A Different World
Holy Zeus…over two months now since I last updated this story. I deeply apologize for this absence, but I have been working on my other story, Xenomorphic.
Quite popular actually.
Anyway, this chapter will set up the backdrop for the sequel. Yes, I have planned that far out. Call me ambitious.
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Sally sighed. Her next words sent the twins' eyes out of their skulls.
"It's time I told you about your twin brother."
Then the world erupted in white.
The first thing the boy noticed was how cold it was. The second thing he noticed was that he was lying in the snow. Strange, there wasn't any snow in the Land of Water. The third thing his body registered was the cramps in his hands from holding on to the swords so tightly.
The boy sat up. The snow crunching beneath the shift in his weight. His hands cracked as he released the Lighting Fangs. They fell into the powder with a dull thump. The demigod began flexing his hands, relaxing the tendons and muscles, a sound like firecrackers reaching his ears.
When he felt that hands were de-cramped, he stood up and took in his surroundings. An overcast sky, dead trees with snow-covered branches, and snowcapped mountains in the distance. He looked down at himself. Dried blood was soaked into his forest green shirt, covering it in large splotches of dark maroon. More red liquid covered the right side of his face, dried and cracked. It was actually really uncomfortable.
He turned his attention to the snow around him. He began to concentrate on turning the snow…into water. It was simpler than he thought it was going to be. A light tug in his gut, a mental picture of the snow heating into water, and boom. Water was floating in the air in front of him.
He commanded it to cover his face, and the blood flakes came off without a problem. He thought about doing the same thing to his shirt, but decided against it.
The boy had no idea where he was-he was damn sure this was not the Land of Water-and the world itself…felt strange. Like there was something missing from the air.
Well…he was covered blood, in the middle of a snow covered forest, no idea where he was, and he would be lying if he said he wasn't hungry. With that in mind he picked up his swords, attached them to his back with chakra, and began walking.
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Five minutes into his aimless trek through the snow, the boy began to ponder his newfound powers. First, he experimented with his body…that sounded wrong. He focused on liquefying his limbs and select body parts. It was easier than he imagined it would be.
His body obeyed his will without question.
Second, he deduced that there was a sensory connection with his hydrokinesis and water itself. He was proven correct when he concentrated on the water within the trees and was able to sense the element swimming through the roots and stems. He went deeper, though, feeling out the water vapor in the very air itself.
The sensory overload nearly brought him to his knees.
A wealth of information flooded his brain. He could feel the birds flying through the air, the insects floating without cause…and no chakra. That alone was shocking in and of itself. He had been taught that every living thing had chakra. The animals, the plants, the people. If it was organic, it had a chakra system. So for him to not feel any chakra anywhere…it was cause for great concern.
So where the abnormally large canine-like creatures failing to sneak up on him.
The son of the Stormbringer turned around to face his would-be assassins…and raised a brow. They looked like the demonic love-children between an ape and a wolf. Hunched over figure, black fur covering their bodies, bones protruding from various locations, large forelimbs, and bone-like masks covering their heads.
Glowing, crimson eyes glared at the boy with a primal hunger.
The demigod was sure that these animals were meant to strike fear in the inhabitants of whatever this place was (he was sure this wasn't the Ninja World), but he found them mildly annoying. There were seven of them in total. Based upon previous observations, their threat level was: medium.
Enough to warrant caution, but not enough to take seriously.
The first beast, the apparent leader, roared at him. Three creatures charged, two began to circle around, and the leader stayed in place with the final creature.
The boy smirked and drew his swords, then he channeled a burst of chakra to his legs, his body blurring out of sight. He reappeared in front of the creature circling to his left. The beast was startled at the boy's sudden appearance and was beheaded for its hesitation. The boy didn't even blink as another burst of chakra sent him blitzing across the forest…right through the charging animals. He bisected all three of them at the waist. He came to a stop in front of the other circling creature. This one was prepared though. Its arms were reared back, ready to crush his smaller body. On reflex, his own arms shot up and his swords sliced through the beasts' like knives through butter.
Its arms fell uselessly to the ground, and the beast stumbled back, staring at the crimson stumps where its arms once were. The boy simply sliced it in half…the back-flipped over the creature that tried to catch him unaware. The beast rammed into its deceased comrade, sending them both crashing into a particularly thick tree. The boy leaped high into the air, front flipped once, and stabbed the dazed animal in the back with both his swords.
He removed the blades and leapt off the corpse, eyeing the alpha creature. He twirled the Lighting Fangs around his hands, adding to his intimidating factor. It seemed to work. The creature snarled once…before turning tail and running. The boy scoffed at its retreating back. As if he was going let this thing live after it tried to kill him.
So, without any more thought on the matter, he hurled one of his swords at the animal. It blurred through the air, a near invisible disk of kinetic death. It vertically bisected the creature in less than a second. He blurred forward and caught the sword before it could go any further.
He looked at his latest kills and, once more, raised an eyebrow when he saw the corpses dissolving into a black substance that faded into the air. After a few seconds, all the beasts were gone.
With a deep breath the boy reattached his swords to his back.
Then something appeared on his 'radar.'
It felt like a woman, a wounded woman if the position of her arm and the amount of water pouring out of her body meant anything, being chased by a greater number of the creatures he just made mincemeat out of.
Well, she was dead. He had no reason to help her, nor did he feel any obligation to do so. He made it his life's ambition to revolutionize the Ninja World, to do that he needed to get back to that world…not play hero by saving a soon-to-be corpse.
God, he was screwed up.
But…wait. This woman was most likely native to this land. Most likely held knowledge of where he was, what this world was, and what these creatures were. He sighed in defeat at his own logic.
Time to play hero.
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Summer Rose was currently running for life.
A few hours ago, she had been on a Bullhead heading out to a remote location in Vale to help defend a small village from the Grimm. The mission details given by the anonymous sender said that a small pack of Beowolves had been coming in the night and making off with one or two people. It sounded simple enough, the Hunter Association had given it a B level rank.
As a mother of two little girls, and a world renowned Huntress looking for a little stress relief from motherhood, she had immediately signed up for the mission. She currently regretted nothing more in her life, than that decision.
Since she was beginning to retire so she could take care of her daughters, Ruby and Yang, and hopefully steer them down a path that didn't involve being a Huntress, this mission seemed like the best for a 'final farewell.'
Ironic.
After the Bullhead had reached the right coordinates, Summer had leapt out the side-door. The air craft promptly turned around and headed back to refuel. After a short hike through the calm, beautiful, snow-covered forest, she came upon the designated village…that was in ruins.
Further investigation showed that this settlement had been like this for months. Any human life had either deserted the village…or had been eaten. Morbid as that was, it was not uncommon for groups of people to create a small outpost or settlement in the Wild Lands, only to be shortly overrun by a Grimm horde. But that begged the question…who submitted the assistance request…and why this place?
But her musing had been cut short when the Grimm showed up...a massive horde of them. Okay…anonymous contact, ruined village, isolated location, and way more than just a small pack of Grimm. This was a setup, a very carefully set up…setup. That begged the question of who the perpetrator was and who their intended target was.
Summer resolved herself to find those answers after she got herself out of this pickle.
It was not to be.
The horde, easily over a hundred strong, was being led by five ancient-looking Beowolves. They were huge, easily over 20 feet tall, massive claws, and numerous scars across their visages'. Badges of honor, in a way. The Elder Beowolves, as Grimm of that age were called, would send the grunts in droves, which were easy enough to handle as they were quantity than quality. But that was their strategy.
While she was busy slicing apart the expendables, the Elders would sneak around her, using her distraction to their advantage, and land heavy blows on her. Blows that quickly drained her Aura.
She was nearly drained when she killed most of the horde. That's when the Elder launched themselves into the fray. She was quickly overwhelmed by the experienced Grimm while in her weakened state. They had knocked her weapon out of her hands, leaving her defenseless except for her Aura. The monsters quickly destroyed that as well.
Without her Aura, she couldn't use her Semblance. And without her scythe, she couldn't fight.
That led to her current predicament of being sliced across the abdomen and hobbling away from certain death. She knew, though, that the Grimm were just toying with her. Their unnatural sadism towards humans and Faunus overriding their experience. They wanted to draw her suffering out before they killed her.
She had activated her emergency transmitter in a vain hope that a rescue squad would get here soon. Then she tripped on an unseen tree root. She grunted as she land face-first in the snow. Feeling the Grimm closing in around her, she hauled herself up so she could lay against the tree trunk that belonged to the evil root.
She stared at her approaching murderers without fear…but with sadness. Sadness that she would never see Taiyang again. Sadness that she would never get to see Yang again. Sadness that she would never see her darling Ruby become a woman.
"Heh," Summer said, her voice soft, "I was going to make cookies for everyone when I got back…"
She stared teary-eyed at the approaching Beowolf, the leader of the pack it seemed. The creature raised its claw high. Summer smiled wide, her eyes closing, accepting her fate, as memories of her family rushing through her mind.
The Beowolf slashed down…
CHING!
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The arrived to witness the end of the 'hunt', as it appeared to be. He had to admit that the woman was beautiful. Red and black hair that fell to her mid-back, pale skin, athletically toned build, clothes themed in white and crimson, and unnatural silver eyes.
The image was marred by the gaping wounds on her abdomen.
Blood flowed almost like a river from the openings, painting the white cloak she wore as red as roses…speaking of wounds, the boy analyzed the black creatures about to kill his information source.
Five of them stood out, being bigger and stronger in appearance. The remaining seven were just the same as the first ones he killed. In other words…not worth worrying about. The big ones might be more of a threat.
Oh dear, the first one was raising its claw for the kill…that wouldn't do.
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Summer could only gape in shock at the sight of a little boy that looked to be about her stepdaughter's age, dressed in clothes that looked to be covered in blood, duel wielding identical swords…holding back an Elder Beowolf…with one arm.
He had blocked the claw with his left blade, while his right was held in a reverse grip. The Grimm cocked it head in confusion. It was unprepared for the strange human child to slash upward with his right sword, splitting its head in two.
Blood sprayed from the sudden laceration.
The corpse fell to the snow with a resounding thud. The other Grimm growled and barked at the boy, but then the air…changed. Like a wrathful spirit had just entered the vicinity. The angry Grimm began to whimper like puppies.
The child then turned, revealing his face to Summer. She felt her heart constrict the sight. Black hair that descended like a curtain of black strands, tanned skin that belonged to someone from Vacuo, and bangs that fell over his eyes…his emerald eyes. His eyes held a dark intensity, like he didn't see her as a woman, but as a resource to be used. They looked like they were calculating something, like deciding how to efficiently dissect an animal to analyze its entrails.
"What's your name?" he asked.
His voice was high in pitch, expected of a child his age, but held a demanding edge to it.
"S-Summer…Summer Rose."
The boy looked at the red snow, a brief flash of concern in his eyes, then replaced with concentration. Amazingly, the snow began to rise form the earth. It steamed, before becoming crimson globules that floated in the air. The boy brought his hand forward, and the globules moved forward. They entered the cuts and Summer squirmed at the uncomfortable feeling as her own blood reentered her body. The boy's face scrunched together as he put his hand on her stomach. Summer gasped as the feeling of…crawling…over took her senses.
The boy removed his hand from her body, a light sheen of sweat covering his face. Summer looked at her skin where the wounds once were…only faint lines greeted her vision.
The boy had healed her.
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Using the snow to heal 'Summer' had taken more concentration than he expected. It was also an experiment as well. If he could use water to heal himself, could he use it to heal others? The answer appeared to be yes.
But he was also smart. He had only sealed the wound and returned some her blood to her body, just enough so that she wouldn't die from blood-loss. It wouldn't be very helpful is she kept jumping in front of him when he was fighting, nor would it be favorable if she ran away. The latter was unlikely, he could tell she was the type to always help people, no matter who they were.
Noble, but ultimately stupid. That life-style resulted in an early death. Which he just spared her from.
Now to kill the creatures so they wouldn't interrupt his upcoming interrogation. He figured he would play the oblivious child card to get what he wanted.
The child turned away from Summer, brandishing the Lighting Fangs in front of him. Four big ones in front, the seven others evenly spaced between them.
This might be more fun than he thought.
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A few minutes later
Same location
Summer POV
She could only watch in awe, shock, and horror as a six-year-old boy turned a highly experienced Grimm pack…into a pile of dissolving dead. It was scary to watch as the boy looked like he was dancing through the Bane of Humanity. Ducking, spinning, weaving, slashing, stabbing, jumping, kicking, flipping, and lot of other ing's. In less than ten minutes, this boy-this child-this warrior-had exterminated the Creatures of Grimm.
Then he walked back over to her.
The boy kneeled down, his swords sticking to his back by unknown means, and asked, "Where is this place?" His voice was a stark contrast to the fighter just moments ago. It sounded innocent…pure even.
What'd he just say?
"W-What do you mean 'where is this place'? We're on Patch, the island west of Vale." How did this kid not know where they were? He grew up here didn't he?
"What's the name of this world, then?" Okay, what?! Who was this boy? How did he not know the name of his own planet?
"This world is called Remnant. But how would you not know that? You live here don't you?" The boy gained a defensive, almost hostile visage, prompting Summer to ask again, "You…do…live here…right?" The boy was silent for a moment, looking to be contemplating something, before he opened his mouth to say something…then he froze.
His arms shot out and grabbed her shoulders and he pulled them both to the ground and began to roll. They came to a stop a few meters away and Summer looked back…and saw a number of huge, black feathers impaling the snow where they once were. She looked up and saw a small flock of Giant Nevermore circling around the sky.
The boy growled and stood up, staring at the oversized avians above. He pointed his hand at the snow around them, the crystalline water beginning to vibrate beneath them. The Nevermore crowed before launching another volley at them. The boy whipped his arm up, wall of snow erupting in front of them. He grunted when the barbs impacted his 'shield', the points barley digging through. He let his arm drop, the snow and the feathers dropping too.
The boy spread his arms wide and to Summer's further shock, massive amounts of snow rose from the ground. The boy clenched his fists, and the snow separated into several spheres about twice the size of a basketball. The spheres hovered for a moment…before the boy clapped his hands together as if he was praying. The spheres of compacted snow erupted forward like cannonballs in a wave of white death.
The Nevermore were obliterated.
Summer's mind was racing. His Semblance was obviously linked to water. Hydrokinesis perhaps? But the level of power he had…the level of control he possessed. Most people didn't activate their Semblance until their late teens. And after that it took years to fully master their new-found powers.
She and Taiyang had finally gotten Yang to stop wetting her bed on accident…and a boy her age was throwing around power equal to that of an experienced Huntsman.
Just who is this boy? There's no way he should be this powerful at his age. And where were his parents? Even if they were dead-Heaven forbid-it was impossible for a child to survive on his own and gain this level of power.
Summer had so many questions to ask him when they got back to Vale.
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The boy was annoyed at the constant interruptions. First were the animals themselves. They were just there when he got here so he had to take care of them anyway. Then there was the flock of giant birds. It was intriguing. He couldn't feel their presence, nor could he sense their blood flow, but he sure felt it when their projectile feathers were slicing through the air. It was his reflexes that saved the woman's life.
He could have liquefied himself, but that would've ended with his information source's death.
Not feeling in the mood to waste time with the annoying birds, he decided to go all out. His stomach got tight when he first reached to the snow, and it was split second reactions that caused him to turn it into a shield. He honestly didn't know if that was going to work. Regardless, he tested something. Since his gut tugged whenever he used his hydrokinesis, he channeled chakra to it when he made his snowballs.
The results spoke for themselves.
Now then, to find out what the hell these things were. He turned around and looked Summer in the silver eye, "What, exactly, are these black creatures that keep bothering us?" As expected, the woman adopted an expression of shock. It was predictable that she would be of the mind that he was native to her world. Maybe he should play the amnesia card as well?
"These animals are known as the Creatures of Grimm. They live only to kill humans and Faunus." The demigod kept a straight face. Faunus? What were Faunus? He was about to ask…when he whipped his head around when the presence of something big, fast, and full of people entered his range.
It put him on edge.
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He didn't even know what Grimm were?!
That…that was beyond anything she had ever heard. It was obvious this kid had amnesia or something, based on his lack of knowledge of his surroundings, but not even knowing what the most infamous creatures on the planet were?
It was like he wasn't even born here.
Then he saw him tense up and she followed his gaze to the west. A Bullhead was coming. If it wasn't for how tired she was right now, she probably would've jumped for joy and spun this child around in her arms. As it was, she settled for a giant smile.
"That's a Bullhead," she told him, "It'll take us back to Vale where we can get you cleaned up and find where you came from." The after a moment, "I think I'll introduce you to my daughters, Ruby and Yang. You'll all get along so well!" She said with a bright smile.
The boy inclined his head, his bangs hiding his eyes, his mouth drawing into a thin line. He began to step back, giving off a dangerous aura. Summer was growing confused. What was he doing? They were about to be rescued from this Grimm-infested forest.
The powerful child spun on his heel and was about to take off, "Wait!" She stood up and leaned on the tree for support. Maybe she could stall him long enough for the Bullhead to get here. "Where are you going?"
"Away from here." His tone was clipped and short.
"But…why? That ship will take us out of here." She sounded as confused as she looked.
"It will take you out of here. I have no intention of going to Vale. I belong somewhere else." He was about to take off, the ship was almost above them now. "What's your name?" He paused to look over his shoulder, his emerald eye looked broken. The Bullhead hovered overhead, the side doors opening, cables dropping from the openings.
The boy turned his gaze upward and then back to herself. Then he blurred forward, snow erupting from where he once stood.
Summer's cry of 'wait' went unheard.
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The demigod blitzed through the frozen forest, the trees blurring around him. He had no idea where he was going, but his mind was going over what he had learned. He was on an island called Patch, which was west of a land called Vale, on a planet called Remnant. It was either winter right now, or it was just generally cold here in this part of the world.
How would he get back to his world?
This world had no chakra. Summer didn't have chakra coils…actually, it felt more like her coils had become diluted, her 'chakra' freely swimming about her body. When he came across her, her 'reserves' were barely above civilian level. Granted she was near-death, but after he partially healed her, her 'reserves' were still civilian level.
Ugh, chakra-less world, black furred canon-fodder everywhere, and no idea how to get to his own…place of origin. It was hardly his 'home' anymore.
His thoughts were cutoff when he felt someone enter his water-range. They were approaching fast, which was a feat in and of itself. Based on the way water was distributed throughout the person's body, they were male, over six feet tall, and he was…anxious…and annoyed. This man more than likely had a connection to Rose, and was told by her to come get him. That was only speculation though.
The boy was having an internal dilemma as he ran through the snow. Fight the man and render him unconscious? Or keep running with no destination in mind?
Go left.
The demigod almost stumbled at the masculine voice that reverberated through his head. Who had said that?
Go left.
It was more forceful this time. The man was steadily gaining on the boy. Well, it's not like he had anything more important to do. Without any more thought, the demigod cut sharply to the left. If this voice turned out to be hostile though…the person wouldn't live to see the end of the day.
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Qrow Branwen was anxious and annoyed. First, his surrogate sister goes on a B-level mission only to activate her emergency transmitter, an unprecedented event. Then, the Bullhead that dropped her off wouldn't be back for another three more minutes. Third, when Taiyang burst through the doors, panic and rage clear on his face, he had brought Ruby and Yang with him. The big oaf never did think things through.
That had been a tense and careful conversation with the girls. How did you tell children barely out of diapers that their mother was possibly dead?
Fourth, when the rescue team was ready to, Qrow was informed that even at top speed, the Bullhead wouldn't reach Summer's location for another 15 minutes. Taiyang almost jumped out the VTOL to run on foot. Qrow was able to hold him in though.
Then they finally got to where Summer was…and she looked just fine. Her cloak was ripped and she looked borderline exhausted. When they talked to her to get a grip on the situation, her story was one they could never have predicted.
A child as old as Yang slaughtering Elder Grimm? Then using a sort of Hydrokinesis Semblance to turn the snow into a barrage lethal projectiles that disintegrated a flock of Nevermore? Then running away just before they got here?
Qrow wanted to know what the woman was smoking because he wanted some.
But when Summer gave him The Look and then begged him to go after the fleeing child, he really couldn't refuse her, if only to satisfy his own curiosity about the 'Mystery Boy.' Someone had to have made that massive snow trench.
Taking off at his top speed, he was shocked to sense that there was actually a young boy just ahead of him. And moving fast. But the energy he could sense pouring out of the child was unreal. Qrow was quite proud of his ability to sense the size and location of another person's Aura, but this kid…
His Aura was so large it made Amber's look like a drop in an ocean.
And she was a Maiden!
…why did this kid just take a sharp left?
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The boy was skeptical when his sprint brought him to the edge of a cliff. A calm, grey ocean stared up at him from below. He wasn't afraid to jump, it was water down there after all. But the voice told him to trust it and jump.
When a disembodied male voice told you jump off a cliff, one would usually stop and think about that. While he was busy thinking though, his water-sense told him the man that was chasing him had finally caught up to him.
Great…now this was happening.
"Who are you kid?" His voice was rough and slurred.
The boy looked at the man over his shoulder, his emerald eye boring in to the man's red ones. He took special note of the weapon strapped to the man's lower back.
"Why would I tell you that?" He did not feel like dealing with ignorant adult right now.
"Fair enough. But I have to ask why your shirt is covered in dried blood though." That was a story he wasn't sharing with a complete stranger.
"It's from the Grimm I killed. It got messy." He did his best to sound convincing. The man's eyes narrowed.
"I may be drunk most of the time, but I know how to spot a lie clear as day. Who did you kill?" The boy turned around to face the man fully. He could feel the mounting confrontation.
"That…is none of your concern."
The man gripped the hilt of his weapon, "I'm afraid it is. Summer asked me to bring back a boy with black hair wearing a blood-soaked shirt wielding identical swords. She may believe in the purity of every living being, but I don't." The man drew his weapon, the blade extending into a broadsword. He pointed it at the boy. "I'll ask you one more time…who did you kill?"
The boy drew his own swords from his back, the blades flashed with lightning. "I'll tell you one more time…it's none of your concern."
The man's face twitched in anger at this kid's impertinence. "You won't answer me?! Then I'll beat the truth out of you!"
The boy glared icily at the angry drunkard, "You will try."
The boy watched calmly as the man charged at him with an impressive speed. But the fool was fighting him in the middle of a snowfield…with an ocean just behind them. The boy could feel its power giving him strength just from being in close proximity.
This wouldn't even be a fight. Just one-sided annihilation.
The man was a few feet away when the demigod jerked his head up, a pillar of condensed snow exploding at his feet, slamming into the man's sternum…hard. Just as the man was launched backward, the boy tilted his head to the side, and a smaller pillar erupted from the side of the big one, knocking the man's weapon off to the side.
The idiot man crashed into the snow over fifty feet away, deprived of his sword.
A weak moan reached the boy's ears.
The boy turned his back to the fool, but kept his sixth eye trained on him in case he had a sudden rush of strength or some other cliché sudden advantage. He walked back to the edge of the cliff, placing the Lightning Fangs on his back once more. He looked over the still waters, weighing his options.
Jump into the water. Everything will be taken care of.
The voice again. The boy looked over his shoulder. The man was still dazed in the snow. His energy had been almost depleted when the snow pillar hit him. The demigod had been aiming to kill though, so points for durability and resiliency.
With a sigh…the boy performed a dive that would have made men in white cloaks jealous.
He dove through the water without feeling any pain or injury. For that matter, he didn't feel any cold either. Just an unnatural warmth and comfort from being in the ocean…
Then he blacked out.
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Another cliff hanger…and right after I left y'all with one at the end of Xenomorphic, and haven't updated this story in two months.
I am such an evil person.
A quick summary of the chapter: Percy was mysteriously transported to the RWBYverse (explanation in the future) and prevented Summer from being killed on a mission/assassination attempt. He then proceeded to mop the floor with Qrow Branwen in a one-on-one fight after having a rather hostile conversation.
What? Percy was surrounded by frozen water, you think he would waste time and energy when he could use his environment like Gaara uses sand? I don't think so.
Now be sure to follow and favorite and leave lots of reviews for me to read.
It's so heartwarming checking my email and seeing lots of support from the people who read my stories.
