A/N (because there will be one at both the beginning and end for this chapter, and maybe future ones): Honestly, I have to admit I don't think I'll keep on trying to rewrite the chapters. For now, at least.
I feel like they get the general idea of the story across well enough, so they ought to do for now. Instead, I think I'd rather take a break at some point way later on in the story to focus on rewrites, but I'm curious as to what you guys think.
Also, sorry for taking so long, but I admittedly suck at writing chapters over long periods of time. Be it due to getting tired, or suddenly wanting to read other fanfiction (and ending up binging them), I've got a bad habit of taking a while to write chapters (It took almost exactly 6 whole fucking months until this chapter came out. Good god, my time management skills are garbage).
But maybe I'll get better at it? Hopefully. Especially considering that I'm actually starting to lay out a plan for the chapters (by that, I mean ones closer to the start. Honestly, I've already got both the final battle and the ending planned out)
Anywho, to the Comment Responses!
Yexius: Can't say what exactly will happen (obviously), but I can say that Matt doesn't go to Mountain Glenn...hehe
On with the story!
It hadn't taken long for Summer and Raven to arrive at the meeting place, though the leader of Team STRQ was admittedly a little worried about her partner, Raven having gone dead silent as they walked. She'd seemed to be focused on something else, her dull red eyes having a slightly glazed look to them.
Summer had asked her what she was thinking about once while they were on their way. All she'd gotten was 'It's nothing' in response.
Geez, why did she even try?..oh, right, because they're friends. Best friends, in fact!...ok, so what if such a statement may or may not have been self-proclaimed. She still believed it. And she would make it a reality if yet wasn't already, darn it!
..a-ahem...right...now wasn't the time to focus on that.
Such a thought was later enforced as Summer saw a familiar red cape in the distance, a small smile appearing on her face.
"Qrow!" She called out, the male Branwen turning around almost immediately after she'd spoken. She picked up the pace as she began to lightly jog, concern briefly flashing inside her as she failed to hear her partner do the same, before disappearing as she heard Raven's footsteps begin to match her own pace. Within less than a minute, they'd already gotten to where Qrow was, as well as Tai and the hunter's from the village.
"What took you so long?" asked Tai with a smile, arms casually crossed.
"I took a while to get ready. I'm sorry."
The three of them went silent, eyes glued to Raven in disbelief. Hell, even Qrow was wide eyed, though not as much as Tai, and especially not as much as Summer.
Raven didn't seem to understand the reactions though, a single black brow rising.
"What?" She asked.
"Did...did you just...apologize..?"
Summer mentally thanked Qrow for having asked the question himself.
"Yes, I did. And your point is?"
"You..you never apologize. For anything." If Summer hadn't known Raven better, she'd have called Tai a liar.
"..I highly doubt that." She said bluntly, arms crossing, "Besides, what have I ever done that would warrant an apology?"
"...Sis, are you forgetting the time you got me electrocuted?!" Qrow almost screamed.
"First of all, in my defense, you were an idiot...well, more of an idiot than you are now, anyways." Raven added, Qrow growling a bit before she cut him off, "And secondly, I wasn't actually the one who told you to 'Hit the lights'."
Wait...oh no. Summer flinched in briefly realization.
"In fact, if I recall correctly, I actually said something along the lines of 'You're a jackass and I'm glad I brought popcorn'." Raven continued.
"Wha — you — !" Qrow cut himself off, Summer turning her head away from him a bit, "wait...but if you didn't tell me to hit the lights..then who did?" Her head turned further away, silver eyes glued to the lush green forest. Though she resisted he urge to squirm as she felt a gaze — maybe two — fall on her, "...Sum..?"
She turned back to face them and...
She giggled. It was a nervous giggle, slipping out before she could stop it and causing her to mentally sort-of curse herself. 'Gosh darn you, Summer!' was about as far as she was willing to go.
"...sorry..?" She said with a sheepish smile, confused — and maybe a little embarrassed — when Tai started to laugh a little. Raven simply rolled her eyes, but Summer could see the amusement present in the Branwen's smile.
But what was Qrow going to say..?
"..it's fine."
Huh?
"Huh?" She couldn't help but ask, especially upon hearing him say it with such a relaxed tone, and a casual smile. What was going on? Was he going to prank her later, like he did with Tai? God, she'd hoped not.
"Hm."
Her head spun to Raven even faster than before.
Had she just laughed?!
Genuinely?!
As in, not with the intent to laugh at pain of others? No, she must've just been hearing things. Maybe she was just clearing her throat. Yeah, that was it! Just had some fle..fleh...phleaghm?
No, phlegm! That was it. Just some phlegm in her throat. Yeah...that was totally it.
"Shut it." Qrow spat back at the sound of his sister's lau—
Cough! Summer mentally corrected, ...cough..right. His cheeks seemed to be a bit more colored, though he turned too quickly for Summer to be certain, "Come on, let's get going." He said before jamming his hands into his pockets and grumbling as he walked.
Summer heard a snort — clearly female — and immediately connected it to Tai. It could only be Tai. Only Tai.
Following Qrow, the four of them eventually made it to where the village hunters were waiting, all equipped with various weaponry, from bows, to swords, and various other kinds of blades. Summer was almost a bit thankful that they were just bows and blades, and not hybrids of some sort. Otherwise, the weapon nut in her might've taken over without warning.
"Hey, Basil! The kids are here!" She heard a voice call out, pouting at their word choice. Why did they have to call them kids? Why not Hunters, or at least Hunters-in-Training? What was the point of drinking milk if this was all the respect others would give her?!
..I think Mom was right, maybe I really do have a teensy bit of anger issues.. She couldn't help but sweatdrop at the realization of her reaction, a sigh escaping her lips, followed by a small shout of surprise at the sudden feel of a hand lightly tapping her back. She looked to her left and silently thanked Tai with a smile and a nod, the blond doing the same in return.
"Ah, there you are!" She heard Basil's voice somewhere to her right. Summer turned her head and her gaze met Basil's form not too far off, the man garbed essentially the same clothes as every other hunter there; a camouflage jacket and matching pants — both the same hue of lush green as the forest — and black boots. A few of the hunters also chose to wear gloves, ranging from dark green to black, but many simply opted not to do so, "Been waiting for you four to show up. Now we can finally start making a strategy."
Basil gestured for them to follow him with his hand, and that they did. The walk was rather brief, though such was a bit helpful in dealing with some of the stares Summer had felt she was getting. Unfortunately, it didn't help stop Summer from wondering why exactly they were making a strategy away from the other hunters.
Was there something he thought they shouldn't know? Something only Hunters-in-Training could handle? She'd hoped not.
They eventually reached a small space, most of the other Hunters standing just a few meters away, save for a few. To Summer's slight surprise, the orange haired woman from the night before was one of the hunters who'd been seemingly waiting for Basil and her team.
She also couldn't help but notice the black bow she'd held firmly in her hand, a matching color quiver on her back, filled with silver arrows.
"Alright," Basil's voice drew Summer's attention away from the woman, "now that we're all here, it's about time we lay out a more detailed plan. We've got the bare bones of one, but we needed you four in order to make it more fleshed out."
Raven nodded, "I'm assuming you know where exactly the Grimm are in the forest?"
"Yeah, we know where they are.." Summer couldn't help but note the hesitation in his voice, and she knew the rest of her team did too, "The exact precision hardly matters all that much, though." Summer's brows furrowed at the statement, lips pursed in a line.
"And why's that?" Qrow asked, "Pretty sure knowing where exactly the Grimm are is supposed to be part of the goal here.."
"Truth is, we didn't even have to look for precise locations." Another hunter spoke up — a man with short black hair and eyes wearing glasses, several dark green knives holstered on his hip, "They've been showing really..odd behavior. They're not scattered like they usually are. They're moving like a wave, but..."
"But?" Taiyang asked.
"But they aren't attacking." The man said with a sigh, arms crossing, "They should've been able to sniff us out and kill us with ease, before you guys even got here. But ever since the night before you four arrived, it's like they've..lost interest in us."
Confusion filled Summer's mind as she processed the man's words, taking a moment to really understand what he'd said. She'd heard about it having happened in the past..but it felt surreal to actually experience it.
Grimm showing intelligence.
The idea alone left Summer with an uncomfortable feeling in her gut.
"And that's not all." The orange haired woman spoke up, "When we tried to have a team see what was going on, the Grimm started to show hostility when we were just metres away from them. Around 48, to be exact. Fortunately, dealing with some of them wasn't too hard. Even managed to kill around 5 myself." Summer didn't miss the slight prideful smile the woman gained.
"..Shit, Mer. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you weren't pregnant." Summer's eyes became like saucers at the new voice's comment.
"You're pregnant?!" She exclaimed.
"Yeah, and?" The newly named 'Mer' asked, a brow raised slightly as she observed the shocked expressions of half of Team STRQ's members. While Taiyang had shared Summer's complete disbelief, the Huntress-in-Training couldn't help but feel a bit more surprised when she saw the Branwen twins with surprisingly calm expressions.
"Why are you guys not freaking out about this?!" She exclaimed.
"Uh..!" Qrow..stuttered? Since when did Qrow ever stutter? "Well, uh..I mean—"
"What my idiot brother is trying to say" Raven cut in, arms crossed, "is that they obviously wouldn't have let her come if it would hinder her in battle."
"But that isn't the issue here!" Summer exclaimed.
"She's right, you know."
Summer went silent as she heard Mer speak up once again, turning her head to the orange haired archer.
"I'm well aware of how incredibly dangerous this is for me and..well, you know.." She laughed lightly, placing a hand in her stomach, "I've been pregnant for about five days now..and I'd be lying if I said that I'm just as scared of Grimm as I usually am. Just thinking about them even getting just a little too close..getting close enough.." The brief, visible shiver she'd experienced was more than enough of an explanation of how she'd felt.
"..then why..?"
"Because if I don't fight..then that only makes it more likely that I'll never see them. That they'll never be able to see the world..and I can't let that happen." The response had left Summer surprised, and the certainty in Mer's voice had been enough to make Summer's eyes widen with the same emotion, "Then again, that is why we're here. To fight for everyone's survival. Not just ours." She finished with a smile.
"Hm." The man wearing glasses laughed lightly, "Look at you, sounding all heroic." His voice had a teasing tone to it, one that Mer responded to with a roll of her eyes and a light punch to his shoulder, playfully telling him to shut up.
"That aside," Basil reentered the conversation, "We think it would be best to split up into two teams, with two of you on each. That way, we can cover more ground, and it's safer than having 4 groups with one of you per group."
The plan sounded solid. Summer knew were all four of them were plenty capable Hunters-in-Training, each easily capable of taking out large amounts of Grimm by themselves. In fact, as far as teams went, they were the best in Beacon. And the white rose herself actually had a bit of a reputation as the second best student in Beacon, having only lost to Scarlet.
A reputation that she admittedly wore with an odd mixture of pride and shyness.
"That sounds pretty ballsy." Qrow commented, "You sure the hunters here are ready for this?"
Summer noted the slightly worried tone in his voice, but chose not to speak up about it. Though it still left her feeling just a bit off.
"Yes, I'm absolutely certain. They all know what they're about to face, but they also know what's at stake. I can personally confirm that they've made their resolve."
Summer couldn't help but worry just a little, in spite of Basil's words. She believed Basil — truly, she did. But in the back of her mind, she couldn't help but think that it've might been too much for the hunters. She remembered all too well how many Grimm had been attracted by Matthew, back then. It was, frankly, a miracle they'd managed to take out all of the Grimm while bringing Matthew back to the village.
Too bad more had come, for reasons neither she, nor the others, including the villagers, didn't know.
"..well, in that case, I'd say it's time we get started." Qrow spoke, Summer feeling his attention then shifting to her, "Sum?"
Her lips pursued a straight line for a moment. This mission was definitely extremely dangerous for the hunters, and the slight grain of pessimism within her being whispered in her mind that at least one casualty was likely, though she fiercely ignored it. If death really was a possibility for them..
"..Okay."
Then she would just have to make sure nobody died.
"..Hey...so..uh.." One of the hunters began. Actually, truth be told, the hunter speaking wasn't even a grown man. He was just a boy - seemingly Summer's age, if not maybe a year younger, with short dark brown hair and gray eyes.
"What is it?" Summer asked.
"The Grimm..they're a lot of them up ahead..a-aren't there..?" Summer couldn't help but internally wince at the restrained terror she'd felt in his voice through the way it quivered.
It hadn't been long since their trek to where the Grimm were had begun, and both she and Raven had already noticed the uneasy looks on many of the Hunters' faces.
"You sure the hunters here are ready for this?" Qrow's words flashed in Summer's mind. He'd sounded..seriously concerned. It was a little unnerving, really — she hadn't ever heard him sound genuinely worried, and it only made said emotion grow just a smidge inside her gut briefly, before she shoved it into the deepest recesses of her mind and shook her head.
If I'm scared, then who else will there be to be brave?
Raven didn't count in her mind. She gave off more of a 'This is nothing, I'm perfectly fine, and if you die to this, then you're a weakling' sort of vibe. That wasn't what they'd needed.
"..yeah..there are." Summer replied, "..what kind of weapon do you use?"
"Huh?" He seemed caught off guard, "What kind of..weapon?"
"Yeah. What kind?" She asked gently.
"I..have a sword," He lightly lifted the blade in his hand for evidence, "but I normally use a bow." The fact that he could in general was apparent to Summer, with the bow on his back and the quiver filled with arrows at his hip. Plus, his build seemed more like it'd been from archery than swordsmanship.
How good he was exactly, she had no idea, other than knowing for certain that he was nowhere near a Hunter's level.
"Got it..in that case, I suggest you find a place in the trees. Somewhere where you'll blend in easily enough with the leaves, and where you also have a good enough view to be able to use your bow with confidence. And try your best to stay calm." The reason why went unspoken between them, both well aware of the Grimm's ability to sniff out negative emotions with ease, "And.."
"..and?" He asked, the nervousness in his tone and on his face giving way just a bit. A gentle smile grew on Summer's face.
"Don't be afraid to call out for help."
"Oh, don't worry, I'm definitely gonna be doing some of that." Summer held back the urge to giggle a bit, but she let her smile grow a tad more at the sight of it. It seemed like her plan had worked, judging by how he'd begun walking just a little taller, and trembling a bit less.
The details may have seemed minor, but there was improvement, and that was all she'd wanted.
Okay..I guess I should—
At the sight of the ever familiar black fur not too far ahead, her instincts went on high alert.
Her arm quickly stuck out to the side, palm facing the boy and the other hunters behind her, the sound of several footsteps halting on the grassy terrain reaching her ears. She looked over to Raven, only to see the Branwen had stopped as well, a tense, but ready hand at her side, while the other sat calmly on the butt of her blade's handle.
Summer's hand calmly went for the weapon holstered at her back — a curved short-sword named Osiria — and she unsheathed it. The weapon had a handle colored a shade of red matching that of a rose, and both a hilt and blade the color of snow.
The ears of the one of the Grimm ahead flickered, a growl soon following the motion. It turned slowly, and so had the others near it in response, glowing red eyes suddenly focused on Summer, Raven, and all the hunters.
The wind blew softly through the trees, though the deep growls of the Grimm ahead destroyed any kind of calm it had a chance of creating.
Neither Summer nor Raven said anything. Not when they'd readied themselves to charge.
Not when the Grimm began to advance towards them.
And not they'd shot forward with their blades in-hand.
The sound of metal making hard contact with something rang loud, the sound hanging in the air for a brief moment.
"Ow! Son of a motherfu—!"
"Raine! Language!"
"Kiss my ass, you four-eyed prick!"
"What do her glasses have to do with this?"
That's what your concern is? Matthew couldn't help but deadpan at Scarlet's question, while making sure he remained well behind her as he watched Raine and Teal yell at one another from a distance, the former taking a knee to massage her shin — which had accidentally made not-so-friendly contact with a stop sign she hadn't known was there while throwing a small fit.
The reason for said fit? Well...
"Raine, calm down.." He heard Laurel say, her tone a bit sad, "It's not like this is anything new..so just—"
"No, fuck that!" She spat back angrily, "Those little shits have the nerve to put up those damned signs, treating y..." She hesitated. They were in public, after all. Though such a fact didn't mean her anger would fade whatsoever, "the Faunus, like they're animals!"
"Raine—"
"Oh, but I'll show 'em an animal alright — right after I take this fucking abomination," In a lighter situation, Matthew would've laughed when she pointed at the stop sign, but he held himself back, "and SHOVE IT RIGHT UP THEIR—"
"Raine."
Everyone went silent. The voice sounded familiar — no, that wasn't right. He knew who it was. It just felt..off to hear her that way. Firm. Commanding. Powerful. And, honestly, a bit chilling.
Damn...Scarlet can be scary when she wants to be..
"I get that you're angry." The missing warmth in Scarlet's voice returned a bit, "We all are." Scarlet gestured to everyone else, "But exploding like this here won't solve anything. In fact, it'll just make things worse."
"..." Raine glared at the ground, hands tightly curled into shaking fists. And honestly, Matthew couldn't blame her.
He'd have been lying if he'd said he'd felt just as enraged, due to not only the fact that he was seemingly a far calmer person than she was, but also because of a lack in overall experience with Faunus in general. He just wasn't as close to the issue as she was, nor was he as close to it as anyone else on Remnant, really.
Still, the sight of it had admittedly been almost revolting, to say the least.
From what he could remember, the RWBY series had never actually shown that much racism towards the Faunus through methods aside from people actually referring to them with racial slurs. And even that hadn't been very widespread, nor too obvious.
It was, all things considered, surprisingly tame.
Which was why he was rather blown aback when he saw the surprisingly large amount of establishments, either bearing a "No Faunus Allowed" sign, or vandalized with paint on the walls or windows, one of the most frustratingly common messages being 'GO BACK TO YOUR JUNGLE'.
On the slightly bright side, Matthew did get an answer for if he was still capable of feeling rage, or if him losing his memories had somehow taken that away to some extent. The answer was yes — the former, that is.
Also, he'd gotten a sneak-peak at a Semblance for the first time since arriving on Remnant.
Said display had occurred by the time they'd passed by maybe the 16th establishment with a sign prohibiting Faunus entry. Raine's palms had begun to emit flickering lights, along with a frequent crack and pop sound.
Suddenly the comment about Raine being a walking bomb had made a lot more sense to him.
"Scarlet's right," Teal said, "Losing your cool won't do us any good here."
Raine clicked her tongue, her glare still steadily directed at the floor.
It won't do them any good here.. Matthew pondered, ...but maybe it will somewhere else?
"What do you mean by that?"
Scarlet's voice snapped him out of his thoughts, and the Earthling was met with all four of Team SLRT's gazes. It was almost enough to make him jump back, but he managed to fight back most of the urge, to the point where the only fearful reaction he showed was a slight widening of his eyes.
"..did..I say that out loud?"
"Yeah, you did." Raine said, "Now, you gonna tell us what the fuck you meant, or not?"
Can she even say a full sentence without swearing?
The thought was a curious one, but Matthew brushed it off, figuring that zoning out in front of someone who'd been essentially referred to as rather explosive may not have been the best idea.
"Well...I was just thinking..Beacon's probably got some robots you guys use for training right?"
I'm talking out of my ass, but it beats saying nothing!
Really, he had no idea whether that was true or not, but with the technology they had, something told Matthew it wasn't too wrong of him to suspect that Beacon Academy had such things.
"They do, but students aren't allowed to use them after 10:45."
Son of a bitch, I was right! Teal's explanation had left him feeling a little better, and glad that he seemingly hadn't said something stupid, judging by the way that Raine had calmed down just a smidge.
"Oh..in that case..how about the arena? Do they still let you guys spar there?"
"Yeah, 'til 11:00, I think.." Laurel answered.
"It's 9:03 now." Scarlet noted after taking a quick look at her scroll, "His idea doesn't sound too bad. Spars can be good for letting off some steam. How 'bout it, girls? Get the scroll, then head back to Beacon for one or two rounds?"
"I mean...I guess it wouldn't be too bad.."
"I'd rather not." Teal said simply, "One shower is more than enough for me."
Understandable, Matthew reasoned. He could see the idea of two showers in one day being annoying to some people. Still, Laurel's on board with it. What about Scarlet and Raine?
"Well, I'm up for it!" Scarlet declared cheerfully, "Raine?"
The girl in question remained silent for a bit, arms crossed as she let her eyes close. An exhale escaped her lips a few moments later, though she fixed a glare on Matthew moments after it did.
"You got lucky." was all she said.
He wasn't sure if he should have felt confused, terrified, or satisfied.
"I'll take that as a yes!" Scarlet cheered, "Now, onward, to the electronics store!"
Thank god I managed to pull that off, Matthew let out a breath he didn't know he was holding as the girls began to walk ahead of him.
Something told him that the bits of Faunus discrimination he'd seen wasn't about to go away as they continued their journey.
He could only hope that he could help keep their spirits up.
"Raven, behi—!"
Her partner seemed to not even need the warning, quickly turning while drawing her sword in a fluid motion, a quick red arc slicing both through the air and clean through the Ursa's neck. The Grimm's head and neck slid off from its body, both evaporating into the same ash-like substance before its head even hit the ground.
Summer felt a small smile come to her lips for a very brief moment at the sight of her partner's ease when it came to handling the Grimm on her end. Though the moment passed just as fast as it'd came, silver eyes hardening at the sound of several familiar growls to her left.
Summer turned and saw multiple — around seven, she counted — Ursa watching her in the distance, red eyes glowing ominously, though they seemed to show her a greater amount of ferocity, for reasons she couldn't figure out. But, such wasn't the main question her mind as she readied herself, her weapon gripped tightly in her hands.
Rather, she'd been wondering about their behavior.
Why are so many of them together? What's going on? She wondered to herself. The thought had been bugging her since the private meeting between her team and Basil — and even more so since the battle began — and she couldn't figure out an exact reason for the way they were acting. Granted, it wasn't uncommon for Grimm to be found in groups.
But this...something didn't feel right here. It felt like there were too many for this to be ordinary.
...but, then again, she supposed that didn't really matter right now.
For now.. Summer let her eyes gain a hardened look, the light in them fading out a bit, giving them a colder, metallic gleam, just focus on getting rid of them.
In an instant, she was off.
Launching towards the enemy, her form a barely visible white blur, Summer immediately killed 5 of the Ursa with impossible-to-track cuts either through their throats, or their skulls, as she flew by. The Huntress-in-Training quickly fixed her form as she spun in the air, landing crouched and skidding a few feet back. Her blade was already gripped at her sides by the time she'd come to a stop, the last remaining Grimm taking a moment before turning around to glare, red orbs seemingly trying to burn a whole through her face.
All while ignoring the six ascending piles of black ash, which meshed together in the air briefly before disappearing entirely.
With a soft exhale, Summer's posture became more relaxed, and her eyes regained their normal cheery light. At this point, being like that wasn't necessary. One Ursa was barely even a problem, if any at all.
Though the Grimm didn't take too kindly to her gesture, as it charged at her with a roar.
Only to be decapitated with a somewhat casual swing of her blade.
Summer let out a sigh as she continued to walk forward, ignoring the disappearance of its ashy remains. If she was done this quickly, then how was the rest of her team fairing? They couldn't have been doing too badly. Though Summer was undoubtedly the best among them, they were still plenty powerful themselves.
But that was to be expected of them, being Hunters-in-Training after all.
"Raven!" She called out as she saw her partner sheathe her weapon up ahead. The Branwen seemed not to notice Summer, or even hear her, for that matter. Instead, she maintained an angry glare at the grass a few feet away from her, "Hey, Raven!"
That seemed to get her attention.
Raven flinched before turning her head to Summer, wearing an expression that seemed to be a mix between surprise and frustration. If Summer hadn't known any better, she would've taken it personally. She knew her friend better than that.
Still, what was she upset about?
"What's wrong?" Raven's expression returned to a normal, leveled look.
"..It's nothing." Her partner left no room for her to respond, Raven beginning to walk away the moment after the words left her lips. Summer tried to call out for her to wait, but a deep, booming growl cut her off. Both
their heads swerved quickly to the direction where the sound came from, not seeing anything at first.
"What the..?" Summer didn't bother finishing.
It had taken a moment or two for Summer to finally spot..something, moving in the forest, its large black form — seemingly almost twice her size — flickering in and out of existence as it walked through the forest, the tree bark doing a frustratingly good job at making it hard for her to pinpoint where exactly it was. Darn it, why did dark brown almost look like black at a distance?!
Summer's eyes narrowed, brows furrowing in frustration as she tried to make out what exactly it was, until something else caught her eye. Her breath hitched the moment she saw it, a form of green seemingly hovering above the ground, bouncing lightly in unison with the black figure as it walked. It didn't take her long to put together what was likely happening.
She didn't know what that thing was, but it was carrying something.
Possibly someone.
The idea of the latter had already sent her in a sprint towards mysterious figure of darkness, ignoring her partner's calls as dashed forward. With Osiria gripped tightly in her hand, Summer put more strength in her legs, wind blowing past her faster as she accelerated greatly.
Mere moments had passed before Summer finally saw a path of dug up dirt stretching horizontally, the Huntress-in-Training quickly forcing herself to a stop once she reached it. Silver eyes quickly shot forward..but...
"...w..wh..."
She froze.
Her blood ran cold, her body stiffening and refusing to move at the sight of the hulking mass of darkness just 10 meters away from her. Its back muscles — along with the rest of it's body — were ridiculous in size and definition. And if Summer hadn't been busy questioning whether or not she was seeing things, she'd have claimed that the muscles on its back seemed to form some kind of evil face, with two smaller muscles forming a sinister pair of eyes, while the ones on the lower back worked together to form a nasty snarl.
It had taken Summer a moment to notice that she'd been seemingly hypnotized by just its back before she shook her head lightly and took in its full form. It wasn't any easier to digest mentally, she thought.
Looking at it at that moment, Summer was certain it was twice her size, with grossly visible veins due to its ridiculously large, defined muscles running all around its body. The only thing on it that didn't seem to be outrageously ripped was its slowly moving tail, like that of a bull.
Summer's heart almost stopped when its foosteps did.
An otherworldly growl came from whatever it had for a face — or at least she hoped it did. Its head was covered in black rags resembling a hood, though something seemed to be protruding from the sides of its head, slightly altering the shape of the hood at the sides.
Though Summer was honestly hoping she wouldn't find out for sure. She could've sworn she'd felt the vibrations from the bellowing guttural noise it emitted.
She wasn't even sure if this was a Grimm. Its pitch black figure was almost telling her in her face that it was, but something in her wanted to deny it. Not even Goliaths carried this sort of aura with them, as ironic as such a word may have been in such usage.
This sense of inevitable death, of unrelenting, cold rage that was almost palpable..it..it—
"SUMMER!"
Summer snapped somewhat out of her fear-drunken daze at the sound of a voice that was familiar, yet not. She felt something grab her cloak fiercely and pull her back into pitch black, before the lush green forests appeared before her once again, as she landed flat on her back, too dazed to fully process the light, brief vibration she felt beneath her. Not yet fully back in her right mind, Summer blinked a few times before realizing that she'd actually been sweating rather heavily, brows furrowing in confusion briefly.
What happened?
She remembered seeing something moving up ahead, and that something else had made her take action and go after it. And...
Oh, she thought with a shiver before slowly sitting up, one hand tightly clenching the cloth where her heart was, while the other dug its fingers into the dirt. She hated the fact that she was shivering. She hated that she almost felt like crying. She hated all of it, and so much more.
What would be the consequences? What if whatever that thing was had already killed people? What if it was on its way to kill more? And what about the other shape she'd seen at a distance? Was that a person? Had she let someone get kidnapped? Had she let it take a poor soul's corpse as some sort of twisted trophy? Or was it—
"Summer." She once again snapped out of it as she felt a pair of hands grip her shoulders firmly before shaking them. Summer lifted her gaze and found it meeting that of her partner, Raven's normally dull red eyes, to Summer's small surprise, actually containing some worry, "Are you okay..?"
"I.." It was all she could force out, her voice trembling, before memories of it made her go silent again. Shaky breaths left Summer for a few moments before she took in a deep breath, her racing heartbeat calming down just a smidge, "..I..I think so.."
"I see.." Raven sounded calm, but Summer couldn't help but notice a single bead of sweat on her forehead, as hard as it was to see behind her bangs, "You're lucky I got to you in time. Otherwise.." Raven's gaze, turning nervous, traveled up to something behind Summer. Brows furrowing in confusion at the sight of Raven's expression, Summer slowly turned her head, a morbid feeling creeping up her neck the closer she felt she got to what Raven saw.
Her eyes shot open the moment she saw it.
While the trees in front of them obstructed her vision a bit, her ability to see the damage was all the same. Beyond the trees in front of them, she saw an open field, built upon dirt and trees that had either been crushed, ripped apart, or simply torn from their roots and left there to lay.
She was damn certain that the monstrosity she saw earlier was the one who caused so much damage. But what in the world had it attacked with?! Maybe what it was holding wasn't a person, but a weapon? But in that case, then what kind? A blade? A club? Something else?
It took all her strength to ignore the possibility that it could have used someone's corpse as a weapon of such mass destruction.
But...what if it hadn't used a weapon? What if that was just pure brute strength without the aid of any tool? The idea of such a possibility was terrifying to Summer. Not as much as the corpse-weapon - which she refused to even ponder about in the slightest - but definitely still enough to send chills down her spine.
"..I don't know what it was.." Summer finally managed to force the words out, her voice trembling just a bit. She began to feel her heart pump with decreasing speed and force, the blood pumping in her ears doing the same as she took slightly deeper breaths.
"Hopefully we won't ever need to find out.." She heard her partner say quietly. The Huntress in her wanted to disagree. It was their duty to protect others, to make sure people could rest safely, knowing that the Huntsman and Huntresses were doing there best to fight for them and keep them safe. And a lack of knowledge on a foe, especially on such a nightmarishly dangerous one, could prove fatal not only for the innocent civilians, but also for the Hunters trying to protect them.
..but at the same time...Summer couldn't help cut mentally chide herself as she gently nodded in response.
The sound of fingers gently tapping the table seemed to quietly fill the room — an action she only really partook when faced with boredom, or when musing over something.
It was, admittedly, a habit of hers she had yet to discard in all her years — one she normally would hold her self back from doing.
Memories of the past tended to be...troublesome.
...but today, or rather, this exact moment, was..different, with all her attention being focused on the item held in her bull-headed Grimm's hand.
..it seems I managed to reach it in time.. She mused silently with her chin propped against her fist, red eyes flashing briefly with ominous amusement. A smile appeared on her face before she leisurely got up from her chair, calmly sending the Seer Grimm away with a slow flick of her wrist. Each relaxed step she took filled the room with an echo, until she finally reached outside her lair, greeted by the barren, rocky wasteland that was her domain, enormous purple crystals stabbing out of the ground. Both the land and the sky were painted a deep red, the only bright colors in sight being the bright red clouds that carried an ominous feeling of death, and the ever so familiar broken moon, hanging shattered in the sky.
The pool turning her into what she was now, along with living and mentally growing for centuries, had made it easier to stare at the sight for a bit, but..unsavory memories always made her stop gazing.
A cool exhale escaped Salem's lips, her breath briefly visible as a red mist before it vanished. She walked down the steps, deciding to head towards an area that had, to her own surprise years ago, become her favorite spot within her domain. The spot where some of her best creations had been made. Ones reserved only for more..significant tasks. There was no need to use their strength on ants that needed only weaker Grimm in order to be held back.
There was, however, a need for them from time to time.
Especially now, when new, surprisingly unfamiliar presences had arrived on the field.
..And now, it seems I'll finally see one of them. She couldn't help but think about it again.
It had all begun that one day - that one peculiar day, in the Forest of Life. Something — no, someone — had attracted Grimm to the forest formerly void of her creations. In mere moments, it was as if they'd all gone wild, even completely ignoring her own orders to halt, as they bolted to what must've seemed to them like something far better than a five star buffet.
And she couldn't blame them. After all, she sensed it too.
The negativity from that one spot..from that one person, so incredibly pungent that, for the first time in centuries, she actually felt genuine surprise after being caught off guard. She could practically taste the miasma, feeling each and every single emotion within what seemed like an ocean of darkness.
Gloom.
Anger.
Sadness.
Fear.
Confusion.
Pessimism.
Despair.
And so much more..
Salem could've sworn she'd felt a tingle race up her spine as she felt the brief, yet gigantic flash of negative emotions. But, just as fast as it came, it vanished. And worse, it had seemed that, judging from what she saw through her Grimm, whoever it was had been rescued by, at bare minimum, four children, all armed and highly skilled, for what they were.
Ozpin's work, no doubt.
She'd almost felt like sending a hoard of Grimm barreling toward his academy, just to get at least a glimpse of whoever it was that was bearing such strong hatred — such pure despair. She snapped out of it the moment after the thought crossed her mind though, even going so far as to lightly chastise herself for almost losing her patience like that.
All those centuries of planning, and she could've wasted it all..
But who would've known that a second anomaly would appear in that very same forest? Perhaps luck was on her side after all, she remembered musing after almost immediately having the Grimm already present search for it, while clarifying not to kill it, while also sending in more Grimm to keep any Huntsmen or Huntresses from finding it first. It left her a bit surprised really, how quick she was to react to the new presence's appearance. The second hadn't even let out much more negativity, but it seemed..lighter. It wasn't as strong as that of the first anomaly, though it still felt...foreign, somehow. Had the first mysterious person's negativity left her temporarily sensitive? And why had this second's felt so different?
Come to think of it, the first's had felt foreign to her as well, something she only realized upon further thought. Were they both from lands she had yet to discover on Remnant?
No, that couldn't have been possible. Not when already she'd gone to every Kingdom in Remnant all those centuries ago.
But if not from the Kingdoms, then where?
All were questions that only further fueled her resolve to get at least one of them.
So much so, in fact, that she'd sent one of her stronger, older creations: the Tavros. It was a creation of hers which was around..half as old as the Grimm Dragon? She wasn't completely certain, having stopped counting after the first two centuries of the Dragon's existence. Regardless, she'd known it would get the job done, so she'd sent it to go and bring the second anomaly back to her.
"I'm almost a bit anxious." She admitted with a light huff, her lips curled upward. She stopped walking once she reached the edge of a cliff, overlooking a large pit, filled to the brim with a black ooze that reeked with the scent of ashes and oil mixed together, "It's been a while since I've even felt anything like this." She mused.
The sound of slow footstomps behind her caught her ear, Salem turning her head calmly until she was looking over her shoulder. Her eyes widened, her brows rose, and a smile appeared on her face as she saw the Tavros standing behind her at a distance, a person held in one of its arms. They hung loosely in its hold, head, arms, and legs drooping down with no resistance. The Tavros placed the figure down gently on the ground, back first, Salem finally taking in its, or rather, his, appearance.
It was a human boy, seemingly in his late teens, with brown skin and short, dark hair. He wore some sort of green, unzipped jacket, the sleeves messily cut off at his elbows, and a dark grey shirt underneath. He also wore torn blue pants, and dark purple and white shoes that went just above his ankles. In addition, he wore a pair of black wristbands, along with a seemingly silver necklace with an apostrophe. Salem admittedly wasn't certain if it was indeed made of silver, the ornament so filthy that she'd actually thought it was rusting for a moment.
In fact, every part of the boy was covered in some form of dirt or soot, though at varying degrees depending on what part of his body. Though, things like the dirt weren't what made Salem's brows rise ever so slightly.
Rather, it was the dark red circlular stain on his shirt, the colored area clinging to his skin with a scent that Salem was ever so familiar with...and yet, wasn't. In fact, the more she let the scent of what was most likely his blood enter her nose, the less she recognized it as a familiar one. There was something..off, about it. More than anything, it sharply contrasted with the rather wine-like scent that all the others' blood gave off. Or, at least, that was what it smelled like to her.
But the boy's blood smelled..metallic. Like iron, in particular.
Blood made from steel.. The thought amused her for a moment before she brushed it off with a mental huff.
But still, everything she'd seen and sensed up until that point just left her wondering more and more — what exactly was this child? And just how much was the other person like him?
What indeed... She thought as she watched him in silence, scarlet eyes fixed on his chest, which rose and descended gently with every breath he took. She figured it may have been safe to say that this was not, by any chance, the anomaly who appeared first, judging by how peaceful the boy looked.
But who knew? Perhaps she would be proven wrong.
She stared at him for a few more moments before finally speaking, "...Place him in one of the cells.." The Tavros followed her orders without hesitation, gently scooping up the boy in his arm and carrying him the same way he had before. Her gaze followed the bull-headed Grimm as it stomped away, though her eyes weren't focused on the beast.
If the world of Remnant was a body of water, then two rocks had just been thrown downwards, straight into the center.
I wonder, Ozpin, A smile grew on her lips as her predatory crimson eyes flashed with an ominous glow, just how much this ripple will spread..
The End
A/N: Ok. So, this chapter was surprisingly kinda frustrating to write, but damn am I glad I managed to do so!
There are a few things here and there that I feel like I probably could've done better on, like how I described the Tavros while trying to show just how scared shitless Summer was.
That, and maybe a few other things that I may or may not have noticed. Feel free to point out my flaws, so hopefully I can do a better job in future chapters.
This one was really just meant to be an action chapter, as well as a slight character introduction chapter with the ending.
Oh! And before I forget, I feel that I should mention one more thing. For those wondering what exactly the Tavros' looks like, basically picture this:
A combination between Yujiro Hanma (the back), Bisuit Oliva (muscle size and definition), and Pickle (overall size), with fur and the head of a bull. As for the sound it made..well, think of a growl as guttural, deep, and resonant as possible, then triple the intensity of the chills you feel, and that should give you a pretty good idea of just how scary the Tavros sounds.
Yep. It's a flat out unholy monster (even by Grimm standards).
Speaking of Grimm, in comes Salem!
I had a surprisingly hard time writing her. I wanted to create kind of an eerie feeling around her, but I honestly don't think I succeeded. But hey, maybe writing her more will help with that.
Also, side note, JESUS CHRIST, RWBY V6 IS OUT.
AND I'VE BEEN ENJOYING EVERY DAMN SECOND OF IT.
(Seriously though, good fucking job RoosterTeeth, hopefully the quality'll stay consistently good)
I'm surprisingly glad that it took me so long to put this chapter out, otherwise I might've unnecessarily made up Ozpin and Salem's history.