A/N: I found this idea while in a classroom for Global Themes. At the time it was raining, and suddenly this idea came into creation.
Note: This story runs alongside with my other RWBY story, Corrupted Timelines, even though that one is being postponed for now. Eventually as it is, these two will intersect, when I can piece together the plot for Corrupted Timelines. For now, the two will little to no relevance with one another.
Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY or anything affiliated to it.
Bold Text: Non Human sounds/voices.
Italic Text: Thoughts.
Normal Text: Everything else.
The rain.
The rain was pouring.
The rain was pouring over the figure of a limping young girl, drenched in crimson.
As the young girl struggled on against the downpour of cleansing water, blood ran like streams down her body, much of it her own, but even more so belonging to her enemies. A protective shroud of pure black tendrils surrounded her figure, silver flames dancing alongside the darkness of the young child.
"Why?"
The orphanage that was once a home, filled with warm voices and kind caretakers had been burned to the ground, put out by the rain before everything was destroyed. But nobody could have survived such a fire. No one could have survived the assault of them.
Except for her.
"Why me?"
A young girl, one who simply was just a little bit better with her arms, always just a little bit stronger, more flexible, more reflexive. The girl who's aura was able to unlock in the face of danger in time, the one blessed to have such an effective semblance. All because of that, she survived. Men and women who had families, children who had parents, entire families, just torn apart by this travesty of nature. The families that she had grown to know and love, their bodies devoured or ripped in half in grotesque methods of decapitation and body rendering.
"Why me, Shadow?"
An item clattered to the ground from the girl's shaking hands. As she sank down into mud of the the earth as created by the rain, she looked at the ground, a blank, dead look present on her features.
If one looked closely, they would see that it was pieces of an object. More specifically, pieces of what was once a Victorian Umbrella.
Whether it was the silk covering designed with black roses, or the sharp tip, all the parts had been covered with blood. Thankfully, the parts had only been broken cleanly, so it was still reparable.
The girl's clothing was no better off unfortunately. Numerous tears in the black clothes she wore had left much of her body exposed to the elements, but she didn't even show a flicker of cognitive function, not a single reaction to the warm rain pouring down upon them like a shower nozzle.
"What?"
As the rain poured down on her body, her body itself had begun to shut down due to its loss of mental functions. As a small light appeared in her eyes, she registered her survival instincts, and took shelter under what she could find.
"What have..."
A house, the mayor's as it was, had been mostly unburnt, and was still intact.
Limping into the building, she could see several parts of the ceiling caved in, while most of the other section remained intact. The same could not be said for the belongings not bolted down, many of them having either burnt or broken when the ground shook earlier.
Wandering into the kitchen, her stomach growled furiously as she was reminded that she hadn't eaten in a some time, ever since yesterday. As she scrounged up the remnants of what was once a delicious beef stew, she lit a fire under the fire supplied oven and began to heat it up, just as her mind began to ponder.
"What have I..."
As the beef stew continued to heat up over the fire powered oven, she was able to regain her mental functions long enough to check her weapons and aura.
As the silver flames began to dance around her body in an exotic form of motion, the pure darkness that had encapsulated her earlier had left her body momentarily, whirling within itself a few feet in front of her. The formless darkness eventually began to bease swirling, and slowly formed itself into the shape of a tall Knight, adorned in demonic black armor, as if he were one of Lucifer's knights himself. His armor comprised of the pure black plate of interlocking plates of unknown materials, while green flames could be observed emanating from his helmet and all along his body. The flames never left the Dark Knight's body, and it seemed to lend itself to the apparition of a ghostly figure. The Dark Knight kneeled before her, just as a knight would in the presence of royalty, and spoke. "Do not be alarmed."
The voice of the Dark knight was deep and stone cold. Fearsomeness seemed to ooze out of his very speech and figure, his dark figure turning even the most hardened of warriors pale with fear.
Yet, the young girl was unafraid. In his presence, she was instead comforted, perhaps due to his resemblance to the spectral appeal of night. Ever since she was but a child, she had enjoyed the darkness. She could never become lost, and would always make a point of going outside during the night at least once a day. Ash she observed the figure before her, another spoke up.
"We are after all is said and done, a part of you."
This speech had not originated from the knight, and she quickly identified the origin; her silver flames.
"What have I done?"
"Stand and answer me this you two. Who are you, and what is your purpose?" The girl spoke in a friendly tone. She enjoyed the company of these two unnatural figures, and wished to learn more about them.
With a curious little jerk, chuckles escaped the mouths of the pair of figures.
"Most of our previous hosts are terrified by us. It's good to find someone who accepts us." The Dark Knight spoke with a sense of relief present in his voice as he stood.
"Indeed it is. We are fortunate to have you as our host, madam." The Silver Flames spoke with a sense of joy at not being repulsed or horrified of by their host.
Clapping a fist to his breast plate, the Dark Knight spoke, "We are the projections of your consciousness. As you hold the title of Hell's Reaper, you gain the powers of control of darkness, to manipulate it as you see fit."
Swirling higher up close to her right ear, Silver Flames spoke, "I am your innate Aura ability, your semblance given form that is. These flames can be used to dispose of enemies or to defeat them by disabling processes, whether they be mechanical or organic... There are other functions, but neither of us haven't learned them yet. Inside your currently young mind, our true abilities and powers are restricted."
"From now on will you two serve me faithfully, leaving only when I die?" She inquired, curious as to what their task was exactly.
"We are bound to you till death." Dark knight replied.
"Indeed we shall." Silver Flames included.
Resolving herself, she began to eat the now warm stew, and ate in silence of the other two. The two apparitions remained silent in the face of their master currently, waiting for her to finish her meal.
Upon her finishing, she gathered her supplies, rummaging through piles of scrap to find useful components. A military Backpack with a hydration system, dried meat and fruit, match and flints, the mayor certainly hasn't skimped on survival gear. Once she gathered the needed ingredients she would need for her cooking, as she was quite the culinary chef, she set the frying pan on her person as it had cooled down. It never hurt to have a nonlethal weapon melee weapon close at hand.
Outside, the two specters dutifully followed her, shielding her from potential harm. The rain had stopped, and rays of sunshine were beginning to make themselves known. As she looked at the broken umbrella on the ground, she decided to take along with her the pieces and repair it later. It had after all, served as her first line of defense against them in the first place. After all, it wouldn't do to let such a beautiful umbrella to go to waste.
As she began to move to the north, she crested a small hill and looked upon the burning ruins of her former home. And with this sight, all the emotions she had tried to keep suppressed suddenly burst out. With the distractions of surviving had been enough to keep her from a breakdown, now that those worries had been alleviated, her feelings were released in their purest form possible. As a pillar of aura emanated from her body in a wave of grief, she had only one thought.
"Why?"
A blinding flash of horrifying black energy rose as a pillar into the sky, extending far beyond what the human eye could see.
Second Lieutenant Ozpin looked upon the sight with a mix of shock and awe, amazed as he was to see such an incredible burst of aura.
"But that's-" He thought for a moment, before remembering one of their mission reports.
[The village you heading to, Daggerhorn, is rumored to have the host of the Hell's Reaper. In the event that you make contact with them, you are to apprehend them immediately for transport back to the capital. If they escape, the fate of this world may fall into chaos.]
With a jolt, he shouted to his platoon, "Full march! We've got to get there now!"
As the the platoon of Vytal's finest broke into a sprint, one asked, "What's the importance?"
"The fate of Remnant rests on our speed!"
As the platoon came upon the destroyed village, some retched in disgust at what the Grimm had done to the village. Most of them however were already used to this and Ozpin began directing search efforts for survivors.
In their frantic search for people either dead or alive, no one noticed a figure ghosting away among the treelines, marking what was to be the start of the journey for another important portion Remnant's history, one taking place alongside the tale of Team RWEBY.
The story of Hell's Reaper, Silver Schatten.