MERRY CHRISTMAS!

This story is a journey through the world of Mira, discovering new friends and foes while encountering old opposition as well. Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang, and Zweii are the only characters from RWBY who will be allies, while there will be two additional OCs helping Elma and Lin.

Keep in mind that I have been writing this since April of this year, but my writing has gotten better since then. I may have continuity issues, but I've written many chapters in advance. If you don't like where the story is going, you may enjoy a later chapter.

On to the subject of the story-line itself. I will not be focusing on the main story of the game for the entirety of the story, but will instead be including side missions, original circumstances and characters, and even new indigenous beings to tackle. This series is meant to continue on for a while and will be at least 2,000+ words per chapter. Keep in mind that this is based off of my own play-through of Xenoblade Chronicles X as well as my secondary file. I enjoyed the characters and their development and I have a few plans for characters introduced/included in this story.

Enough about that: Let's kick this off.

"Attention: Stasis Mode will now be disabled. Engaging Awakening Process."

Ruby realized that she was frozen in a capsule, unable to move her body. She heard the computer's automated voice commands during the defrosting phase, which would allow her to move and exit the pod.

"Ten seconds until capsule opens. 10. 9. 8. 7. 6. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1."

With that, a bright light began to fill Ruby's vision. She instinctively held up her hand to shield her eyes. Her eyesight began to focus as the light was brought away from her face. She saw a woman standing before her, clad in futuristic battle armor. Her long, silver hair had been let out behind her armor, which had been colored red for some obvious reasons. Her eyes were a glowing teal color, which calmed Ruby as she got a good look at them.

Ruby tried to take a step out of the pod, but fatigue took over slightly and she slumped down into the woman's outstretched arms.

"Easy now," she said. "You're not stable enough for battle just yet. Wait a moment for your body to warm up a little."

Ruby nodded slightly as the woman helped her to her feet. Her eyesight had focused a little more, allowing her to see that it was a rainy night. She looked down at herself, examining her attire. She was dressed in a black shirt with short, red sleeves, black pants with about ten pockets, combat boots, and a belt with space for more tools than Batman's belt could hold.

"So far as we know, your pod was one of six that were still intact after landing here in this location. Two were released yesterday, but I've yet to arouse the other, seeing as I came straight here today." Ruby managed to get solid footing as she heard the brief explanation of her whereabouts. The feminine soldier continued.

"My name's Elma. Would you mind telling me yours?"

"Ruby."

"Well, I can see you've been trained in some more advanced combat than I've learned." Elma nodded in the direction of Ruby's weapon, Crescent Rose, which sat in its rifle form in the pod left of where she was moments ago.

"Yeah, I guess. I designed her myself. She's the only scythe for me."

"Wait a minute? That's a scythe?"

Ruby giggled. "It's also a customizable, high-impact sniper rifle."

"So your melee and ranged weapon are one and the same. I think you'll do just fine out here on Planet Mira." Elma paused for a second. "But wait, Sniper Rifle? Those are usually only mastered by Partisan Eagles and Astral Crusaders. How did you get training for such a weapon?"

Ruby cocked her head to one side. "I'm not sure what you mean. I've been trained using Crescent Rose as my standard method of fighting."

Elma shook her head. "And I thought amnesia was harder to deal with. Well, I'm going to need your help awakening the other human from that final pod. Ready to move out?"

Ruby turned and picked up her scythe. "Ready when you are!"

Elma giggled at her new recruit's enthusiasm. "We'll take it easy for now, just to let you get used to moving and allow your body some time to warm up." She turned away and waited for Ruby to join her on the trail.

Elma stopped and pointed towards a black pod, roughly the size of Ruby's, which lay nearly thirty feet ahead of them. "Here's the last one. I'll open it if you watch our backs. Would you be willing to do that?"

Ruby loaded a cartridge into Crescent Rose. "Yep!"

Elma had reached the pod by this point. She entered her login and password into the terminal. There was a whirring coming from the machine, booting up the systems for releasing the human within. The hatch opened, revealing a young girl, about Ruby's age, with golden hair and gauntlets. She was dressed in a brown prototype shirt, black pants similar to Ruby's, and boots and belt to match Ruby's. Golden bracelets could be seen clasped around the girl's wrists. What Elma was confused by was the skin on the girl's right arm. It was made of a thick durable metal, stained jet black with golden details at the fingertips and joints. What caused such an abnormality in the subject?

Once the girl had steadied herself, Elma filled her in on the information Ruby was told. Upon sharing intel, Elma introduced herself. The girl was going to share her name when Ruby hollered:

"YANG!" She tackled the newcomer to the ground. 'Yang' gave her a hug, still groggy from stasis, but at least she had her whole memory with her.

"Ruby! It's so good to see you, sis!"

"Wait," Elma pondered aloud. "You two are sisters?"

Ruby pulled Yang to her feet. "Yep! Sisters in arms and half by blood."

Yang held up her left arm. "More like sisters in ARM!"

Ruby groaned. "I hate it when you do that. Very punny."

Elma giggled a little at Yang's pun. "Well, this reunion is sweet, but we still have to return to the city. I'll need to-"

Elma was cut off by a loud beeping noise from her pocket. She pulled out her phone and powered it up. A manly voice could be heard over the other end.

"Colonel, we have received word that there are no more lifesigns other than yourself and two others. Are they survivors from your most recent escapade?"

Elma nodded. "I've retrieved the only two survivors from the pods in Starfall Basin. I'll be heading back to NLA if there's nothing else."

"I believe that is all. We will be sending the two newest recruits to meet you outside of the Blade Barracks. Make your way to NLA and we'll get them registered into BLADE's battalion log."

Elma ended the call and turned to Yang. "So, Yang. Can you fight?"

Yang tossed her hair. "Sure I can. Show me your foe and I'll take them out."

Elma decided that she'd offer up the spare weapon she brought, but Yang declined.

"I'll be using the Ember Celica from here on out." she replied.

Elma looked confused, but she simply nodded and turned around and began to lead the way. Ruby ran ahead of her before she could take three steps, cutting her short of being ambushed.

Ruby pushed Elma out of the way as seven large bug-like enemies sprung up and landed where Elma was standing a moment ago. The beetle-shaped inhabitants knelt down and buzzed their wings in anger. They began to form a ring around the humans as their buzzing began to slowly die down.

Yang nodded towards Ruby, who drew Crescent Rose from its clip on her back and switched it to scythe mode. Yang threw her arms downward as her golden bracelets extended into full-sized gauntlets that covered her lower arms, locking into combat mode. Elma was taken aback at what she had just seen: the speed at which Ruby ran; Yang's weapons and their sheathed form; Ruby's scythe mode. It was unlike anything she had ever seen before.

Yang charged towards two that were about to pounce on Elma. She fired off a round of her shotgun gauntlets, thrusting herself into the air above the beetles. Twisting in the air, she unleashed a spray of four blasts, burning the wings and piercing the shell of the insects. One more blast aimed skyward was all Yang needed to hurtle towards a third one behind the pair of dead pests. She slammed her Ember Celica into its face, blasting through it and hollowing it out with one punch.

Ruby spun her scythe around her clockwise as one insect leaped for her. Spinning it counter-clockwise allowed her to eliminate another pouncing on her from behind. She twirled Crescent Rose upward in front of her and back around behind her, slashing through a third beetle and stabbing a fourth one's head. She fired off a round, exploding the shell and sending the insides of the beetle in every direction.

Elma wiped the cyan goop off of her chin. "I guess I'll be needing your help in getting back to the city. I'll lead you onward, but I'll leave you two to defend yourselves if needed."

Ruby and Yang sheathed their weapons. Ruby curtsied, not something she usually did, and replied, "After you, tour guide."

Yang followed close behind Elma, high-fiving her sister as she passed. Ruby held up the back, keeping a close eye on the rear, ready for if any more indigenous lifeforms tried another ambush. Elma lead them out of the small canyon they were in and out to a large cliffside.

Elma called for them to halt, noting that the fog was clearing and the sun was rising. Ruby watched with intent as the landscape began to slowly wake up and reveal its beauty to them. She was astounded by the sizes of the beasts that woke up and stretched out. Four gigantic, Brachiosaurus-like monsters reached down for water from the streams below. Wolf-like monsters ran in packs, racing each other across the fields and rocks. A few other types reminded her of otters leaping into a lake. She gasped in awe and wonder, unsure of what other mind boggling sights there were to be had.

"The view of Beacon's got nothin' on this." Yang commented. "I've never seen such a beautiful landscape."

Elma sighed with slight joy. "And it's only going to get better."

Ruby looked forward and saw a huge structure off in the distance. On its side was written: "United States".

Yang pointed to it. "Is that where we're headed?"

Elma nodded. "It's our home here on this planet. We've taken shelter here from the wild on Planet Mira by utilizing what we can from the habitat unit of the ship."

Ruby stepped towards the cliff, but Elma held out her arm. "I wouldn't jump if I were you."

Yang scoffed. "If you're worried about the fall, we'll use our landing strategies to get down safely."

Elma shook her head. "It's not the fall I'm cautious about, it's the creatures down there. They'd be more aggressive towards you than those on the high road. Still, I'll let you two decide."

Ruby and Yang decided that they wouldn't push their luck much further, so the high road was their method of travel.

Upon reaching the gate to the city, Elma held up their progress. "We've got company."

As she said this, three wolf-like creatures leapt off of their perches on higher rocks to ambush the party. All three humans drew their weapons, each ready to take on a beast and take it out quickly.

"We need to take these out now: don't let them get to the city!" Elma shouted.

Ruby jumped over the first Grex and slashed off its tail. It howled in pain as it brought its paw down onto her leg, holding her in place. Elma shot at its paw, knocking it over and forcing it off of Ruby. Ruby rolled under the beast and brought her scythe across its belly, opening the monster's stomach and spewing a yellow liquid across the ground.

Yang had already smashed the head of a second Grex and was on her way to punching another one in the face. She waited for the wolf-like beast to move its head down close to her. When it did, she uppercutted its jaw with her right, fired her left Ember Celica downward which forced her upward, and swung her right punch upward, sending the Grex flying and yelling out: "KIDO YASHI!"

When she landed, she retracted her gauntlets and brushed back her hair. Ruby dropped her scythe and Elma lost her grip on her guns. Yang chuckled a little before asking Elma, "Are we going in?"

Elma nodded and they all began walking towards the large staircase near the sealed entrance. They climbed it quickly, reaching the top in record time. Elma lead them into the city to a balcony from where they could see the city. Elma stopped at the railing and brushed back a stray strand of hair.

"Welcome to NLA, the last city from earth. We got its name from the city it was modeled after on back on earth: Los Angeles. Here, we are the last of the human race, surviving this world's dangers and living together in harmony."

Ruby and Yang stood in awe of the size and breadth of the city. It was larger than any other they'd seen back on Remnant. The largest tower must have been almost a thousand feet tall. Helicopters and cars were rushing around and trucks were delivering supplies across the city. Robots with huge construction gear were moving stacks of metallic frames and larger construction equipment. Giant cranes stood on the wall of the city, their hooks in position and their operators inspecting the mechanisms. Just from looking around, both Ruby and Yang could tell that this was truly the start of another grand life on a new planet.

N-Sight: Well, we're finished with the introduction.

Emm: I feel cheated.

N-Sight: That this chapter was so short?

Emm: No, that we aren't shown in this chapter.

N-Sight: We'll show up later. Don't worry about it.

Emm: I get the feeling we're side-characters.

N-Sight: You're imagining things.

Emm: When's the next chapter?

N-Sight: New Years Day.

Emm: I'll be there.