RWBY Altworld Chapter One: Wilt

The warm summer air on the island of Patch was giving way to the cool breezes of autumn. All around, the leaves on the great oak trees began trading their viridian hues for more amber tones. Another summer break had come and gone, and soon school would reclaim the children of the world of Remnant for another semester's education.

Along with the rustling leaves and gentle whisper of the wind, a careless laughter could be heard as the Xiao Long family enjoyed a late summer picnic together behind the family home. As father Taiyang and daughter Yang prepared the family meal, young Ruby - wrapped in the arms of her mother Summer - giggled gaily, her silver eyes sparkling in the evening sun.

Taking part of her mother's white cloak and draping it loosely over her head, the young girl stood tall and proudly declared, "I'm gonna be a big, strong Huntress when I grow up! Just like you, mama."

"Oh yeah?" Summer responded with a playful grin. "I bet with your adorable eyes alone, you'd be a force to be reckoned with, huh?" Then she found pause. From her years spent hunting the vile creatures of Grimm, she knew firsthand the dangers that noble Huntsmen of their world faced on a near daily basis. The world of Remnant was a cruel one, and Huntsmen were the ones who willingly took a stand against such cruelty. With a bit of an uneasy chuckle, she asked, "But are you sure you wouldn't want to do something else, like working at a bookstore or a Dust shop?"

"Nuh-uh." The young girl was resolute. Growing up, she'd heard not only fairy tales about the mighty Huntsman heroes of yore, but also the stories of her own mother's daring adventures against the creatures of darkness, and she was deeply inspired to do the same. "I'm gonna save the world and help people just like you and all the other Huntsmen from the fairy tales. And then maybe I'll be in my own fairy tale too!"

Summer couldn't help but smile at her daughter. Little Ruby was clearly determined to be a hero, and really there was no nobler profession. For that, she decided to encourage the young girl and play along with her, leaning in to tickle playfully at her daughter's sides. "Well, not even the mightiest of Huntresses stands a chance against the Great Tickle Beast of Patch Island!"

Ruby curled into a ball, laughing wildly. "Stoppit!" she said, squirming to get free. "You know I'm ticklish!"

Soon, their playtime was interrupted by the sound of an older gentleman clearing his throat. The pair looked up to see a slender, surprisingly young looking, grey-haired man in a deep green three-piece suit, scarf, and matching spectacles standing beside them. "I do hope I'm not interrupting anything," he said politely, leaning gently forward on the cane planted before his feet.

"Professor Ozpin." The arrival of this new guest took Taiyang's attention away from his grill as he went to greet the headmaster of the nearby Beacon Academy. "What brings you here? It's not every day someone takes an airship over from the mainland."

Though Ozpin carried a flat tone and expression, his eyes betrayed a sense of concern. "I'm here to see Summer, actually," he answered.

The Huntress in question dusted her skirt off as she climbed to her feet. "What's this about, Ozpin?" she asked, an equal measure of concern in her voice. Looking down at Ruby, she took the girl's hand as she continued, "I'm supposed to be taking this week off from assignments to spend it with my family."

Taiyang moved to comment, but he was stopped by a small tug on the hem of his shirt. Standing beside him was little Yang, who looked on in confusion. "Dad, what's Mr. Ozpin doing here?"

The young father gave his daughter a reassuring tousle of her thick, golden hair as he answered, "He's just here to see Mama Summer, sweetie." Moving his hand to her shoulder, he started to make his way toward the house as he continued, "Come on, let's go inside and get some buns."

"Forgive the intrusion," the professor answered Summer. "Ordinarily, I wouldn't pull you away from our agreed-upon vacation time, but I just recently received a call for help under some very unusual circumstances."

"What do you mean, 'Unusual'?" the Huntress pressed, narrowing her eyes.

"For starters, the request came through an anonymous channel," he explained. "Though they had plenty of information on the mission itself, when I requested that they identify themselves, they adamantly avoided the question. Stranger still, they were insistent that you take the mission, even going so far as to ask for you by your maiden name, Summer Rose."

"That is strange," Summer agreed, crossing her free arm over her waist. "Don't you think it's a little suspicious, in fact?"

Ruby's attention was pulled away for a moment as her father returned from inside the house, followed closely by elder sister Yang, who proudly carried a bag of buns in her arms.

"Most certainly," Ozpin answered as the pair returned. The sound of his voice recaptured the attention of young Ruby as he continued, "Still, as Huntsmen, it is our sworn duty to never ignore a call for help. Regardless of the circumstances, if there's even a chance that someone is truly in need, we can't risk turning a blind eye. Otherwise, we're no better than those that would actively seek to endanger them." Pausing for just a moment, he looked down and met the awestruck gaze of little Ruby, cracking a gentle smile as he added, "That said, there's no reason we can't be smart about this, eh?"

Looking over his shoulder, the professor put his fingers to his lips and whistled a note. At that, another visitor rounded the corner. This one sported a head of dark, slicked back hair and was dressed in a silver tailcoat and red, tattered cape.

"Unca' Qrow!" Ruby gasped with delight, running to wrap her arms tightly around the leg of her half-uncle.

Qrow smiled down at the girl, a warmth in his eyes that was quite unusual for anyone but his nieces. Gently tousling her hair, he greeted her in his deep, gravely voice, "Hey there, kiddo."

Unfortunately for the uncle, Ruby seemed to be the only warm welcome he would receive as Taiyang immediately crossed his arms and stared daggers at the man. "Ozpin, what exactly is he doing here?" the father asked, no effort made to hide the venom in his tone.

"I asked him to come along," the headmaster answered simply. "I was hoping the two of you could accompany Summer on this mission."

"It's s'posed to be a routine search and rescue," Qrow added with a nonchalant shrug. "Just like old times, eh Tai?"

Taiyang stood his ground, pointing an accusatory finger at the uncle. "No, it's not," he countered. "I've learned since then not to trust a Branwen."

"Listen, Tai," Qrow started, escaping Ruby's grasp as he cautiously closed the gap between him and Taiyang. "I know what Raven did to you and your family was just about the worst thing ever, but just because she's my sister, it doesn't mean I agree with every messed-up thing she's done. She and I don't talk anymore, and honestly, the less that's said about her, the better."

Moving between the men, Ozpin looked to Tai, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Please, Tai," he started, "I understand there's some bad blood between you and the Branwen clan, but there's no one in Remnant I trust more than Qrow. All I ask is that you and him accompany Summer on this mission, then after, the two of you need never speak again."

A heavy sigh escaped the young father's lungs as he turned to Ozpin, his hand massaging the nape of his neck. "I don't know, Oz," he said. "I mean who's gonna look after the girls?"

"Already taken care of," Qrow interjected once again. "Oz had me arrange for a sitter and travel wagon. If you guys are up for it, we'll leave tomorrow morning."

"The anonymous party informed me that the mission would take place here on Patch, in the woods on the south end of the island." Ozpin added. "Should all go well, it shouldn't take more than a day or two before you're all back at home, enjoying your final days of summer."

Taiyang sighed once again, looking to his wife as he said, "This is Summer's mission, so I'll uh," he hesitated for a moment, knowing not only the blood, but also the kind of luck Qrow brought with him. The thought lingered a moment before he decided, "I'll leave it up to her."

Summer nodded to her husband before turning to Ozpin. "We'll do it."

"Thank you." The professor breathed a small sigh of relief. "Please, enjoy the rest of your evening." With that, he excused himself and left.

Qrow turned to go too, but stopped along the way and looked back to the couple. "Seriously, thanks, you two," he said with a soft smile. "I missed the old team."

As he turned to leave, Ruby called for her mother's attention, asking, "Do you gotta leave again, Mama?"

"Yes, looks like Ozpin needs me for another mission," Summer answered absent-mindedly, looking on as Qrow too disappeared around the corner.

"You're gonna kill the monsters and save the day, right?"

Summer could hear her youngest starting to choke up, so gently, she knelt down on the ground, bringing her silver eyes to meet Ruby's as she wiped away the tears that were starting to form for the young girl. "Oh, my precious little blossom," she cooed, moving her hand to her daughter's cheek, "you have nothing to worry about. I'm going to slay the Grimm, save the people, and when I come back, you and I are gonna make a special batch of cookies, okay?" She offered Ruby a warm smile and then finished with two simple words, "I promise."

******

"Ambush!" Summer's voice echoed off the walls of the cave, carrying deep into the earth and subsequently firing out the cave's mouth like shot from a cannon. The Huntress stood back to back with Qrow and Tai as a horde of Grimm closed in on all sides.

Had it not been for the creatures' glowing red eyes or the death white bone plates that adorned their sick, lycan figures, the pitch blackness of their fur would have blended seamlessly into the darkness of the cave. "Great," Qrow growled, readying his weapon. "Beowulves."

In the world of Remnant, every Huntsman personally hand crafted their own weapon for slaying Grimm. For Qrow, this was Harbinger, a weapon of his own design that was in its current form a greatsword, except that in place of a crossguard, Harbinger sported a selection of clockwork mechanisms that sat behind a pair of shotgun barrels. Each barrel sat on either flat side of the blade, pointing up along its length. Then mirroring the gun barrels, a pair of smaller blades extended backward over his hands.

Summer's custom weapon, Thorn, was likewise multi-functional. In this form, it was a pair of bucklers, each sporting a curved dagger that, when not in use, could fold away under the shield for easier portability. "They're not our only problem," the Huntress added, extending the blades like a cat's claws.

At the team's feet, the ground began to tremble slightly as heavy footsteps rumbled up out of the depths of the earth. Soon, a large bear-shaped Grimm had joined the crowd, rearing up on its hind legs in a domineering sort of way. "We've got an Ursa," Summer finished.

There was a heavy pause as the trio looked over the cluster of adversaries that had gathered around them. "Alright, what's the plan, Summer?" Tai asked, looking over to his wife. His was an unusual case, as he didn't rely on steel or gunpowder for combat. Every creature with a soul in the world of Remnant was born with some form of special ability, or Semblance. In the case of Taiyang Xiao Long, his enabled him to manipulate his life energy - or Aura - into a hard physical field that took on any form he could imagine. At present, his fists were each engulfed in a deep, yellow glow that itself took the form of larger, heavier fists.

"Tai, you and Qrow work crowd control on the Beowulves," Summer ordered. "Keep them off me; I’m gonna go for the Ursa." With that, she dashed toward the Grimm, using her Semblance to go invisible just before reaching them.

Following her lead, the men each set their sights on a Beowulf and moved to engage. With a mighty swing of his blade, Qrow lopped off the arm of one of the creatures, while Tai came in with an aura-enhanced uppercut to land another on its back.

As that Beowulf landed, another leapt over it, attempting to pounce on the young father. Tai was quick enough, though, to catch both of the creature's jet black claws with his Aura fists, quickly changing their form into shackles that locked into place. The Beowulf roared wildly as it fought to get free, but Tai retained his hold. With a harsh grunt, he looked over his shoulder to Qrow and said with a strain, "I don't get it. This was supposed to be a routine search and rescue mission, right?"

Suddenly, a bright red gash opened up on one of the Ursa's hind legs, spilling forth a thick, black mist as the best roared in pain. Then as the Ursa dropped back down to all fours, Summer regained visibility, leaping into the air over it before coming down on the beast and driving her daggers into the meat of its back. Roaring wildly, the Grimm reared up once again, nearly throwing the Huntress off.

"Jeezus Tai, are you really that thick?" Qrow asked, lunging forward as he ran his Beowulf amputee through. "D'ya think Ozpin would’ve had you and me come along if he didn't think something smelled funny about all this?" With a harsh jerk, Qrow extracted his blade, and the Beowulf dissolved into mist.

His quarry still locked in grapple, Taiyang whipped his arms up and then back down, bringing this Beowulf crashing down on top of the first one below. As the two faded away, he answered Qrow, "I don't know, maybe? Are you seriously busting my chops over this right now?"

"Yeah," Summer agreed, still clinging tenaciously to the back of the Ursa, "not really the best way to rebuild bridges there, Qrow." Pulling one of the daggers out, she was nearly thrown off as she fought to gain some height and bury the blade again, this time in the Ursa's neck. Once it was in place, she pulled herself up, planted her feet firmly on the beast's lower back, kicked off, and pulled both blades free, the upper one slicing open a large gash toward the spine.

As the Huntress flipped through the air to land in a three-point pose, the mighty Ursa hit the ground behind her and soon dissolved into nothing.

"Nice kill, Summer!" Tai cheered, using his Aura to lift a Beowulf by the neck before throwing it against the cave wall. The Grimm slammed hard against the stone surface, instantly turning into mist on impact.

With Beowulves already moving to close in on her, Summer didn't miss a beat as she converted Thorn to its second form. Using a simple mechanism under the pivot points for her blades, she locked the twin weapons together to form a bladed discus. With a heavy swing of her arm, she threw the weapon in a wide arc at the Grimm before her, revealing as they fell, the light of day pouring through the cave entrance. Catching Thorn once again, she turned back to her team. "Come on!" she ordered. "We need to carve a path out of here before they box us in!"

His blade folded forward, Qrow was blasting back a couple of Grimm with the shotgun part of his weapon as he piped in, "Alright, now that sounds like a plan I can get behind. All for getting the hell out of here?" As he spoke, he started for the exit, his weapon trailing behind him.

"Aye!" Tai responded, already making his way for the mouth of the cave, decking Beowulves with his Aura-fists along the way.

After making their way out to the forest clearing beyond the cave, the trio turned to see not only dozens of Beowulves pouring out of the cave, but soon a flock of flying Grimm appeared above the hill just behind it.

"Really?" Qrow sneered, firing at the Corvid newcomers. "They brought Nevermores too?"

As the vile creatures closed in, Tai turned to his wife once again. "What do you think, Summer? Do we hold our ground?"

"No, we couldn't possibly take them all on at once," the Huntress answered. "We need to fan out into the forest and break them up into smaller, more manageable groups."

"We got incoming!" Qrow shouted between shotgun blasts. The flock of Nevermores swept low in an aggressive dive bomb, but just before reaching the Huntsmen's ducked heads, they pulled up and continued right past the men.

His eyes following the flying Grimm to their quarry, Tai soon realized what it was they were after - Summer. Even despite Qrow shooting a few of them out of the air, the Nevermores all but completely ignored the Huntsman in lieu of chasing down the one Huntress that was making her way into the woods, followed closely by most of the Beowulves.

As he stood entranced, watching them disappear into the trees, Tai failed to notice the one Beowulf that was charging him from behind until the thing already had him pinned to the ground. With its hind legs, it held him down as it clawed aggressively at his back. With each scratch, there was a soft flash of yellow as the Huntsman's Aura fought to absorb the blows.

Suddenly the sound of a loud blast ripped through the clearing, and the Beowulf stopped its assault. Propping himself up, Tai looked over his shoulder to see the now-beheaded Grimm fading away and his fellow Huntsman standing beside it with smoke rolling out of Harbinger's shotgun barrels. "Ya wanna try and not get yourself killed on me? You'll be no good to me or Summer dead." Qrow said, helping the young father back to his feet.

'Qrow, we have to go after her," Tai insisted in a panic, not missing a beat before dashing for the trees. "That was too many Grimm to handle, even for her. We need to--"

Suddenly a blunt pain clashed with the young father's side, knocking him clean off his feet. With a harsh thud, he hit the ground, wincing from the hit before looking over at his assailant. Beside him, a Grimm with the form of a massive scorpion stood just before the edge of the forest, blocking the men off from pursuing Summer. "Uh, Qrow?" Tai called out in surprise.

Qrow had become occupied finishing off the last few Beowulves that stayed behind. At the sound of Tai's voice, he turned to see the massive Grimm standing between them and the forest. "What the hell?"  he asked, making his way over to his downed ally. "Since when are there Deathstalkers on Patch?"

As Qrow caught up, Tai climbed to his feet with a bit of a strain, reforming his Aura-fists as he answered, "Not since the last time I checked."

"Think you can keep it offa me for a few seconds?" With a flex of his wrist, Qrow twisted the grip of his weapon, and the clockwork mechanisms inside started to click and whir to life.

With a quick nod of his head, Tai leapt into action, whipping one of his Aura-fists forward to grab the creature's stinger. Then, pulling taught on the Aura between him and the Grimm, he swung off to the side, steering the massive creature away from his companion.

Meanwhile, the mechanisms inside Harbinger began working to transform it into its second form. With the blade folded forward in firing position, a series of segments along its length clicked and shifted apart, extending the whole thing. Then once at full extension, each segment rotated slightly, lending a curve to the blade. Finally, the grip tripled in length and curved itself backward, thus changing Harbinger into a massive scythe.

With a mighty shout, Qrow charged the Deathstalker, swinging Harbinger in a wide arc to slash at it. But once his blade connected with the creature's claw, it was immediately deflected by the bony armor plating. "Damnit!" He growled. "Armor's too strong."

"You noticed too, huh?" Tai responded, attempting several attacks against the Grimm. Despite his efforts however, every one of the attacks deflected off the Deathstalker's armor.

Annoyed at the Huntsmen, the massive Grimm swung its mighty pincer, knocking Tai back. As it did, Qrow made a run for its side, hoping to cut at its underbelly, but the beast was too quick. Not missing a beat, the Deathstalker lashed at him with its tail, knocking him back.

Just after Tai hit the ground, one of the creature's pincers swept in, grabbing him around the midsection, and lifted him high into the air. The young father struggled against his constraint, but the more he fought, the tighter he found the grip around him become, and the weaker his Aura started to grow.

The massive Grimm held high its Huntsman quarry, poising its tail to strike. The stinger lashed forward, its deadly tip aimed straight for Taiyang's heart, but just before it hit, a twelve gauge slug ricocheted off of it, knocking it off course. Furious, the creature set its sights on Qrow, throwing Tai back to the ground in the process.

Landing hard on his back nearby, Tai groaned as a flash of gold washed over his body. Any defense his Aura could provide had now been entirely wiped out. Pained, he turned to his partner. "Any other bright ideas?" he asked.

"Maybe," Qrow answered, ducking under a swipe from the Deathstalker. "But it's a bit of a long shot."

"I don't like pairing you with the words 'long shot,'" the young father said, climbing back to his feet, "but at this point, I'm open to ideas."

"The only way we're gonna get through that armor is to find something hard enough and sharp enough to pierce it," Qrow explained. "Think you can grab ahold of its stinger again?"

"You realize if I take one more hit--"

"I know!" Qrow snapped. "Just… try to avoid that happening, okay?"

Steeling himself, Tai reestablished the Aura fists around his own as he crossed between Qrow and the Deathstalker. "Sure hope you know what you're doing," he muttered to his partner, just loud enough to be heard. Then he turned to the creature and shouted, "Hey ugly! Why don't you uh..." he faltered for a moment, reaching into the deepest corners of his creative mind for a decent taunt. Finally, "Eat shit!"

Qrow shot his ally a dry look from behind. "Really, Tai? That's all you could come up with?"

The taunt worked, however, as one of the Grimm's mighty pincers swung in from the side, aiming to once again grab the young father.

Thinking quickly, Tai ducked the swipe, throwing himself to the ground to lie flat on his stomach. With a frustrated screech, the massive creature raised its other pincer high into the air, then jabbed it violently toward the ground where the Huntsman lay.

Just before impact, Tai rolled off to the side, leaving the massive appendage to wedge itself deep into the earth. The Beast then tried with the second pincer, much to the same result as the slippery Huntsman rolled himself halfway between the two pincers now stuck in the ground. Then pushing off of the Earth, he sprang back to his feet.

Its prey standing before it and both of its pincers buried deep in the earth, the Deathstalker was now quite enraged as it wound up its tail to strike. On the ground below, Tai himself reeled back, getting ready to catch the stinger with his Aura.

Then almost simultaneously, the massive stinger and the Huntsman's golden Aura whipped toward one another, clashing in mid air. As soon as contact was made, the Aura took the shape of a shackle around the deadly barb, ensuring it would not slip free.

With a heavy strain, Tai pulled on his end of the tether that bound his hands to the beast's tail, pulling it low over the Grimm's head. "Alright Qrow," he said with a grunt, "whatever you're gonna do, now's the time."

Giving a nod, the uncle crouched low, holding Harbinger behind him as he wound up to jump. Then with a mighty kick, he left the earth and sailed spinning over his partner's ducked head. With precision aim, his blade connected with the soft tissue between the barb and tail, catching for only a second before slicing through and severing the connection.

As the tail whipped violently backward - spraying black mist through the air - Tai dissipated his Aura, dropping the barb square on the center of the creature's head. Though steel and Aura had proven fruitless against the Deathstalker's rock-solid armor, the creature's own tail made it seem as paper, effortlessly piercing it with a satisfying crack.

Soon after, Qrow landed on the creature's back, grabbing onto the barb for stability as the enormous Grimm thrashed about, screeching in pain. "Tai," he called out, "let's finish this thing off!"

Just then, a shaft of brilliant white light shot into the air just beyond the forest, darkening the sky as the sound of a woman's scream rang through the trees and drove itself into the Huntsmen's ears.

Tai's pupils shrank to the size of pin heads as he stared at the light in abject horror. He knew that voice, and it shook him to his very core. "Summer!" his voice cracked as he screamed out her name. Refusing to waste any more time, he raced headlong into the forest.

"Damnit, Tai!" Qrow growled, returning Harbinger to its original form. With a downward shotgun blast, he gave himself enough lift to get on top of the submerged stinger. Then tuning his weapon to the sky, another blast drove the barb deeper, finally slaying the creature. With that done, Qrow wasted no time in giving chase to his partner.

Tai sprinted through the forest, dodging the tightly packed trees as he followed both a general sense of direction and a fresh trail of Grimm footprints, claw marks, and other signs of carnage on his way to find his wife.

After some time, the foliage came to a nearly abrupt stop as Tai found himself exiting the forest just a few yards from the edge of a cliff. Beyond that - and several yards below - the woods continued on into the distance. The young father scrambled to the edge of the cliff, looking over its side for any sign of Summer. Then he fell to his knees in defeat.

Soon, a bird's caw sounded behind him, followed shortly after by Qrow finally catching up to him. Panting, he approached his fellow Huntsman. "Well?" he asked, pausing to catch his breath. "Where is she?"

The young father gave no reply, instead staring wide-eyed at the treetops below. There he stayed, silent for a few moments as gears began turning in his head. Finally, he rose to his feet and looked back at Qrow.

"Oh, no. No, Tai," Qrow chided. "I know what you're thinking, and there's no way--"

But there was no talking the young father out of it. With steely resolve and without another word, he leapt off the cliff and dove into the trees below. Using what remained of his Aura, Tai grabbed onto and swung from branches as they passed, gradually slowing his descent. But with each branch, his strength was fading, and his Aura began fading along with it. As he neared the ground below, he started to wonder to himself if he'd be able to slow down enough to survive his landing.

"Ah Jeezus, Tai, you sunuva--" Qrow cursed his partner from above, gripping onto large handfuls of his hair as he paced a short distance along the cliff edge. It was as though the young father was actively trying to get himself killed, and Qrow himself was the only thing working to prevent that fate. Finally with a frustrated growl, he too threw himself off the cliff after his teammate.

After a short time, Qrow came to land safely behind Tai, who sat looking through teary eyes over what used to be a snow white cloak, but was now no more than a tattered, bloody rag.

"Tai..." Qrow started.

Finally, the young father broke down, desperately screaming his wife's name once again before doubling over and weeping mournfully over her cloak.

As Tai wept and continuously repeated Summer's name over and over again, Qrow somberly walked up behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder, knowing he had to be the one to help his partner see the truth. "Tai, she..." he started, choking on his words as they fought to remain unsaid - to not bring to life the painful reality of the situation, as even in his eyes, tears started to form. "She's not coming back."