The Night The Sky Was Red

How did everything get so bad? The night sky was red like blood, or that could have been the blood flowing from his charred face. His body pinned under debris from a sudden attack from the side. He wasn't a doctor but by the way his arm felt it was broken. "Move damn it!" He willed his body to do but his body gave up before his mind did. He could do nothing as his friends and family were torn apart all around him. He could see some of the men trying to fight but there was too many of them. Grimm, monsters of destruction whose sole purpose is to destroy humanity. The village was attacked by beowulf's from out of nowhere. Grimm covered in black fur and white bones that acted as armor. There huge teeth and claws ripped and tore apart anyone that moved.

Once we knew that recovering the village was out of reach we moved our efforts to evacuate the people. I ran through the village with an old rusted blade trying to help the soldiers when I was struck from behind. That's when I heard the screams of the people trying to evacuate, their route was cut off we couldn't escape. Now we were just sheep surrounded by wolves.

He grunted in pain from trying to move again.

There was a scream ahead of him through the smoke. A silhouette of something slowly made its way to him through the smoke. It was no villager but a beowolf. Blood dripping from its teeth, its red eyes full of unquenchable blood thirst and hatred. His left arm still held onto the sword, maybe if he waited till it was very close he could give the beast a run for its money. The Grimm stalked closer and closer till it was five feet away from him. Looking down at the defeated human with its soulless gaze. It lunged at him and the warrior thrust his blade to meet the challenge.

It hit its target!

The blade pierced through its eye, the beast roared in pain thrashing about taking the sword with it. The beast gripped the tiny blade in its claws and ripped it from its eye. It looked back towards the human that seemed to smirk at his determination to continue fighting.

Its teeth clamped down on his broken arm. Never in his entire life had he felt so much pain. He couldn't stop himself from screaming as it dragged him from underneath the rubble, arm still in its maw thrashing him about like a doll. He tried to kick it until the beast grabbed him by the leg and threw him into a wall. "Gah!" He fell on to his side unable to move a muscle. There was no way he was going to even try to get up now. He faded in and out of consciousness till the Grimm again stood above him. This time it only stared at him with a single eye. A weak grin crept onto his face, at least he didn't die without getting some payback. This would be an honorable death.

It moved to strike again to finish off the boy when something flashed in front of them. The Grimm made a sort of gurgling noise then its head slowly slid from its neck rolling only a few feet. A bird, a crow, flew from out of the corner of his eye and took up a perch on the Grimms head. It looked at him with abnormally red eyes, something in them gave him a feeling of familiarity but he didn't know what.

He chuckled weakly. "Are you a Grimm too bird?"

Suddenly he fell over on his face, he couldn't muster any strength. So young and the world was already taking him away from everything he knew. He tried to blink away the exhaustion but something seemed to be pulling on him to just close his eyes. He blinked again and suddenly in the place of the crow was a man. The sound of something being twisted off then chugging confused him. Is that liquor?

"You really tried to fight that Grimm in your state? Why?" The voice asked with a mixture of confusion and amusement.

"I-i have to defend my village. Please don't let my people die!" He screamed with all his might.

The man sighed in annoyance, the poor kid didn't even know.

"Kid I hate to say this but everyo-"

"NO!" He screamed again lashing out and grabbing the strangers blade with his hand.

"Give me your blade I'll cut them down myself, I'll kill them all!" He tried to get up but only screamed in pain, his body was done for. He could hear the stranger chuckle gravely.

The sound of growling Grimm could be heard all around them.

The stranger grabbed his longsword then with a flick of the wrist turned into a deadly scythe.

"Kid before I save your butt again why don't you tell me your name."

A smirk crawled up on his face before his head hit the dirt, his body finally giving up from the strain. In a weak tone, he said his name. "... Theo… Theo Gravewolfe."

Qrow Branwen couldn't help but chuckle to himself. "Well Theo don't you worry. My name is Qrow, and if this Huntsman isn't the strongest most handsome man in remnant then you can-"

He realized the boy was slumped over passed out. His chest still moved which was good.

A Grimm charged at him and the huntsmen slashed upward cleaving the beowulf in two. More Grimm appeared from the forest making him sigh. "This is going to be a long night," Qrow said to himself before raising his scythe over his head.


Theo awoke from his sleep slowly. He was staring at a ceiling that he didn't recognize. He sat up slowly trying to ignore the pain. Theos right arm and left eye were wrapped in bandages. Unlike his right arm, his left was fine. There was an aching pain when he tried to curl his fingers. When he finally got done taking off the bandages from his forearm he could see the damage. Teeth marks from the beowolf would now be a grotesque branding he would have to get used to. A gut-wrenching feeling hit him. If his arm was that bad how was his eye? There was a mirror across from him. Theo got out of bed slowly, he almost stumbled from the numbness in his legs but he made it. Now that Theo was in the mirror he hesitated for a moment. He didn't let it get to him and started to unravel his bandages.

A scar ran down through his eyebrow at the bottom of his left eye. A jagged reminder he would have to live with every day.

Something clicked inside him. Fury ran through his blood like a river. Everything just went red he couldn't stop it. His fists balled up and a black flame seemed to pool from his body enveloping him all over. His eyes looked towards the mirror again. His once black eyes turned into a blood orange. "What is happening?!" He put his hands on his face and screamed in pain. This anger hurt, it burned. Theo couldn't take it anymore and smashed the mirror. The door opened behind him and he spun around. A girl with yellow hair and purple eyes stared at him from the doorway.

The black flames around Theo's body began to touch everything. "Help me," Theo whispered falling to his knees praying the pain would go away.

"Uncle Qrow!" She yelled. The flames seemed to move into her soul. Spreading throughout her body like a poison till Yang fell over clutching her chest. She couldn't breathe.

Qrow ran from the living room to see his niece writhing on the floor. "What is this!?" Qrow said as he picked up his niece. That same feeling began to fill his body. If it wasn't for his aura he might have been done for. The huntsmen ran from the house and into fresh air where it was easier to breathe. He leaned her up against the tree where she took huge gulps of air back into her lungs.

"Yang stay here I'll get him out!"

Yang wanted to scream for him to come back but her senses were all disoriented. Being outside lifted that crushing feeling she felt before. Whatever that power was she wished never to feel it again.

Qrow ran back inside and immediately felt that suffocating power again. Now the flames reached the living room. But It didn't burn anything. It was more like a poisonous flame but he knew better to further inspect it. He wrapped his cloak around his face hoping it would help but it was to little effect. Qrow made it back towards the room where Theo was still on his knees. He whispered to himself trying to calm himself down but this power seemed to be growing stronger from his pleas. The huntsmen ran into the room not really knowing if it would work but he didn't know what else to do. He reeled his arm back just as the boy looked up at him with those emerald colored eyes.

Theos head was thrown back from the fist that connected with his nose. The whispers he heard in his head began to subside and the flames around them disappeared just as quickly as the strike. Theo was sent across the floor gripping his face in pain. It stopped the flames so he would take this over anything else.

Qrow reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver flask and quickly chugged down whatever contents were inside.

"Well, kid, looks like your just full of surprises." Qrow said as he sat down on the bed.

Theo looked up at the man still confused about what just happened. The night sky was red he remembered. The day his journey would begin.


Author notes:

Yeahhhhh so I tried to think of a good MHA idea but couldn't. Not without it taking forever to type up. Plus when I first began to type "Of Gem and Man" I had begun to type up a RWBY fanfic I never published. I have a few more chapters I'm going to put out today so if you have any feedback please drop a review or PM. Thank you for your time.

Shadow...