RWBY: Shadow Company
Chapter 23
Wait, did she hear that correctly? Did he say shadow? Her head was still dizzy after waking up from a long rest. How long was she asleep?
"Did you just say you're a shadow?" She asked.
"Yup. That's right."
Weiss slowly sits up straight. But the pain from her back made it hard to do so.
"You should lie back down." He comes over to adjust her, "That injury on your back has yet to heal so soon." Said Frost.
"What happened to me? Why do I feel like my aura's gone?" She asked.
Frost feeds her some water as he explains, "I know it looks nasty, but trust me. It only gets worse from here."
Weiss nearly choked on the water, "Huh!? Wh-what do you mean by that?"
"Well, how should I put this? You're not safe yet, far from it. I'm afraid."
Weiss started to breathe heavily.
"You need to calm down. Your body has gone through changes. It hasn't had an aura for the past 72 hours."
"What!?" Weiss screamed.
"You were out for three days."
Weiss looked down at her body, noticing her dress had torn into a skirt. But her leg is all patched up now. The pain wasn't as bad as last time.
She placed her hands on her back, touching the cold metal surface. She can feel the drills in her back.
What is this on her back?
"Oh, right. That thing on your back is a nullifier. It's an old tech used to detain huntsmen."
Weiss tries to summon her aura. But nothing came out.
"Okay, I've got good news and bad news. Which one would you like to hear first?"
What does she want to hear first? She hesitates.
"Bad news first, please." She said.
"Very well then. So for the bad news. We don't have a key to get it off. And these keys aren't transferable."
"Huh?"
"Each device has a fixed key to unlock it, a fail-safe. It won't work if we find another key. So that means you will be like this for a while until we find a way."
Weiss sighs, "And the good news?"
"Well, right now, we are in Mistral. And I have a friend who is a blacksmith here, and he can help you."
Weiss looks at him.
"What? Is there something on my mask?"
Weiss explodes, "MISTRAL!? I'm in Mistral. How did I get here!?"
Frost moved back a few feet from her. Weiss took a while to calm herself down.
"Are you done?" Frost asked. "Can I continue now?"
She nods.
"Alright. The troopers were going to take you somewhere, but we don't know where."
"But how did you save me?"
"Oh, we ambushed them."
"So you charged in and attacked them?"
"And who says I can't? As long as I can kill them. I'm not afraid of them."
Okay. Fair point.
She looks around the cave. It's a bit cramped. But it was better than getting wet in the rain.
She was glad that there was a campfire.
She found her weapon resting beside her.
"Wait."
Frost tries to stop her but fails in time.
She grabs it and opens the cylinder, but only the fire dust is empty.
The blade is in half, and there's blood on the end of it.
Was it hers or?
Weiss gasped. She recalled.
"I - I killed someone." She stared in blight. "I stabbed her, and I pulled the trigger."
"It was self-defense, Weiss. If you didn't, then she would have killed you."
Weiss shed her tears.
"It isn't the end yet, is it?" She asked.
"Hardly." Frost nods.
"I know this is hard to take in. But I need you to be strong. I was like you once. Those bandits were going to kill us, and I had to do something. I wasn't proud of it. But I did manage to save a lot of lives doing it." Frost explained.
"How do you do it?"
Frost laughs silently, "I didn't do much. I admit what I did and move on. But should the need arises," Frost pauses. He puts his hands on hers.
"Sometimes, we need to make sacrifices even if it means to better ourselves. Good or bad."
Weiss looks at him and nods.
"You've seen what they can do to others around you. And these monsters do not play nice. But, we will be here to protect you. And teach you how to be strong."
"But, why is this happening to me? What did I do to deserve this?" Weiss cried.
"Nothing, you have done nothing wrong, Weiss."
"Then tell me, why am I here!?" She yelled.
Weiss heard someone from outside the cave, startled a bit.
"It's alright, Weiss. There's no need to fear. It's just Leon."
What? Leon? Who's Leon? She thought.
"Frost, bad news. We've got troopers on our tail." Said Leon.
"How many are there?" Frost asked.
"Too many. We need to move out soon."
Frost notices the blood, "I see that you have been busy."
"I have. What made it obvious?" Leon smirks. He dumps the bag on the ground in front of him.
"What's in the bag? Gifts from our new friends?"
Leon opens the bag for Frost to see, "Take a look. They were armed to the teeth. Never seen an army rich like this. I think you'd be surprised by them."
Frost takes a glance at them, "Hm, forged."
Leon was surprised, "Really? You can tell just by one simple look?"
Frost takes a rifle out of the bag and checks it.
"Look. There's no serial number on it. And that means that these are ghost guns. So someone is making them."
"Huh, well, shit." Leon crossed his arms. He noticed that Weiss was now awake.
"Oh, hey, kid. You're awake. I'm Lieutenant Leon. I'm from Black Fire."
"Hello," Weiss said.
Leon walks to the campfire and sits down, "You look much better than we first met. I was worried you wouldn't make it. You are one tough cookie."
Weiss was a bit startled by his appearance.
"You have questions, I know. But that might have to wait. We need to move, Frost. They are getting closer as we speak. And I think they will bring more guys after what I have done to them." Said Leon.
Weiss wouldn't want to know about that. The red armor almost made it hard to see the blood stains.
"Right, Weiss. As soon as you can walk, we are moving out of here. It's not safe anymore."
"But, where are we going? Are you not going to take me back to Atlas?" She asked.
"No, not yet. Not when the fire is still hot. And the embers have yet to fade." Said Frost, "You're out of the frying pan. But you're still near the fire."
"Those guys who kidnapped you will come back for more. And there's no doubt about it." Said Leon.
"We're just heading to another place to lay low for a while. And fighting them will be too much. We should pick our fights from now on."
"You're not in the best conditions to fight as well."
"Leon's right. It pains me to say this, but that wound on your leg wasn't easy to heal. It used up what we had at the moment."
"Most of it." Leon sighs.
"Supplies are needed, and we're running low. There's a local town not too far from here. We can get supplies from there."
Luckily, at least. The town wasn't too big. But it looks like the town is not aware of what's going on right now.
"Wait. That nullifier will stick out like a sore thumb if you don't wear something." Said Leon. "We might need to cut your hair as well."
Weiss grabs her ponytail, "What!? My hair, but why?"
"So that they won't know it's you. It will grow back. You're not the only white-haired girl. I heard that short hair for girls is all the rage here."
"It will keep you safe, Weiss," Frost reassures her. "Oh, and here. These will help you."
Frost hands her a grey hooded cloak and a white mask.
"No one should know who you are from here on out." He said.
"Wait, where did you get that, Frost?" Leon asked.
"I had been preparing for this."
"But, won't the people help us if they see me?" She asked with hope.
"Maybe, but if everyone knows where you are, so will they. You're not safe out here, not without us."
Weiss cried.
She felt hopeless. Who wouldn't be after being told all that?
"Why are you two helping me?" She asked.
Frost and Leon looked at her, "Because it's the right thing to do. We're shadows. And we help people."
Weiss looks down at her cloak, "Thank you." She said.
They smiled under their helmets.
"No need to thank us, kid. We still need to get you back home. And I may have a few ideas on arming you up for the journey." Said Leon.
"It's a long walk. If we're lucky, we can hitch a ride."
Weiss sulks, "Do I have to cut my hair?"
A/N: Short-haired Weiss. I've seen fanart of it and thought, "Hey, that would be a great way to hide Weiss." Also, she looks good with short hair. Of course, she will wear her own cloak and mask to conceal herself better. I have trouble deciding what color of her cloak will be between white and black. I end up with grey. Is it better?
Weiss did kill somebody, and this will trouble her for a while.
Wow, I really didn't make it easy for Weiss. When you put it all together it's quite scary. I swear, this story writes itself sometimes. I was like, "Wow, that's a lot of problems, oops." Just to summarise, she's been kidnapped and dragged almost half across Remnant. And she has a device that basically makes her a civilian now. And no hopes of getting it off soon. No aura and an army of lunatics coming to kill or capture her, whichever comes first.
I'm sure that the others will have their own problems as well.
Yes, Black Snow and Fire are the company's official chapters. As I said, the chapter is named after things that aren't usually in black. I know RWBY is more color theme but I try, okay? This is the best I can do. I'm glad that I made these guys, Frost, Leon, and Ares. They are so cool.
Thank you for reading.