It was another day in Beacon, the students were on their break from classes, but for Team CJVR, it just meant an extra day of training, hoping they can bring their skills to the very limit. Fenrir and Jotaro were practicing on their team attacks against a few training bots, River is sitting in the middle of the training floor, meditating the projection of his Aura to endure more damage and Crimson was pushing up a stack of steel weights, using his back and shoulders, his face, shoulders and hair, drenched in sweat; gritting his teeth and continues to push the weights up
"Come on, cowpoke...you got this!" Crimson strains, putting every effort he has into pushing the weights with all the strength his aura can provide.
Jotaro activates his Semblance, spotting a small crack of electric wires on the floor and stabs it with his rapier, allowing his blade to conduct electricity and–with the help from his Lightning Dust–shoots bolts from his rapier and launches the robots into the air, giving Fenrir an opportunity to warp into the air and slice each of the robots in his way until they all explode, leaving only a metal orb that began to blink out of control, indicating it was a grenade. As it falls, Jotaro jumps and kicks the grenade out the air, shooting straight towards River, just as it explodes. The smoke clears away, showing River projected a larger width of his Aura, forming it into a small dome. As it shrinks back around River, he opens his eyes and looks at the boys with a nod, saying the meditation worked.
"Now that's what I call an intense workout." Fenrir laughs, hitting Jotaro's shoulder, the owner grunting in surprise.
The three turn their attention to Crimson who's still struggling in lifting the giant weights on his shoulders. The others decided to watch as he continues to struggle
"Come now, Crimson! Don't let those weights win against your strength!" Jotaro encourages.
"Does it LOOK like I'm letting it win?!" Crimson snaps.
"Come on, tough guy! Give those mechanical weights the what-for!" Fenrir cheers.
Both Fenrir and Jotaro look at River who was not as excited or cheery as they were.
"Uh...kick its ass?" River unenthusiastically said, shrugging his shoulders.
Crimson continues to push it up farther as the three cheer Crimson on
"Just...a little...more...!" Crimson growls.
But, Crimson starts lowering his upper body as his aura flickers, starting to worry his teammates.
"That didn't look good. Jotaro?!" Fenrir turns to Jotaro who quickly pulls out his scroll to check the team's aura levels, and Crimson's was currently in the red zone...and depleting
"Crimson, stop! That's enough!" Jotaro calls to Crimson
"Not yet! Just a little more muscle!" Crimson strains, his voice breaking from all the pressure.
"Your aura's in the red! If you keep this up, it will shatter!" Jotaro informs, worrying Fenrir and River
"Shut up! I can do this!" Crimson shouts, as he attempts to stand up, he falls down to one knee, his aura flickering again as the blood veins in his arms surface under his flesh. Crimson screams in pain and effort as this was clearly a losing battle.
"CRIMSON!" Fenrir cries in worry, then turns to River. "River, shut it down, now!"
"No! Not yet! Just give me a chance!" Crimson cries.
But River doesn't listen to Crimson as he runs to the training console and types in the cancellation program, the screen asks him if he's sure he wants to cancel the training session and clicks "yes" causing the weights to lift off of Crimson's shoulders, catching him by surprise. He looks up in shock as Jotaro walks up to the nomad, offering him a hand; Crimson looks at Jotaro, his hair dried up from the sweat. Crimson grits his teeth and smacks Jotaro's hand away standing up with an angered expression
"What the hell was that?! I could've handled it!" Crimson shouts.
"Crimson, your aura was in the red zone and depleting! If we allowed you to continue, it would have shattered your aura and crushed you like a pancake!" Jotaro scolds.
"Not the kind Nora would eat...by the way..." Fenrir adds
"You don't know that! I would've been able to lift that with just a bit more effort!"
"You call that effort? You dropped to your knee and were almost done!" Fenrir lectures Crimson. "Crimson...we saved you from getting yourself injured, at least show a little gratitude."
"I didn't ask for your help! Didn't want it either! To hell with this!" Crimson angrily grabs jacket and storms off to the exit, leaving Fenrir and the others puzzled
"Wait, Crimson-!"
But Crimson slams the door before Fenrir could finish his question. Fenrir looks at Jotaro and River, the former shrugging his shoulders while the latter lowers his hands from his ears. Wanting some answers, Fenrir chases after Crimson and catches him down the hall before he took a right turn
"Crimson! Wait!" Fenrir calls, making Crimson stop walking.
"Not in the mood for a talk Boss..." Crimson says in a lowly tone.
"We're on your side, aren't we?! So what's gotten you so fumed?! We're not just your teammates but your friends as well, we were only trying to help!" Fenrir asks.
"I didn't ask for your help! " Crimson shouts, turning towards Fenrir.
"Well you sure as hell needed it! You nearly got yourself killed...you would've gotten yourself killed. Talk to me."
Crimson looks down at the floor, a scowl written all over his face, then looks up at Fenrir
"You remember how I told you I was a Nomad in West Sanus?" Crimson asks, Fenrir nods in confirmation. "Well...life wasn't easy on your own. It was more wild than the forests of Anima and just as harsh as Solitas' never ending winter. The unspoken rule is if you're not strong...then you're nothing, you would either rely on yourself or your clan; you fight and steal if whatever you can to see another day. It wasn't exactly given...it was just a rule people like me went along with...no one questioned it...when I wanted to leave the clan, our leader said I'll never make it without the family."
"I...had no idea." Fenrir says, a look of pity on his face
"Well...now you do."
"But, Crimson...asking for help doesn't make you weak, it makes you stronger. If you keep doing things on your own...you'll break. There's nothing wrong being prideful but don't let it drag you down."
"You know this isn't about my pride...you clearly don't get it...I need some air." After Crimson says his peace, he continues to walk away. Fenrir stays where he is, can't help but feel angry at himself. He's supposed to be team leader, he should know whatever's going on with his teammates, to connect with them. But instead, Fenrir feels like he failed.
In the streets of Vale, Crimson's hanging around the sidewalk, his back resting on his jeep, wearing his aviator sunglasses, looking at the golden medallion in his hand. During Crimson's days in Beacon, he didn't get a chance to start his search for info about the trinket in his palm, but now that he has time to himself...he can use this time to start looking. First, he stops by the Dust shops, showing the medallion to the owner who only shakes his head in response, disappointing the nomad. Next, he goes to a weapon shop and asks if they've seen the medallion before, two of the owners shake their heads in unison, the process continues to him asking around shops, restaurants, even bystanders at the streets and none of them have seen the medallion he's been holding his entire life. Frustration...frustration was the only thing Crimson was feeling right now, gripping the wheel of his jeep tighter, he notices the bakery shop, Cookie Crumble, the last place on his list he could start asking questions. So, Crimson parks his jeep next to the shop and walks through the front door, one employee approaches behind the desk to Crimson's right where she gives the nomad a welcome smile
"Hello! Welcome to the Cookie Crumble Bakery! Is there anything you would like?" The lady behind the counter asks.
Crimson approaches the desk, adjusting his sunglasses.
"Information is all I want...do you know anything about this medallion? Perhaps you've seen it before, or maybe you've noticed it was missing from somewhere...?" Crimson pulls out the medallion and places it on the desk in front of the employee
The employee gently leans down to look at the medallion closely. She glances up at Crimson
"...May I?" She politely, Crimson responds with a motion of his hand to the medallion, telling the employee to go right ahead as she picks it up off the counter for a closer inspection. "Hmm...nope, sorry, I've never seen anything like this, looks rather antique but that's all I can guess..."
Crimson, sighs...he really wants to bash his head against a wall right now, but decides to hold back, taking the medallion off the employee's hands.
"Well, thanks anyway..." Crimson turns around and walks to the exit, but stops after two steps; he turns back to the employee. "Hey...mind if I have a few of the baked goods? I suppose if I'm here then I wouldn't really be leaving completely empty handed."
"Certainly! Just tell me whatever you'd like and I'll place it in the bag for you."
With a nod, Crimson places his order from the menu he saw behind the desk. Afterwards, Crimson exits the bakery with a bag of pastries saying his goodbyes to the employee and walks towards his jeep. Seeing a picnic table to his right, Crimson thought maybe eating in fresh air will help him think. He sets down the bag and sits at the table...resting his head on his arms with a defeated sigh.
"I miss the clan..." Crimson mumbles, burying his face into his arms
He's hit a dead end...and he doesn't know where else to go now...what could be so rare about this medallion? How come no one else has ever seen it? All of these questions, Crimson couldn't figure out any answer for them
"Well, hey there handsome!"
Upon hearing the sound of someone's chirpy voice, Crimson lifts his head up to see the blonde boxer of Team RWBY, Yang Xiao Long.
"Hey, Yang..." Crimson mutters.
"What's gotten you so down?" Yang asks, smiling
"Let's just say my day hasn't gone so well. I got mad at my teammates when they were trying to help."
"Why get mad at them for helping?" Yang sits down across from Crimson
"Wherever I go...I sometimes feel like I haven't pushed myself to my very limit, like what I do just isn't enough...I noticed I was going too far on my muscle training...and they stopped the whole process before I hurt myself...I'm not mad at them now...I just wish it wouldn't get on my nerves." Crimson explains
"Well, if you don't mind me saying, I don't think you give yourself enough credit. You're already good at what you do, your strength, your stamina; you don't need to push yourself over the limit, since your team exists for a reason, being human means you'll always have a limit, but that's why we have teams...to help us surpass them...there are some things we can't do alone, and I'm speaking from personal experience." Yang says, chuckling at her last sentence.
"Heh...Fenrir said something like that earlier, thanks Yang, I needed that." Crimson smiles.
"I don't always solve my problems through punching!" Yang laughs, flexing her arm for insinuation. "Guess I learned a little bit from my sister, is there anything else bothering you?"
"Now that you mention it, yes...this is the source of my frustration." Crimson picks up his medallion and shows it to Yang, who carefully takes it off Crimson's hands for a closer look
"Huh...cool necklace...I think."
"It's not just a necklace, it's a medallion."
"...A what?" Yang looks at Crimson, confused
"A medallion, it's shaped like a pendant which are known to be held as heirlooms."
"Huh...where'd you get this?"
"Good question, I've had it for as long as I can remember. I don't have much to go on besides its looks." Crimson shrugs.
Yang takes another look at the medallion one more time before getting an idea
"I know someone who may have an idea where this came from." Yang says, smiling.
"Really? Who?" Crimson asks, sitting straight
"Follow me, I'll show you!" Yang sits up, tossing Crimson's medallion back, who catches it then follows Yang.
Moments later, Crimson follows Yang in his jeep, as the blonde rides her yellow motorcycle she called Bumblebee, after minutes of turns and straight roads, Yang carefully stops her bike, signaling Crimson to park as they both settle their vehicles and and exit them, now in front of a nightclub called the "Three Bears"
"Pretty sick sports bike, Yang, it must use gyro-stabilizers in order to settle without a kickstand, it even has high ratio gearing in order to move so swiftly. It's really impressive!" Crimson admires, smirking at Yang's bike.
"Thanks! You got a thing for vehicles?" Yang asks, eyeing his jeep.
"When you're a nomad, vehicles should be all you think about. Like my baby Red Queen here." Crimson chuckles, patting his jeep
"So you're Jeep's a nomad vehicle?"
"Yep, beauties like her are rare in the West, she may be old but she can handle tough weather and roads no matter where we are, we're inseparable."
"Ha ha! I'm glad that you're so attached to her, what say we go on a race sometime?"
"I'd love that!" Crimson laughs, now turning his attention to the club, arching an eyebrow curiously. "So what're we doing here? Are students even allowed to attend clubs like these?"
"No, but nobody knows we're here. A guy I know owns this club and he has a lot of interesting info for anyone that comes looking...maybe he'll know something about your medallion." Yang says, walking up the steps with Crimson.
"Here's hoping..." Crimson mutters to himself
As the two enter the club, Crimson notices the damage that occurred in the club, a few pillars are broken, the dance floor's completely shattered and there were bullet holes all over the walls
"What happened here...?" Crimson laughs nervously, his hands gesturing the damage.
"Yeeeeah...uh, I might've busted the whole place up the last time I was here." Yang chuckles, scratching behind her head.
"Why...?"
"That's...a long story, come on, my guy is usually settled at the bar." Yang says, pointing at the bar.
"...This guy wouldn't happen to be one of your ex-boyfriends would he?" Crimson jokes with a smirk.
"Pfft, no! Far too old for me, and he's not my type." Yang answers.
Crimson and Yang approach the bar to see the owner refilling the shelves while muttering angrily to himself. Yang gives a friendly wave to the owner
"Hello Junior!" Yang greets in a friendly yet passive aggressive tone.
The owner, Junior, yelps and drops the glasses of alcohol he was holding and turns toward Yang in fear
"Uh b-blondie! I mean, sir! Uh, you're early, I still haven't found that woman you asked but I've got most of my guys looking!" Junior stutters in a nearly frightened tone.
"It's alright, Junior, relax...I'm not here to cause anymore trouble. I'm here on behalf of a friend." Yang laughs, patting Crimson's shoulder.
"...A friend?" Junior raises an eyebrow in question
Crimson stands beside Yang, a determined expression on his face
"Crimson, meet the owner of this night club and informant of everything in Vale, Hei Xiong, commonly known as Junior! Junior, this is a friend of mine, Crimson Vernados
"With respect, blo-sir...this isn't exactly a kiddy club, you're not bringing more of your friends here are you?" Junior asks, sighing.
"Only if they need help, which is why I brought Crimson...he needs information"
Taking that as Crimson's cue, he shows Junior the medallion and places it on the counter
"Yang told me you know everything, I was wondering if you're familiar with this medallion...how it's made, where it may have come from, its point of origin." Crimson says.
Junior picks up the medallion for a closer look, carefully inspecting it with his eyes
"Hmm...can't say I'm familiar with the design, but I do know the material it was made from." Junior answers.
"You do?" Crimson leans further on the counter
"Mmhm, it's mineral gold, they're rare to find when it comes to mining, especially when there's almost nothing but Dust in there. It's the type of gold that can only be found in Solitas."
"Solitas...great..." Crimson mutters in disappointment
"Unfortunately, that's all I know about this, you could search around the other continent if you're...wait..." Junior takes a more closer look, something must have caught his eyes Crimson might've missed, he quickly snaps his fingers a few times, his arm outstretched to his right. "Hey! Someone give me a magnifying glass! Get a move on, come on!"
One of Junior's henchmen quickly runs to him and hands his boss the magnifying glass and Junior carefully inspects it
"What is it, Junior? What'd you find?" Yang anxiously asks
"I'll let you know when I figured out what it is..." Junior mutters, looking closely at the medallion.
Both Crimson and Yang wait a little bit, nervously glancing at each other about whatever it is that Junior noticed. He finishes inspecting and looks up at the students
"There's engravings near the dial on this medallion!" Junior says, lightly shaking the medallion
"What?! I never saw that when I had it!" Crimson forcefully takes the medallion out of Junior's hand, closely inspecting it himself
"I wouldn't have expected you to, the engravings on that thing are so tiny, they can't be seen by the naked eye, it was even difficult to see just through a magnifying glass"
"How were you able to notice it then?" Yang asks
"I have better perception than other people, if I hadn't taken a closer look, I would've missed it" Junior shrugs
"Well, can you read what it says?" Crimson asks, looking at Junior
"I can't, kid...it's in a language that's indecipherable, but I know what it is, the language is Archeac. It was a very old language humans used the time before the four kingdoms were ever founded. Unfortunately, it was so long ago that people have forgotten how to speak in such a language."
"Great...so how the hell are we gonna translate a dead language?" Crimson looks at Yang, who only shrugs, for she appears as confused as Crimson, who had no idea his medallion had engravings that spoke a dead language. Junior politely clears his throat, getting the students' attention again.
"I may not understand the language on that medallion, but it is connected to the dial, like some kind of code. I'll call in some of my boys, see if they can find a translator for you." Junior says
"Thanks, Junior, what do I owe you?" Crimson asks
"Just make sure blondie doesn't bust up my club again." Junior asks.
"...Ya want me to bust it up now?" Yang asks, raising her fist in a threatening manner
"N-no sir!" Junior cowers away from Yang's threat.
"Let's get going..." Crimson chuckles
The two walk towards the exit, with Junior letting out a long sigh, from barely dodging another bullet from the blonde teen.
At Vale's Shopping District, Yang and Crimson parked their vehicles nearby after the blonde boxer suggested they go shopping after their day of investigating. The two walk down the street, passing by a few shops that didn't interest them.
"I'd say that was a successful day on my part, at least we got some info on what that medallion is." Yang chuckles.
"But it doesn't make sense, if this medallion is ancient based on the texts alone, how do I have it? Did someone give it to me? Is it an ancient key leading somewhere or an heirloom to a broken family which gave me up." Crimson asks, looking at the medallion around his neck.
"Hey, try not to overwhelm yourself with thoughts like that. Just take it slow for now, maybe when Junior's men find a translator, it'll lead you to more answers." Yang says to Crimson, patting his shoulder.
"Yeah, maybe...thanks for the help, Yang." Crimson sighs, smiling at Yang.
"See? It's nice to have help once in a while." Yang grins, earning a nod from Crimson.
The two continue walking until they pass by another shop which Yang notices a fluffy teddy bear through the window.
"Crimson, look!" Yang gasps, pressing Crimson's face and her own against the window. "Do you know what that is?"
"Uh...a teddy bear?" Crimson strains through the force of his face getting pushed against glass.
"Not just A teddy bear...THE cutest looking teddy bear in Remnant! It's as cute as me!" Yang exclaims excitedly. "I want that cutie pie so badly! Let's go get it!"
"Do I get a choice in the ma-," Crimson couldn't finish his question as he's being dragged into the store by Yang holding the collar of his jacket.
"Excuse me!" Yang says, swinging the doors open with a wide grin. "Can I have that teddy bear?!"
The cheery atmosphere stops when Crimson and Yang notice two girls in a red and white dress, both of them glare specifically at Yang, who laughs nervously. Crimson looks between Yang and the girls, clearly noticing the history between them.
"Ha ha...Hello girls!" Yang chuckles, waving at them. "Nice to see you again...this is my friend, Crimson Vernados. Crimson, meet Melanie and Militia...the Malachite Twins."
"Uh...is there bad blood between you girls?" Crimson asks.
"Kinda...remember when you noticed Junior's club nearly destroyed?" Yang asks.
Outside, Crimson and Yang get thrown through the giant window by the Malachite Twins, who jump out and ready their weapons against the two brawlers. The red Malachite, Militia, attacks Yang while her sister Melanie focuses on Crimson, who's just recovering from being thrown through glass.
Yang blocks an attack from Millita's claws, the force of impact pushing Yang a good five feet away.
"You girls aren't still mad at me for busting up that club, are ya?! Come on, I said I was sorry!"
"No need to apologize, we're not here for you." Melanie says, stomping on Crimson's chest before he could get up, forcing the nomad to cough from the force in Melanie's shoe. "We won't back down from you, or your boyfriend."
"I'm not her boyfriend." Crimson groans, only to get kicked by Melanie to shut him up.
"We'll fight you for that bear if we have to." Militia says, readying her claws.
"Oh boy..." Yang sighs, loading her shotgun gauntlets. "Fine! Bring it on!"
Militia charges first, swinging her claw. Yang blocks the attack and parries Militia, countering with a left hook to the red Malachite's face. While Militia's disoriented, Yang runs behind the girl and pummels her back with a series of quick punches. Through the force of Yang's punches, Milita is thrown and crashes into a nearby wall.
"Militia!" Melanie calls in worry, distracted enough to give Crimson an opening.
Crimson grabs Melanie's leg and pushes her away. The white Malachite nearly loses her balance; she's able to regain her balance but was pushed away from Crimson, allowing the nomad to stand up and ready to fight. His tonfa batons are back at Beacon, which means he'll have to improvise. Crimson pulls out two Ice Dust Crystals from his jacket pockets, one for each hand, and crushes them with his hands. With his semblance, he absorbs the ice to form frozen gauntlets for both his arms. Melanie was a little surprised by Crimson's trick, nobody's ever used Dust as an improvised weapon before, but she won't let that stop her.
Melanie leaps up and drops a downward kick at Crimson. The nomad jumps out of the way as Melanie's boot breaks the ground. She attacks him again with quick and precise kicks. Crimson blocks her quick attacks but the force of each hit from the blades in her heels are breaking Crimson's ice gauntlets, so he'll need to think fast. Melanie stops her attacks and jumps again; Crimson spots an opening and smiles. Melanie throws a swinging kick to Crimson's head in midair but the nomad ducks at the time her boot nearly connects.
"Gotcha!" Crimson shouts, grabbing Melanie's ankle. The girl gasps in surprise, followed by a scream as she's thrown to the wall next to Militia with enough force to nearly put a crater on said wall.
Both the girls stand up with effort, recovering from the impact they took. Crimson walks up to yang, both a little winded from the fight they had.
"Thanks for the help!" Crimson huffs, hands on his knees.
"You looked like you could handle it, besides, didn't you say something about feeling weak when someone helps you?" Yang jokes.
"Very funny." Crimson laughs, looks at the Malachite Twins. "These girls are no joke, they know how to put up a fight."
"No, that was different for me...they got better." Yang pants, looking at the twins. "Why do you want that silly bear anyway? A cute doll is more your style than some furry animal."
Neither girl answers, they exchange glances and return their attention to the brawlers.
"Or maybe you're not buying it for yourself." Yang suspects. "Let me guess, it's for someone special, isn't it?"
"No!" Both the girls answered in unison.
"Oh, it looks like we got our answer." Crimson says with a teasing smile, shocking the two girls.
"Aww, that's kinda cute." Yang laughs heartily, then readies her gauntlets. "But don't think that means we'll hold back! Two on two, whaddaya say, Crimson?"
"Normally, I find it silly I'm dragged into a fight over a teddy bear." Crimson chuckles, then readies his ice gauntlets. "But what the hell? I can't say no to a good fight!"
With a raging war cry, the twins and the brawlers charge at each other for a second round, ready to go all out against each other.
To say the fight was difficult, would be an understatement. The combatants on both parties took serious beatings, their auras shattered, bruises on the arms, hair frizzed up, Crimson got a broken nose, Yang has a black eye, and Militia...might have a missing tooth? But in the end, Crimson and Yang were victorious in the battle.
"Yeah! Score one for the Dual Brawlers!" Yang cheers, pumping her fist in victory.
"I think I'm still seeing stars, catch me if I fall." Crimson mutters painfully.
"Fine...you can have the bear, you two earned it." Militia pouts, looking at the bear now in Yang's arms
Yang looks at the Malachite Twins, noticing the sadness and self-shaming in their loss. Yang looks at the bear, then to the twins.
"Here, you girls can have it." Yang smiles, handing the bear to the twins.
"Huh?" The twins express surprise.
"HA?" Crimson exclaims in a mix of surprise and shock.
"It's supposed to be a gift for somebody, no? That probably means they mean a lot to you. So take it, I'm sure they'll like it." Yang grins.
With a defeated sigh, the twins take the bear and walk away. Noticing it's gotten late, Yang and Crimson decide to head back to Beacon.
"Seriously? We went through all of that, and we're just gonna give the bear to them?" Crimson asks, using a napkin to clean the blood leaking out his nose.
"Sometimes you gotta show a little courtesy, even to your enemies. It's not good to be selfish, Crimson." Yang smirks, hands behind her head.
"I BROKE MY NOSE FOR THAT STUPID BEAR!" Crimson shouts, making Yang laugh at how much she thinks he's exaggerating. Crimson looks at the bloody napkin in his hands, now he's wondering how to explain this to his team
End of Chapter 9