RWBY: Shadow Company
Prologue
Mercenaries, professionals hired to serve. But that can mean a lot of other things as well. It's the weight of how you look at it, is all.
Some are bad, and others worst. But there is one group that stands out above the rest.
They are known as the Shadow Company.
You may have heard of them before, or maybe you didn't. But that is alright, and the shadows hate to be the center of attention.
It gets in the way of their work.
I'm sure you know what they are and what they do. The shadows worked on security. At least, that's what they were doing before the fall of Mountain Glenn.
The shadows are well-armed and trained. The Grimm had seen them as skilled fighters in their eyes. But to the huntsmen, they laughed at them.
And they could laugh all they want, but even they would leave them alone.
They are reliable, and you can count on them to get the job done.
But the view of mercenaries today had changed after the great war. And not many had sought it as a career path.
But the name did hold some history to it. Long before the great war, there was still peace in the lands. And the four kingdoms were growing stronger by the day.
But not for the frontier. People who had lived outside the walls. They didn't have good defenses, and they were in constant threat from both the brigands and the Grimm.
They were just easy prey, the poor, the young, the weak, and the old.
All of them.
One day, one of the towns was under attack. And when their cries for help were left unanswered, the shadows stepped in to help them.
Dressed in black, they charged forward without fear and swarmed the Grimm. With crude weapons and rusted blades, they cut and slashed until all the Grimm were dead.
At first, no one knew who they were and why they decided to help them, but they accepted their aid and thanked them as heroes.
The townfolks were surprised when they didn't want their lien. Instead, they taught them how to fight and forge weapons. And fortify their home.
And with that knowledge, it granted them a chance.
As the years passed, more and more people have heard about their heroic deeds and acts of selflessness and gained a reputation among them.
They declare the Legion as the protectors of Remnant. And the Legion took pride in it.
The men and women from all over Remnant wanted to join them, to bring the fight to the Grimm. And help protect others as they had done for them.
The Legion grows from 200 strong to over 15,000 fighters. They were many stories about the great battles the Legion had won against their enemies.
It didn't take long for the Faunus to start joining in. Well, they were timid at first. But their worries quickly faded away when the Legion accepted them. They didn't see them as animals like the rest, but as equals. They make up almost half of the fighting force.
It was a step in the right direction. Both Humans and Faunus found common ground and an enemy.
From strangers to friends, they bonded. Through blood and sweat, they protected each other.
It is an excellent example for all of us to follow.
At that time, the Arc Knights. Another organization of brave fighters had also decided to join their cause.
Knights of the noble lords of Vale had grown tired of waiting. They rallied their armies and joined the fight.
The knights were no strangers to combat, their banners flying in the wind. It felt like it was just like the old days. The Legion cheered for the ancient clan.
The old days of glory.
When our swords sing from our sheaths, our blades scream from each swing. Our arrows strike like thunder, our spears piercing the skies, and our axes sinks into the flesh of our foes.
The Knights creed.
It was a bright future for all of them.
That was until the great war began.
While the kingdoms were busy fighting each other, the Arc Knights refused the call to arms from their lords. Instead, they stood with the Legion.
The Lord Commander, an old knight from Vale, had served his kingdom for years, and not once in his life did he ever doubt his king. But even war can change a man.
Refugees began to flee from their homes and seek shelter from the chaos.
But then the war got worse. The carnage stopped, and the four kingdom's armies were dwindling. And their morale shattered.
And the Grimm continues to savor it all.
They cease-fire until they can stop the Grimm and get back in the fight. While the Grimm was busy being dealt with, their numbers were still low. The problem is that there weren't enough to fight for them.
The kingdoms would pay anyone who would fight for their side in exchange for gold, even slaves.
The king was interested in the Shadow Legion. He had his sights on them for quite some time. But the king wasn't the only one who wanted them.
Mistral and Mantle had the same idea.
If there is a winning factor in this war, it's them. The Legion helped them before. But the shadows had refused all three.
They wouldn't want to be in a conflict that could shatter the trust of the kingdoms. That would be going against what they stood for in the first place. Not even if they were offered riches beyond their wildest dreams.
There was already a war with the Grimm, and there's no reason.
The old knight tried to persuade them to stop the war.
While the king listened, the others chose not to. Convinced that they would get help from the shadows, they left him alone with the king.
The king understood his concerns. But there was no chance of stopping the war so soon.
Their demands and proposals had stopped, and they hadn't heard a word from them since.
Until the news of Vacuo came, it was under attack. Both the armies of Mantle and Mistral had been committing atrocities and war crimes in Vacuo. Its Queen was defenseless.
Vacuo and its people suffered greatly from it, and the whole world just stood and watched. Even the Legion was worried about them.
This foul cruelty needed to end.
The king had seen enough and asked the Legion and the Knights to join their march to Vacuo. The Arc Knights were already on board.
For once, the Legion and their commander agreed as well.
The shadows declared war on the two armies and set out to free Vacuo from their oppressors, even if it would cost them their trust.
The Legion and the Knights set out to begin their biggest mission yet. With the king leading the attack.
They were swift and brutal. It was devastating.
Some historians had claimed that the Legion gave no mercy to its enemies. They say they fought harder than any Grimm, like monsters worse than the Grimm.
Maybe that was just an exaggeration.
The two armies made their last stand in the capital of Vacuo. They had nowhere else to go. Finally outnumbered by the knights, they surrendered. They didn't want to lose their lives to them, and then it was over.
The king had won, and the great war had ended.
But for the Legion, there had been some damages that affected Mistral and Mantle. Both the Emperor and the General felt outraged and distraught about their supposed "betrayal" from the Legion.
But the Lord Commander had enough.
He lashed out to the two leaders, and he had every right to be angry with both of them.
They knew that Remnant needed protectors that wouldn't submit to prejudice.
But the king of Vale had suggested an alternative approach to this. A new class of warriors and protectors, just like the Legion.
And I think you know the rest. The four leaders come together to negotiate and declare peace on the island of Vytal. With that, they created the four huntsmen academies that we know of today.
When the academies officially opened, the people had flocked to the new domain of possibility.
Over the years, when the huntsmen started to grow larger. The Legion was growing smaller. With huntsmen now taking the role of protectors and defending the realm. The new title became more popular and a more suitable style for them. Even the majority had left the Legion to obtain this new status.
It became pretty clear that Remnant didn't need petty mercenaries to protect them anymore. And the Legion slowly began to fade from history. The Lord Commander died along with it, a heavy heart. No one had seen them since.
And even if the world has forgotten about them. History will remember the true heroes of Remnant, the people's Army, never fighting for kingdoms, honor, or wealth, but fighting for the people, for what was right. Unbiased, impartial, and fair.
In our world today, they are nothing but stories and legends. The Legion is dead now.
But fortunately, a young Headmaster Ozpin of Beacon Academy had recommended establishing a new contract organization, inspired by the old legend of the Shadow Legion. It was a means to encourage veterans to continue their military careers.
The Council of Vale had agreed to form this new organization. But funding it would be challenging. They contacted Atlas if they were interested in sharing the organization, provided that they support its development. And thus, Atlas agreed.
In over one and a half years of development, the organization was born. And they named them to what we know now as Shadow Company. A nod to its original title.
Under the command of a General, he has served over 40 years of service in the Valean Army. Headmaster Ozpin had selected him for the role, to which he accepted.
And there you have it. An old legend somewhat brought back to life. Not the same as what it once was, but close enough.
But we can't expect everything to be perfect now, can we?
End of Prologue
A/N: I did a rewrite. I hope this makes more sense.