Hello again! I decided to whip up a chapter for the Guardian of Remnant rewrite. Word of warning before you read this. I'm a freewriter, meaning my first chapters rarely have any sort of plan. Oh, I also put a bit of an Easter Egg in the chapter for any Stargate: SG-1 fans out there!
I do not own RWBY or Destiny. Although I can claim Stella as my own character!
CH. 1 Project: Stargate
Stella sighed, checking her ship's diagnostics again. "Ghost, how long until Mara has that evac prepped?" She looked up from her consol, wiping her brow. The wet, hot summers on Venus were absolutely butal, despite humanity having made the once dead world into a paradise. And Stella, born in England when she was alive and then taking up residence in the reef as a GUardian, was definitely feeling the heat.
Eta 14 hours. She said Tony and his platoon are currently on the Moon, wrapping up some sort of mission. Everyone else is on Earth or Mars, dealing with the Taken.
The guardian scowled, biting her tongue to keep from cursing. Mara had been trying to keep her from the 'uncivilized' language for a while now, and was making her friend and protoge pay for every slip of the tongue. Even out here, stranded after a Vex attack disabled her ship, Mara still had ways of finding out what Stella said on a job. "Seriously? Fourteen hours?! Ugh... The ship is done for. We blew out one of the turbines trying to perform an atmospheric crash landing, and the main sublight drive is finished. The backups don't have enough power to get us to the Moon, much less the Reef... WHat was that?" Stella drew her sidearm, an old .454 Cassul that she kept on hand in case the vault was inaccessible, looking around warily as a low rumble echoed through the air.
Her Ghost looked up from trying to repair the sublight drives, his optical sensor contracting slightly. Strange... I am picking up a nearby energy spike, similar to the Vex gates, but... different. Attempting to locate the sour- Oh, my.
A bright beam of light shot into the sky, blasting any clouds away and managing to clip an enemy Fallen ship, sending it crashing to the ground. Stella holstered her sidearm, summoning a pulse rifle and Sparrow. "I think we just found it. We have fourteen hours before evac arrives and another five weeks before we have to report to Mara... Send out a message and waypoint marker to Tony and the team. Tell them to go to the waypoint to pick us up." She guns the throttle tearing through the rocky jungles of Venus at breakneck speeds. "How far is the signature?"
Approximately 8 clicks north of our current position. Subsequent scans indicate unknown atmospheric gasses in the air. Unregistered Gate confirmed... Origin unknown. Chances of Vex origin... 50%. Fallen... 5%. Cabal... 10% Human and/or Awoken... 35%. Attempting to scan again... Vex incoming. Intercepted communications indicate they do not know of the Gate. No Vex origin. Investigating files... Fallen and Cabal show no records of any Gate technology. Humans... Late golden age era technology indicates attempts at Gate technology. Most plausible explaination... Project: Stargate. Guardian, we may have just stumbled upon an experimental Human Gate.
Stella raised an eyebrow at the possibilityof Humans using Gate technology. "Well... If it's human, and you are registering an alien atmosphere, then it's safe to assume that their experiment was a success." She fired at a hobgoblin in the distance trying to take aim at her Sparrow, the bullets rupturing its chest with a white flash. "Let's hope it's still operational when we reach it." She eyed the bright beam of light still blasting into the sky. It was slowly begining to dissipate, but the low, mournful howl that accompanied a Gate opening was still in the air. Maybe the beam of light was an energy dispersal? Never mind, the fact that there was a Human Gate activating on Venus was enough of a headache for her. No need to make it worse by thinking about the mechanics that went into it. That was her Ghost's job.
Incoming! Five hostiles approaching from the north, fast! Unknown life signs!
Stella leapt off of her Sparrow, priming her Pulse Rifle for a possible skirmish. She landed in a crouch, pointing the weapon at the thick trees and foliage blocking her sight. "Hello? Who's there?" A low growl rumbled from the trees and a set of blood red eyes appeared, hovering about ten foot off of the ground. Stella backed away from the strange sight, allowing a massive, wolflike creature to step out. It was covered in thick, coarse black fur from head to toe, barring strange, bony structure growing out of its back and a bone mask sprouting from its face. The creature let out a low warning growl, scrutinizing the Warlock carefully. Four more of its brethren stepped out of the forest,each of them eying Stella as if they couldn't figure out what she was.
Ghost... What are these things?
She could here the device muttering softly to himself in her head, already trying to figure it out. I... don't know. Their lifesigns... They're similar to the Taken, but natural. And they seem to hold an unusual sentience. I don't think they can communicate with you, but I also don't think they want to eat you.
Oh, well that's a shame. I thought my entire existance was as some sort of steak. Why would you ruin my dreams like that, Ghost? She heard the Ghost chuckle at her sarcasm, and slowly lowered her weapon. After a few more seconds of the two watchin each other, they began moving around the clearing, continuing on their seperate paths. "Well... That was weird. I think we can confirm that the Gate can bring organic obects through. How far is the device?" Her Ghost declined a verbal answer, prefering instead to put a waypoint marker on her helmet showing a distance of less than a click away. The Gate was ust through the trees. She checked her ammo one last time before making her way slowly through the forest. When she caught her first glimpse at a human Gate, or Stargate as the project was called, she couldn't help but gasp. Unlike the flimsy looking Gates used by the Vex, this two story device looked like it was made of solid metal, and had dozens of thick cables and wires leading into the base. A large loading ramp lead up into it, indicating that this was supposed to be some sort of equipment transport. But where did it lead to? She glanced warily at the silvery, almost fluid surface of the active Stargate, considering herr options. Wait for backup and possibly lose whatever power was running this thing, or take a risk and just go inside... "Ghost..."
Stella, no. That is highly inadvisable. We don't know what's on the other side of that thing!
"Ghost, send a message to Mara. Tell her I'm going in... And not to wait up for me." She shouldered her rifle, walking up warily to the Stargate surface. Reaching out a single, shaking hand, she poked it. The fluid surface merely rippled, and nothing else. Taking one last look at the Venusian sky and her own sun, she took a deep breath, and plunged into the Gate.
She didn't know what to expect from the human gate. With the Vex gate, you simply stepped through, and that was it. Point A to B in no time at all. This was completely different. She didn't have a body, but she could feel space racing past her, see the millions of light years flashing by. Stars, planets, galaxies... Blinding points of light she could assume were Gate exits. But she couldn't move! It felt like being crushed and stretched in every direction at once! The pain was so intense, she felt like she was about to pass out. The a white flash slammed into her, and she blacked out.
Guardian!? Guardian, wake up! Eyes up, GUardian!
Stella erked back into the conscious realm, looking around wildly. "Ghost! What happened? Where are we? Why the hell does it feel like I've ust been dropped on the south pole of Mars with no winter gear!?" She pulled herself to her feet with a groan, taking note of the thick layer of frost that had formed on her armour. "Huh... Interesti-" A loud bang went off behind her, and she spun around to see the Stargate collapsing in on itself, cutting off all light. "Uh... Ghost?"
Her companion appeared in a flash of white light, activating his flashlight function. Already on it. Let's see if we can get that Gate back online... Oh my.
Stella hissed, jumping back as the light from her Ghost fell upon the skeletal remains of a human soldier. It was some sort of Golden Age military uniform, most likely American if the flag was anything to go by. She crouched down next to it, taking note of the Master Sergeant rank on its chest. "Harriman... Master Sergeant Harriman. Ghost, what do you think?"
Hmm... There isn't much power left in whatever facility this is, but I think there's a databank nearby. Let me see if I can get the place up and running.
Stella nodded as she watched the device float away, bathing the room, no, chamber with bright blue lights. She heard him mutter quietly to himself before drifting back to her shoulder and switching his light back on.
This place is old, Stella... Older than that human. But it looks like there is still a bit of human technology still semi operable on a nearby landing.
She took one last look at the soldier, a thoughtful expression under the helmet as she carefully reached across and salvaged his weapon and ammo magazines. Once that portal had closed, she immediately noticed the lack of signal with her ship. While a pulse rifle and .454 were nice, it never hurt to have that third weapon available. She paused, noticing a silvery flash around the dead soldier's neck. In confusion, she pulled his dog tags off. As she held the aluminum items up, a sharp pain lanced through her head:
I, Stella Black, swear by Almighty God that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth VII, her heirs and successors and that I will as in duty bound honestly and faithfully defend Her Majesty, her heirs and successors in person, crown and dignity against all enemies and will observe and obey all orders of Her Majesty, her heirs and successors and of the generals and officers set over me.
Stella reared back, falling away from the dead soldier with the dog tags clutched tightly in her hands.
Stella? Are you okay? Your neural pathways indicate large amounts of distress.
The stunned Guardian shook her head, trying to shake the familiar voice out of her head. But she couldn't, because it was her own voice. "Ghost... I think I... remember something. I was a soldier. Were... were there any items similar to these dog tags on me when you first recovered me?"
Stella stood up, following her Ghost as it lead her to the landing overlooking the Stargate. Dog tags? Hmmm... Oh, you mean those strange pieces of metal I recovered from your body? I completely forgot about them. Yes, that was how I knew your name. It took a few days to restore them to read the writing. I have them in my personal storage if you would like them back. The device manually equipped the aluminium identifying markers in place of her standard Warlock Band, allowing her to inspect them while he began attempting to hack the consol.
She slowly pulled the dog tags off, inspecting the stamped metal closely. Stella Black... SB, O+, 1253693046, Awoken, RAF... She had been a soldier. But for what? What did RAF mean? She could feel a pounding headache coming on as her brain struggled to recreate memories from hundreds of years ago. Then she heard a low growl, snapping her out of it. She looked up to see another of the wolf creatures staring her down. This one was twice the size of the last one, covered with various plates of that bone armour. An alpha. She cursed silently to herself, slowly raising the rifle she had salvaged from the soldier, instinctively flicking the safety off. But like before, the creature did nothing. It stood there in confusion, as if it could not understand what it was seeing. "Ghost... Get the data, quickly. There's one of those wolf things in here."
I know. I am currently tracking about 15 of them. Their movement patterns do not indicate hostility, merely confusion and mild curiosity. You are an enigma to them, Guardian. And they do not know if you are a threat. At least, that's what a normal canine creature would be thinking. One moment... Ah... Stella, that's a beowolf. It killed our soldier friend down there. And this base is located on a failed colony world named Remnant.
Well, that settled it for Stella. She immediately raised the weapon, pulling the trigger, or trying to. A few hundred years of age had a tendency to rust things. The wolf creature growled again, this time more agressively as it realized Stella wanted to kill it. She managed to draw her .454 right as it leapt at her, blowing a fist sized hole in its head. A loud chorus of howls echoed through the halls, and Stella grabbed the pulse rifle on her back, replacing it with the old assault rifle. "Ghost! Evac route, now!" Her companion hovered over her shoulder, sending out radar waves constantly to create a sort of wavering image for Stella to use as a path. She took off, trying to ignore the rather large number of creatures she could hear on her tail. What the hell were those things? Beowolfs? That didn't sound like anything on Earth, Mars, or Venus! "Ghost! How big is this pl- Oh." She blinked owlishly as the darkness suddenly gave way to a bright, blinding light from the planet's main sequence star. She spun around to see the 'Beowolfs' slowly leaving what Stella could now see was a small, ancient, run down military facility. They pawed the ground in confusion, looking at her carefully. THe Guardian kept her weapon trained on them, wary of them possibly attacking her.
Guardian, wait. They might not attack you. Something seems to be distracting them.
Her Ghost was right. The wolf creatures were looking around, sniffing the air hungrily. Slowly, the monsters began growling and looking up into the air. The appearance of a small, fast moving bogey on Stella's radar caused her to do the same, and she looked up in time to see a human girl jumping through the air, using strange, circular glyphs as platforms to get closer to the ground. She frowned. Humans? Of course they would be here... As much as she disliked them though, maybe they could help her. A sudden movement made her redirect her attention back to the wolf creatures. One of them had stepped closer to her, looking at the guardian with what could only be called a questioning expression. "Ghost... what are they doing?"
Hmmm... Well, I did a quick analysis of the Aplha you killed. Some of the blood got on your armour. I didn't get much before it quite literally disolved away, but it seems that these creatures are arteficial constructs of some sort. As I mentioned earlier, these creautes appear to be similar to the Taken, but different. The energy and material I found in the blood indicates similarities to Void and Darkness... I think they are confusing you with their creator. And since you just killed their alpha, that sort of sealed their thoughts. Congratulations, Stella. You just recieved several new pets.
Stella looked at the nearest Beowolf skeptically. They thought she was their leader? Interesting... "I have an idea." She motioned for the Beowolves to follow her, moving quietly through the vibrant green forest she had appeared in. After looking at each other, the creatures followed her example, staying low like she did. After a minute or two of treking through the forest, they strange group happened upon the flying girl from before, looking around in confusion. One of the Beos growled at her, shuting up when Stella hissed at it, but it was too late. The human peered at the bush that particular wolf was hiding in.
"R-Ruby? Is that you?"
"Damn..." Stella stepped out of the bushes, cradling the pulse rifle. The growling wolf stepped out behind her, leering at the girl. "I don't know who Ruby is, but I don't think that's your biggest concern. Hand over your weapon, now." She gestured for her 'pack' to step out of the shadows, causing the girl to stumble back in fear.
"Wh-what!? Those are Grimm!" She leveled a rapier weapon at the wolf nearest to Stella, freezing when every wolf growled at her, raising their claws.
Stella held a hand up, silently ordering them stand down. To her surprise, and the human's absolute terror, they looked at her in confusion, before backing down. She cleared her throat, stepping closer to the human. "Listen up, princess. I don't particularly know what a Grimm is, but I don't appreciate you threatening my wolves like this. Hand over your weapon, or I'll take it, along with your manicured hand."
Guardian! Fast moving target, on your right!
Stella whipped around, firing off a single burst of bullets and knocking a red caped girl out of the air, stopping her from decapitating one of her wolves with a massive scythe weapon. She glanced at the startled wolf, gesturing at the scythe. "Pick it up, but don't touch the girl." The Beowolf looked at her with a disgruntled expression, but did as it was told, picking up the weapon and steppng away. Stella was mildly surprised when the girl weakly tried to pull on the weapon, struggling to catch her breath. The bullets didn't acutally pierce her! "Well... Bullet proof clothing, maybe?" She shook her head and turned to the white haired girl, who was looking paler than before. "This must be Ruby. Don't worry, she's alive... Somehow. Now, why don't you tell me what two humans like yourself are doing this far into a forest?"
The white haired girl looked down at Ruby in shock, before her face switched to an expression of rage and she swung her blade at Stella, moving forward in a barely visible blur. She barely registered the movement until it was too late. A sharp, cold pain slammed into her chest and she looked down to see the girl had plunged the rapier into her chest. Huh... Kinda felt like getting stabbed by a Dreg. The girl yanked the blade out, letting Stella drop to the ground weakly. The Beowolves moved to attack the white haired girl, only stopping when Stella raised her hand, growling out a quick command. "Stay there... I'll... be right back!" With that, she collapsed to the ground, dead.
Weiss Schnee rushed to Ruby's side, quickly checking her over for bullet wounds and sighing in relief when she found none. Her partner's aura must have saved her, but the flickering red light she saw around her was not a good sign. That burst of bullets actually managed to shatter Ruby's aura! She looked around at the pack of grimm surrounding her. What the heck was happening!? The Grimm should have been set upon them by now! And that woman... She glanced back at the body, a pool of brackish blood spilling from it. Was she even human? She refered to Weiss as a human, almost as if she wasn't one... A faunus! But that didn't explain the Grimm control. No semblance in recorded history or legend ever had that ability! "Ruby... Come on, we need to get out of here!"
"I don't think that's going to be an option, princess."
Wiess whipped around, looking at a terrifying sight. The woman was back on her feet, and there was no sign of any injury taking place. Not even a blood stain on the ground. "Wh-what... how? What are you!?"
Stella growled, flicking the safety off of her weapon, marching slowly up to the human. "I'm a Guardian, princess. Anybody else would have probably killed you for that stunt. Hell, I'm still debating it. It really hurts getting stabbed, you know? Almost as much as getting a limb blown off. At least you are more likely to go into shock. Now, I'm going to ask you again." She leveled the weapon at her. "What are you doing out here? And another question, where am I? All I know is that this planet is called Remnant." A disturbance within her wolves caused her to scowl, and glance at them. 'What... Wait, is that anothe human!?'
Stella looked at the white haired girl for a moment, before deeming her a non-threat, and walking towards the beowolves blocking the path of not just one, but two humans. She cleared her throat, gesturing for them to make a path. One of the larger ones growled at her, shaking its head and looking like it wanted to break ranks and charge the pair. She could tell its hatefull gaze was concentrated on the grey haired man with a cane. Scowling, she charged her hand with Arc energy and grabbed the creature's arm, causing it to howl in pain as the energy began burning it. She then placed the barrel of her weapon under its chin, causing it to freeze, though it whined in pain. "Listen up, beo. You follow my orders now. That decision was made when you followed me here. Do as I say, and I won't end your miserable existance, understand?"
While the creature may not have understood English, it definitely understood the implied threat. Stella released its arm, and it stumbled away with its tail between its legs. Stella then turned to the humans, a wary expression hidden by her black helmet. "Identify yourself, humans."
The grey haired man raised an eyebrow, looking at his partner, "Well... It certainly acts like one of James's Knights. What is your name, miss?"
She leveled her weapon at the man, "I believe I asked first, h-ACK!" A blinding pain erupted in her head, and she was thrown into a tree. She picked herself up, trying to shake the stars out of her vision. When it cleared, she noticed her helmet had partially shattered, rendering it useless. She undid the seal, letting it drop to the ground. A trickle of blood could be felt on her temple, but she ignored it.
The grey haired man stepped forward, his calm, peaceful expression now that of pure rage and hatred. "I am Professor Ozpin of Beacon Academy, and you are threatening my st...stu... By the gods... Your face... Salem!?" Ozpin staggered back, a look of shock on his face.
"Oz.. That's not her. I... don't think she's human though."
"Yes.. you're right, Glynda. But she looks so... similar to her. Except her eyes. Those aren't hers." Ozpin shook his head, pointing his cane at Stella. "I'm sorry for hitting you miss, but you are threatening my students, and I cannot allow that."
Stella, leveled her rifle at him once more, staring at him warily, "She threatened one of my wolves. And she killed me. Scared the shit out of-
Language, Guardian.
"Oh, shove off, Ghost. You're not the one who just got turned into a fucking shish-kebab by Snow White over there!" She scowled. "Sorry, Ghost imparting unescessary knowlege. I am Stella Black, Guardian, Captain within the Fallen House of Wolves, and Queen's Guard. I arrived here from the planet Venus after sumbling upon an active Gate made by humans from Earth."
Ozpin blinked owlishly, "Your... wolves? You can control these creatures? And you're from another planet!? I... what..." He shut his jaw abruptly, turning to Wiess and Ruby, now both on their feet. "Miss Schnee, Miss Rose, do you think you can complete the initiation?" When the two girls nodded quickly, he nodded. "Good. Do so and get back here, try not to take unescessary risks."
Stella frowned, silently commanding the wolves to let them through. She was getting the hang of this pretty quick. The wolves didn't respond to verbal commands, rather the intent behind the order. So she didn't really have to do anything but look at them and they would obey. "Yes, my wolves. I killed the alpha in the base and they seem to think I'm their maker and leader. They don't seem to like you though... At all."
Ozpin chuckled, "I would think not. Would you mind coming with me? There's a few questions I would like to ask you. And um... Leave the Grimm behind."
Stella frowned, feeling a small tingle at the back of her head. She looked back at the Grimm who approached her first outside of the Gate complex, who was looking at her intently. "What is it?" The Beowolf moved closer to her,glaring suspiciously at Ozpin and then back at her. The tingling feeling grew stronger and she suddenly got the impression that she shouldn't be going with Ozpin, but trying to kill him instead. wait, that was what the wolf was feeling. "Hold on... Let's see what he has to say first."
The Beo whined at her, shaking its head.
"I didn't say we were going with him." She glared at Ozpin, crossing her arms. "I think you can say what you want without dragging me to... where ever it is you want to go."
Glynda stepped forward, "How dare you speak to this man like that, young lady! He's one of the reasons these despicable monsters. Haven't overrun Remnant yet! You should be-"
Glynda was silenced quickly as the Beowolf pack growled angrily at her and Stella was suddenly pointing her .454 at her, keeping the rifle trained on Ozpin. "I should what, human? Bow down to his every whim? I don't think so. What do you want, human?"
Ozpin looked at Glynda, subtly gesturing for her to back down, "Well, Miss. Black."
"Guardian. I'm a Guardian. And a captain."
"Er... Captain Black, then. Captain, I assume you are currently stranded on our planet, yes? Well, I want to offer you sanctuary at my school. It might not be much in comparison to your... homeworld, but I'm not one who wants to ruin first contact with an alien species."
Stella frowned, looking at her beowolf, "Well, Beta, what do you think? And do try looking past whateverr sort of prejudice you have with this human. I get you hate him for some reason, but we don't need to kill anyone just yet."
The beowolf blinked in confusion. It had been created to hate humanity, especially Ozpin. And now its mistress was asking it to go against those original concepts? The creature's fractured mind struggled to work properly, causing some mild discomfort as it worked to throw off the strange haze over it. It looked at Ozpin, the man glowing with that hateful aura. But mistress didn't want it dead. And yet... It could feel a second hand in its head, compelling it to attack the man. It saw the mistress looking up at it in concern, her hand becoming coated in a deep, swirling darkness, speckled with starlight. She reached up and pressed against its head, releasing a calming wave of quiet. Suddenly, the painful light from Ozpin seemed to dim, becoming a bright green glow.
Stella removed her hand, looking somewhat exhausted at whatever she did. THe Beowolf's eyes, once a burning red, were now a bright gold. She heard Glynda gasp behind her, but ignored it. "Strange... I felt another presense in its mind... I don't know who it was though... And it's gone. Hey, weren't your eyes red?"
Stella, I think your Void abilities purged the other presence... And it felt similar to Crota. The Darkness may have already visited this planet, long ago.
She frowned, looking at Ozpin, "Who made these creatures. My origins allow me some control over my wolves because I killed their alpha and the Void is reacting similarly to their maker's control. I just kicked out their maker from this one's mind, but I couldn't find them."
Ozpin blinked, his jaw opening and closing in confusion, "You... The Grimm! How did you do that!?"
Stella sighed, "Darkness be damned... Look, we can go where you want, but I'm taking Beta with me. The rest can stay behind, hiding from your students who seem to be a bit trigger happy... Or stab happy in the case of Princess Schnee. We can exchange information there."
Well... I think that's enough confusion there. Before you start going off on me about the beowolves following Stella around, here's why. SHe's a Guardian, an undead, killing machine. She's also a Voidwalker, meaning she's fueled by the Void. So, that means she would not register as an Auric user and would be hollow like the Grimm in their eyes. However, while she may be adaptable, she will still have some difficulty communicating with every type of Grimm. Beowolves are the easiest due to their pack mentality and intelligence. So, she already walks upright like a beowolf, dislikes humans, and killed their alpha. That, combined with her similarity with Salem in terms of energy and even looks, is the reason they follow her. Something like a King Tiatsu or DeathStalker would more than likely ignore her, and a Crawler would run away.
As for her rather brash behaviour towards the humans, I decided to take the Awoken approach to this version of Stella. The Awoken hold an extreme distrust of the human race, and are prideful to a fault. She has no reason to trust the humans, and her stengthening conection to the Grimm on the planet make it harder to do so. Thus, her behavior. ANd for those of you confused as to what happened to her when she demanded Ozpin's name... It's Ozpin. I'm pretty sure he can actually move faster than the eye can travel. She got knocked upside the head with a cane.
Now, I do plan on making the same team and pairing, but just in case I don't I want your ideas on the matter. Pairing names, possible plots or storylines, etc. What do you think should happen?