Outcasts and Outlaws
Chapter 7
Interrogation
Okay, so it took longer than I expected to get this done, mostly because I've been way busier than I expected, but also because I was trying to make it just a little bit longer. I did so ever so slightly, but it's still shorter than usual. That said, it hits all the points I wanted it to. From here, Connor's past will start to be fully revealed. Enjoy!
Music: RWBY OP 1
(Music starts, shows Connor in a red shirt kneeling behind a tall figure in a green cloak in front of him) (Connor raises his hand, a depressed look in his eye)
THEY SEE YOU AS SMALL AND HELPLESS!
(The figure's green cloak flaps in the wind)
THEY SEE YOU AS JUST A CHILD!
(Dark clouds start to form in Connor's eye, it being zoomed in on until he evaporated into dark clouds)
SURPRISE WHEN THEY FIND OUT THAT A WARRIOR WILL SOON RUN WILD!
[OUTCASTS AND OUTLAWS]
PREPARE FOR YOUR GREATEST MOMENT!
(Shows Ruby in a training room with her scythe)
PREPARE FOR YOUR FINEST HOUR!
(Shows Connor standing in a tree wearing a long black coat)
THE DREAM THAT YOU'VE ALWAYS DREAMED
(Shows Yang on her bike)
IS SUDDENLY ABOUT TO FLOWER!
(Shows a horde of Grimm advancing)
WE ARE LIGHTNING!
(Shows Damien with Brook standing on one side of him, a shadowy figure on the other)
STRAYING FROM THE THUNDER!
(Connor looks behind him as a Grimm drops down and charges, but slashes past it)
MIRACLES OF ANCIENT WONDER!
(Shows Connor, Yang and Ruby charge in)
THIS WILL BE THE DAY WE WAITED FOR!
(Shows Connor standing in front of Beacon looking apprehensive)
THIS WILL BE THE DAY WE OPEN UP THE DOOR.
(Connor starts to fall forward)
I DON'T WANNA HEAR YOUR ABSOLUTION!
(Ozpin catches him and pulls him back up, then Team JNPR come to stand with him)
HOPE YOUR'E READY FOR A REVOLUTION!
(Shows Ozpin walking away from Connor with his Kane over his shoulder)
WELCOME TO A WORLD OF NEW SOLUTIONS!
(Zooms in on Ozpin's eye as a gold gear spins around in it)
WELCOME TO A WORLD OF BLOODY EVOLUTION!
(Shows Ruby, then Yang, then Ozpin, then a shadowy figure)
IN TIME, YOUR HEART WILL OPEN MINDS!
(Connor steps through the shadowy figure and draws his arm blades)
A STORY WILL BE TOLD!
(He does an epic pose)
AND VICTORY IS IN A SIMPLE SOUL!
[END]
Connor awoke in the Infirmary, slowly opening his eyes and letting them adjust to the light. What did he remember? He remembered the criminal who had attacked him, Brook, that his eye had been injured. Suddenly, he realised he couldn't see out of it, reaching up and feeling a deep scar running down the middle. He also recalled that Kane's power had taken hold after that and Brook had fled. That reminded him that Brook had known Kane, known he was in Connor's head. He didn't know what it meant, but Kane himself had been awfully quiet since then.
"Connor? You're awake, aren't you?" He heard a voice say, turning his head to see who it was. Ruby was sat next to his bed again, her hand slightly touching his. Behind her stood Yang and the rest of Team RWBY, all with concerned looks on their faces. Apart from Yang, that is. She was staring quite sternly at the hand Ruby was holding. Connor noticed this and pulled his arm back, clenching a fist to see if he still had the strength to do so. "We were really worried about you." Ruby told him, reaching for his hand again. "You got pretty messed up back there..."
Connor was again made conscious of his eye. He was already finding that his depth perception was a little off. He almost went to rub the scar again, but was interrupted by Yang's bellowing voice.
"Okay, enough pleasantries! I want answers!" She shouted, pointing a finger at him.
"Yang, please just let him rest first!" Ruby begged, standing up and getting in her older sister's way, but it was no use. Yang simply pushed her aside, only one thing on her mind. Connor could easily guess what she was about to say.
"I know who you are." Yang declared, Connor looking away solemnly. It was all over. He hadn't even lasted a week before it all came crashing down. "I talked to some people about it. Blake, Pyrhaa, Cardin...Ozpin...They told me some pretty messed up stuff."
Connor looked back with the same solemn expression, as if silently begging her to stay quiet. Blake and Weiss were both hanging on her every word, but Ruby was looking just as solemn as he was. It seemed she already knew as well. "It was all over the news when I was a kid. Ruby was too young to remember, but it was a big deal back then." Yang continued, crossing her arms. "Village boy goes berserk and kills entire village. No survivors. No sign of the boy. I remember seeing those dark clouds in the videos, the ones you used earlier. It was you. You slaughtered a whole village when you were just an infant. You killed your parents!"
"It wasn't like that! I'm not the one who killed my parents!" Connor practically begged, desperately trying to get his side of the story across. Still, Kane said nothing. "The semblance was too much for me to control, I couldn't stop it!"
"BULLSHIT!" Yang yelled, slamming her hands down on the table at the end of his bed. Her eyes had turned red in the time that they had been speaking. "You did it. You slaughtered all those people and now you strut around here as if nothing happened! Even if it is out of your control, you're dangerous!"
Ruby was about to step in again and try to calm Yang down, Connor's words stuck in his throat, but Doctor Brian came in at that moment and interrupted everything. "Keep the noise down, please. I have other patients." He lightly scolded, looking at Connor's papers. "Your eye needs surgery. I'll fit you in as soon as I can get the proper resources. Until then, take it easy. I'll bandage it up before letting you out of here." He went silent, sensing the tension in the room. "Seriously, keep it down." He warned before walking away, leaving them to continue their discussion.
"You will stay away from my sister. You will stay from me." Yang quietly ordered as soon as they were left alone again, giving him a look that indicated what she was willing to do if he did otherwise. "I don't wanna see you within a mile of her. Understood?"
"It wasn't my fault..." Connor croaked, starting to sob. He put his face in his hands and tried to hide the tears, but everyone saw. The mood became even tenser.
"Yang, you should let him tell his side of it." Ruby advised, steeling her nerves to stand up to her sister. "Please."
"Why should I? It won't change anything." She replied, stubbornly refusing to give him even one chance. "I won't let him hurt you." She said in a softer voice, reaching to touch Ruby's shoulder. She smacked it away and walked up to Connor's beside, Yang being right behind her.
"Connor...please tell us. Why did you do it?" Ruby pleaded, giving him a look that made him want to stand up and give her a hug, but he knew he couldn't. Not with Yang right there. He looked away with the frequent solemn look, but knew telling them was his only way out of it.
"If I tell you, you have to keep it a secret. I'll be treated like a monster if this gets out." He requested. Yang went to say that he was one, but stopped when she saw the look on Ruby's face.
"I can understand it. That feeling that everyone will hate you when they know you're secret." Blake chimed in, speaking for the first time. "Tell your side of it."
Connor took a deep breath, preparing himself for what was to come. "All right, here goes nothing."
Kane still stayed completely silent throughout the telling of the story. Once it was over, Yang dragged Ruby out by her arm, despite the protests, Connor looking absolutely defeated, not knowing what to say that could change her mind. "You're a fucking monster!" Yang shouted back as she pulled Ruby out, Blake and Weiss awkwardly following. "I knew it, I knew you were dangerous! Don't you dare come near Ruby ever again!"
Even once they left, Connor was still silent. He wanted to shout but the words wouldn't come. He wanted to cry but the tears weren't there. He just stared forward, completely dead inside. Everything he had gotten a chance to have at Beacon was in the dust, no longer attainable. He didn't even look up when he heard footsteps, someone else coming into the room.
"Judging by Miss Xiao Long's exit, I'm guessing you told them everything." Ozpin said calmly, holding a steaming hot cup of coffee. "That was brave, you did the right thing."
"How was it the right thing?" Connor replied, his voice now becoming a mixture of deadness and sorrow. "I've ruined everything that I had a chance to get, all because of what happened back then. I can't escape it."
Ozpin took a moment to sip his coffee, then sat down on the chair next to the bed. "You don't have to tell me how bad you've had it. It was there." He replied, still as calm as can be. He saw a look of confusion on Connor's face. "Don't you remember? Is it still a blur? How much did you really tell them?"
Connor felt a shiver go up his spine. Ozpin had been there. Why hasn't he remembered, or at least recognised him? "I told them...that I killed all those people...about Kane and...everything..."
Ozpin crossed one leg over the other, giving Connor a reassuring expression. "Kane may be suppressing certain parts of your memory, or perhaps your own mind is concentrating only on the worst part, blotting out details." He theorised. "Regardless, repeat the story back to me. You might remember a few things, like who else was there and what happened afterwards. You didn't assume you just calmed down after a while, did you? That you stopped on your own?"
Connor looked back in front of himself, staring off into space again. He couldn't accept that it wasn't his fault, but as he thought on it, he did recall other people being there. His memory was coming back to him, so much that that night was no longer just the night he met Kane and killed his entire village, but the night he met his mentor, the night his life changed entirely. Swallowing his nerves, he began to tell the story again, this time with every single detail he could recall.
And there it is, a cliffhanger. Next chapter will be showing what happened in Connor's village, including how he met Kane and Mars. Could take up to a week to rewrite, but I'll work as fast as I can without the quality dropping. Also, just wanna say thanks to everyone who's read this. 300 views is incredible by my standards. Also, if you want to join a discord RP server based on this story, search Outcasts and Outlaws RP on Discord.Me
