So as most people would know, Destiny Rise of Iron came out a few days ago and I've been grinding through the story like no tomorrow and I suddenly had a great idea... or a really stupid one. I hated the fact that in Season 3 in RWBY so many people died... but then I remembered that Guardians were brought back from the dead... so this is where this fanfic came from.
This is just a little story that I'm writing for fun and want to see if anyone think's it is actually a good idea...
Naughtbeast
Chapter 1:
Guardians… the protectors of Earth… the light in the dark… the heroes that are the last hope for humanity… the only thing is that they don't really give you a choice when you become one… because you don't really have a mouth or body to complain to them with… because you kinda have to be dead to become one. Guardians are selected by the divine being that is The Traveller, a god of light that chanced upon civilisation and granted us immense powers to travel the stars and expand our empire to extra-ordinary heights… a Golden Age was dawning. But all power comes at a cost… and in this case it was the Darkness. It sought all that The Traveller had made and crushed it. It destroyed everything Humanity had and pushed us back to Earth. We fought the best we could… but ultimately, the Traveller sacrificed itself to purge the Darkness from Earth and pushed it back to the fringes of our solar system. Humanity recovered slowly from the massive losses from the great schism that was known as 'The Collapse', banding together to secure one last point of safety for us… The Last City. After a year of re-building, the Traveller revealed the Ghosts, machines that brought the Travellers light with them. They scoured to the farthest reaches of Earth in search of Golden Age heroes that would spearhead Humanity's return and the revival of The Traveller. The Guardians were first tasked with taking back Earth from the fallen, clearing the remnants of Russia from the clutches of the Fallen.
The Fallen are a race of scavengers that came to Earth to feast on the pickings of a weak civilisation, priding themselves in the re-use of old technology. They were quickly pushed back and their command structure was destroyed by strategic strikes into their ranks and the assassinations of the Fallen commanders, primarily the servitor Sepiks Prime. But this was only the start… during a search by a solo Guardian into the depths of a Russian industrial complex, it was discovered that the Hive had found a way to Earth.
The Hive was a race of parasitic creatures that fed on the very essence of light. Humanity had surrendered the moon to escape the clutches of these abominations but even that could note sate their hunger. Guardians were able to hold them back but trips had to be made to the moon to cope with the never-ending flow of Hive invading Earth. Hive wizards were killed to ensure that little-to-no Hive could be transported to Earth without effort, which allowed a let-up back on Earth. A strange signal was intercepted by a lone guardian while diving into the Hellmouth, which was reported and Guardians were assigned to begin the re-capture of Venus… where the war-machines of death were uncovered… the Vex.
The Vex are not just simply hundreds upon hundreds of mindless drones that are set on the destruction of all organic life… they are one mind… one body… one soul. Guardians were able to take down mind-cores and data-banks of the Vex, but it was ultimately useless in the grand scheme of things… there was just no way of taking them down… or was there? After a Guardian recorded having a conversation with an anonymous stranger, co-ordinates were retrieved that led to something on Mars that could be the end of the Vex… the black garden.
Guardians were immediately sent to set up a beachhead outside the exclusion zone of the current occupants of Mars, the Cabal. A single Guardian was able to slip past the Cabal's seeming impenetrable defences and shut down the exclusion zone power gird, enabling transmat into the zone. It was then that the re-capture of Mars began and Cabal command was weakened to enable for a push into the Black Garden. One thing that they did not account for is the time-altering Vex technology which meant that when they arrived for the assault, the Vex were waiting. Many Guardians were killed that day, but by extreme luck, a single Guardian was able to make it inside and destroyed the Heart of the Black Garden, silencing the great command network of the Vex.
Unfortunately for Humanity, that wasn't the end… the Vex were still fighting. After more and more research, it was discovered that the Vex still had one last chance at survival… the Vault of Glass, a pocket dimension that was hidden on Venus. Records were found of an old Guardian team that had tried to kill the Vex that were held within the dimension, although they never returned. The 6 strongest Guardians that the city had to offer were tasked with taking down the threat, so they descended into the Vault to kill whatever was holding the Vex together. The whole city was holding their breath for hours… then days… then months. It had been three months since the team had set off and the Vanguard had assembled another to try again… until they finally received a signal. Just as the next team was about to activate the Vex gates to open the Vault, the door busted open from the inside and the team came out, holding Atheon's head in triumph. The Vex were scattered and the structure and concise assaults were halted, they were reduced to nothing more than scrambling machines… that could still teleport and move through time, but it was the best they got.
Months after that, another threat arose, this time birthed from the depths of the hive. An old Guardian, thought to be lost long ago to the Hive arrived at the Tower, wearing strange garb and having three eyes, much like those of a Hive Knight. She warned of the return of a Hive god, Crota. And so, once again, Guardians were tasked with the destruction of this new threat. After a way to take down Crota was found, the same team that defeated Atheon was tasked with his assassination. After descending into the deepest abyss' of the Hellmouth, Crota was killed and the Hive threat ended.
A few weeks of peace passed until another threat arrived, in the form of an old acquaintance. The Queen of the Awoken, Mara Sov, sent out a distress signal calling for Guardians to eliminate an entire house of Fallen that had originally served her, but were now rogue and seeking to re-gain power. After weeks of hunting them down, a Guardian was able to track down Skolas, the Kell of the house of Wolves. He was capture mere minutes after accessing Vex technology and taken to the Prison of Elders to be used as training for any Guardians that wished to prove their metal to the Queen.
As we all know, peace is never achieved for long, and before anyone could blink, a new enemy was on the horizon. The Hive's true, divine god Oryx sought revenge for those that killed Crota and came to our solar system to exact revenge. His battle-ship 'the Dreadnaught' was luckily disabled at the fringes of Saturn's rings by the Queen's forces, at a large cost, although he was still able to use his influence to make his presence known on all planets with Guardian activity. The enemies that had threatened Humanity were being enhanced and controlled by Oryx. Earth was late to receiving the news, but they were not unready. Guardians met the threat with new vigour and the Taken were eventually tracked back to Oryx's Dreadnaught and the counter offensive could begin. A Guardian was able to enter the Dreadnaught with the help of the Vanguard and a generous donation from Eris.
After a beach-head was established on the Dreadnaught, Guardians began taking down his Lieutenants and weakening his hold over this realm, enough so that an assault team could be gathered to take him down. The 'Raid Team' as it was now dubbed by just about every Guardian out there was sent to kill the Taken King, succeeding after much trouble. The team consisted of two 3-Guardian teams, each with a Titan, Warlock and Hunter in each to ensure diversity across the team. After this team was troubled with the fact that they could one day possible die permanently, they sought out a way to get gear for the other guardians so that they could also be up to par with them. A Vex time module was sought out and scavenged which allowed Guardians to re-live past event, such as the fall of Atheon, while not altering the time line in any way, but still receiving gear and items to use to further their own efforts.
It had been a year since the fall of Oryx, and yet again another new enemy made themselves known. The Raid Team was called upon to stop a Fallen raid on Vostoc observatory and succeeded, having to kill Sepiks Prime again, but it was only just the beginning. Sepiks somehow re-built himself without help and escaped… exactly when multiple breaches on the wall were detected by Shiro-4. They were sent on a mission by Lord Saladin to take down Sepiks, but once again found something strange. The fallen had altered themselves with a new bio-technology which enhanced their weapons and armour beyond anything they could achieve with normal materials. After killing them, Saladin called them back to the Iron Temple they had liberated earlier and explained the new enemy they faced, a living virus known as Siva. The Raid Team was induced as new Iron Lords, joining Saladin in his battle against Siva, being gifted various boons. After the threat was explained and the Guardians now known as the new Iron Lords, they travelled around the Cosmodrome and took out the higher ranking Siva threats, eventually tracking the threat back to where it came from… the Siva production chamber.
It was sealed after a successful assault by the Raid Team and the Siva threat was lessened… but not gone. After just a day a massive Fallen gathering was detected just outside the wall and the Raid Team were sent to investigate, finding out that the Fallen were, in fact, mustering an entire assault force to break down the wall. The Raid Team was quickly on the move and made a quick surprise attack, taking down Vosik the Archpreist before they even knew what was happening. After that, they quickly set their siege machine into action, the device not exactly being 100% functional due to the quick launch and its destruction was a testament to this. After taking down Aksis twice, the Fallen assault was halted and the remaining Guardians were able to push back the Fallen that were still dwelling around the wall. Celebrations were held and the Raid Team's renown went up all throughout Guardian-controlled space.
The breach was marked as a 'raid' by the Vanguard and so it was available for re-try, something which the Raid Team took advantage of to find materials to infuse their armour with to make it as strong as possible. After the entire team had their armour infused to the strongest they could, they received a message from Saladin that made their blood run cold. A House of Wolves skiff had breached a Devil's compound and stole a cache of Siva, travelling straight back to Venus afterwards... but it was what they planned to do that was the killer. Saladin had intercepted transmissions that the House of Wolves were hoping to infuse the Vex technology with Siva to make their House once again the rulers of the Fallen. The Raid Team had been dispatched to take care of this problem, and that is where we find ourselves catching up on their story… but there is one thing I should mention before we begin… these people were all once great heroes and villains. They might not know it now, but they had been dead for millennia… since before the Traveller came to Earth… in a time when it was known by a different name… it was known as Remnant.
[Ishtar Sink – Venus – Vault of Glass]
"TAKE THAT SUCKERS!" came a deep and strong voice that echoed around the depths of the Vault, until it was drowned out by the continuous sound of a Heavy Machine Gun firing… that of Super Good Advice. A small horde of Goblins warped into the sights of the disembodied voice but were quickly silenced when the barrel was swiped their way, their so-called superior metal bodies being turned to scrap by the torrent of lead that was coming out of the weapon. A Vex Minotaur tried its luck, managing to get within striking distance of the voice… only for it to be disintegrated by a well-placed Solar-infused punch to the chest. A Hydra came into view, twin Torch Hammers firing full-swing at the voice… only for it to be destroyed by a Fusion Grenade that found its way to its optics. After the Hydra's body fell to the floor and exploded, leaving a bent and warped metal chassis underneath, the owner of the voice finally came into view as they reloaded the machine gun casually, standing on the Hyrda's body and kicking it.
"That's for wasting my time"
The owner of the voice was Wulf, a Titan Guardian, and the leader of the Raid Team. He was one of the oldest surviving Guardians, being revived just after the fall of the Iron Lords, with only Lord Saladin, the Vanguard and the Speaker being able to challenge him with age. He was probably the most experience Guardian still on the field and had been there for every major event during the last two years. He had discovered the Hive on Earth, met with the Stranger who led him to the Black Garden and he was the one to destroy the Heart as well. He had led the Raid Team to killing Atheon, he had led the team to Kill Crota, beat Skolas to a pulp and had taken down Oryx. During his time as a Guardian, he had been taken under the mentorship of Lord Saladin, despite not being too nifty at Iron Banner. He was responsible for the recovery of many Golden Age relics and weapons, ensuring that he had gifted them to the remainders of his Raid Team. Most Guardians woke up without knowing anything about their past, with Wulf being no exception, and so they didn't know their name. Wulf was given his by Saladin after his 'condition' was seen. In humanities reach there were three races, Humans, Awoken and Exo's, but Wulf was a bit different… because he had wolf ears and tail. Saladin didn't want to admit it but it was one of the reasons why he had taken in Wulf as a student.
His primary weapon was the Zhalo Supercell, his secondary being Invective and his heavy switching between Super Good Advice and the Gjallarhorn. He had other weapons in reserve, but most of his exotic weaponry had been gifted to the other members of the Raid Team for their use. When he had completed missions for Saladin, he had taken a liking to the Iron Lord Axe relic that he had been commissioned to use for limited amounts of time, so he vouched to fix that. Saladin had, at first, been opposed to the idea, not liking the idea of a Guardian 'ruining' the Iron Lord's legacy, but after much convincing and a number of bounties completed by him, Saladin allowed him the use of the Axe schematics. Wulf had travelled back to Feizel Crux's workshop to acquire the proper materials, then headed to the same workshop where he had crafted Gjallarhorn. He had spent 2 entire days crafting it, using the best materials he could find such as a remnant of Oryx's blade, dormant Siva clusters and even some Golden Age metals he had looted from Rasputin's bunker. His Ghost had constantly pumped light into it during the forging process and Wulf had used his Hammer of Sol to do the actual metal forging to melt the metal and mould it to the axe design. After it was completed, even Saladin was impressed by the improvements that had been made. It was slightly larger than the normal axe, could sent pure elemental blasts when slammed into the ground, the element being able to change depending on his current class and it could be summoned at will due to the light infusion, without him even needing to use his Ghost.
His armour was something that could be likened to the strength of a Ward of Dawn. His helmet was the Helm of Saint 14, his chestplate and greaves were both Days of Iron variants, while his arms were covered in the Ruin Wings. Unlike most Titans who wore marks, Wulf was commissioned to wear a cloak, thanks to Lord Saladin, so he wore a thick, heavy Duster with wolf-fur linings around the neck that was pure white while the actual cloak was dark black with the Iron Lords mark emblazoned on the back in gold. The rest of his armour was pure black (Old Guard Shader) which turned the tufts on the end of his helm to red and the visor's colour to red as well. They were all infused and upgraded to provide enhanced light armour during the use of his Solar class, Sunbreaker. It had been infused with a special ornament he had earnt from Lord Saladin which set the wolf on his chest on fire, burning with solar light.
Around his neck hung three metal medallions, each with the Iron Lords emblem emblazoned on them, three relics of the fallen Iron Lords. They gave him insane reflexes (Jolder's), the ability to reflect projectiles with his axe (Radeghast's) and gave him temporary control over lesser enemies (Timur's).
Right now he was kicking over the dead Hydra's body, seeing if there was anything he could loot, when the sound of footsteps made him turn to see another member of his team… Summer Rose. The female Nightstalker strode up to Wulf with her helmet off and raised an eyebrow at his massacre of Vex, receiving only a shrug. She shook it off and walked up to him, taking off his helmet and taking him into a deep kiss… afterall, that's what husband and wife do. Wulf had been out on patrol on Earth, completing a bounty to take down a Fallen captain when he had stumbled across a Guardian who had only just been revived and was running away from Fallen as quick as possible. He killed them quickly and checked on her, taking her back to the tower after he had found she was ok and had found her own ship. He had to leave for a strike on the moon after that, but her bid her adieu and didn't see her for some time. When a team was being put together for the raid on the Vault of Glass, he had been surprised to see that the Guardian he had saved was there. She introduced herself as Summer, a name she had earnt from being warm and kind to everyone she met.
After the raid, they had grown closer together and eventually got married, something that was very rare in the life of a Guardian. They did almost everything together and when they were in battle, they were at near-telepathic levels of communication, always covering the others back flawlessly. She pulled out of the kiss and stroked Wulf's ears a bit before putting his helmet back on. She was wearing full Iron Banner armour, coloured red and white, with a massive white cloak that went down to her ankles. She wielded Thorn as her main weapon, ironically the gun being a gift from the couple's first date, which was also the reason for her last name. Wulf had commented that 'no matter how beautiful the rose, the thorn will always get you', a phrase which was coined in and stuck. The Last Word was holstered at her thigh, with Patience and Time, and Young Wolf's Howl slung across her back. Dredgen Yor's Rose was hung around her neck from a chain made of Hive bone.
"Hey babe, I see you were having fun with Vex again, we've cleared out our sections so we should probably move deeper" she spoke, putting her helmet back on and reloading Thorn.
"Yeah, been a pain clearing it out… you'd think that the Fallen would at least make it easier by at least trying to shoot the Vex" he replied, transmatting Super Good Advice and taking out Invective.
When they had assaulted the Vault of Glass, it was surprising intact and there were no signs of Fallen activity, yet the scanners still led them to Atheon's chamber. The two Guardians walked down through the moss-covered metal floor of the Vault until they arrived at the meeting point designated to them, the door just outside Atheon's chamber. As they entered, they saw the other member of their 3-Guardian team, Roman Torchwick. He was a Warlock Sunslinger, earning the name after turning a hive Ogre into a gigantic Roman candle by covering it in oil he found in a car on Earth and lighting it with a Solar-charged melee, before riding it into a Hive Seeder and setting it ablaze.
He wore full Heliopause armour from Dead Orbit except for his gauntlets which were Sunbreakers. His armour was shaded white with pink highlights and he had a feather coming out the side of his helmet. His bond displayed the crest of the queen, mainly because he had continuously tried to hit on her and when she died, he wore it as a vestige to her legacy. His primary was the Suros Regime, with Pocket Infinity and Raze Lighter on his back. He turned to see the two walk in and pulled off his helmet to greet them.
"Well well, now that you two have finished your make-out session have you seen the others?" inquired the smug Warlock, smiling a bit at his mocking of the couple.
"Sorry but we haven't seen them… weren't they meant to meet us here?" replied Wulf, ignoring the comments made by Torchwick.
Just as that was said, the remaining three members of the Raid Team slammed into the ground after jumping from a sky-high platform from the Vault above. First to land was Ozpin, a Voidwalker that was absolutely obsessed with time. He wore full Hezen Lord armour from the Vault of Glass and carried a Hourless Glass on a rope around his chest. A holographic ever-ticking clock was projected from his bond. He carried the Vex Mythoclast as his primary, complimented by Plan C and Truth on his back. He gained his name by Travelling all the way to Australia just to track down a Golden Age relic, being called the Ozzy guardian afterwards.
Next was the team's other Hunter, Penny the Bladedancer. She wore arguably the least armour of the team, deciding to go with the Infinite Lines armour from Future War Cult and coloured it pink and green, wearing the Mask of the Third Man helmet. She carried Hawkmoon, having Queenbreakers Bow and Sleeper Stimulant in reserve. She was also the team's only exo, although you could never tell by looking as she looked exactly the same as a teenage girl beneath the helmet. Her name was derived from the small production mark on the back of her neck.
Lastly was the team's Defender Titan, Pyrrha. She wore full Exile armour from the Trials of Osiris, being one of the top Guardians in the Crucible, apart from the Dunemarchers greaves she wore, the whole armour being a noble gold sheen. She carried No Land Beyond, the Tresspasser and Dark Drinker, also using a shield that was crafted from remnants of Kabr's shield in the Vault. She had found an old scripture that made references to a warrior name Pyrrha who had sacrificed herself in hopes of killing a great evil, so the Guardian took up her name to continue the legacy.
"We are sorry for the last arrival, they teleported a Gate Lord in for us to deal with" Ozpin explained, walking over to join the other three, Penny and Pyrrha following.
"That's alright, now it's onto the end of this little mission, we have to take down those House of Wolves Splicers" Wulf announced, transmatting Gjallarhorn into his grip.
"Sensational! We shall end the threat here!" Penny chimed, taking out Sleeper Stimulant and fiddling with the settings.
"This ends now" Pyrrha added, taking out Dark Drinker and her shield.
They all stood outside the door to Atheon's Vault while Wulf went and 'quietly' knocked on the door with Gjallarhorn. The metal held for a few seconds, but the splinter grenades melted straight through the door and allowed the Raid Team to enter. What they saw could only be described as their worst nightmares coming true… just like the Devil's had resurrected Sepiks… the Wolves had resurrected Atheon with Siva.
"NO!" Wulf called, drawing the attention of the Fallen Vandals and Dregs stationed around the room, as well as Atheon Perfected. "TAKE THEM DOWN!" he instructed to the Raid Team, the chamber instantly filling with gunfire. The Fallen were taken down quite quickly, leaving only Atheon to deal with. "Pyrrha, we need a distraction!" called Wulf, Pyrrha responding by jumping out of cover and drawing the Vex's attention, allowing the others to concentrate fire. Just as Atheon was about to turn back to the others, Summer fired an arrow from her Shadowshot and pinned him in place, the tether catching his weapon and pulling it to the ground. "GIVE IT EVERYTHING!" Wulf shouted, the Raid Team coming out of cover and letting loose as much firepower as they could. Gjallarhorn and Truth rockets streaked past, Fusion Rifle energy streaking to the Vex as well as well-placed sniper rounds. Just as the tether broke, Ozpin jumped high into the air and let loose a colossal Void Bomb, slamming it straight into Atheon's head and staggering the great machine. This allowed a few more precious seconds where the others could damage to giant Vex Lord. They all took cover as Atheon recovered and began firing Red bolts out of the massive Torch Hammer he wielded. After another 30 minutes, the Raid Team was able to take down the Siva-infused war machine, Atheon exploding in a giant ball of energy with body parts crashing to the floor.
"Finally, damn machines!" Torchwick complained, shooting the head of Atheon one more time, realising what he had said and turned to Penny and apologised.
"It's not over yet…" Wulf announced, pointing out a Vex time gate that had opened at the end of the chamber, where Atheon had first teleported in during their first Raid of this place. It was barely big enough for one of them to fit through and it was constantly shifting. They slowly approached and heard another familiar sound, the roar of a Fallen Kell… that of Skolas. As the location on the other side of the portal came into view, it showed Skolas infused with Siva and tampering with one of the Vex conflux's and pouring Siva into it.
"Stop him now Guardian!" came the voice of Wulf's Ghost, said Guardian rushing into the portal, transmatting Gjallarhorn and summoning his axe in a burst of flames. He jumped through and Skolas turned in challenge, laughing and firing a Siva-infused Scorch Cannon. Wulf reflected the shots back with his axe, much to the Kell's chagrin, causing him to rush forward and try to engage in melee combat. The other Guardians came through the portal soon after and began firing at Skolas, peppering him with their weapons. After he took enough of a beating, he warped away over to a Fallen crate and smashed it open, revealing a bomb and pressing the massive detonator button to begin the countdown. "Finish it! Ozpin, disable that bomb!" Wulf called, running at Skolas full speed, activating his Sunbreaker and coating his entire body in flames that were almost as hot as the sun. He slammed his axe right into the Fallen's leg and cut a massive gash, causing Skolas to roar in pain, but he was silenced when Pyrrha punched him in the chest with void energy and following up with several sword strikes. Ozpin sprinted over to the bomb and pulled out his Ghost, beginning to figure out how to disable it.
About a minute later, Ozpin called from the bomb to Wulf "It can't be stopped! We need to get out of here now!"
"Covered retreat!" Wulf called back, distracting Skolas as the others headed for the portal. The other 5 made it through while Wulf was still battling the Kell. Once he saw that they were through, He slammed the axe into the ground to make a pillar of flames right in front of Skolas and sprinted for the gate, seeing that there was only around 20 seconds left on the bomb. He dived through the portal and saw the others recovering on the other side. He took off his helmet and smiled, knowing that the fight was over… there was no way that Skolas could fit through the portal. He was right for the most part… but only part of Skolas needed to get through. Summer shouted a warning but it was too late... Skolas had reached through the portal and grabbed Wulf by the chest. "NO!" she shouted, sprinting forward to grab him… but no Guardian could challenge a Kell for strength.
Wulf was wretched through the portal and Summer stumbled back as her grip slipped, causing her to fall to the floor. Wulf watched as she fell and he was pulled through the portal… knowing that she would come after him… but that was where the problem lay… there was 5 seconds left on the bomb. He knew there was no way he would get out… but he had to make sure that no-one else would die. Summer was jumping towards the portal, hands outstretched to grab him… but he wouldn't let her die. He slammed a Solar-charged fist into the side of the Vex gate and the portal closed, trapping him in the room with Skolas.
"See you in hell you oversized shitbox!" he swore as the bomb detonated… disintegrating the entire dimension they were in. As the wave of fire and destruction came to Wulf, he closed his eyes to embrace his fate… which meant he didn't see the time-distortion field surround him. The wave reached him and scorched his armour, slicing chunks from it with the sheer force, but just before he died, he disappeared… leaving behind the life he knew…