence is not the solution. I understand that to ask you to leave your homes and protect Haven Academy is asking you to put your lives at risk. But that's what's at stake. So I'm going, and I'll stand by myself if I have to."
"I'll stand with you!" Ilia said.
Blake turns around with a surprised look on her face as Ilia stands up. Her pained expression then looks down.
"If... if you'd have me."
Despite some of the crowd's murmuring amongst themselves, Blake smiles at her old friend. As Ilia proceeds forward, one of the guards suddenly stops her.
"You're not going anywhere!"
"Let her come." Blake said.
"Huh? You're just going to forgive her? After everything she did?!"
"I am."
The guard looks to Ghira, who nods to let Ilia go. Ilia continues to walk down the steps to stand next to her friend.
"What does she think she's doing?"
"She's learned a lesson that evaded me until I was much older: That there is strength in forgiveness." Ghira replied.
Blake puts a hand on Ilia's shoulder, sharing a smile together.
"I'll go!" a Faunus from the crowd said.
"I'll go too!"
"I'll stand with you! I'll go! Yeah! Me too! Let's go! Yeah, let's go!"
As more Faunus start to give Blake their support, Sun walks down the steps to join her and Ilia while Chrome sat on the steps. The crowd is heard cheering as a majority agree to volunteer. They all smile at the crowd.
"Looks like we've got work to do." Sun said.
"Thank you."
Sun then pointed at Ilia. "You stabbed me."
Ilia looked down sorrowfully. "I-" Sun playfully pinches her arm. "Ow!"
"There. Let's just call it even."
Ghira and Kali then walk down the steps to join their daughter and her friends as Nicci joined Chrome on the steps.
"We have about two weeks before Adam's attack on Haven. We're going to need shields, training, whatever we can do to protect as many people as possible."
"We'll need transportation too. For everyone." Kali added.
"I think I know a ship captain who owes us a favor." Blake told them.
End of chapter 39
