HoloRWBY-Alternate

An: Another day, another chapter.

Don't have much to say on this one, save that you'll be getting a taste of how Tempus's fights, and there's some special guests. Also, thank you to the friends that helped me get this chapter out! Hope y'all enjoy it!

Chapter 5: First Contact

Redwood national forest; California, USA

It was nearing sunset when the boys finished fortifying their choice of houses.

"Yo! Got another gas canister!" Axel called out as he jogged over to the house.

"Put it on the porch!" Magni replied as he and Jaune screwed some tin over part of a window. It wouldn't offer much protection from a Bigfoot obviously, but it was better than nothing. Axel nodded and moved to the porch to place the canister on the porch with other canisters that the gladiator found.

"That's the third you've pulled from here, Syrios," Magni noted. "Where are you finding all these gas cans? We next to a freaking pond, and I've yet to see a single lawn mower in this village."

"I'm not finding them anywhere," Axel told him. "I'm finding empty canisters and I'm syphoning the gas from the vehicles." Magni turned to him.

"Wait. Seriously?"

"Yeah, is that wrong?"

"What, you gonna blow Bigfoot up or something?"

"It's not the worse idea."

"Maybe, but gasoline doesn't explode like it does in the movies, Syrios."

"I know that!"

Jaune sighed as he moved back to the front of the house, as the side was now secured. He reached the side of the porch when Vesper and Altare walked out the front door. They stopped when they noticed the gas cans. "What's with all the gasoline?" Altare asked.

Jaune turned to them and responded, "Oh, Axel syphoned the gas from the cars and trucks, thinking it could help us with fighting Bigfoot."

"Huh. That could be useful for later," Vesper mused. He knelt and examined the canisters. "Hm…ten-gallon canisters, making about thirty gallons of fuel." He looked up and hummed at an assortment of melee weapons. "A wood axe, some assorted knives, a 9-mil pistol, geez, did Axel find all this in the houses?"

"Seems like the villagers tried to make a stand here," Altare commented and picked up the pistol. Checking the chamber and ejecting the magazine, he examined the firearm intently before nodding and locking the mag back in place. "Hey, Jaune?"

"Yeah?" the blonde asked, turning to the Tempus Guild Leader.

"Ever shoot a gun?"

"Yeah. Ruby and Pyrrha took painstaking efforts to make sure I could fire one without injuring myself," he answered with a wince, remember how the two redheads had ganged up on him and drilled him in the art of PASS (which was Ruby's acronym for 'Point, Aim, Shoot, Stupid.'). Altare nodded to him and spun the gun in his hand until the grip was aimed at Jaune.

"Could be useful," he explained, making the Huntsman nod.

"Yeah. Helps to be prepared," Jaune agreed and grabbed the gun. Quickly going through a quick check of the firearm, he clicked the safety on and tucked it into his belt. Altare smiled and nodded when he heard trucks approaching. He turned his head towards the sound, as did Jaune and the others from Tempus, who came up to the porch as well.

"Sounds like the calvary has arrived," Magni announced as the hunters came barreling into the village. Altare sighed and turned to his team.

"Alright, boys, looks like we're good for now, and night's almost here," he said. "Bigfoot will likely come at us tonight or tomorrow night, so let's just rest up until dusk."

The others nodded and broke off as Altare walked off the porch to meet the hunters. Jaune, meanwhile walked off and sat on top of a picnic table. He watched and observed the hunters around him as they bustled about as his mind wondered off.

He hoped Ruby and the others were ok. He'd hate it if something bad had happened to them. Especially Ruby. She was always there for him. Encouraging him when he was down. Lifting him up when he doubted himself. He didn't know how he'd take it if she wasn't ok.

Of course, he was pretty sure how she'd react when he…finally told her of Penny's death. He already several scenarios planned out depicting each and every possible outcome of him relaying what happened to one of her best friends. She would hate him, and she had the right. He was sure he'd never forgive himself for what he did…

Suddenly, something slammed into his head. "Ow!" Jaune rubbed the sore spot on his head and tried to locate what hit him.

"Sorry! Sorry about that! I didn't aim that boomerang right! I'm sorry!" Jaune groaned as he rubbed his sore temple and turned towards the speaker. He was a fairly tall man with shoulder length, wavy black hair and dark eyes with a five-o-clock shadow. He wore a dark shirt and jeans under a dark flak jacket and had feet clad in combat boots.

Jaune stared at him for a moment before turning to his other side and saw a boomerang laying on the ground. He grunted and reached down and grabbed it. Standing up, he turned again and held the item to the man. "No worries. I guess I should have been paying more attention!" Jaune told him with a smile.

He man took it gratefully. "No, no! It's my fault! I'll take the blame!" he said. He was silent a moment before he sighed. "Anyways! I'm Mark! Nice to meet you!" he introduced himself and held out his hand. Jaune smiled and grabbed it.

"I'm Jaune. Nice to meet you too!" he told him and the two shook hands.

"So, huntin' Bigfoot, too, I take it?" Mark asked.

"Yeah. I'm…kind of a new member of Tempus after I kind of landed on top of them as they were heading here."

"Aah! You're joining up with those hotshots! That's great! You'll get a lot of work with them!" Mark exclaimed and grinned.

"Mark! There you are!" The two turned to see three other men walk up to them. One was tall with dark brown hair with the sides shaved off and blue eyes. He had a beard and wore a hoodie and jeans under a dark flak jacket, like Mark's. The next man had black eyes and was the tallest, bald with a dark beard wearing a red shirt and camo pants with a dark flak jacket. The third was just as tall as the second, though burlier, and had brown eyes and short curly hair. He wore a dark colored shirt with jeans under yet another dark flak jacket.

Mark turned to them. "Oh, hey, guys! Sorry about that! Met a new friend!" Mark apologized. The three waved him off.

"No worries, Mark." The first man turned to Jaune and grinned. "Bottom of the night to ya!" he greeted. "Name's Sean, but everyone calls me Jack."

"I'm Wade, how's it going?" the tall, bearded one said.

"And I'm Bob, what's up?" the third man said.

"Nice to meet you all. I'm Jaune," Jaune told them. They all shook hands and congregated around the picnic table.

"So, you're here to hunt Bigfoot too, I take it?" Bob asked Jaune. He shrugged.

"I guess so. I kind of fell in with the Tempus Guild, and this is their mission. I'm just assisting for now," he answered.

"Oh, nice!" Jack complimented.

"Are they that well known?" Jaune asked.

Wade snorted. "Of course, they're well known! They helped with the incident in New York last year! Don't you remember?" he asked.

"Not really, no. I'm new to Earth."

"Ah!" the four men exclaimed.

"That makes sense!" Bob commented.

"That's why you said you landed on top of them!" Mark laughed. Jaune joined in.

"Yeah, not my best moment!" They all laughed at that. However, the laughter soon died as they heard several rowdy voices from behind them. Turning, they saw several men laughing mockingly and roughhousing with each other. Mark and the others scowled at the men.

"Valentine gang," Wade grumbled, making Jaune turn to him.

"Who?"

"Group of Altered under Josiah Valentine," Bob explained. "A right asshole if there ever was one."

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" a very snobbish voice rang out as a redheaded man walked out from behind a truck. The four's mood darkened.

"And there's the bastard himself," Jack grumbled. Jaune, however, wasn't focused on the man, rather what he was holding. Something he had no right holding. His eyes hardened as he marched forward. The others took notice of this.

"Uh, Jaune?" Mark asked, but Jaune didn't answer. Instead, he continued walking forward.

Soon enough, he was nearing the man. "Excuse me!" Jaune called out cordially, making the men all turn to him. "You're Josiah Valentine, right?" he asked. The redhead turned to him fully and grinned.

"Indeed I am! I'm Josiah Valentine, and these are my boys!" he introduced, and the men roared in response. "Pray tell, what is your name?"

"It's Jaune Arc," he said. "I couldn't help but notice that thing in your hands." Valentine's face split into a massive grin as he displayed it proudly.

"Impressive, isn't it?! Found this beauty in the woods a few moments ago! Must have fallen through the Void!" he explained, holding the massive red, black, and silver weapon, the one and only Crescent Rose, high. Jaune nodded agreeably.

"Yeah, it did. It belongs to a friend of mine. I was wondering if you would allow me to carry it back to her," Jaune explained. Valentine just smirked.

"Now why would I do that?" he asked lightly, letting the giant scythe land on his shoulders.

"Because I'm asking," Jaune told him. "My friend…won't be so courteous if she finds you with her weapon." Valentine hummed in response.

"Well, sorry Jauney boy, but you see, I just so happened to have fallen in love with this monstrosity of nature!" Valentine laughed. "A Maritime Law states that the founder of a sunken treasure is the owner of said treasure!"

Jaune's eye twitched. "How is being on land subject to a maritime law?" Valentine gave him a look of mock confusion.

"Other than a lack of water, how's it not?" His men laughed at the man's joke, but Jaune wasn't laughing. Taking a deep breath, he exhaled and tried again.

"Please," he tried. "She'll want her scythe back."

"Well…" Valentine drawled out, and Jaune instinctually knew (thanks to experience with seven sisters) that he wasn't about to like Valentine's response. "I might part with it, if she's that desperate to have it back. But I'd require some…compensation, in return…" The men started laughing cruelly, and Jaune's whole body tensed. "Hm…what would be a good price…maybe a kiss? No, not enough…perhaps some time of us in the bedr-"

He didn't finish. He couldn't finish. Jaune didn't even allow him the dignity of finishing his sentence. Because Jaune, with a quick and instant application of Aura, surged forward and SLAMMED his fist straight into the nose of the bastard, sending him flying at a truck. Valentine hit with enough force to tilt the truck, but it wasn't enough to stop Valentine's flight. The redhead was flipped into the bed of the truck, the scythe was thrown on the other side of the truck.

Jaune moved to grab it when the men started pulling out guns, making Jaune respond by unsheathing Crocea Mors. "Jaune!" several voices rang out as Tempus, Mark, and Mark's friends appeared behind him.

Valentine emerged from the back of the truck, looking at Jaune in fury and horror. "You BASTARD!" he roared and jumped out of the truck bed. "YOU HIT ME?!"

"I'll do a lot more than that if you don't give me the scythe!" Jaune growled.

"Jaune! Stand down!" Altare ordered, making Valentine turn to him. He smiled cruelly.

"Oh my! What a treat! The Tempus Guild! Still a band of brutes and criminals, I see?!" he mocked. "You would be wise to put a chain on your latest ruffian!"

"Now why would I do that?" Altare countered. "Sounds like something you'd do, Josie." Valentine growled again, but noticed another person behind Jaune, making him laugh.

"Well, as I live and BREATHE!" he chortled. "Mark E. Plier, in the flesh! And his band of misfits! And Jack!"

"Hey!" Jack shouted.

"Have you come to assist this bastard? I'm afraid you'd suffer his fate, as well!" Valentine glared tersely at Jaune and wiped the blood from his nose. "Nobody makes me bleed my own blood!"

"Well then, call me Nobody!" Jaune shot back.

"Insolent…!" Valentine growled and moved to signal his men to fire when suddenly, they heard a shout from the back of the village.

"Bigfoot!" Gunfire and a loud roar were the only warning they received as they turned to see a massive, dark furred behemoth emerge from behind a house. It stood easily over eight feet tall and had a face that looked like a cross of man and ape. It roared again and charged some of the men firing at it, swinging its powerful arms around and knocking the men into the air as they screamed.

"Tempus! Form up!" Altare shouted, and Guild responded by getting into position. Jaune hesitated and turned to where Crescent Rose landed, only to see Valentine had already run over and grabbed it.

"Kill that bitch!" the snob shouted, pointing the massive weapon towards Bigfoot, and his men responded by opening fire. Jaune growled. He desperately wanted to get Ruby's weapon back, but he couldn't ignore the bigger threat! With a shout of anger, he fell in line behind Tempus.

"Let's go guys!" Bob shouted as he grabbed one of Valentine's men's shotguns.

"This better not end up like the Goatman incident, Mark!" Jack growled and grabbed an assault rifle.

"No, no! This is nothing like the Goatman incident! I swear!" Mark denied and took the pistols from two of Valentine's men.

"Here we go again!" Wade muttered as he found a sniper rifle and grabbed it.

Tempus immediately raced at the cryptid as it grabbed a man by its torso and slammed him into the ground harshly. Altare quickly brought his gun saber up and fired several shots straight into the Sasquatch's face. It roared in annoyance and turned to him. It rushed him, but he dodged the swipe by ducking under the swinging arm, allowing Axel to rush in and punch the Bigfoot in the chest several times. The force at which Axel hit it made the beast stagger back in pain as the Gladiator drew back and hit it again with a heavy right hook.

Bigfoot roared as it was thrown off its feet and landed on the ground. Several hunters rushed it and started firing on it, making it roar in pain as several bullets started piercing its thick hide. However, it didn't last as Bigfoot reached out and crushed one hunter's legs with its powerful grip. The man cried out in pain as he started falling, but his fate was much worse. Bigfoot used its captive as a bludgeoning tool to knock all the hunters to the ground as it started standing. Roaring, the cryptid swung his captured hunter at the end of another, and the two's head collided with a sick crunch. Bigfoot let go of the hunter, letting him sail into a tree. Vesper quickly jumped in with his rapier and rapidly slashed at the beast, making it roar in pain. It recovered quick and tried swiping at the Scholar, but Vesper danced around the claw and ran two fingers down his rapier, causing a purplish flame to bloom around the blade.

"Away with you!" he shouted and slashed at Bigfoot, making the flames shoot away from the sword and race at the monster. The purple flames hit Bigfoot with a sizable explosion, making the ape man roar in pain. It staggered to one knee, flames still burning its fur when Magni jumped up from behind it. He took out a piece of paper from his cloak with a strange symbol on it and stuck it to Bigfoot's fur.

"You're not escaping the flames that easily!" he told it as he tapped the paper. Energy surged from the paper into the flames making the flames transformed into burning chains that wrapped tightly around the cryptid's chest. It roared in pain as Altare returned, his Armor of Light shining brightly and his saber's blade lit.

"Let's try something with more punch to it!" he said as he slammed a new magazine into his gun saber. Suddenly, Altare turned into a blue blur and several deep cuts appeared in the Bigfoot's hide. It roared in pain again as Jaune ran up and slammed his shield into its face, knocking it down on its back. Altare jumped high and fired several shots at the cryptid, this time they pierced the hide with audible thumps.

It roared in pain and rose quickly, but Jaune was prepared. He applied Aura to Crocea Mors and swiftly used his Semblance to amplify it, so when the Bigfoot rose to a sitting position, Jaune swung, cutting the Sasquatch deeply across its face, diagonally. It roared and tried to attack him, but Axel appeared in front of Jaune and took the brunt of the swing.

He grunted and was thrown into a car, destroying it. Vesper rushed, but the Bigfoot surprisingly stepped back as Vesper stabbed forward, making the strike miss. Vesper's eyes widened as Bigfoot grabbed Vesper's arm and swung him at Magni. The two collided with a cry and tumbled to the ground. The cryptid turned and rushed Jaune, who raised his shield in defense. The beast struck the shield with a heavy claw, making Jaune stumble back. It struck again, and again Jaune stumbled backwards. However, on the third strike, Jaune pushed back, using his shield's gravity Dust to cause the claw to bounce off.

The two stumbled backwards from the exchange, but Jaune recovered first and pushed off the ground, amplifying his Aura enhanced strength to shoot forward and stab the cryptid in the knee. It roared in pain as Jaune tried to remove his sword. However, he wasn't fast enough, and Bigfoot grabbed Jaune around the middle and threw him into a group of hunters. He groaned as they all landed on the ground.

"Jaune!" Jaune shook the cobwebs from his head and saw Mark and his friends sprawled around him, with Mark the one who shouted to him. Altare, meanwhile, rushed Bigfoot, easily dodging the swipes meant to take his head.

He slid under Bigfoot's legs and spun firing at the back of its legs, making it stumble. Pushing off the ground, Altare ran up and slashed at Bigfoot's side, bending at the waist to dodge a swipe at his head. Bigfoot swung its other arm at the Guild leader, but Altare jumped and spun over the arm. He landed and spun again to dart around another claw. Altare lashed out with his gun saber and cut at its bicep, making a laceration. It roared and ran at Altare, but the Hero jumped out of the way.

He rolled and turned to see the Bigfoot turn to rush him, but he quickly held out his hand. "Holy Light Arrow!" he chanted, calling upon one of the few magic spells he knew. Suddenly, a bright, golden arrow shot from his hand and pierced the Bigfoot's abdomen cleanly, forcing it backwards until the arrow slammed into a redwood, spearing the beast to the tree. It roared loudly in pain before it bowed its head, breathing heavily.

Jaune and the others quickly recovered and started to move to surround the cryptid. Magni and Vesper met Jaune at Altare's side while Axel walked up, picking metal shards out of his hair. The hunters looked at the beast in awe.

"Is it dead?"

"No stupid! Can't you hear it breathing?!"

"Those guys were amazing! Did you see how they made it go down like that?!"

"So, this is the power of the Tempus Guild!"

"Impressive, but likely this was always how it would end."

"That's them Holostars for ya!"

Mark and the others came up behind Jaune. Mark smiled and laughed. "I can't believe it! You caught Bigfoot!" he shouted.

"I don't think we did," Jaune commented.

"You're right, Jaune," Altare said quietly. "I've got a bad feeling about this…"

"…Humans…" a deep, guttural voice reverberated around the village. Everyone was struck and turned to the sound. Many gasped when they saw the Bigfoot glaring at the Tempus Guild. It growled and grabbed the light arrow, ripping it from his stomach with a roar.

"…I wasn't expecting so many of you to have been blessed with such powers by the Great Changing," it spoke again, its voice menacing, but very male. "Or rather…ones summoned here by the Great Changing."

"So, you can talk with humans," Altare noted. "Well, we're here to help these people. Is there any way we can convince you to leave the area?"

"No," it, he, growled again. "There is something here I need, and you humans are making for excellent fodder for my attempts to obtain it."

"What are we, chopped liver, to this thing?" Wade mumbled.

"Wade, not the time," Jack told him.

"However, I was not expecting any to have the power to oppose me," he continued.

"And we're gonna continue being a pain in yer ass," Axel told him.

"I cannot allow that. I must find the old alter before the dark moon," it growled. "But killing you all like this would prevent me from locating it on time. Resorting to this for mere humans is disgraceful, but I will not allow my time to be wasted anymore!" Suddenly, the Bigfoot was surrounded by a yellowish energy, causing everyone to tense.

"W-What is happening?!"

"What is that stuff?!"

"Is he being Altered?!" Axel shouted.

"N-No…" Vesper muttered. "Impossible…!"

"This energy…it's the Alter-Effect, but…I've never heard of it being…summoned like this!" Magni protested.

"Don't tell me…" Altare's eyes widened as several of the minor wounds started healing on Bigfoot, and its muscle mass started increasing. Its claws grew and surrounded its fingertips, and its jaws seemed to expand, and the teeth seemed to grow. "…He's self-Altering?!"

"Be honored, humans," he growled as flexed his fingers. "No humans before you have ever seen my people draw upon the Great Changing's power before, and you shall be the last!

An: …What a twist!

This chapter was WAAAAYYYYYY longer than I wanted, and honestly it wasn't exactly how I envisioned the chapter in my head. I had to cut some interactions short and the fight I had to shorten before the reveal of my interpretation of Bigfoot using the Alter-Effect to change itself. Thankfully, I remedied that by having the Bigfoot simply not have the patience to continue without its powerup, hopefully. And Tempus's abilties will be on display a lot more in their next chapter, I promise.

And of course, we got guest appearances from Markiplier, Jacksepticeye, and their friends Lordminion777 and Muyskerm! That was fun to include them!

Really, I hope it's good. I tried really hard to finish this before I went on vacation, so I hope y'all liked it. Next chapter, we'll swap back to Ruby and the aftermath of discovering Penny's death. Look forward to it.