Lost In The Storm: A RWBY AU!

Chapter 17 : The Shadows

Marss leaped towards Locker, intending on avenging Liam. Orias quickly appeared in front of him once more, effortlessly swinging his sword in front of Marss. Though the blade didn't connect, the force of the swing alone was enough to launch Marss backward. 

"Get out of my way!" Marss shouted, his eyes flashing red once more. Orias calmly placed his rapier in front of him before stepping on Locker's broken arm, earning a pained scream from the male. 

"Don't move." Orias ordered as Marss charged him once more. Marss' own eyes turned closed for a brief second, a move that would normally spell death for him. However, in this case, he needed to concentrate for a moment without any interruptions. The image of his mother's twisted expression ran fresh through his mind, causing him to hesitate in his movements. 

"Enough." Orias said to himself in his mind. He opened his eyes, the fear disappearing from every bone in his body as he did so. His eyes were now pitch black in contrast to Marss' scarlet red. 

Marss extended his left arm forward, intending on landing one punch to Orias' head in order to temporarily disable him. However, his speed, though faster than anything Orias had ever seen him display, was far from Orias' own. With one motion faster than the eye could see, Orias quickly slashed forward with his sword at full strength. The blade once again did not come in contact with Marss, however the force sent his already airborne body flying. In fact, the force of the sword was so great that Orias' swing cracked several buildings behind Marss while also knocking Marss unconscious from the blow. His body landed with a thud on the ground across the hole. Orias turned around, his eyes locking on to Locker's disabled body underneath him. He had lost consciousness, probably due to the pain. Saturn had disappeared in the turmoil, leaving Locker behind. 

Orias' rapier disappeared from his hand as he bent down and picked up Locker's unconscious body. 

---

Yang stared through the glass pane, her lilac eyes sadly glancing at the scene before her. Her father and the doctor conversed behind her, barely in ear-shot. She didn't care though. What she cared about was that Marss was alive and currently sedated. 

"He's heavily sedated. General Orias' orders. From the blood sample we took from him earlier, we can clearly tell that some substance was introduced into his body via needle. There are multiple needle scars in his right arm that support this. As for the substance..." Dr.Idris, a tall handsome dark-skinned doctor, said. He was the best doctor in all of Vale, second only to Lisanna Strauss. 

"You don't know, do you?" King Tai asked. Idris shook his head. 

"No, sir, I'm afraid I don't. We've never seen something like this before." Idris replied. 

"Keep working. I want to know what happened to him." King Tai commanded. Idris nodded before leaving the room. Tai walked up to his daughter, standing next to her as he too looked at Marss. 

"From what Orias tells me, Marss was trying to kill someone." Tai said, purposely avoiding her gaze. Yang looked at him questioningly, however he wasn't looking at her. 

"What?" She exclaimed. 

"No one's entirely sure why or how this happened. He's been underground for three months and he only activates Orias' semblance now?" Tai asked. The wheels in his mind were spinning, putting pieces together. 

"Marss would never kill someone." Yang continued, ignoring his random comment regarding Orias' semblance. 

"I know that, Yang. Three months isn't a lot of time for torture which means whatever they did to him... it's highly effective." Tai stated before finally looking at his daughter. 

"There's nothing we can do?" Yang asked, almost desperately.

"We're working on that, hun. For now, all we  can do is hope that we can at least remedy what they did."

---

Tai walked up behind Orias, leaning over the balcony with him. They were on the top of the hospital ward Marss was housed. 

"Explain to me in detail why you're so shaken, Orias." Tai ordered. Though he said it as an order, Orias knew Tai was just worried for his wellbeing. 

"A memory has come to haunt me. That's all." 

"I understand that the situation may seem slightly awkward, but if there is any information, you need to share it with me Orias." 

"I confirmed one of my theories. The Red Lightning Clan killed my mother." 

---

Blake appeared in front of Ruby, seemingly being spit out by the shadows. Wordlessly, Blake handed her a folded sheet of paper before turning past her. 

"Blake." Ruby called out, turning around to face the faunus. Blake turned around, silently facing the younger huntress. 

"Room 452." Ruby said before dropping her arms to her side and turning back towards the front hospital doors. She then walked towards them, leaving Blake alone to her devices. Blake's eyes narrowed slightly at her back before she quickly disappeared from sight and dashed towards the room number. 

---

Blake slowed as she approached the glass, deactivating her semblance and appearing to normal eyes once more. Her bright amber eyes scanned the scene before her. Marss was strapped to a hospital bed, several metal bars collecting themselves around his body and further pressing him down. He was still unconscious, however Orias stood in the room with him. His eyes gave a sad stare at Marss. 

Outside of the room, Blake was alone aside from nursing staff that walked past her every so often. She placed her hand on the glass, her fingertips gently pressing against it. It was that moment when her scroll began beeping. Someone was calling her. She slowly slid the device out of her pocket to read the name of the caller. Her eyes widened for a moment before returning to their normal state. 

"Where are you?" Adam Taurus asked after Blake answered the call. 

"The hospital. Marss was recovered this morning." Blake replied. 

"Interesting. And the information?" 

"Princess Ruby has it." 

"Good. I'm sure the King will enjoy the information." 

---

Several hours later, Orias sat in the darkened room. His face was between his palms, his elbows standing on top of his knees as he bent down in his chair. His pointer finger and middle finger on both hands were rubbing his temples. He had built a slight headache watching Marss sleep peacefully. Guilt racked his body, sending waves of self pity over his mind causing the headache. 

Orias suddenly lifted his head. His eyes were pitch black once more, however this time he was not in control. He had not commanded the shadows to appear within him. 

"No..." Orias breathed to himself. He knew why the shadows were appearing to him without his will. 

It was almost Marss' time.