Hey everyone, it's a brand new chapter, and holy shit, this one might be the hardest one I've written thus far. I hope you can keep up with what I have written.
As the school day continued on, a sparring match was currently underway in Professor Goodwitch's combat training class. The two combatants, Lee and Leonidas, went toe-to-toe with one another. Leonidas fired some exploding arrows at Lee, to which the latter responded by forming a wind barrier to block them. The samurai then expanded the wind barrier to knock the ninja back, which the ninja avoided by teleporting behind him. As Leonidas was about to strike from behind, Lee anticipated the attack and intercepted the blow, as their weapons clashed.
"All right, I think that will do for now." Glynda announced, as the stand-still stopped. "You two did an excellent job keeping up with each other's movements."
The two of them nodded. "Heh! You weren't half bad, Leon." Lee smirked.
"Thank you, Lee. You were a formidable opponent as well." Leonidas replied as the two of them bowed before they took their seats.
Professor Goodwitch nodded, as she looked through her lesson plan. "Now then, I should remind you all that during any match when your aura is low, or when it reaches the red-zone, that is when an official will call the match." She explained. "However, there are some cases that a fighter's aura is completely drained, which leaves them susceptible to serious harm." She glanced over at the clock, before looking at the class. "Seems we have time for one more match, so let me see..." She surveyed them room before she chose the two students. "Mr. Winchester and Ms. Charlotte, you two please come down."
Cardin and Gwen both rose from their seats, as Ryu spoke to the latter. "You can do this, Gwen. I know it." He assured her.
"Thank you, Ryu." Gwen smiled, as she got to the dueling grounds. She faced Cardin as she courteously bowed. "Good luck, Cardin!" She greeted before she took out her IceBorne Bow.
Cardin sneered as he brought out his weapon, a big mace which he called The Executioner. "I don't need luck, little girl." He taunted her, as she narrowed her eyes back at him.
"All right, begin!" Glynda called out, as the two began. Gwen fired some ice arrows at him to which he dodged with ease. He leapt over the volley and slammed his mace at her spot, to which the young archer pirouetted backwards and shot a small blizzard from her hand at his feet.
"Such grace." Naomi commented.
"True, but it'll take a lot more than acrobatics to tame him." Iskandar commented.
Cardin broke through the ice as he rammed his shoulder into her, before he knocked her aside. "Pfft! It's gonna take more than some mere ice to keep me down, wimp!" He taunted.
Gwen's eyes widened at the remark, as the word "wimp" echoed in her mind. "I am no wimp!" She shouted, before she summoned an Ice Hawk to fly towards the arrogant fighter.
"Oh look, the 'widdle' girl fights with a 'widdle' bird, how cute." Cardin snickered.
Gwen started to tremble, as her emotions got the better of her. "S-Stop that!" She ordered, as her familiar circled in on him.
The students continued to watch, as Damien grew worried. "Something's not right. Gwen isn't fighting as she did back at the Emerald Forest."
"Look's like whatever Cardin's doing to her triggered something from her." Neos thought. "It's completely throwing off her game!"
"Gwen! You need to concentrate!" Ryu shouted out encouragement. "Do not let Cardin's taunts get to you!"
"Hah! Too late!" Cardin grunted as he hammered The Executioner to the ground, causing a small eruption to hit the distracted archer, as it knocked her down and caused her Ice Hawk to vanish. As Gwen slowly got on her knee, Cardin shook his head while he had a cocky smirk. "Man, what a weakling..." He muttered.
Gwen gasped as that word triggered something in her. "No... I'm not weak. I'm not weak!" She shouted.
"This is the part where you lose!" He shouted, as he leapt towards her.
However, Gwen shut her eyes as she screamed out. "I'M NOT WEAK!" Her voice echoed as a huge burst of ice shot out from around her, which froze the entire dueling grounds, and trapped Cardin in a huge pillar of ice.
Everyone was shocked at what happened. "Holy crap..." Rockwell muttered.
"How did she... do that?" Weiss gasped
"Mmmph! What the..!?" Cardin muffled, still stuck inside.
Gwen panted at the devastating ice blast she accidentally conjured. "W-What have I... What did I... do?" She was at a loss for words, as she gasped for breath.
Ms. Goodwitch quickly dashed between them. "All right, that's enough! Ms. Charlotte, release Mr. Winchester this instant!" She ordered, as Gwen tried to get up and dispel the ice - to no avail.
"Why can't I... *Huff* *Huff* Please... *Gasp* C'mon!" She strained, as she was overcome by a dizziness. Her vision became blurry, as she felt wobbly.
Glynda noticed Gwen's illness, before she approached her. "Ms. Charlotte? Are you... feeling alright?" However, before she before answer, Gwen's weapon dropped from her hand, as she fell backward, before Professor Goodwitch caught her. "M-Ms. Charlotte!" The entire class was horrified as they witnessed Gwen faint from her battle, as the ice shattered.
"Gwen!" Damien screamed, as he, Ryu, Neos, Iskandar, and Ruby dashed towards her.
"Speak to us! Say something, please! A-Anything...!" Ryu breathed heavily, as he held her hand while his arms trembled.
"Somebody bring Dr. Charlotte here, on the double!" The professor barked out, as Ruby quickly dashed out of the class.
Meanwhile, Cardin broke free from his ice prison, before he shivered. "W-Why's everyone crowding around her?! I almost became a human popsicle!" He shouted.
"Oh piss off you god damn gorilla!" Neos growled, as Ruby rushed back with Dr. Nahyuta, while he brought in a stretcher.
"What is the issue?" He asked, before he gasped at the sight of his own sister losing consciousness. "GWEN!" He tended to her, as e gently held her head. "What happened?!" He demanded to know.
"Gwen and Cardin were having a duel, and Cardin pushed Gwen emotionally which caused her to flash-freeze him!" Iskandar explained.
Nahyuta gasped. "Oh no..." He realized what caused her to breakdown like that. "All right, someone help me get her on the stretcher!"
Damien and Ryu gently lifted Gwen onto the stretcher, as she slightly opened her eyes. "B-Big brother?" She weakly muttered.
"Shh... save your strength, dear sister." He comforted, as he wheeled her to the infirmary.
Professor Goodwitch shook her head, as she sighed and dismissed the class. Everyone walked out of their seats and slowly walked away, as the rest of Team RWBY and DMON, as well as Team BLSS approached the other five students. "Well, that was certainly a fine mess." Leonidas shook his head.
"Yeah, no shit." Francesca leered.
"I really hope Gwen will be okay." Blake prayed.
Ryu was silent, as Lee spoke up. "Look, it's clear Gwen didn't want to be seen as a weakling, so there's no point in trying to coddle her in her state." He stated.
"Lee, I swear to the gods..." Ryu growled, before his cousin continued.
"That being said, she's not the type of person to give up so easily, so how about we at least try and stay strong - for her sake." He concluded.
"Wow, that is the nicest thing you've ever said." Sergei commented.
"At least, coming from him." Janey narrowed her eye.
"After lunch, we should check up on her to see how she's doing." Yang figured, as everyone got up and started to move.
Damien put an arm around Ryu's shoulder, as he sadly faced his leader. "It'll be okay, Ryu. I promise..." He quietly assured, as the two followed the rest of the group.
In the cafeteria, the four Teams sat beside each other, as Rockwell told everyone about a concert that involved him standing on the edge of the moon, as he surfed along the milky way, as he shredded some sick beats alongside aliens - a concert that, according to Sergei, was a dream.
"...And that's how my new out-of-world amigos formed the greatest rock band on the entire solar system! We were Galaxy Force XIII, and we were stars of our own accord!" He finished.
"Sure, comrade. Whatever you say." He patted.
As some of them listened to his dream, Damien looked down to the side, Ryu closed his eyes while his head rested on his hand, and Neos half-heartedly munched on an apple. "How you fellas holding up?" Iskandar asked the three troubled boys.
"Just peachy, thanks for asking..." Neos grumbled, before he saw Naomi place a comforting hand on his hand. "*Sigh* Thanks..." He gave a small smile.
"Well, you two are awfully close." Damien noticed.
"Yeah. I would have thought they had, well, rocked the casbah." Rockwell thought, as Francesca kicked his shin.
"Idiota! Don't start." She gritted.
"Oh come now, Franny. Given the chance, wouldn't you or anyone like to join us?" Naomi winked, as everyone fiercely shook their heads.
However, everyone noticed Cardin and his team surround a brown-haired Rabbit Faunus girl. On cue, he and Russell tugged on the poor girl's ears, as Sky and Dove mocked her endlessly. "Ow! It hurts!" She shouted, as she winced from the ear-pulling.
Damien growled, as the glass he was holding trembled, before it shattered in his hand. This caught the attention of all of his pals, as they looked at the enraged crimson haired lad. "D-Damien?" Ruby gulped, as his anger started to boil.
Even Francesca, Lee, Yang, and Iskandar were slightly unnerved by him. "I know I'm usually a hothead, but seeing him angry actually terrifies me." Francesca shuddered.
Iskandar was at a loss for words. "Faunus discrimination pisses me off royally, but why him?" He thought to himself.
"What a freak!" Cardin laughed.
Damien slammed his fist on the table, startling everyone. "CARDIN!" He roared out, as he stormed towards them. "You bastard! Who the hell do you think you are, discriminating against the Faunus like that?!" He yelled out, his voice sounded a bit distorted.
"W-what was with his voice just now?!" Janey stammered.
Team CRDL looked at the enraged teen. "What's your deal, man? We're just having some fun, so beat it!" He stared him down, as he tried to poke his chest. However, Damien grabbed his arm and slammed him onto his teammates, scaring everyone.
"Damien!" Yang screamed, as she and Izzy ran to him.
Damien glared at the fallen Team CRDL, as his fist ignited. "Pieces of shit such as yourselves have nothing better to do than to pick on Faunus?! I should burn your faces right off your pathetic little heads!" He yelled out, his voice had a mix of anger and sorrow.
"DAMIEN, STOP!" Iskandar shouted, as he and Yang restrained him. "Please! This isn't you..." He tried to reach him.
Damien's rage subsided, as he looked on in horror; from his concerned friends, to the shocked Rabbit Faunus, to the traumatized Team CRDL, as he saw everyone staring at him. "No, I-I..." He shook his head quickly, before he fled from the cafeteria.
Team CRDL quickly dashed away as well, before the students started to converse with one another.
Iskandar sighed as he turned towards the confused Faunus. "Are you all right?" He asked.
"Y-yes, I'm fine..." She hesitantly muttered. "Excuse me for a second..." She quickly walked away, as the two of them returned to their seats.
"What even happened just now?!" Weiss demanded to know.
"I am not so sure, Weiss. Perhaps his concern for his teammate's well being put him on edge. But what was his concern with the Faunus about? For a human to show such emotions for them is puzzling." Sergei pondered.
Neos sighed, before he addressed them. "Actually Sergei, that ain't entirely true." The group turned towards him. "If you really wanna know the truth, Damien's got Faunus blood inside him."
"Wait, what?!" They all shouted.
"But how can that even be? Damien has no Faunus traits whatsoever!" Leonidas asked, before a thought occurred to him. "Unless..."
"Unless he happens to have a Faunus parent." The spiky-haired teen revealed. "Damien told me that while his dad was a human, his mom is a Komodo-Dragon Faunus. Even though he had no Faunus traits, that didn't stop the other kids from bullying him throughout his childhood."
Everyone at the table was silent. "I had no idea..." Yang sadly whispered. "I can only imagine it wasn't any easier for his mother."
Neos closed his eyes as he deeply sighed. "...His mother isn't part of this world anymore. Damien told me she died when he was just six years old." He explained to the worried crowd. "Anyways, that's about all I'll share."
Everyone was silent, as a few of them started to shed tears for him. "Poor Damien..." Naomi sniffled. "He always seems so positive."
"Well, he's probably the kind of guy to keep his dark past deep within him. Maybe that's why seeing Rabbit girl getting bullied like that set him off." Lee figured.
Iskandar was lost in thought. "So, Damien's another soul who lost someone close to him due to his Faunus heritage." He thought to himself, as he clenched his hand. "I feel your pain..."
Yang looked over to him, as she knew what he was thinking. "Izzy..."
As they continued their discussion, they were unaware that the same Rabbit Faunus from before heard everything as she bumped into a brown-haired girl with shades. "Hey, there you are!" She greeted, before she noticed her facial expression. "You all right, Velvet?"
"Oh, hey Coco. Yeah, everything's fine." Velvet sighed. "There's something I need to tell you."
Meanwhile, outside on the campus grounds, Damien leaned next to a tree as he growled to himself. "What was I thinking? Why did I let my emotions get the better of me again?!" He thought to himself, as he looked back on how he acted back in the cafeteria.
As he thought carefully, the two girls saw him. "So, is that the guy you were telling me about?" Coco asked her friend.
"That's him." Velvet shyly nodded, as the other girl lowered her shades and examined him. "Please don't hurt him, Coco. I know he may have startled me, but he still defended me from Cardin and his team! Plus, the circumstances..." She pleaded, before she was cut off.
"Relax, Velvet! I just want to see what of person he really is." She explained.
"I swore to myself that I wouldn't let what happened during my childhood get in my way. *Sigh* First things first, I need to apologize to everyone for what happened back there." Damien decided, as he was about to head inside. However, a voice stopped him in his tracks.
"Hey, you! I wanna talk to you." Coco called out to him as she and Velvet approached him.
Damien faced the shades-wearing fashionista, before he spoke. "Oh, hello there. I don't think we've met. My name's Damien Crimson, I'm the leader of Team DRGN." He introduced, as he stuck his hand out.
Coco was a tad surprised, before she smirked and shook it. "(Well, he's quite the nice guy, I'll give him that)." She whispered to herself, before she addressed back. "Nice to meet you, Damien. My name is Coco Adel, and I believe you've already met my pal, Velvet Scarletina." She introduced herself.
"Um, hi." She gave a small wave.
Damien's eyes widened, as he saw the familiar rabbit Faunus. "Oh, uh, nice to meet you. I was actually on my way back inside to apologize for my behaviour before. I know I shouldn't have lost my composure back there, and I'm really sorry for scaring you." He bowed, much to their confusion.
"Sorry for what? You helped my friend back there." She pointed out.
Velvet spoke up. "It's okay, Damien. Really." She smiled. "Besides, I know the circumstances were tough for you, what with your teammate in the infirmary, and how you lost your mother."
The crimson haired lad was puzzled. "Wait, how did you know about that?"
Velvet looked down. "I... overheard your blonde friend with the spiky hair explaining it to the rest of the group."
"Neos..." Damien muttered.
Coco took off her shades, before she put a hand on his shoulder. "I want to know that if you ever need to talk about anything, I'm here for you." She smiled.
Damien felt his cheeks heat up. "T-That's very generous of you. Thanks, Coco." He replied.
"Damien! Where are you?" They heard Neos call out, as he and Ryu made their way. "There you are!" He then noticed the two ladies, before smirking. "What's up?"
"Neos, please..." Damien stopped him. "Ah yes, these would be my friends, Neos Xanthos and Ryu Yahto." He introduced his teammates, as Ryu bowed in respect. "Neos, Ryu, I'd like you to meet Coco Adel and Velvet Scarletina of...I'm sorry, I don't think I asked about your Team name."
"Oh yeah, I totally forgot." Coco chuckled. "I'm the leader of Team CFVY, we're actually a second year team here at Beacon."
"Second year? Wow." Ryu commented.
"I'll say. It is an absolute honour to be in the presence of such seasoned Huntresses." Damien commented, as Coco gave an "oh stop" gesture. "By the way, what were you looking to tell me?"
"We got word from Dr. Nahyuta that Gwen has woken up." Ryu explained.
"Really?! That's great!" Damien exclaimed. "Come on, let's go see her!" He waved, as the other two boys ran ahead. The leader turned to the two girls. "Sorry ladies, but I have to get going."
"No worries, Damien, I just hope your friend is feeling a lot better." Velvet bowed.
"Hey Damien." Coco spoke up. "When you're done, maybe you and your team could come to our dorm afterwards. I'll introduce the rest of our team to you."
Damien was intrigued. "Really? That would be great. Thank you so much, Coco!" He waved, as he ran inside.
Coco sighed, as Velvet faced her leader. "Well, what did you think of him?" She asked.
"I have to say, he's a very wonderful guy. Strong, caring, a sharp dresser... Hell, he's quite the catch." She admitted, with a small blush.
Velvet's bunny ears perked up at that last statement. "Whoa... I've never heard Coco say that about a boy before." She thought to herself.
Okay, I hope you enjoyed what I've typed up here. I have to admit, I had so many ideas for this chapter that I really felt like it was all over the place, even though I planned to make it two parts. The next chapter will focus on Gwen's resolve, so stay tuned.