Hello everybody! I am The Burning Ruler and I am back with another chapter of RWBY: A Demon's Life. Just to let you know, I may not update either of my stories for a while after this chapter. I am still technically on hiatus, but this chapter was already planned and written, so decided to finish it up, when I got the chance. There is something else as well. Long story short, I went to the doctor and she thinks I may have a mild form of depression, so she recommended I start seeing a therapist, which means that I'll have less time to write. But enough of the serious talk, I have reviews!
Valkerix: I thought so. But you are right. I didn't have a lot to go on.
Writen: Really? I read it and it made sense to me. Of course I wrote it so it should, but either way.
Blu3 Fir3: I see and I will make an attempt, but I can't promise anything.
Anyways, I only own Shade and Lilian (Introduced in this chapter). Kami and Risa belong to my online friend Valkerix, as does the team name SPKR, and RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth. Let's start the chapter already.
Chapter 21:
Team SPKR left their dorm and began walking towards the cafeteria.
"So, what are your other friends like?" asked Kami, curious.
"One of the teams is a second year team, so a year ahead of us. Another team is still a first year and, although we are friends, we don't know them that well. Finally, we have-" Shade was cut off.
"SHADE!" yelled a voice from behind him.
Shade turned around to see his band members running after him, with a girl he didn't recognize. She had long silver hair, wore a pink trench coat with a red under shirt. She also wore a pair of pink short-shorts. She also wore pink shoes. Looking her over Shade didn't see a weapon anywhere.
"Hey guys. How's it going?" asked Shade.
"Great! While you were gone the four of us got put into a team!" said Sun.
"Really? Awesome! But, I'm afraid I don't know the new one? What's her name?" asked Shade.
"Oh right. Sorry. Shade, Neo, other two people, this is Lilian." Said Sarah.
"Nice to meet you Shade. I have heard a lot about you from these three." Said Lilian, in a very quiet voice.
"Nice to meet you as well Lilian. I suppose I should introduce these two. Sun, Sarah, Mercury, Lilian. Meet Kami and Risa, my new teammates." Said Shade, gesturing to them.
"Nice to meet you four. I must say, other than Mercury and Lilian, you guys look familiar. Were you in a band or something?" asked Kami.
"You noticed that too? I feel like we've seen Sarah and Sun somewhere before." Said Risa, thoughtfully, before seemingly realizing something.
"The Fighting Faunus! They're the guitarists!" yelled Risa.
"How did you notice that?" asked Sarah.
"You're both wearing fighting faunus shirts. We've never seen them before, so they must be new. The only ones who would have them would be the band members." Said Kami, explaining.
"So that's why you didn't know I was the lead singer." Said Shade.
"You were the lead singer?" asked Risa.
"Why is that so hard to believe?" asked Shade.
"Well, I mean, you don't look like the kind of person who would sing." Said Risa.
"It's Ok. I get that a lot." Said Shade.
"Anyways. You're on a team now?" asked Sun.
"Yeah. Team SPKR. How about you?" asked Shade.
"Team SSLM (Slam) (AN-Literally the most creative team name I could think of. Now you know why I borrowed SPKR). I'm the leader." said Sun, proudly.
Sarah turned her face to Sun angrily.
"What's up Sarah?" asked Neo, confused.
"I'm the leader." Said Sarah, glaring at Sun.
"No you aren't! I am!" yelled Sun.
"Oh god. This again." Said Lilian.
"This happened before?" asked Kami.
"Yeah. Before Ozpin named the leader, they argued over who should be the leader." Said Lilian.
"Who is the leader?" asked Shade.
"Sarah. I don't think Sun is ready to accept that he lost to a girl." Said Mercury, shaking his head.
"Just a second." Said Shade.
Shade moved over to Sun calmly and punched him. "Sarah is the leader. If you can't accept that, you won't work well as a team." Said Shade.
"But-" Sun was cut off.
"No buts. All you can do is accept it." Said Shade.
"But…fine." Said Sun, defeated.
"There we go." Said Shade.
"So, the cafeteria?" asked Kami.
"Right. Let's go." said Neo, pulling Shade by the arm.
"I get it." Said Shade, pulling his arm free and leading the group to the cafeteria.
As Shade and Sarah's teams were walking to the cafeteria, they noticed a boy outside the window that they didn't recognize. All they could tell was that the boy seemed to be very tall.
"Anyone else see that?" asked Shade.
"I did. Any idea who he was?" asked Sun.
"No clue. Maybe a new student." Said Mercury.
"Hmm." Said Shade.
"Anyways. How much farther? I'm starving!" said Risa.
"Not much farther, but this is a big school. You're going to have to get used to a lot of walking." Said Sarah.
"I hate walking." Said Risa, grumbling.
"You'll get used to it." Said Shade.
"By the way, I've been meaning to ask. What are all you're weapons?" asked Lilian.
"Right. I have these." said Shade pulling out his swords.
Kami, Risa and Neo all took out their weapons and showed them to Lilian.
"Nice weapons." Said Lilian.
"How about you? What is your weapon?" asked Shade, curious.
"I left it in my room. You'll see it soon enough." Said Lilian.
"Good enough for me." Said Kami.
"There it is." Said Shade, pointing to the cafeteria doors.
"Alright!" said Risa, running ahead.
"She always this excitable?" asked Shade.
"Unfortunately, yes." Said Kami, shaking his head.
"My god. We have two Rubies." Said Shade, eyes widening.
"Not really. From what I've seen, Ruby is always excited. Risa isn't excited all the time, just easily excitable." Said Kami.
"That's a relief." Said Shade, wiping his forehead. Just as he looked through the window, he locked eyes with Velvet
"HE'S HERE!" yelled Velvet.
"Yeah. He's here." Said Yang.
"YAY!" yelled Velvet.
"Get ready for an attack Shade." said Sun, smirking.
"She knows about Weiss and Blake." Said Mercury, smiling as well.
"What do you mean attack?" said Kami, about to pull out his weapon.
"Not that kind. The good kind of attack." Said Shade. Kami put away his weapon.
"There's a good kind?" asked Kami, skeptical.
"You'll see." Said Neo, grinning. Shade walked through the door, and Velvet was already there. The second Shade walked in, Velvet was already in his arms with her arms wrapped around his neck
"Hey Velvet. I guess you heard." Said Shade, smiling.
"I did. So does this mean…" said Velvet.
"If you still want it to." Said Shade.
Velvet simply kissed him. "I have been waiting for that for so long." Said Velvet.
"That answers my question." Said Shade, smiling.
Velvet simply kissed him again.
"I guess there is a good kind of attack." Said Kami, reminding Shade of the others existence.
"Oh right. You guys exist. Sorry. I was a bit…preoccupied." Said Shade.
Everyone heard Risa giggle in the background. Shade and the others walked over to the table, Velvet's arms still around his neck.
"Umm, Velvet?" asked Coco.
"Yeah?" asked Velvet back, before realizing that she still had Shade's neck in a death grip. "Sorry Shade." said Velvet.
"I wasn't complaining." Said Shade.
"Alright, enough of the mushy stuff. Introduce everyone!" said Cardin.
"Alright. It seems you are already acquainted with Risa. This is Kami. Guys this is Cardin, Russel, Dove and Sky. Team CRDL. Also, I'm sure you know Velvet. But these are her partners. Coco, Yatsuhashi, and Fox." Said Shade, finishing introductions.
"Pleasure to meet you." Said Kami.
"The pleasure is all ours." Said Velvet.
"With Shade, I bet you'll have some pleasure." Said Yang, making an inappropriate joke.
"God Yang. Your sister is sitting right next to you." Said Shade.
"What? She's happy that she's dating Shade right? Isn't that what she meant?" asked Ruby.
"Y-Yeah. Of course that's what she meant." said Shade, thankful that Ruby was still clueless.
"Anyways, I hear you four are on a team now." Said Cardin.
"Yeah. Team SPKR." Said Shade, nodding
"With Shade's semblance it actually kind of works." Said Ruby.
"That's right. What is your semblance?" asked Kami.
"Wait. Instead of telling them, how about showing them?" asked Pyrrha, a challenging look in her eyes.
"Pyrrha, there is no way he's going to accept a challenge from you. He already lost to you four years in a row." Said Yang.
"Alright. It's on. But are you sure?" asked Shade, grinning.
"Yeah. Let's show them how it goes when you actually use your semblance." Said Pyrrha.
"Alright then." Said Shade.
"Where are we going?" asked Risa with a mouth full of food.
"The training room." Said Coco.
"Alright. Lead the way." Said Kami.
Shade and the rest of the group, quickly finished their food and took off for the training room. When they arrived, Shade and Pyrrha drew their weapons as their friends sat in the stands.
Ruby started counting down from ten. When the countdown ended, Shade switched to a fire dust and charged at Pyrrha, slashing at her stomach. She blocked the slash with her shield and rolled over Shade's shoulder. When she landed she was met with another slash from Shade. Shade picked up the speed of his swings. Pyrrha was forced to stay on the defensive. Shade didn't stop attacking until Pyrrha grabbed his swords with her bare hands and kicked Shade away.
"A few seconds is all you got!" yelled Shade as he charged back at her, swinging his swords down on Pyrrha. However, Pyrrha used her semblance which was difficult to notice because, seeing as how Shade's swords were black, no glow appeared on them and moved them out of the way before hitting Shade in the face with her shield, causing a small cut. She then slashed at his stomach but Shade managed to move out of the way, but her shield hit him in the head, causing another cut, this one bleeding. The blood ran off his face and onto the floor.
"This again. Why does it only happen when I'm fighting you?" Asked Shade. He switched to ice dust and charged again, this time swinging his swords up. Once again, Pyrrha used her semblance to dodge them, but she couldn't stop Shade's foot from connecting with her stomach. Pyrrha bent over and Shade rolled over her and activated his semblance, dropping an ice copy on top of Pyrrha. It was too heavy and it caused her to fall down as it shattered on her.
"Where did he go?" asked Kami.
"Can't say. It would give Pyrrha an advantage." Said Ruby.
"Then whisper it." Said Risa.
"Alright. Look behind Pyrrha. See that shadow that doesn't have anyone to cast it? That's Shade." whispered Ruby.
"Is that what his semblance does? Invisibility?" asked Kami.
"No. He merged with his shadow. Just wait." Whispered Ruby.
As Ruby finished her sentence, Shade came out of the shadow and attacked Pyrrha. Pyrrha wasn't looking so Shade hit her on the back and flipped her over him, suplexing her, before switching to a fire dust and activating his semblance again. Pyrrha, attacked Shade's copy and it exploded. Shade came out of the ground and launched her into the air. He then jumped up and was about to send her back into the ground but, Pyrrha countered and sent Shade head first into the ground. Shade got back up and brushed himself off. Pyrrha threw her shield at Shade. Shade jumped over it, switched to ice dust again, and activated his semblance, leaving an ice copy. Pyrrha's shield came back and hit the ice copy, getting trapped in the ice. Shade came out next to Pyrrha.
"So, polarity huh?" asked Shade, figuring out how Pyrrha dodged his swords. Shade then started throwing punches and kicks, too fast for Pyrrha to dodge. Pyrrha kicked back when Shade jumped and spin kicked her in the face. Pyrrha got knocked over and when she tried to get back up, she found one of Shade's swords at her neck.
"I win." Said Shade, sheathing his swords and smiling.
"Well fought." Said Pyrrha.
"How were you able to beat her this time, but not during the tournament?" asked Weiss, asking the question everyone wanted to know.
"This time I used my semblance. I wasn't during the tournament. That's why she didn't know how to counter it." Said Shade.
"So, if you weren't holding back in the tournament, you would've won?" asked Ruby.
"Probably, yeah." Said Pyrrha.
"So, you aren't worse than Pyrrha, you're better than her?!" asked Yang, shocked.
"I guess, at least as long as we can both use our semblances." Said Shade.
After that, many more battles took place, and went on until Yang suggested team vs team battles.
"I'm in." said Shade.
"So are we." Said Kami, Risa and Neo.
"Alright. Who's going to fight them?" asked Yang.
No one offered.
"Well then. I guess we win by default." Said Shade, hoping to inspire someone to accept the challenge.
Still, no one accepted the challenge.
Shade sat back down.
"How about a triple threat? Siblings vs siblings vs siblings!" said Ruby excited.
"So me and Neo vs Kami and Risa vs you and Yang? I'm up for it." Said Shade, looking at his sister.
"Me too." Said Neo, looking back at her brother.
"Don't forget about us." Said Kami and Risa.
"Alright. Two vs Two vs Two. This'll be fun to watch." Said Nora.
They all fought hard, but due to the other two teams teaming up on Shade and Neo, they were eliminated first.
"Damn it." Said Neo.
"Smart. Getting rid of the strongest team first." Said Shade.
Shade and Neo left to go back to the stands.
Shade sat next to Velvet, and Neo sat next to Sarah.
"Hey Velvet." Said Shade.
Velvet responded by leaning on Shade's shoulder. Shade simply leaned back on Velvet.
"I was beginning to think this day would never come." Said Velvet.
"I know. But you don't need to worry anymore. The day has come, and I don't think it will end anytime soon. Right Shade?" Asked Weiss who was sitting next to Velvet.
"Of course." Said Shade.
"I feel like I need to thank you Weiss. Or rather, I should thank you both. If Blake hadn't confessed and you hadn't given her a chance, this wouldn't have happened. So, thank you." Said Velvet.
"Don't thank us. Our feelings are our own. Don't thank us for our feelings." Said Blake, smiling and kissing Weiss. Weiss kissed her back.
"I am going to say something. I can't believe your father is Ok with this Weiss." Said Shade, seemingly trying to make a joke until Weiss and Blake got a forlorn expression on her face.
"What happened?" asked Velvet.
"Well, we haven't exactly…told him yet." Said Weiss, almost whispering.
"Why not? If this is about her being a faunus, we already know he is Ok with it. So what could it be?" asked Shade.
"If it was just that she is a faunus I would've told him by now. But, I mean, Blake is also a girl. He's not exactly the most accepting about that, and he doesn't exactly know that I…you know…go…THAT way." Said Weiss.
"Oh. I see. You don't think he will accept her, so you're going to keep it a secret." Said Shade.
"Honestly, I think you should just tell him. Assuming he isn't Ok with it, the longer you wait to tell him, the harder it will be if he forces you to break up. However, assuming he is Ok with it, the less time you will have to stress over it." Said Sarah, reasoning with her.
"I agree, and if you will let me come along, I'll be willing to give you a bit of an, insurance policy, and I can personally promise you, he'll at least give Blake a chance. I NEVER break a promise, and I don't intend to start now." said Shade, more serious than he had ever been before.
"Really? How can you be so sure?" asked Blake.
"I can't tell you why yet. So, will you tell him?" asked Shade.
"Yeah. We'll tell him once the fight is done." Said Weiss.
"Alright." Said Shade, turning back to the fight, just to see Ruby and Yang on the ground, with Kami and Risa standing tall.
"Well, looks like it's over now. Ready girls?" asked Shade, smirking.
"Already?! Well, alright Shade. Let's go Blake." Said Weiss.
"Hey! Kami! Risa! I need to give Weiss and Blake a hand with something real quick. I'll see you later." Said Shade, following the couple out of the room. They led him to the library.
"Ready? Shade, could you stay out of the shot and act like it was a coincidence that you were here at the same time? I don't want hi. Thinking we brought you along for help." Said Weiss.
"Of course. I'll just sit over here. I still want to hear this conversation." Said Shade, sitting on the other side of the table across from Weiss.
"Ready Blake?" asked Weiss.
"Yeah. I'm ready." Said Blake.
Weiss hit the call button, and it was answered quickly.
"Hello Weiss. What is it?" asked Weiss.
"I called to tell you a couple things." Said Weiss.
"Alright. Then speak." Said Weiss' father.
"Well, the first thing is, me and Shade broke up." Said Weiss.
"Ah. I see. I'm sorry Weiss. I know how you felt about him. However, not all relationships work out. I hope you are still friends." Said Weiss' father.
"Of course." Said Weiss.
"Very well. What is the second piece of information you needed to tell me?" asked Weiss father.
"Well, it kind of involves my friend here. This is Blake Belladonna." Said Weiss.
"What might it be?" asked Weiss' father, skeptical.
"Well, you see, the thing is, we are kind of, together. We're in love." Said Weiss.
"I beg your pardon." Asked Weiss' father.
'He sounds mad' thought Shade, getting up and preparing to make his entrance.
"We are in love with each other." Said Weiss.
"I see. Well, I am sorry for this, but I'm afraid I cannot allow this relationship to continue." Said Weiss' father.
"But father-" Weiss was cut off.
"No buts. I simply cannot allow this." Said her father.
Hearing this, Shade revealed himself. He was hiding behind a bookshelf behind Weiss and Blake. HE put a finger in front of his mouth when Weiss' father noticed him.
After getting right behind Weiss, he grabbed her from behind and shouted.
"AH!" yelled Weiss and Blake.
"HA! Sorry. The opportunity was too perfect. So, what are you talking about here?" asked Shade.
"Well, we were talking about me and Blake." Said Weiss.
"Oh really? How'd it go?" asked Shade, feigning ignorance.
"I'm sorry, but we can't disclose that information." Said Weiss' father.
"Why not? I just want to know." Asked Shade.
"It would be rude to deny a good friend a request wouldn't it father?" asked Weiss.
"Well, I suppose." Said Weiss' father, knowing he was beaten.
"Well? What's the verdict?" asked Shade.
"No. We can't be together." Said Weiss, depressed, waiting for her insurance to pay off.
"Why not? Aren't you two in love?" asked Shade.
"Of course we are, but Weiss' father said we couldn't be." Said Blake, also waiting for the insurance to kick in.
"Wait, you aren't even willing to give Blake a chance with Weiss?" asked Shade, addressing Weiss' father.
"Why should I?" asked Weiss' father.
"The simple fact that your own daughter is in love isn't enough for you? What other reason do you need to at least give her a chance?" asked Shade.
"I hear what you are saying, however, I simply cannot allow this to continue." Said Weiss' father.
"I'm not asking you to. I'm just asking you to give Blake a chance." Said Shade.
"I'm sorry Shade, but I'm afraid I cannot." Said Weiss' father.
"Alright, I understand." Said Shade, nodding. Weiss and Blake were ready to slap Shade, but Shade continued before they could. "I didn't want it to come to this but I see I have no other choice." Said Shade.
"What do you mean by that?" asked Weiss' father, perplexed.
"Well you see, if I am not mistaken, you still owe me a favor. I'd like to cash it in. I want you to give Blake a chance." Said Shade, smiling.
"I don't believe that-" Shade cut off Weiss' father.
"When I was granted this favor, I believe you said 'When you need a favor, call me, and you will get it.' Well, I need a favor, I called you, and I expect to get it." Said Shade.
Weiss and Blake were shocked that Shade was willing to give up a favor that could be literally anything he wanted for the sake of their relationship. Weiss' father was also shocked.
Weiss' father then sighed. "You will vouch for this girl? You believe that she is a suitable partner for my daughter?" asked Weiss' father.
"Of course I do. I may even say she is more suited for her than I am. So, are you willing to give Blake a chance?" asked Shade, once more.
Weiss' father let out a deep sigh once again. "Yes. I will give Blake a chance." Said Weiss' father.
Weiss and Blake weren't sure what to say for a second. "R-Really? You'll give Blake a chance?" asked Weiss.
"Yes. I will give your girlfriend a chance. I would like to meet her as soon as possible." Said Weiss' father.
"Thank you Mr. Schnee. I am truly grateful for this opportunity." Said Blake, expressing her gratitude.
"I do hope I am not making a mistake." Said Weiss' father.
"I will take the blame if anything happens." Said Shade.
"Very well. Is that all you wished to speak with me about?" asked Weiss' father.
"Yes father." Said Weiss.
"Very well. Goodbye." Said Weiss' father, hanging up.
The second the call ended Weiss and Blake jumped out of their chairs and tackled Shade in a large group hug.
"THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!" Yelled the two girls.
"No need for thanks. I only did what I believe was right. No more, no less." Said Shade.
"Maybe to you that is what you did. But to us, you made us happier than we ever believed we could be." Said Weiss.
"Hey I promised I would get your father to give Blake a chance, and I did. Like I said, I never break a promise, and I didn't intend to start now. I just want you to promise me something Blake." Said Shade, smirking.
"Of course, anything Shade." said Blake.
"Just promise me you won't ruin this opportunity." Said Shade.
"Of course. I promise." Said Blake.
"Thank you again Shade." said Weiss, still grateful.
"Please. Stop thanking me. You're embarrassing me." Said Shade.
"Alright. I'll stop. …For now." Said Weiss.
"Whatever." Said Shade.
"But really. This does mean a lot to us." Said Blake.
"Alright. I get it. Now, I'm sure our friends would like to know how this went. Shall we tell them?" asked Shade.
"Oh yeah! Let's go!" said Blake.
On the way back to their friends, Shade received a message from Ozpin. It simply said to come to his office.
"Hey guys? I gotta go see Ozpin. I'll catch up when I can, Ok." Said Shade.
"Alright. See you soon." Said Shade.
Shade began heading to Ozpin's office. When he walked in, he saw Ozpin observing a video that was projected on the wall. It showed a figure he didn't recognize massacring an entire village full of people. Shade wasn't sure why, but that village seemed familiar to him.
"Brutal isn't it?" asked Ozpin when the video ended.
"Very. What a waste of human and faunus life." Said Shade.
"I agree." Said Ozpin, turning to face Shade.
"So. I assume you didn't call me just to show me a video of a psychopath massacring an entire village of people." Said Shade.
"You are partially correct. You referred to him as a psychopath. How do you know that he was the aggressor? What if I told you that the village people were the ones at fault? That they deserved what they got?" asked Ozpin.
"I see what you mean. I don't know that man's past, so I shouldn't be so quick to judge him." Said Shade.
"I see. Would you like to know who that boy was? Asked Ozpin.
"I don't see why I would, but I assume there is a reason for me to know, so very well." Said Shade.
"That boy was known by the codename "PA3729". His birth name was known by very few people, and never released to the public." Said Ozpin.
"What does that mean? I mean the PA part. I assume he was the 3729th of something based on the number, but I would like to know the 3729th of what." Said Shade.
"The PA at the beginning of the codename stood for patient." Said Ozpin.
"Patient? Was he admitted to a hospital of mental institution of some sort?" asked Shade, suddenly intrigued by the boy.
"If I might state something here. How old do you assume the boy in this video was? Just as a guess?" Asked Ozpin.
"As a guess, I would assume somewhere around 20-25 years of age." guessed Shade.
"No. At the time this video was taken, this boy was a mere four years of age." Said Ozpin.
"Only four?!" asked Shade, shocked.
"Yes. After this video was taken, the boy was sent to a mental institution in Atlas. He remained there for a total of three years, before being released on the ground that he was safe for the public." Said Ozpin.
"Really? So he was released at the age of seven. I assume it was a relatively new institution if he was only the 3729th patient to be admitted there." Said Shade.
"Yes, that would be true, if that was his patient number at the institution. At the institution his patient number was 11047." Said Ozpin.
"If that wasn't his patient number for the mental institution, then what was it for?" asked Shade.
"I will explain that later." Said Ozpin.
"Very well. Continue. He was released at the age of seven." Said Shade, starting the story again.
"Yes, however, he had nowhere to go. He was eventually found by a family who adopted him at that point, however, that family was murdered and even though the boy's body was not found at the scene, many believe him to be dead." Said Ozpin.
"I assume you aren't telling me this for no reason." Said Shade.
"Of course I'm not. As I said, very few people know his real name. Though it was never released to the public, and most of the people who knew it were murdered, one person still lives." Said Ozpin.
"Really? How are you so sure?" asked Shade.
"I am sure because I am that one." Said Ozpin.
"It all makes sense. That is how you knew so much about him." Said Shade.
"Yes. Would you like to know his birth name?" asked Ozpin.
"Not particularly, but I feel like you will tell me anyways." Said Shade.
"No. That part is not important. Now, you would like to know what the number 3729 means right?" asked Ozpin.
"Yes, I would." Said Shade.
"Very well. He was the 3729th attempt at making a genetically modified grim hybrid, and the first success." Said Ozpin.
"A-A genetically modified grim hybrid? Why would someone want to make that?" asked Shade.
"The ones who wanted his creation wanted to create a new "Super-species" so to say. There were only a handful of co-operators who weren't very interested in the super-species, but only wished to see if it was possible." Said Ozpin.
"I see, but how would you know this headmaster? I mean I may not know anything about this, but this sounds like something that wouldn't be reported on or even well known." Said Shade.
"Of course. It wasn't I know because I was one of those co-operators that wanted to see if it was possible, and evidently it was." Said Ozpin.
"I see, but that brings me back to the beginning. Why did you need to tell me this?" asked Shade.
"Well, remember how I said he was believed to be dead?" asked Ozpin.
"Yes. Why?" asked Shade.
"Well, as it turns out, he isn't dead. He is alive and well." Said Ozpin.
"Are you sure?" asked Shade.
"Never more sure." Said Ozpin.
"Well, is he still dangerous?" asked Shade.
"Some believe him to be." Said Ozpin.
"Well then shouldn't we go out and finish him off?" asked Shade.
"That does sound smart if he is still dangerous." Said Ozpin.
"Well the lets go. Does he have any weaknesses?" asked Shade.
"If I may say one more thing, I don't know if he has any weaknesses, however, you may." Said Ozpin, confusing Shade.
"What do you mean? I've never even met him before. How would I know his weaknesses?" asked Shade.
"That is quite simple. You are the only one who knows his weaknesses because… you and that boy…are one and the same." Said Shade.
Shade was frozen in place. He couldn't even respond to what he had just heard. He was that psycho? He destroyed that village full people? He was a genetically modified grim hybrid? All these questions circled his head over and over as he tried to find any evidence that would prove any of those questions false, but he couldn't find any. The only thing that could possibly prove them wrong was that he didn't remember any of that, but then again, he didn't remember anything before he was adopted by Neo's family when he was seven. As he thought back on Ozpin's story, the story perfectly aligned with his life with Neo's family.
"What does this mean?" asked Shade, finally speaking.
"I'm afraid I don't know what you mean by that." Said Ozpin.
"I mean, is that true? If it is, then what am I? Am I just a simple monster? An experiment? A demon? What does it mean?!" asked Shade, beginning to lose his patience.
"Yes. It is true. However, it doesn't mean you are a monster or demon. However, as for being an experiment, I cannot truthfully tell you that you are not one. You are an experiment." Said Ozpin.
"I want to know something." Said Shade, looking into the distance.
"Of course, I can imagine you have many questions." Said Ozpin.
"Yes, but this is the only one I need answered right now. The mental institution. Is that why I don't remember anything before age seven?" asked Shade.
"Yes. It is. The name of the institution was "Rolling Hills Mental Institution." Said Ozpin.
"Thank you Ozpin. May I go?" asked Shade.
"Yes, you may. I imagine you have a lot to think on." Said Ozpin.
"Yeah." Said Shade, leaving Ozpin's office.
"I can't believe it. A grim hybrid. Unbelievable. However, maybe I can figure some things out. I just need my files from that mental institution. The only problem is actually getting them. Surely I can't just walk in and ask for them, but then how could I get my hands on them?" asked Shade, walking around the halls.
"Get your hands on what?" asked Weiss, who had found Shade in the hall.
Shade would normally crack a joke, but instead he just stared at Weiss, seemingly thinking deeply.
"You're from Atlas right?" asked Shade.
"That was random, but yeah. Why?" asked Weiss.
"I need your help with something. There is a mental institution in Atlas called "Rolling Hills Mental Institution". I need the files for patient number 11047. It's very important. Can you help me?" asked Shade.
"Um, yeah. I should be able to get them. But, may I ask why?" asked Weiss.
"Really, I would love to tell you, but I just can't right now. I'm sorry. Just trust me, I need those files." Said Shade.
"Alright. If they are that important, I won't pry. I'll try to get them to you by tomorrow morning." said Weiss.
"Thank you Weiss. This means a lot to me." Said Shade.
"It's the least I could do after you convinced my father to give Blake a chance." Said Weiss.
"Alright. I'm going to head to my team room. Talk to you later." Said Shade, heading for his team's room. When he got there, he saw that all his teammates were sound asleep and collapsed into his own bed before falling asleep. Meanwhile, Weiss was making a call to the owner of Rolling Hills.
"Hello. Rolling Hills Mental Institution. How may I help you?" asked a cheery voice on the other end.
Weiss knew that she would have to lie in order to get the files. "Hello. I am calling on behalf of Beacon Academy. We have recently discovered one of our students was admitted to your institution. We would like to know if you could send his files to Beacon academy so that we may find out why he was admitted." Said Weiss, making a very convincing lie.
"Yes of course. We will send them overnight. They should arrive at around eight o'clock." Said the owner.
"Thank you very much." Said Weiss.
"You are welcome. Will that be all?" asked the owner.
"Yes. It will." Said Weiss.
"I see. Farewell." Said the owner hanging up.
"Whew. That should take care of that. Wonder why he needed those files? I'm sure he has a reason for it. He'll tell us all eventually." Said Weiss, before falling asleep.
The next day, Weiss left early to pick up the files. When she arrived the files had just arrived. She accepted the package and brought it to Shade's dorm. She knocked on the door twice before Shade came to the door.
"Hey Shade. I got those files for you." Said Weiss, holding out the files.
"Thank you." Said Shade taking the files and getting his scroll.
"Where are you going?" asked Weiss.
"Library. Need a quiet place to read these." Said Shade.
"May I ask why you wanted those particular files?" asked Weiss.
"Alright, as long as you swear not to tell anyone about this." Said Shade.
"Alright. I promise." Said Weiss.
"Well, the thing is. I was admitted to that mental institution. My patient number was 11047." Said Shade.
Weiss immediately realized what that meant. "Those are your files." Said Weiss.
"Yeah. I'm hoping that there may be something in them that could help me uncover a little about my past." Said Shade.
"May I ask another question?" asked Weiss.
"Of course." Said Shade.
"Are you letting anybody else know about this?" asked Weiss.
"I'm not sure if I should yet. If I was I would probably limit it to Velvet and your team. You are the only ones I trust enough for something like this." Said Shade.
"Not even your own team." Said Weiss.
"No. I trust them a great deal due to necessity, but I just don't think I'm close enough to them for this yet." Said Shade.
"Not even Neo?" asked Weiss.
"Not even Neo." confirmed Shade.
"Must be serious." Said Weiss.
"It is. That's why you can't tell anyone about this. If anyone asks where I am, just tell them I went into town because Matt needed me for a contract Ok?" asked Shade.
"Of course." Said Weiss.
"Thank you." Said Shade, leaving for the library with files in hand.
When shade arrived at the library he found a table isolated in the back. He thought that would be a good place. He sat down and began reading.
"Let's see here. Patient number 11047. Given name: Unknown . Family name: Hill Birth date: Unknown. Age: 4 years Gender: Male Condition: Believes himself to have been created in a lab. Suffers from recurring nightmares of a burning village filled with corpses. Believes to have been behind a mass murder. Screams in fear when confronted by fire, however all brain scans and MRI tests have revealed him to be in complete control of brain functions during these sessions. Calms down when music is played loudly. The louder the music, the more calm he seems. The genre of music also seems to have an effect on how calm he is. Rock is the most calming, while Jazz barely does anything. Once again, his brain scans and MRI tests have shown him to be in complete control of his brain functions. All attempts for doctors to communicate with the patient have resulted in violence, however when a doctor takes off his lab coat, he calms down and speaks to us, and he doesn't make any attacks at the doctor. While asleep and seemingly dreaming, he often calls out the name 'Reese Mars' in a threatening tone. We can assume this man was not someone whom the patient was fond of, but when questioned about him, he adopts a look of what can only be described as disgust and betrayal. He then looks at his hands and says 'He is the man, no, the creature who did THIS to me'. However, upon observing his hands, they have no marks. Whenever asked about his past he simply talks about how he was created in a lab for the purpose of killing. He speaks of how all he will ever do is kill, and that nothing and nobody will ever be able to stop him. Diagnosis: Seemingly mentally unstable Recommended Treatment: Complete memory wipe is the only option. He must lose all memories of his past so as to make sure he does not confuse reality with fantasy any longer.
-Dr. A. Politian"
Shade tried to remember who A. Politian could be, but the only name he could recall was Neo's mother, Audrey Politian, and he was told she was an accountant. "Could they have been lying to me?" asked Shade. He didn't want to believe it, but if this was written by his adoptive mother, it would make sense for them to lie to him, in fear of jogging my memory and having me relapse into 'Mental Instability" as it was written.
"Hey Shade!" yelled cheery voice behind him.
Shade turned around to see Ruby behind him.
"Don't sneak up on me like that Ruby!" said Shade.
"Sorry Shade. So, what are you reading?" asked Ruby.
"Nothing important." Said Shade, shoving the file into the backpack at his feet.
Ruby looked over Shade's shoulder, but with the file in his backpack, she couldn't see anything.
"Alright, you wanna come train with everyone?" asked Ruby, but Shade shook his head.
"No. Matt said he needed me for a contract, so I was just about to head out." Said Shade.
"Weiss said you had already taken care of that." Said Ruby, growing suspicious.
"Yeah, I did the first one, but he sent me another one. I was just on my way out." Said Shade.
"Oh ok. So, I'll see you later?" asked Ruby.
"Yeah for sure." Said Shade, walking out.
'Hmm?' thought Ruby as she noticed something sticking out of Shade's backpack. She quickly reached into his backpack and pulled it out. It appeared to be a file from a mental institution. She quickly shoved it into her own backpack. Luckily Shade didn't seem to notice anything. After leaving the library, Shade left for the airships.
"Phew. Thank god she didn't notice anything. That's a relief." Said Shade. He landed in town. He went to a quiet café he had never been to before so he could continue reading the files, but when he looked in his backpack, he didn't see it anywhere.
"Where are the files?" asked Shade. He thought he must have dropped them somewhere in town. He began to retrace his steps, but couldn't find his files anywhere. "Could it have been Ruby? No, I didn't feel anything. Where could they be?' asked Shade.
Meanwhile at beacon, Ruby was in her room, looking over the files.
"What does all this mean?" she asked herself as she read. Based off the initial diagnosis sheet she could tell the patient had an apparent fear of fire, a love of music and a strong hatred towards doctors. However, based off the individual doctor's notes, the boy seemed mentally stable other than his ridiculous fantasy backstory. She had apparently pushed against a complete memory wipe, but she had been outvoted. After the memory wipe she was put in charge of teaching the boy everything he had forgotten. It was as if he had been "reduced to the intelligence of an infant" once again. Luckily he was a quick learner.
'I wonder why Shade had these, why he was studying them, why he lied about it, and most importantly, why he didn't tell anyone else about it.' Thought Ruby, but she was sure he had a reason. 'I guess I should just wait for him to say something. Meanwhile, I need to hide them.' Thought Ruby. She hid them in her private cookie stash. 'I guess the best thing to do is wait for Shade.' thought Ruby. 'But why didn't he want us to know about it. What could be the reason?'
There we go! Chapter 21. Something I really want reviews on is how you think I did on the mental institution part of this. I just want to know how well you think I did on it. I hope it was at least half decent. But anyways, thank you for reading, remember to leave me a review of what you thought of this chapter, as well as any ideas you have for a future chapter. But for now, this chapter is done, and I hope you will stay tuned for the next one, which may be a little while away. Goodbye.