(A:N. Hey there, people of the internet, this is literally my first ever story that I've been planning for about two years. Man, I've really got to thank everyone who supported me throughout the production of this story, crappy or not. In the case you haven't realized, this is an AU, and this story takes inspiration from ParagonDS's Dark Souls/RWBY story and NeoNazo356's Giant-Slayer story, both of which are incredible, I suggest you all check them out. This isn't in the crossover section because A)This is an AU and B) Nobody every looks at the crossover section, or at least a very small number of people do. Anyway, on with the show! Constructive criticism is welcome here. The first chapter to this series will be fairly short, but I promise that of this gets any significant wind, you'll be seeing longer chapters if that's necessary.)

DISCLAIMER: The only thing that I really own in this story are my OC characters. All other property belongs to their respective owners, music, characters, and otherwise.

-[Into The Dark]-

Legends scattered

Meet team RWBY!

Ruby Rose POV

You know, when I woke up this morning, I didn't expect today to be all that normal. I guess that's kinda to be expected, y'know, with the whole 'I'm going to be a huntress to save the world from Grimm and make it a better place!' kinda speech that I normally say. Today was completely out of the norm. It was a late Saturday morning, and all of us were just looking forward to a normal, fun, possibly relaxing day. Most of us anyway...

"Look, all I'm saying is that we should train more," Yang tried to argue.

"Funny, coming from the girl with bruised ribs," Blake shot back without mercy.

Yang clutched at her side dramatically, a look of fake horror on her face. "Why kitty-cat, you wound me! How could you say something so offensive like that to an injured, innocent woman?" Weiss snorted, quickly looking at something on her scroll. ""You admit you're injured, but you're anything but innocent." We all burst out into laughter at that."Fair enough," Yang sighed, somewhat miffed. I grinned at put my hand on her shoulder. "If you want, we can train later!" Weiss and Blake groaned, their shoulders sagging, a single comically large drop of sweat on their face. Yang silently gave me a high-five, and all of a sudden, everyone froze.

"Hey... you guys feel that, right?" Blake asked, her ears frantically twitching under her bow. "Blake, lemme tell you, I can taste that!" Yang replied, many of the people in the courtyard also sensing the sudden change in the air. Something was coming, and it was less than nice. Suddenly, there was a blue flash of lightning that threw us all back, landing in a tumble. We all looked up in shock at the glowing blue sphere of... was that aura? It was violently crackling with this concentrated energy that certainly felt like aura, but it was... older, almost ancient in a way. Just as we were trying to figure out what it was, a giant silver and blue mass was spat out of the sphere, and the ball vanished. The thing that was spat out however, flew through the air and slammed into the fountain in a spray of water and rocks, several people screaming in fright. We got up and slowly moved towards the thing, and as we got closer, we realized that it was human... ish. "Oh my Gods, is he eight feet tall?" Yang asked, leaning over him. She was right too, he was really tall, actually around nine feet. He was wearing some incredible-looking armor too, a shining silver chestplate, shoulder-guards, leggings, and an open-faced helmet with a very long black plume. However, his armor and clothes looked ragged, worn, and very badly wrecked, and the damage looked recent too.

His body looked very horribly injured, the rips in his shirt showing large gashes that had yet to be treated, every one of them bleeding. He also had a few cuts on his (surprisingly cute/handsome?) face, with a strong jawline, slightly boyish features, and a thick scar on his jaw. Then there was his sword... "Oh my Gods, that is an incredible sword," I whispered, my vision tunneling as I looked at it, still in his hand. It was around five-feet in length, a blade that was mainly black with pure silvery edges. The hilt was curved, surprisingly some dust crystals encrusted inside and the handle wrapped in beautiful black leather. "Ruby, stop dawdling around!" Weiss snapped, catching my attention.

"He's very badly injured, and needs be be taken to the Med-Bay as soon as possible." Yang nodded simply and walked up to him, grunting and lifting his entire body up without much effort. That's when the man suddenly woke up, taking in a big gasp of air. His dark eyes were looking around wildly, almost as if he was terrified. "Sir, you're very badly injured, so please try not to move too much," Blake said to him calmly. Very suddenly, he leaped out of Yang's arms, landing on the ground with a heavy THUD, his left arm swinging by his side almost uselessly. "S...stay away..." He wheezed, blood spurting from his mouth as he started to limp away from us. Yang shook off her shock and I ran forward with her. "Sir, please stay ca-!" I started, until his stomped a foot towards us, the ground shattering and a crack forming right where we were about to step, both of us stopping. The man had now planted his sword int the ground, the blade cutting through stone like butter as he ground his teeth, his eyes squeezed shut like he was in pain, but not from the wounds on his body.

"Whoever thou art..." He said with a strained voice, "Stay away from me!"

"Sir, please, we can help you!" Weiss tried to call out to him, but something even stranger happened. His aura started to manifest, but it didn't just feel or look like any other aura. Aura when it manifests, or becomes visible to other people, can bee seen in many different ways, be it like a flame, steam coming off the body, a sphere-like surrounding, or even in small pops like bubbles. For this, it was like a thick, dark-purple smog, the air around us smelling like rage, sadness, and something that made all the hairs on the back of my neck stand. "Get... away... get away...!" His voice got louder and louder with each word, growing darker and more sinister as his body started to shake violently. The smog surrounding him roiled violently as he looked up, his eyes now entirely black. "Get away from me!" He screamed in a voice that wasn't his, and leaped right at me, faster than I could react. His sword was cutting through the air, aiming for me. Yang, thankfully, was quick on the uptake, her gauntlets unfolding in a moment as she dashed in and punched the man right in the cheek, halting his momentum and sending him staggering to the side. "You guys go get your weapons, I'll hold him off!" Yang shouted, moving into her boxing stance, a grin on her face.

"Yang, you're still injured, and you want to fight that... guy?" Weiss asked, weary that he was looking at us without pain in is eyes. "You just get to your weapons and back me up, if your so worried, I'm just holding him off until on the Professors get here!" Yang said back, her eyes still set on the man in front of us.

'That was surprisingly well-thought-out for Yang,' I thought.

"Besides, this was just the fight I was itching for today!"

Aaand there it is. "Alright team, let's go get our weapons and come back! Team RWBY (besides Yang) move out!"

Yang's POV

The second Ruby and the others ran back into the school, the giant guy's head seemed to snap towards them, a mad snarl on his face (which was actually pretty handsome) formed as he tensed to leap over. "Nope, your fight is with me!" I shouted, leaping at him and swinging as hard as I could at his face, Ember going off with a loud BANG as it met his cheek. He staggered back a bit before looking right back at me, completely unharmed. 'No damage? Even with aura, he should be at least a bit disoriented!' I thought as he deftly swung his massive sword at me. Instinctively, I raised my hands to block, which was a massive mistake. The blade slammed into Ember Celica, his raw strength flinging me back like a toy. My body slammed into one of the pillars, violently crushing the air out of my body. I fell to the ground, gasping and wheezing for air as blood dripped out of my mouth. I looked at it in surprise, along with my shaking hands and forearms. 'He... he hits even harder than the Paladin ever did!' I watched him as he drunkenly stumbled towards me, his black aura billowing off of him as he picked up speed. My semblance has activated, power flowing through me as I stood back up, spitting the blood from my mouth. My hair glowed golden as flames billowed around me, my aura flaring up as I got into my stance again. 'Thank gods for my Semblance,' I thought with a small grin. "Alright, bring it on tough guy!" I shouted.

I sprinted at him, my hands up and my breathing deep and even. He screamed as he swung his sword overhead with blistering speed, the blade a black arc as it came down. I hopped to the side and shot a Flame-Dust round at a gap in his armor before rolling behind him to jump and knee him in the back. He growled this time as he was pushed back by my first real attacks, now with even more power behind it than ever before. He pivoted and swung wildly again, but I wasn't going to get caught by that move twice. I rolled under the swing, blasting at his leg. He hopped away, bouncing on his toes and stabbing at me this time. I punched the blade out of the way, but despite how insane he seemed, his skill was still their. He quickly went with it rather than losing control, pivoting smoothly and his blade whirling around like a tornado.

Just as he stopped to regain his balance, I ran forward at him, my hands in a tight guard as I weaved my head in a quick figure-eight motion; my signature move! "Auric Arte!" I shouted, flames flying off of my body as my right fist screamed through the air. "Sunlight Rush!" I roared slamming into his armored torso with all my might. He staggered again, surprise and pain on his face, his eyes actually clearing up for a split second. 'So if I hit him hard enough, I can knock him out of that state he's in. Time to give it my all!' Still weaving my body, I continued to punch left and right at him, the metal of his armor starting to give in with the constant BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG of my fists on it. Just as I swung again, he let go of his sword, seeming to know that it wouldn't reach me this close and moved to punch me. I took it right on the cheek, my vision exploding into white, but I still kept on punching until his body was being jerked back and forth from each blow. Just as another left slammed into his side, he fell to a knee, coughing up a reeking mix of blood and vomit to the side, and thankfully not on my hair. "Time to finish this, whoever you are! Mystic Arte!" I shouted, my right fist being coated in golden fire, my power reaching its max. "SUNBREAKER!" I roared, slamming my own fist into his cheek, lifting him clean off the ground and sending his limp body into a light-pole with a CRASH, my strength fading as I fell to a knee, clutching at my ribs.

"Shit, I think I strained myself a bit too much this time," I muttered, taking a quick look at my scroll. "Holy crap, 21% from just two hits?" I muttered, my eyes wide open. "Who the hell is this guy...?" I looked up in time to see his eyes clear once again, looking at me in surprise. Come to think about it... he actually looked ind of malnourished. "Y-You... thank you..." He wheezed, trying to get up, only to growl in pain, his right arm cradling his... "Oh my gods, what happened to you!?" I shouted, running over as best I could to him. Is left arm was encased in some very ragged armor, but even that wasn't enough to hide how mangled his arm was. He hung his head, and tears formed in his eyes. "I'm... forgive me for being too weak..." He muttered, saying someone's name at the end that seemed to click in my mind. It sounded like 'Ciara' or something similar like that. All of a sudden, that black aura of his flared again, and his eyes widened, turning black before he squeezed them shut again, clutching at his head. "Agh... damn me... it's coming back...!" He groaned, his voice gaining a weird double-edge to it. "Girl, forgive me for not knowing your name, but please, I need you to knock me unconscious again." I looked at him in confusion before I understood. I was able to snap him out of whatever the hell was happening to him thanks to my raw strength, but I had completely exhausted myself using those Artes along with my still-healing ribs. Either way, I tried to muster as much aura as I could, raising it around my fist. Before I could even draw my fist back, his eyes were slowly turning dark. 'Come on, come on!' thought frantically. I was out of rounds in both gauntlets, so that wasn't an option, nor was trying to throw him.

"It's too late," He strained again. "Run from me, you do not have enough strength to finish me off!"

"Don't tell me what to do!" I snapped, still focusing on drawing more power. "You're in need of help, and I'm going to give it to you! Granted, not in the most convenient way..." I tried to joke.

He chuckled a bit in response before wincing in agony again. "You... need to run...!" He growled, pushing me away before freezing entirely. He looked up, and his aura billowed around him once again, a snarl on his face. 'Well shit.' Just as he was about leap at me, and ground my teeth and set my feet, ready to punch. Until Headmaster Ozpin seemed to arrive out of nowhere, walking calmly in front of me. "Thank you for your effort Miss Xiao Long, this will be noted in your second report. However," he said, pushing up his glasses with two fingers, his left had gripping his cane. "I believe it would be best to leave a threat like this to more... capable hands." I nodded, deciding to take that as a compliment. He calmly walked forward as the giant guy regarded him with what looked like curiosity before leaping at him. Suddenly, his cane seemed to instantly pierce through the thick metal armor, a loud POW sound echoing through the school as the giant was stopped dead in his tracks. The black smog was blown away, the murderous intent vanishing from him. His eyes were normal once more, blood gushing from several wounds and surprisingly little dripping from his mouth as he fell down face first, just in time as what seemed like the entire school came bursting out with weapons drawn.

? POV

'Hmm... this is actually... very peaceful,' I thought as I floated in the abyss that was my mind. I fell into sadness and self-loathing once again as It thought of my failures. Was that ass Ornstein alright? How was Gough faring, where ever he was thrown? And how was... how was my lover Ciaran doing? I was just about luck enough to survive Seathe throwing all four of us into this world, where ever this was. 'Damn you, you traitorous lizard, to think you'd find a way to create scales for yourself, ally with Manus, and defeat us...' Even though I didn't have a body in this state, I could feel my fists clench and tear swell in my eyes. 'Gough, Ornstein, and dear Ciaran... forgive me for being unable to avail you anything...' I had expected the abyssal taint to take over my mind again, feeding off of my negativity, but instead, I felt it almost harmonize in a way with me. Whatever the man with the cane had done, he somehow stole the abyss's grasp over me, and now... I felt as if I could control it. '...Thank you, stranger.'

I suddenly woke up with a gasp, coughing as I sat up and pounding my chest. After my coughing fit, I sighed and breathed in some unbelievably fresh air. I was in a clean, white room, an open window to the right of my bed, a small table and chair to the left. In the chair was none other than the silver-haired man, calmly sipping a cup of strong coffee, the smell reminding me of a time I shared with Ciaran... "I'm going to assume that the 'Purification Arte' I used on you worked?" he asked before handing me a cup of the beverage.

I sipped it and smiled, bowing my head at him. "Thank you, kind sir. For healing me." I had already noticed that all of my wounds had been stitched up and bandaged nicely, making me feel clean.

We sat in comfortable silence for a while until he asked, "You are not of this time, are you? Your size, aura, and armor indicate that much at least." I nodded and looked at him. "Kind sir, I want to tell you this. My story is not the most believable one."

He smiled once again, something cheeky in his eyes. "I think I can very well guess who you are, but go on."

I nodded again as turned to fully face him. "My name is Knight Artorias the Abyss-Walker, and I've been thrown forward into your time with my other friends, supposedly."

The man simply smiled again. "Just as I thought. My name is Professor Ozpin, and I have a proposition to make." I leaned forward, interested in this man. "Would you like to become a Professor at my school?"

To be continued (hopefully)...