A/N: Honestly, this is my first time writing anything of substance, and definitely the first time I have ever posted something I have written. This is, for the record, an OC insert story, a RWBYxDestiny crossover. Don't expect quality, I'm shit at writing IMO. Here goes. (Disclaimer: I own nothing)
The ship floated amongst the vast emptiness of existence, with the pilot's interest directed at the planet directly in front of him. A quick flicker of blue attracted his attention, and he turned his head.
"So, is this the place the Vanguard sent me?" The pilot queried the little floating robot that hovered next to him.
"I believe so, Guardian. However, my scanners are not picking up any spacefaring signals, so they do not appear to have any form of satellites, or other spacecraft. Odd." The robot made an expression that would be considered a frown to anyone familiar with Ghosts.
"Vier, bring us down for a landing somewhere away from any prying eyes." The pilot ordered, and stood up from the cockpit's seat. He quickly moved to the small craft's bedroom, and continued through into its adjacent ensuite. With a brief splash of water, he washed his face, water dripping off his smooth pale skin. He looked at himself in the mirror, vibrant green eyes staring back at him. He ran his hand through his dirty blond hair, slicking it back, it's medium length making it quickly flop back into position. He sighed, quickly summoning his helmet back into place.
"Guardian, we are landing in thirty seconds." His ghost's voice echoed in his helmet's speakers. He turned, leaving the room, and walked back to the cockpit. The ship was landing in a small, snowy forest. The guardian began to look through the ship's inventory, prepping for a mission of this caliber. He decided that it wouldn't hurt to be prepared, and as such, he chose double the amount of weaponry he normally would. Strapping Fatebringer to his hip, and placing NL Shadow 701X into his inventory, he stood, thinking of what else he might need. At this thought, he trans-matted Conspiracy Theory-D into his inventory, and slung Hereafter over his left shoulder. Over his right, he slung Gjallarhorn. Now satisfied, he stepped outside his craft, and looked about. Around him stood trees, trunks blacked and leaves mostly gone. He was cautious, focused on the surrounding area.
"Guardian, I'm picking up some faint signals, but they seem…" Vier trailed off, still trying to discern the signals. "Apologies, Guardian. The signals are hard to decipher. They seem to be very primitive. If I were to be closer to a source, I have no doubt I could decipher the encryptions used." Vier was distracted, floating languidly next to his head. A small red flash went off on his hud.
"Vier, motion sensors are picking up movement. I don't want you attracting any unwanted attention." The guardian addressed his little robot companion, and it complied, dematerialising. The guardian hastily drew his hand cannon from it's place on his hip, and crouched low. He quickly began to stalk around towards where the motion had come from. After a few seconds of careful movement, he came upon a clearing covered in thick snow, similar to where he had landed. Hand cannon equipped in hand, he sighted, focusing on not only the young girl in the red cloak that had just entered the clearing, but on the plethora of black lupine-esq creatures, with glowing red eyes.
"Guardian, these creatures are unlike anything anyone has ever seen before. They appear to be comprised of complete darkness. This could be very bad." Vier's voice came from the speakers inside the guardian's helmet. The guardian made no move, hoping the girl had enough sense to run from these creatures. Instead, she kept walking, seemingly unaware of the danger she was in. The guardian didn't want to involve himself, direct orders from the Vanguard were to remain under the radar, and when Cayde-6 agreed with the other Vanguard members, that meant the orders were serious.
"Guardian, I know of our orders, but can we sit here and let this girl die?" Vier looked suitably concerned, and the guardian shared the same feeling. However, at least, from his position, it seemed that the girl had noticed the now surrounding enemy. Her response to that threat completely threw the guardian off, however, as when three of the creatures charged her, she seemed to disappear.
"Vier, how did she...?" The guardian's voice caught, still startled. He looked up at the moon, and noticed her, seemingly floating. He was about to make a move to help, when she drew a very large rifle, and began to fire it one-handed. The guardian's eyes widened behind his helmet, and he simply stared as she began flying around the clearing, firing the massive rifle into the enemies, blasting chunks of black and red gore from them. She killed one, sliding back from the recoil, and suddenly, with a series of hand movements, she had somehow transformed her rifle into a massive red scythe. She quickly spun it, catching one of the creatures beneath her blade, and pulled the trigger, rifle firing as the blade cleanly slipped through the flesh of the beast, cutting it in half. With some more spins, she planted the blade of the scythe into the snow, and began systematically firing it, the bolt of the rifle being pulled to chamber the round being in perfect synchronization with the pulling of the trigger. Whoever this girl was, she was obviously very skilled with that very large, very odd weapon. One of the creatures from the cluster reached her, and took a swing. With a leap, she dodged the blow, and fired the scythe in mid-air, the recoil sending her flying back from the action. Even as she flew she planted the blade into the ground, stopping the scythe, and she used her continued momentum to pull herself up and onto the top of the haft of it. With perfect balance, she stood there, taking in the sudden appearance of more of the creatures.
They closed in on her, and she performed a series of movements to complex to identify from the distance he was at. After a flurry of spins, slashes and combinations of the two, she used the recoil from the sniper/scythe to launch herself into the air, decapitating a creature as she did so. The creatures began to run towards her, leaping up to reach her. She leapt from one creature to another, killing both in the process, before blocking a hit from another of the seemingly endless supply of creatures. Sliding backwards, blade dragging in the snow to buy purchase and slow her momentum, she stopped to look at the horde as they growled and snarled eerily at her. She dropped her currently loaded magazine, and withdrew another from her belt. Spinning the scythe till the barrel of the rifle was behind her, she chambered a round and fired. The moment she did, she flew forward, at incredible speed. She passed through two of the creatures, removing them from the fight, before touching down, legs moving at insane speed to propel her forwards. A second shot launched her even faster, as the blade of the scythe rotated upwards, and then flipped 180 degrees. With a third shot, she began to spin even as she flew. Slashing through the horde, arms and blade moving faster than my eyes could feasibly pick up, she tore through the horde, punctuating the night air with gunfire, howling and the sound of limbs being removed from bodies.
After a few moments, the clearing was devoid of life except for one small girl stood in the very center, scythe held behind her, rose petals scattered about, lazily floating towards the ground. She seemed pleased at her work, and lost track of her surroundings. A shot rang out from where the guardian was hidden, as he had drawn his sniper rifle 'Hereafter', and fired, the bullet obliterating the head of one of the creatures, which had been sneaking up behind her. Having alerted her to his presence, he walked out from the trees, stowing his sniper in it's place on his back. She jumped back at the sound of the bullet, whipping around to see the dead creature slowly dissolving into the night, and a man in full armor walking out of the treeline.
"W-who are you?" She called out, her voice high-pitched and full of youth. She shifted her scythe back into its rifle form, and pointed it at him.
"My name is Flare Archid. I'm new in the area, was wandering around when I heard you. Who are you, if you don't mind me asking?" He answered her, his voice sounding slightly robotic as it came from the speaker on his helmet.
"I'm Ruby Rose, good to meet you Flare. Thanks for the backup, I didn't think he was still alive." She stopped aiming the weapon, and folded it up completely, stowing it on her back. "So when did you arrive on Patch?"
"Honestly, I have no idea where I am right now. I'm kinda lost." Flare responded, and she could tell from the way he rubbed the back of his helmet that he wasn't lying. On Flare's part, he wasn't exactly lying, but nor was he going to tell this young girl the truth about him.
"Well, my dad's a hunter, so maybe you can come with me and talk to him, then maybe that'll help?" Ruby was determined to be helpful, and Flare just nodded.
"Lead the way, by all means. I could use some help." Flare told the girl. "Vier, keep an eye on the sensors, notify me on any update on the decryption." Flare made sure that he whispered it, the inbuilt microphone not picking up his voice.
"Understand Guardian, will do." Vier used the armor's internal comms to talk, not revealing his presence.
"So, Ruby, I have a few questions for you. How did you manage to do all that?" Flare asked the short-statured girl that walked just ahead of him. She turned, walking backwards as they walked along the road.
"Well, my semblance makes me really fast, and my sweetheart is really cool, so I'm really good." She scratched the back of her head, obviously proud of her weapon.
"Wait, sweetheart?" Flare looked at her, head tilted.
"Yeah, her name is Crescent Rose, she's a customizable high-impact sniper rifle and a scythe. I built her myself." Ruby chirped happily, enjoying the conversation about weaponry. "What are your weapons called?"
"This," he gestured to his sniper rifle. "Is 'Hereafter', my sniper rifle. This," he patted the hand cannon on his hip. "Is 'Fatebringer', my hand cannon. And this," he shrugged his shoulder, jostling the weapon. "Is Gjallarhorn, my rocket launcher. They were all a pain to get a hold of, but they have carried me here, so I'd say they were worth it. I have a few others, well, a lot of others, but these are the ones I carry on me usually." Ruby was slack-jawed as she walked, the sheer volume of weapons I carried seemingly strange for her.
"Why do you have so many weapons, why not combine them?" She asked, obviously confused.
"Well, I'd rather not, seeing as these aren't exactly replicable, at least, not here. The weapons suit me enough for any situation, I'm yet to need to combine them." His reply was simple. Flare didn't believe that it was even possible to modify the weapons, but maybe he'd grab a weapon he didn't use often, and try what the girl had said. 'Could either turn out interesting or disastrous, either way being fun.' He thought to himself, considering the idea.
After ten or so minutes of walking, they came across a small cabin. The majority of the snow had melted, leaving patches of white atop mint-green grass. Flare heard barking from inside, and a blond-haired man opened the door. He was wearing a tan and brown short-sleeved dress shirt with a small brown vest on top, with a metal pauldron on his right shoulder and an orange arm band on his left. He wore yellowish cargo shorts and brown combat boots.
"Hey sweetie, who's this?" He asked, eyeing Flare cautiously. His face was calm, but he carried himself with an air of a trained warrior.
Ruby piped up quickly. "This is Flare Archid, he's a little lost so I brought him here so you could help him. The man raised his eyebrows as she said it, studying the guardian.
"How does a guy in full armor, especially the kind I've never even seen before, end up lost on Patch?" He faced Flare, still on guard. Flare raised his hands, and removed his helmet, thinking that at least seeing a somewhat innocent face would help convince him that he wasn't a threat to him or his daughter. He raised his eyebrows even further as Flare's face was revealed, that of a eighteen year old.
"Sorry to bother you, Mister…" Flare trailed off, not wanting to presume anything. "I was just wondering if I could ask you a few questions about where I am. I kinda had some kind of incident, and now I remember few things about the world."
"Name's Tai Yang Xiao Long, but just call me Tai." He quickly addressed the first part of the guardian's sentence. "Sorry to hear about that 'incident' of yours, but please, come in. If Ruby trusts you, that's good enough for me. I'll tell you whatever you want to know." He gestured to Flare, indicating to follow Ruby inside, as she walked through the door. Flare quickly followed suit, with Tai closing the door behind him. Ruby walked up to one of the chairs at the table inside, and Flare did as well. Once they were all sat, Flare turned to the two of them.
"Thanks for your help. I don't even remember how I lost my memories, just that I did. I have fragments, of times of importance, but there are no names to associate with them. I remember my name, the names of my weapons, and a few other things, but that is pretty much it. You said this was Patch, right?" Tai looked at Ruby, who was busy snacking down on a plate of strawberries, but still listening.
"Yeah, the island of Patch. It's just off the coast of Vale, actually." Tai replied.
"Okay, so I don't even know where or what Vale is, nor what those things Ruby was fighting earlier are. Do you mind telling me?"
Tai's eyebrows shot up again at this, and Ruby tried to sink into the chair.
"Those are Grimm. Creatures without a soul, they exist only to kill those with a soul; humans and faunus. As for Vale, it's one of the four kingdoms on Remnant." Tai answered. He turned to his daughter. "Fighting grimm, huh. Going out and picking fights?"
"No dad, it isn't like that. I was just heading back from seeing mom, and I kinda just bumped into them. If I hadn't, though, I wouldn't've met Flare. So this isn't all bad, right?" Ruby squirmed in her seat, hoping that the attention would be turned around somewhere else.
"Sure thing, kiddo. As for you, Flare, I think I know someone you should talk to, and I'm sure he would be only happy to assist." Tai spoke, and looked out the window. "As for a place to stay the night before you go to him, stay here. It's the least I can do, considering you helped Ruby out. We have a guest bedroom in the loft. It might be a little cold, but it'll be better than sleeping outside." Flare nodded, accepting the offer. They sat there for a split-second before the roar of an ancient transport came from outside. Ruby jumped up and ran to the door. Tai also stood up, but unlike his daughter, he walked over to the frame. Flare followed, taking his helmet under his arm, other hand resting in one of the knives that was hidden behind his cloak.
The bike pulled up, and off hopped a blonde woman, long hair spilling over her back. She placed her helmet on the seat of the bike, and waved at Ruby and Tai. Ruby ran over, giving her a hug. Tai turned back to Flare.
"That's my eldest daughter, Yang." He told Flare, before a serious look came over his eyes. "Don't even think about it."
Flare laughed, hand coming away from the knife. "Relax, I'm no wooer of the opposite gender. Most tend to ignore me anyway. Doesn't show enough emotion, apparently." Tai laughed at this. Yang walked in, her sister beside her.
"Who're you, big guy?" She asked, looking Flare up and down. She put her hand on her side, against the belt that was slung just above a pair of short shorts. The lilac of the fabric that dangled off the side of the belt matched to colour of her eyes, and her hair, a vivid yellow-blonde, matched the yellow of her undertop. She wore a brown leather jacket over that, and had two golden bracelets on above her gloves.
"My name's Flare Archid, pleasure to meet you." Flare held out his hand, and she took it, shaking it with hidden strength. She stood at 6ft, a little shorter than her father, and more than a head taller than her sister.
"So, how'd you end up here?" She asked, as she continued to look at his armor. "You look like a fighter though, huh. You a hunter?"
Her question caught him off guard, because he WAS a hunter. He quickly recovered, however, remembering what Ruby had said earlier. "Something like that, I think. I hunt the creatures of darkness." She frowned at his way of calling the grimm, but accepted it nonetheless.
"Yang, Flare here is staying the night in the loft, because I kinda owe him one for helping Rubes earlier, and he has nowhere else to go. He'll be headed into Vale tomorrow with you two though, so help him out?" Tai addressed both daughters with the second sentence, before turning to Flare. "Don't happen to have any kind of vehicle that you could follow Yang on tomorrow, do you?"
Flare nodded confirmation, hoping that a hoverbike wouldn't attract to much. His sparrow wasn't exactly common, but he hoped no one would pay enough attention to notice. Tai however, wasn't expecting the answer.
"Wait, you do? I wasn't expecting that." He looked at Flare confusedly.
"It's back at my campsite. I'll go pick it up tomorrow morning, early enough not to bother anyone." Flare replied, hoping to skip past the accidental awkwardness.
Yang wasn't done, however. "So, if you can fight, wanna spar? I've had a long day and I wanna relieve some stress. Easiest way to do that is beat up a 'senior' hunter." Flare looked at Tai, wondering why she was so quick to judge his abilities. Tai, on his part, just put his palm on his face.
"Sure thing. Let me put on my helmet and show me where." Flare figured that he had time to kill, and what better way to kill it then by beating this cocky girl into submission.
Outside was a swath of dirt, meticulously kept clear of snow. It wasn't small, but it wasn't big either, a circle with a radius of about 40ft.
"What are the rules on weapons?" Flare asked, addressing the now umpire Tai.
Tai looked at Yang for a second, then back at Flare. "Any and all weapons are allowed, but I can call the match whenever I want. Got it?" He looked back at Yang, who nodded. Flare nodded in agreement, and put his left hand on a knife, not drawing it from its sheath. Yang flicked her wrists, and to Flare's surprise, the bracelets transformed into gauntlets, with a belt of shotgun shells running alongside it. Underneath his helmet, he quirked an eyebrow.
"Begin!" Tai shouted, and stepped back. Yang's opening gambit was a wide haymaker, too easy to counter. Flare quickly stepped into the path of her punch, grabbing her by the punching arm and hip, and tossing her to the ground. She hit the ground hard, thrown off by the sudden movement. Hastily, she got to her feet, and fired a shot from her gauntlet. Flare side-stepped it easily, the slug passing him by millimetres. She charged him, punching much harder and faster than previously. He drew his knife, blocking and sidestepping her consistent attacks with ease. She tried to sweep his leg, which he countered by simply kicking her thigh, removing any power from knocking him off of his feet. He flipped over her, throwing his knife, which she dodged. He quickly blinked behind her, completely throwing her off as he grabbed her around the neck from behind, a chokehold cutting off her airflow. She elbowed out of it, and attempted to do the same to him. He let her, and she locked her elbow around his neck, squeezing as hard as she could. Her eyes widened when his muscles didn't even move, and she realised his armor was far superior to whatever strength she applied. She quickly lifted him up, attempting to slam her into the ground, when he simply disappeared out of her grip, suddenly in front of her. He punched, his armored fist colliding with her face as she couldn't get her block on time. She was knocked upwards, his uppercut landing directly. She rotated in the air, seeing him looking at her. Firing, she propelled herself downwards, slamming into the ground where he had been standing. The ground shook as she impacted, and she stood up, eyes focused on him. She charged him, and he decided to switch up his tactics.
She swung a punch at him, and he blocked it, drawing Fatebringer and leveling it to her temple in one fast motion. She quickly grabbed his outstretched arm, and flung him sideways. He fired his hand cannon, the bullet hitting some kind of energy shield that she was wearing. He hit the ground, sliding and firing. After eleven shots, the majority of which were hits, he performed a quick flourish, now standing where he had been lying. Out popped the magazine, and twelve new rounds were quickly inserted into the gun. She screamed at him, eyes red and hair ablaze, before she sprinted at him. He quickly holstered his gun in his hip, and drew two of his knives. A quick thought, and he was suddenly encased in electricity, his blades acting as channeling points. He danced around her reckless attacks, getting quick strikes in as she wailed away at where he was only moments before. Suddenly, she faltered, obviously weakened by the fight, and he took advantage, dispelling his Arc Blades and grabbing her arm. He twisted, and she was on her knees, arm locked behind her as he held her in place. He slowly tugged it, and she buckled. She was quick to tap out, and Tai walked over.
"Well done Yang, but Flare is the victor of the match." Tai helped his daughter up off the floor, and Ruby handed Flare the knife he had thrown during the fight. He wordlessly accepted it, nodding thanks as he sheathed it.
"Damn, you're pretty good." Yang sighed as she stumbled over to the bench that sat against the house. "Where'd you learn all that? I barely even hit you when I was at my best, and you kept teleporting around, and then that aura with the blades. Plus that gun of yours packs a punch." Yang sighed again, resting her hands behind her head.
"I've had a lot of time to practice, and the gun is really well made. One of it's kind on Remnant. Feel lucky I didn't pull out 'Conspiracy Theory-D', that shotgun would've made short work of you considering how many openings you gave me." Flare laughed at the face Yang made when he said that. "If I had felt like it, I could've leveled you in that opening punch of yours. Not exactly hard either, draw shotgun, step in, grab, spin, fire. Easy." Yang opened her mouth to argue but noticed her father nodding in agreement.
"So you think I'm bad?" She asked, genuine concern on her face.
"Hardly. I just know I'm better. You would be far better if you stopped with the wild, reckless attacks, and actually focused on an opponent's weak spots." He turned to Tai. "I'm gonna duck out for a sec, do something real quick. Is that okay?"
Tai nodded, somewhat caught off-guard as the man addressed him. Flare jogged off.
"Vier, having fun?" He asked, teasing the ghost. In reply, it materialised, floating in front of him.
"Surprisingly, yes Guardian. I have managed to access the unencrypted files that are available to the public on the planetary network, and I can confirm a majority of the things that Mr Xiao Long has told you, and then some. That shield that Ms Xiao Long possessed is a form of, and I am serious, Guardian, personified manifestation of the soul. That, to me, sounds as if they have successfully managed to summon Light forth as a shield. Something even Guardians lack the ability to do, or rather, lack the knowledge to do. In theory, it could be possible to awaken in you, Guardian, but at the moment I believe we should speak with the man Mr Xiao Long recommended. It would be most beneficial to introduce me to him, so as not to bore you either. Give me a few hours and I will also break all the encryptions as well, just so we know everything we need and want to, along with any kind of leverage we may need." Vier was glad to be of such service, and he knew his guardian was happy to hear the report. However, Vier had to disappoint him. "We do have one problem. Without glimmer, we lack the necessary materials to construct ammo. Either we find a way to incorporate this planet's equivalent, Dust, or you get new weapons." He sensed the slight frustration that the guardian gave.
"Well done Vier, that was… comprehensive. You have been enjoying yourself. I'm headed back, so best you vanish. Have fun." Flare walked back to the house as Vier dematerialised behind him. Entering the house, Tai directed him to the loft, and Flare thanked him. According to his HUD, it was early evening, and Tai had told him dinner would be soon. Dinner itself was modest, Flare mostly listening to Ruby chatter on about the newest weapon magazines. Tai humoured her, listening with the patience of a good father. Yang was lost in thought, mostly about how she lost the fight so one-sidedly. After excusing himself and quickly taking care of his dishes, Flare retired to the loft, prepared to get some sleep. He mentally asked Vier to wake him at four, and then quickly fell asleep.
Hope you enjoyed, sorry if it was too short. Once again, this was my first attempt. I'm not sure where I'm going with this yet, so expect this to not continue. I'll honestly be happy if even one person reads this, regardless of whether or not they enjoy it, so thanks. Second chapter should be out reasonbly soon.
See you next chapter
~AFatFlyingWhale