Considering the small size of the RWBY / Transformers crossover community, the reception that this story got was far better than I expected. I don't have much to say up here yet, as not much has happened, save a rushed back story for Thundercracker arriving on the planet. So I guess onto the story.
RWBY and all it's affiliated characters belong to Rooster Teeth.
The Transformers are a trademark of Hasbro and Takara.
I don't own either of them.
The Forest
Branches and twigs snapped as Yang, now six, dragged a small red wagon behind her through the forest, clutching a photo of Raven to her chest. Ruby, now four, was sleeping soundly in the wagon, not seeming to even notice that Yang had taken her outside the safety of their home.
Yang wore a determined look as she pulled the wagon, tear stains still fresh on her face.
"If dad and uncle Qrow wont help me, then I'll find her myself!" Yang hissed as she pulled the Wagon over a large tree stump. Ruby stirred, but quickly fell back to sleep as she heard the peaceful sounds of the forest.
Yang had been walking for what to her seemed like hours, as her clothes had gotten torn by branches, and her skin cut by the occasional bush. As she stumbled down a small hill, she found an old hidden path in the woods. The trail was overgrown and there were no signs around to point them in any directions, so Yang decided she would follow the path to see where it would take them.
Turning North, Yang could hear the wagon wheels start to rattle as they began to bounce across the cobblestone, praying that Ruby wouldn't wake up. Lucky for her, Ruby could sleep through the world ending, as the small girl just started snoring louder to block out the rattling sound.
After close to a half hour of walking, Yang came upon an old and decaying barn, likely used before the great war by the people of Patch. She sighed in relief as she thought that she had finally found shelter.
GRRRRRR
This was short lived however, as Yang snapped her head to the side to see several Beowolves surrounding her and Ruby as they crawled out of the woods or barn. The large Grimm rose onto their hind legs and began to circle the small girls, growling as Yang turned to hide her sister.
Moving with speed that Yang didn't know was possible, the first Beowolf attacked. One quick slash across Yang's unprotected chest that sent her tumbling to the ground, and tore the photo of Raven that had blocked most of the blow in half. As the framed hit the ground and bounced, a small glowing disk bounced out from the frame and rolled to a stop just outside the barn.
Yang looked up at the Beowolves in terror before the loud sound of metal sliding past itself and the loud grinding of old gears was heard throughout the area. Even the Beowolves seemed to stop and look towards the barn in confusion, before a massive arm shot out of the darkness and grabbed a Beowolf by the torso before squishing it.
Yang's mouth fell open in terror as the arm moved again, this time it swung a wide arc, slamming several Beowolves into each other before squishing them under it's palm.
GRRRRRR
Yang spun around just in time to see a Beowolf swing a clawed hand at her and Ruby. Blocking herself with her arms, Yang was thrown back several yards, bouncing to a stop just outside the barn. She turned to see the Beowolf staring down at Ruby like a snack on a metal platter.
Yang only had time to shout before the Beowolf was cleaved in two by a large scythe and sent tumbling across the field. Looking up at the scythe that had saved her sister, Yang saw her uncle Qrow gripping the end of the handle.
"Yang! Behind you!" He shouted as he pulled up his scythe and swung to kill another Beowolf that was attacking his niece.
Yang turned just in time to see a Beowolf leap out of the darkness of the barn and grip her right arm in it's jaw.
CRACK
There it was. A sound and noise that Qrow had become all too familiar with. The sickening sound of flesh being rent from bone, and the tearing of muscles.
Turning to look at Yang, Qrow saw the girl on the ground, one arm clutching the stump that stopped half way down her right bicep, the other in the jaws of a nearby Beowolf.
Qrow growled as he pulled Ruby from the wagon and wrapped her quickly in his cloak. He reached into his pocked and pulled out a green shell before loading it into the compartment on his scythe. Flipping a switch, the blade slid back in and angled itself down before the sound of a shotgun could be heard throughout the clearing.
Then another, then another, continuing on for several minutes as Qrow fired at every Grimm he could see.
Anything he hit with the green rounds began to dissolve as the green corrosive dust started to eat away at trees, Grimm, and the barn. One shot glanced off the gold glowing disk sitting between the crying Yang, and the Beowolf with her arm.
The Cybertonian alloy began to flicker violently as the unknown corrosive agent attempted to damage it. As small bolts of lightning began to arc across it, one caught the Beowolf in the ankle, causing it to howl in pain before being vaporized by a bright blue light.
Yang's eyes snapped open from the sudden flash, tears stinging them as she attempted to focus on the small disk before her.
Lightning began to flash around the disk as a humming noise began to sound. Qrow was too distracted by the remaining Grimm to notice the giant mechanical arm reaching back to grab the disk.
As the hand closed in on the disk, the lightning stopped suddenly, but the humming grew louder. The giant hand froze just above the disk.
Yang watched as tears rolled down her cheeks. For a moment it seemed like nothing would happen. Then the humming stopped.
...
...
...
Moments later the disk exploded, a bright blue light engulfing the area around it, Yang and the arm included as the front of the barn followed suit. Qrow and the Grimm stopped to look as the area around the barn exploded. Then, as quickly as the light had appeared, it vanished, leaving only a large column of smoke, and several damaged trees.
"YANG!" Qrow shouted as he sprinted across the clearing, only to be blocked by the remaining Beowolves. "OUT OF MY WAY!" He shouted as he swung his sword in an arc towards their chests.
THOOM
Dozens of small purple and yellow beams of light shout out of the smoke, carving holes through the Grimm in the clearing. Qrow stopped dead in his tracks as he heard the Beowolves that had been behind him crash to the ground. He moved his blade into a defensive stance as he prepared for what was on the other side of the smoke, knowing full well what had been sleeping in that barn.
Qrow held his stance for close to a minute before the smoke began to clear. The first thing he saw was the dark blue hand of the alien that had been sleeping in the barn. It was suspended in midair with it's hand cupped as if to grab something below it. Then he saw the light from the disk. The very device that had caused the explosion that took the life of his niece was intact, despite the fact that it was sparking violently.
Then he saw the silhouette of a small child standing in the crater, followed by the sight of short blonde pigtails.
"Yang!" Qrow shouted as he lowered his weapon and ran into the smoke. "Thank Ohm your alive! Your dad would have killed me if anything ha-" Qrow stopped short as he reached Yang. Her appearance had changed rather drastically compared to what she looked like when he saw her earlier that morning.
Where he had expected to see the bloody stump of a severed arm, he instead saw a blue metal prosthetic limb with the same insignia adorning it that Summer had warned him about years earlier. Her eyes had changed as well, gone were the lilac orbs he knew that held happiness and laughter, now replaced by a pair of blood red iris's with small black lines running across them. She had a strap of blue metal running along her chin that connected to her ears, and there was a small streak of red and white that shot down the left side of her hair.
Qrow's mouth was hanging open in shock as he looked down at Yang. He was so focused on Yang that he failed to even register that the hand had moved and grabbed the disk before retreating back into the barn.
"What happened to you..." He asked as he dropped to his knee's in front of the small girl.
"Cyber-Forming." A loud and metallic voice said from above the three.
Qrow's head snapped up to stare into the smoke. He could see two large red eyes starring down at them through the smoke.
"It may have saved her life." The voice said again.
Qrow growled as he leapt towards the eyes and swung his scythe in a wide arc. "WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO TO MY NIECE!?" He roared as his blade bounced off the metal of Thundercracker's shoulder.
Thundercracker frowned as he saw Qrow try again and again to damage him with a metal blade. "Just what do you expect to do with that Human? Scuff my paint?" He asked with an amused tone. "You are pitting steel against Cybertronian Cybernite alloy. You will break your blade before you even scratch me."
"Oh really!?" Qrow shouted as he landed on Thundercracker's face, using his chest as a place to keep him standing. Flicking his blade to the side caused the blade to shift down and into the gun form. "Then try this!" He shouted before he shot several slugs into Thundercracker's right optic.
"GAH!" Thundercracker shouted as he felt the glass covering on his eye that had been weakened by the Beowolf Alpha so many years ago. He slapped a hand against his face as he tried to swat Qrow away.
Leaping away with the agility of a leaf in the wind, Qrow flipped over the large hand as Thundercracker stumbled back into the barn wall. His massive body crashed through the wood with a loud crack.
Yang turned to watch the giant fall with a blank face before jumping onto his leg and running up to his chest. As she reached the glass canopy on his chest, Yang paused and sat down on his chest.
With a groan of annoyance, Thundercracker moved his hand from his face and glanced down at the small girl sitting on his chest. He adopted a confused stare as she stared into his eyes.
"Can I help you?" He asked with a confused tone, allowing for some simple courtesy given that the small child was now part cybernetic.
"You are Thundercracker." Yang said as she pointed with her still organic hand. "You come from the planet Cybertron, and you served the Decepticons for over 8 million years."
Thundercracker narrowed his optics as he stared down at the little girl.
'Scan database for all knowledge of this child.' He thought. After a few moments, he found something. "And you are Yang Xiao Long, you hail from the island of Patch, and you were out here today because you lost your false mother, and now you seek to find your true mother." Thundercracker growled as he sat forward, causing Yang to scamper up onto his shoulder.
"How do you know so much about my niece?" Qrow asked as he aimed his gun at Thundercracker's face again.
"Cybernetic mind link." Thundercracker explained as he looked down at Qrow. "When she was caught in the blast from my spark, it detected that she had sustained damage and attempted to repair her. Organics typically can't regenerate at the speed that Cybertronian's can, so it Cyber-Formed her." He growled as he turned to look at the small child on his shoulder.
"What does that have to do with her knowing your name? She wasn't even born yet when you went to sleep!" Qrow shouted as he met Yang's empty gaze.
Thundercracker turned to Qrow with narrowed optics. "It has everything to do with it you fool! When she was Cyber-Formed my spark was used to create her new limbs! So now-" Thundercracker said as he pointed to Yang's head. "I have access to every one of her memories, as does she to mine."
Thundercracker turned back to Yang and saw the very vacant look in her eyes. "How many cycles has this child experienced?" He asked.
"Cycles?" Qrow asked in confusion as he allowed his weapon to dip slightly as he gave Thundercracker an odd look.
"Year's you fool. How many years old is she?" He growled in an annoyed tone.
Qrow moved his weapon back into place as he gave Thundercracker a glare. "She's six."
Thundercracker frowned. "Six cycles old. Far too young to handle the full force of my memories." Thundercracker mumbled as he grabbed Yang by the back of her collar and lifted her before his face. "I'm going to need to seal it away until she grows older."
"What would that do?" Qrow asked suspiciously as he took a step towards Thundercracker.
"For starters, it would make her go back to the bubbly personality that I see so present in her memories. It would also stop her from seeing anything too unpleasant." Thundercracker said as a light blue beam shot out of his eye and began to scan over Yang's body.
"What kind of unpleasant things?" Qrow asked as he shifted Ruby on his back.
Thundercracker paused and glanced down at Qrow. "You don't live for over 12 million years and not see thing's that would make the average life-form shriek in terror." He said as he turned back to Yang. "Especially if your a Decepticon." He mumbled.
Qrow raised an eyebrow as he caught the last part. "What's a Decepticon?"
Thundercracker grunted as he continued to scan Yang. "Depends on who you ask." He said as he turned Yang to the side. "To most, they were the tyrannical robot monsters that had a tendency to level whole solar systems during the war. To others, they were a group of rebels that fought a corrupt system. Me? I thought they were gladiators always looking to fight the next new foe."
Qrow scowled and took a few steps back while covering ruby with her cloak. "What your saying is, they're a violent race of metal giants that like to kill, maim, and conquer."
Thundercracker shrugged. "More or less."
"So when Summer told me that you had been shot down by this, 'Galactic Council', it was because you're a criminal?"
"Yes and no." Thundercracker said as he placed Yang on the ground and knelt. "While I am a criminal to some extent, the Galactic Council has bias against all Transformers, good or bad."
"Why is that? Racism?"
Thundercracker seemed to laugh at that as he opened his chest cavity and began to search around for something. "To some extent I suppose. The inhabitants of my planet, Cybertron, waged one of the largest wars in the universe, spanning 8 million years and from one corner of the universe to the next. It all ended about 4 million years ago when my leader was defeated."
"So you lost the war then?"
"Only in name. Many Decepticons didn't view my leaders defeat as the end and continued to fight and kill. When our war first started, the Galactic Council took notice of us and put our race on the 'Black List'. They only acknowledge a few of my species as being sane enough to join their ranks. I am not among them." Thundercracker said as he drew out a glowing cube, and an orb.
Thundercracker held the orb in front of Yang and whistled to grab her attention. Yang turned to look at the orb, only to be blinded by a bright flash of white as she fell back unconscious. Acting quickly, Thundercracker placed the cube on Yang's chest and allowed it to phase into her body.
"What did you just do to her?!" Qrow demanded as he rushed towards Yang.
"I have sealed her memories. Now she will remember nothing of my past, at least, not for a few more years." He said as he picked up a rock and hurled it into the trees. A moment later, Qrow saw a Beowolf fall to the ground dead. "As she grows older, she will unlock bits and pieces of it, but the vast majority should remain hidden, provided she never has to see the horrors of what war can do to a world."
Qrow flinched.
A hatch opened on Thundercracker's hand as he waved it over Yang's body. As his hand passed over her limbs, Yang's purple arm returned to it's original look, followed by her jaw, then her eyes. He frowned as he waved his hand over her small body a second time in an attempt to change her hair color, but to no avail.
"Now she shouldn't have any noticeable changes, bar the new hair." He said as he allowed himself to fall onto his back.
Qrow gave Thundercracker a suspicious look. "What about that purple cube that you shoved into her chest?"
Thundercracker waved a hand in the air as he continued to lie on his back. "It was Energon, life blood of all Transformers. She's got Cybertronic limbs, so she needs Energon to run them."
"What about the part that isn't 'Cybertronic'? Is that Energon stuff toxic to humans?" Qrow asked as he pulled Yang up to his chest.
"Highly." Thundercracker said flatly as he tilted his head forward. Qrow froze and turned to Thundercracker with a glare. "However, as a techno-organic the Cybertronic parts will filter out any and all harmful substances. She will likely be the most healthy person on this planet."
Qrow looked down at the sleeping form of Yang before attempting to stand. As he rose he noticed a distinct change in weight in his arms. He struggled to lift the small girl in his arms before he gave up and placed her in the wagon.
"How much of her is metal now anyway?" Qrow asked as he gave the handle of the wagon a tug, causing it to snap off.
Thundercracker's hand rose to answer before he paused and sat up. "I'm not actually sure." He said with a frown. "Let me check." Thundercracker leaned over to the wagon and allowed for the blue scanner from his eye to roam over Yang's sleeping form. After a moment he stopped and looked at Qrow.
"He bones are Cybernite, as are her lungs. Her right arm, eyes, and jaw are also composed of Cybernite. She is currently, 35% Cybernite, 65% organic." Thundercracker said as he slid back to rest against the barn.
He watched with an amused smile as Qrow tried to get the wagon to move with Yang's body inside. He struggled for a few minutes before it finally began to move at a decent pace.
...
...
...
Then they reached the cobblestone path. After the first rock the front left wheel fell off, causing the wagon to tip over and Yang to tumble out onto the pavement. Thundercracker laughed loudly before getting to his feet and walking towards the family of three.
Qrow stopped and turned as he saw Thundercracker approaching. His hand flew to his weapon before Thundercracker growled.
"Have a care Human, just because I was kind and healed the young girls mind, do not think it means that I am above smashing you for what you did to my eye. I'm not some Autobot." Thundercracker warned as he raised his arm and allowed Qrow to stare up the barrel of his cannon.
Qrow let his hand slide from his weapon and raised his hands in a manner of surrender, having seen firsthand what that weapon could do. Thundercracker scowled and lowered his arm before walking up to the wagon.
"As amusing as it was to watch you struggle with moving a little girl, I still need to sleep for a little longer to return to full strength. Something that I can't do as long as you three are here making all this racket." Thundercracker finished as he collected Yang and placed his palm down for Qrow. He looked at it hesitantly before stepping on.
Thundercracker's chest opened as he deposited Qrow and Ruby into the backseat, and Yang in the front.
"Why the seats?" Qrow asked as he looked around the inner workings of the giant robot.
Thundercracker chuckled lightly as he closed the glass canopy on his chest. "Originally we were just known as Cybertronian's, but as time passed we evolved. You ready to see why we are called the Transformers?" Thundercracker asked as he started to walk forward.
"I get the feeling I'm not going to like this." Qrow grumbled as he clutched Ruby to his chest.
"Probably not." Thundercracker said as he broke into a sprint before jumping into the air and transforming into his jet mode. Within seconds the group was tearing through the skies above Patch.
Qrow let out a 'manly' shriek of surprise as they tore across the island above the canopy.
"What the hell are you!?" He shouted.
"I believe that the Human's who built it called it the F-15 Eagle. I got it about 4 million years ago as an alternate mode, but I've collected several since then. This just happens to be the one that offers the best off road transport." Thundercracker said through the radio at the front of the cockpit.
Ruby began to cry as the noise finally woke the small child.
"Shit! Shhh, shhh, shhh, calm down Ruby, uncle Qrow is here." Qrow said as he tried to soothe Ruby's crying over the sound of the jet engines behind him.
Thundercracker laughed as they tore over the tree's. "I feel like now is a good time to point out that I don't know where you live."
This chapter was a little shorter than the last one, as I never expected people to actually notice this with the distinct lack of Transformers / RWBY crossovers. I just wanted to post something to keep you all interested while I work out an actual plot for this story.
I'll be honest, the description for this story right now will be changing by the next chapter. By then I hope to actually know where I want to take this.
Leave a review telling me what you liked or disliked about the story, and I'll try to answer any questions you all have by the next chapter.
Just a quick side note. I do realize that I used the word 'Cybertronic' several times in this chapter, and I want all of you to know that was intentional. I did not mean Cybernetic, as I view that as something completely seperate from the Transformers.
