346This is a RWBY x Warhammer Crossover.
I do not own anything.
RWBY is the property of Rooster Teeth
Warhammer 40K is the property of Games Workshop
Chapter 1: Anathema
She was falling. Falling far. Into the darkness. It did not end. Further and further into the blackness she fell. Just how long had she been falling? Minutes? Hours? It felt like an eternity in the span of a second. How had she come to this place? This void. In fact, where was here anyway? Why was she here? Why was she falling? Was she even falling? It felt like she was falling, but something was off about it. The feeling was the same as falling, but it also felt like she was imagining it. As if she were laid in bed and her mind simulated the sensation with flawed success. That was why this felt strange. The descent was too calm to be real. Yet, it felt real. Maybe she was simply mistaken. Perhaps she was drowning and did not notice her lack of breathing. No. She vaguely remembers almost drowning before. This was nothing like that.
Stirred on by these questions, she wondered why she was falling. One question led to another until she found one that made her pause.
"Who am I?" She asked herself.
She did not know who she was. She knew that she was someone. Just not who that someone was.
She tried to remember. There were fragments. Pieces of memories. Flashing images that held unknown meanings.
A shattered white sphere. A man and a woman in each other's arms. A black beast with a white skull mask. A white and red mechanical spear. A gleaming tower. A shimmering shoreline. A little girl with beautiful golden hair.
She stopped, focusing her attention on the memory of the child. It stirred something within her. The image of this youth brought her joy. Wanting to know more about this little girl. What was her name? She knew it but had extreme difficulty remembering. It was something bright as she recalled. Sunshine? That was not right. It felt more like a nickname. Sun Dragon. Not quite. Little Dragon? That one amused her for some reason. Then she remembered.
Yang.
That was it. Yang Xiao-Long. The beautiful little girl that she raised as her own. How could she have forgotten her precious Little Dragon?
With that came a rush of memory. As if a dam had opened its floodgates. The memories flowed like a river. First came the girl's father.
Tai.
The image of a blonde, poorly-shaven man flashed in her mind. Large tattooed and well build arms exposed as he tended to dress only for warm weather. She recalled the annoyance that brought every time his playful stubbornness earned him a cold.
Next came the image of a woman. She was beautiful in many ways. Long dark hair. Intense and distrustful red eyes. Her trusted weapon was always at her side, a figure that sparked a sense of jealousy.
Raven.
Then came the woman's counterpart. A scraggly rogue, with his messy clothes and ripped-up cape. Disappointment resonated within her at the final notion of the man.
Qrow.
The memories continued to flow. Like water being funneled into a bottle. Remnant, her home. Her parents. The moment she chose to be a huntress. Her mother's final moments. The treasured white and red cloak was given to her by her mother as tradition. Building her weapon. Her entrance into Beacon. The strained first encounter with her future teammates. Then finally something she cherished with all her heart. Her daughter.
Ruby.
The image of an infant filled her. That precious baby girl. Her baby girl. With those beautiful shining silver eyes. Just like her eyes and her mother's before her.
Then it clicked. She finally had her name.
Summer.
She was Summer Rose. Mother of Ruby Rose and Yang Xaio-Long. Wife of Taiyang Xaio-Long for four years. Leader of team STRQ. Huntress of Remnant.
She wanted to shout it out, lest she forgets again. How had she forgotten her own name? She tried remembering again to try and discover how she got here. The last thing that came to mind was her saying her goodbyes to her family. Everything afterward was blank.
That could be answered later, for now, she needed to figure out where she was and how to get home.
Looking out she still only saw the dark. She was still falling. How deep was this place, she wondered. Looking down she saw nothing. Up, the same. The same everywhere she looked nothing but blackness.
That was when she realized that she was not falling, she was floating. The sense of falling felt like a phantom sensation. Yet it also felt real. What was going on?
"Where am I?" She tried to say, but what came out was more akin to a shout. With an echo that felt like it would vibrate concrete. Needless to say, she was reasonably startled by that and terrified by what came after.
She was not alone.
At first, she heard faint laughter. So soft that she barely registered it.
"Hello? Is someone there?" She called out again with the same effect as before. She knew it was stupid but given her current predicament, she felt she had no other option.
The laughter grew louder and slightly manic, making her concerned. Yet she tried again.
"I can hear you. Please answer." She said, sounding like a cry.
The laughter abruptly stopped. Then came an answer.
"Hello there. Little one." Came a voice. It sounded male, but it was guttural and rumbling. The only normal thing about it was the lack of the shouting affect her own voice had here.
"Hello." Summer greeted still echoing. "Do you know where we are?"
"Eternity." Came another voice, startling her. This one was not like the first. It was calm and held a sense of sophistication to it. Reminding her of her professors at Beacon and Atlas highborn.
Before she could question what the second voice meant a loud violent roar dominated her being.
"Begone deceiver! This morsel is mine!" Bellowed the first one, she could swear she heard the crackle of a fire as it spoke.
The second cackled, sounding like a mix between a bird's caw and a man's mocking laughter. "Yet you have not claimed it, you bloody simpleton."
The first roared again, even more, ferocious than before and Summer could swear that she had been knocked over. On impact, the world changed. If she had to describe it, she would say that a third eye had opened.
No longer was the world an infinite void. Now it was a storm. A violent raging tempest of power. Filled to the brim with swirling colors of every spectrum that she knew and many more that she did not. Nor could she give names to them if anyone asked her to. The colors simply didn't make sense or look possible.
Then came the source of the voices and she recoiled at the sight of them. Only one word came to mind when she saw them. "Monsters."
The first voice came from a bright, red-skinned beast. It had hooves, a bull's face, and vicious brass armor covering its breast, torso, and legs. Behind it was a spiked tail and two large leathery wings. It wielded a large double-sided axe in one hand and a barbed whip in the other.
The other had the appearance of a bird. Large feathery wings flaring from its robed back. Its head was avian with a long-craned neck. The thing's feet were talons, the hands were similar with long bony fingers. It was dressed in a robe of some kind. It reminded her of the outfits wizards used to wear in those board games she spied in shops that sold card games and paints. It had a lot of jewelry on. Its posture was hunched like it had spent too much time bent over a desk writing.
In its grasp was a twisted and gnarled staff. She could not tell if it was metal or organic. On top of it was an open book. She could not see what was written on it. For some reason, she did not want to know.
The two monsters squared off on some form of landmass floating in the swirling storm around them. The red beast wasted no time and charged the avian. Flames erupted from its open maw as it roared. The avian quickly backed away before the beast could close the distance. Then it spoke, it was a language Summer had never heard before and doubted she could comprehend it. Black bolts of raw power shot from the book on the staff. The barrage slammed into the red brute and rather than cause harm, the attack only seemed to enrage it further. Flaring its wings, it leapt after the bird.
The force created by their clash knocked Summer away. Causing her to spin around as if she were in the vacuum of space. While she flailed around trying to rebalance herself, she noticed something was off. That was when she saw herself. Or rather her lack of self.
"Where are my arms?" She questioned aloud.
Looking further down she saw no sign of her body. "Where are my legs? Where's the rest of me?!"
Much to her shock, her whole body had vanished. If that is the case, then how can she see? Is she just a floating head? Oh, how she wished she had a mirror, just to see what she looked like now.
As she spiraled away from the monsters, the storm around her calmed, and while still spinning the sense of solitude settled her nerves enough for her to allow herself a moment to think.
"This has to be a dream. No, a nightmare. I'm just having a nightmare. Any second now, I'll wake up in my bed back on Patch. Tai and the girls will be there, and everything will be alright. Now come on Summer, wake up!"
She shouted trying to wake herself up from this hellscape. If she had a body, she would be tensing all her muscles. When nothing happened, she tried again, and again and again.
"Wake up! Wake up! Wake! Up! Wake! Up! WAKE! UP!"
With each cry, she became more desperate. With each failure, her hope faded slightly. Bit by bit, until her shouts became more akin to sobs.
If this was not a dream, then what was it? "What the hell is this place!?" She yelled, the world rippling around her as she spoke.
Before she broke down in despair, the laughter returned. It caught her attention, fearing the monsters were done fighting and looking for her. The laughter did not cease, instead, new sounds emerged, growls, chittering, and screeching joined the chorus. All adding to her now large pile of worries.
Then they came. Out of the vortices of energy, they came. At first, she thought they were Grimm, but she quickly discarded that notion. The Creatures of Grimm were mindless malice and hatred. Devoted wholly to the destruction of mankind in all forms. These things did not want to kill her. She could tell. Not only did those things lack the bone masks that they all shared. They also lacked any form of consistency. With the exception that they all appeared shadow-like. Other than that, it was the way they looked at her. Their eyes, the ones that had eyes at least, fixed her with insane, hungry stares. Like she was an all-you-can-eat buffet. Somehow, that made her wish these things were Grimm.
They approached, crawling, dragging, swimming, and skittering toward her. She felt a panic rise in her. What could she do? She could not move and even if she could she had no limbs to defend herself.
Was this how it felt to be helpless? Powerless. Weak. She absentmindedly drifted back to her last conversation with Raven. Well, it was more like a confrontation, nearly devolving into a shouting match. She called Raven out for being afraid. Afraid of becoming weak. That her family would make her weak. Raven was always the strongest of the team from day one. Pretty much all of her confidence was based on her strength. The thought of being weak, even for Tai, was not something she could handle. The pregnancy was a very difficult time for her. Summer distinctly remembers calling Raven a coward that day. She never got a response to that, nor did she see her partner again afterward.
Now she understood Raven's fear a little better. Being powerless and alone, just plain sucked. It nearly made you feel like dying. Good thing Summer was never a fan of that. So, she refused. She would survive this, even if all she could do was shout.
One was close enough to reach her now. As it's long twisted, multijointed limb stretched out to her, she screamed.
"GET AWAY!" To which she was blinded by a white light. When it faded, she saw that all of the shadows were gone.
"It worked?" She was genuinely surprised that it had. Then again, what was that flash? Did she do that? If she did, then how? The only thing that came to mind was when she obliterated Grimm with her eyed. Was that it? Did she still have her eyes, even like this? Was she a floating head after all?
"Interesting." Said a familiar voice.
Summer started moving backward. knowing she was not doing it herself, she figured something was pulling her. The lingering spin on her changed her view so she could see the bird monster. Its bony-clawed hand getting uncomfortably close.
"NO!" She screamed again and the light returned, stopping the pull on her.
She expected it to banish the avian completely like the shadows. However, much to Summer's horror, the bird monster still stood. Even worse was that it barely looked damaged, only its hand looked affected. Being frozen stiff.
The bird stared at the appendage in confusion. Then its neck bent so it looked at her. "Impressive. Especially for one with absolutely no form of training whatsoever.
In frustration, she shouted. "What is going on!?"
The bird laughed, apparently enjoying her breakdown. "What do you mean little one?" It asked in a mocking tone.
"What do I mean? What do I mean!?" Summer cried. "One minute I'm at home waving goodbye to my family. Next, I'm here. Surrounded by monsters and my own body is gone! Just what the hell is this place!?"
The bird cackled again. "Oh, poor lost soul," It stood up straighter, spreading its arms and wings in preparation for some grand unveiling.
"This is Eternity." It said, gesturing to the storm around them.
"I don't understand," She replied. What did it mean? Eternity was not a place. At least not a place she had heard of.
"Of course. I did not expect you to. It is among the less-acknowledged names given to this realm. Yet it remains my favorite. The oldest of such names is the Realm of Souls, but you humans prefer to use more arbitrary terms. Heaven and Hell are the most common with the most accurate being simply the Afterlife."
"What..." said Summer, her word only becoming a faint whisper.
What this thing was saying was unbelievable. That this hellscape was where everyone went when they died. Good, bad, and all. She could not believe that. It just wasn't right. That this monster's playground was the end of the line. Everything about this place was wrong. A raging nightmare that never ends. It was obviously lying.
'What if it wasn't?' Came a traitorous thought.
What if it was telling the truth? That brought a terrifying thought to mind. If this was the afterlife and she was here, that could only mean one thing.
"I'm... dead?"
"By mortal standards, yes, very much so. It would not surprise me if your mortal form has rotted to nothing by now." The bird chuckled.
Summer was stunned, shocked into silence. That just could not be true. That she was dead. No, it could not be. There was no way her life was done. She still had so much to do. She had two beautiful girls to care for. What about Tai? Their entire relationship sprouted because she was there to support him. What would happen without her?
She did not want to think about that. This was not something she could accept. She would not. She refused.
"No," she said. "You're lying." There were no ripples this time.
The monster laughed hysterically as if she told a hilarious joke. "Why lie little one? Why use them to hurt when the truth can cause so much more pain?"
"You must be." She said, her voice feeling weak. "This can't be the afterlife. There's no sense. No peace. No one would accept this as the afterlife."
"You speak of mortal acceptance as if it means anything. Does the sun need your acceptance to rise? Does the tide need your acceptance to flow? Do the Creatures of Grimm ask for permission before they slaughter your kin?"
"But what kind of ending to life is this? There's no rest. Nothing to look forward to. There's just this storm. This violence. It's nothing but chaos."
The monster's reaction to that last sentence frightened her even more. The thing's beak somehow contorted into a sinister smile.
"Yes. There is nothing else."
"I don't believe you. This can't be right. It has to be a lie."
"Little one. Lies are sweet. Lies are beautiful. The truth is cruel. The truth is ugly. Which do you think this is?" It questioned, gesturing to the surrounding storm again.
Summer did not know what to think. As much as she wanted to, she had no basis to argue back with this creature. Or did she?
"This could all be a dream." She remarked. "Just a fantasy I developed from reading too many stories to my children."
"Ah, you are a clever one." The bird admitted. "But alas, while you are close you are still off the mark. For this too is the land of dreams. Every nightmare in existence can be found here. All to be relieved for eternity. Every bad dream you've ever had. Every depressing thought. Every doubt or moment of anger. All here. Waiting to greet you."
As if on command more shadows appeared around them. These however were not near shapeless monsters. They all had proper forms, most human, some animal-like. As they approached, Summer took in their appearances and realized that she knew them. All of them. There was a dark form of Raven, staring at her with contempt. There was Qrow, profusely bleeding from a perceived wound to the stomach. Tai was there, but he looked broken and depressed. Then came a few that she recognized but did not know. A very unstable-looking faunas with a scorpion tale. A neatly dressed man with a mustache and revolver. A very large and burly man with crystals embedded in his shoulders. A final shadow formed between her and the bird. This one took the form of a woman. One that had the stature of royalty, her dress completely covering her legs and feet. Her arms were calmly folded, her eyes boring into her with a complete lack of concern. Summer knew this one even after only meeting her once.
"Salem." She growled, her repressed aggression rising to the surface.
The bird stared at the shadow with mild interest. "Hmm. So, this is the one who ended your mortal existence. How... underwhelming."
With a casualness that borderlined boredom, it swatted the shadow away with its now frozen hand. "As entertaining as it would be watching you shriek at your nightmares. I'm afraid you have nothing more to offer me. I do have other matters to attend to."
It reached out to her, and she made to use her eyes again. Before she could, however, a golden light exploded from above. Instantly incinerating all of the shadows and to her surprise, actually hurting the bird monster. Its feathers, flesh, and clothes became charred. With a panicked screech, it backed away from Summer. The light descended, still burning the bird which was now shielding itself with its wings. The light stopped, now between Summer and the monster.
"Anathema!" Shrieked the bird in clear outrage.
The light dimmed and Summer could see a human shape at the center of it. She could not see any feature other than it mainly appeared to be male.
The new arrival stared the bird down and made the monster flinch. It was afraid of this light. That fear quickly gave way to rage.
"No! I will not be ended! Not by a pitiful shard like you!" It howled making ready to attack, but as soon as it unfurled its wings the light became blinding, and all Summer could hear was the monster screaming in agony.
When the light faded only the human shape remained. The bird monster was gone. If she had lungs, right now she would empty them with a huge sigh. Finally, the monsters were gone.
Her celebrations were cut short as the shape turned to face her. Its body was impossible to make out, every part of it shone. Meaning that she could see nothing besides its male human silhouette. By now she was pretty sure she was not a floating head. If she was, she would have eyes and they would be strained just to glance at this being.
"Umm, hello." She greeted, timidly. This thing utterly destroyed a monster that she couldn't even damage. Offending it would be a REALLY bad idea.
When it did not answer she continued. "Thank you for saving me-AAH!" It condensed into a shapeless mass and barreled into her straight into Summer, causing her to scream.
The impact caused her vision to blur as she thrashed violently against the entity that was enveloping her. She had been tricked; this thing saved her just so it could eat her. The entity's soft light made her drop her guard and now it was consuming her. This was not acceptable, not to her. To die without a struggle. Summer Rose would not go out this way. So, she resisted with all her might. Even though she knew it was futile at this point. She could feel herself breaking down. The very essence of her being, her soul, dissolving under the force of this thing.
Still, she resisted, she raged in defiance, and she would never die admitting defeat. That would mean she abandoned her family. That she left them. No, she would go out fighting to the bitter end.
As her defenses broke, she felt the entity. Its presence mingled with her own. She tried to force it out, but it only pressed on. Burrowing deeper and deeper until it reached what she would assume was her heart and ensnared it. Then all her resistance ceased, she felt paralyzed. This was it; this was the end.
The sense of defeat quickly sunk in, yet it almost relieved her. At least she would be free from this hell. What of her family? They would never see her again. That saddened her beyond tears if she could shed any. "I'm sorry. I'm not coming home."
She tried to sob, remembering the smiles on her little girls' faces. They were what she wished to see in her final moments.
So, she waited for what felt like an eternity. Focusing on nothing other than the memory of her children. Then came a new feeling. A sense of comfort, of safety. Summer had not felt this way in years. Not since she was a child. It was a nice feeling. This was not such a bad way to go.
She expected it all to fade, like falling asleep. What came instead was a rush. Energy surged through her, so much that she felt like she would explode. It felt familiar, like when her aura first awakened. Then she felt it. The entity was not devouring her. It was flowing into her. It was mingling with her aura, mixing itself with her soul. That made her realize something. If she was dead then she was just a spirit, a soul. Then this thing was also a soul. A far grander soul than her. if she had to compare her aura to this thing, she would be a pebble against a mountain. She had no idea a soul could be so immense.
"Why?" She tried to ask, but couldn't, it still held her immobile. Yet she felt like it heard her. Images flashed before her in rapid succession. There were people in all of them. The locations were all different. Cities the size of mountains. Dark barely lit tunnels. Dusty burnt wastelands. Mechanized corridors. Then many such locations repeated, now in ruins or in the process of being destroyed. The people were all different, but one thing was clear when looking at them.
They were all suffering. A wave of sadness washed over her at the sight. The entity did not like watching people suffer. That did not answer her question, but it did clarify one thing. This being was not like the other creatures in this afterworld. It was not trying to eat her. It was helping her. She could feel it cementing itself within her until she could not tell which parts of this new whole belonged to her or it. This progressed until even that distinction blurred and made her doubt there was a difference anymore.
Her vision returned, and she bore witness to the same storm. Only now it all looked different. The swirling tempests did not seem so random anymore. Each one acted independently of the others, but all reacted to one another, being drawn to or repulsed by the others. It went even further than that as each one was made up of hundred or maybe thousands of smaller storms. As she peered closer patterns started to emerge in each one. There was rhythm and motion. Direction, emotion, and intent in each ripple. That was when she questioned how she suddenly knew all of this.
Looking up, she suddenly developed a sense of vertigo and instinctively flailed her arms around to try and regain her balance. Then she froze. Staying in place for a few seconds, before slowly looking down. There they were, to her delight. Her hands, her arms. She waved them around, clenching them into fists repeatedly just to be sure. Looking further down, she saw the rest of her body. Her abdomen, her legs, and her breasts. She was even fully clothed. Dressed in her corset. Boots, combat skirt, gloves and to further add to her joy. Her favorite white cloak. She had no idea how a soul could grow a body and be fully clothed, but she wasn't going to complain. She brought her hands up to her head and she could feel it, her hair. Pulling some of her locks around she that it was indeed hers.
In jubilation, she yelled out with joy. She could not stop laughing. This was her body. She had her body back.
This carried on for a few minutes by her perception before she calmed down enough to think. Just floating there in a position akin to laying on her back. She pondered what just happened.
That strange light had given her body back to her. Summer thought it was trying to consume her like everything else here. Did she absorb it? Given how these creatures attacked her with a feral-like hunger, it was certainly possible. No, it held too much agency in the process for that to happen. Even if by accident, it had more than enough power to stop her and pull away. It dwarfed her. No, that thing had mixed with her. Blending its essence with her own. Merging with her. She did not know how aura and soul worked. The closest thing she had for reference was her old textbooks from Beacon describing aura and its functions in combat.
Yet, despite lacking this knowledge. She knew it was her now. They were one whole. Still, she felt grateful for it. Or herself? Damn, that would get confusing fast, best not to think about it too much.
"Thank you." She whispered to herself.
Now that she had a body again it was time to figure out how to move around. She could not just float around aimlessly and hope to bump into something. Especially since the creatures here were not friendly at all.
Personal safety aside, she needed mobility to find a way home. She had to get back to her family. To Tai and her children.
Not that she put much weight on the bird monster's words. It felt kind of shifty. Yet whether it was the truth or not didn't matter. She had to get home. She did not care where she was anymore. Heaven, Hell, or both. Alive or dead, who cares. She was here and now she had a chance. If gods and monsters were real, then she refused to believe that there wasn't a way to get back. After all, she already knew someone who had. After this, she would have plenty of questions for her old headmaster.
Another thought crossed her mind. If she was dead, then she could not die of old age. Meaning that she'd stay looking like this no matter how old she got. "Raven and Glynda would be so jealous." She giggled.
With a sigh, she shook her head. "Alright, let's figure this out."
There was a way to move in this weird place. Everything she had seen here moved around with obvious ease. Some of them even made it look normal while others just looked awkward. Physics did not apply here it seemed. Thank goodness for that. The only kind of physics she ever truly understood was when she took aim with her Ivory Dorn.
Lifting her legs, she launched herself off the imaginary rock she was on. Landing on what she perceived to be the right side up. Moving her legs around she saw clearly that her feet were placed on something. Even though nothing was there.
The sense of vertigo immediately returned at that thought. It annoyed her. "This place is so confusing."
Oh, how she wished for some solid ground to stand on. As she remembered the feeling, the sense of vertigo vanished. Even when it felt like she was upside down. Then the realization came.
"Ok, so there's no real up or down here." It was almost like one of those weird dreams where you stand on the ceiling. That was an interesting thought.
"That bird said something about this being a dream world." As ridiculous as it sounded, she was starting to believe it.
She remembers what lucid dreams were like. Not the dreams themselves but the sense of awareness. To dream and be aware that it was a dream. When you realize that you are dreaming, you have power over it. If you concentrate, you can do anything. Including forcing yourself awake.
"Too bad I already tried that." She groaned and pondered. "So, if I just convince myself I can walk or run on the ground and that there is ground. Then I should be good."
Then another thought came. She could just fly around like Glynda used to do with her semblance. The mere notion got her excited. However, she knew that if she were to try that she would probably become a rocket and crash into something nasty. Better to play it safe until she understood the basics of this place.
So, she put her theory to the test and started walking. She was not surprised that it worked. Starting with a controlled walk, she maintained her pace before breaking into a run. Quickly, she reversed directions and ran the other way. Then turned right. Then left. Turn. Turn. Reverse. Stop.
She jumped, flipped her body, and landed on a platform she envisioned while standing upside down. Summer had always fancied fighting like this. High maneuverability to reposition herself and attack from any angle. A huntress' dream.
It reminded her of the old recording of Nicholas Schnee. How he used glyphs to outplay the Grimm at his excavation sights. Those were fun to watch.
The more and more possibilities she discovered the more excited she got. The same could be said for her confidence. Perhaps her goals weren't so impossible after all.
So, she continued to practice. Picking up speed as she went. This went on until she was bouncing around like a pinball.
On her thirty-second consecutive jump in her current practice session, a reverberating roar knocked her off balance. Quickly recovering from her tailspin, she saw an unwelcome sight.
The red bull-headed monster had found her. The bird did not kill it apparently. Or really fight it at all as it showed no signs of damage. Summer made a mental note about birds here being sneaky. A huntress must study their foes. Knowledge of the enemy was essential to the success of any hunt, as her mother liked to say.
Ripples slowed off the beast as it stomped towards her. "What is this?" It growled, staring straight at Summer. Then it roared. "RAAAGH!? ANATHEMA!" With flames igniting all over its body, the beast charged.
Summer was slightly discouraged by the beast's attitude. Unlike the bird, this thing was more angry than afraid. Then again, she wasn't exactly the same light that killed it. Yet, she didn't feel afraid anymore. Even though this thing was ten times her size and she was completely unarmed, there was nothing but a feeling of disgust. This thing disgusted her.
Her eyes were the first thing that came to mind. So, she attacked with a blinding flash of golden light. Her reward was a ferocious, pain-filled roar. When her vision cleared, she caught all the severe burns all over the monster. There was no time to question why it was still here as it closed in.
She dodged to the right as it brought down its axe. Then jumping up as it tried to burn her with its flame breath. Her response was a quick ricochet and a strong kick to the beast's left eye. She jumped away before it could paw her off its face. Another flash of her eyes brought another roar from the beast, but she never managed to gauge the results as the flat side of the axe swatted her down.
Sent spinning again, she struggled to regain her sense of footing. Before she could, the beast's barbed whip snared her. The spikes stabbed into her as the whip tightened, pain surging through her.
Said pain only got worse as she struggled to unwind. The beast growled in triumph. "My Lord Khorne will reward me greatly for bringing you to him, Anathema. He will relish the chance to destroy you." To add injury to insult it spitefully tugged the whip. Sending spikes of pain throughout her being.
In desperation, she tried her eyes one last time. Pouring her all into it, the golden light covered everything. The monster's bellows sounded wilder and more frenzied. Hopefully, it was a sign that her attempts were working.
Her hopes rose as she felt the whip uncurl from her torso. Said hopes were promptly dashed when her sight returned to her again. The beast was still there but now its red hide was charred black. Its movements were very sluggish, but she was not free of fatigue either.
She had been using her silver eyes for a long time before coming here. It was like every other exercise. Repeated use tires you out very quickly. It's why she only uses it when at risk of being overwhelmed. Even then she only uses the small bursts to thin the herd. Using them at full blast was never the best idea, especially when alone. There's a good chance of passing out if you are not careful. So, despite Ozpin's words, she chose not to really rely on them. They might be more powerful now. She assumed. But the effort needed was the same.
The monster slowly trudged to her. Shakely, she steadied herself. Feeling somewhat confident that she could pull off one more. The question was whether she would be able to stay conscious afterward.
The answer never came. As the beast approached, a radiant beam of light descended upon it. This time instead of burning it, something crashed into the monster. Forcing it down.
The first thing Summer saw afterward was a pair of pristine white wings. Attached to said wings was arguably one of the coolest things she had ever seen.
It was a woman, a rather tall woman. Decked out in ornate golden armor. The lady was facing away from Summer, but she could see that in the woman's right gauntlet was a flaming sword. Which was now impaling the beast's skull from the top down.
The creature then started to break apart and dissolve. Like the Creatures of Grimm except quicker, with some parts bursting into flames before going out. Once gone the woman turned around and Summer saw her full splendor.
The armor she wore was a complete set. Greaves, pauldrons, gauntlets, girdle, breastplate, and even some form of corset. The sword she carried was a work of art. Golden wings for the handguard and a skull at the pommel. Now that the blade was no longer burning, she could see that it resonated with some sort of power. Her face was the only thing that was unarmored. It looked pretty normal. If you ignore the fact that her eyes were glowing blue. Kind of reminded her of the Winter Maiden, Fria. Scary woman, even for her age. Her hair was black and in a neat bob cut. Floating behind her head was a glowing halo. This combined with the familiar light emanating from her form gave her an angelic presence. Almost divine.
The serene smile and calm demeanor did not look out of place at all. Despite her being dressed for war. This was a living depiction of an angel from her storybooks. The really old ones her parents used to read to her when she still lived with them in the old village.
"Greeting," Said the angel. Most would think her faunas due to the wings. But given what Summer was experiencing, angel felt more accurate. Her voice was calm and soothing. Like a kind mother.
"Umm. Hi." Summer greeted rather awkwardly. "Thank you for helping. That thing was stubborn." She joked, earning a small chuckle from the angel.
"As are you, it would seem." Summer was relieved. Finally, a friendly face she could talk to. She had so many questions. Yet this place did not want her to have the opportunity.
A mad cacophony echoed in from all around them. Howls, shrieks, wails, growls, roars and sounds she could not accurately describe echoed from every direction.
The angel's face lost its smile in exchange for a more serious and sterner frown. "We must leave. Your light has drawn too much attention."
"Of course, it has." Summer groaned. That was another reason she avoided using her eyes. They would always announce her location without fail. It made stealth impossible. Not that stealth was much use against Grimm. That never meant it was okay to attract more or give away her location to not Grimm.
"So, do you know how to get out of here? I've been stuck here since I woke up." Summer did not want to sound disrespectful, but at this point, she was too fed up to care.
The angel's smile returned, floating up to Summer, the warrior held out an open gauntlet. Summer did not hesitate in taking it. She was not sure why she trusted this woman so much and would question it later. When the angel gripped her hand, the world shifted.
In a blink, the two were gone from the raging wastes of the Warp. The daemons present screamed in outrage as an opportunity that only came once in eternity slipped away from them. Never before had a shard of the cursed and vile Anathema made itself so vulnerable. All near felt it and all scrambled to consume it. Such a prize would never again present itself before such low spawn such as them again.
Here we are my first Warhammer fanfic. I hope you have enjoyed this first chapter and if anyone has any advice they would like to add to this story just let me know.
Also, I plan on writing two other fanfictions on this topic. One is essentially a time skip to when Summer eventually returns to Remnant. The other is still in the works. Let me know if you would like to have these stories run parallel to each other.
Happy New Year Everyone