Author's Note:
Hey there prospective 's been a fair few years since I've written anything on fanfic, but lately I've had the itch. So, fresh account (because I want to bury my past that was cringe-fic) because I want to start anew as a brand new writer.
I want to try my hand at properly doing a full-length novel, but not only that, applying a consistent update schedule. Discipline is key. We'll see how long that lasts, but I do want to expand my skillset, and the only way to do that is to write, and take feedback. So I'll get to the point and keep this brief.
This is going to be a fantasy AU in Remnant. The differences will become pretty apparent within the first few chapters, but I'll let the story speak for itself. A couple of quick notes.
I will not be using OC's, especially in any major role. For minor roles that are necessary by plot, perhaps. Essentially, any character acting in a major or somewhat plot relevant role is a canon character, whether from the web show, or spinoffs/novels etc. Technically, because this is an actual AU, and not the ' I change canon slightly to fit my headcanon canon', the characters are, realistically speaking, going to likely be slightly OOC. Nothing major or too concerning. I will just be taking some creative liberties to make the character's work and fit naturally within the setting I have created, but I also will be trying to minimise the cast being too OOC. At least in terms of core personality and background in relation to how I want the story to proceed.
One other thing. While this story isn't going to be straight-up grimdark like say, AOT, it will have it's more explicit moments and potentially upsetting content. That is entirely subjective to you the reader, however. To me, really,all that matters is context. Does it serve a purpose in the narrative? Then T is fine. Is it gratuitous for the sake of being explicit, then I guess it teeters more to the M line. I dunno, if I start getting a lot of complaints as the story progresses, I might increase the rating to M.
Anyway. I won't make it a habit to put long Author notes at the start of future chapters. This was really only to just clarify some basic expectations for you the reader. I'll let the story speak for itself and let you decide if it is ultimately worth your time to read. Let's get this show on the road!
Arc 1 - Chapter 1
Five-year-old Ruby watched in a mixture of unadulterated fear, shock and horror as the bloodied metal blade grew from her mother's abdomen.
The sounds of steel scraping against steel became distant in the large tent, and the silhouettes of warriors battling outside blurred.
"MOOOOOOOMMMMY!"
The shrill shriek of her despairing daughter was enough to catch Summer's attention, and with tremendous effort and strain, she shrugged the man off behind her in a massive spin, blade still impaled in her.
The man stumbled behind her, grip on both her and the sword lost.
Summer quickly reached for a short compact knife she kept hidden underneath her bloodstained cloak, all pain momentarily forgotten as she drew back protectively in front of her petrified daughter, ready to face her attacker with swift determination, injuries be damned. Until she saw his face.
Her eyes widened in surprise, and her grip wavered, the pain in her near-mortal wound returning.
"Taiyang…"
The man in question slowly stood up straight and looked his wife in the eyes. The same eyes that but a second ago held a vicious determination, and now were laced with confusion and hurt.
"Tai… w-why?"
Ruby crashed into her mother's leg in a strong embrace, ugly tears and wailing as she screamed for her mother, to be alright, and to seek warmth and safety.
Tai took a deep breath, and for a minute, nought but the sounds of a treacherous battle outside could be heard.
"My job is to kill you. Why else would I stab you."
The dispassionate voice droned in a monotone pitch as if it were automated. It was all lacking life, just as his eyes were, a fact that Summer was quick to suddenly pick upon. They were misted over as if he were in a trance.
"Tai… this isn't you. What's wrong?" Her pleading went ignored as Taiyang took a menacing step forward.
"Tai! Hrn," blood bubbled out of her mouth.
"Don't do this to me. Think of Ruby!"
The words didn't register with the man.
Except.
He suddenly stopped, and for a moment, Summer dared to hope.
That very hope was dashed as her husband took his practiced fighting stance, one foot pointing towards her, the other ready to pivot him in whatever direction she would attempt to move.
Tears welled in her eyes, their silver sheen reflecting the torchlight inside the tent.
"Don't make me do this. Don't make Ruby go through this. Please, Tai… I'm begging you."
No response. At that moment, Summer knew. She knew she was no longer dealing with her caring husband, but instead a berserker warrior and killer. One hellbent on destroying what was in front of him.
"Daddy! Please! Don't! Why are you hurting Mommy!"
Taiyang's eyes sharply shot to his daughter, his cold gaze sizing her up like a predator a hapless lamb ready to be killed.
She instinctively shielded Ruby with her body, and wasted no time, injured or not, to return her own fierce gaze.
"I will not let you touch Ruby."
Taiyang only stared dispassionately, and the silence that reigned was agonising, only broken by the screams of dying men and clashing weapons outside.
Those fogged-over eyes suddenly met hers.
"The master wants the silver-eyed bearers dead."
She wanted to cry.
"Tai, this isn't you!"
The man in question didn't respond.
She stared at her husband, despairing, when finally he moved.
She barely had time to push Ruby out of harm's way before Taiyang crashed into her, his aura deflecting her small knife in a flash of sparks.
Using brute strength alone, he quickly batted her knife away, leaving her open and exposed for a brutal headbutt.
Summer barely had her aura brought up to avoid having her skull cracked open like an egg through Taiyangs aura-enhanced strength. The blow still left her with stars across her vision, and with a sword already rammed into her abdomen, there was little more she could do to defend herself.
So she did the only thing a mother could do in such a situation.
"RUN RUBY!"
Ruby could only watch in sheer terror as her father mounted his mother and began to rain blow after blow onto her mother's face.
Each flash of aura grew dimmer and dimmer after every impact, and Summer's attempts to block each blow were rendered useless until finally, her aura broke.
"GAH!"
A blood-spittled gasp escaped Summer's throat as Taiyang's hardened fist came down and broke her nose, sending several teeth flying with concerning levels of blood.
Summer was still alive, however, and under a rapidly swelling eye, she weakly directed her gaze to where her daughter lay petrified.
"Run… Ruby… Please… Run…"
Alas, the poor girl was too shaken to move, and she did the only thing she felt she could do in such a situation.
She cried.
Big fat ugly tears exploded out from her eyes, snot bubbling in her nostrils, and blood flushing to her face, a piercing wail escaping her throat.
Unfortunately, that was more than sufficient to claim the attention of Taiyang.
Misted eyes shot over to his daughter, devoid of remorse nor compassion. It didn't take a scholar to understand his immediate intentions as he stood up menacingly, reared to full height.
"Taiyang… no!"
Summer's bloodied face morphed into horror as she realised what was about to happen.
With a swift, single and brutal motion, he grasped the hilt of the sword buried in her back, and ripped it out, sending blood spraying out as she was flipped over. An agonised scream escaped her blood-drenched lips, but the man didn't acknowledge her in the slightest.
Brandishing the sword, he stalked toward the wailing child.
"Daddy! Why are you hurting Mommy!"
The words came out in broken gasps for air in between sobs.
Taiyang didn't even show recognition to his daughter. He merely raised the bloodied blade over his head, mere seconds away from delivering a single killing blow to his own daughter.
It didn't come. Instead, the force of a raging Summer colliding with a man easily twice her size, a banshee screech of fury roaring from her lips, was what greeted Ruby's vision.
Taiyang was sent flying to the side, with Summer on top of him.
The sword was sent arcing through the air a safe distance away.
Summer's eyes were molten fury, and without any regard for her own pain and injuries, she stayed straddled on top of her husband, keeping him pinned from moving as she screamed and raged.
Ruby could only keep watching.
"Ruby… Listen to me…."
She jolted out of her trance and looked at her mother who was sparing her a glance.
"You… you need to run…"
"But…," she began.
"RUN!" roared Summer, keeping a thrashing Taiyang at bay as he struggled to fight her off.
Ruby flinched as she stood up. Seeing her mother looking at her with such fury was too much to bear.
Summer must have realised how frightening she looked, for her gaze instantly softened.
Despite half her face being near caved in and bloodied, she shot Ruby as earnest a look of compassion as she could.
"Run, and get away from here, my little Rose."
Ruby backed away in fright, the sobs and tears still wracking her body.
"Run, and survive. I will find you later. I promise you."
Taiyang's hands shot up and wrapped around her face, and in an attempt to force her off, he began to drive his thumbs into her eyes.
Summer let out a scream as she was forced to concede her lock on the berserker, allowing him to fling her off of him.
"Hrn… RUN RUBY! JUST RUN!"
One step backwards, and after what felt like an eternity, she took a second back, before turning her back entirely on the nightmare unfolding in front of her very eyes.
Before she knew it, Ruby was barging out of the tent entrance into the cold night air, and into another nightmare.
The small entourage of trusted warriors that were accompanying her mother were currently in a fight for their very lives. A fight they were losing.
The night sky was lit up by the flames of all the nearby tents being alight. In between the burning materials were scattered soldiers under her mother's banner, all of which were currently embroiled in a fight for survival against numerous assailants dressed in black.
Swords, spears and daggers plunged into the flesh of the armed entourage repeatedly, their blood staining the ground crimson, whilst the attackers weaved in and out.
The fight was already over, it was just that the good men and women that Ruby vaguely knew had yet to accept their deaths in earnest.
Head darting from left to right, Ruby looked for an opening into the surrounding snow-covered forest before finding what she sought.
With no regard other than to run away and hide as per her mother's instructions, she dashed headfirst in a straight line to the nearest opening she could find.
The soldiers and mystery attackers surrounding her paid no heed to the small child dashing in between them, her tears drowned out in the din of metal clashing and screams of the wounded and dying.
She almost had made it to the edge of the tents and forest, when suddenly her world flipped. Literally.
The impact knocked her clean off of her feet and sent her crashing onto her back with an audible thump and sharp jolt of air escaping her lungs.
The sound of creepy laughter growing crisper and closer helped her regain focus from her temporary daze.
"Well well. Look what I spy with my little eye!"
The source of the voice suddenly loomed over her, and instantly she felt a shudder of terror wash down her spine and into the pit of her stomach.
Maniacal gold eyes were plastered onto a long, narrow and thin face, with a single long-braided ponytail disappearing over a white, sleeveless, button-up tunic.
An equally disturbing grin that seemed permanently etched onto his face generated a low, yet continuous chuckle.
Before she could react, she was suddenly hoisted up by her throat.
The grin on the madman before her seemed to only grow wider as he appraised her much more intensely, his nose practically touching hers.
"Silver eyes? You had better pray that you aren't what I think you are little missy. He hehe."
"Let go of me you meanie!" Ruby thrashed in the stranger's grip, all to no avail. Instead, the man tightened his grip, and Ruby found herself unable to breathe.
"Feisty, aren't we."
The crazy smile that was all teeth suddenly vanished, only to be replaced by a sinister leer.
"Perhaps a little too feisty. To call lil' old me a meanie. That tongue of yours is absolutely filthy."
An arachnoid tail with a vicious stinger loomed over the man, pointed down at her face.
"Perhaps I should remove it? Yes, yes that will do just nicely."
She couldn't even let out a terrified whimper because of how tightly the lunatic was clamping her throat.
"Tyrian," a gruff voice barked out.
"Our mission is quite clear. We don't need any of your extra… theatrics."
Tyrian let out a disgruntled snarl, as if he was a starving dog robbed of a delicious meal. Perhaps the analogy wasn't too far off, as he unceremoniously dumped her onto the ground like she was nothing.
She coughed, gasped, sputtered and wheezed as fresh air raced back into her burning lungs.
The owner of the voice suddenly walked into view from behind the tent on her right, and by the good word, he was huge. Even bigger than her father.
Massive muscles that threatened to tear out of a coat and tunic, a red scarf, short hair that was showing signs of growing out into a small mullet, facial stubble, and sunkissed skin.
Tyrian's head lolled to the side as he leaned back, an exasperated groan escaping his lips.
"Urghhhhh. Haaaaaazel. It's not theatrics if it is the will of our goddess!"
The man now identified as Hazel ignored his compatriot's childish behaviour. He merely crossed his arms and stared back with a stern expression.
"Our orders were to kill those with silver eyes. It was never stated that we need to torture them."
Tyrian shrugged, arms out wide.
"Kill, maim? It's all the same to me. Besides," he shot Ruby a venomous glare that radiated loathing.
"Audacious blasphemers that dare think themselves anywhere on par with our glorious goddess should be stamped out with the utmost prejudice."
Pain exploded in her temples as a hard, leather boot suddenly stamped down and drove her face deep into the snow.
"Wouldn't you agree, Hazel?"
Hazel wisely refrained from speaking upon looking at the murderous, and unhinged grin on Tyrian's face that warned he was treading a thin line with his next words.
Tyrian's eyes seemed to search Hazel for something, anything even. Yet the stoic man remained largely unmoved from the violent display.
Ruby let out a pained gasp as the boot slowly removed itself from her head.
"Such a cold look you are giving me. I'm wounded, Hazel."
Tyrian clasped a hand to his chest as he feigned emotional hurt.
The vicious grin returned instantly.
"But even I am aware of your bleeding heart at times. It makes me question your loyalty to our goddess," he slowly paced around Ruby, hands clasped together like he was lecturing a child that made a mess.
"I am aware of who our enemy is, Tyrian. And I understand that she is the only one that is capable of standing against him. My loyalty to her, after everything, is not in doubt."
Hazel didn't once raise his voice. He spoke as if he were stating the obvious to a child only just learning that everyone had two hands.
Tyrian appraised him with one eye open as if he half-doubted his sincerity before he finally relented and crouched over Ruby, his scorpion tail hovering menacingly close to her face, the stinger almost caressing her.
"Of course, my friend. Our goddess surely wouldn't bring you into our fold if she herself questioned your loyalty. And if she did, then it is a test. Ahhhh, so beautiful. So cold, and smart. To think she would be so understanding of your own feelings."
Even Hazel could barely hold back a disturbed flinch at how almost sensual Tyrian sounded.
"Very well, Hazel. I shall spare the young girl her life, and take only her eyes in exchange. HAHAHAHA."
Ruby wept. Unable to move as the stinger poised itself mere centimetres from her right eye. Her left eye took in the visage of a madly cackling Tyrian, all the while Hazel remained unmoving and seemingly uncaring.
Before the unthinkable could happen, however, the main tent that she had fled from suddenly exploded in a large ball of fire, sending with it several bodies flying.
Amongst those bodies were her father, and –
"MOMMY!"
Summer was bloodied, bruised and battered. Her remaining aura had protected her from most of the explosion, but it didn't take an expert to realise that her soul-driven fuel was spent by now.
Blood pooled from her many wounds with no sign of stopping.
As for her father, Taiyang slowly stood up, his aura sputtering as it too finally extinguished.
They were both mere metres from her. The sounds of battle had vanished as only the enemy assailants remained. The crackling of fire and the sounds of Ruby's subdued weeping were all that could be heard.
"Wha- what happened? Summer? Summer!"
Taiyang's panicked voice could be heard despite how raspy it sounded. A clearer look revealed that his eyes were no longer misted over, but instead shone a vibrant ocean blue.
"DADDY! WHY'D YOU HURT MOMMY!"
Taiyang shot his eyes in surprise at where Ruby was, and they instantly hardened once he saw what was happening.
"Ruby?! YOU! GET AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTER –ARGH!"
Before Taiyang could even muster what little strength he had left, a meaty thud could be heard as something impacted the back of his head hard.
He collapsed to his hands and knees, revealing a lithe, but lanky, cloaked figure wielding a short-sword.
It was a testament to his endurance that he wasn't knocked clean out. Something the cloaked figure sought to rectify with a vicious strike to the side of Taiyang's face with the flat of the blade.
Taiyang hit the ground face-first with a groan.
Tyrian eased off of Ruby as he turned to face the newcomer whilst Hazel stepped forward, gesturing to Taiyang as he spoke
"It is impressive you kept such control over him for so long."
The cloaked figure removed his hood, revealing tanned skin containing a youthful face. Long black hair with a silver diadem was tied into a topknot, whilst cold eyes laced with arrogant conviction gazed out back to Tyrian.
"I know how my semblance works. I'd suggest you have a little more faith," quipped a non-too-pleased voice.
The newcomer let out a sigh, before softening his gaze.
"Still, even I have my limitations. It appears I will have to work on rectifying that in the future."
He delivered a short kick into Taiyang's ribs as he started to push himself up off the ground.
"Won't I?"
Tyrian made a disgusted face as if faux-vomiting.
"Faith. Don't lecture me about faith. There is only one being deserving of faith, and it most certainly is not you."
He ignored the newcomer's scowl, instead shooting a confused look at Hazel.
"Hazel, why exactly did we need him again? I could have done the same job of killing that silver-eyed heretic. Would have been more fun too, hehe."
Hazel could only sigh.
"The boy's semblance is useful. This situation warranted it, lest we'd all be drowning in her summoned Grimm otherwise."
It was Tyrian's turn to scowl as he strode up to the newcomer. The boy barely repressed a flinch at Tyrian's intense scrutiny.
"The plan went off without a hitch, didn't it? I got control of her husband and used him to stab her in the back. She was too busy trying to pacify him to even think she'd need to summon her devil-spawn."
A strange, unwelcome look bid itself across Tyrian's face, but the boy continued nonchalantly, arrogance growing with each passing word as he relished in the details.
"Once he killed her, then it was simply a matter of sweeping up the rabble."
Tyrian's eyes glanced at the still-breathing Summer sceptically, her laboured breaths still audible as she clung desperately to the last vestiges of her fading life.
"Sweeping up the rabble? BWAHAHAHAH." Leaning back, he laughed into the night air until he finally caught his breath, pointing an accusing finger at the boy.
"Oh, that's a good one. You speak as if you did something tonight, yet all you did was hide behind a slave," he glanced at Taiyang, "and let your own people do all the hard work."
Irritation flashed across the other's face.
"I am the King of Vacuo. It makes no sense for me to dirty my hands to such an extent when I have loyal soldiers at my beck and call."
There was that strange look on Tyrian's face at the mention of King.
"And what exactly were you doing all this time? Because the way I see it, I'm the reason why this battle has been won so decisively. A pacifist with honeyed words," he tipped his head towards Hazel, "and an unhinged psychopath. Neither of which have done anything to really contribute to my cause. You claim to have immense skill, yet I haven't seen anything to indicate that at all. It makes me question why I bothered to accept your help at all. What can your supposed goddess offer me if you can't even-"
"BLASPHEMER!"
He didn't get to finish his sentence as Tyrian pounced on him with speed he never had witnessed in his entire life.
Within barely a second, the short-sword was sent flying out of his grasp and he crashing to the ground, pinned by Tyrian whilst his stinger-tail was raised high, poised to spear through his head.
"You dare to profane and deny her after everything she has been so gracious to send your way!"
Ruby flinched as he roared. Hazel, meanwhile, had a slightly concerned expression on his face.
"Perhaps I should open your eyes a little more." The stinger-tail hovering nearby seemed to convey a slightly more violent interpretation, and that was when Hazel decided to step in.
"Tyrian! That is enough." The commanding voice seemed to catch the psychopath's attention who sent a feral glance his way, before easing up off the wide-eyed boy who suddenly realised how close to brushing death he was.
A rumbling voice came from Hazel.
"Jax. I would ask that you forgive my companion's outburst. However, he is not entirely wrong."
Jax slowly stood up after Tyrian reluctantly pried himself off of him.
"The threat that a Grimm-Whisperer poses is something that our benefactor realises. As do most other civilised leaders."
Jax's nostrils flared at the insinuation.
"Once we remove them, then we have no wildcards to contend with."
"I still fail to see how that is relevant. Once I am crowned Monarch of Vacuo, nothing will be able to threaten me!"
Reared back to full height, Jax didn't hesitate to glower at them both with a fierce scowl.
"And I told you before. Don't use my first name so casually. It is King Asturias."
Hazel only shook his head sadly whilst Tyrian grit his teeth at the brat's audacity.
"Yet you are neither a King, nor impervious right now."
Jax nursed his sword hand tenderly whilst averting Tyrian's eyes.
"And as we promised, we will help you claim Vacuo. But first, we must remove any threats on your road to Kingship."
Hazel's gentle manipulative logic seemed to return Jax's senses.
"And among those threats, are her kind," he gestured unkindly to Summer.
"Yesss," purred Tyrian.
"Filthy heretics and blasphemers. All deserving of the same punishment for daring to usurp the natural order!"
A pair of crescent blades shot out from both sides of his leather gauntlets with an audible sching as he began to approach the hapless woman. They were all easily the length of his forearm. How he had them concealed was a mystery.
"Summer…" groaned Taiyang, too weak and battered to stand. He reached a hand out to try and grab his dying wife.
"I am so, so, sorry…" Tears began to streak down his eyes.
Summer's bloodied and swollen face painfully turned to him, and she tried her hardest to give him a loving smile.
"Tai… you're… you're back… You're you…"
"I… I am."
Tyrian now loomed over Summer, a cruel leer plastered across his face.
"I'm going to get us out of here. I… I promise."
The sound of growing crying and footsteps could be heard as a tiny figure crashed into Summer's side.
"Mommy! Please don't go!"
"H-hey. Little rose."
Summer weakly tried to wrap her strongest arm around Ruby in reassurance.
"I'm not going anywhere. Besides, I thought I told you… told you to run..?"
"IM NOT LEAVING YOU!"
Summer could only sigh in resignation.
"Tai. Get her out."
His eyes widened as he realised what Summer was about to do.
"You'll die!"
"But you'll live! Now go – "
Summer didn't get to finish her words as her head suddenly exploded in a shower of gore.
"PRECISELY!" Roared Tyrian in glee, his stinger buried deep into the remains of where her face was.
The following scream from Ruby was unlike her previous. With it, she carried all her horror, denial, terror and rage, mixed in a volatile concoction of grief and hate.
"S-Summer?"
Tai wanted to deny it, but the warm blood of his beloved dripping down his face with chunks of skull and brain was too much evidence.
"Summer," he repeated in denial. Again, again and again. Until…
"SUMMERRRRRRR!"
"Oh?" Tyrian cocked an eyebrow in mild interest at the man's grief.
"It seems I've inadvertently broken this one." He glanced over his shoulder to Jax who looked ready to vomit, eyes wide and face pale.
"You might want to try your magic again, kid. This one's – whoo!"
Tyrian casually dodged the rage-driven uppercut from Taiyang.
"This one's still got some SPICE in him! Hehaha!"
He stood hunched over, one arm bloodied and broken as it dangled uselessly by his side, whilst with the other he wiped blood, sweat and tears from his eyes.
Feral, raging panting came from his murderous visage. His fur-trimmed leather armour was half missing from the explosion, and what little remained was torn and frayed, exposing corded muscles that were currently coated in the blood of his wife.
"You."
It came as a guttural growl, accusatory and relentless.
"You did this."
He moved his feet slowly so he was standing in front of his crying daughter. A living meat shield to the last thing he truly loved on Remnant.
Ruby clung to her deceased mother's torso as her screams echoed throughout the night.
Hazel remained unmoving, whilst Tyrian backflipped a safe distance from Tiayang. The same could not be said for the contingent of Jax's guards that now formed up around him, weapons brandished and ready to defend him if need be.
Tyrian grinned a Cheshire smile as he stared smugly at the broken man before him.
"Hmmm. Yes I did."
Despite his injuries, there was a fire now in Taiyang's eyes. He spat a gob of blood from his mouth before snarling.
"I'm going to kill you."
Tyrian's face bobbed around slightly as he looked up slightly to the right in contemplation.
"Hmm. You sure can try," he giggled.
Golden eyes suddenly fiercely locked back into Taiyang's own bloodthirsty ones.
"Though how will you manage that, pray tell. You're clearly beaten. Broken."
He only got a growl in return.
Tyrian's eyes widened as if he received a sudden epiphany.
"Oh, I know. You've found your magical inner fairy-tale strength to save your daughter now! How kind. Though I must ask? Are you going to use those hands to kill me? The same ones you used to brutally beat your own wife?"
Taiyang flinched, and his eyes for a brief second trailed to his bloodied knuckles.
It was a second too long.
Tyrian pounced like a frenzied wild animal, wrist blades extended, and tail swinging like a whip right into Taiyang, who had neither the strength nor time to react to the sudden attack.
Taiyang's chest was sliced open by the wrist blades, whilst Tyrian's tail acted like a bat directly into his head.
Taiyang was sent flying to the side whilst his blood sprayed in the opposite direction.
The air was knocked straight out of his lungs as he impacted on the ground, the snow doing nothing to cushion his impact.
Tyrian, meanwhile strode forth at a casual pace without a care in the world.
"Really? That's it? It's truly that easy? Pathetic."
Taiyang let out a pained gasp as Tyrian directed his weight into a single knee that knelt down on his bleeding chest.
He brandished his wrist blade under the hapless man's throat, the dancing flames reflecting off whatever surface of the blade was not currently stained with blood.
"Well, before I gut your worthless half-breed, did you have any last words? I am a considerate person, after all. Hehe."
Taiyang ignored the leering face hovering mere centimetres above his own.
"Raven… hrk," a spray of blood and phlegm was coughed up as he hoarsely whispered.
"Hmm?" Tyrian's head tilted to the side in confusion.
"I need you…"
With that, Taiyang's head collapsed into the snow fully, his energy now completely spent.
"You must be really cookoo with all that blood loss?"
Shallow breathing was the only response he got.
"Tyrian," called Jax.
"Just finish him already. I'll deal with the kid."
Tyrian turned his head to see Jax was brandishing his short-sword again as he approached an inconsolable Ruby, still desperately clinging to her mother's corpse.
"Tch. Brat."
With that, he turned back to Taiyang, only to see a long sword blade flying straight at him.
He jumped backwards to avoid being skewered, but the blade was too close and found its mark on his shoulder.
His aura flashed a brief red in the impact site as it deflected the blade.
Wasting no time, he performed several summersaults to backflip a safe distance away near Hazel.
There was a gasp amongst Jax's subordinates as a portal suddenly appeared right over Taiyang.
Oval in shape with a black epicentre, a red misty vortex encapsulated the portal as a tall figure emerged.
The shape was vaguely feminine. Black leather boots with a feather-lined long-sleeved tunic buried underneath a large fur coat to stave off the cold.
A ferocious white bone mask resembling those of the Grimm adorned a face, with wild, long black hair flowing freely from behind.
In the figure's hand was a wickedly sharp and long katana blade that seemed to glow an angry red of its own design.
"Oooh. Now this is interesting."
Jax seemed less enthused about Tyrian's intrigue and wasted no time ordering his men.
"I don't care. Men of the Crown! Kill that person. Now!"
The soldiers garbed in black flowing robes and wrappings quickly rushed forward whilst fanning out to encircle the newcomer.
"Tch. You needed me for some mere rabble?"
An annoyed feminine voice came from the mask as the figure held out her blade in a single hand.
Taiyang was too weak to speak, only giving a pained gasp.
"Ah! Of course. YOU must be Raven!"
The woman in question turned to face Tyrian.
"I would ask how you know my name when we have not even met, but it won't matter since I'll be killing you all."
She didn't even wait for a retort. She simply charged forwards toward her nearest opponent, and with a quick flick, opened up his abdomen with surgical precision.
Blood was sent flying as his guts and intestines poured out.
What was originally set to be thirty of Jax's soldiers versus one woman quickly turned to become a one-sided slaughter as she expertly weaved in and out of them, her movements too fast to track, and her strikes too strong to deflect.
How thirty men overwhelmed an encampment nearly the same size quickly became apparent.
The Crown forces were little more than armed thugs that used the cover of darkness to ambush already tired people. Against someone as strong as Raven, however, they were quick to fold.
Blood splashed the already crimson-stained snow, whilst limbs and weapons went flying.
Raven showed no mercy, and within a matter of seconds, she had already decimated half of the soldiers.
The rest were quick to fall back to avoid her onslaught, taking cover closer to Jax and his two unique allies.
"Shit! What the hell was that," exclaimed Jax over the uncertain whispers of his men.
Raven stopped her rampage and stood stationary in the middle of a sea of dismembered corpses, not a single scratch on her.
"That," began Hazel, all apathy lost as he adopted a more combat-oriented stance, "is a Huntress. One that has her Aura unlocked."
"But that can only mean…?" Began Jax, bravado suddenly gone.
"Ozpin," snarled Hazel in a rare display of fury.
Raven showed no emotion as she brandished her katana.
"Finally!" Tyrian brandished his blades and tail, a thrilled smile on his face.
"A worthy challenge for me to overcome for my queen!"
"Tyrian," cautioned Hazel.
"Ozpin doesn't just grant anyone aura."
"And neither does our goddess!"
For a moment, it looked as if Tyrian was about to charge forth and meet Raven in combat. But then he let his arms drop slightly, much to Hazel's relief.
"Ahhhh," he sighed forlornly.
"Neither does she want us to waste our time with distractions."
"I'm curious," called Raven, suddenly catching everyone's attention.
"What brings a faunus to work together with a Vacuoan and Mistralian?"
"Why," exclaimed Tyrian theatrically, "but our goddess of course! But as much as I would like to preach about her to you, there is work that must be done."
"Indeed," concurred Hazel.
"Kill the child, Jax, so we can go. Tyrian and I will hold the woman off so you don't waste anymore of your men's lives."
Jax was too self-preserving to refuse the offer of keeping his life and letting those two crazies deal with Ozpin's monstrous woman.
He quickly began to run towards Ruby, short-sword brandished.
Raven was quick to intercept him, but so were Tyrian and Hazel, who both moved with incredible speed.
Raven's sword slashed horizontally across Jax's exposed back before he got even halfway to his destination, sending blood flying as he tumbled to his knees screaming in agony.
By that time, Tyrian was on her, laughing the entire time as his blades crashed into her single one.
She quickly pushed him off, only to find herself being overwhelmed by Hazel as he weaved underneath Tyrian to disarm her.
She only just managed to bring her sword back down and catch his fists, the sheer impact of him crashing into her pushing her back several steps.
She quickly broke off from Hazel to create some distance, but Hazel refused to let her create space as he instantly followed her, without any regard for the pain she might be otherwise dealing him.
She swung her sword to hopefully remove his hands, or at the very least force him to back off, but he instead went and tanked the blow.
A flash of aura instantly made her realise how serious the fight was.
Hazel's aura had deflected her blow.
The fact he had aura instantly forced her to reconsider her opponent's strength, but before she could react accordingly, Tyrian materialised behind her, wrist-blades ready to stab her in the back, with his tail poised for a follow-up.
Meanwhile, as the fight continued, Ruby kept crying. Her harsh wails had subdued to harsh sobs as her throat grew more raw.
They killed her. Why mommy? Why daddy?
Over and over, the same thoughts kept coursing through her mind as the violent imagery of her parents fighting and her mother dying kept repeating without relent.
Her grief slowly began to give way to something more raw. Something more visceral. Anger. Rage. Hate.
Her sobs slowly morphed into seething hisses underneath her tears.
She would make them pay for taking away her mommy.
It was at that moment she felt something stir within her; something that had lied dormant within her.
She felt her eyes heat up as if there was fire behind them being rapidly stoked up.
She wanted to cry at the pain, and yet she couldn't stop it.
Her eyes grew hotter with her rage until finally, she felt them swell with such intense heat that they exploded.
Blinding white light shot from both her eyes as she screamed as loud as her lungs would permit her.
The ear-splitting wail was only punctuated by the sudden roar of another monster. No. Several monsters.
From the very ground, smoky black tendrils with silver accents grew, and from them, shapes of various animals.
Some big, some small. Some like wolves, others like bears. But above all, they had one thing in common.
Pitch black fur, with bone armour plates. However, instead of the traditional red pulsing accents native to regular Grimm, the accents were a steely silver that glowed.
That didn't make the visage any less terrifying, for these Grimm were no less dangerous than their regular counterparts. A fact that everyone was about to find out.
Tens of Grimm were summoned forth as Ruby's eyes finally calmed down enough from being blinding miniature suns to now faintly glowing silver orbs.
There was no coherent plan to the Grimm's attack, only a single goal.
Make the bad people go away.
And so, the Grimm surged forth, with no clear distinction between ally and foe. They rampaged forward, guttural and bestial roars drowning out the stampeding of bone-plated paws.
"Shit," murmured Raven as the suddenly materialised ferocious monsters bore down on her and everyone else.
She was grateful for the blinding white light to give her an opening in her three-way fight to escape her opponents. At the very least she had breathing room, however small that was.
As the Grimm reached the first of the Crown's remaining men, it became apparent that it was about to become an even bigger bloodbath.
"Dammit Tyrian!" Roared Hazel as a massive wolf-look Grimm came crashing into him, likely a beowolf.
"This is why I wanted you to finish the girl quickly," he grunted as the massive Grimm failed to die to an aura-enhanced fist strike.
Tyrian, however, paid his partner no mind as he danced around the charging grimm, laughing wildly as his blades made contact with their numerous weak points.
Jax by some fortune had survived Raven's strike and wasted no time ordering his few surviving Crown soldiers to help him escape the onslaught.
One of the soldiers screamed as he was torn in half by a rampaging beringel, the poor man's entrails and blood exploding over the Grimm's face as if it had been hit by a water balloon.
Tossing aside the two halves, it beat its mighty chest with a dominating war cry before charging forth toward Raven.
She quickly jumped over the Grimm's sloppy charge, landing behind it before slashing her katana at its legs, severing them just below the knee.
It crashed to the ground with a mighty roar, but otherwise ignored the pain, if it felt any, and continued a mad dash instead toward the next person in its vision. Which in this case happened to be Tyrian.
The madman saw it limping full speed towards him, and after spectacularly decapitating another beowolf, he charged headforth with a fanatical scream of his own that was starting to morph from glee to unfettered rage.
Raven chose to ignore his screams of the Grimm being 'blasphemous' and 'impure abominations'. Instead, she directed her attention to a barely conscious and still bleeding Taiyang.
What looked to be an ursa was pacing dangerously close to him.
"Dammit Tai," she cursed under her breath.
The battle was a foregone conclusion. She didn't know who the girl was, but it didn't take a genius to realise that she had something to do with the Grimm being related to her. Right now, however, her priority was to rescue Taiyang.
Fortunately, the Grimm were acting mindlessly, moving in only a violent frenzy to kill everything in the nearby radius.
If she were a more virtuous person, she would have sought to eradicate them all. As it was though, they would provide a temporary distraction to the two people she was just fighting so she could rescue Tai.
Hazel grabbed a beowolf mid-air by the throat that dared to pounce on him.
The sudden cessation of motion by his sheer brute strength alone caused the beast's body to swing forward like a pendulum whilst its head came to a terminal stop.
The force alone would have snapped a person's neck.
Not the beowolf, however.
It just kept snapping its razor-sharp teeth while growling in a frenzy.
In one swift motion, he grabbed it by its hips, hoisted it over his head, and slammed its spine over his rising knee.
A flash of aura was seen on impact, and a sickening crunch could be heard as the spine and external bone platings shattered.
"Tyrian! We need to kill the girl before she summons more!"
"GLADLY!"
"Wait! Tyrian –"
It was pointless. Tyrian ignored any attempt at a structured plan by Hazel to deal with Ruby, instead opting to charge straight toward the source of the Grimm spawning.
"Just hold still for me, you filthy little blasphemer!"
Tyrian was quick to close the distance, leaping over and sliding under incoming Grimm until he was almost on top of Ruby.
She could only look up in despair, tears running down bloodshot eyes as Tyrian leapt in the air, blades brandished and ready to bisect her in one single strike.
She raised her arms instinctively to shield herself. A futile attempt, but one nonetheless as there was no time to move back, especially for one as young and inexperienced as herself.
Just as the blade made contact with her clavicle and pierced into flesh, a sudden black mass impacted Tyrian cutting the action short as he was sent flying.
The blade still continued its entire journey through her flesh, but instead of cutting her in two, it started deep in her left shoulder, severing her clavicle, while journeying down her chest diagonally and finishing with but the shallowest of cuts at the tip of her right hip.
She stumbled back with a scream as blood poured profusely, her left arm rendered useless.
Tyrian's aura flashed as the large ursa steamrolled into him, sending him tumbling into the ground, with mud, blood and snow splattering all over his frame as the massive Grimm kept rampaging, pushing him away from Ruby like a train full-steam on a car caught on the tracks.
Wounded, in pain and grief, crying from both, there was only one thing she could do as she mustered the strength to stand up.
Run.
And so run she did.
She ran through the snow, leaving the Grimm and monsters behind. Leaving her daddy- no! That bad man behind. Leaving her mom behind.
"Mom," she cried to herself, eyes clenching tight together as if trying to squeeze the bad images replaying in her mind away, all the while tears streamed freely down her face.
Her pace was abysmal, what with her small stature, the snow, and her still bleeding injury.
The sounds of the Grimm and fighting behind her grew more distant as she kept pushing through the cold snow.
By now, there was no light save what little the broken moon and stars offered.
Still, she kept pushing forward.
Tree roots and rocks buried under the snow tripped her, but she forcefully picked herself up.
Tall grass and tree branches tangled with her small frame, so she broke free, accruing more superficial cuts and bruises along the way.
Still, she pushed on.
As her small lungs burned and her heart felt like it was going to explode, she kept running, desperate to escape from the bad people.
From her mother's desecrated body.
She ran for what felt like forever. It could have been minutes, it could have been hours.
All she knew was she had to get away. She just had to wake up from this horrible nightmare and everything would be back to normal.
Mommy would be there, Daddy would still love them, and those bad people… she couldn't help the shudder that washed over her body as Tyrian and Hazel, two names she would never forget, flashed in her mind.
So she forced herself to run.
And then she saw it.
Light.
A faint amber glow in the distance as she pushed through one last silhouette of a tree branch.
Multiple orange lights she realised as she found herself on the precipice of a small cliff overlooking one small final expanse of the forest below her.
Strange, unnatural shapes lay clumped together, like giant perfectly shaped and cut rocks, with nearly every single one containing what looked like a campfire or lit torch.
Smoke wafted over, but some lights didn't give the same amber flicker nor smoke. Some were even white.
She could feel the throbbing pain in her chest from where Tyrian had slashed her, and her vision briefly blurred.
I don't feel so good…
Dizzily, she took a step forward. A step too close to the edge, as the snow suddenly gave way under her weight, and before she knew it, she was tumbling down the cliff edge and riding the snow in a messy ball down to the bottom, right towards the middle of a small campfire.
With a frightened and painful yelp, she hit the ground, thankfully cushioned by the snow from the mini avalanche she had caused.
However, her surprised yelp wasn't the only one.
"Ah shiiiit! Neo!"
Coming to a crashing stop and half buried in the snow, Ruby just stared up at the night sky, the adrenaline wearing off whilst the physical pain began to return.
As her vision began to blur, she could make out a voice.
"Oh, for – c'mon! I just got this fire started! Dammit."
There was a pause, only punctuated by the crunch of footsteps in the snow.
"There we go. I've got you. Now…" a sigh escaped the man, or boys voice. Was it her, or did he sound kind of high pitched and funny?
She let loose a small, weak cough. The iron tang of blood made itself present on her tongue.
For a brief second, her vision blacked out, and her hearing became muffled. When it returned, she could see the silhouette of what looked like a woman standing over her.
"Mom?" she croaked out.
She felt her vision black out again, and when it came to again, there was now the silhouette of a taller man standing over her.
Her vision and hearing began to fade before she could fully register the details, but she caught what was likely the tail-end of the man's complaint.
"-reat Neo. Just our freaking luck."
With that, her vision faded to black one last time, her hearing vanished, and her body shut down as the night's toll finally caught up with her, both physically and mentally.
So, I don't want to make a habit of clarifying myself in an AU as that just speaks poorly on me as a writer if I can't explain my intentions within the actual fic, but I will make an exception right here and now.
1 - Jax Asturias is actually a canon character, from the novel RWBY: Before the Dawn. Obviously, being aged down a bit means his overall personality is inevitably going to be slightly different as he has yet to have matured into the character he later becomes in the novel, but there aren't going to be any major differences.
2 - The elephant in the room. Taiyang. I'm just going to say it if it wasn't clear. He was being controlled by Jax's semblance. There is no way in hell he would actually willingly hurt his own family. If that wasn't clear throughout the chapter, then please, do let me know as it means I have done a poor job conveying it as a writer. I was going to be more subtle about his mental takeover, and have it revealed later in the story to you as the audience so you would finally understand why he was acting the way he was, but I decided against by being a little more obvious in the exposition so at least you, the reader, can follow along.
3 - In relation to Ruby, being a five-year old with limited understanding of the situation, she actually doesn't realise that her dad was being controlled, which I have made clear through her thought process throughout the chapter. Again, if it wasn't clear by chapter's end, then please let me know so I can work on better expressing myself as an author. You only learn through failure, after all.
Anyways, that's it. Next chapter will debut on July 31st, so next Monday. I intend to have this chapter update weekly on every Monday. That means chapters will float around the 5k limit, give or take a couple thousand words here and there.I wirte based on chapter requirements for the plot, not necessarily on an arbitrary number. But in the case ofsuccessfully meeting my weekly deadline, I want scale back to around that 5k-8k mark.
Thanks for reading if you go this far, and no, I will not be inflating future word-counts with long ANs. I just made the exception this chapter to clarify some things.
Next chapter: Monday 31st July