The First Wave

— Qrow Branwen

***The First Wave*** is the fifth chapter of *RWBY: Witch Hunt*.

## Plot

Tock had grown accustomed to the dark, sinister hallways of the new home she had gotten, aptly named the Crucible. Actually, it was more than that. She'd grown to enjoy the darkness, the way the building almost seemed alive in the worst way possible. And she was living for it. Tock had grown up amongst a pirate group, The Raggedy Barrow. Killing and thievery were her specialty, along with trade and connections. These things made Tock a valuable asset when she was recruited by... Her.

As exciting as her missions were, though, she could've wished for a better group to be partnered with. The rest of the group were fine enough people, of course, but her style didn't work well with theirs. She was a lot more fast paced, and liked to "play with her food" as she called it, and that didn't mesh well with the other being thug-level or defected Huntsmen. What got on her nerves the most, though, was that she was treated like an ace in the hole by the others thanks to her Semblance. Tock could, in a way, solidify her Aura, and make herself invulnerable for sixty seconds. It had gotten her out of numerous close calls in the past, but it wasn't something she liked to brag about unless she knew she had the upper hand. It didn't help that, once those sixty seconds were up, her Aura shattered completely, and she'd be completely vulnerable.

Tock wasn't the only Faunus in this inner circle; she had crocodile scales all over her body. As Faunus only had one animal trait naturally, Tock had opted to alter her teeth, giving herself sharp, metallic dentures which mimicked a crocodile's teeth. The fellow Faunus of the group was named Philippus Williams, a dolphin Faunus with the trait of a dorsal fin, tipped with a steel blade he dubbed the Icebreaker, his weapon of choice. A benefit Tock and Philippus had when it came to their current boss is she didn't care about them being Faunus like many others would, she only cared about how useful they were to her cause. ...Whatever that cause was.

It was interesting, working for their new boss. It almost didn't matter that Tock was in it for the money and to give a middle finger to law, or that Philippus had a grudge with most humans. Their other partners, Robert Brie, a shotgun-toting ex-Huntsmen from Vacuo who weaponized his words more than his bullets, and Reed Tempers, a Plant Dust specialist from Mistral's lower mountain homes, also had their own goals. Robert had a bone to pick with the Academies, and Reed, like many, one with Atlas. But it almost didn't matter what their original goals were. This new driving force employing their services made the promise they'd be working towards something more. Something bigger than all of them. That they'd be going to change the world. This new boss of theirs went by the name... Salem.

When Salem first came for Tock, it was certainly a horrifying situation. One minute, she's captaining her Wind Dust powered ship through the seas north of the continent of Sanus, and the next? She's face to face with a Grimmified woman she can't kill. And Tock tried. She didn't even need to activate her Semblance, as Salem made no effort to fight back. Fighting Tock wasn't the point. The point was to show her that there were greater forces at work, and Tock wanted part of the action.

The four recruits sat at the long table within Salem's Crucible. Had they been in one of the Academies, they'd likely be given some silly color-themed team name. But, as long as Tock was the T at the beginning of said team name, invoking herself a the leader, she wouldn't mind. The only person she cared about taking orders from was Salem, the person with the most power in the room, both with her regeneration and magic, and her looks. True, her complexion and eyes resembled the horrific monsters that terrorized Remnant, but Tock wouldn't deny the alluring nature of her curves, sways, and voice. It was no wonder to Tock how Salem had come as far as she did.

Upon hearing the door to the room open, the four stood up, a sign of respect to their leader. Salem walked across the room, silently commanding respect. It had already been an immeasurable amount of time since the Gods bestowed her immortality curse upon her. Since Ozma began his reincarnations. ...Since she and he began going against one another. She took her seat at the head of the table, and waved her hand for the others to do so as well.

Her inner circle was perfect for her current plans. The Great War had ended a few decades ago, but that didn't stop some animosity between the kingdoms. And that's exactly what Salem used to her advantage. She couldn't perform a direct attack on the kingdoms yet, it was too soon for that. But this group made for easy division. And easy attraction. After all, when the common rabble riles things up, the Huntsmen and Huntresses arrive, and those groups include Salem's targets: The Silver-Eyed Warriors.

"Philippus" Salem's voice echoed through the room. "Your target will be Atlas."

"...Atlas? You're sending one of the Faunus to Atlas?"

"The attention you'll gain there is more valuable than you know. You can use mankind's unwarranted hatred towards you as an advantage when stirring up chaos. And when the Huntsmen and Huntresses come, you will take the ones we're after. And your Echolocation will prove effective in finding my Grimm forces within Solitas' several Dust mines." Salem calmly clarified. "...Besides. The Icebreaker could use some time breaking actual ice, hm?"

Philippus silently thought this over, and Salem turned her attention to one of the others. "Robert. I'm sending you to Vale. Only garner the right amount of attention, and from the right people. You're too recognizable in Vacuo, which is why Reed will be taking your place there. And that brings us to Tock."

"Yes, m'lady?"

"You have arguably the most important mission. A certain thorn in our side needs removing. Somewhere in Anima's wilderness resides your target. The Grimm Reaper."

The others were surprised. The Grimm Reaper? Whoever they were, they were legendary. They wielded a double-sided scythe that manipulated Gravity Dust, and they used the Silver Eye power, albeit sparingly, to combat the Creatures of Grimm. They were a force to be reckoned with, and Tock was being sent after her? Well. Her teammates were surprised. Tock was too busy being a bit excited about the mission.

"Aye, aye, cap'n."

Robert shot Tock an annoyed look. "Was that a fucking pun?"

"Glad you saw what I did there, Bobby."

"That's not my name-"

"Enough." Salem ever so slightly raised her voice, enough to garner the others' attention. "You have your jobs. The Silver Eyed Warriors are your targets, as well as anyone who may get in the way. Our cause will be accelerated with them gone, and our enemies weakened. Tock. Escort the others to their locations on your ship."

"Gladly, ma'am. I haven't been able to properly take the First Wave out for a good trek in a while."

"Right then." Salem clasped her hands in front of her face. "You have your assignments. Go. And remember: Destroying your enemies will be far easier and swifter should you divide them, and cause them to destroy themselves when turning on each other. Their weakness will be their undoing, and bring our victory. For there is no victory in strength."

Salem waved her hand, prompting the others to leave, heading out for their respective missions. Upon them leaving, Salem stood, and walked to the far window of the citadel. She looked to the sky, a death glare being shot at the shattered moon in the sky. The moon which had once been whole was destroyed when the Brother Gods abandoned Remnant after Salem turned humanity against them, the God of Darkness going through the moon on his way out. Her already intense look intensified.

Waves crashed against the wood of Tock's ship. The First Wave operated on Wind Dust sails. effectively a self-powered ship. The water below was a blackened red color, eventually fading into the much more natural looking blue as the ship left Salem's location. Nearing the continent of Sanus, Reed and Robert took a small boat from the First Wave to the shore. From there, the two would split up, as Vacuo and Vale existed on the same continent, though opposite sides. The ship changed course, headed north. A few miles off the coast of Solitas, Tock and Philippus saluted to one another, and Philippus jumped from the ship. Being an aquatic Faunus particularly had some benefits, allowing Philippus to have proficient swimming. After landing in the water, his fin and Icebreaker peaked barely above the water, much like a shark fin, and he headed for the city. Tock spun the ship's wheel around, setting a course for the continent of Anima.

Surrounding Salem's Crucible were numerous pools of Grimm liquid, black pits which spawned the creatures of darkness. This same liquid was also where Salem's failed attempt at removing her curse of eternal life took place. It was these pools that introduced Salem to her ability to control Grimm. Not just a matter of commanding them, but being able to manipulate their pre-existing biology as well, and even create entirely new species of Grimm. In all of Salem's time walking Remnant, her mind had become an incredibly dangerous asset that she wasn't afraid to use.

Speaking of dangerous assets, mankind was not without their own, and Salem knew it perfectly well. Mankind had an unrelenting determination to continue existing, a drive to prevent their own extinction. This same principle humanity operated on is how its return from the dust had occurred. Life finds a way, after all. As far as Salem was concerned, as much as this was how mankind came to be, it would just as equally be their downfall. Mankind's most dangerous asset was one she could exploit. She could use it to divide them, turn them against one another, fade away any Semblance of hope they once had. One of the ways to do this was to remove their drive entirely. Drain their will to go on, and replace it... with apathy.

Salem had approached a few smaller Grimm pools. She outstretched her arms, and moved her hands about in a manner similar to one conducting an orchestra. From one of the pools shot a long, spindly, skeletal arm, followed by an identical one. An incredibly tall and unnervingly thin, humanoid-esque Grimm pulled itself from the muck. As with all Grimm species, it was black, and decorated with white, bony armor. Its eyes and mouth both glowed red. The humanoid shape was thematic, in a way. Humanity would be their own undoing, after all.

As more of these creatures, appropriately named the Apathy, appeared from the pools, Salem turned her attention to a much larger Grimm pool for another experiment. Continuing her hand motions, Salem caused the liquid to bubble as if it were boiling, and to slosh around. Another pair of arms generated first, however, were notably different from te Apathy arms given their elastic nature, and the hands only having two digits each. The hands gripped into the ground, allowing it to pull itself further out of the liquid. A bony head appeared, decorated with glowing, red veins, and two large, curved horns on the forehead. Its eyes glowed red, and faded to yellow in the center. It attempted to open its mouth, as much as it could with entrails of either lip sticking together despite its attempts. It let out a long, echoing screech.

## Characters

* Tock
* Philippus Williams
* Robert Brie
* Reed Tempers
* Salem

### Grimm

* Apathy
* Nuckelavee

## Trivia

* Aside from referring to Tock's ship of the same name, the episode title refers to the current group being Salem's first wave of attack against humanity.
* Tock's original pirate group, the Raggedy Barrow, is a nod to:
	+ The Ragged Flagon, the base of operations for the Thieves Guild in *The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim*.
	+ Clyde Barrow, of the crime duo Bonnie & Clyde.
* Philippus Williams is a nod to both Flipper and Free Willy. "Philippus" is a Latin variant of the Greek "Philippos," meaning fond of horses, bringing to mind browns, blacks, and whites. "Williams" is rooted in the German word "Wilhelm," "wil" coming from will or desire, and "helm" from helmet, the latter of which could bring to mind silver, bronze, or gold, in regards to armor colors.
* Robert and Reed were thought up when watching *Criminal Minds*, specifically the two-part episode *Hit* and *Run*.
	+ Robert Brie is an allusion to Cheddar Bob from *8 Mile*, whose actor Evan Jones was in the two-part episode. The name is meant to be a reverse parody of Cheddar Bob's. Robert, the proper form of Bob, is the French variant of the German "Hrodberht," meaning bright with glory, bringing to mind whites and golds. Brie, like cheddar, is a type of cheese which is pale yellow in color.
		- There is no relation between Robert Brie and Harriet Bree.
	+ Reed Tempers is an allusion to Spencer Reid. Reed brings to mind green, such as those of a sugar cane reed. "Tempers" could make one think of temperature, thus thinking of the colors of a thermometer, or think of tempered metal, thusly thinking of metallic greys.