Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY, Fate/Stay Night, nor the other franchises that will show up. They belong to Roosterteeth, Type/Moon, and their respective companies.

King of Beasts Productions presents:

The Life and Times of Summer Rose: A RWBY/Fate Stay Night Fanfiction.

Chapter 1: The Deal.

"Is this it?"

White intermingled with Red as the woman known as Summer Rose lay in a pool of her own blood. Her silver eyes began to haze as she stared at the sky, her already pale complexion paling even further due to the blood leaking out of her midsection.

"Is this how I die?" She asked herself as the numerous bodies of Grimm she had slain single-handedly (she lost count after fifty) began to dissolve around her. "Alone, in the middle of some Godforsaken forest?"

Don't get her wrong; she didn't regret going on this mission for Ozpin. She didn't regret trying to investigate the very source of Grimm, only for the said source to zero in on her. She didn't even regret fighting for the ideals she believed in; a Remnant that didn't need to leave in fear of the monsters of the darkness.

What she DID regret, though, was leaving behind her family so soon.

"R-Ruby...Y-Yang..." Tears began to form in her eyes as she weakly raised her hand, trembling as she expended her already draining strength. "T-Tai...Raven...Qrow...I...I'm so sorry...You'll...You'll have to carry on without me..."

"My, what a predicament you find yourself in."

She blinked in surprise at the voice that called out to her. She would look around, but she didn't have the strength to even lift her head. So she just settled on calling out to the voice.

"Who's...who's there?"

"Don't be afraid. I am Alaya." The voice told her. "It is indeed regrettable that I cannot save your body, which is beyond repair. However, I can offer you a deal."

"A...A deal?"

"Yes. I have watched you for quite a while. Yes, you're something the worlds need."

"Need?" Even when dying, there was a hint of skepticism in Summer's voice. "Need for what?"

"A Guardian." The voice explained. "Someone who defends the worlds when all hope is lost, when not even the local heroes cannot contain the threat. This kind of job is one right your alley, Summer Rose."

"I have to admit, that sounds pretty cool..." Summer laughed weakly. "Of course...there has to be a catch..."

"I suppose you can say that." The voice sighed. "You will serve as the World's attack dog. You will only be able to go where it needs you to go and there is no guarantee that you will arrive on time to save as many as you can. That being said, will you still accept?"

Now, this is where many would have seriously thought this over. Summer, however, immediately made her decision based on two factors; the fact that she didn't much time to think it over to begin with, as well as the fact that in her core, she always had the best interests of others at heart."

"Yes." She nodded with what strength she had left. "If it means I'll save as many as I can, no matter how small the numbers are, it'll be worth it."

"I see...very well." The voice spoke as if it nodded, confirming her decision. "Welcome to the Counter Force, Summer Rose."

Alimango Island, Philippines.

Counter Guardian ROSE opened her eyes, looking at the starry night on a ledge of overlooking a quiet town.

"It was on a night like this I began my service, huh?" She giggled wistfully as she stared into the endless horizon. She had lost count of how many years she spent in service to the Counter Force, but she didn't really care about that. She had fought countless world ending monstrosities with other Counter Guardians in an effort to keep the world safe. While she did not usually mind her current lot in the slightest, the fact that she could never go home to her family was a huge downside to the deal.

"It is what it is." ROSE would sigh. So the question does remain; what was a Counter Guardian doing here in this quiet Filipino barrio in the dead of night?

The town bursting into flames was the immediate answer.

"Right on schedule." The former Huntress would sigh as she brought out her shape shifting weapon, a curved half-moon sword she affectionately called "Mezzaluna." Her mission was to end this Dead Apostle infestation at the source. This involved killing an innocent girl who did not know what she was doing, drinking a magical reagant to prove it's efficiency. For certain, the Magus Association and the Church would be on the scene to clean it all up...as well as the local specialist for paranormal cases.

"Just another day in the office." She sighed as she leaped off her ledge, just about ready to enter the fray.

One can say that Anton Trese has seen a lot of shit. Being this country's resident defender of the secret world of the paranormal, it was expected of him. However, he didn't expect to find a literal hellhole in this part of Visayas. Not only was he neck deep in what he thought was aswang, but these salamangkero and priests came out of nowhere to purge both the island and it's inhabitants.

"Damn it!" The man grunted as he turned his hand guns on a pair of Dead Apostles, nailing them each with a headshot. "They're everywhere!" Seeing as this town was a lost cause, he resolved to try and save as many civilians as he could before this land would be burned to the ground.

"It would be a lot easier..." He stopped to duck an errant fireball from a mage before firing a slug at his legs. "If these magicians and priests were trying to kill us as well!" He had to duck a few Black Keys tossed at him before he returned fire and nailed the attacking priest in the chest. "And since when do priests carry bayonetas with them?!" As soon as the fighting subsided in his area, he took stock of his surroundings before he decided that there was nothing else left here. "There's no one here. Come, Alexandra. We have to-"

He turned around to see that his daughter was not beside him. He could only presume that they got separated during the fighting. This horrified him; As good as his eleven year old daughter was, this was something she could not handle alone with her current experience.

"Shit!" Anton cursed as he ran through the inferno, his eyes darting left and right looking for any sign of his daughter. "Alexandra! ALEXANDRA!"

Close to the Forests...

Young Alexandra Trese, eleven years old and apprentice to her father, was scared out of her wits. Armed only with Sinag, an enchanted kris using the soul of her dead twin, she hacked and slashed at ghouls in a desperate bid for freedom. Despite her latent talent, she was still a greenhorn as far as this business was concerned. She soon found herself surrounded by the monstrous vampires, too tired to even swing her kris anymore. She looked around for a possible escape route, but to her dismay, she found none.

"N-no...not like this..." The trembling adolescent held her kris close to her, it's pointy end directed threateningly at the monster, not that it stopped them. "I-I'm scared...Someone..." The monsters began shambling closer and closer. "Anyone..." They were so close now that she could their putrid breath, see the red in their eyes and the hungry expressions on their faces. "HELP ME!"

She closed her eyes as one of them leaped towards her, thinking that her end had come. She was surprised, then, when a white blur jumped in front of her and sliced the monster in half from top to bottom.

"Picking on a defenseless girl? Now that's just rude!" The blur, who turned out to be a woman in a white hood, turned to her and gave her a kind, motherly smile. "You're really brave, you know? What's your name, sweetie?"

"A-Alexandra..."

"Alexandra, huh?" The woman giggled as her bloodied half-moon sword gleamed in the firelight. "That's a nice name. My name's Summer, and it's nice to meet you."

"Look out!"

Alexandra's warning shout managed to alert the woman as another ghoul attempted to get close. Years of experience as a Huntress kicked in as she swung her blade, decapitating her attacker in one clean stroke.

"Okay, attacking some one while talking isn't very polite either!" The woman sighed before turning to Alexandra with another smile. "Why don't you sit there for a little bit, Alex? I can call you that right?"

The girl's nod was all the answer she needed.

"Good girl. Now just sit tight." She then turned to the crowd of ghouls still advancing upon their position. "I'm gonna take care of this real quick."

Counter Guardian ROSE would move almost instantly, her sword suddenly separating into segments connected by cables and swung it around rapidly, bisecting and decapitating foes left and right with strokes too swift to follow with the human eye. Few tried to attack from behind, but her Semblance (which gave her the ability to be intangible) made their attempts pass through her like she was made of air.

"While your attention is flattering, I'm already married!" After swiping at their legs with her normal sword form, she leaped into the air as the gears in her weapon began to turn once more. This time, her blade split into two halves and allowed the weapon to shift shape into that of a bow. She then pulled back her hood to reveal a quiver behind her back. She grabbed an arrow, which seemed to have a red dust-like substance in the arrow head, and pulled back the string. Within seconds, she fired the arrow unto the ground and it exploded upon contact, sending dozens of Dead Apostles flying.

"W-wow..." Alexandra could only watch in awe as the woman shifted her weapon back to sword form and directly engaged the Dead Apostles. Her movements were graceful and elegant, the woman swinging her strange sword much like how a painter works with his brush. Every swing, dodge and step was a part of a dance, and the woman before her was a definite master.

Soon enough, all the Dead Apostles around her were slain. ROSE sighed as she swung to take the blood off her sword, then sheathed it on her side before turning to the girl she had just saved. "You're not hurt are you?"

"U-uh, I-I'm fine, Ma'am..."

"Good. Now let's get you out of here." ROSE smiled as she helped the girl to her feet. "Now, were you with anyone? Family, perhaps?"

"Well..." The girl began. "There's my-"

"ALEXANDRA!"

Both turned to see a man in black in his late thirties running towards them. Due to the insanity of the situation, he turned his gun on the Counter Guardian, thinking her as a threat.

"Are you with those salamangkeros or those priests?!" He growled as he trained his aim at ROSE, who blinked at him in surprise. "If you did anything to my daughter-!"

"Dad, I'm fine!" He turned to his Alexandra, who thankfully didn't have a scratch on her despite the blood that covered her. "She was the one who saved me, actually!"

In surprise, he slowly turned to ROSE, his aim still at her. "You did?"

"Yup." The white clad Counter Guardian nodded. "She was surrounded by those Dead Apostles when I showed up."

"Yeah! And she even did a lot of cool stuff too!"

As you can see, she vouches for me. So...can you please put the gun down, sir?"

Though his expression is one of doubt at first, he slowly but surely lowers the firearm. He sighed in relief as his daughter ran to his side.

"Thank you for helping my daughter...and forgive me." The man gave her a grateful smile. "Those mages and priests were indiscriminately attacking civilians and aswang alike."

"I understand." ROSE shook her head with a smile. "That's the MO of both the Mage Association and the Church; to make sure the world in which we inhabit remains secret, both witnesses and the creatures in question are eliminated in one fell swoop."

"Mage Association?"

"Right, they don't operate in the Philippines. Not to my knowledge anyway." ROSE giggled. "By the way, my name is Summer Rose. May I know your name, sir?"

"Oh, my apologies. My name is Anton Trese." The man introduced himself while gesturing to his daughter. "And this is my daughter Alexandra."

"Trese...Where have I heard that name before?" The Counter Guardian placed a hand in her chin in thought for a few seconds before perking up. "Ah! Now I know! You're the guardian of the magical world here, correct?"

"You can say that." Anton chuckled. "We walk between the line of the real and the surreal. My family has guarded the mystical side of our world for generations. However, we cannot talk here."

"Right. We need to move." With a nod, Summer and the two Treses began moving out of the warzone.

"What brings you to the Alimango Islands, Miss Rose?" Anton asked as they traversed the lush greenery. "I doubt it was for the sights."

"Actually, I'm here to root out the source of this Dead Apostle infestation."

"Dead Apostle?" Both Treses asked.

"Hmm...I guess you can call them vampires. One bite turns a person into a ghoul, or in your folklore, aswang." ROSE explained as they went through the terrain. "It started with one poor girl who didn't know what she was doing."

"I see..." The man nodded. "Is there any chance that she can be saved?"

"...I wish there was." ROSE shook her head sadly. "I sincerely wish there was, but she's too far gone."

"Then you are prepared to do what you must do?"

The determined nod ROSE gave Anton was all the answer he needed.

"Do we even know how to find her, though?" Alexandra asked, to which Summer nodded.

"I have a wild guess." The hooded Counter Guardian answered with a smile. She then pointed to a trail of blood that led way out of the town and into the beach. "Looks like she still has enough will to get herself away from the populace."

"Very well." Anton nodded as he loaded his pistol. "Let's pursue before the trail gets cold."

As they were about to advance, they found that several more ghouls blocking their way.

"But first, we gotta get rid of this road block." ROSE smiled at the two as she drew Mezzaluna. "Let's go!"

"K-Kerry..."

Alone in the shoreline of Alimango Island, the Dead Apostle that was once Shirley, Emiya Norikata's apprentice, gripped herself as she went on her knees, struggling once more to control her vampiric urges.

"S-someone...k-kill me..."

"How much further?!" Anton called from behind as he provided cover fire, nailing a ghoul that was attempting to attack ROSE on the knee cap before finishing it off with a headshot.

"The trail should end by the shoreline!" ROSE called as she literally dashed through several ghouls, shifted Mezzaluna into bow form, and fired an arrow that pierced through said ghouls that were all lined up, then the arrow exploded and formed an ice pillar that caught them as well as several others.

"If you don't mind me asking," Anton grunted as he rolled past a ghoul and shot it at the back of the head. "What is that substance in your arrow heads? The one that does all those things?"

"Oh, those? It's a little something called Dust." ROSE answered as Mezzaluna reverted into it's sword form. "And don't ask where to find it. You won't find it in this world."

"'Your world'?" Alexandra was able to catch that hint as she thrust her kris under the jaw of her attacker.

"Looong story." She giggled while side-stepping a ghoul that attempted a direct attack on her, rewarding it by lopping it's head off with one clean swing. "One I won't have time to tell I'm afraid.

The Treses decide to let that go for the time being. Even then, they were impressed with the woman's prowess with her weapon. They were even more impressed whenever an errant attacker's attempt passes through the woman like it's nothing.

"Are you by chance a ghost?" Anton asked. "Their seem to pass through you like it's nothing."

"I suppose you can say that." ROSE giggled. "Anyway, no more time for small talk! We're almost there!"

She jumped into the fray before any of them could question her. Anton in particular sighed.

"Just who are you, Summer Rose?"

"We're almost there!"

Summer, Anton and Alexandra were close to the shore line, the fires of the doomed town far behind them. They knew they were in the right path due to the trail of blood that persisted even past the town.

"You're pretty amazing, Ms. Rose." Alexandra said with a hint of admiration in her voice.

"Indeed. one would think that you're among the engkantos of this land." Anton nodded in agreement. "You ARE not one, are you?"

"Nope." ROSE giggled as she folded her hands behind her back. "The long story will take a long time to tell. Time we don't have right now. So I'll just give you the short version: I'm not from your world."

"...I see."

"Most people would've gone like 'WHAAAT?! NO WAY!' or "You liar!'" The white hooded Huntress blinked in confusion.

"You forgot 'You're crazy'." Alexandra deadpanned.

"Probably, but in my line of work, you see some crazy shit." Anton chuckled. "That makes the possibility of you not being from here a plausible explanation. It would explain those abilities of yours, as well as your weapon."

"Oh, you mean Mezzaluna?" She smiled as she patted her sword. "She's my prized possession! Made her myself!"

"A sword that acts as both a whip and a bow? Impressive." Anton nodded with approval.

"Thanks! It was REAL tricky getting the shifting mechanism to work, but I'm satisfied with how it turned out-!" She stopped mid sentence and held her arm out to stop her traveling companions.

"I take it she's here?" Anton asked as he brought out his handgun. The nod she gave him was all the answer he needed.

"Stay close to me." ROSE implored them, to which they agreed. They exited the clearing into the moonlit beach. They saw the trail of blood that led to the girl in a bloodied, tattered white dress. She smelled of blood and death, her eyes were red and the way she trembled while she knelt on the ground told them that she was fighting with all her might to control her vampiric urges...and that she was steadily losing this battle.

"Uh...Hi." The girl whipped her head at the trio.

"Stay away from me!" She shrieked at them, agony heavily lacing her tone of voice. "I-If you don't, you'll end up like everyone else!"

"Don't worry. We're here to help." ROSE slowly advanced with a smile on her face. "What's your name?"

"Sh-Shirley..."

"Nice to meet you, Shirley. My name's Summer." The woman smiled as she crouched in front of her. "You're the one that caused the ghoul outbreak here, aren't you?

She nods somberly. "I...I just wanted to prove that Mr. Emiya's formula worked...But look at what it came into. I...I killed everyone..."

The Dead Apostle was surprised when the Counter Guardian patted her head affectionately.

"You know, my daughter Ruby should be close to your age by now. She would've loved to have met you." She smiled sadly. "I'm so sorry this happened to you. Someone as young as you shouldn't have to endure something like this."

"There's...there's no going back for me now, isn't there?"

"I'm afraid not, sweetie." The older woman shook her head. "If there were, then it wouldn't have gotten this bad."

"I...I see..."

"I can do two things for you now: I'll make it quick and painless, and I'll do it while you're still in control. That way, you can go out in peace...and die as yourself, not the monster you're slowly becoming."

"I...I would like that..." Shirley nodded as she knelt on her knees. "I just have one request: If you find a boy named Kerry...please take care of him."

"I will." ROSE nodded as she stood up, Mezzaluna gleaming in the moonlight. Looking at the girl who knelt before her, she could see that she lost the despair and desperation that once distorted her appearance. The way her eyes were closed, as well as the content smile on her face, told ROSE that she had made peace with herself. "Are...are you ready?"

"I am." She nods as the Counter Guardian went behind her, her blade raised. "Thank you."

With one clean swipe, ROSE ended Shirley's life, granting her peace at the end of her living nightmare.

It took sometime, but the three of them were able to bury the body underneath a neat little grave near the beach.

"Well, looks like I'm done here." ROSE sighed as she put on her hood. She turned to leave, but was stopped by Anton.

"Ms. Rose...Just what are you?"

"Hmm...I guess you could say that I'm complicated." ROSE giggled before addressing them one last time. "You two take care of each other, alright? And make sure you teach Alex well. You never know when she'll suddenly be forced to take up your sword."

Before either of them could say anything, she walked away and vanished in a trail of white petals.

"Dad..." Anton looked down at his daughter, who kept staring at the where the woman stood. "I have a feeling we're going to run into her again."

The Counter Force.

"You were supposed to make sure no one was alive."

ROSE turned to see her fellow Counter Guardian EMIYA greet her with his usual scowl. To which she giggled.

"Hey, Alaya's exact words were 'Get to the root of the problem', which I totally did~!" She pumped her fist in the air. "'Sides, if I killed the Treses, the Philippines will be left without a defender of the arcane world, thus allowing the various mythical creatures to run unchecked and thus, more work for us. I'd say that's a fair trade."

"Heh...For a Counter Guardian, you're quite carefree, Summer." EMIYA found himself chuckling at his peer's logic.

"And YOU are a bit grumpy, Shirou." ROSE shot back with a grin. "Did anyone ever tell you to talk less, and smile more?"

"...Did you pick that last line up from somewhere?" EMIYA raised his brow.

"Anyway," ROSE completely ignored what he had said. "Alaya should be quite happy that the Dead Apostle outbreak was contained in the least messy outcome."

"As I said, you're quite carefree." EMIYA remarked once more. "Most Counter Guardians would have given in to despair by now, being forced to come in when it's too late, cursed to never see their friends and family again."

"...It's never too late." ROSE answered him with an earnest smile. "I saved a few lives, in addition to the many others by stopping the outbreak. It sucks not being able to see my family again, but that's just how it is."

"How do you cope?"

"Simple. It's as I always tell my daughters." She smiled as she patted her contemporary before making her exit. "It'll always get better tomorrow."

As she left for who knows where, EMIYA couldn't help but smile. Whether the crushing despair of her current post would crush her optimism or not would remain to be seen. However, he could say for certain that she's not like the others; She hasn't lost her hope.

End Chapter 1

A/N: Ladies and gentlemen, This is the King of Beasts and welcome to the Life and Times of Summer Rose, a fic set in the Zero/Hourverse!

Summer: I get my own fic! WOOHOO!

Ruby: Mom, calm down...

ANYWAY, here's a little rundown of what to expect: It's basically going to be a series of shorts depicting the various points of Summer Rose's life, from her days in Beacon to her various missions as a Counter Guardian. This will hopefully provide some much needed background on the character, as well as her connections to the Zero Hourverse. Hope you guys enjoy!

Also, for your info, Anton and Alexandra Trese are not OCs. They are in fact from a Graphic Novel Series being published in the Philippines called "Trese." Considering that Kiritsugu's childhood happened in the Alimango Islands there (which is an actual place, btw.), it made sense that the Philippines' resident paranormal expert would get involved, although it would take place when Alex was younger. For those who've read this series, I hope I did them justice. I gotta represent, after

Alex Trese (now an adult): I may appear again, so brace yourselves.

With that, we wrap the first chapter of Summer Rose's story. Please leave a review when you're done reading and I hope to see you all in the next chapter!

Next time on The Life and Times of Summer Rose: A Humble Beginning!