Chapter 1: Close Encounters of the Third Child
Disclaimer: Evangelion is owned by Hideaki Anno and Studio Khara. RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth. No monetary gain is intended from this work.
AN: Fixed some minor grammar errors.
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Shinji awoke with a start and expunged his lungs of the LCL within them.
He coughed and hacked the remainder of the foul-tasting liquid up before weakly raising his head. His eyes wandered to the form of a young girl crouched in front of him on top of the plug's center console. Blackness formed on the edge of his vision already.
But for the slightest of moments, their gazes locked.
'She has...silver eyes…'
He was out like a light again.
"Aw crap, what do I do?!" Ruby panicked.
A large bruise was forming above his right brow right where the nasty-looking cut was. This wasn't good, he might've been concussed. She was pretty sure you weren't supposed to move people with concussions!
A chorus of howling in the distance made up her mind for her.
The lass wasn't sure she could fight off a pack of Beowolves and defend an unconscious person at the same time. She was damn good in a fight but she still had trouble handling her weapon's massive recoil and using her Semblance in places with lots of things she could bump into.
Another howl, slightly closer this time.
Ruby had to risk it and get this boy out of here before the Grimm arrived.
She carefully extracted the boy from his seat and dragged him over to the entry plug's broken hatch. She hauled the lad onto her shoulders in a fireman's carry and stepped outside the plug. The disgusting liquid soaked into her cloak and grey winter coat underneath it.
"Eww!" She gagged at the smell.
'I hope this stuff comes out in the washer!' The reaper thought.
But now wasn't the time to worry about her clothes, she had to get this poor guy to safety. She didn't have the time to try and make it to the hospital, she needed to get home.
"Dad'll know what to do!" She assured herself.
And with that, she activated her Semblance and shot off like a rocket back the way she'd come. Ruby reached the clearing and sped down the long trail that led back to her home. She hoped her passenger held on long enough for her to get him to her Dad.
"Don't hit a tree this time, don't hit a tree this time, don't hit a tree this time!"
She repeated the phrase like a mantra as she zoomed down the trail, moonlight streaming down between the leafless branches above. She heard her scroll start to ring with the familiar ringtone she'd set for her father's number but she ignored it and continued running. But Ruby couldn't use her hands for fear of dropping her rescuee and she couldn't afford to slow down either.
After 15 minutes of continuous use of her Semblance, Ruby could finally see her house.
And it was just in time, too. She was exhausted and sweating heavily. Her Aura flickered bright red across her body and she could tell it was almost empty. She'd never used it that long before. She'd always used her Semblance in shorts in short bursts due to the tiring effect it had on her.
Ruby was grateful her passenger was so light. She didn't know if she could've made it home before her Aura broke if he'd been heavier.
When Ruby neared the log cabin she called home, she slowed her pace to a fast walk and let out a loud shriek to get her father's attention.
"DAAAAAAD!"
She could hear rapid footfalls inside the house before her father flung open the front door.
"Ruby!" He exclaimed before rushing over to her.
"What happened?! Are you okay?! Why didn't you answer your scroll?! Who is this?!" Taiyang fired off questions in rapid succession.
"I'm fine, take him! He's hurt!" The girl panted.
Taiyang saw the blood cascading down the boy's face and immediately took him from her daughter's shoulders in a bridal carry.
"Let's get him inside!" The blonde Huntsman ordered.
'The hell is this stuff?' Taiyang thought.
The boy's body was covered in an orange substance that had dried and started to flake off at the touch. Taiyang put the question aside and rushed into the cabin. Ruby followed close and closed the front door shut behind her.
Her Dad ran into the kitchen with the boy in his arms
"Ruby!" Her sister yelled as she rushed down the stairs.
Yang ran to her sister and put her hands on Ruby's shoulders. The family dog, Zwei was hot on the blonde girl's heels and reached Ruby a second later, barking and wagging his stumpy tail.
"Are you okay?!" Yang asked, worriedly.
"I'm fine, but we have to help him!" Her sister replied.
"Who?" Yang inquired.
"Girls, gimme a hand!" Their father's voice echoed out from the kitchen.
The two girls rushed to see their Dad had laid the boy flat on the kitchen table while he filled a bowl full of water at the sink.
"Who is that?!" Yang gasped.
"I don't know, I found him in the forest near Mom's grave." Ruby responded.
Yang gaped at her sister's answer. What was this kid doing that far out in the woods? The cliff where their Mom's grave resided was nowhere near Palinwood and this kid didn't live beyond the city's walls. The family would've known him if he did.
And what the hell was he wearing? His one-piece suit thingy was skintight and didn't look like it did a good job of protecting him from the early snow that'd come this year.
Her Dad's voice interrupted Yang's train of thought.
"Yang, go and get the medkit from the closet! Ruby, go and grab some towels and a washcloth!" Taiyang ordered.
The girls nodded and hurriedly gathered the supplies. Yang rushed to the closet at the end of the room and yanked open the door. She flicked on the light switch and rooted around for the medkit.
At the same time, Ruby used the last of her Aura by activating her Semblance one last time and zoomed to the upstairs bathroom. Her Aura broke with a burst of red particles and she snatched several towels and a washcloth from underneath the cabinet underneath the sink before running back downstairs.
Both sisters returned to the kitchen table at the same time and Yang placed the medkit on the table and swiftly opened it for her father.
"Ruby, hand me one of those towels. Yang, I want you to carefully lift his head." The blonde man said in a serious voice.
The girls did as they were told and Taiyang folded the offered towel into a makeshift pillow. The man slowly slid the towel underneath the unconscious lad's head before gesturing for Yang to lower it. Once the boy's head was suitably elevated, Taiyang walked over to the medkit.
Time to see just how bad this kid was hurt.
"Here, gimme that washcloth." Yang told her sister.
Ruby handed it over and watched as her older sister dipped the cloth into the bowl of water their Dad had sat on the table and began cleaning the boy's face of blood. He gave a small flinch when Yang lightly cleaned the mean-looking cut above his right eyebrow but didn't awaken.
Ruby didn't know what she could do to help. She just stood there holding the rest of the towels with a worried expression on her face.
"Scootch." Taiyang said to his eldest child.
Yang moved out of the elder Xiao Long's way and continued cleaning the blood away. In his hand, Taiyang held a small, rectangular device. This particular device cost Taiyang quite a bit of Drakken but right now was the exact kind of situation Tai had bought it for.
Well, not the EXACT kind of situation but you get the idea. It never hurt to be over-prepared.
Taiyang pressed the on switch and two prongs popped out of the top of the tiny machine before sliding apart to form a small screen. The screen promptly powered on and began emitting a sharp, blue light. Taiyang held the screen up to the boy's head.
Upon the screen was a live x-ray of the boy's skull.
Taiyang moved the portable x-ray device around the boy's head, looking for any sort of cranial fractures. When he found none, Taiyang let a sigh of relief.
"Well, he doesn't have a concussion, but now I gotta check the rest of him." The Huntsman divulged.
Tai moved around the table once more and started to scan the boy's neck and chest. He suddenly let out a growl of frustration.
"What's wrong, Dad?" Ruby asked.
"It's his suit. Something inside it is interfering with the x-ray machine, I can't get a visual on the rest of his bones." He answered.
"So what do we do?" Ruby replied.
"We're gonna have to get it off him." Taiyang answered.
The young girl blushed bright red and looked visibly uncomfortable with the idea of seeing a naked stranger on her kitchen table. They couldn't just take off his suit, he was a boy! She wasn't ready to see a boy naked! She wasn't ready to see anyone besides herself naked!
Yang was only embarrassed but didn't let it show. She didn't want to see the kid naked either but she understood just how serious the situation was. They couldn't just ignore possible injuries because of something so trivial as nudity.
The Xiao Long patriarch noticed his eldest daughter's conviction and his youngest's embarrassment.
"Ruby, why don't you go into the living room? Yang and I have this covered. We'll yell if we need you." Tai stated.
"Good idea!" Ruby squeaked before placing the remaining towels on the table and speed-walked out of the room.
Zwei followed the red-cloaked girl out of the room. He was intent on helping one of his masters remain calm during this trying time.
"Alright, how does this thing come off?" Yang asked.
"I'm not sure." He replied while softly tugging at the collar of the lad's suit.
It didn't budge. It seemed the suit was somehow sealed tight. That wasn't good. They needed to get that suit off the boy and fast but they couldn't risk ripping it off and injuring their patient more than he already might be.
Taiyang sat down the x-ray machine and started carefully poking and prodding around the suit, trying to see if there was something that might let him remove it.
"Dad, look at this." Yang spoke up.
The elder Xiao Long raised his eyes from the boy's prone form to see his daughter holding the unconscious lad's wrist. On the top of the boy's gloved wrist was a large, orange button. Yang looked at her Dad with a questioning look on her face.
Taiyang nodded and the blonde girl pressed the button. The strange suit let a hiss and depressurized from its wearer. Taiyang tried pulling the collar again and it easily came away from the boy's neck. The two then slowly removed the plastic contraption, mindful of potential injuries.
About halfway through their removal of the suit, Yang noticed her baby sister's head slowly peek into the kitchen from the doorway that led to the living room. Taiyang had his back to her and didn't notice but Yang merely pretended not to notice. She was using all her willpower not to crack a smile and give herself away.
'I am SO gonna tease her about this later!' Yang thought, deviously.
When they managed to get the one-piece off the lad, Taiyang began checking the boy's front for any injuries. He found only minor bruises scattered about the young boy's skin. After checking his front, the Huntsman carefully turned the boy on his side so he could see the kid's back. No major injuries there, either.
When Tai saw his patient's back had only bruises as well, he returned the boy to his previous position and picked up the tiny x-ray machine. The Xiao Long patriarch methodically checked up and down the boy's skeleton for any fractures or breaks. When he found none, Taiyang let out another sigh of relief.
"Well, it looks like he doesn't have any lacerations or broken bones." Tai stated.
"What about internal injuries?" Yang asked her father as she covered the lad's nude form with the towels her sister had laid on the table.
"I don't think he has any. Looks like he got off light. Still banged up pretty good, though." Taiyang replied.
"So is he gonna be ok?" Ruby timidly asked while peeking around the edge of the kitchen doorway.
Her father gestured for her to step into the kitchen and she did so. Zwei followed her and sat down at her feet.
"He'll be fine. That gash is gonna need stitches, though. If he has Aura, his wound should be fine by tomorrow." Taiyang answered his daughter.
Ruby's shoulders slumped in visible relief and she let out a breath. Now that there was no immediate threat of someone dying in their home, Taiyang repeated the questions that he'd asked the second she'd appeared outside.
"Ruby, what happened out there? Who is this kid?" He asked.
"SeeIwasleavingMom'sgravewhenyoutextedmeandthisgiantblackthingappearedintheskybehindme!IthoughtitwasaGrimmatfirstbutitwasn'tandthisairshipcameoutofitandcrashed!Butitwasn'tanairshipitwasthisweirdmetaltubething!" The young girl babbled.
She was talking so fast that her big sister and father could barely understand her.
"Sis, slow down, what are you talking about?" Yang questioned.
"I just told you! I was leaving the cliff when Dad texted me and the light of the moon disappeared. I turned around and there was this massive, black circle in the sky. I pulled out Crescent Rose and got ready to fight but this thing came out of it and crashed!" Ruby explained
"I followed it to the crash site and I saw that it wasn't an airship, at all! It's this giant, metal tube thingy! And he was inside it! " Ruby pointed to the slumbering boy.
"I think...I think he might be an alien!" She squeaked.
Yang and her Dad looked at each other with an incredulous look before looking back at the little reaper.
"I'm not lying, I swear!" She insisted.
That story sounded too absurd to be given the time of day, but some sounded true to Taiyang. He knew that the impossible could be quite the opposite. Team STRQ had learned that the hard way and eventually it tore their team apart.
And there was also the fact Ruby Rose was a terrible liar. She got caught every time she even attempted to lie. When she was little, she'd sometimes feel so guilty that she'd confess on the spot and start bawling her eyes out. Summer had imparted a sense of honesty and goodness that remained true.
If Ruby said something had fallen out of the sky, then it most likely had. It also explained the small rumble of the ground Taiyang had felt. And if whatever it was, wasn't an airship, the options of what it could be weren't great.
"You said something crashed right?" He asked.
She nodded and her father rubbed his temples.
"Aw, shit..." He muttered under his breath.
"Rubes, are you sure you weren't just mistaken? Airships come in all shapes and sizes these days." Yang said.
"No! It wasn't an airship, I know what an airship looks like! This thing was a cylinder that didn't have any wings! Also, airships don't leak bloody stuff!" Ruby answered.
"...What?" Yang blurted.
"Doesn't matter right now. All that matters is that something crashed. I know your sister isn't lying, I got a call from Thomas Mayr earlier. Asked if we felt that tremor earlier." Taiyang informed his eldest.
Taiyang had indeed felt the slight rumble and had told his neighbor so during their call. Yang hadn't felt the faint impact due to having already gone to sleep early.
She'd trained pretty hard that day. Ruby had asked the blonde-haired teen if she'd like to go with her to visit their Mom's grave but Yang had declined and turned in.
"Did you see anyone else while you were there?" The Huntsman questioned.
Ruby shook her head.
'I need to check this out.' He thought, seriously.
Just because Ruby hadn't seen anyone, didn't mean that there wasn't someone else there.
"So what do we do now?" Ruby questioned.
"Don't you worry, sweetie, I'll take care of things. You girls stay here and watch our guest while I take a look at whatever it was Ruby saw." Taiyang informed them.
"Now, where's the crash site?" He asked
"I can show you wh-" Ruby started.
"Absolutely not, young lady. You will be staying here." Her Dad cut her off.
"But why?" She pouted.
"Because you almost gave me a heart attack tonight and your little buddy is gonna need some friendly faces when he wakes up." Tai responded.
"But I'm terrible at talking to new people!" She exclaimed.
"Then consider it a learning experience."
Taiyang smiled and pulled his daughter into a hug. He adored her selfless nature and desire to do good. She was just like Summer in that regard. But this was an unknown situation and he didn't want her outside the house. Stuff like this just didn't happen on their island home.
Taiyang had no idea what to expect and didn't want his kids outside the house. Qrow said that he was overprotective but he liked to think he was just careful.
"Now, the crash site's location please." Tai inquired as he let go of Ruby.
"It's up near the clearing on the cliff. Look for the smashed-up trees, you can't miss it." She informed him.
"Thank you, honey."
Taiyang turned his gaze to his eldest daughter.
"Yang, can you stitch up his head?" Taiyang asked while nodding his head towards the boy.
Yang smirked in response and quirked an eyebrow.
"You didn't make me take all those first-aid lessons for nothin', Old Man."
Tai chuckled at his daughter's response.
"Alright, I'm gonna go grab him some spare clothes before I head out." The Hunstman remarked.
He then strode out of the kitchen into the living room and up the stairs to his bedroom. After rifling through his closet and dresser, the blonde-haired man found some suitable attire. He returned to the kitchen and ordered Ruby out of the room. Yang sighed at having to play nursemaid once again and the two got the boy into his temporary clothes.
The lad's outfit consisted of a blue, plaid, button-up shirt, simple grey boxers, black pajama pants, and fluffy pink socks. The socks had been a joke gift from his late wife but Taiyang kept them and occasionally wore them around the house. His girls thought they were hilarious.
What could he say, they were comfortable.
The only articles of clothing that fit the boy properly were the boxers and socks and that was only because they were made to stretch outwards and were a little small on Taiyang anyway. Tai pulled the strings on the pajama pants far enough so that they wouldn't fall off the boy and tied them into a knot. Yang rolled up the sleeves on the shirt far enough for the boy to use his hands.
"Okay, that should do it." The Huntsman stated.
Taiyang walked back over the med-kit and placed the portable x-ray unit back inside. He handed Yang the necessary stitching supplies before grabbing the now bloody bowl of water, walked over to the sink, and poured it out.
"Ruby, go get a spare pillow and blanket from the upstairs closet and lay them on the couch, please!" Taiyang called while washing the bowl and his hands.
"Okay!" Ruby remarked from the living room before setting about the task her father asked of her.
Meanwhile, Yang was stitching up their guest's head. The boy gave an unconscious flinch every time the needle punctured his skin.
"Sorry, buddy. It's probably for the best that you're out like a light right now. Also, yuck! What even is this stuff in your hair!" Yang gagged.
Yang had managed to get most of the nasty substance off the boy's face when she cleaned it of blood but the disgusting stuff was still littered throughout his hair and flaked off at the slightest provocation. The boy's suit was also covered in the stuff.
'Wait a second, his suit was on the edge of the table, where'd it go?' Yang wondered.
She looked around the room and spotted the suit on the floor with Zwei furiously licking the gross, orange substance off of it.
"Zwei, stop that!" She scolded.
The small corgi stopped and looked at her, tail wagging and tongue lolling out of his head. The little bastard had the audacity to not even look the faintest bit guilty. Zwei tried his luck and continued licking the suit. Who was gonna stop him? The two masters were busy and he was all the way over here near the doorway!.
"Zwei, bad dog! Don't lick the blood stuff!" Ruby snapped as she picked up the small dog.
Fuck! He forgot about the third master!
"What do you mean by 'blood stuff'?" Taiyang asked as he walked over and picked up the suit.
"You see, the tube thing was full of this stuff that looked like orange juice and smelled like blood! It leaked out everywhere." The little reaper explained.
"And when I got inside it to help that guy out, he woke up and coughed some of it up too! Then he passed out again." The little reaper explained.
"Is that why you're covered in that shit?" Yang asked.
"Language!" Tai snapped at her.
Yang just rolled her eyes. She wasn't a little kid anymore.
"Uh, yeah. It dried on the way home." Ruby answered her sister.
She hated the feel of the stuff. Ruby felt gross and she was in desperate need of a wash. Her Dad seemed to pick up on that fact.
"Honey, why don't you go and have a shower? Your sister and I have things covered here." Taiyang suggested.
Ruby stared at the faces of all three people in the room for a second before quietly agreeing.
"Okay."
She sat Zwei back down and went off to get clean.
'I hope this stuff isn't toxic…' Tai thought.
He walked over to the back door and opened it. The Huntsman stepped out into the cold night air and shook the strange suit hard to rid it of the orange material that had stained it. Once it was sufficiently clean, Taiyang came back inside, folded it, and placed it on the counter.
He looked over to see Yang had finished her stitching job and was washing her hands at the sink, with the stitching supplies already packed back into the med-kit. He strode over and checked her handiwork. He smiled when he saw that she'd done a good job.
She really had paid attention during her first-aid training, it seemed.
Yang dried her hands and returned the kit to its rightful place in the closet. When she got back, Taiyang picked up the boy in a bridal carry and took him into the living room. A pillow and brown blanket lay folded on the couch.
Yang moved over to the couch before propping the pillow up on the couch's right arm. Taiyang then carefully laid the boy down and draped the blanket over his sleeping form.
"Think you'll see a UFO up there on the cliff?" Yang joked.
"When Zwei sprouts wings and flies." He joked back.
The small corgi leaped high into the air and snapped at a fly buzzing around the room. He noticed them looking at them and stopped for a second before returning his hunt.
The two laughed heartily before Tai headed back upstairs to retrieve his weapon, Dragon's Claw, from his bedroom.
Dragon's Claw was a pair of brown gauntlets with hints of red and a pair of golden dragon decals that coiled around them. Unlike Yang's Ember Celica, Dragon's Claw was made for cutting. Whenever Taiyang threw a punch, two ten-inch silver-colored blades shot out of the top of the weapons before retracting. Taiyang could keep the blades extended by pressing a small button on the palms of the gauntlets
Like most other Huntsman weapons, it was also a gun. It fired standard sub-machine gun Dust rounds via a barrel on the outside of the gauntlets. It was made to fire by another small button on the palms.
With weapons in hand, Taiyang started to make his way back downstairs. He laughed again as he passed the bathroom after hearing Ruby singing an off-key tune loudly in the shower. Taiyang plodded down the stairs and headed for the front door.
Yang met him there and gave a smile.
"Call me if anything happens. Anything at all. And if-"
"Dad, we'll be fine." Yang cut her father off.
"I...You know I can't help but worry." He informed her.
"I know, Dad. I've got this under control." She smiled.
Taiyang smiled back before leaning forward and kissing his eldest daughter on the forehead. He pulled back and looked over at Zwei.
"Zwei!" He called.
The corgi halted in his attempts to catch the fly once more and turned towards his master.
"You keep an eye on our guest too, boy." He joked while putting on his warm coat and boots.
Zwei struck a pose and went stock still as if he were a pointer instead of a corgi. He stared at the unknown human in the house. The masters laughed but he didn't understand what was so funny. His task was serious business, there was a stranger in the house!
That pesky fly from earlier had the gall to land on his nose and Zwei glared at it with unfathomable hatred. He swore to make it pay for such a daring act of war!
Taiyang laughed at the family dog's antics and stepped out into the night. He trudged around to the side of the house and got into the family car. He started the green SUV and drove down the dirt road towards his late wife's grave.
When the blonde Huntsman arrived at the foot trail that led up to the cliff, he shut off the car's engine and stepped out. He didn't bother locking it or taking the keys with him. No one ever came up this way so far out of town. And besides, the trail up to Summer's grave was too narrow for a car to fit through anyway.
Taiyang took his scroll and switched on its flashlight feature before setting out on the path at a measured run. After several minutes he reached the clearing and let out a breath. He saw Summer's marker resting at the edge of the cliff and wished dearly he was there to visit her instead of looking for a supposed UFO.
His eyes scanned the treeline until he found several trees that had splintered tops. The branches that were broken on the trees were not small.
'Ruby wasn't kidding, you'd have to be blind to miss all this.' Taiyang thought.
Tai followed the path of destruction into the woods and stood slack-jawed when he finally saw what his daughter had described.
"What the hell…" He gasped.
Taiyang knew his youngest kid couldn't lie to save her life, but he hadn't expected to see exactly what Ruby had earlier described laying in a small crater. He had thought it was just the overactive imagination of a child and the added adrenaline rush of seeing an airship crash that made Ruby come up with such a story. But that wasn't the case, because the object in front of him was no airship.
This was something Taiyang had never seen before.
The cylindrical object lay inside a small crater of its own making with a large, jagged rock piercing the rounded end. All the snow for several meters around it was completely gone, revealing the soggy ground underneath, and the scent of blood was heavy in the air.
Taiyang looked down and noticed Grimm tracks inside the area bereft of snow. The footprints appeared to be from a pack of juvenile Beowolves but the tracks were...strange.
Grimm were predictable creatures. When faced with a Human or Faunus, they attacked immediately and without mercy. When they encountered something new, Grimm would investigate it to see if whatever it was could be a person. If whatever they encountered wasn't a person, then Grimm would simply move on.
These tracks weren't of a pack of Beowolves checking out something they'd never seen before and continuing on their way. It almost looked like they'd been fighting each other. But that wasn't possible. Grimm were only aggressive towards people.
Well, people and occasionally wildlife. But that only happened if an animal felt like its territory was being threatened, or if a predator tried to force a Grimm away from its kill. And Grimm almost always won those skirmishes when they occurred. Grimm and animals largely ignored each other for the most part.
Taiyang scratched his head in confusion. He had no idea what was going on here. The idea that he was looking at an actual UFO entered his mind for a second before being dismissed just as quickly.
That was crazy talk, UFOs didn't exist!
Or did they?
Taiyang groaned at the string of thoughts that his youngest daughter had put in his head and began to follow the scattered Beowolf tracks around the object. He stopped and frowned when he noticed another, larger set of tracks enter the fray. A few feet later, he frowned harder when the amount of Beowolf tracks began to shrink.
He then spotted confirmation of his theory. The bonelike masks of a juvenile Beowolf pack lay strewn about all over the place. These Grimm had fought and killed each other! And it seemed like the Beowolves lost, hard.
But why would they do that?
Taiyang looked at the one remaining set of tracks and cautiously followed them.
When he made it around to the cylinder's other side, he stopped once more. For the second time tonight, Taiyang Xiao Long was completely stunned by what he was seeing. On the other side of the object was a hatch of some sort, just large enough for a person to fit through. But it wasn't the hatch that had the Huntsman shocked, oh no.
It was the Ursa Minor that had stuck its head inside the hatch and was now standing completely still as if it were a statue.
"What the fuck…" Taiyang whispered incredulously.
It had to have his approach, it wasn't like he was trying to be stealthy. And he could tell from where he stood that it had enough space to remove its head from the object. So why then wasn't it attacking?
The sheer bizarreness of the situation finally got to Taiyang and he activated his scroll's camera and started recording.
'This isn't normal, Qrow needs to see this!' Tai thought.
Taiyang had seen Grimm act a bit strangely before. Ursai were known for behaving a bit strangely due to having an affinity for sweet smells, particularly tree sap. But he'd never seen a Grimm do anything like this before. Ignoring a person was unprecedented.
After a full minute without the Ursa moving an inch, Taiyang crept closer to the beast. Nothing changed. So crept closer. Again, nothing.
Eventually, he got within a foot of the creature. He was so close that he could reach out and touch it if he wanted to. Taiyang figured he'd gotten enough footage and deployed Dragon's Claw into its combat mode. As he reared back a fist in preparation to slit the Grimm's throat he finally heard it.
SCHLOP SCHLOP SCHLOP SCHLOP
Taiyang paused at the sound faintly echoing from the inside of the metal tube. He didn't think it was possible but things got even stranger. The Ursa was trying to drink something on the inside of the cylinder!
Taiyang lowered his fist and stepped back several paces. This was so far beyond normal. Something very wrong was happening here and it wasn't just because of the Ursa.
"This is too fuckin' weird. He's gotta see this for himself." The blonde man mumbled.
He swiftly went to his scroll's contact list and called his brother-in-law. He hoped the man was sober enough to get here soon.
After a few rings, Qrow picked up.
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Qrow Branwen had quite a few moments in his life where luck just wasn't on his side.
Like right now.
Qrow sat inside one of Palinwood's nicer bars and was pretty sure he was gonna score with the hot blonde a few seats down that'd been giving him ever since he came in.
That was until his scroll rang.
'I swear to God, Oz, I'm gonna lose it if you keep calling me! I've barely been home a week!' He raged internally.
He let it ring a few times just to be petty. When he finally put his scroll out, he was shocked to see the call wasn't from Ozpin but instead his brother-in-law.
'Tai never calls this late. I wonder what's going on?'
He answered the call and was immediately greeted by the sound of his old teammate's voice.
"Qrow, listen. I need you to get up here to Summer's grave ASAP! I've got one hell of a situation up here!" Taiyang exclaimed.
Qrow's eyebrows shot up at hearing that.
"What are you doing up there this tim-"
"No time for questions, just fly your ass up here now!" Taiyang cut the man off.
This really must've been serious. Tai wouldn't have been so upset otherwise.
"Alright, I'm on my way." Qrow informed the man before shutting down the call.
He slipped his scroll back into his pocket, slammed the rest of his drink, pulled out enough Drakken to cover it, tossed the money on the counter, and rushed out of the bar.
Qrow strolled into a nearby alley, checked for any witnesses or security cameras, and morphed into his avian form. He then spread his wings and took the sky.
Qrow quickly gained altitude and sped off towards Tai's location. As he flew, Qrow couldn't help but wonder what had gotten Taiyang's feathers so ruffled.
No pun intended!
'He would've told me if somethin' happened to the kids…' Qrow pondered.
After 20 minutes of flying under a clear moonlit night, Qrow had made it to his old friend's gravesite.
'What the fuck?' Qrow thought.
Qrow easily spotted a trail of devastation leading away from the clearing and into the forest with a literal bird's-eye view. Qrow followed it and soared over the broken treetops before he came upon possibly the strangest thing he'd ever seen.
And Qrow Branwen had seen some very strange things throughout his life.
He spotted his brother-in-law and landed next to him. After transforming back into his human form, he took a second to take it all in before he spoke.
'Now I see why Tai's panties were in such a twist.'
"Tai, what the actual fuck am I looking at? What the hell's that smell? Did someone die around here? And what's with bear balls with his head stuck over there?" Qrow fired off questions.
Taiyang groaned and rubbed his temples.
"I was hoping you'd be able to answer that." The blonde-haired man replied.
Qrow's eyes widened in surprise.
"Me?! Why would I know what's going on here?" He exclaimed.
"This whole night reeks of Ozpin's shenanigans." Taiyang elaborated.
"What makes you say that? This looks like Atlas tech to me." Qrow narrowed his eyes at the object.
"Pretty sure Atlas tech can't make Grimm go into a trance." Taiyang remarked as he walked right up to the Ursa.
It made no attempts to move so Qrow followed suit and stood next to Taiyang. Qrow's eyes widened again when he saw that the Ursa had enough room to pull its head free if it wished but chose not to.
"Okay, I see what you mean. I thought the big SOB was just stuck!" Qrow gawked.
"Nope. Plus, it's drinking whatever is in there." Tai stated.
Qrow's face gained a look of confusion. The only Grimm that drank anything were the types that sucked blood and Ursa certainly didn't do that. Hell, they didn't even have lips. So if what Tai said was true, then the Ursa Minor must've been having quite the hard time in there.
Taiyang put a finger to lips in a gesture to be quiet. After a second, Qrow heard it.
SCHLOP SCHLOP SCHLOP SCHLOP
"Something's wrong here, Qrow. Ursa don't behave like this." Taiyang fretted.
"Yeah, no shit. This shit is fuckin' weird. And far as I know, Oz has nothing to do with whatever this is." Qrow stated.
Taiyang's face suddenly took on a fearful look.
"Do you think SHE has anything to do with it?!" The Huntsman panicked.
"Tai, calm down! I don't think this is Salem's doing. If she knew about Ruby, then she'd have come after her already. This isn't her doing." Qrow explained.
"What makes you so sure?!" Taiyang shouted.
"Because right now she's focused on the Spring Maiden. I told you about that incident a few months ago. Besides, Oz would never let her lackeys this close to Emerald City." Qrow continued.
Taiyang let out a sigh and his shoulders slumped.
"You're right, Qrow. It's just...It's been a rough night." The Huntsman conceded.
"What exactly happened?" Qrow asked as he leaned against the Ursa's flank.
Just then Qrow's unfortunate Semblance activated. With speed unbefitting of such a large size, the Ursa pulled its head free and swatted Qrow several feet away with one of its massive paws. Before it could attack further, Taiyang leaped towards it and sank Dragon's Claw's blades into its neck.
The Ursa died with a gurgle and Tai pulled his weapons from its neck. The monster began to dissolve in a cloud of black smoke until all that remained was its mask-like skull.
"Owww. Dammit, I was gonna send a picture of that thing to Oz!" Qrow groaned as he picked himself up.
"Don't worry, I made sure to take a video of it. I'll send it to you." Tai chimed in.
"Thanks."
The two men then strode up the hatch the Ursa had seemed so fascinated by and peered inside. On the inside of the tube was a copious amount of orangish liquid that smelled strongly of blood. Most of it appeared to have leaked out due to the hole in the object's hull.
"I take back what I said. I don't think the eggheads in Atlas would make something like this." Qrow tensed.
"This fluid must be what Ruby called the 'blood stuff'." Taiyang muttered.
"What?" Qrow asked.
"Look, it's a long story so I'll give you the short version. Ruby came to visit Summer and saw this thing fall outta some 'sphere of darkness in the sky. She checked it out and found some injured kid inside. She brought him home, and I patched him up. After that, I came up here to investigate, and then I called you." Taiyang explained.
Qrow wasn't sure he believed the sphere of darkness part but quickly second-guessed himself. He'd seen plenty of unbelievable things. Hell, he was gifted the ability to turn into a bird by a fucking wizard.
"How hurt was the kid?" Qrow questioned.
"Cut and bruises. Needed a couple of stitches on his forehead but he was in surprisingly good shape for someone who was just in an accident." Taiyang answered.
"So why didn't you ask him for his side of the story instead of dragging me down here? I'm sure the kid could've told you everything you wanted to know." Qrow griped.
"He was unconscious. Didn't wake up before I left. Ruby said he woke up for a bit and coughed up some of that orange stuff before he fell unconscious again when she climbed inside this thing and got him out. She's also convinced he's an alien." Taiyang explained.
Qrow snorted in amusement and grinned.
'An alien...suuuure…' Qrow thought.
Taiyang didn't look amused. He was the picture of seriousness as he stared past Qrow into the tube.
"Tai...you almost look like you believe it too." Qrow spouted.
"I'm not sure what to believe right now." The man answered.
Taiyang then pointed past Qrow and shined the flashlight on his scroll into the cylinder. The drunken Huntsman swung his gaze around to see what Tai was looking at. Qrow was shocked by what he saw.
Towards the back of the tube was a series of strange machinery that connected to a large chair. The entire thing looked to have been built into the bottom of the cylinder and didn't appear as if it had been placed there.
But why would someone do that?
"The more we find out, the weirder shit gets. It looks like a lot of that stuff spilled out from that hole at the bottom there but if this thing was full when the kid was inside, then how did he not suffocate?" Qrow pondered.
"I don't know." Tai chimed in.
Taiyang's scroll buzzed. It was a text from Yang.
"Looks like our guest has woken up. I'm heading back home, you comin'?" Taiyang asked.
"Yeah, let's go meet our mysterious stranger. I'll give Oz a call after we have a better idea of what's going on." Qrow answered.
"Alright. I'll tell the full story of what's happened so far on the way back."
And with that, the two Huntsmen began the journey back to the Xiao Long log cabin.
XXXXXXXXXX
And that's a wrap for chapter 2! You might have noticed a change to how Grimm die. This will be elaborated upon in later chapters. Also, Zwei is very fun to write!
Palinwood - The Island of Patch's main walled city. The Xiao Long-Rose family live outside its walls
Drakken - The Kingdom of Vale's renamed currency. Lien has been delegated to Mistral's currency. Haven't named Atlas or Vacuo's currencies yet.
Until next time.