RWBY: Shadow Company
Chapter 19
It happened almost thirty years ago. Something wired and devastating happened in Mistral.
The huntsmen arrested a man after being found beaten up and bloodied. They found him running around a village, screaming his lungs out.
The frightened locals reported that he was running away from something. But they could only assume that he was running away from a Grimm.
But they did recognize who he was.
He was a part of a gang in the criminal world. But that information was already redacted by the authorities. Whatever happened was still to this day unknown.
One could only assume they stumbled upon a horde of Grimm. Others thought it was infighting that did it.
But that day, only one of them was still left alive.
He was scared out of his mind and wailing like a maniac. Rambling, shouting, and laughing.
Something about how they were all going to die by a horrible monster, and what they didn't expect him to say next was, "That child is going to kill us all! He's coming this way! I saw him chasing me!" He kept pointing in the direction he came.
But nothing came.
They soon declared that the man was a lunatic and a murderer. And that he was not in the right state of mind.
The huntsmen were called soon after and took him to the police to handle the rest.
The police questioned him, but unfortunately, those records are gone. All the pieces of evidence and statements recorded by the police were either missing or confiscated by a particular group.
All that was left that was considered safe to view was the footage in the interrogation room. The police later used it as an example of how to deal with crazy people.
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"There we go. The camera's up and rolling. Let me set this last one up on the tripod over here." Said the officer.
The footage shows a dark room with a single light illuminating the table and chair.
Two officers sit down, one on each side of the screen.
"So, what do we got? I've heard that the huntsmen brought someone here from last night." Said the detective.
The officer smirks, "Yeah, they did, unsound mind. They found him covered with blood and screaming like a Nevermore. And where he came from was a small town that was, well."
The officer hands the case file over to the detective.
"Let's just say it was a bad day to be in that town."
The detective was shocked to see pictures of dismembered bodies all over the town.
"You're kidding me." The detective said.
"I wish I was. But sadly, I'm not. And we have reasons to believe that the suspect and his dead posses are responsible for the massacre. He's the only one left alive, and from the looks of it, the villagers tried to fight back."
"But it was all in vain. The inhabitants still died in the end."
He flips a page, "He's part of that gang. The one that the huntsmen wouldn't dare to cross. They have been causing trouble for years."
"More like there was a gang. No longer now. One less problem and criminals to worry about." The officer smirks.
"But, some of these pictures are a little odd. Why are most of the bodies have claw marks on them? Was the chaos so big that it had attracted the Grimm as well?"
The officer only shrugs his shoulders in response.
"Still, they were wiped out along with the town. It doesn't make sense. It must be the Grimm."
"Maybe. The huntsmen said the town was already destroyed by the Grimm when they went to investigate. They must have run off after the fight. The Grimm don't eat the dead, sir. So at least we were able to identify the bodies."
The detective closes the file and places it on the table, "I've seen enough gore for one morning. Is there anything else before we begin the interrogation?" He asked.
"Uh, none, sir. Just keep your cool. I just saw him this morning, and he's very delusional. Maybe even more so after yesterday. He looks like he didn't sleep at all. So don't get too mad at him."
"I'll try not to."
"Alright, then." The officer said. He stands up and walks to the door.
He bangs on the door, signaling it to open. Two officers came into the room carrying a limp body.
"We had to sedate him. He was getting too crazy."
"It's alright. Just set our friend down here and fetch a bucket full of water." Said the detective.
The two officers nod, leaving the room.
The man was beaten and bloodied alright. He's still in handcuffs.
"He looks like shit. Did none of you bother to clean him up, at least? He stinks too." The detective covers his noes, coughing at the smell.
The officer shook his head, "Heck no, he was trashing in his cell. He didn't want anyone near him since he arrived here. It's a miracle that he's still alive at this point."
"I can barely see his face."
The door opened again, and the two officers from earlier came back with two buckets full of cold water and left shortly after.
"Well, time to wake this sucker up."
The detective stands up and walks over to grab one of the buckets. He walks over to the suspect and stands behind him, "It's time to wake up."
The bucket turns and lets the water out, splashing down onto the suspect's head. In an instant, he jolted and woke up immediately.
"AH! Don't touch me! Wh-what? Where am I? Who the hell are you?"
The detective walks back to his seat and sits down.
"Alright, Mr. Unfortunate. Would you mind telling us again who you are and why you are here this time?" Asked the officer.
"I ran. That's all I did. I just ran." He said, trying his best to stay conscious.
The detective crosses his arms.
"Right. And it says here that you ran away from the Grimm and covered with blood. You suddenly appeared in the village and terrorized the locals. They called in the huntsmen and arrested you soon after. It sounds like it's just not your day, is it?"
The suspect leans forward, "I've already told you it wasn't a Grimm. How many times do I have to keep telling you, people?"
"Plenty enough to know that you're lying to us. Mr. Hail." Said the detective.
The suspect sighs and slumps back in his chair, feeling hopeless now that even the authorities don't seem to believe him.
"I am not lying to you. I swear you've got to believe me." He desperately said.
"And why should we?"
"Because I've seen it! The beast in the south! The amalgamation!" he screamed in fear.
The detective grabs his head and slams it down onto the table, "Do you think we are stupid? That this is some sick joke to you? What you've just said is nothing more than a children's story. It doesn't exist, and nobody has seen it. So stop blabbering all this nonsense and come clean already!"
"You've probably seen a Grimm that looks similar to it." The officer added.
The suspect was quiet. He didn't struggle to break free from his grasp.
The only thing he did was, laugh.
And his laugh became louder as the detective pulled his hand back, feeling weirded out by his reaction.
"Stop laughing, you sick fuck. Do you think this is funny?" Said the detective.
But he kept on laughing even louder.
"We know it's you. Your group is responsible for the massacre. Everyone knows who you are."
The officer places his hand on the detective's shoulder, "Forget it. There's no use in yelling at him. He's gone nuts. Let him finish whatever he's doing."
He sighs.
The suspect laughed for another 10 minutes straight before he abruptly stopped. The blood from his forehead continues to bleed down his face.
"Are we done? Can we get serious now?" He asked.
The two cops looked at each other and then back to him, "Fine, tell us what happened. And this time, the truth. No more lies, and no more nonsense."
"Heh, I can't promise you that."
"Just tell us the damn story already."
He adjusted himself, "My name is Max Hail. I was a troubled kid. I joined the gang because I wanted to be free from the rules. The gan ruled over town and villages with an iron fist. Nobody dared to cross us, not even you." He explained.
"Shut up. You're all alone now. Your gang is gone."
"We were powerful, strong, undefeatable. There used to be more of us, but as you can see, I'm it."
"Cut the bullshit. We said no more lies. There's no way you're stronger than the huntsmen." The officer said on impulse.
The suspect scoffs, "Trust me, we are. Why would we be scared about those fashion models? If you asked me, I would be scared of the boys in black. Those guys are the real deal. They get shit done, and the councils and not even you say anything of it. What's scarier than that? Oh, I know, that freak!"
"Shadow Company is a private matter. We have no say in what they do. That's all you need to know."
"You people are nuts. Letting them Scott free for doing the same shit that we do!"
"The shadows are not something we have any power over. Try not to think about it too much. Now, continue your story, please."
Now it was the suspect's turn to be weirded out by their response.
"Look, we were making an example to the people. We took a little girl, stripped her, cut her, and hanged her body in the town square for everyone to see."
They looked at him in disgust, "You fucking monster."
"Heh, you think we're the monsters? I thought we were, but I thought wrong. All because of that little boy."
They leaned forward, "Which boy? Can you tell us which one is he in these pictures?"
They placed the picture of the deceased.
But the suspect swipes them away, causing them to fall off the table and scatter onto the floor. And this shocked both of them.
"It's none of them. This kid started looking up at her corpse and fell to his knees. He was the street rat, an outcast, an orphan. He didn't say anything, and he just stared at her. So we walked up towards him. But before we could even touch him," the suspect's face started to shake in fear.
"I, no. We watched as the boy screamed. He screamed at us with that dead look in his eyes. How can someone so small grow so big? And right then and there, we were staring at death itself. That boy was no longer human."
They listened on.
"His scream started to sound not human. It's like it was other worldly. He stared at us and continued screaming. I don't know what it was, but it made me feel scared."
"Wait, so you were scared of a kid crying. Is that what you are saying?" The detective tried to clarify. The officer was on the verge of laughing.
"I know that sounds stupid, okay. But that's the truth!"
"You're fucking delusional if you think we're going to believe that shit!"
"I'm not lying! You've got to believe me! I'm not going insane! Do you think the shadows are bad news? You people need to think again! Because of that thing is a fucking nightmare! He's the real monster! I've seen it with my own eyes. He was snarling at me like he wants to fucking eat me whole!"
"Yeah, okay. And you're officially batshit insane. We're taking you to the psychiatric ward. This interview is over."
They both stand up as the suspect begins to struggle, "NO! I'M NOT GOING BACK OUT THERE! IT'S WAITING FOR ME OUTSIDE!"
"Alright, that's enough. Sedate and bring the suspect out of here." Said the detective. The suspect kicks the camera over.
"IT'S HERE! THE BEAST IS REAL! I DON'T WANT TO DIE-" The officer injects a syringe into his neck.
The footage ends with a black screen.
A/N: Yo, I'm back. This chapter is more of a bit of an extra story for Leon. This is to show just how dangerous the curse really is and is in fact real. Hopefully, this update is good as I have been gone for a while.
But next will be back on track with Jaune, Blake, and Weiss.
Uh, I guess I can reveal this, Leon's surname is Feu.
Again, sorry for the wait, and thank you for reading.