Miller 20
Nicholaus Miller
Professor Crombie
ENC 1102
25 April 2017
The Silver Eyed Legend
(For my readers that know nothing about the animated web series Rwby produced by the company Rooster Teeth, let me give you a little bit of background so you will understand how the world works and you won't be lost. The world is populated by Humans, Faunus and Grimm. Faunus are humans that have some animal traits. Blake Belladonna, for example, is a cat faunus as she has two cat ears on top of her head. Another trait that most faunus have is near perfect vision at night. Every living thing on the planet Remnant has aura. The manifestation of one's soul. Aura creates a passive shield around the body that protect from fatal blows and can heal minor wounds. Huntsmen can be trained to direct their flow of aura to protect from an even greater attack, heal a wound faster or even charge up and attack to make the attack more fatal. But there is a level of control only elite fighters can achieve, Semblance. A Semblance is a more tangible form of aura that is unique to the user. For Blake Belladonna, she can create a clone copy of her to take a hit meant for her or use it for other strategies. Yang Xiao Long can absorb damage received, amplify it and send back to the opponent in a fiery punch. And Ruby Rose has super speed. Also, a great side note here is that MOST weapons in Rwby transform into different forms, because reasons. There are also special crystals called dust that contain elemental abilities. The reason for these great fighters is to protect against the creatures of Grimm. Grimm are natural killers that only hunt humans and their creations. These creatures are theorized to be negative emotions materialized as that is what draws a grimm to its prey. As an added factor the grimm bodies decay at a rate that a corpse will dissipate in a matter of moments. Grimm come in a multitude of forms ranging from wolfs, birds, bears, giant scorpions and even a dragon and nuckelavee. They also grow natural armor to help them survive fights with their prey as grimm don't have souls and therefore cannot generate aura. Any way that's all the background info I feel you will need to keep up with the story. Good luck and I hope you enjoy the reading of what I think happened in an event very important to the main story of Rwby.)
Ozpin (the Headmaster of Beacon, one of the four schools designed to train huntsmen to fight the grimm horde.) sat at his desk. He was wearing a dark green suit with a cross on his scarf. Ozpin sat there thinking. Is this mission safe. I've planned for every possible mistake and I've recruited the best fighters I could. But why do I feel like something just won't work out. As Ozpin questioned if he made the right choice, his chosen huntsmen walked out of the elevator. Summer Rose and Qrow Branwen two members of what many would debate as the best team to ever graduate Beacon. Summer wore a black shirt with a red skirt. Knee high black boots and a white cloak hanging off her shoulders. A white hood covered her shoulder length black hair with red tints at the end. Qrow was wearing an untucked light grey button up shirt with a dark grey portion on the front and long black pants. A red tattered cape flowed up his back.
"Mr. Ozpin, you sent for us." Said Summer meekly.
Ozpin was startled as he didn't even notice the people walk into the room. "Ah yes, Ms. Rose. I'm sorry for the inconvenience to the three of you. But I must ask a very serious request." Ozpin paused as he got up and walked over to the two huntsmen. "You must not mention what I am asking of you outside of this office. What I am asking will probably shake you to the core of your being." He turned and looked at the two of them. Her silver eyes and his red eyes stared back at him.
"I need you two to go on a mission to kill the lord Grimm." He proclaimed with no hesitation. Both huntsmen recoiled from that line. Eyes widening in shock.
"Um sir, pardon me but, What?" Said Qrow in his usual calm and collected demeanor. "What in the world is a lord Grimm? What can this new thing even do?"
"It's not a new Grimm. In fact, it is probably the first Grimm. From the lore and legends, I've been gathering over the years, I believe that I have found the location it resides in. To the south is the land that connects Vacuo to Vale. To the very south of the continent is a thick forest that we believe to hold the location of the grimm leader. I want you two and a few more carefully picked individuals to go and kill the Lord grimm."
"Oh yeah, and you think that will get rid of all the other grimm. Tell me this Oz, if you believe we can kill the lord of all grimm, then why hasn't the lord grimm been killed with all the soldiers that Atlas is producing."
Summer throws a quick glare at Qrow, telling him to keep his mouth shut. Ozpin merely responds "Their army is impressive, but we have something in this room that a mere soldier could never replicate, silver eyes."
Summer turns in shock to Ozpin. "What about my eyes?"
"Have you never been told the story about the Silver Eyed Warriors?" Ozpin shocked by her own lack in knowledge of her own abilities.
"Of course I have, but that's it a story told to kids." Summer responded with much confusion. "Silver Eyed Warriors are supposed to be the best of the best fighters, able to take one look at a grimm and kill them. But there is no way having a rare eye color can stop those monsters on their own."
"Stories, even false ones, start somewhere. Summer, you are important to humanity winning this fight. Soldiers won't be as skilled as you are on the battlefield. Please, help me. Help me save our future generations from this atrocity we live in."
Summer thought back to her daughter Ruby, barely three years old. She wanted nothing more than to have her baby girl run through fields without worry, live a normal life away from the terrors that haunted Summers dreams. Her dark brown eyes looking over the seas free of grimm as she fished with her father. Qrow looked at Summer and thought the same thoughts. Both were convinced of what they needed to do.
"We'll do it!" they both said in unison.
Ozpin sighed a little breath of relieve. He opened the door again and directed them to follow him. They took the elevator down to the fifth basement and stepped off. They entered a long dark hallway. The room was occupied by a few more huntsmen. Ozpin ordered everyone to stand side by side as he introduced everyone to the new huntsmen.
"Staff sergeant James Ironwood and first lieutenant Dexter Timberland will bring a small platoon of atlesian knights for protection. Next we have Hazel Rainart and Gira Belladonna, they will be the strength of the mission. We have a small team because we don't wish to make a panic. We all know what that would create." Ozpin added "Gira is here with a few soldiers of his own. They are here to represent The White Fang as a demonstration of humans and faunus working together. (The White Fang is a group of peaceful protestors that protest the mistreatment of faunus' all around the world. Gira is like Remnants MLK.)
"Now then everyone. Summer here is going to be the final ace, our final shot to save humanity. And Qrow is here because of his Semblance." Ozpin stated.
Everyone looked at Qrow in curiosity. Qrow responded with "My Semblance… it's misfortune. It's always active and it's untargeted. Those around me experience bad luck, this works extraordinary against my opponents, but it also works on teammates. So, in battle, stay way. I can handle myself."
Ozpin addressed all of them "We leave in one day. Gather any supplies you see fit and we will leave tomorrow under the cover of dusk. Don't tell anyone of the importance of this mission. We wouldn't want to start a panic and draw in the grimm."
Everyone nodded and got on the elevator to go on their own way.
…
On the island of patch off the continent of Sanus, Summer and Qrow and a little girl in red get off an air ship. They walk up to a standalone house. A short haired blonde man walks out to great them. He was wearing tan shorts and a light tan button shirt and a brown vest. "Hey guys, long time no see."
"Hey Tai!" Summer yelled. Qrow nodded at Tai, "Hello again."
"So, what's this visit about?" Tai asked them.
Summer responds "Well, we need to go on a mission and we hoped you could look after Ruby for a bit." Tai squatted down and picked up the excited girl and twirled her around.
"Sure I'll look after the little one." He set down Ruby. "Now go find Yang and play, she should be in the backyard." Ruby ran off in search of her friend. Tai turned to his friends. "Now, what's going on? Why are you guys going on a mission so suddenly?"
"We are going to the south to ki-"
"It's a routine recon mission. Some huntsmen went missing in an area down south that Oz wants us to find." Qrow interrupted. Summer glared at Qrow. Then she remembered that she wasn't supposed to tell anyone their mission. "We don't know how long it will take so we wanted to make sure Ruby had someone looking after her."
"Do you know if Raven has anything to do with the missing huntsmen?" (Summer, Tai, Raven and Qrow used to be a part of a team called Strq, pronounced Stark, While Summer and Qrow got together, Tai and Raven got married and had a kid. Then Raven left the family to go return to the bandit tribe she and her brother Qrow came from.)
"No, we don't know much of anything about the situation. But Oz still wants us to see if anyone survived."
"Should I come with?" Tai asked.
Summer quickly responded "Then who would look after the children?" Tai Yang just looked at the ground. "Oh yeah, I can't just leave her."
"Summer, Qrow" Tai looked at them both in the eyes. "If you find Raven, let her know just how much she's hurt me, hurt Yang."
Qrow nodded. "Come on Summer, we need to get supplies. Bye Tai."
"Bye Tai!" Summer yelled as they walked away.
…
The next day the entire team gathered together at the dock. Qrow and Summer looked around at all their new teammates. Lt. Timberland and SSG. Ironwood were wearing white uniforms that commanded respect and displayed their value as soldiers. LT. Timberland was inspecting the twenty atlesian knights and ten faunus soldiers while SSG. Ironwood followed suit. Every soldier had fear in their eyes. They never unlocked their aura, they were only protected by the armor on their backs and the rifles in their hands. They may not have been protected by any aura, but to those who survived they would become famous for being a part of the group that saved humanity. Gira and Hazel were having friendly banter off to the side. Hazel was wearing a dark green tunic with light green accents over a black shirt and black pants. His beard was short and very well managed. Whereas Gira was wearing a purple over coat with white fur outlining. He had a shoulder guard on his left shoulder and a small chest piece covering his abdomen. No undershirt with tan pants with knee high boots. His beard was long enough to hide his neck. Both men were heavily built, and gave off the aura that they could snap Summer and Qrows fragile bodies.
"I bet me and my men will kill the lord grimm, while you and your knights are stuck fighting beowolfs and ursas." Bellowed Gira.
"No, you are mistaken. The soldiers will be fighting the beowolfs. But I will be the one to take down the beast. And I won't be stopped." Hazel returned. Patting Gira on the back. "You ready to kill some worthless creatures!"
"Ready as ever!" Gira yelled at the top of his lungs. Qrow continued to stare at the two muscle bound fools.
Summer looked around to see how everyone else was doing. That was when she spotted Ozpin standing off to the side looking at Summer, then he motioned for her to follow as he walked away from the platform. Summer ran over to him, curious about what he wanted.
"Ms. Rose," Ozpin started, "I want you to know this. This mission is for the future generations. We can't fail. You may not believe the story about silver eyed warriors now but I assure you." He stopped and looked Summer right in the eyes. His amber eyes stared deeply into hers, "Your skills as a huntress are going to be put to the test. We can't lose this battle, but if the mission should go south and you feel that you need to escape, leave." He hands her a small red and black crystal. "We can't afford to lose you. We can always launch another attack when we have even better soldiers."
Summer looked at the small gem placed in her hand. "What am I supposed to do with this? And what do you mean when we have better soldiers, are these not the best you could gather?"
Ozpin stared at her directly in the eyes, "These are the best we could gather under the circumstances. But even with the best we can gather we don't know what it will be like when we get there. Having you coming back with information will help make the next attack run smoother. With regards to the crystal, I have made an agreement with another that should you need help they will come for you and rescue you. All you need to do is clutch the crystal and call out for their help."
Summer wondered who could Ozpin of made that deal with. And who would be fast enough to rescue her if she was in danger. "Come now Ms. Rose, we must make our way back to the aircrafts. We wouldn't want to leave our last resort back at home." Ozpin stated as he walked back to the aircrafts.
…
Three airships travel towards the south. Two soldiers are stationed on the sides of the aircraft. Griffins and nevermore tried to swarm the ships but they would just get repelled by the gun fire.
Summer was sitting next to Qrow, discreetly holding the crystal, rubbing her fingers up and down the smooth surface.Summer began thinking, what am I supposed to do if everything goes wrong? Can I leave my husband and all the other people who are risking their lives to go on this mission just because of my eye color? The captain always goes down with his ship, so why can't I fight to the last along with everyone else? Summer began looking around the air ship. She saw the numerous other people on board. Both humans and faunus putting aside race and hatred for the other to go fight for a better future. She held the rock tightly. She wouldn't use the gem; she won't let it end that way. Summer was more determined to make sure as many of these brave soldiers would go home to their families. We will be victorious! She slipped the gem into a pocket in her cloak and rested her head on Qrow. Qrow wrapped his arm around her. He was her guardian; nothing would get through him and his blade.
About an hour later the aircrafts stopped and began to descend into a big clearing. The ramps opened and everyone got out. Ahead of them was a thick forest. The pilot quickly said, "This is as far as I can take you. Beyond here the grimm get too intense for our guns. Plus, there isn't any good landing zones."
"This is far enough friend. We'll call for you when we come back here. But until then get to where you can easily defend yourselves." LT. Timberland responded. After the team got off and took with them the necessary supplies the aircrafts took off and headed north. Everyone watched until the crafts were out of sight. Then when everyone came to terms that they had just crossed the point of no return, they turned around to face the thick forest ahead. For all they knew grimm could be just inside the thicket ready to pounce and tear whoever they could to shreds. This was the homeland of humanities greatest threat. They might as well of been served on a silver platter.
"So the grimm breeding grounds. This should be fun. We have thirty-five soldiers armed to the teeth and six huntsmen with unlocked aura and powerful weapons. All of us verses who knows how many grimm." Hazel stated. "May the brothers be looking down on our poor souls."
"Already quitting I see, eh Hazel." Gira grunted. "I guess that leaves all the fun for me. I have a little girl at home. I don't know about you but I won't be able to look at her or Kali again if I were to back down without giving it my all." He looked at Summer. "So savior, lead the way."
Summer looked up at the big man. His tall form intimidating but he was radiating a warmth that gave her confidence. He nodded and started walking towards the forest. The soldiers gathered around to form a sort of barrier. The huntsmen also formed their own circle around Summer. She looked around at everyone, they trusted this mission so much they would put their own lives at stake just to ensure that she makes it to the final fight. With no hesitation, these people she didn't know would charge into hell for her. Their strength gave her a boost that she was desperately needing. They trust me with their lives and I'll make sure that I return them.
As they moved through the forest, outside of their view grimm moved through the forest with ease, never losing sight of the group of people. Normally these grimm would be charging in to kill as many as they could, but these grimm where smart. They knew that all them could over power the people on the outside, but how many of them would even survive the huntsmen in the middle. Instead they waited their turn, stalking from the shadows, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.
The humans weren't stupid though, they knew something was off. So, they kept watch listening. Every now and then they might catch a glimpse of their white armor or their red eyes. They could hear the grimm traveling with them, they were surrounded. But how long until the standoff breaks and the slaughter begins. No one knew, but they kept moving forward. They were determined to complete their mission.
After a day of tense traveling, the travelers gathered up in a small clearing. They started a sleep schedule that would allow for half of the soldiers and two huntsmen to be asleep at any point. Halfway through the night Summer and SSG. Ironwood along with the human soldiers. Qrow, Gira, LT. Timberland and Hazel were on constant alert. Grimm were constantly circling the site. LT. Timberland held onto his pistol. It was a semiautomatic pistol capable of firing simple shots, while a revolving chamber full of high explosive rounds full of fire dust that can create small explosions on impact. Hazel had gauntlets on his wrists with fire, ice and thunder dust infused into the metal a simple punch would have massive effects on the target. Qrow walked in a circle, his single edged broadsword sat on his right shoulder, ready to swing through any enemy that stood in his way. Then there was Gira, for a weapon he chose to stick with a simple halberd. His weapon couldn't transform or hold any dust like his companions, but Gira was certain his strength alone would be capable of helping him out in a fight. (Hey, a little side note, I understand these weapons would be completely unusable if real life physics were to be applied. I'm aware and, I would like to think, most of the RWBY community are aware of this fact as we watch anime on a regular basis and know just how much suspension of disbelieve one needs in order to enjoy these over the top weapons. I mainly watch the show for the fight scenes. So just bear with me and just set aside reality.)
Hazel looked over at his sleeping companions. Summer held a sword, but when he looked at SSG. Ironwood he saw a simple machine gun that the other atlas soldiers used. Hazel turned to LT. Timberland, "Hey, why does he carry standard issue weaponry? Shouldn't he be carrying something with a bit more power?"
LT. Timberland returned, "That is his weapon of choice. He doesn't know what his semblance is so he has no way to build a weapon based around it. So, he stuck with standard issued gear as that is what he is most comfortable with." LT. Timberland paused and looked at the young huntsman, "That doesn't mean he is in any worse shape. He may carry the same gear as the others but his mind is sharp, he knows the limit of his weapons and the people around him. On a battlefield, I would trust his mind over a recommended strategist. He accounts for fatigue, moral dilemmas, how his troops are feeling, how much ammo everyone has. There isn't a single detail that slips by him. Honestly I wouldn't doubt if that was his semblance. The perfect mind for combat."
Hazel looked over at the boy, so young but so gifted. "So that is why an enlisted was brought on this trip, he is going t-"
"MOVE!" Gira shouted as he tackled Hazel and Timberland to the ground. A giant nevermore missed swallowing all three by inches. Heavy gunfire sounded as all the soldiers started firing at the advancing beowolfs and ursas. The nevermore flew high up into the sky and went to circle back around. Everyone who was sleeping suddenly jolted awake. Summer and Ironwood only glanced around for half a second before they knew what was happening. Summer jumped into action, her sword hilt extended into the handle for a javelin. She started using large sweeping motions to cut as many grimm as she could. SSG. Ironwood fired at any grimm that got too close but was mainly concerned with seeing what he could on the battlefield.
Gira got off the other two huntsmen and started using his halberd to defend the two huntsmen. "GET UP NOW! DO YOU HONESTLY PLAN TO TAKE ON THIS FIGHT FROM A SITTING POSITION!" Gira yelled with intense ferocity. LT. Timberland got up, "Men form a circle, don't let these monsters get behind you or you will die!" He picked up his pistol and ran over to SSG. Ironwood. Hazel stood up and started punching grimm that dared get in arms reach. Fire and lightning pulsed through their bodies with every punch.
The atlas and faunus soldiers kept firing at the grimm. Their ammo was running dry, but their gun fire was keeping the grimm from advancing. SSG. Ironwood turned to Lt. Timberland, "I have a plan. We can't just stay here or else we will be over run. We should have the faunus soldiers break a whole in the grimm ranks that we can escape through. The faunus are more capable of seeing in the dark, we can use that ability of theirs to maneuver through the forest. All atlas soldier should stay to the rear to provide protection from attacks from the back. We should be close to the lair of the lord grimm. All we have to do is keep running." At this point in time the nevermore returned to the battlefield and stopped in midair. It pulled its wings back and then shot them forward so fast that it fired giant feathers that might as well been giant arrows. These feathers riddled the ground. The attack killed four atlas soldier and three faunus soldiers. The huntsmen barely dodged a feather coming after him. Then Ironwood heard a scream from behind. He turned to see the feather that had missed him went clean through LT. Timberland, nailing him to the ground. SSG. Ironwood ran to his side. The other soldiers kept trying to push back against the grimm onslaught. LT. Timberland reached up and grabbed Ironwoods head and focused the boys attention. Gasping between breaths he muttered, "Ironwood, get the silver eyed warrior to the lord grimm. That is your mission. Use my pistol to fire some rounds into the grimm to create that opening. May the brothers give you luck." Ironwood ran to the other huntsmen and told them the plan.
"If you say it will work then I will have my men push through." Gira said. "No time!" Ironwood responded, pointing the pistol to the south and fired three quick explosive rounds. He yelled "Escape now!". Ironwood turned to the other huntsmen, "Explain the plan to your people on the move, we just need to get out of here."
Gira yelled for faunus soldiers to lead the way. Summer and Hazel pushing grimm back preventing them from closing the hole that Ironwood had opened. Qrow had dropped the blade to reveal a gun at the hilt of the sword, the high force impact of the shots launched the grimm that didn't get eviscerated back into trees that killed them on impact. After the Atlas soldiers retreated Summer, Hazel and Qrow charged after them. The faunus quidded the humans as best they could through the forest. Suddenly a King Taijitu slithered in front of the group. Fangs bared at the prey running at it. But before it could eat anyone, Gira launched forward and cut off its head in a single swing.
The Faunus kept pushing forward, the atlas soldiers and huntsmen in the back kept the grimm from attacking as much as they could. Finally, the faunus saw a cave and charged into it. The team charged through the cave, but they just came to a large open cavern. The team looked around to find no exits. "Hey, uhh guys. Where did the grimm chasing us go?" an atlas soldier asked. Everyone looked behind them, there was nothing. Qrow walked to where he could see the entrance. "Hey guys. The grimm are just standing there. Either these mindless monsters know something we don't or they don't like this cave."
Summer looked around the giant open cave, but couldn't see anything. "So, is this the wrong cave or is the lord grimm just gone?" Everyone started to look around, the large open cavern was barren of any signs of life. The rock walls were slimy and cool to the touch. The sounds of the grimm outside echoed throughout the cavern. Hazel started looking up at the roof of the cave when it dropped on him. His scream alerted everyone to the threat. In the center of the cave was a giant mass, black smoke emanated from the creature. The mass didn't have any white plates for armor like the other grimm, but it still had the mask. A simple white mask with red lines running over the mask. And not to mention the soulless red eyes.
All the warriors stared at the monstrosity in horror. The giant creature was laying on top of the body of Hazel, his boots barely poking out from underneath. This wasn't like any grimm that they had seen before. The creatures mask slid across its body until it stopped looking at SSG. Ironwood. Then with lightning fast actions it shot two large needle at the staff sergent. Ironwood managed to dodge one of the needles, but the other one struck him in the right shoulder ripping off his arm. All in the span of two seconds two huntsmen had been taken out of the fight. Silver colored energy raced over Ironwoods body before it focused in on the missing limb. His aura now focused on slowing the bleeding.
This spurred action in the remaining warriors. Gunfire rang out almost immediately. But the bullets passed through the massive slime grimm and struck whatever was on the other side. The bullets flew in all directions and all soldiers fell to friendly fire. Aura prevented the huntsmen from dying to the panic. The only ones who remained where Summer, Qrow, and Gira. All at in a triangle around the beast, they all looked at the beast with terrified expressions. If this thing had allowed bullets to pass with no effort, how were their swords supposed to kill the creature.
The grimm rolled off the body of Hazel and charged at Gira. The speed of the creature was incredible considering its makeup. It slammed into Gira pinning him to the wall, then it tried to smother Gira in its slime. Qrow and Summer charged at it, they tried to pry Gira out of its grasp. Suddenly the mask of the creature moved to where it could see Summer, then another needle shot through her stomach and Summer was launched clear across the cave.
"Summer!" He took his sword and started slashing at the creature, careful not to swing in a way that he might hit Gira. The creature slid its mask over to Qrow but before it could hit him the blade of his broadsword dropped and revealed a gun barrel, he shot the grimms mask shattering it. The slime lost all cohesiveness and began melting. Gira fell out of the creature and landed face first onto the ground. Qrow quickly checked to see if he was alive, then when he was satisfied he ran over to his wife. She was bleeding badly from a hole just to the left of the stomach, barely missing vital organs. But she was still alive, her red aura slowing the bleeding and trying to repair what it could. Summer was barely conscious and was paying more attention to the pain then her panicking husband.
"It's ok, you're going to be ok. We did our mission; we can go home now." Qrow stated in a rushed panic, he rushed to a nearby soldier and started pulling out first aid supplies and he tried to patch her up.
"Hey, is she ok?" Ironwood managed to squeak out. Qrow quickly glanced over at the staff sergent. He was clutching the spot of where his right arm used to go. Blood covered the wall and ground around him.
"She's wounded but she's holding on." Qrow responds. SSG. Ironwood got up and stumbled his way over to Summer. She was slowly coming back to consciousness. The pain in her gut was overpowering. She opened her eyes, her aura had healed the wound to the point she had a much better chance at surviving.
Suddenly laughter echoed throughout the cavern. Qrow and Ironwood looked behind them. There stood Hazel, laughing. Why was he laughing? Why is he still alive?
"This is going to make my mission so much easier." Then the grimm that were waiting outside slowly started walking in, the grimm started to circle around the wounded huntsmen ignoring Hazel. "Did you honestly expect to find the lord grimm in a place like THIS?!" He motioned to the cave. Hazel continued, "Our queen wouldn't be caught dead in a place like this. This place, as we've just proven, doesn't take long to get to." The grimm stayed in a circle around the huntsmen, waiting. Hazel gaffed, "These mindless creatures are perfect soldiers. And all under my control." He turned to face a beowolf, "Kill the beast to your right."
The beowolf attacked the beowolf to the right of it, ripping the other one to shreds. "See, these things will do anything you tell them." He turned back to the others, "So do really think I was in any danger under that failure?"
Qrow reached for his sword but grabbed air. He turned to look and saw that he had left it over by Gira after he had killed the creature. He looked back at Hazel who had very smug look on his face. SSG. Ironwood still holding onto his right shoulder just stared at Hazel. The pain nearly forcing Ironwood to lose consciousness.
"Looks like you all have fallen to some bad misfortune." He said mockingly to Qrow. Hazel moved over to Qrow and picked him up by the throat and tossed him into the cave wall. Qrow fell to the cave floor barely conscious. Hazel ordered the grimm, "Kill him." Hazel watched as the grimm closed in on his enemy. "DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HIM!"
Suddenly a bright white light filled the room. When Hazel could see again all the grimm had been turned to statues. Hazel turned around with a smile on his face. Standing on the other side of the cave was Summer Rose. White light was streaming from her eyes, she reached out her hand towards Qrows sword. His sword flew into her hand, Summer then transformed it into its scythe form. She flew towards Hazel, striking towards his face. Hazel brought up his armored hand to block the blade. Summer swung the blade and placed it behind Hazels kneecaps and made him lose his balance.
On the ground, Hazel glanced up to see the curved blade dropping towards his face. Hazel rolled to the right and kicked her in the leg. This small action gave Hazel enough time to stand up and punch Summer in her side. Electricity flowed through her body making her convulse. Summer fell to the floor, her eyes returned to normal and she dropped Qrows sword.
"So that's the power of a sliver eyed warrior." He knocks on a ursa statue. "Salem told me to be careful. Even though it is most effective against grimm, you still become momentarily powerful." Hazel walked over to Summer then picked her up. Placing his hands on the sides of her head. "But you're still human, anything that weakens normal people affects you too. So how about we level the playing field." Hazel smiled looking her in the eyes. Hazel then moved his thumbs over Summers eyes and started pressing down. Summer started kicking and clawing at Hazel trying to get him to stop, she started screaming at the top of her lungs, shredding her throat to shreds.
…
Halfway across the continent on the Island of patch, Ruby felt a massive pain in her head, her eyes burned. Her screaming woke up Taiyang and Yang. Tai came rushing into the room to comfort her. The pain running through her head was one of the worst pains the little girl had ever known.
…
Qrow woke up and stared at the nightmare in front of him. Summer being held up while Hazel slowly applies pressure to her eyes. He tried to get up but his ribs were broken, every motion caused incredible pain. Qrow tried to crawl to his sword, but his aura couldn't heal his bones fast enough. Qrow was helpless, his love was getting tortured right in front of him and he couldn't do anything about it.
Hazel turned to look at Qrow, "Hey, what's wrong little birdy? Aren't you going to help, or are you just too weak?" He returned his attention to Summer. "Oh well, I guess my play time with her is over." He applied enough pressure to her eyes to finally pop them. The pain Summer was feeling was too much, so much that she passed out. Hazel took her body and slammed it onto the floor. A small red and black crystal rolled out from her cloak. Qrow became furious when he saw it. "Salem gave orders to eliminate the threat. So, I can't just leave her like this. She might survive." Hazel stated. He then took his boot and placed it on the side of Summers head, pressing harder and harder against her skull. Finally, his boot caved in her skull, allowing smashed grey matter to spill onto the floor. Hazel smiled, "Mission complete. Now, my mission isn't to kill you. But you know my affiliation with Salem. So, I can't let you live. But, I guess this far away from the four kingdoms and with only two other people alive." He looked over at SSG. Ironwood, "One other person in a short bit. I guess you'll just have to die here." He walked out the cave. Then, Qrow heard a nevermore land at the entrance and take off.
Qrow crawled towards the little crystal, moving at a snails pace even though the pain in his chest argued against every motion. He had to get to the crystal. After a short while, Qrow finally got to the crystal. He picked it up and started shouting, "Raven! I know you can hear me. Get over here right this instant!" The crystal shattered and a red and black portal opened. A woman wearing red attire walked out. She was carrying a large container of interchangeable sword blades in her left hand and a large red katana in her right. A red and white mask covering her face, her red eyes stared right at Qrow. Raven grunted, "What do you want? Haven't you already gotten your one chance?" Qrow looked at his older sister. She was as annoying as she had ever been. "Wait, wasn't Summer supposed to summon me?" She looked around and saw all the bodies. Then, her eyes fell on the form of her former leader. Her small fragile form twisted on the ground, her eyes destroyed and her head crushed. The blood started to stain her solid white cloak. Ravens eyes widened, "What happened here?" Qrow looked up at her, "You made a deal with Oz didn't you? You'd save Summer when things got to difficult and save the day? Well look at what happened. Summer never got a chance to use the crystal and now only three people from this trip are left alive!"
Raven turned back to Qrow, "Wait, three? Who else is alive?" Qrow pointed to SSG. Ironwood and Gira Belladonna. Raven looked back down on her brother, "Why are you still on the floor? Don't tell me your back hurts. My brother, if you're that weak I don't know why I should even bother saving you."
"First off, my ribs are broken. Second, don't patronize me. I tried to save humanities future while you sat back hoping we would fail. You and Ozpin made a deal for you to come in and save someone, well why don't you start off by getting the three of us to a doctor!" Qrow screamed at her. Raven scoffed "The deal was to save Summer, not anyone else. Besides I've already saved your life once, why should I save you again. The weak die and the strong survive." "You haven't saved either of their lives, at least save them." Qrow begged. Raven looked back at the two men Qrow had pointed out. "I guess you have a point. Why waste my time coming here if I don't save someone."
Raven picked up Ironwood and carried him over to Gira. She swung her sword and opened a portal, she picked them up and dragged them through the portal. Qrow raced to his feet and raced after her. His body aching at every step, every breath, every inch. But he had to make it. This was his only chance. He was leaving his wife to rot on the floor of a cave no one knows where, but he needed to survive for his daughter. He pushed through the portal right before it closed falling onto the ground in front of the Beacon hospital. Raven turned to face Qrow in anger, "How DARE you? Abusing my kindness towards your comrades just so you can save yourself. And I thought you didn't have a single ounce of self-preservation in your body. Well, I guess that I didn't save you. But should another situation like this arise, I will kill you before anything else." Qrow stood there staring at her. "Yeah, yeah. But I won't be in this situation again. And when I see Hazel, I'm going to kill him. He needs to pay for what he's done." Qrow turned his back to her and started walking into the hospital. He heard Raven open a portal behind him and then it closed.
…
One week later, SSG. Ironwood was shipped to Atlas, Gira was sent home to his family in Menagerie. Qrow was walking up to Tai's house. How was he supposed to tell Tai about their leaders death? How was he supposed to tell little Ruby about her mother? He couldn't stand to think of her having to deal with the loss of her mother. Qrow stumbled up to the door. He slowly raised his hand, but before he could knock the door opened. Taiyang stood there, smiling. How could he smile? "Hey Qrow, how was the mission?" He turned behind him, "Ruby, Qrow's here!" Qrow kept his head down. How could he be so happy? Did he not get told about how poorly it all went down?
Ruby came running up with joy in her eyes. Wait those eyes! Qrow thought. He looked down at his little girl. Silver, just like her mothers. Just like her mothers. Qrow saw those eyes, but he couldn't stare back at them. How was he supposed to look at those eyes? He turned and ran. Tai chased after him screaming his name for a bit before he went back home to look after the kids.
The next day Tai went looking for Qrow and ended up finding him at a bar. "Qrow, why did you run off? Why are you here and not with your child?" Qrow looked at Tai with empty eyes. "I can't be with Ruby. I can't look at her. Those aren't her eyes. Her eyes are dark brown, not silver. Why are her eyes sliver?" Qrow asked crying into his hands. "Qrow, what happened on that mission? Where is Summer?" Tai asked worriedly. Qrow explained what happened at the mission, but he couldn't say what happened to Summer. The helplessness he felt in her final moments were just too much to bare. "If I look at her, all I will see is Summer, my failure. I never should have gone on that mission." He drowned himself further into his drink. "Tai, I need you to look after Ruby. I can't do it on my own, and certainly not as her father." Tai was shocked, "Qrow, she's your daughter. I can't look after her, I already have to take care of Yang now that her mother is gone." Qrow looked at him again with empty red eyes, "You won't be taking care of her alone. I'll train her, raise her to be as good as her mother. Maybe even better. But for now, I can't. I'm broken, Ruby will just be a constant reminder that I failed. Please Tai, I just need some time."
Tai looked at the bar table. "Qrow, she is your daughter. But if you need me to look after her I will. But under one condition, you must tell her the truth when she's older. We can't keep lying to her for her whole life." Qrow nodded and went back to his drink. He pulled out a picture of team Strq, he stared longingly at Summer and began to cry again.