Okay, first of all, I must confess that I am writing this completely without any prior experience of the RWBY anime, apart from what I've been able to glean from other RWBY fanfics and Google. With that, I have at most a rudimentary idea of how it should be written and, since I've enjoyed most of the RWBY fics I've read so far I decided to see if I can write a story completely off the top of my head, but still sticking to the base story. Of course there will be a few slight changes to it, and one or two major changes, but this will be an interesting experience either way.
Also, the main story will start a few weeks before Ruby is recruited by Ozpin.
One final warning: the OCs in this story are going to be very powerful, with several of them being specifically written to give the good guys a chance against the likes of Cinder and Adam. I know some may not like that, but hey: from what I've read about later events the good guys are going to need the extra help.
With that, let's go!
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-Chapter One- The Visitor
In the night skies over Remnant, peace seemed to rein…until a ship screamed through the it at lightning speeds. It was ducking and weaving as it tried to escape its pursuer, a large dragon shaped Grimm that was spitting streams of acid at it.
However, as much as it tried, the ship's luck ran out and a burst of acid impacting its engines caused it to lurch forward before beginning a frantic downward spiral.
In another part of Remnant, a bespectacled man was distracted from a cup of tea he was almost reverently sipping when his scroll, a small communications device, lit up showing a stern looking man on the other end.
"James! To what do I owe the please at this late hour?" the tea drinking man asked, reluctantly putting down his cup so that he could pick up his scroll.
"Ozpin…I'm not going to beat around the bush right now," Ironwood replied and moved his scroll so that Ozpin could see a screen that had been hidden behind him. "A few minutes ago my communications officer intercepted an airborne foreign signal, most likely from a ship of unknown origin, that was being broadcast on an open channel…" He nodded at someone off screen and a few seconds later Ozpin was able to hear what his 'friend' had discovered.
"….to all…this is…Ghost…!" an obviously male voice rang out, sounding extremely desperate. I am cur…ued by a necrodragon! Hasty reinforcement…preciated! Lexi…! Repeat…and boost…!"
Another voice, this one a calm female voice that had an odd tone to it, replied, "Boosting signal…pen channel…good idea?"
"Just do it!" the first voice snapped before the recording abruptly ended.
Ironwood came back into view and looked seriously at Ozpin. "It was at that point that the signal was cut off. We're assuming that whoever it was crashed not long after."
"Do you have any idea where they may have landed?" Ozpin asked, steepling his fingers and looking thoughtful.
At this, Ironwood rolled his eyes. "I'll give you one guess…"
The other man chuckled. "Judging by that tone, I'm guessing somewhere in Vale?"
"Correct. I've already dispatched a search team to try and find the point of impact."
Ozpin raised an eyebrow at this. "Sending an Atlesian force into Vale territory at the dead of night? Whatever would the Council think about this?"
"Damn the council!" Ironwood barked. "We are dealing with a possible hostile situation that could endanger both of our kingdoms, if not all, if it isn't investigated as soon as possible!"
"A little dramatic, don't you think?" Ozpin asked mildly.
Ironwood sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose in irritation before looking Ozpin dead in the eyes. "Ozpin…the fact that we were able to pick up the signal when it was much closer to your kingdom means that they were either moving at extremely high speeds, or they have one hell of a transmitter that is beyond anything any of the kingdoms have developed so far! Hell, it could even be both, so forgive me for wanting to err on the side of caution!"
Ozpin held up his hands in surrender. "Alright, alright, James; no need to snap!" He waited until he was sure that Ironwood had calmed down slightly before continuing. "Does your team need any assistance from my end?"
"No, I sent Winter along with them, just in case," Ironwood replied. The man then paused before grudgingly adding, "Although…perhaps you could keep this incident between us for now…"
Ozpin chuckled and nodded. "How could I refuse such a kind request? However, I have one minor stipulation to add to that: please allow me to watch what transpires."
Ironwood sighed. "…Fine…I suppose it would only be 'neighbourly' if allowed that small addition. Plus, you would send those damned drones of yours if I said no so there really isn't any point in refusing."
"I'm glad that you're finally starting to learn!"
The other man sighed again, his annoyance with Ozpin growing again, before he turned back to the screen. "Let's just see what my team finds, shall we?"
()()()()()()()()
Meanwhile, as both Ironwood and Ozpin paid close attention to the cameras in their helmets, Ironwood's team had just jumped out of their dropships, known as 'Bullheads', and were fanning out. Two of the soldiers saluted quickly as a young woman, dressed in a white military uniform and who looked even more stern than her commander, walked down the loading ramp of her bullhead and surveyed the area.
"Specialist Schnee, the crash site is just past that cluster of trees!" one soldier informed her, pointing in the direction of several silhouetted trees.
Winter Schnee, one of Atlas's specialists and a favourite of General Ironwood, nodded shortly and moved to lead her team through the trees. The soldiers fell in behind her, sweeping their gazes across the environment and making sure that nothing would be able to catch them by surprise.
It wasn't long before they reached their destination: a large crater that had obviously been made only recently. There were great clouds of dust and smoke rising from it, and in the centre of the crater Winter narrowed her eyes as she saw the shape of a battered but still intact ship lying half buried in the ground.
She held up a hand, halting her team before they could make their way down into the crater and took out her scroll.
"Sir, we've found it," she informed Ironwood coolly. "It seems intact, but definitely isn't going anywhere."
"Damage report?" came Ironwood's gruff reply.
Winter quickly eyed the ship before replying. "It seems that the engines have been…melted, for lack of a better word. By what, I can't say without a closer look."
"You may proceed, but go with caution."
The white-clad woman nodded and ended the call before leading her team down into the crater. They approached the ship cautiously, stopping briefly with every shift of rock or dirt. As they slowly neared it, Winter noted that even though it seemed inert there was a quite obvious coming from several spots on its surface, as well as the fact that it also had at least four cannons, two mounted on each of its wings. With its shape sleek and deadly looking, whatever the ship was it was clearly not a civilian ship.
Finally getting close enough to the ship that she could inspect it properly, Winter slowly reached out a hand and touched its surface. To her surprise, it was quite warm though she put it down to it most likely having been on fire during its crash. She then glanced to her left when a soldier pointed out what looked like a serial number underneath the clouded glass canopy of the cockpit.
"Spectre-044," the Atlas specialist read aloud. Underneath were two more words. "Hidden Shrike."
"The ship's identification number and call-sign?" a soldier suggested.
"Clearly," Winter replied dryly. She then inspected the cockpit. "I wonder if the pilot's still alive in there?"
Before anyone could reply, a soldier screamed as he was suddenly lifted into the air by a pair of jaws that quickly snapped shut, ending his life and causing blood to spray in all directions. His fellows recoiled in shock before aiming their weapons in the direction that he had been.
What they saw made several of the soldiers pray to whatever gods they believed in.
A gigantic, draconic Grimm was hovering in the air above them glaring down at the humans before it. The dragon's scales were coloured black, and despite the size of its wings, each flap was completely silent. It had six eyes that glowed a fierce orange underneath its bone white mask and were currently boring into each and every human present.
Winter slowly took out her weapons and directed the soldiers into a defensive formation, grimacing as she glanced at her downed comrades broken body.
()()()()()()()()
"Well…I've never seen a Grimm quite like that!" Ozpin mused, frowning. He then glanced at Ironwood through his scroll. "I would suggest that you get your team out of there; I have the bad feeling that they will be no match against it, despite the presence of Winter."
"Even if I wanted to, I sincerely doubt that that thing will simply let them!" Ironwood growled before turning back to the screen that showed several different perspectives. "Winter; I'm going to send back up! Try and hold out until then!"
"Understood, sir," came Winter's cool voice in reply.
Ozpin sighed. "In that case, I'll see if Glynda is available. She might be able to provide some assistance."
"Do want you want, Ozpin, if it means that my team survives I'm all for it!"
()()()()()()()()()
Meanwhile, inside the crashed ship, the pilot began to stir, shaking his head to clear the bright spots that were obscuring his vision.
"Ergh…that didn't feel good…" he groaned, putting a hand to his head and wincing in pain. "Lexi, status report."
A calm female voice filled the cockpit at that moment. "The main structure of the Shrike is intact, although our engines have been completely ruined and the shift drive is completely totalled. Our frontal cannons are under the surface of the ground and are thus useless, but our wing mounted ones are…slightly less useless." Lexi's voice then paused. "Also, that necrodragon that was chasing us is now in a standoff with several unidentified military personnel. One has already been eaten."
"Great…what are their chances?" the pilot muttered as he struggled to undo the straps that held him into his seat.
"Let's just say that they have less of a chance of surviving as Gregor has of gaining the ability to be quiet."
"That is decidedly not good!" the pilot groaned, finally getting free of the strap. "Right, open the canopy, Lexi."
"Are you sure that's wise? Your vital signs are currently less than desirable for a combat situation against such an opponent."
The pilot sighed before grabbing a small metallic orb and attaching it to his belt. "Just open it, please."
Lexi's voice sighed. "Sometimes I wonder why I enjoy this partnership so much," she grumbled.
The pilot chuckled as he heard the canopy slowly hiss open. "It's probably because we have such interesting conversations!"
()()()()()()()()()
As Winter and her team faced off against the draconic Grimm, which had by that time decided to land and was now slowly stalking towards them, the Atlas specialist whipped around as she heard a noise come from the ship. Her eyes narrowed when she saw that the cockpit canopy was slowly opening.
"You men keep an eye on the Grimm, I'll deal with whatever comes out of the ship!" she ordered and dropped into a battle-ready stance.
The other members of Winter's team glanced at each other uncomfortably before moving into cover as the dragon let out a loud snarl and rushed towards them.
As the soldier's began firing on the Grimm, Winter finally got the chance to see the pilot of the downed ship in person as they leapt out of the cockpit. The man was wearing a white hooded cape over white, carapaced armour and on his face he was wearing a blank white mask with no visible eye slits that entirely covered his face. Finally, Winter saw a black bushy tail waving from behind the man's rear, indicating that he was a Faunus.
The mask made Winter stiffen, as it was similar to the ones worn by members of the terrorist organization the White Fang, and she pointed her sword at him.
'You there, are you a member of the White Fang?" she demanded.
The masked man turned in her direction. "Who?" He then shook his head before leaping into the air and landing in front of Winter's team, placing himself between them and the enraged dragon which had paused when he had appeared. "You lot, stay back unless you feel like getting melted into a puddle!"
With that, the pilot detached what looked like a plain rod from his belt before morphing it into a gigantic warhammer. Seeing the weapon, the necrodragon roared and shot a stream of acid at the pilot. In response, the man slammed his warhammer into the ground and a wall of ice suddenly appeared, blocking the acid long enough for the pilot to jump over the stream.
Landing beyond the ice wall, the pilot ran towards his opponent, ducked under a sudden swipe from a clawed hand and struck the dragon straight on the chest. There was a metallic thud and, to the surprise of all those watching in person and through cameras, the dragon was launched several metres backwards.
Without missing a beat, the pilot then leaped into the air again. As he did so, icy pillars erupted from the ground and surrounded the fallen dragon, trapping it. Giving a warcry, the pilot plunged downward in preparation of delivering the final blow.
However, he was flung across the crater as the dragon surprised him by lifting its tail and slamming it into his body. The pilot flew through the air before landing with a grunt beside Winter, who looked down at him looking very unimpressed.
"Need help?" she asked sarcastically.
"Nah, I'm all good!" the pilot insisted and leaped back to his feet. "Just keep your guys away from the fight; it's about to get a little bit chilly around here!"
Picking up his warhammer which had landed a few feet away from him, the pilot ran back towards the dragon as it crushed enough of the icy pillars to free itself. As he headed in its direction, Winter and her team noticed that the air was starting to grow colder. A few seconds later a sudden blizzard had appeared as if from nowhere, though Winter immediately knew that the pilot was the source. Knowing this, she was slightly impressed at the degree of power that the man was showing.
"Alright you moon-damned dragon, have a taste of Death's Frost!" the Atlesian team heard him roar.
A moment later five giant spears of solid ice formed in the air above the man's head as he charged towards the dragon. He then gestured with his warhammer and the spears immediately flew towards the Grimm. The creature managed to destroy four of the spears before the last one ripped its left wing to shreds, causing it to let out a piercing shriek that made Winter and her team wince and cover their ears in pain.
"I'm not done, jackass!" the man shouted. He then slammed his foot onto the ground and there was a shudder as the ground cracked before him. "Come on out, Fenris!"
With this, a giant white wolf clawed its way free from the ground and stood beside the pilot, standing several feet above him and letting out a distorted snarl. As soon it had appeared, the blizzard that had been raging blew out as it was sucked into the wolf, though the air remained as cold as it had until then. Having seemingly absorbed the blizzard Winter was quick to note that an icy wind now emanated from the huge beast.
If they could see his face, the Atlesians were sure the pilot would have been grinning.
()()()()()()()()
"That's…rather unnerving…" Ozpin commented as he leant forward, intently observing what was transpiring on the screen behind Ironwood. "Whoever this pilot is, he has a Semblance more powerful than anything I've ever seen." He considered his words for a moment before continuing. "Almost as powerful as that of a maiden…which would be interesting if he actually had that power."
Ironwood glanced at his scroll at these words. "Are you telling me that that MAN might have the power of a maiden?"
"If he does, it changes everything I thought I knew," Ozpin replied. "To think that the powers of a Maiden decided to manifest themselves in a male. Quite intriguing."
"What is the world coming to?" Ironwood sighed before returning his attention back to the screen.
()()()()()()()()()
Back at the confrontation between the mysterious pilot and the necrodragon, the ice wolf had torn the Grimm's remaining wing to shreds before dashing back to avoid a stream of acid. As it landed a few feet away from the beast, the pilot jumped forward and slammed his warhammer into the dragon's head. There was a vicious crunch and the Grimm's jaw snapped, hanging loosely as the dragon let out a shriek of pain and fury.
"If you think that was painful, you better brace yourself for this!" the pilot roared and held his hand up to the air.
A moment later, a giant blade of ice began to form above him, as long as his wolf and deadly looking. Fenris jumped in front of his master and blocked a desperate attempt from the dragon to stop the pilot and in that moment the ice blade became fully formed.
The pilot held the blade, though he wasn't physically touching it, above him for a moment before sweeping his hand straight down. As Fenris jumped back again, the ice blade whipped point down before plunging towards the dragon, impaling it a moment later and shattering causing even more damage as the icy shrapnel tore the dragon to shreds.
"As with all of your kind, be drawn down into the depths of hell, you monster," the pilot muttered, almost as a prayer. He then looked up at the ice wolf beside him and continued. "Time for you to go back, buddy. Thanks for the help!"
Saying this, the pilot tapped his foot on the ground and the wolf bowed as it turned into a mass of ice that was sucked into the depths of the crack in the earth that closed as the last vestiges of it disappeared.
The pilot then turned around and made to walk back towards Winter and her team, however a sudden warning shout from the Atlesian specialist made him pause. A moment later, he let out a roar of pain as a barb struck him from behind and forced him to his knees. Behind him, the thought to be defeated Grimm slumped back to the ground, an almost malicious look on its mask as it began to dissolve into a puddle of black goo. In its last moments, it had raised its tail and shot one of the barbs that grew out of it at the one that had defeated it, taking its revenge before it died.
As the pilot struggled to remove the barb from his shoulder, Winter and her team slowly approached him.
"Want help with that?" Winter asked as she reached him, crouching next to him and looking at where she assumed his eyes were.
"If it's not too much trouble," the man grunted in reply.
Winter nodded and stood up. She then gripped the barb in her gloved hands, glancing down at the pilot who took in a breath and gestured with his other hand for her to continue. Without taking her eyes off of the pilot's mask, Winter coolly and abruptly pulled the barb out, her action accompanied by an almost annoyed growl from the pilot as he felt it leave his shoulder. As she dropped the barb to the ground, the kneeling man slowly got to his feet.
"Thanks…could've warned me before you did that though," he said in a snarky voice.
"Best to get these things done without delay," Winter replied calmly. She then pointed her sword at the pilot. "Now then, put your hands behind your back and get on your knees."
"But I just got up from them!" the man protested before crossing his arms and tilting his head. "And why would I do that in the first place? What gives you the right to demand that of me?"
"You have violated the airspace of one of the Four Kingdoms while flying an unregistered, clearly military ship and you wear a mask that is very similar to a group of terrorists that have been plaguing the kingdoms recently," Winter filed off. "Need I go on?"
"Okay, first of all; did you forget that I just saved your butts from that necrodragon?" the pilot argued. "Secondly, I had no idea where I was since I was flying too high to be able detect any signs of civilization and also disregarding the fact that I was at the time being pursued by the aforementioned necrodragon." At that point and as quick as a flash, the pilot's uninjured arm whipped down to the rod that was attached to his belt. The specialist tensed when it morphed into a large shotgun that was then pointed directly at her face. "Finally, what makes you think you have a chance at stopping me from leaving? I get the feeling I could tear apart you and your team with little effort."
"And how do you figure that out?" Winter asked coldly.
"Simple really; I can't sense any magic from any one of you guys."
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At this, Ironwood glanced hurriedly down at his scroll. "Ozpin! He just said…"
"Yes, I heard, James," Ozpin interrupted the general. He then sat back in his seat, a contemplative look on his face. "Well, that just about confirms the fact that the abilities he showcased tonight were in fact born of magic!"
"So does this mean he's a…er…'Maiden'?"
"I have no idea!" Ozpin laughed, clapping his hands together in excitement. "And I haven't experienced that sort of thing in quite some time! Good to know that it can still happen!"
"I'm glad someone's enjoying themselves," Ironwood muttered sarcastically.
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"Magic?" Winter repeated cautiously. "How can you be sure about that?"
The pilot shook his head. "Magic has a certain…feel to it. If one has adequate training in it, they can usually tell if another person also has the ability to wield it." He shrugged. "And since I'm, not to talk myself up here or anything, rather damn good at using magic I can tell that all you guys have to stand in my way…is you, lady." The pilot let out a short bark of laughter. "I mean, not to say that you're not strong, I can tell that Aura's pretty powerful, but the other guys barely have a quarter of your strength combined! If I take you out, I'm clear and free."
"And that's exactly why you'll fail to escape," Winter announced.
"How do you reckon?"
Winter smiled thinly. "You've underestimated the numbers I brought with me…as well as our equipment."
With that, she dove out of the way as the pilot was hit from behind by a rocket. As he staggered forwards, the specialist then charged at him and swung a leg around in a roundhouse kick, connecting with the pilot's head and knocking him to the ground.
Rubbing his head, the pilot looked up to see the tip of Winter's sword directly in front of his face, its owner glaring down at him.
"We may not have 'magic' but what we do have is a lack of arrogance," she informed him. "So here's a lesson; never belittle the team I bring with me because I only choose the best."
"Wasn't belittling them, just stating a fact," the pilot replied stiffly. "Also, do you really think it's gonna be…that…easy…" Suddenly, the pilot tore his mask off and a moment later vomited. "Ergh…that's gross! Lexi…what the hell…?"
Winter looked around as an unfamiliar female voice issued seemingly from nowhere.
"Ghost, that barb that the necrodragon shot at you was filled with a rather nasty toxin that will cause you to throw up, make it difficult for you to breath and eventually suffer a slow and painful death as it eats away at your very cells. Did you forget about that little surprise they have?"
"Well excuse me for being preoccupied!" the pilot growled before collapsing onto his side, choking. "Yep…there's the difficulty in breathing…!" The man gasped painfully. "Is there anything…?"
"I'm checking my databanks to see if I can synthesize an antidote from the ingredients in the nearby area." There was a pause before Lexi, now sounding slightly concerned, stated, "Apologies, Ghost; there are no ingredients for the antidote in the surrounding area. Widening my scanning radius now…negative, still no sign of anything that can help."
"Well…guess you guys are gonna…" before he could continue, the now named 'Ghost' slumped to the ground, unconscious.
Winter knelt down next to him and checked his pulse. She then raised her sword, her team raising their guns, as a small metallic ball detached itself from Ghost's belt and hovered in the air beside his unconscious form. A moment later a soft blue light began emanating from the ball before it flared suddenly, causing the Atlesian team to squint. When their eyes readjusted they were dumbfounded by what they saw.
Where the ball had been floating, there was now a small girl with light blue hair that covered her left eye slightly and wearing a light blue dress. Her eyes, on the other hand, were what really drew their attention: her right eye was bright red, while her left eye that was slightly obscured by her hair was a multi-coloured green and purple.
The other thing that was slightly unnerving about this apparently little girl was the air of quiet intelligence that hung around her, as well as the almost irrepressible calmness that made Winter seem like an overactive child.
"Who are you?" Winter demanded, jumping to her feet and pointing her sword warily at the newly appeared girl.
The girl cocked her head curiously at the taller woman. "You seem to enjoying pointing that weapon at people," she stated. "Is that how you like to say 'hello'?"
"You're that voice from before," Winter observed, not lowering her sword.
The girl nodded happily. "Indeed I am. Allow me to introduce myself…" Here, she gave a small curtsey. "I am the Synthetic Intelligence Combat Assitant, or 'Seeker' Unit L-371, 'Lexi' for short. It's a pleasure to meet you, Atlesian Specialist Winter Schnee."
"How did…"
Lexi smiled and pointed to Winter's waist. "I remotely hacked into your charming little communication device when you threatened Ghost; I had intended to see if I could incapacitate you by causing an electrical discharge from its power source."
"Why didn't you?" Winter asked, slightly bemused by the fact that she was now conversing with someone who had identified themselves as an artificial construct.
"Because if my partner is to survive, he needs help whether he likes it or not," Lexi stated. "As you have no doubt gathered, Ghost can be rather stubborn and prone to confrontation."
"Yes, that was something I picked up on," Winter said dryly. "So what do you want?"
"I was hoping you'd bring my demands up!" the artificial girl smiled peacefully. She then clapped her small hands in an almost business-like manner. "What I want is for your commanding officer and that other old guy to speak to me for a moment."
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"Why do I get the feeling that that robot just called me 'old'?" Ironwood grumbled.
Ozpin let out a chuckle. "I believe she was referring to me, James. Either way, shall we hear what she has to say?"
"You're not even going to question the fact that she apparently made a mockery of Atlas's firewalls and hacked into not one, but two different scrolls in two different locations vastly apart from each other?"
"I wouldn't say Atlas and Vale are 'vastly' apart…but I understand your concern," Ozpin replied. "So, shall we converse with her?"
"You don't really have much of a choice, Professor Ozpin," Lexi's voice suddenly interrupted and her face appeared on all of the screens in the General Ironwood's command room.
"What the hell!?" Ironwood yelped, before clearing his throat and turning to glare at one of the screens. "Who the hell gave you permission to invade our screens like that, robot?"
"Please, 'Synthetic Intelligence Combat Assistant, or 'Seeker' if you prefer," Lexi corrected the irate general, smiling widely. "And why should I ask for permission when there was nothing you could do to stop me?"
"I could have the paladin that brought you partner down take you out as well if you're not careful!" Ironwood barked.
Lexi blinked before her eyes seemed to glaze for a moment. After a short pause, her eyes refocussed and she looked smugly at the general.
"To counter your previous statement, General James Ironwood, I could have that paladin you mentioned fire on your team instead." Here, the screens switched to the image of the Atlesian mech pointing its weapons at Winter's team, who looked nervously at each other, before switching back to Lexi. "I assume you would rather avoid that? And don't even think about trying to use you 'Bullheads'; I have already locked access to their weapon systems."
A vein pulsed on the General's forehead as he ground his teeth in frustration. "You…I…you have no idea who you are messing with, 'Seeker'!"
"Neither do you, general," Lexi rebutted sunnily. "Now, I would rather talk about potentially saving my partner from a slow death." Her expression then changed to a deadly serious one. "And know that if you do not agree to my terms I will hack into your systems, take control of every paladin and knight unit that you have at your base and I will command them to eliminate every living thing there."
"Now, now; there is no need for such threats," Ozpin quickly spoke up, overriding whatever General Ironwood was about to growl out. "Whatever demands you have you may present to me."
"Excellent; I knew there would be someone agreeable at this little council," Lexi smiled, once again looking like an innocent little girl, albeit one with glowing blue skin. "My demands are quite simple; I merely need access to a well-stocked infirmary and the medical apparatus one might provide."
"That's it?" Ozpin asked cautiously.
Lexi nodded. "I am certain I will be able to synthesize a temporary antidote for a necrodragon's toxin, assuming that your infirmaries stock basic medical supplies."
"Well, the nearest infirmary that might have all you need is at my academy," Ozpin replied after he considered the Seeker's request, even though he knew of several other medical facilities much closer to Lexi's location.
Unfortunately, the little robot girl seemed to already know this and said, with a smirk, "I will ignore the fact that that is quite obviously a lie, but the sooner we get Ghost there the better." She then focussed her attention back onto General Ironwood. "I assume that this is agreeable to you, general?"
"Why are you asking me?" Ironwood grunted, rolling his eyes. "I doubt you appreciate my opinion on the matter."
"Affirmative; I just wanted to give you the illusion that I did," Lexi sniggered.
Ironwood face palmed while Ozpin chuckled.
"You are quite an interesting…person," Ozpin smiled.
"That can be attributed to the fact that I was programmed with a 'sassiness' sub-routine," Lexi replied, giggling slightly. She then stuck out her tongue at General Ironwood. "By the way, I wouldn't have actually commanded your mechs to eliminate your personnel; I am unable to directly or indirectly harm anything non-grimm unless specifically ordered to by my partner."
"You were BLUFFING!?" Ironwood growled in disbelief, his face red with rage.
Lexi cheekily smiled. "Affirmative."
Seeing that his friend was about to explode in anger, Ozpin said, "Now that we've come to an agreement, how about you get 'Ghost' onto a bullhead and get him to Beacon as soon as possible?"
"That is precisely what I plan to do, Professor Ozpin. Be ready to receive him, if you would."
"I'll have the pilot contact me when he's close," Ozpin assured her. "Have a safe trip!"
()()()()()()()()()()()
"Ohh…my head…" Ghost groaned as he slowly opened his eyes. He then immediately squinted when as the lights temporarily blinded him "Argh, someone turn the lights off!"
"Your eyesight will return momentarily, Ghost, do not fret," Ghost heard Lexi's voice speak up from beside him.
Turning his head, he saw the lightly glowing blue face of his robotic companion staring at him.
"Lexi…where am I?" he asked, slowly sitting up. He then paused when he noticed that there were two more people present; a bespeckled grey haired man sipping a cup of tea and a similarly bespeckled blonde haired woman with a very severe looking expression on her face. "Who the hell are you guys?"
The woman harrumphed while the man smiled.
"Introductions do seem like the appropriate thing to do right now, don't they?' the man said conversationally. "I am Professor Ozpin, headmaster of the Vale Kingdom's Beacon Academy and this is my colleague Professor Glynda Goodwitch."
"Right…and why were you two watching me sleep?" Ghost asked suspiciously. "Seems kinda creepy if you ask me."
"I can assure you that we had no nefarious intents other than wanting to be here when you woke up." Ozpin paused when Glynda cleared her throat sharply. Sighing, the man corrected himself. "Fine; I wanted to be here when you woke up."
Ghost glanced at Lexi, who shrugged and said, "I saw no problem with it so I let them stay."
Her partner sighed. "I'll trust your judgement on that, since I wasn't exactly in a position to argue." He then looked back to Ozpin and Glynda. "So what do you want?"
"Some answers to questions that I have," Ozpin replied after taking a sip from his cup.
"Guess I owe you guys that much," Ghost grunted as he got into a more comfortable position. "I take it that this is a medical facility and that you're responsible for me not dying?"
"Actually your companion suggested the specifics of the treatment, the doctor's here merely followed whatever instructions she gave them," the professor admitted.
"Ah…well, in any case I suppose I should be grateful to you guys either way for allowing her to save me," Ghost shrugged.
Lexi cleared her throat then, making Ghost look over at her, and said, slightly guiltily, "About that…the treatment wasn't a complete success, not without the specific medical treatment that's back home."
"So…what does that mean?"
"I was only able to synthesise a temporary solution that, though it hasn't purged the toxin from your blood, is slowing its progress through your systems," Lexi explained. 'However, if we don't get home within the next two years, you WILL expire. Also, you need to take regular pills filled with the solution, otherwise the toxin's progress will increase again."
"Two years, huh?" Ghost mused. "Shouldn't take that long to get the Shrike back in action."
Lexi sighed. "Again, that could be a problem. General Ironwood of Atlas has, in the hours that you were unconscious, has seized the Shrike and has no intention of giving it back anytime soon."
"WHAT?! WHY?!"
"Remember how that Winter lady said that we had violated their airspace?" Ghost nodded. "The good general seems to think that that gives him the right to take the Shrike away for study."
"That absolute, moon-damned jackass!" Ghost growled in frustration.
He then made to swing himself out from the hospital bed but in response Lexi, to the surprise of Ozpin and Glynda, materialized two giant cannons that seemed to be made of the same blue material as her outer shell and floated in the air above her, pointing straight at Ghost.
"I'm afraid that I cannot allow you to engage in any strenuous activities," the Seeker informed her partner.
"Jeez, fine you don't have to get your digi-cannons out!" Ghost grumbled, sitting back down on the bed.
"Just making sure, Ghost," Lexi replied, her cannons disappearing now that she was satisfied her partner wasn't about to get out of bed.
"What are 'digi-cannons'?" Ozpin asked curiously.
"That's classified information, old man," Ghost replied sharply. "All you need to know is that she probably has enough firepower to level this entire building and then some."
"Let's try to avoid that outcome then, shall we?" Ozpin chuckled, not seeming too bothered by that information. Taking another sip, he then continued. "I don't suppose that your real name is classified as well, young man?"
"Wait, how did you I was young?" Ghost frowned before his hand shot to his face. Immediately realizing that his mask was no longer on it, he groaned. "Right…I'm in hospital attire…duh…" He then shrugged. "Whatever, no point in complaining about that. As for my name…you can call me Lucan. Seth Lucan."
"Well then, Seth Lucan, it's a pleasure to truly meet you," Ozpin smiled, although Glynda merely grunted.
She then pushed her glasses up and said, "Now that we know who you are, how about you tell us why you're here?"
"Trust me, Goodwitch, we didn't come here willingly," Seth grunted.
"Then why don't you enlighten us?" Ozpin suggested gently.
Seth shrugged. "Nothing special to it really; I was testing out an experimental shift drive for my ship when I was attacked by that moon-damned necrodragon grimm, the drive malfunctioned when the ship took a particularly violent hit and the next thing both the Shrike and the grimm were teleported who knows how far across Remnant!"
"I actually have a good idea about where we ended up, Seth," Lexi piped up. She held out her hand and a beam of light projected from her palm, a holographic map of the whole of Remnant hovering in the air a second later. "When the shift drive went wonky, I believe that it opened up a portal and deposited us on the other side of Remnant."
"What exactly is a shift drive?" Glynda interrupted, earning herself an annoyed look from Seth.
"Again, classified information."
Glynda glared at the younger man. "Now look here; we've been agreeable so far, allowing you companion to use our medical facilities and in return you've been nothing but stubborn and pig-headed! I think we deserve an answer or two!"
"Glynda…calm down," Ozpin sighed.
"But…!"
At a look from her superior, Glynda let out an annoyed sigh of her own but went silent. Seeing that she was somewhat calmer now, Ozpin switched his attention back to Seth.
"She does have a point though, young man; if we are to have garner pleasant ties, then something must be given in return for all the help we have provided you," he pointed out in a reasonable tone.
At this, Seth and Lexi shared a look.
"I…suppose that's reasonable…" Seth eventually grudgingly admitted. "Fine…if you really must know, the shift drive was supposed to be allow instantaneous travel between two points. It was also hoped that if the prototype worked and if we could develop an even more advanced version in the future then it might…allow us to travel to the moon."
Ozpin's eyebrows shot upwards at this. "Interesting…well, clearly the drive works."
"In a sense…but now that jackass General Up-Tight has the Shrike and apparently refuses to give it back!" Seth ranted. "Not that it would do him any good even if he knew what exactly my ship contained. Before I exited the Shrike, I had Lexi run a diagnostic on the ship and we found out that the damned drive was completely wrecked."
"Moving on…how exactly was this 'shift drive' supposed to allow space travel?" Ozpin queried. "Dust doesn't operate in space after all."
Seth shrugged. "I don't really know to be honest. All I was told, and all that I was really able to understand, is that it doesn't use dust but something call an 'oscillator' of some sort." He glanced at Lexi. "You know anything more about it?"
"Apologies, but I was never let in on the project proper, merely the basics of the idea which you pretty much touched upon just then," Lexi replied regretfully. "Melanie's Seeker would probably know more, since they were both involved with its initial development."
"Figures…sorry, Ozpin but that's apparently all you get on the shift drive," Seth shrugged. "So what else do you want to know?"
Ozpin leaned forwards then, deciding that now would be a good time for him to ask the one question that he wanted to know the answer to.
"There is one thing that has been on my mind since I first saw you fight…what is that Semblance of yours?"
Seth raised an eyebrow. "I didn't use my Semblance during that fight though."
"I believe he was referring to your Inheritor powers, Seth," Lexi pointed out.
Ozpin latched onto Lexi's words. "'Inheritor'? What exactly does that mean?"
The injured Faunus grimaced. "That's…a really complicated answer, old man."
"Start at the beginning then, if you please."
Seth sighed. "Alright…I suppose the answer begins several thousands of years ago, when the Twin Gods left humanity and nearly destroyed Remnant in the process. In the wake of their departure and the first encounter with the Grimm eight individuals, four humans and four Faunus who were each chiefs of their own tribe, came together and made a truce. Basically, they came to an agreement to come together as one and fight the Grimm for as long as they could."
"Ordinarily, even with their combined might and the eventual discovery of Dust, the tribes would have been wiped out by the unending horde of Grimm. However, the tribal leaders were special; the four humans still had access to the great magic that was gifted to humanity before the Gods departure. They then taught it to the four Faunus and together they were able to carve out a great kingdom which they dubbed 'Union'. To this day, Union has stood the test of time and the relentless assault against its people by the Grimm, even after the great heroes passed."
"If these great figures passed away, how is it…?" Glynda went to ask, but she was silenced by Seth gesturing for her to be quiet.
"I'm getting to that, Goodwitch," he assured her, sounding slightly annoyed. "Anyway, the eight leaders obviously had families of their own at one point or another, and their magic was passed down through their individual bloodlines, but only to one member of their family at a time. These individuals are called 'Inheritors' and they wield the magic of their ancestors, though nowhere near as powerful as the originals."
"And you are one of these Inheritors?" Ozpin asked purely to confirm what Lexi had said before.
"Yep; I'm the Inheritor of House Nixis and descendant of the great hero Lucian Nixis the Lord of Ice and leader of the White Wolves." A hint of pride could be detected in the young Faunus's voice as he spoke. "As such, I can use powerful ice magic and summon the great ice wolf Fenris."
"Ah, that would be that giant wolf that we saw you fight beside I take it?" Ozpin asked, fascinated.
"Got it in one, old man," Seth nodded. "Fenris was Lucien's original familiar, now passed down through his bloodline to me. He's also my best buddy next to Lexi."
"I am honoured that you consider me on par as your familiar, Seth," Lexi piped up, sounding pleased and slightly touched.
"Enjoy it then, cos I'm never going to say that again," Seth joked.
"May I ask who the other heroes were?" Ozpin asked then, a look of intense curiosity on his face. In his head, he thought, "These 'heroes' sound very similar to Maidens, though now that I know he's not from this side of Remnant I suppose that he's not one of the Maidens. How James will be relieved to know that!"
"Hmm…there's my ancestor, Lucien, of course. Then there was Dania Fulgurn the Queen of Storms and leader of the Striking Spears. Another one was known as Alisse Aqua the Lady of the Sea and leader of the Seawatchers, who also had a friendly rivalry with the leader of the Voidkeepers, Tayden Inanis the Obsidian Prince. Next up is Phia Bellator the Goddess of War and leader of the Berserkers. The leader of the Iron Lords tribe was a man by the name of Forge Ferrum; unsurprisingly the Iron Lords were the forge masters of early Union."
It was at this point that a brief flicker of sadness crossed Seth's face, though only Ozpin noticed but didn't comment. "And the last two tribes were the Firedrakes, led by Thayne Vulcan the Flaming Sword and the Wind Walkers whose leader was the Whispering Wind Shino Ventus."
Seth then paused for a moment as he made sure that he had remembered all of the heroes and nodded when he was sure. "And yep, that was all of them."
Ozpin and Glynda were silent for a moment as they digested the information that they had just received. The headmaster of Beacon was considering the new exciting possibilities an alliance with individuals who had powers on par with the Maidens could provide, while Glynda was merely worried about the potential destruction the Faunus might bring to the growing chaos of the Four kingdoms.
"Well…you've certainly given me a lot to consider," Ozpin commented eventually. He then clapped his hands together. "Now then, what are your plans going forward, young man?"
Seth blinked at this abrupt change in conversation before sharing a look with Lexi. "Er…hadn't really thought about that." He then grinned wryly. "Although it's obvious that my Seeker won't let me go and storm Atlas to get the Shrike back."
"That is an affirmative, Agent Ghost," Lexi nodded in agreement.
"Jeez, mother, next you'll be telling me that I can't fight altogether!" Seth replied sarcastically. He then looked suspiciously at his Seeker. "You AREN'T about to say that, right?"
Lexi took a moment for a dramatic pause before grinning. "No, you should be fine to fight, as long as you take the medication that I'm having the doctors cook up for you."
"Thank the ancestors for that!"
Ozpin chuckled at the interaction between the two companions before repeating his question. Seth rolled his eyes at this.
"Why don't you just come out and say it, old man?" he sighed. When he saw Ozpin's eyebrow go up, he smirked. "You want to make a deal, don't you?"
"Now that you mention it…" the headmaster smiled. "First of all, how old are you?"
"Seventeen. Why?"
"Excellent; you are exactly of age for someone to enter my academy!" Ozpin replied. "The deal I have is this; you join Beacon Academy, train to be hunter, though you clearly don't need to but for the sake of appearing to be a normal applicant, and in return I will try to get 'General Up-Tight' to return your ship." Ignoring the stern look that Glynda was now levelling in his direction, the man continued. "Of course, you might also need to go out on missions from time to time and you might be expected to join a team, again for the sake of looking the part."
Seth nodded slowly and then said, "Sounds reasonable…except for one thing; I refuse to join a team."
"And why is that?"
"Because I already have a team waiting for me back home and I can't in good conscience join another, despite being on the other side of Remnant compared to them."
Ozpin considered these words. "Understandable…well, I suppose I could pass you off as a teacher's assistant who is also going to be training to be a hunter at the same time…but which teacher?"
The tone with which Ozpin spoke that last bit caused Glynda's frown to deepen as she realized where the headmaster was going with his current train of thought.
"Ozpin…!' she began threateningly but she was too late.
"Oh, I know; how about you be the assistant for Professor Goodwitch here?" the tea-addict suggested nonchalantly. "She could use one and it sounds amusing…I mean…appropriate."
"How is that in any way appropriate?" Glynda demanded.
"Get back to me on that," Ozpin said dismissively. A mischievous smile then appeared on his face, which only made his colleague even more wary. "Actually, we need a backstory for you so how about this one; you will masquerade as Glynda's beloved nephew and live with her to seal the ruse!"
"WHAT?!" Seth and Glynda both yelled out in exasperation and annoyance while Lexi hid a snigger behind her hands.
"But I'm a Faunus, old man!" Seth pointed out.
"And Glynda's sister married one," Ozpin countered. "I would have thought that would be obvious."
"But…but…!" Glynda spluttered, too nonplussed to be able to string together an actual sentence. She then rallied and snapped, "I don't even have a sister, you idiot!"
"And nobody needs to know that," Ozpin said, frowning slightly at being called an idiot.
"Be that as it may, no one would even believe that we're related!" the agitated professor continued, gesturing between herself and Seth. "We look nothing alike!"
It was true; while Glynda was pale skinned, had green eyes and blonde hair, Seth, even though he also had pale skin, had midnight black hair instead of blonde, wolf ears with white tuffs of fur on their tips and light blue eyes. To the casual observer, they certainly would not be mistaken for relatives.
It was at this point that Lexi decided to speak up, saying, "You know, sometimes blood relatives have very different features compared to each other. It wouldn't be that big of a stretch if the two of you simply acted the part."
"Not…helping, Lexi!" Seth growled, glaring at his Seeker, who poked her tongue out at him in response. He then pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed in frustration. "And this is seriously the only way we can do this?"
"It's certainly the most entertaining…I mean 'current' idea I can think of at this moment," Ozpin nodded.
Shaking his head, Seth then looked at Glynda, who looked less than pleased at how the conversation was going. "Well…guess I'm in your care now…Aunt Glynda…"
Glynda froze at those words, her eye twitching slightly before she too sighed and sat back down on her chair with her head in her hands.
"How did my life get to this point?" she mumbled, mostly to herself. "FINE! I'll go along with this idiotic plan of yours, Ozpin." She then raised her head and looked sternly at Seth. "But first, some rules: if you are to live with me you will obey every order I give you, you will not make a mess of the room that I will no doubt have to fix up for you and clean it up if you foolishly do so and you are NOT to bring others over without my express permission. Got it?"
"Sure…but there is one thing that need to ask you now…" Glynda nodded shortly so Seth continued. "How are you with animals?"
"Why?"
"Well…whenever I'm not using him I like to have Fenris with me just for fun."
"You will NOT have that giant beast inside my apartment!"
Seth frowned. "Okay, first of all, he's a WOLF, not a beast. Second of all, I wasn't saying that he would be around in his regular form."
"What do you mean by that?"
"How about I just show you?"
With that, Seth held out a hand and said "Fenris, come on out."
A moment later a circle of frost appeared on the floor and from its depths a much smaller wolf than the one before jumped through it. Even if he hadn't said the wolf's name, it was immediately clear to Ozpin and Glynda that this was a miniaturized version of Seth's familiar though it still stood almost at shoulder height to Glynda.
Once it was fully out of the circle, the wolf let out a yawn before sitting on its haunches and observing the unfamiliar people in the room.
"That's…certainly convenient…" Ozpin remarked, taking a sip from a cup of tea that Seth idly wondered where exactly he had produced from.
()()()()()()()()()()
And that's it. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Also, down below are two short bios on Seth and Lexi.
Seth Lucan 'Agent Ghost'
Wolf Faunus, 17.
Appearance: average height, black hair, light blue eyes and wolf ears that have small white fur tufts on their tips and a large, slightly bushy tail that also has a white tip.
Inheritor Abilities: Death's Frost (is able to conjure great spears of ice, can produce a blizzard over a large area and teleport anywhere within its radius, summons Fenris the Frozen Sentinel and can construct gigantic frozen weapons to destroy his enemies)
Semblance: Intangibility (he can pass through any surface or being)
Weapon: Infinite Mystery (a rod that can change into the form of any weapon that Seth has scanned with it)
Attire: White hooded cape, white mask that allows him to see in many different spectrums, white carapace armour.
Synthetic Intelligence Combat Assistant (Seeker) L-371 'Lexi'
Intelligent Construct, 6 (since coming online)
Appearance: looks like a ten year old girl with a light blue hair and two different coloured eyes (left eye multi green and purple, right bright red)
Abilities: can hack any technology remotely or in person and the range of her hack can increase if she hacks through a scroll or similar external device. During her Unshackled Combat Mode, she grows hard light wings that allow her to fly.
Modes: Standby Mode (waits for further orders), Recharge Mode (self-explanatory), Sentinel Mode (deploys singe target elimination armament configuration), Unshackled Combat Mode (form transforms into that of a grown woman, grows hard light wings and deploys large scale annihilation armament configuration)
Armaments: Various digi-weapons (precision cannons (ballistic and laser), missile launchers (cluster and regular), miniguns, flamethrowers and harpoon launchers)
Armament Configurations: Single Target (sentinel)- precision cannons, harpoon launchers, regular missile launchers); large scale annihilation (Unshackled combat)- all digital armaments.
Attire: Wears a light blue dress