RWBY: Shadow Company
Chapter 28
Ares grabs his scroll and dials her number. It's been a while since he had called his wife. He waits for her to pick him up.
"Hello?"
"Hey honey, it's me."
"Hey, you. And how's my big guy doing today?"
"I'm doing fine. I'm just trying to put up with Ozpin, as usual. He's been on my nerves lately."
He can hear his wife sighing, "Alright, what did he do again."
"Talking, he keeps talking. Hearing his voice drives me mad." He lifts a ceramic mug in the air.
"Is it that bad? Did he mention our daughter?" She asked.
"No, thankfully. But I know that man is hunting again. I can see it in his eyes. And I don't like it one bit."
He closes his fist. The mug slowly crushes into pieces.
"Hey, don't let that old geezer get the best of you." She calms him.
Ares takes a long sigh, "I know. But I can't handle it when he does this. It's not right."
"Honey..."
"Yes?"
"Would you stop Ozpin if he chooses her?" She asked. "Honey? Please answer me."
Ares looks down at his boots.
"Say something, please."
"I'll cross that bridge when I get to it," Ares answered. "Right now, I'm just hoping for the best that he doesn't."
"Is she still trying to look for me?" Ares asked, trying to change the subject.
"No, she is not giving up soon. She wants to see you so badly."
He chuckles, "I guess there's no stopping her now, huh? She doesn't know how close she is."
"Well, I was kind of hoping she would. I never did forgive them for trying to off you. So this is our way of getting back at them." She said.
"She knows I was watching her tournaments."
"She wanted to be at her best for you."
"What I'd do to tell her how proud I am."
"She takes after you even though she looks more like me."
"I was quite surprised myself. Our daughter's a natural." Ares smiles.
"It's my fault. I didn't know Pyrrha was there when I made that call."
"She was only curious, can't blame a child for that. And she looks more like you every day."
"But she behaves a lot like you, though."
He smirks, "True."
"And so stubborn sometimes." She added.
"Okay, I get it. Stop."
"Alright, alright. But, one more year."
Ares nods, "One more year."
/-/
"Right! Left!"
Victor shouted, swinging his blade at her.
Blake dodged his attacks, listening closely to his commands.
"Focus, kitty! Under!"
She dodges another attack.
"Footwork! Watch your footing! Eyes up and keep your weapon up!" Victor shouted again.
"Attack!"
Blake swings her weapon at him. But Victor dodges until she trips and falls to the ground.
He sheath his blade.
"That was sloppy, kitty. But there is some progress."
"Really?" Blake asked.
"Yeah, when you're not falling on your butt most of the time." Victor laughs.
Blake frowns once again.
"Hey, don't get so mad right now. From what I'm seeing, I guess you are 'almost' halfway there."
Blake gets up and dusts herself, "That's still not good. I feel like I'm not getting anywhere with this."
"Hm, true. But no one is perfect on the first day. I'm not expecting you to be. You fight better than a White Fang now."
"You fought them before? The White Fang?"
"Well, yes, but actually, no. It wasn't that much of a fight." Victor crossed his arms.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Blake asked.
Before Victor could answer, "Victor, you there?" A voice came from his radio.
"Huh, I wonder what's going on?" Victor asked.
"Victor, we need you over here at the hunter huts. Stop what you are doing right now and come here." Said the radio.
He grabs his radio, "Is it urgent?" He asked.
"Yes."
Victor sighs, "Roger that. I am on my way." He gathers his things and leaves the ring, "Look's like we're going to have to cut your training short for today. You head on back home."
"Are you sure?" Blake asked.
"Yeah, I'm sure. No reason for me to hold you back."
He stops in his track and turns around, "Unless you want to tag along?"
Blake shrugs her shoulders, "I've got nothing else to do right now."
He smirks, "Alright then. Come on, follow me."
/-/
"Victor, you're here." Said a shadow.
"Yeah. I'm here. So, what's the call? Are we going in?" He asked.
The shadow nods, "We're going in."
"Shit. I was hoping the hunters would be back here by morning."
"What's going on?" Blake asked.
"Why is the girl here?" The shadow asked.
Victor shrugs, "She wanted to tag along. So I let her."
"That easy, huh? Anyways, let me fill you in. Yesterday, a group of locals went missing. Hunters went out to get food but didn't come back before the sun sets."
"So, not a single response from them?" Victor asked.
"No. We did try to make contact. But we couldn't get through."
"They must have been ambushed out there. It could be the Grimm."
"Maybe. Should we form a search party for them?" The shadow asked.
Victor nods, "Yes, we've waited long enough. It's time we go in to rescue our hunters. Get the team ready. I'll go see the shogun."
"You got it, boss."
"I wish to volunteer." Blake raised her hand.
"No, not you. You're not ready." Victor reject.
"But I can help." She pleads. But Victor continues to decline her.
"No, not a chance. The Alpha might be out there. And you can't beat that. Don't even think about it."
"And why not?"
"Because I said so! You're not going!" He yelled at her.
Blake groans and storms off, probably heading back to her home. He can hear her mumbling about him.
He sighs as he removes his helmet, "I think I made her angry. She'll calm down soon."
"She's quite the handful. I don't know why you agreed to take her." Said the shadow.
"The big boss wanted me to. He knows I can handle her."
"I think she should come along."
"What? Why?" Victor asked.
"Well, as of right now, I heard that everyone hates her. She did abandon her people to join the White Fang. And being Ghira's daughter was worse."
"Do they hate her that much?"
"Look, I am surprised that no one has slit open her throat yet. It's that bad."
"Oh, damn."
"And I think this will help her learn better. If she's not going to learn it the easy way, let it be the hard way if it has to. That's what we went through, right?"
"Right. But Blake's not a shadow."
"No, but she can learn to be one."
Victor nods.
He puts his helmet back on, "Well, I got to go now. I need to think about this. Also, Lily wants me to cook for dinner tonight."
"Aww. The little duckling?"
"Shut up. You got your tasks. Go do them, now."
Victor exits the hut, "You tell that kid I said hello."
A/N: Victor cares for Blake.
I think I've mentioned before that Ares has a real name. Ares is just his codename, Like Frost. But Leon is Leon. Yes, I'm sure my previous chapters have confirmed that Ares is Pyrrah's father. His semblance is basically telekinesis. Pyrrha has a polarity so that she can control metal. But Ares can handle anything, hence why he was able to close the tunnel back in Mountain Gleen.
I like to think of it as heredity. But Pyrrha only gets partial of Ares's semblance.
Also, I have a new arc for Blake. It took a while to think of one, and writing about Blake doing nothing but training is boring. Since her reputation on the island is terrible, I thought why not give her a chance to redeem herself? And what better way than to do it with shadows? Let her prove to others that she can be good.
Yeah, it is an AU. But I try to keep it close to the canon as I can. There are lots of things that are new but they will make sense in time, I hope. I hope they will.
Thanks for reading.