"Shayne I've told you before, I don't remember doing any of what you're talking about" Ralen said, he was annoyed that Shayne was still pushing this.
"But you did and I want to find out more about this Azrael"
"And the way you propose we do it is insane, I'm not dying so you can do an experiment!" Ralen's voice echoed around the woods.
"Which is why I've brought you out here"
"What are you talking about?"
"These woods caught fire many years ago according to what little information I could find with my limited access"
"That can't be helped I'm afraid lad, if we are to keep you safe until this whole murder thing blows over, we need to leave as little traceable clues to us" Prof Krishtov strode out from behind a tree.
"Niko, good to see Ozpin hasn't got you trying to bring me back"
"Oh he has, I'm just not going to"
"What are we doing out here dammit!" Ralen was getting frustrated.
"You don't remember do you?"
"Remember what?"
"Don't you remember he fire; don't you remember the Beowolves and the men who shot you?" Niko said gesturing wildly.
"No, the last thing I remember is waking in that village with no idea who I was or where I came from. You gave me a name and a life, you housed me and for two years, you were the only family I had and the only friend I knew" Ralen sat down on the log next to Niko.
Shayne sat down between Niko and Ralen.
"What happened that night?" Shayne asked looking to both of them.
"Well, I was sent to this forest to deal with a Grimm infestation…"
'I was on my here when I saw on the horizon the distinct black smoke of a forest fire, gunshots echoed across the valley accompanied by screams of pain and fear. It was hard to keep moving through the trees as the fires raged around me, the screams were the only thing that kept me going.
I found an old dirt track that wound its way between the trees. I followed it, Painsaw drawn and ready for anything. I entered a clearing, my vision blurred and my breathing heavy from the smoke but I could make out three bodies on the track, one somewhat more distance away from the other two. As I made my way over to them I became aware of others around me, there were several men fighting Beowolves and losing, badly. I turned back to the bodies, I had to force myself not to throw up as their heads had been removed, the largest was a man, maybe 40. The two smaller ones were a woman and a child, I'm guessing the mother. I never found out who they actually were. I turned as the last of the men fell to the Beowolves and raised Painsaw.
I watched them carefully as they spread out slightly. Suddenly they burst into flames, their death screams pierced the air as the smoke cleared and the flames died. I looked past the smouldering corpses of the Grimm and saw a boy, as we made eye contact he collapsed to the ground. I ran over to him, his scythe faded under my gaze. I examined him; he had taken several bullet wounds to the chest and more than a few cuts to the arms and legs.
I didn't know how, but he was breathing. So I picked him up and carried him to the village and to the inn where I was staying. The doctors healed him as best they could, once they left I used my Aura to do what I could, the boy woke several hours later. I asked him some questions and he remembered nothing about the forest or what had happened up to that point. I took him under my wing and he's been with me ever since.'
Ralen's head was in his hands, Shayne stood up and stretched.
"Why didn't you tell me this before?" Ralen asked from inside his hands.
"I didn't feel that the time was right"
"So why now?"
"Because Ralen, I'm trying to help you, and the more you know about yourself and your past the more I can do that" Shayne said, bouncing from foot to foot, he was getting restless.
"Ralen, let him in, I think he can actually help you, you've seen his Grimm at work"
"What if I don't want to be helped?"
"Then that's your decision, but you're not stupid enough to not want to know what Azrael actually is are you?"
"I need time to think, I wish to be left alone" Ralen strode away into the trees headed back to the house.
Shayne and Niko walked back together discussing how they were going to do this.
The boat pulled up at the docks of Vale, they were approached by the harbourmaster.
"You kids can't leave that there, it's gotta be moved, now"
"Move it then, we don't need it now"
"Ok, I'm calling the cops, don't move, any of you" he hurried away into his office and the group continued walking.
Jethro was slung over Dundra's shoulders allowing Lina and her father to talk.
"Lina, you know how I feel about Frank…"
"Dad don't worry, he's changed, I trust him now, Shayne does too" her dad looked dumbfounded.
"Well, that's….good I guess" Lina smiled and hugged her dads arm.
"I forgot to tell you, Shayne asked me to…"
"Lina, this isn't the time, tell him when Shayne's not on the run" Ashe said walking backwards and putting her hands behind her head.
"Wait a second, Shayne's on the run! Why?" Eddi stopped and stood in front of them.
"We'll talk about this someplace else, it isn't safe here"
"Why? What's he done?"
Frank walked over.
"He's suspected of murder in Mistral, now come on, Eddi's right" everybody looked at Frank.
"Since that's the case, I think we should hurry up" Jethro was waking up and he wanted to be somewhere where nobody would get hurt.
They quickly made their way to the Bullheads to take them to Beacon, Lina was worried about Shayne, she hadn't heard from him at all for the last couple of days. She decided that she'd talk with the teams that were hunting him for Ozpin and see what they knew.
Ruby and Yang were headed back to their dorm to talk to Blake, they knew she'd let him go and they wanted to know why. They reached their door and they heard shouting.
"Why did you let him go Blake?"
"I can't tell you"
"Tell me now dammit!"
"NO!" Blake shouted.
Ruby and Yang walked in as Weiss drew Myrtenaster and held Blake against the wall.
"What's going on here?" Ruby asked sternly as Yang closed the door.
"I'm trying to find out why she let Shayne go the other night"
"Weiss, this isn't the way to do it, put the weapon down and step back" Yang said, as calmly as she could.
Weiss reluctantly pulled the tip of her rapier from Blake's neck and took a few steps back across the room. Blake nodded to Yang in thanks and moved towards the door.
"Where are you going?" Yang said blocking her with her arm.
"Yang, let me past" Blake looked at Yang pleadingly but Yang held firm.
Then there was a knock on the door and Ruby opened it swiftly.
"Hey guys, can I have a word?" Lina asked peering through the gap at the rest of RWBY.
"We're a little bu-…"
Yang pushed Weiss onto her bed and she stopped talking.
"Sure Lina, what do you need"
"I want to talk to you about Shayne"
"I'm leaving" Blake said before pushing past both Yang and Lina.
"What's up with Blake?"
"Oh nothing, now what do you want to know?"
"I actually needed to talk to Blake most of all, but you guys should be okay, have you seen Shayne at all?"
The three girls shared a look, Lina waited for an answer.
"Lina, we actually found him, but he wouldn't come quietly so…"
"We had to fight him…"
"I didn't expect him to be so fast, I could barely touch him, I need to train harder" everyone looked at Weiss, she was having her own conversation with them that they weren't actually part of.
"Guys, you did what was asked of you but what happened?"
"He beat us all, we blacked out, all but Blake, she let him go, he went with AGIS and they've gone off the grid, I'm sorry"
"Okay, well, I'll talk to you all later, I'm going to find Blake, bye" Lina waved as she left.
Shayne and Niko got to talking on the way back to the safe house.
"So what happened to Painsaw?" Shayne asked looking at Nikos strange sword.
"I need the option of falling back if I need to, so Ralen built this for me" Niko drew his blade and with the press of a button it transformed into a riot shield.
"I can see why that'd be useful"
"Necessity is the mother of invention and all that, I call it Riot-Breaker"
"Indeed it is" Shayne looked past Niko and as quick as lightning drew his pistol and shot past his head.
The bullet just missed Niko's head as it left the barrel of Shayne's pistol and hit a Beowolf in the eye. Niko reacted and pulled Shayne of of the path of a leaping Beowolf deflecting it with Riot-Breaker. Shayne stood up straight and drew his katanas. At least twenty Beowolves were visible in the tree line with who knows how many in the shadows behind that.
"I'm going to make a tactical decision and say we run" Niko said, definitely worried about the number of Grimm watching them.
"We run and they kill us, plus Ralen is still out here, we can't leave him"
"So what do you suppose we do?" Niko said circling to make sure that at least all the Grimm were being watched.
"I start killing and you find Ralen, I'll meet you back at the safe house"
"There's too many Shayne, you'll die"
"That's a risk I'm willing to take, I need to work out some anger anyway" Shayne said rotating his shoulders.
"Good luck kid, see you on the other side" Niko said stowing the shield and sheathing the sword before Shayne leapt at the nearest Beowolf slicing its head clean off.
Niko ran as Shayne span left and right cleaving the Grimm into pieces. He threw one of his katanas and the force of the throw took the Grimm it hit and dragged it along with it, taking three more out before sticking in a tree. Shayne was set upon by four Beowolves at once and he was forced to the ground. They bit his arms and tore at his jacket, he was thankful he'd brought his armoured variant.
One went for his neck and his eyes flared red, the Beowolves backed away in fear as he rose to his feet. He looked around at the cowering Grimm and smiled, as they tried running he used the Grimm in ways he had never used it before, he sent out a lash of pure energy and it caught one of the Beowolves around the throat, with one hand he punched the ground and spikes of Grimm came from the ground impaling more of the fleeing Beowolves. He turned to the whimpering Beowolf stil caught in his iron grip. He squeezed its neck, slowly crushing its windpipe and choking it to death. Shayne dropped the corpse and walked towards the safe house. The red left his eyes and he fell flat on his face, unconscious.
Ralen and Niko walked through the carnage that Shayne had caused, Ralen pressed on without hesitation but Niko, slowed to a halt and looked around at what Shayne had done. Grimm body parts hung from trees and adorned the track, blood was dried into the dirt and the leaves dripped it into the grass. The Beowolves that had been impaled were still mounted on the spikes and blood was running down them as they were still bleeding out.
"Niko, get over here, he's out cold" Niko left the carnage and went to Ralen's side.
"Here, help him up onto my shoulders, we'll treat him back at the safe house, we don't want this to be associated with us"
"But they're just Grimm"
"But this, this was cruel" Niko said walking away Shayne slung over his shoulders.
Ralen looked back at the corpses of the Grimm and knew Niko was right, he set the place ablaze an caught up with Niko, the fire would purge the rea of Grimm and leave no trace of them.
Shayne's subconscious was in turmoil as 'He' was standing too close for Shayne's liking.
'Yes…..embrace me and I will give you more power than you can dream of….." Shayne swiped at 'Him; and he backed off.
'Shayne, you need to control yourself'
"Don't you think I'm trying, this is harder than ever now that I've gotten him trapped again?"
'You will embrace me boy' 'He' said, his voice echoing throughout Shayne's mind.
"No, I will never embrace you; I care too much about my friends to do that"
'Shayne, you need to purge again, you know it is the only way'
"I need time, now leave me in peace" Shayne settled into a dream as he was carried back to the safe house.