A/N: Hello all and welcome back, the amount of feed back I've been getting for this story is staggering. When I first started writing it with the remnants of another story that didn't quite make it I had my doubts. But now, nine chapters in, it's holding very solid ground and a strong fanbase. And I'm glad I was able to make it the way that it is.
Given the cliffhanger I left in the last chapter, I knew that a lot of you would be anxious for what would be taking place next and whether or not the Taken, the Hive, or both would be making their move on Remnant. I'm not one to ruin a good plot twist, so you all will have to wait and see.
[Dodges a couch and various sharp instruments being thrown.] Sorry guys, a good author doesn't reveal everything in A/N or messaging. [Ducks under a piano.] But I will say that this installment here will have a few twists of its own, and will leave a bit opening for things to come in the next one. [Pulls out a Sol-Edge sword and cleaves a kitchen sink in half.] ALRIGHT I GET IT! Shit. Here's chapter 9 for ya!
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
The tunnels beneath the surface of the moon was darker than the night's sky, any light that attempted to penetrate it was swallowed before it reached more than a couple meters.
Ava, Wolf and Drex walked along the stone pathways, their Ghosts lighting the way as best they could with weapons aimed down range. The only sounds being that of their footfalls and the strange, wet noises creeping somewhere beyond the walls around them.
"Ever wonder what the moon was like before these maggots infested it?" asked Drex bringing up the rear.
"It was the first place beyond Earth that was colonized, the first stepping stone to us stretching out beyond our planet." Ava replied. "Hopefully it'll be that way again once the Darkness is driven out of our solar system."
"One can hope." Wolf added to the discussion while they continued to trek lightly through the hallowed halls. This mission had been dropped in their lap a couple hours ago, Eris came to them in distress, the relic she always carried with her was glowing even more darkly than it had before as she told them that it was a sign of Crota's imminent return.
Deep within the moon laid a temple that housed the Hive Prince's soul, and a group of powerful Wizards, that Eris referred to as Wakers, were in the process of awakening him and needed to be stopped before it was too late.
And here they were...in the bowels of the moon hoping to stop the rise of the same being that had slayed thousands of Guardian's before them.
The team delved farther into the darkness, a strange tension in the air weighing on their shoulders that none of them had ever felt before. All three of them pausing when a gust of air billowed past them from an unknown source.
"I...CAN'T...DIE..." A dark, grave voice whispered within the wind, causing the Guardians to freeze where they were. Dread filling the pit of their beings when they felt a presence around them.
"What...the hell was that?" Wolf wondered, grip tightening on his scout rifle.
Ava pressed the comm-link on the side of her helmet, "Eris, it's Ava. Something's going on down here-" she was cut off by the older Guardian.
'Find the Wakers! Stop them, there isn't much time!' Eris said in desperation, obviously knowing what was going on and prompting the team to move faster. Rounding a corner ahead of them and coming to a stop when they found some kind of arcane circle of green-glowing runes on the floor.
"They know we're comin'." said Drex as they skirted around the trap that had been laid for them. A barrage of energy blasts forcing them to duck into cover before returning fire and taking out the Acolytes that had been in the shadows.
With ever step they took from that point on was met with opposition, Acolytes, Knights and clusters of Thralls charged out of hiding and attempted to take them out. But the Guardians had been ready and threw back even harder, taking out every hostile that got in their way.
But the closer they got to where the ritual would be taking place, the more enemies came out to keep them from getting to their god.
Wolf drew his hand cannon and blasted several Hive away with a barrage of solar-light rounds. Ava beside him drawing her arc-light blade and carving a path through the attacking creatures while Drex leapt over both of them and slammed into the ground and sending out a shockwave that blasted away the leftovers.
"Keep pushing through! We have to get to the ritual chamber!" Ava called out after cutting down a Knight that got in too close. They managed to put down the rest of the opposition and ran through the corridors, coming to a stop at the flight of stairs only to dive out of the way when a volley of energy blasts burned the ground where they had been standing a moment before.
At the top of the steps stood an Ogre blocking the path to the central chamber. The lumbering creature bellowed a roar that reverberated off the stone walls around them before letting loose another solvo of blasts from its bolbous, transpartent head.
"How do we deal with the doorman?!" Wolf shouted, pulling out his sniper rifle and leaning around where he was hunkered down and firing a few shots at the large creature before being forced to duck back down again.
Ava fired a few quick bursts from her auto rifle before turning to the Drex, "Drex! Hit it high!"
The Titan gave her a salute and materialized a rocket launcher to his hands. Waiting for the Ogre to stop its assault before leaning out and letting two missiles fly, both impacting against its exposed head with thunderous explosions and crippling it allowing Ava and Wolf to finish it off with combined gunfire.
When the beast fell and dissolved into nothing, the team reloaded their weapons and double-timed it up the steps. Coming to a stop on a small ledge that dropped into the wide chamber beyond.
Small cave entrances dotted the walls and there looked to be a massive skeleton of some unknown creature on the far right. A moat of water surrounded a small island, and in the very center was a massive, acid-green crystal with wisps of dark energy bleeding off of it. Three, glowing eyes leering out from within while four Wizards hovered around it feeding energy into it while chanting in a language none of them understood.
Several Knights were kneeling on the ground around the altar. Swords burrowed into the stone before them while they held the hilts in prayer, worship or both.
A loud roar bellowed from the crystal, shaking the entire tunnel system causing stone to rattle and the Guardians to regain their footing. 'CROTA!' Eris' voice shot through their comms in horror. 'They're waking him! Stop them before it's too late!'
"Strategy?" Drex said still hefting his rocket launcher.
Ava scanned the room a couple times before nodding to herself. "Take out the Wakers, Wolf and I will keep the Knights off of you!" The two Hunters jumped down to the floor below and opened fire on the Knights while they were still kneeling and unaware, three falling dead before the others rose up and came at them.
On the entrance ledge, Drex fired his heavy weapon twice. Each missile sailing true and hitting their targets causing two of the powerful Wizards to disappear within twin explosions. The Titan quickly reloaded and targeted one of the other Wakers and fired again, taking it down while the last one managed to avoid taking the next hit.
"We got a runner!" he called down to the others, switching to his shotgun and jumping ontop of the closest Knight and blasting its head off its shoulders.
Wolf followed the Waker with his scout rifle and fired several times, each round meeting the barrier the creature summoned around itself while it summoned a handful of Thralls that charged at them. The young Guardian being forced to reaim and take down the new threat before focusing on the more important target.
Ava threw a volley of throwing knives and taking down another Knight and saw that Wolf was having trouble keeping the powerful Wizard in sight. Taking out her fusion rifle, she targeted the Waker and fired, the energy infused rounds striking the creature's barrier and weakening it.
Turning to address the new threat, the Waker momentarily forgot about Wolf who took down its shield with the rest of his weapon's clip. Ava fired another shot from her fusion rifle while Drax finished off the last Knight and started blasting his shotgun at the Wizard as well.
With attacks coming from every angle, the servant of Crota couldn't properly defend itself and fell under the combined assault. Leaving the crystal unprotected.
The Guardian's approached the altar, weapons trained on the glowing soul container as it pulsed with dark power. "Let's destroy this thing and put an end to this madness, once and for all." said Ava, the two males with her nodding in agreement as they prepared to fire.
Within the crystal, the eyes that had been watching them since they entered the chamber narrowed dangerously. The energy flowing around it grew in intensity before it exploded outward in a massive shockwave.
Caught of guard, the team was thrown violently back. Drex slamming hard into a large boulder and cracking it, Ava hitting the ground on the other side of the mote and rolling across the ground, and Wolf landing in said mote with a large splash.
"...shit..." the younger Guardian coughed as he slowly drew himself up, rifle dripping as he pulled it from the knee deep water. Looking toward the altar where they had been thrown and found the crystal glowing even brighter.
With a harsh shutter, the container of Crota's soul burst from the ground and hovered a few meters in the air. Smaller crystals orbiting around it as dark energy permeated the air as the dark voice they had heard in the tunnels spoke again.
"KILL...THE...LIGHT!"
X
It had been rather good to sleep in the bed he had come to know for the last couple of weeks. Simple comforts were just things that Wolf didn't take for granted when he wasn't dealing with some threat.
Sitting up and running a hand through his hair, the Guardian looked out the window and saw the sun just barely starting to peak over the horizon. His body having been long since hardwired to wake up in the early hours so he could be alert for the rest of the day.
After shaking his head to clear the last bits of dreams from his mind, Wolf got out of bed and stretched, pausing as he looked at his left arm...or more precisely, how inhuman it looked compared to his right.
The limb resembled a normal one with five fingers and a similar structure, but it was built entirely out of synthetic metals and alloys that moved with the same smoothness as a flesh and blood one. A handful of small, blue-glowing lights emitted from within the creases and a very faint humming sound could be heard every time it shifted.
It was of Exo design, attached at his elbow where his arm had been severed. The pale flesh of his bicep trailing up from the prosthetic a road map of scars that had long since healed. The injury having been severe and nearly ended his career as a Guardian had the healers and technitians not responded fast enough.
The fight against Crota's soul while it had been imprisoned was a difficult mission, and one that had claimed his arm when a stray energy blast struck him when his barriers were down. They managed to destroy the crystal, but he nearly bled out on the floor of the ritual chamber. Ava and Drex managed to get him back to the Tower before he blacked out.
Waking up several days later with the new addition attached to him. He could do everything he normally could, though the mechanical limb was only able to feel pressure and nothing else. It was odd at first, but he had grown accustom to it over time.
Shaking away the nostalgia, Wolf dropped to the floor and started doing push ups. The first step of a training regiment that he committed to every day to keep his physcial endurance at its peak.
After doing a set of 150, he flipped over and started going crunches when Ghost appeared above his head, optic angled down. "Up early as usual I see." said the construct as its partner continued his light workout. "Ready for today? It must be pretty interesting to be going to school, afterall."
"It'll be an enlightening experience, I should hope." replied the Guardian as he continued to lift his upper half and lower it back down without breaking stride. "Though I can't help but think it a bit dull with everything we've already learned thus far."
"You never know, you might learn something new." replied Ghost before hovering over to the side of the room where the desk was set up. A series of small tools spread out along the surface surrounding the form of another ghost that was unresponsive.
The same ghost they had found on Mars before they wound up here on Remnant.
Repairing the AI hadn't been difficult, they had more than enough materials saved up for the task. But the problem was that lack of energy to power it. Whatever happened to the ghost had nearly drained its light completely, though there was just enough to keep it from dying.
Wolf had worked hard to try and figure out a solution to get the construct operational again, but there wasn't an energy source with the same strength as the Traveler's light.
Looking at its fellow construct, Ghost shifted its parts in thought. "We'll get it working again, somehow." the Guardian said having finished his warm up and coming over to the desk as well. Picking up the silent ghost and looked it over with careful eyes.
"At least it's still alive. Who knows what it may have seen before it was forced to go dormant." said his partner still looking at the other construct. "But, I guess we'll find out at some point in the future."
Nodding in agreement, Wolf went to his closet and pulled out a long-sleeve, black under armor shirt and cargo shorts. Even though he was used to simply materializing his outfits from his digital inventory onto his body, it felt good to dress like a normal individual once in a while.
Putting on the workout outfit and his sunglasses, the Hunter headed out of his room and out of the dormatory wing of the academy. Finding one of the walkways that surrounded the campus and started jogging. Ghost floating beside him since there wasn't any one else awake at this hour, music emitting from it while they moved.
[A/N: 'Bomb' by Pigeon John]
Looking at the AI, Wolf raised an eyebrow. "Really?" he asked at his partner's taste in music.
Ghost blinked its optic, "What? I can't have a taste in pre-Golden Age music?" it asked in a way that could have been a huff had it been from another person.
The Guardian shook his head with a smirk as he continued his jog. The sky getting brighter as the sun rose higher while time slipped by. After some time, and a handful of songs later, Wolf completed three laps around the campus and returned to the dormatories. Ghost having vanished back into his head to avoid being seen by the handful of students that had woken up and were making their way to the cafeteria.
Taking a shower and switching into one of the school uniforms that had been provided when he arrived at the academy, along with a pair of gloves to cover his Exo-arm, he made his own trip to get breakfest before making his way to his first class which was Grimm Studies with Professor Port.
Everyone was up and about at this time, moving about the halls as they prepared for their first day with their team mates.
Finding the classroom where the course would be taking place, Wolf found himself to be the only one there for the time being. Professor Port stood at the front of the room, writing information and diagrams of various Grimm on the blackboards that dominated the wall behind his desk. Turning around when he heard the arrival and smiled behind his large mustash when he saw the Guardian being there.
"Ah, Mr. Wolf. Early bird after the worm I see." the man said jovally.
"Just looking to get one of the better seats before class started." replied the Guardian, heading over to the right side of the room to a desk with the best view. Port nodded to him before going back to his work as the room settled in a comfortable silence.
Wolf reached under the desk infront of him, an old, hardcover book materializing in his hand before he pulled it out and opened to the page he had marked. Having read most of the material for this course, along with his own personal studies into the various species of Grimm that thrive on Remnant, he knew that there would be no issue fo him with this class.
As he immersed himself in the story that he had started long ago and had forgotten about until recently, he occasionally would glance up when othe students started to file in. And the closer it got to class starting, the Guardian started to notice that two teams still had yet to arrive.
Looking at the clock on the wall, he saw that they only had another two minutes before the lesson would start. "Late on the first day...not a good way to start the new school year." Ghost commented.
Right as the clock clicked over to 9AM, the door burst open and the heaving forms of teams RWBY and JNPR staggered inside garnering the attention of everyone else.
"YES! We made it!" Ruby whooped excitedly.
"We wouldn't have had to rush if you'd managed time better!" Weiss snapped, deflating the younger girl's attitiude as they all found places to sit.
The Guardian watched them out of the corner of his eye as he closed his book and sent it back into his digital inventory. Professor Port took his place at the front of the class and addressed the students before him.
"Monsters, demons, prowlers of the night." he started his lesson, "Yes, the creatures of Grimm have many names. But I merely refer to them as prey!" he gave a laugh but was met with the chirping of crickets from the gathered students.
"And you shall too after graduating from this prestegious academy." he continued unhindered. "Now, as I was saying. Vale, along with the other three kingdoms, are safe havens from the otherwise trechorous world. Our planet it absolutely teaming with creatures that would love nothing more than to tear you to pieces. And that's where we come in."
"Now that sounds a bit familiar." Ghost said while Wolf leaned back in his seat. Most of the gathered students had started to lose interest in what the man was saying as he monologued more and more about facts that didn't seem to fit the lesson plan.
Even though he had gotten used to the man's...eccentric nature. He still found it a little frusterating when he went on and on.
Scanning his eyes around the room, the Guardian saw that the rest of the class were doing what they could to focus and stay awake. Only a select few were actually taking notes while the man spoke. Looking to the other side of the room, he saw the girls of RWBY doing similar.
Ruby was drawing crude cartoon rendition of their teacher which caused Yang to laugh, and Weiss was doing her best to shoot daggers at the red cloaked girl, gritting her teeth as she scribbled notes harshly into her notebook.
Raising an eyebrow at the heiress' harsh treatment of the younger girl, Wolf glanced to the last member of the all girl team and found her amber-colored eyes looking his way. It wasn't hard to put together that she had a lot of questions on her mind, a lot of people among the first year students that had seen him in action during initiation did. But the raven-haired girl had some that most likely had nothing to do with his skills in the Emerald forest.
Even though he still had his sunglasses covering his eyes, Blake must have picked up him looking back at her and she diverted her gaze. "Chances are that she's going to want answers about what happened, Wolf." stated his partner.
"It's inevitable, but I'll let her come to me." the Guardian thought back before focusing back on the lesson.
"The moral of this story," Professor Port said wrapping things up. "A true huntsman must be honorable, dependable, strategic, well educated, and wise. So who among you believes to be the embodyment of these traits?"
"I DO SIR!" everyone's attention went to Weiss who had her hand raised and her whole form tense like a spring ready to snap.
"Well then, let's find out." the professor said as a cage was wheeled into the room from the back. The reinforced box rattled as whatever was inside fought to break out. "Step forward, and face your opponent."
The heiress left the room and came back in her combat attire a few minutes, her team cheering for her as she stood on the opposite side of the room with weapon in hand and prepared to fight whatever Grimm Port had in the cage.
The Professor approached the lock for the cage. "Are you ready, Ms. Schnee?" Weiss nodded stiffly, keeping her gaze locked on the crate. "Now, let the match...begin!" he took his Blunderaxe and shattered the lock, allowing a Boarbatusk to come shooting out and nearly spearing her with its tusks.
Wolf's attention went completely to the match taking place, his sharp eyes keeping track of every move the heiress made as she fought against the boar-Grimm. It was easy to tell that she had been trained well to use her rapier, and her movements were fluid and precise...
However, he could also tell that there was a strong aura of arrogance about her, most likely from her upbringing and drive to be the best at everything put before her. It was this point that made her over-confident which ended up leaving her disarmed and struggling before she managed to put the Grimm down in the end.
"She's angry." the Guardian thought as he watched how Weiss reacted to how Ruby tried to help her during her fight, "And it's personal."
"Which would explain why she was thrown off." said Ghost in agreement. "I may not know much about human personalities, but something tells me that things won't go well within that team with that level of animosity."
"Bravo! Bravo! We seem to be in the presence of a true huntress in the making." Professor Port said as the Boarbatusk dissipated into the air while Weiss went back to her seat and sat down without saying a word. "As you can see, each Grimm is capable of attacking in very unique, and even surprising ways. As future hunters, you must always be vigilant if you wish to succeed...and survive any hunts you may find yourselves on."
The bell suddenly rang, "I'm afraid this is all the time we have for today, students. Do the assigned reading and I'll be seeing you all again soon. Class dismissed."
Everyone started to file out, Wolf waited for everyone to leave before heading out himself. Doing so just in time to see Weiss stalking away from a distraught Ruby.
Narrowing his eyes, the Guardian went down another path that followed the heiress to wherever she was going.
At the same time, Ozpin had been watching and smiled to himself before making his way over to Ruby.
X
Weiss made her way out of the school and onto one of the many balconies that overlooked the campus. Taking several deep breaths as she tried to calm herself. Looking toward the far edge of the platform, she blinked when she saw someone already there staring out over the rest of the academy.
She recognized him as the one Ozpin had informed them all was their student advisor. The same one that had slayed the Deathstalker single handedly.
"Quite a view, wouldn't you agree?" said Wolf, making her blink at the fact he hadn't even turned to see her.
"Y-Yes, it is. Sorry if I'm interrupting anything." replied the heiress.
The Guardian turned and addressed her, eyes still blocked behind his sunglasses, "Actually, I was hoping to speak with you. During class you seemed off, and it affected your prowess in combat against the Boarbatusk."
Weiss looked hesitant and couldn't meet his gaze, "You realize it's my job to help you and anyone else in the first year class with any issues, right?" he pushed on. "If something's bothering you and affecting you in some way, better to get it off your chest before it causes issues in the future."
"It's-I just think...I think I should have been the leader of team RWBY. Ozpin made a mistake." the heiress finally lamented.
There was a brief pause before Wolf spoke again, "And what made you come to that solution?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
"I've been trained, I've studied my whole life." Weiss pointed out, "Ruby is just a child playing games, she has no place here."
The Guardian narrowed his eyes at the white-haired girl's attitude, "So, let me get this straight. A 15 year old gets into one of the best combat schools on Remnant two years earlier than anyone else and is appointed leader of a team by the headmaster himself, and you're pissed off because you didn't get what you wanted like a spoiled rich girl?"
The heiress' mouth dropped, "How-How dare you! Where do you get off speaking to me that way?!"
"Right there!" Wolf said pointing at her face. "It's that attitude right there that's causing most of the problem. Your upset that you didn't get the role as leader like you wanted, so you reflect that anger out on Ruby and doubt Ozpin's choice simply for that."
"So you would blindly follow his word even after seeing how exceptional I am?!" Weiss demanded.
"You're skills aren't what's poor, Weiss." the Hunter said calmly. "It's obvious that you spent your entire life getting exactly what you wanted. And because of that you can't handle disappointment when not getting things your way."
The heiress crossed her arms and turned her nose up, "That's not even remotely true..." Wolf raised an eyebrow at her and she faultered, "Well...not entirely true."
"You're burning bridges before you even have a chance to establish them." The Guardian pushed on, "The outcome didn't turn out the way you wanted, but that doesn't mean you still can't be at your best with the situation at hand. Acting the way you have been, do you really think the headmaster would change his mind?"
Weiss looked to the ground in thought, Wolf turned to the railing he had been looking out over before. "Allow me to quote a book I once read long ago;" he said making her look at him again.
'The law of the jungle. As old, and as true as the sky. The wolf that shall keep it, may prosper. But the wolf that shall break it, must die. As the creeper, that gurdles the tree trunk. The law runith forward, and back. For the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack.'
He turned and looked at her wide-eyed expression, "Do you understand the meaning of this quotation?" Weiss shook her head, though she looked deep in thought trying to decipher it. "It means that the strength of the individual is only as strong as those they stand with. And by standing together, each individual brings their own strength to the whole."
"I..." the heiress didn't know what to say. Wolf turned to her and smiled.
"You may not have become leader, but you still play an important roll in your team. Ruby is young, that is true, but she has the capability to be a great leader. And with you as her partner, you're able to help teach her what it means to be just that."
He put a hand on her shoulder gaining her full attention, "You're capable of being a very skilled warrior, but you have much to learn as well. And perhaps, Ruby can help you just as much as you can help her."
Wolf gave her a nod and started walking away, pausing a few feet away. "Fate has a funny way of turning out far different than what we want. But if we don't learn to adapt and make ourselves better from it, we are doomed as a sentient species." without another word he left the heiress to her thoughts and went back inside the school.
"Quite the motivational speaker, aren't you?" Ghost said impressed with its Guardian.
"Needed to be done. I refuse to sit back and allow a team to fall apart before it even gets off the ground." he thought back as he walked down the halls toward what was to be his next class of the day.
The AI knew that Wolf had a more personal stake than what he was letting on, but remained silent about it as they entered the next lecture hall and taking up another spot in the back row with the best view.
X
Several hours later the day came to an end, Wolf entered his room having left his last class a while ago. Switching out of his uniform and into a plain t-shirt and jeans before sitting at his desk and gazing out at the now star-dotted sky, allowing his mind to calm after his first day at the academy.
Ghost appeared over his shoulder and hovered around the room. "All things considered, I think today went very well." said the construct, finally being free to move about. "And with tomorrow being your first day helping Goodwitch with the combat class, the outcome is looking even better."
"Only time will tell with that." The Guardian replied as he picked up the dormant ghost the two of them had been working on and put it gently in the top drawer of his desk before taking out the same book he had been reading earlier.
A sudden knock at the door stopped him from even getting to the first word on the page. Looking at Ghost, his partner merely tilted to the side, the closest the AI could get to a shrug before it disappeared.
Setting his book down, Wolf stood from the desk and slipped his sunglasses back on as he crossed the room and opened the door to see someone he had been expecting to come looking for him sooner or later.
"Can we talk?" asked Blake.
A/N: I know you guys are hating the cliffhangers, but it's all part of the process and it'll all be worth it in the end. And with the way things are flowing, it will definitely led to good places.
Review and I'll update as soon as I can, my average is between 3 and 5 days so I'll keep it in that ballpark as best I can.
