RWBY: Team CRML

Chapter 57

Outside Atlas Academy

Chrome

Spotting Winter standing with her back facing him, Chrome approached her. "You wanted to talk?" Chrome asked.

Glancing back at him, Winter nodded. "Yes. But not here. Come with me." she began heading to the school entrance.

Following Winter, she led Chrome into the elevator. Holding her scroll up to the scanner, Winter pressed the second to bottom button, the elevator beginning to descend. "Welcome, Miss Schnee." an automatic voice said.

The two stood in silence until the doors finally parted, showing a mostly empty room except for a few bookshelves, a desk, two chairs, one in front and one behind the desk, and a holocomputer. Approaching the desk, Winter sat in the chair behind it. "Sit." she told Chrome as she gestured to the seat in front of the desk.

Doing so, the two looked at one another.

"I assume Weiss filled you in on your true heritage?" Winter asked.

Chrome just nodded. "Yeah, something like that."

"So, you know you're a Schnee, then?"

"Mmhmm..."

"Then you also know that by coming to Atlas, you've put yourself at risk." Winter said. "If my father finds out about you, if he knows you're in Atlas, do you have any clue as to what he'd do?"

"Brand my face with the SDC logo?" Chrome asked. "It's what the monster did to a close friend of mine."

Winter was taken back by this. Shaking her head, she regained her composure. "He'd do worse."

"I'm not scared of him." Chrome told his half sister. "And if this conversation is about convincing me to leave, then you're wasting your time. I have family here."

"I knew you'd say that." Winter couldn't help but give a, barely noticeable, grin. "I also care deeply about my family, too. Except for my father, of course. Which is why, from here on out, you'll be spending most of your time at my side. You will act as a...recruit for the Atlas military and I your trainer. I want to be sure you'll be absolutely safe here in Atlas."

"I can work with that."

"Good." Winter smiled. "Also, I want you to sleep in the military dorms. Help make it seem like you're an actual recruit."

"Yeah, okay." Chrome nodded.

The following day

Heading for the exit of the Academy, Chrome was stopped by his teammates. "Hey!" the three rushed to his side.

"Hey, guys." Chrome greeted them.

"Where you going?" Nicci asked. "We have a mission today."

"Winter wants me to stay at her side for the time I'm in Atlas." Chrome told them. "Apparently her father wouldn't take too kindly to knowing his wife gave birth to a Faunus."

"I can see that." Marek said with a shrug. "So, you're gonna be spending most of your time with your big sis, huh?"

"It feels weird, having a sister I haven't talked to, or known, since now." Chrome said as he rubbed the back of his head. "I... Maybe... Winter will take me to see my biological mother..."

"You think she'd let you?" Marek asked.

"Maybe." Chrome shrugged. "It's worth a shot to at least ask. I mean, we are in Atlas. She has to be around here somewhere."

"Well, if you need us, we'll be walking the perimeter of Mantle. Make sure no Grimm try ta invade." Nicci told him.

Glancing to his third teammate, Liam, he saw him standing a few feet away with his back to them and his arms crossed. "How's he doing?" Chrome asked.

Nicci and Marek shared worried glances. "He's getting worse." Marek said.

"The entire night, he was tossing and turning in his sleep." Nicci said. "He kept shivering and whimpering while saying Pyrrha's name in a whisper."

"He blames himself for what happened to her." Marek told Chrome. "I overheard a bit of the conversation between him and Weiss up in Amity."

"It's probably-"

"Don't talk about me like I'm not here." Liam growled, glancing at them over his shoulder.

The three of them fell silent as they each looked at Liam. Without another word, he began walking away to the airship that was to take them down to Mantle.

"He needs to talk to someone." Nicci said. "If he keeps this bottled up too long, it could get him killed."

"He always talks to Weiss." Marek pointed out. "He's most comfortable around her."

"Maybe we could get her to try and get Liam to open up?" Nicci suggested.

"It's worth a shot." Chrome shrugged.

"I'll talk to Weiss about it." Nicci said.

"Let's go!" Liam shouted. "I'd like to get this mission done sometime this week!"

"Have fun on your mission, guys." Chrome told them as they began to walk off.

"You too with...whatever you're doing." Nicci replied.

Minutes later

Meeting up with Winter near the Atlas training rooms, Chrome and her walked inside. "So, what're we doing?"

"I have some free time at the moment, and I wanted to see how good your summoning is." Winter told him.

"Right... I actually... Haven't exactly figured that out."

"Well, then I'll teach you." Winter said.

Walking to the back of the building, the two came across a room with a number panel. Pressing four of the keys, the door beeped and slid open. Walking inside, Winter stopped in the center of the room. "This is the most secure training room in Atlas." Winter told Chrome. "Now, create a glyph."

"Just..." Chrome looked to Winter. She just stared at him, waiting. "Alright..." pulling one of his swords off his back, he held it out in front of himself as he created a glyph on the floor.

"Now think to your fallen foes! The ones who forced you to push past where you were, and become who you are now. Think of them, and watch as they come to your side." Winter told Chrome.

"Fallen foes..." Chrome repeated to himself.

Searching his mind, Chrome immediately thought about the Grimm. Thinking of a Beowolf, he pictured the beast as clearly as he could. As he did, the glyph expanded and shrank multiple times.

As Chrome focused more and more, the arm of a Beowolf shot from the glyph. Trying to pull itself out, the glyph suddenly vanished, leaving the Beowolf's arm on the ground for a second before it vanished in blue and white dust.

Chrome fell to his knees. "I didn't think it'd be this tiring..."

"You did great for your first attempt." Winter told him. "Try again."

Getting to his feet, he created another glyph. Picturing the Beowolf once more, the same thing happened. Chrome was only able to summon its arm before the glyph vanished.

"Again." Winter told him.

Sighing, Chrome attempted summoning a third time. But, like the previous two times, he was only able to summon a bit of the Beowolf before the glyph vanished.

"Hm." Winter grunted. "I guess I shouldn't have expected you to get it your first attempt at summoning." she approached him and gently put a hand on his shoulder. "However, you are already way ahead of Weiss when she first started. Go back to your room at the Academy and get some rest. We'll try again tomorrow."

Chrome nodded.

Liam/Mist

Walking ahead of Marek and Nicci as they patrolled Mantle, he could hear his two teammates whispering about him. Their voices were kept low, but he was able to pick out certain parts of their conversation. Mostly, when they said his name.

Shaking his head as he clenched his fists, Liam picked up the pace. As he walked, someone was keeping a rather close eye on the Branwen.

A few buildings down, Mist hid up on a roof, proned and keeping tabs on Liam. But not only him, she was watching Marek, too. She liked knowing what her enemies were up to. And so far, they didn't seem to suspect her, Watts and Tyrian.

Seeing them on patrol, nothing exciting, Mist pushed herself to a crouching position. Making sure not to be seen as she moved to the edge of the roof behind her, she leapt down. Smirking, she pulled her hood over her head before walking down the street.

End of chapter 57