RWBYlands: The Huntsmen Collection

A RWBY/Borderlands Fanfic by J. Aloysius Barnesley

Author's Note: This was actually written well before The Ballad of Pyrrha Nikos and Handsome Jaune. It's a RWBY Universe Action-packed/Adventure/Humor fic again. Contains mostly OCs and expies of Jaune and Pyrrha. Takes place roughly 4 years before RWBY Vol 1 and is considered an Established Universe work. Some of the characters will crossover into the Ballad as this was the original. It has been edited for readability.

*Italics not in quotations are Thoughts by characters.

(Anything in brackets is Author's notes, Pay attention!)

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Chapter 1

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Vacuo, Town of Sanctus, Docks. 3 days ago.

Athena Xiphos had just arrived in Vacuo. The girl stood tall, nearly 6ft tall in heels. She had gold pauldrons adorning each arm, a gold cuirass, gold vambraces and crimson gloves. Her boots were similarly in gold, which ended halfway up her thighs, a plated crimson skirt hung around her waist.

There wasn't any flesh showing, not like the comic books portrayed Huntresses, this woman was smarter than to wear skimpy armor for the onlookers; instead, a thin yet lightweight crimson mail covered everything beneath her armor. (Imagine Pyrrha mixed with Athena from BLTPS) Her purplish-maroon hair was done up in a triple-twisted braid, adorned with a silver laurel; a circlet that outlined her brow in elegance. Her sashes, ivory white in color hung from her waist and from her shoulders covering her cuirass and throat, the pure white color gave her dark emerald eyes and crimson armor something to contrast. Her face was angular and strong, she had high cheekbones, a slightly upturned nose, and a pointed chin. Her face was turned into a perpetual scowl some would call a 'Resting Bitch Face', but that was just her genetics unfortunately; she was actually quite happy and nothing could break her determination.

Athena had left her hometown of Argus to come to Vacuo. She had won over six times in a row at Sanctum Academy's Fighter's Tournaments, she had a sponsorship with Captain Fluff's Blueberry Delight cereal, she had everything except an actual challenge. Which was why she decided to enroll at Shade Academy in Vacuo. Vacuo was the toughest and most unforgiving kingdom in the world. Athena had given up the easy life at Haven for this. No matter how much Headmaster Lionheart pleaded, she'd decided she wanted this. Bandits, Thieves, an unforgiving atmosphere. Maybe somewhere there would be an actual challenge to her skill.

Her skill was: Telekinesis. Athena could manipulate pretty much anything with her Semblance. Metal, Wood, Stone... It didn't matter, she had control over the physics of it all. And she used her skill in this to manipulate her sword and her shield. Caerus and Pythia, the two legendary weapons she wielded. Caerus, a sword that turned into a scatter gun and Pythia the shield... which also had a hidden feature. She could engage Pythia's second form whenever she wished, turning the simple Aspis into a circular saw-blade ready to cut whatever stood in her way. And nothing ever stood in the way of her and her Semblance.

Athena looked around. Sanctus was a simple town, circular in design, a center garden which was mostly empty. A dock for boats and ships,a Hunter's Lodge, a small garage, a weapons shop and a doctor. (It looks like a coastal version of Sanctuary from Borderlands 2) She shook her head. Was this all that Vacuo had to offer? A coastal town with nothing more to offer than a street vendor in Argus? She headed towards the nearest road out of town. Maybe the wilderness held something more worthwhile...

Atlas, a small town not on maps... 2 weeks ago...

Jack Trevali had lived most of his life here in Tantalus, a small town west of the capital and military academy. He had dirty blond hair, fair skin and a very attractive and handsome face; he had high cheekbones and a wide chiseled jawline, his eyes shone out in azure blue. (Jack looks like Handsome Jack and Jaune Arc had a lovechild.) Jack wore a traditional Atlesian Battle Coat, it was brown and had a nice fur lined collar to protect from the cold. It was also armored slightly with a few metal plates integrated into the lining of the shoulders and chest areas. Jack's pants were unassuming, they were just a worn pair of jeans.

Jack's family had owned one of the largest weapons manufacturing companies on the planet until the Great War and Faunus Revolution had driven them out of business. Trevali weapons had been used extensively during the Wars, but afterwards during the depression, they had run out of funding. As times got harder, both his parents became Huntsmen and disappeared. Jack was alone in the once pristine family estate. Jack worked as an information technology specialist at Atlas' CCT tower, a simple career, and had a cybernetic neural data processor installed in his skull; it made downloading and memorizing all the various tasks a lot easier. Jack wasn't a Huntsman, and he loathed the military academy. He dreamed of one day using his grandfather's Great War weapons though, the Hyperion; a set of custom gauntlets that used then-new technology... Rail-guns. The Hyperion Gauntlets also concealed a 3ft long set of blades attached to a servo which could spin and rotate them, allowing the user to cut and slice with ease.

Daydreaming aside, Jack noticed from his view over the town, that there was smoke rising above the trees. From the direction of his home. And then the Scroll calls started pouring in. Jack leapt from his desk, abandoning his work and started running for the exit. He had to get home fast, all the calls were the same. Bandits.

Vacuo, the road south, 3 hours ago.

Athena thought to herself, maybe she should've rented the car from that travel station near the town. It had looked a little ramshackle, but it probably would have made her trip to Shade a lot faster. She had been walking for a few days and her feet were sore. The trip was largely uneventful aside from a few basic Grimm attacks, a beowolf, a few creeps, nothing exciting or challenging. Vacuo was supposed to be the toughest continent in the world, but then again she hadn't reached the desert yet, she was still traveling through one of the few verdant sections and it would probably be a few days before she even reached the wasteland.

Athena noticed a neon sign in the distance and decided to head for that. The sign itself advertised a small gas station/ rest stop called the Happy Pig. Whatever, maybe they had a chair or a bed or something. Walking sucked.

Atlas, Road to Tantalus, 2 weeks ago.

Jack spurred his moped faster and faster. He'd even given it a stupid name Butt-stallion. The ivory colored bike whined in protest, but kept accelerating down the road. Jack was worried, Bandits, if they'd found his little sister, things could get ugly. Jack had a lot of Aura, but unfortunately never unlocked his semblance, but his little sister, Angel, did. And she couldn't control her Semblance; she could temporarily transform into a Grimm and use its abilities, but she couldn't control when or what she transformed into. The 12 year old girl was a danger to herself and others that weren't aware. Jack had told her never to leave their estate, lest someone or something see her transformed visage and panic. Don't cause a panic.

Perhaps Jack's thoughts had attracted some actual Grimm as well. Jack thundered down the road towards the estate and a Beowolf suddenly jumped in front of him. Too late for evasive maneuvers, he struck it at full speed and was promptly thrown from the bike towards the front door to his own house. At 40mph. Oh shi-

Jack didn't know how long he'd been out, but waking up having crashed through the front door of your own house was not pleasant. The motorcycle helmet protected his head, but he was bruised and beaten from the neck down. Worse, the house was wrecked. It looked like a firefight had erupted in the foyer, claw marks and blood splatter scored the walls. Angel! Jack ran towards his sister's room, he really didn't want to see what he was thinking about right now. (Angel looks like Ruby Rose mixed with Angel from Borderlands 2)

"Angel? Are you okay?" Jack said, walking slowly towards the door to his sister's room. The door was ajar, hanging loosely from its hinges. He pushed open the door and saw what nobody ever should. Angel was dead. She was nearly bisected by a line of gunfire, and she lay motionless in a pool of blood. She was half-transformed into a Beringel, claws bloody and dress torn. Her right hand clutched a swatch of material. And Jack broke down into loud sobs.

"Angel! No! Why! Why would you kill an innocent girl! You. Bastards! You child-killing savages!", Jack screamed to the empty house. Jack closed his little sister's still-open eyes and covered her body with the blanket from her bed. She needed a proper burial, but Jack didn't want to see her lifeless body anymore. Noticing the scrap of cloth in her hand, he pulled it from her cold fingers. It was a symbol, something he'd learned about in school. It was the crest for the Kingdom of Vacuo. Bandits. "I promise you Angel, I'm going to find these Bandits, I'm going to kill them all. I'm going to make them pay for all they've done.", Jack said, now in a pure rage. He grabbed Hyperion from the display case in the foyer and headed out. No more home, no more town, Tantalus is dead. Only pain and rage. Jack put the gauntlets on, they felt as if they were made for his hands. Vengeance. Vacuo. Jack left for the docks, Vacuo would burn and the Bandits would die. A grim sneer twisted his face.

Vacuo, Woodlands. Present day.

Athena had left the Happy Pig, it was a dumpy little convenience store. She bought a few energy bars and a tasteless fountain soda, but left as soon as she could. A lot of the patrons recognized her and asked for autographs, which she provided, and a lot of other patrons began to hit on her. Poorly. As a 17 year old girl, she felt it best to move quickly towards the door and road before the slimy 40-something year old weirdos got touchy feely.

Athena walked down the road, absent mindedly thinking about her future glory both at Shade Academy and in this year's Vytal Festival Tournament. Even if she was a 1st year student, she would dominate, they'd build statues to her honor, she'd get a sponsorship with Schnee Dust Company, and she'd become the greatest Huntress the world has ever seen since the Grimm Reaper! She would become a goddess and she'd have a pedestal from which to view the peons who challenged her. She would look down and spit upon the lesser. Her thoughts were quickly broken by the sound of gunfire, Grimm noises and a lot of screaming.

"Hey! Anyone! I could use a little help over here!", the voice said. The gunshots were always followed by a shrill whistle for some reason. (Hyperion Moonshot Noise) Athena ran towards the distress call. Somebody needs help! Time to be a hero!

Athena ran to a clearing in the trees and was a little surprised by the scene unfolding before her. A man, close to her age with dirty blond hair was attempting to fight off 7 Beowolves by himself. His weapon-gauntlets firing a shot, and then recharging with a shrill whistle every time he attacked. He missed a lot, it was kinda sad. He appeared to be wearing an Atlas Battle Coat, despite it being nearly 75 degrees out, dirty blue jeans and some ridiculous hipster-esque shoes not meant for long term travel. She was flabbergasted. He was sorta handsome though, maybe he was another future student... Enough thought, Time for action before the poor boy gets himself killed.

"Come taste my wrath!", Athena screamed as she catapulted into the air. She launched her shield towards the Beowolves, hitting them away from the boy, before pulling it back with her semblance. She hit a switch on her sword and switched it into shotgun mode, firing a few shots at the closest Grimm. She flipped the gun vertically, reloading it at the same time and fired again, killing more of the Grimm. Sword mode again, she landed and slashed diagonally in an 'X' shape, slicing two of the Grimm and killing them. Turning on her heel and deflecting the swipes of the lone Beowolf, she stabbed hard with her sword and killed the last Grimm. Blood-lust. Athena turned and posed briefly, on the defense if anything else dared attack, but there was nothing.

"Oh. My. God! You're invincible! Y-You're-", the boy tried to say, but was cut off.

"I know, I'm Athena Xiphos and you're my biggest fan... I just saved you and you yada yada yada... I get it. Are you okay?", Athena said, slightly exasperated.

"Wait, who are you? Athena Zee-foes? Oh wait! I know you! You're the girl from the cereal boxes! I'm Jack.. uhh. Trevali! Thanks for saving me." He said.

"Wait, seriously? You don't know who I am? Really!?", Athena quipped back, slightly annoyed.

"Uhh, you're on every box of Captain Fluff's cereal? And you can fight and stuff? I'm from a small town... We don't really get much information there... Sorry...", Jack said flustered by the sight of the girl in front of him.

Athena was slightly annoyed, yet relieved. He didn't know. He wasn't part of her weird fan-club. This was perfect, maybe she could finally make a true friend who didn't see her as a celebrity. But... He seemed a little stupid. But hey, nobody's perfect.

"So... What are you doing out here anyways? Why did you come and save me? You're famous!", Jack asked.

I'm out here saving idiots like you. "I'm on my way to Shade Academy. I'm going to be the greatest Huntress in the world. What are you doing out here by yourself?", Athena retorted.

I'm going to avenge my little sister. And I... Have forged transcripts... Maybe the same thing? "That's what I'm going to do too. We're both headed the same way, why don't we team up? Two people can definitely handle the Grimm... And it's safer too.", Jack said, hoping the girl would buy his lie.

I highly doubt he's going to be a good Huntsman. "That sounds great. Just, stay behind my shield and we'll both get to Shade Academy without a hitch!", Athena said, faking enthusiasm. This poor boy is going to die in the first 5 minutes. Dear god. Why. But he was very attractive and he didn't know who she was, so who knows? Maybe he's a nice guy. Maybe he won't judge her for her reputation? Maybe he's the one for you, Athena. Bad thoughts... Not that, well maybe.

Athena and Jack headed off down the road together. They were still on the outskirts of the forests before the great sandy sea. It would still probably be a few days before they got to Shade Academy. Athena was still puzzled as to why Jack was out here all alone. She was aware of his heritage, Sanctum Academy had taught her about the Great War and the contribution that the infamous Trevali Family had brought.. She also noticed that Jack was using the legendary Hyperion as his primary weapon, despite his apparent lack of knowledge about them. The blades, in particular, rather than their rail-guns, would be an appropriate choice against Grimm. Hyperion's Rail-guns were prototypes of their generation, powerful but painfully slow to recharge after firing and the loud whistling of the cooling unit could be heard for miles. They were accurate though, firing straight and at terminal velocities. There was a clear reason why Trevali Arms weaponry had been the most dangerous during the war after all.

Athena also noticed how under-prepared Jack was, dressed in a pair of dirty jeans and a brown battle coat designed for the colder Atlas temperatures, Jack would probably die of heat prostration five minutes into the boarding process at Shade Academy, which despite its name was entirely under the sun in the middle of a desert. She had zoned out momentarily, and had realized that Jack had been talking to her for some time now.

"...And that's why I'm going to Shade. I want a challenge too and it feels like the best match. I also... Have some business to settle with some filthy bandits... But that's a story for another day. So what's your story Athena?" Jack said.

"Oh, well... You know how I'm on all the Captain Fluff boxes? I'm sorta a star athlete. I've won the Sanctum Fighter's Tournament 6 times in a row, competing at an early age. Fighting and competition are in my blood and I live for a challenge. Haven Academy is too... too boring, too safe, and run by an absolute 'chungus' of a headmaster. Vacuo is a tough place and if you can survive out here, then you belong. Shade Academy is the best place for me.", Athena explained.

"Well, where are you from? We're going to be in this together for a while, better get to know each-other!", Jack stated, somewhat overly happy. Maybe he's been alone for too long and Athena is the only company he's had for a while. She didn't know, really. But she decided to humor him.

"I'm originally from Argus, it's the largest town outside of a kingdom. It's in the northern part of Mistral. Mantle and eventually Atlas helped settle and maintain the town. It's nice, really. My family fought in the Faunus Revolution and the Great War, they're all huntsmen and huntresses, so I decided to carry on their legacy. Uhh... I don't have any siblings, my parents were too busy to raise more than one kid... I have a sword and shield, Caerus and Pythia, my family passed them down through the ages. I think they belonged to one of my ancestors. Caerus can turn into a shotgun and Pythia has a few fun features that play into my Semblance easily. So... What's your Semblance, Jack? I have telekinesis, I can move stuff with my mind, throw my sword and shield around and retrieve them...", Athena explained. She really wanted to know what exactly Jack had if he was going to Vacuo and Shade.

"Well. That's the problem. I've been told I have an incredible Aura, like almost limitless. And my semblance is...", Jack really didn't want to seem like a loser around Athena, she was attractive and rather intimidating. And she was famous. Bad, bad, bad. So he made something up that was half-truth that maybe she would believe. "My Semblance is Void.",

Void!? He can create a void? What. "V-Void? I've never heard of that. What does it do exactly? It sounds very powerful.", she said back. If he could create a void, then he was possibly the most powerful huntsman alive, he could just use the void to suck his opponents into nothingness, trap them. Athena was slightly worried.

"Well, when I say void. I mean it's void. I don't have a semblance. Like, at all. It's kinda embarrassing...", Jack said sadly.

Oh. "Oh, well...", This is beyond pathetic, he's going to die. Aura considered, maybe he won't. "Well, it takes time and a lot of trial and error to unlock your semblance; I'm sure we can unlock it together if we try hard enough. Not everyone is gifted.", Athena said, trying not to boast too much, she had unlocked her semblance very early and had been using it constantly, even in daily life. It was like an extra set of arms to her and it was nearly effortless to use nowadays. She was disappointed, Jack had basically nothing but exceptional Aura and an old set of weapons. Athena almost facepalmed, but instead adjusted her circlet a bit. This is going to suuuuuck

Athena and Jack had reached another small outpost. Liarsburg. It was a small shantytown on the outskirts of the desert. It had a few notable landmarks, a bar, a pub, a lounge, another bar and a Hunter's Lodge which appeared to sell weapons and equipment. Jack, despite his pathetic appearance and lack of useful skills, had a lot of money. Perhaps due to his family, and paid for a set of rooms at the lodge for them for the night. He also bought Dust for both of their weapons and a nice dinner. Athena changed out of her armor for now, it was getting hotter out now that they were closer to the desert. She kept her armored gold bodice on and discarded her chain-mail and pauldrons revealing her shoulders. She discarded her skirt and greaves and switched to a pair of dark crimson form-fitting jeans. She also moved the sash around her neck and retied it around her waist, parallel to the other sash that hung there revealing a bit more of her cleavage in the process. Athena restyled her hair as well, the triple-twisted braid was getting annoying and she simply tied her long hair up into a simple long ponytail for the time being. (Athena now looks more like Pyrrha, minus the gorget around her neck and skirt and with a bodice that's a form-fitted gold plate that outlines her figure, it ties in the back with a long zipper. As in the leather strips are in the back rather than the front, since the front is a big armor plate.) She tucked her other armor components into her bag.

Jack, didn't change much of his outfit despite the heat. He did remove the battle coat, but he replaced it with brown armored vest, and wore a white dress shirt and dark gold t-shirt beneath it. He changed his pants and wore a nicer pair of dress pants. I should've brought more than two pairs. Grrggmg He quickly laced up a pair of brown sneakers to match the vest. (Jack still looks like Handsome Jack, just minus the black jacket and mask obviously. A little less Elder Maxson too.)

Athena headed downstairs to the lodge section of the.. Lodge and met Jack. She took a seat across from him at the table.

"Hiya, handsome.", she said.

"Oh, hey! You look great! No armor? Aren't you worried about Grimm?", He said.

"No, the Grimm here aren't even that dangerous. I have more flexibility without the chain-mail anyways. Still gotta have the chest-plate though, all the important bits still have to be protected; wouldn't want a stray arrow or something to take me out.", she said. And that would suck hard to be shot with an arrow with no chest protection. No neck protection is fine, I'm sure I'll see my opponent attempting to behead me anyways.

"Well, I bought us dinner. You can pick yours, I'm going to have a steak.", Jack said, averting his gaze from her chest.

"That's sweet Jack, I don't really know what to say.", she replied; it really was nice of him to buy dinner.

Athena was halfway into ordering her food when another group entered, they were obviously Shade students, probably 2nd year. They were loud.

"Argh, Grr! I'm Jacques! I get knocked out in the first 3 seconds! I'm the fattest dumbest man! ...Learn by doing!", the large one shouted mockingly. He was dressed in a Legionnaire's attire in flat black, a red and black plaid armored kilt hung by his waist. He had red eyes that shone out in fury and a suave blond hairstyle. He was handsome, with a wide jawline and squared head, but had an air of blood-lust to him. He looked absolutely furious.

"Rhames! It wasn't my fault! You aggro-ed them to us, Javelin was giving us instructions and you just shouted over him and said 'Learn by doing!' and then we got swamped!", the opposing man said. He was 8ft tall with a huge copper-colored beard. Small black glasses sat on his nose. The behemoth of a man wielded a huge spiked morning star; it must've weighed as much as a car. His armor was particularly ugly, a seemingly mix match of green and blues, an armored harness, a dented pauldron, some parts of greaves and an armored turquoise jerkin. It was a mess and was probably scavenged from bandits or parts of military vehicles.

"You lot have no idea what went down. Minstrel was supposed to be guarding me but he just ran off. The Grimm absolutely mullered us. Maybe if you two flodgers hadn't faffed about for 20 minutes, we would've gotten that bonus.", a much skinnier and smaller man said. He was a bird Faunus, rather than a nose and mouth, he had a prominent beak and squawked when he talked. He wielded a bright orange club (cricket bat) and wore an absolutely dreadful set of armor. He had a purple chest-plate, purple gauntlets, and a salmon-pink set of armored greaves. For some reason he also wore rainbow-colored tennis shoes.

"What. I saw a shot and I took it. I wasn't going to stand around arguing like a bunch of frakking fairies standing around a frakking harp. Frakking cupid frakking strumming, shooting arrows up people's arseholes and crap. We needed to take frakking action and I did it.", the last member said, he was unusually angry. He had brown hair which was disheveled and wore blue studded leather armor. Two different pistols hung from their holsters on his belt.

The four continued to bicker all the way up to the Lodge's bar.

"Ah, Team MRJJ (Mirage). I take it the hunt didn't go well?", the bartender asked.

"Of course it didn't! It was all because of YOUUU!", Rhames shouted, pointing to Minstrel.

"What, we killed the Grimm, so bounty finished? When do we get paid?", Minstrel asked, sounding tired.

"Awwk! It was fine! Aside from Jacques getting KO'd instantly, we won.", Javelin added.

"What the frakk is wrong with you guys!? I didn't know we were going until the last minute!", Jacques noted.

"Well, you succeeded, the Grimm will think twice before attacking. Here's your bounty!", the bartender said happily before placing the whopping 600 Lien on the bar. Which was enough for all of them to buy themselves absolutely nothing useful.

The four 'Huntsmen' left the Lodge, Rhames slamming the door as he left. Athena thought to herself, What an odd bunch, how do they ever get anything done if all they do is argue with each-other? and continued her order of surf and turf, which Jack paid for.

The next day, Jack and Athena rented a 'buggy' from a shady man named 'Booter'. His cars had a failure rate of almost 75 percent, which was down by 25 percent from last year. Whatever, it beat walking all the way to Shade. And soon, they were on the way to their Destiny.

Chapter End. Hope this was a little more readable than the monstrosity that it was. That's the prologue and meeting with Team MRJJ. Read the Ballad of Pyrrha Nikos, MRJJ is back again in that one.