Author's Notes:

Well, I apologize. I could have sworn that I said I'd post on the 15th but looking back I definitely said the 11th. I'll upload this chapter and then continue with the regular upload schedule. My bad.

Warning, this chapter contains themes of stalking and other bad behavior. Read at your own discretion.

"Text"

"Speech"

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY, Fallout, or any associated characters

Remnants of a Courier

Arc 4: Chaos Theory

Chapter 61: The Thing in the Dark

"Phantom or Mimic, Which is Worse?"

"The Phantom Kills 3 and Leaves Bodies for Investigators!"

"White Fang Attack on Beacon! The Shocking Truth!"

A smile rested on Argent's face as he read the headlines. Things were starting to get interesting in Vale and he wanted to be there to see it.

"Mister Dawn, your tea," a woman's voice broke his concentration on the news article in front of him. Turning, he was met with the view of the young waitress serving his tea. Ah yes, perhaps he had been too absorbed in his reading material.

He turned, put on his best smile, and replied, "Thank you miss." Reaching out his hand, he took the drink before placing it on his table.

Argent was a man leaving the prime of his life. He was going on thirty now and he could already see the first wrinkle or two on his face which was accentuated by his pale skin.

Dark neatly cut short hair matched his long black open-button leather trench coat of Mistralian make and black cashmere-lined Atlesian leather gloves. Accompanying this was a tight grey leather turtleneck and matching dress pants.

Most would call his fashion sense "sharp" which many also said complimented his looks. And from the way the waitress was looking at him, he wouldn't say they were wrong.

Finally, dull grey eyes matched his hair and how he had been feeling lately, old; as despite not even being thirty, Dawn would call himself a well-traveled man.

He had spent much of his life being very resourceful. He had been a private eye, a doctor, handyman, soldier, and more. But he never settled in one place for too long and that was for one very good reason.

Argent liked hunting. And right now, he was doing so.

Roughly two hours ago, maybe an hour before noon, he spotted a woman who felt different compared to the other people around her. Well, different to him.

His semblance, Emotional Fixation, allowed him to sense the emotions of others. He couldn't sense their thoughts but rather their moods such as happiness or despair.

But he felt only one emotion come from the woman in red, hunger.

Long black wavy hair reached down to her shoulders, matched by the curvy black lines on the red dress. Said dress was long and flowing, reaching all the way down to her ankles.

The woman herself had fiery red eyes and lips that matched. Her almond-toned skin had nary a blemish on it. To be frank, Argent knew this woman was very attractive physically. But again, that wasn't what he was interested in.

That hunger he felt with his Semblance, that endless need for… Something he couldn't identify yet. It piqued his curiosity.

And it wasn't healthy to pique a random stranger's curiosity.

She stood up from her spot at the cafe they were at, done with her drink, before making her way down the sidewalk and further away from him. Now that wouldn't do.

He let her walk for a few moments as he paid for the check, keeping an eye on the direction she was walking, while also giving enough space for her not to be suspicious.

Standing, he followed after her, the woman in the dress being easy to spot in a crowd. And now that he was standing, he realized he was probably a good half a foot taller than her at six feet.

Argent followed along at a casual pace, keeping his distance to hide that he was following her. The people around them were trees in a concrete jungle and served as suitable camouflage for him. After all, he was a master at this game by now.

While "The Phantom of Vale" was an extravagant title for him, it wasn't his first, nor did he care for such things. He was a special man who never cared for the flash and pride. No… That's not what it was about. It was about what was inside.

He loved traveling the world, seeing new people, especially interesting people. Emotions that drew his interest were often that of artists and people of talent. Their drive and creativity were often delectable. Of course, it never compared to when he got them alone, when he got to see their real emotions.

The Phantom wasn't afraid to admit he was addicted to the fear and pain he could feel from his victims thanks to his Semblance. Especially in their final moments when it was so potent. Like a high no drug could hope to match.

His footfalls slowly fell in line with the woman's now as he grew more excited at the prospect. With everyone so distracted by what was going on in the city recently, it had been easy to get away with killing. Having an Aura and Semblance meant he made quick work of anyone without. And this woman most certainly did not have one.

He watched her turn, heading down an alley that most pretty ladies like herself shouldn't turn down, and The Phantom knew that now was the time.

Speeding up his pace, the hunter moved past a few people as he saw the last few pedestrians slowly gaining distance. Perfect.

Turning the corner, the sight that greeted him was an alley like any other. A dumpster here, trash there, and only one person in it. His target. But there was something off…

Taking a second glance, there seemed to be an almost unnatural darkness in the alley, one so thick he couldn't see through it. A strange occurrence for just a little after midday in Vale. It almost seemed like the shadows were a little too dark here.

And his prey was there, turned towards him and seemingly waiting. Perhaps he hadn't been as proficient at tailing as he thought.

While her legs were still visible, her upper body was covered in shadows now, two red eyes seemingly staring at him from the darkness.

Should he be confronting her in broad daylight? No. In fact, before this lamb, he had started out quite cautious. But as Vale had quickly proven to him, the Kingdom as it was simply too distracted to care. And that suited him just fine.

"Greetings, what are you doing here in this dark alley?" He began, taking a step towards his prey. She didn't move, she didn't say anything, in fact, he couldn't even tell if she was breathing. All that came from her was that hunger which intrigued him more.

"I saw your face from a mile away, very striking," he continued as he pulled a knife from his coat. Nothing fancy, just a common knife that could be easily disposed of. More than enough for those without Aura.

The Phantom felt a grin plaster across his face as he ran the knife along the brick wall next to him, a scratching sound ringing out as he approached while saying, "And a girl like you, I might just bring back home. Don't you know the Phantom is about? It's pretty girls like you he wants, no, it's girls like you he needs."

Still, she didn't move, at least no one was bothering them. He couldn't hear anyone approaching. Then he realized why the situation didn't feel right.

He turned his gaze back, noting that it felt like all the sound outside the alley had ceased. And, turning back, he couldn't see her eyes anymore. He could see her legs only but he could still feel something staring at him.

"What is this?" The Phantom questioned as he leveled his knife at the anomaly. But he never received an answer.

"Did you see me?" The question was so simple but the voice that echoed it was anything but. Both male and female voices, as if multiple people speaking called out to him. It came from in front of him but seemed to bounce off every wall of the alley, surrounding him.

Any excitement he had about the encounter was now gone. Replaced by a looming dread. Probably something his prey often felt when he was on the hunt. Wait, was he the prey here?

"What?" He questioned, doing his best to keep a calm voice.

"What a… Time to be alive…" The voice continued, and it seemed to almost shift. Like it was rising further into the air above. Despite being able to see the woman's legs, there was something else in that darkness. Something that hungered.

"Assuming, of course, you are alive…" It continued, and Argent felt the overwhelming need to run, but despite that, he remained rooted to the spot. Somehow, he just knew, if he ran, he would die.

It paused, seemingly lost in thought… Then suddenly, it spoke again, this time from a different angle, like the voice's head was sliding along the ground.

"All the glorious misery," it said, but this time, he also heard another voice.

A male voice whispered directly into his ear now, "Did you see me?"

Startled, Argent whipped around to find no one there. Only to feel his spine shiver upon realizing he had turned his back to whatever was behind him. Whirling around again, the man saw that indeed the shadows had crept closer while he wasn't looking, and he couldn't help but take a step back.

"I love the way misery infects humans…" It continued, at least confirming it was indeed not human and probably not Faunus.

He needed to retreat from this situation. The unnatural hunger, the unnerving shadows, the thing's speech. Argent knew that he had been lured into a trap.

Then it discussed a new topic, one that made his entire being freeze in fear. "Remember that girl you butchered by the docks? Or the burning building full of screams from the locked doors?"

"Did you see me?" The voice whispered directly behind his ear again and Argent just barely resisted the urge to turn around.

"I remember..." It whispered.

He wasn't just afraid because of whatever this creature could do but because of what it knew. It had been watching him and analyzing his every action. No one had figured out yet that the office building had been his fault. He had barred all the exits before burning it down with everyone inside but no reporter or officer had figured him out. But it had.

"Remember the latest… tragedy in the news?" It whispered, almost excited to describe everything he had been doing.

"I do, I was there," it whispered to him, and now the voice was coming from up high, the male and female whispers descending down to him. It was as if the head of whatever this thing was sat at the top of the alley, but that would be five stories high…

"Did you see me?" The voice at his back whispered again.

"Stop it!" He shouted, pressing his back against the wall of the alley to keep the voice from getting behind him more.

But it continued, ignoring his pleas as the world around them passed by, oblivious to his terrifying situation. "You may not have been looking then. But had you been looking, I'm sure you would have seen…"

"Did you see me?" The whisper asked again, somehow still from behind him. And as he turned his gaze towards the wall, he could see it shifting, as if the wall itself was part of the creature and talking to him.

He yelled, not out of anger, but dread as he stumbled away and fell onto his rear. His head whipped around towards the creature once again and he noted his lapse had caused it to get closer once more.

Argent scrambled back as he whimpered out, "What do you want?" Its response didn't answer his question. It almost felt like he was part of a one-sided conversation.

"As long as there is pain, suffering, and tragedy… I will always be there…"

As the voice bounced off the walls, the shadows slowly began to creep towards him as he felt it whisper in his ear, "Did you see me?"

That distorted voice grew in volume, seemingly growing excited as it rose once more to the top of the alley. "To see the horribly beautiful and suffering faces in someone's last moment of life." It was bordering on almost manic glee as the myriad of voices moaned and laughed at the same time. "To see the even worse faces reacting to someone's death."

"I think you understand these cravings?"

Enough with the games! "Who are you?!" He shouted, trying to rise to his feet in a show of defiance.

"You already know, because you're just like us," it answered, the voices repeating the word "us" over and over.

As the voices spoke to him, a long thin arm stretched out from the darkness. It was pitch black–like a Grimm's arm–and long, very long. In fact, he couldn't see its end as it disappeared into the darkness. The spindly thing traveled over ten feet until it was hovering just in front of him.

Was it a Grimm? But Grimm couldn't be this… Articulate! How could one even get into the city like this? No, he refuted that possibility, this was something far more terrifying.

"I will always be there for you now. To guide you," it said, the hand and its bone-like fingers stretched out, longer than any finger should be, and gently caressed his face.

But instead of warmth, instead of comfort or kindness. All he could feel was that same hunger, like it wanted to devour him whole. And… It was familiar…

Because that feeling made him hunger too. Is that what it meant, they were the same because they had that same hunger? The same need to feel and feed upon another's emotions.

"And…"

As it began, that same whisper came to him. "Did you see me?"

"When you see me, it's already too late. Suffering and death are already here." Its voice was almost taunting now as it removed the hand from his face.

Wait, darkness, whispers, complete madness? A creature living in the shadows of Vale and whispering to people in the darkness… He had heard of it. He knew what this was now…

"So look for me, or don't, it will never change the outcome and your new purpose."

The Sunless Whisper–for that was what he knew it was–slithered back into the darkness from when it came. That long spindly arm disappearing with it. But he didn't feel alone, because he knew.

Argent knew that it was always watching and waiting. Waiting for the next victim of suffering, of pain and fear, so it could feed. Just like him.

It had a purpose for him, one that he already reveled in. Now his skillset would be put to a higher calling. Was this what he had been searching for since his first? Was this why he had wandered from profession to profession, for this moment?

As the terror began to fade from his body as a smile encompassed the Phantom's face once more. Because there was a creature far worse than him in the darkness, and it had a purpose for him. One that was going to feed him all those emotions he just loved to feel from his victims.

Turning, the murderer made his way out of the alley with a newfound purpose.

Author's Notes:

Much of this chapter was based off the video "The Man With The Upside-down Face" by David Near. It's mostly just a voice over for the character but it served as inspiration for this. Hope you enjoyed.

Someone asked if the Faunus student from last chapter was inspired by Death from Puss in Boots. Yes, he was. At least, just in weapon and a tad bit in appearance.

Lastly, someone asked "what's the plan when the chapters run out?" Know, that I plan on continuously uploading for the next year and 3 months or so. Twice a month. I am actively writing the new chapters while posting older chapters I wrote almost a year ago now. When the time comes that we EVENTUALLY run out, the current arc will be complete. At that point I will go on another hiatus to finish writing a prequel to this story and to once more outline the story ahead.