A faunus leaned against the wall of a coffee shop. Two wolfish ears stuck out from the young man's silver hair. He attracted one or two glances – whether because of his faunus heritage or because he was a huntsman, he wasn't sure. Or a huntsman-in-training, rather. Could civilians even tell the difference?
Absentmindedly, he touched the hilt of his greatsword, sheathed on his back, and the handle of his dagger. Yet another habit his leader had drilled into him. Always know where your weapons are.
He was joined soon by a shorter, older woman, with dark hair. Her name was Morgan Nym, his mother, but the only resemblance between the two was their blue eyes. A fresh cup of coffee was in her hands.
"You sure you don't want a cup?" she asked.
Artorias Nym shrugged, kicking off the wall, and they set off, walking aimlessly down the road. "Gil'd have my head for drinking coffee so late."
Or at all, really, although the occasional cup wouldn't hurt. Coffee, Gilderoy had told them, was a crutch. A reliance on it could get you killed. What if you were ambushed in your sleep, and had no time for a cup to wake you up?
Whatever, man, he'd said. But it had been easy enough to give it up, just to keep Gil happy, so he'd abided by the rule and had barely touched coffee ever since.
Morgan smiled and shrugged. "It's decaf, Arty, don't worry. It won't keep me up."
"That could be an issue," Artorias smiled. "We have a lot to catch up on."
"And half a year to talk about it."
"I'll be at Beacon for most of that, but yeah, fair call," he said. "I'm sorry I haven't really kept in touch."
She waved it off. "It's not a problem. As long as I knew you were alive and well, that was enough for me." She lifted the paper cup to her lips and drank. "But I'll certainly get as much as I can from you tonight. How about your team?"
"I'm partnered with our leader, Gilderoy Ornstein. He's strict, and very militant, and he's lived all his life in Vacuo – I know, doesn't make sense, right? It's a surprise no one's broken a bottle on his skull yet. Gods know I've wanted to, once or twice."
"Any redeeming qualities?" she laughed.
"Eh…" Artorias trailed off, thinking hard. "He's better than his boyfriend? That guy was a real asshole, tried to bully me for these a few times." He gestured to his wolf ears. Do I really have nothing good to say about my own partner?
I guess he doesn't want to see me dead. Does that even count, though?
"I'm sorry," Morgan said.
"Don't be," Artorias snorted. "That one's all on father. And Smough was…" Well, he wasn't bad at bullying, that was for sure. But he'd done a pretty poor job of it in Artorias' case. "He was manageable."
She smiled and took another sip from her cup. "I suppose you're right."
"Ciaran's a little different. She's quiet, unless she's in class – she's all studious and stuff, so she asks questions all the time. But if she's angry, she gets really loud, actually. I seem to be really good at making her angry," he laughed. "Don't get me wrong, though. It means a lot that she cares enough to get upset with me."
"That doesn't sound too healthy," she mused. "I know it's not really my place." She scrambled to apologise, her eyes growing wide.
Artorias shook his head. "No, no, you more than deserve to voice your opinion. You're my mother."
"I wasn't a very good parent."
He shrugged. "I turned out alright." And seriously, remember father? That was a real mess. "Look, like you said, I just got back, I'm in town all semester. You've got plenty of time to mope later, if you have to."
She frowned, but nodded. "And your last teammate?"
"Ah, Gough." A broad grin spread across his face. "He's everyone's best friend. Always the mediator – I suppose it hurts him more than anyone else when the rest of us fight, but it never shows. Like, first day at Shade? Ciaran and I got in an argument, before any of us knew each other – something petty about whose weapons were cooler, but man, it got heated. Then Gough came along, gave us a real stern talking to – I thought he was a teacher, actually, he's all tall and mature and all that – where was I? Right, he talked us both down, then he gave us a real big hug. Ended up with C sitting on his shoulders all through orientation." That was a fond memory.
A wistful smile crossed his mother's face. "It's certainly a lovely story."
The sound of an explosion reached the two, and Artorias reflexively reached for his sword. "You hear that?"
She nodded. "What do you think's going on?"
Artorias spun, spotting a plume of smoke reaching into the sky.
"I mean, it's not like I've got any details or anything, but my money's on trouble. Sorry, Mum – I love you, I'll talk to you soon, duty calls."
She nodded in understanding. He gave a thumbs up and sprinted off into the night. He barely heard his mother's response.
"Be safe."
/-/
Artorias reached the docks just in time to see the criminal – or, at least, he assumed it was the criminal – fire off a round from his cane at the girl in the red hood. A monkey faunus lay at the crook's feet, and, peering closer, Artorias recognised him – it was Sun Wukong. He'd not seen the kid since he'd left for Haven.
Well, try not to die, man.
A few Bullheads came swooping in, and one lifted off, a cargo container of dust attached to its underside, but Artorias' eyes were glued to the man in the coat, walking away at a pace only just short of frantic. There's always an escape vehicle. He leapt atop a cargo container, and from there to a warehouse roof, for a better view – ah, there, a grounded Bullhead.
He ran to it, weaving between a few cargo containers to avoid the criminal's view. He ducked down and grabbed the mask of an unconscious White Fang mook as he went, slipping it on. The wolf faunus reached the bullhead before his target, and entered, nodding to the two White Fang grunts already there. Apparently they either didn't notice, or perhaps didn't care that, aside from the mask, he was dressed nothing like them.
Idiots.
Outside, two of the other Bullheads were torn apart by green laser beams. The hell?
"These kids just keep getting weirder," the man in the coat muttered, finally reaching the vehicle. He pulled the door closed with the crook of his cane, then turned to face Artorias and the two members of the White Fang at his side.
He rolled his eyes, pinched the bridge of his nose, then glared furiously at the two faunus at Artorias' side. "So, did either of you happen to notice that this one isn't with us?"
They glanced at each other.
"Blue cloak isn't exactly regulation uniform. Seriously? Nothing? I'm better off with Hei's men."
Artorias slammed his fists into the two grunts' faces. They hit the floor with a satisfying thud, knocked out cold. He intercepted the man's cane with the back of his gauntleted left hand, drawing his greatsword with his right.
"Sorry, I kinda missed the memo," he grinned. "All of them, actually. Am I supposed to know who you are?"
"And there I was, thinking I had such a fantastic reputation," the criminal growled. In the confined space of the Bullhead, Artorias' larger weapon was less effective than his opponent's nimble cane, but he kept pace well enough.
"You certainly keep a good image," Artorias complimented, knocking the cane away to open the criminal's guard.
"Thank you." He swayed to the side, narrowly avoiding Artorias' strike. He followed up by slamming his cane into the wolf faunus' side. Artorias grunted in pain.
"Jerry, you wouldn't mind opening the side door, would you? Trying to get rid of a guest back here," he called into the cockpit. Artorias used the distraction push through the man's defences again to slash across his chest. His aura flared to protect him, and he growled, returning his focus to Artorias.
"My name's Perry!" the pilot called, but the door swung open nevertheless.
The criminal feinted left, then swung low, hooking Artorias' right ankle with the crook of his cane and tripping him up. The wolf went with the flow, his right shoulder hitting the ground first. He let momentum roll him to his feet quickly, but his opponent capitalised on the advantage with a swift kick to the chest, sending him tumbling out of the Bullhead.
"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Wolf!"
Bastard.
Artorias let out a pained gasp when he hit the ground, the borrowed White Fang mask shattering on impact. He lay there for a minute, perhaps two, before he started clambering to his feet. His head hurt from where it had struck the hard concrete – nothing aura wouldn't fix, but for now, he'd have to live with it.
"Hey, you alri- oh hey Art! How've you been, man?" Sun rushed over, laying a supportive hand on his shoulder.
Artorias sighed, rubbing the back of his pained head. "I've been better."
"Yeah. Looked a bit rough. Dude, I had no idea you were here! Come on, the others are over by the warehouses."
"The others?"
"Yeah, they're cool. I mean, I only really know one of them, Blake – you probably saw her, actually, when'd you show up, by the way? Anyway, she's really cool, and she's a faunus, but that's a secret though, and not one of those 'I'm gonna tell Gough because I tell Gough everything' secrets. Be cool about it?"
"I got it. I arrived at about the time Red got blown up."
"Oh, her name's Ruby. She's a bit of a weapons nut, and she likes my gunchucks, and she probably saved my life, so, you know, she's alright."
"Sun, everyone likes your gunchucks."
"Oh yeah."
They rounded a corner. Ruby and a ginger girl were sitting together atop some wooden crates. A girl with black hair and a bow – Blake, Artorias assumed – sat across from them. A few police had arrived on the scene already.
"The last one's kinda weird, but you see that thing she did to the Bullheads?"
"With the laser beams? That was her?"
"Yeah, so she's kind of a total badass. Socially awkward, not in the quiet way like C is, though. She's really… intense."
"Got it."
They approached the girls, and Sun introduced him. "Hey everyone, the guy that Torchwick kicked outta the ship's here!"
"The name's Artorias, the Wolf Knight," he waved.
"Dude. Not cool," Sun punched him lightly. "Nobody calls you that."
"Actually-"
"Not. Cool." Sun emphasised.
"Salutations, Artorias the Wolf Knight!" The ginger girl shot to her feet and waved, a bright smile on her face. Artorias gave Sun a satisfied smirk. "My name is Penny! It's a pleasure to meet you."
"I see what you mean," Artorias whispered.
Penny peered closer at him. "Are you and Sun having a friends' moment?" she asked.
He shared a confused glance with Sun. "Uh, yeah, I guess so?"
"That sounds wonderful! Can I be your friend too?"
Behind her, he saw Blake shaking her head so vigorously he was worried she might snap her neck.
"…sure?"
"Oh, sensational! Two more friends! It would seem that I am on a roll today!"
"How did you know to be here?" Blake asked.
"There was an explosion. Figured it'd be something important."
"That's how me and Penny got here too!" Ruby cheered. "I'm Ruby. And that's Blake."
"Hey," said Blake.
"Dude, what're you doing in Vale? You here for the tournament?" Sun asked.
"Yeah. The rest of the team went straight up to Beacon – you know how Gil is – but I came into town to visit Mum."
"Oh, you're one of the exchange students?" Ruby asked. "What weapons you got?"
"Eh, big sword, small dagger, nothing special." He didn't mention his gauntlet – best to keep some things up his sleeve. "Why?"
"I like weapons," Ruby said simply. "And Weiss, my partner, she wanted to spy on the competition – don't tell her I said that – so, you know, I thought I might help her with that."
"Weiss? As in Schnee?"
"…yeah. How'd you know?"
He shrugged. "Speak of the devil…"
Ruby looked over her shoulder – two girls he'd never seen before were walking towards them. One was a blonde he didn't recognise. The other was clearly Weiss Schnee. The hair gave it away. That and the haughty demeanour.
Ruby jumped to her feet. "Look Weiss it's not what you think she explained the whole thing you see she doesn't actually wear a bow she has kitty ears and they're actually kinda cute…" she trailed off as Weiss ignored her, marching right up to Blake.
"Weiss, I want you to know that I'm no longer associated with the White Fang." Oh. That's interesting. Artorias wasn't a big fan of the Fang. They gave the rest of the faunus a bad name, after all - and that wasn't even his own personal experience with them.
But if she'd left them, Blake couldn't be that bad. And Sun had vouched for her.
"Back when I was with them-"
"Stop. Do you have any idea how long we've been searching for you?"
Blake's eyes widened.
"Twelve hours. That means I've had twelve hours to think about this. And in that twelve hours, I've decided I don't care."
"You don't care?"
"You said you're not one of them anymore, right?"
"No, I haven't been since-"
"Ah-ah-ah! I don't want to hear it. All I want to know is that the next time something this big comes up, you'll come to your teammates, and not some – someone else."
Blake paused, and a relieved sigh escaped her. "Of course."
There was an awkward pause. Then Ruby broke the silence. "Yeah! Team Ruby is back together!"
Weiss turned to Sun. "I'm still not quite sure how I feel about you."
"What'd you do?" Artorias whispered.
"I'm a rapscallion, apparently," he muttered.
"And… I don't even know who you are," she said to Artorias.
"I'm Artorias, the Wolf Knight," he grinned, ignoring Sun's eye-roll.
"Do people actually call you that?" The blonde girl snorted.
"It worked with Penny."
"Well, I'm Yang, the Beautiful Blonde Brawler," she drawled, then she glanced around curiously. "Uh, was Penny here or something?"
Ruby gestured to her side. "Yeah she was just – hey, where'd she go?"
/-/
June
Team: _ _ _ _
MSG: PLEASE OBSERVE GWIN. G – MANTLE? N – CONTINGENCY?
Professor Ozpin hummed in thought. He'd received the message not long after the Vacuo students had arrived. Of course, with the semester coming to a close soon, it would be hard to watch over them, but once class resumed...
Well. He'd be able to observe the Team, as requested, and provide June with a proper evaluation.
An alert came up on his scroll for another message.
Qrow
Team: _ _ _ _
MSG: QUEEN HAS PAWNS
EDIT: Story has since moved to the crossover section, but on the off chance anybody cares about posterity I'm leaving this as-is.
AN: I thought I'd save the AN for the end, this time at least, just so y'all could dive head-first into the actual story.
So, hey. This is a RWBY/Dark Souls crossover-ish fic but not really. I've not listed it as such, nor made explicit mention of the fact in the summary, because there is no universe-hopping. Everything is set in Remnant. The characters I'm throwing into the mix are based off of bosses and NPCs from Dark Souls, but they are not those characters, and, hopefully, you won't need to know much about Dark Souls to understand this fic (although you might be in a better situation to predict characters' actions if you're familiar).
That being said: for those of you who do know the Dark Souls lore, remember that a lot of it is open to interpretation (and I've chosen characters to focus on who I can interpret very liberally), but I will occasionally write something that goes completely against the established lore. I can only think of one planned instance where I do that (and it's a long way down the line), but I just want you all to be aware that I am willing to do that if it makes a better story.
While I'm here, a disclaimer (and consider this to count for the whole fic): I don't own RWBY, I don't own Dark Souls.
As for an update schedule, I'm aiming to get out one chapter a week (uploading on Fridays, but I'm Australian so it may be Thursdays for some of you - time zone shenanigans and all that) with a hiatus once I hit the end of Volume 2. So, the next chapter should be out on March 3rd. Fingers crossed, ay?