RWBY: Shadow Company
Chapter 22
Blake falls to the ground for the eleventh time today. She catches her breath.
There is a figure standing above her.
The figure sighs, "That was some sloppy footwork. You need to work on your stance, little kitty." He said.
Blake could only grumble at the name.
"Hey, you still okay?" Reily asked, sitting on a bench. She was watching the whole thing. Blake looks angry and frustrated, and it worries her. She hasn't been smiling since she stepped out of that boat.
The shadow lends her a hand, but she swipes it away. She gets up, dusting off the sand from her clothes. The sand stick to her sweat was even harder to get off.
"This is stupid. I don't need this training. I've never asked for it." She said.
The shadow crossed his arms.
"No, you didn't ask for it. But the shogun had instructed me to give them to you. And from what I'm seeing, you certainly need the training. And the White Fang didn't train you well enough."
No, not much, honestly. But Blake wouldn't admit it, even if it's true. The White Fang never did have strict training. Or any form of it for that matter.
If you can shoot a gun, swing a blade, and wants to fight. It's as simple as that.
The shadow shakes his head in dismay.
"Look, you can kill a Grimm. But that doesn't make you a badass. Anyone can kill a Grimm if they put their effort into it. But the only Grimms you can kill are the beowolves. I've asked you before, and I was shocked to hear that. How did you survive out there? Did you run away? You ran away, didn't you?" The shadow scolded her.
Blake blushes.
She kept quiet, not knowing what to say.
Of course, you would run away. What are the chances of winning? It's not like the Grimm weren't the main focus for the White Fang anyway.
Reily raises her hand, "Uh, I haven't killed anything yet. If it makes you feel better, Blake."
"And I'll say again. You're not required to do this, Reily."
"But I want to do this. Besides, there's still trouble out there." Reily said.
The shadow smirks and turns to Blake, "At least she gets it."
Blake frowns and rolls her eyes.
"You guys are not that bad. I've seen the others interact with the shadows, and they seem pretty cool with them." Reily added.
"Well, we are the Black Lotus. We value peace and harmony."
"It wasn't what I saw." Blake retorted.
"And you need to keep an open mind, kitty. The White Fangs are the real villains." The shadow shrugs his shoulders.
"What!? How dare you!" Blake shouted.
"Calm down, Blake," Reily said.
"No, let her be."
"We have done nothing but help our people. When no one wanted to help us!" Blake glared at him.
The shadow crossed his arms, "Oh really, can you tell me what exactly you have done to 'help' your people?"
"Well-" Blake paused.
The shadow waited for her answer. But nothing came out of her mouth.
"By the way, did you even remember my name?"
Blake continued to stay quiet.
He sighs, "Fine. I'll repeat it one more time. My code name is Victor."
"What's your real name?" Reily asked.
"I can't say, company policy. I can't even show my face."
"Then why did your leader share us his?"
"Simple, they already know him. Few have revealed theirs as well."
"And why not the rest? Are they afraid to die?" Blake said.
"No, they have a life as well. So watch your mouth, girl. Your attitude is slowly getting on my nerves." Victor threatens her.
"You don't scare me."
"No, but the Grimm does." He snickers.
Blake couldn't believe the nerve of this monster.
"Look, we're not your enemy, kitty. Not anymore. It's the White Fang."
"Excuse me?"
Victor crossed his arms.
"Why don't you take a good look around you? These folks don't want anything with the White Fang anymore. Look how happy they are. They are through with violence and want to live in peace with all their loved ones."
Blake looks around. And much to her anger, he was right. Everyone here is happy here.
"Things weren't pretty when we got here. But now, as long as they are happy and safe, we'll make it stay that way." Victor said.
Then, a tiny pair of feet was running towards the sparring ring.
"Victor, Victor!" A little girl cries out to him.
Victor turns around. He smiles as he kneels to pick her up.
"There you are. How's my little duckling doing today?"
"I'm doing great! My friends and I played by the beach with all the older kids. Even the merfolks came to play with us. It was so much fun." She said in excitement.
Victor laughs, "That's great, kiddo. But, can I need some more time for work right now? I need to teach this kitty how to fight. Go ahead and say hello."
He turns the little duck Faunus to Blake. Blake recognized her. Back when she first returned. She is cute. Her little tail is sticking out under her dress.
But the little girl was glaring at her for some reason.
She points at her, "But she's a baddie! Why is she here!? She's with them! They took my family away!"
Blake was taken aback by that.
Victor reels her back, "Now, now. No need to shout like that. Why don't you go back to the house, okay? I'll be there soon."
"Okay, see you there." She said as she quickly hugged him and ran off.
Blake watched as she left the sparring ring.
"Well, do you get it now? Why the people here don't like the White Fang anymore?"
"But it's not our fault. None of these people wouldn't listen." Blake excused.
"So was abducting them her last choice? It was a losing war. One that Sienna Khan had no chance of winning. Like it or not. It's true. No point denying it now."
"You wouldn't know what it's like for us! At least you're not a Faunus!"
"That's funny. At least you still have a family to go back to."
Blake paused.
"I-"
"I've heard enough. I think that's enough for today. In the meantime, work on your stance. You're still trash." Said Victor. He starts to pack up and leave as well.
Blake felt a tint of regret.
"Let's get back to the house. Your father's waiting for us." Reily said.
Blake said nothing as she left the ring.
/-/
Fifteen. Leon counted.
That was fifteen guys that tried to pass through the dense forest. And the latest one had fallen for his spike pit trap.
A gruesome end.
He walks to the trap to check if the victim's still breathing. Usually, they don't. But if they are, a bullet to the head can solve the problem just fine.
But he shouldn't be wasting his ammo on these guys. He could have let the traps do the work and let them suffer the pain.
And he can always loot the bodies later to get more weapons and supplies anyway.
It was surprising to discover that they have been using a lot of Atlas tech. From the armor and guns, they were well armed to start a war.
And it's not those cheap copies from Vacuo.
All this stuff is the real deal.
It's probably stolen. I mean, Atlas could always make more to replace anything missing.
It's not a big issue for them.
But a group like this with high-tech weaponry would make you think otherwise.
Leon takes whatever weapons he can find to suit Weiss's needs. Maybe grab a few armor pieces here and there. At least the ones that would fit her.
There are some ammo, grenades, and explosive charges. These will be enough to help them on the trip, at least until they get back to Atlas.
He fills the pit with more dirt and moves on to the next trap.
It has only taken until the morning for them to start a search party. Leon got up early and made all of these traps in the first place.
Frost is sleeping at the moment. No one would get past the traps hidden around the cave.
The girl has yet to wake up. But at least she's not looking pale anymore, and her fever's finally going down. Poor thing, he hoped that she would get better soon.
But, come to think of it, these guys are wired lately. They have markings on their skin. It looks like some wired eye.
Whatever it is, it's creepy.
Something is going on about them. And not in a good way.
He should discuss this with Frost once he gets back.
"Argh-"
That's the last one. Sixteen. Time to get back to Frost. This whole situation is getting creepy just thinking about it.
/-/
Warm.
Weiss felt warm.
She feels the heat as she slowly opens her eyes.
There is a fire in front of her. It's crackling quietly as her vision clears.
She was sleeping on her side. She still felt the familiar metal still nailed to her back.
It still hurts, but not as much as the last time she was awake.
What happened?
She couldn't feel her aura. She tried to get up but winced in pain as her back started to ache.
She laid back down in the bed and tried to call for help.
"Oh, you're finally awake. Good morning."
She turned to the sound of the voice. That shadow in the white cloak was sitting behind her.
"I can hear you moving back there. You've been out for days now. Your wounds were quite drastic. I feared that you might not wake up."
Weiss tried to muster her voice and said slowly, "Who are you?"
"I'm sure you have lots of questions right now. And to answer the first, I am General Frost. Shadow Company. Commander of the Black Snow."
A/N: Nice going Blake. Real mature. Don't worry, she's not going to be like that forever.
Anyways, I am pretty content with this chapter. And now that Weiss is awake and finally meets Frost. And also, Frost is a General? Well, I thought it seemed fitting. He is one of the oldest members and has served longer than others. How's the interaction with Blake? She's still pre-volume 1, so she won't be as accepting as she is now in the latest volume.
So, to answer the latest question. Shadows have free reign to do what they want. They don't share the same rules with the huntsmen and specialists. They can take any mission without restrictions. Ironwood can command them whenever he wants, but he already has the Vanguard and Sentinels. And Ozpin is already in charge of the black chapters.
They both can command any chapter, but remember that the shadows themselves are still ordinary people of Remnant.
I like the idea that a regular person in Remnant can be as strong as a huntsman. Even if the odds are heavily stacked against them, something like us has some faith in ourselves. To me, that's what the shadows are about. You don't need a unique power to know that you're strong. Not being a huntsmen doesn't mean you're weak.
The story will have the main cast. my only problem is that I started the story a year before the canon events. yang and Ruby will still go to Beacon, just not in the same way. And yes, I guess it's odd that I started with the other half of the team with Weiss and Blake. It's more than just Jaune. I know what I put in the summary. I'm not changing it.
Okay, I'm done.
Thank you for reading.