"For it is in passing that we achieve immortality.
Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all,
infinite in distance and unbound by death."
In a bunker deep in the mountains...
Homura Akemi tested the tension on her bowstring. Thankfully, she was able to pull it back completely without the reinforced wire snapping in her hands. That was one reason to be happy. One of very few...
The frigid temperatures of northern Atlas were far from ideal conditions for an archer. Worse still was the blizzard currently rolling over the mountainside, the snow obscuring her vision and the winds limiting the accuracy of her shots. Suffice it to say, of the three huntresses who've been assigned with her, she was the most disadvantaged by the environment.
"Of all the missions to land, it had to be sentry duty in the mountains," Homura sighed tiredly. "I suppose it could be worse. At least I didn't get that scouting mission up further north. Shizuki and Kamijou can be miserable together for all I care."
For all her grumbling, she was at least thankful she was inside an insulated bunker. Sure there were no lights and no heater, but at least she wasn't exposed on some watch tower dying of a thousand icy cuts. Instead, she sat in the relative comfort of a chair, covered in a blanket, watching the snow storm rage outside her window. She even had someone to talk to
Static filled her ears as one of the other huntresses called her. "Miss Akemi, status report." The calm and polite voice on the line could be none other than Mami Tomoe, the one assigned to be their leader for the mission.
Homura looked outside her window and saw only a blur of white and gray. "I have zero visibility," she answered. She glanced at the scanners and it was similarly clear. "Nothing on the screens, either."
"Understood. Miss Sakura, how are things on your end?"
A new voice came on the line, gruff and casual. "Can't see a damn thing. How long do they plan on keeping us in this blizzard? We'll run outta' aura and freeze to death at this rate!" It was Kyouko Sakura, the third and final huntress assigned to their mission.
Homura hummed in agreement. She wasn't one to complain, at least not aloud, but she was glad to know she wasn't the only one unhappy with their accommodations.
"Miss Sakura, please bear with it for now. We only have a few hours before another group of hunters arrive and take the next shift."
"But it's just soooo booooring. Can't we at least get some action? I'd die a lot happier if I were fighting a Grimm or something outside. Beats dying of cold and boredom any day."
Homura imagined the Kyouko jumping out of her bunker, shouting "FIGHT ME" while swinging her chain-spear around. Interestingly, based on what Homura knew of Kyouko, the lancer would actually do that. It made the scene Homura imagined all the more amusing.
"Miss Sakura, I beg of you: DO NOT go outside and instigate a fight with creatures of Grimm. I'm the one assigned to lead this mission and to have that happen under my watch would look incredibly bad on my record."
"Ooh, a spot on Little Miss Perfect's permanent record. What a tragedy."
"Miss Sakura, you are acting very immature." Mami's voice was stern. It seemed like her patience was starting to thin.
"Oh my GOD, stop it with that Miss Sakura crap, it's driving me crazy! Just call me Kyouko."
"Well, excuse me for being formal." There was the sound of static as Mami sighed. "But you don't care about formalities, much do you?" she said with an air of acceptance. She may have given up on trying to reign Kyouko in. "Very well. You may call me Mami if you wish."
"FINALLY. God, you Atlesians are so stuck up. Lighten up a little."
Homura nodded silently. Hailing from Vale, the archer very much agreed with the sentiment. There was a certain air of self-seriousness whenever she interacted with Atlesian huntsmen and huntresses. She understood that it was merely a natural sense of professionalism, which made sense since Atlas' Hunters were also part of their military. Not that she was one to talk considering how she herself was quite serious and, some would say, aloof and hostile. She didn't necessarily disagree with that description of her...
"I have movement," Mami said, her voice gaining an air of urgency. "Scanners are picking up lifeforms with no aura two hundred feet northwest of my position. Based on their size and number, they're Direwolves."
Homura scowled. Direwolves were found almost exclusively in northern Atlas. They shared more similarities with actual wolves than Beowolves did, running on all fours and relying on tackles and bites more than their claws. And unlike most other creatures of Grimm, their fur was white as opposed to black, blending with the eternal snow of the north. They made no sound until it was time to attack so the only thing their prey heard before they died was the combined howls of an entire pack.
"They have the advantage in this blizzard. We can't fight them. Tomoe, we need to alert the outer wall of this. They can easily deal with them."
"While you're right, keep in mind who has authority here, Miss Akemi." Homura rolled her eyes. Of course she'd still point out her higher rank even considering the situation. "Kyouko, do not engage. That's an order. Understood?" They waited for a response that never came. "Kyouko...? Kyouko Sakura, respond."
Homura grit her teeth. The lancer must have already left her bunker. With the strength of the blizzard, Kyouko's scroll wouldn't be able to get a signal. There was no way to contact her. Mami must have realized this as well.
"Akemi, remain in your bunker and contact the outer wall. I'm sending you the connection protocols you need. I'm going to try and keep Sakura alive."
"Are you crazy? How do you plan to do that?"
"I brought the big guns. It'd be a shame if I didn't use them."
Homura found herself speechless. With just those words, she was convinced. It was not very hard to figure out why. The famous Tiro Barrage Cannons of Mami Tomoe were said to be able to level an entire city block with just a single salvo. It was for that reason that she wasn't allowed to use them on most missions. With Mami equipped with those weapons of mass destruction, a pack of Direwolves wouldn't stand a chance. Homura's only concern was the possible collateral damage they might sustain - a certain Kyouko Sakura currently en-route to Mami's targets.
"Try not to kill her," Homura quipped. With that, she checked her scroll for the connection protocols and began calling the closest control tower of the outer wall.
Meanwhile, somewhere in middle of the blizzard...
There were many uses for aura, from the healing of wounds to the channeling of power into weapons to allow for greater control and power. However, the primary use for aura was that of a shield, protecting one from danger be it from the claws and fangs of a Grimm or the thermal embrace of a blizzard. For Kyouko Sakura, she took that a step further with her primary semblance, the creation of a physical latticework barrier.
With that semblance, she was able to traverse the chest-deep snow with ease, using her barriers as stepping stones. Within a minute, she could feel the dark presence of creatures of Grimm rapidly approaching her. She slowed to a standstill and dropped to a low stance, brandishing her chain-spear.
Rossio Phantom, her weapon was called. The shaft was a length of rigid metal links measuring six feet with a large triangular blade on one end. When the center link was pressed a certain way, the links would separate, connected loosely by energy chains, controlled through the use of her aura. It was a formidable weapon, and in the skillful hands of Kyouko Sakura, it spelled certain death for anyone for whom it was set loose against.
"Come and get some, you pieces of-"
There was a resounding boom that cut her off. The roaring blizzard winds seemed to halt as a shock wave pushed all the air and snow away. In that brief moment of calm, Kyouko's vision was bathed in the reds and oranges cast by a large plume of burning fire dust rising in the distance, before the blizzard winds returned and plunged her back into a world of white.
Kyouko cackled. "A Bloom of Doom from the famous Tiro Barrage. Finally something interesting!" Bouncing on the balls of her feet with excitement, Kyouko ran in the direction of Mami's bunker, another Tiro Barrage landing far behind her as she did so.
Mami's bunker was situated at the top of a large stone outcrop rising out of the snow. Like the one Kyouko stayed in, it was a shallow dome-shaped structure, eight feet high and heavily fortified. It could withstand a constant onslaught of Grimm attacks for well over an hour without signs of damage. As expected, Mami stood at the top of the bunker, two large artillery cannons set up in front of her.
Kyouko crouched low and jumped to Mami's level. "Oi, Mami! Save some for me!"
The blonde gunner turned in surprise. "Kyouko? What are you doing here?"
Kyouko grinned. "Just wanted to see the fireworks." She turned to the direction Mami had her cannons set up. She saw nothing but white. "How do you even see your targets?"
"I don't. I use the radar to figure out where the Grimm are and shoot somewhere in their general vicinity." She shook her head. "Doesn't matter. What are you even doing here!? You're supposed to be in your bunker."
Kyouko shrugged. "I wanted to kill them. Can't let them get away. They get bigger and stronger if we let them live, right?"
Mami massaged her temples. "They were heading in the direction of the outer wall. They would have died anyway!"
Kyouko looked at her confusedly. "If that's true then why the hell were you shooting them?"
"Since you so recklessly left your post and charged headlong into almost certain death, I was trying to kill them before they killed you."
Kyouko waved her off. "Pff, I coulda' taken them."
"Do you even KNOW what a Direwolf is?"
"Basically a Beowolf that always runs on all fours?"
Mami crossed her arms, unamused. "White fur? Makes no noise? Ring any bells?"
Kyouko stared at her blankly. "Uh..."
"I swear, if this is how Vacuo trains their Huntresses, I'm surprised they survived long enough to become a major city."
An ear splitting howl stopped their conversation dead in its tracks as three Direwolves emerged from the white blur of the snow storm. With the two huntresses distracted, the Grimm were easily able to run close the distance and attack.
There was a red flash as Kyouko swung her chain-spear, disconnecting the links and directing the chain with her aura. Before any of the Direwolves even reached them, Rossio Phantom pierced through all of them. Kyouko whistled, impressed. "Wow. They do have white fur."
Mami stared, mouth agape. When Kyouko noticed this, she grinned. "What? I did say I could take them."
Mami nodded slowly. "Yes. Yes you did. Good job."
It took a moment for the two huntresses to notice that the roaring blizzard winds had stopped. When they did, there was a stoic voice that spoke in their ears.
"Hmm, looks like the signal's gotten stronger. Can you two hear me?"
Kyouko laughed. "Ey, Homura!"
Mami pressed her hands against her ears to block Kyouko's voice. "Miss Akemi? What is it?"
"Ah, no. I was only testing the communicator. It seems like it's working just fine. By the way, I can see two Direwolves that ran past you. Shall I kill them or will we let the defenses at the outer wall take care of it?"
Kyouko blinked and turned around, squinting to find the Grimm. She couldn't spot them but Mami seemed to know where they were. "You're free to do as you wish, Miss Akemi. Kill it or not, it doesn't matter."
Following Mami's gaze, Kyouko eventually found the Direwolves. Their white fur made it difficult to see them but their movement gave them away. Still, Kyouko was relatively close to the Grimm while Homura was at least three times as far. How the hell could that Akemi girl even see them from that far away, let alone shoot them?
And yet, as Kyouko tracked the Direwolves' movements, she could clearly see two streaks of purple light strike each of them. They toppled to the ground shortly after, dissolving into white smoke.
"Well, I'll be..." Kyouko breathed.
"Well done, Miss Akemi. You live up to your reputation, I see."
"Thank you. I try." With that, she hung up.
After she was sure Homura was no longer listening, Kyouko turned to Mami. "Okay, what reputation? I never heard of no Homura Akemi back in Vacuo."
"You may of heard of the nick name she got a while back." Mami smiled. "The Angel of Death."
End of chapter...
This came at a bad time considering all the things I am writing right now. However, if any one reading this is a creative in any way, you'll know that, once you have that spark, you have to make use of it or else you'll never get around to it. At least that's what I have experienced.
But unlike my other crossovers, the character designs actually came first. I though of Homura and what she would look like if she had actual archery gear on while wearing her magical girl uniform. Some minor editing of her outfit and then -boom- there you go a new character design!
On my profile is a link to the new character designs as well as a larger version of my cover art. I tried to make the characters look similar enough to their originals while giving them that RWBY flair. Refer to that if you want a more detailed look at what these characters look like.
In any case, this is a PMMM/RWBY crossover. Get hyped!?
Like all of my crossovers, this is a more a crossover where characters from one fandom inhabit the world of a different fandom rather than them interacting with the different characters in some weird merged world. Along with that, I adapt of all the skill and abilities of these characters to the world they now inhabit - if they don't have any, I take what their personality and adapt something from them. As of this moment, I have most of the characters' abilities and and weapons thought out and written down. I need only introduce them in the story.
So far, I've told the basics of the three characters in this chapter. Homura is an archer from Vale who earned the title "Angel of Death" for reasons discussed in the very next chapter. Kyouko is a lancer from Vacuo, and her semblance is a the creation of latticework barriers, though unstated in the story, her semblance is also the creation of latticework chains similar to what she did in Rebellion - that'll be talked about later in the story. While Mami is from Atlas, and her Tiro Finale is now a pair of portable artillery cannons. I wasn't able to discuss it in this story but her weapons are armguards that have ribbon spools used in tandem with four shotgun batons.
If you have questions, suggestions, or violent reactions, feel free to leave a review. I appreciate any feedback I might get.
I hope you all enjoyed this and I'll see you in the next chapter.
EDIT: 2018-02-08: AND NOW FOR AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE
I want to clarify some things about this fic.
Firstly, one of the primary goals of this fic is overhauling RWBY's world building. This mostly consists of making tweaks to the timeline and magic system, partially to fix logical inconsistencies, partially to facilitate the narrative. Any world building introduced in Volume 4 onwards will be ignored or incorporated into this fic on a case by case basis, depending on how much it conflicts with already written content. Easy rule of thumb: if it involves the maidens, relics, gods, or Salem, I'll probably ignore it.
Secondly, this story is focused on characters and is structured like a slice of life anime that just so happens to involve action and fight scenes. Conflicts are small scale. The greater narrative crawls forward rather than walks or runs. Most of the story is characters standing around and talking.
You have been warned.
EDIT 2020-10-25: Changed the wording to be more concise.