Hello everyone who's reading this.
I'm going to be perfectly honest and admit that I'll probably take a couple of years (at least) to continue this story here. I've just got so much else to work on right now. But I wanted to post this chapter and the beginning of this story in memory of Monty Oum.
He was a brilliant pioneer taken before his time. A man who decided that his job was going to simply be awesomeness, without any formal education. He simply decided that he was going to do really cool things, and it worked. Without him, there would be no Haloid. Without him, there wouldn't be any awesome fight CG fight scenes in Red vs Blue. And without him, there just wouldn't be RWBY. He gave us all so much because he wanted to. And while Rooster Teeth now have dedicated teams to continue with his vision and work, it still hurts to lose him.
The best way to remember him is to put as much work as we can in enjoying and making awesome RWBY stuff. To come up with even more insane ideas for stories. And to always remember his motto. Never let anyone tell you something is impossible.
R.I.P Monty Oum. June 22 1981 – February 1 2015. He will be missed.
Chapter 1: The Remnant of Earth
Far, far into the future… In a reality different from our own… The world as we know it is a very different place. Ages past, Man found The Traveller on the surface of Mars, waiting for them. Those who discovered it had no idea what it was. Was it a sufficiently advanced alien? A god, or even The God? Or was it just something completely beyond our limited comprehension? Whatever it was, it was not a threat to our way of life. In fact, it aided our growth. With its knowledge, Earth grew and grew in both size and prowess. People colonised the other worlds in our system, improved technology till they could live for twice as long, and even managed to terraform Mercury into a garden world. And for a time, the world was amazing.
Then The Darkness came. And we lost everything.
The hated enemy of The Traveller, The Darkness was as alien as our saviour was, as were those that followed it. But one thing was clear. It would not rest until everything The Traveller aided was nothing but ash and ruins. We lost world after world, our forces decimated despite our best efforts. Those blessed by The Traveller, The Guardians, fell one by one to the encroaching darkness. It seemed all hope was lost. But in the final battle, The Traveller did something that banished its rival to far space, at the cost of its life. Humanity built a city under the shadow of The Traveller, scavenging everything we could to complete it. Guardians fought tooth and nail to rescue as many people as they could. But we succeeded in creating The Last City. And now we cower in our homes every minute.
But things have been changing. The forces of The Darkness are being pushed back. Guardians have visited the old worlds of Venus and Mars, and explored the forgotten shores of the Moon. Millions of our enemies lie dead in their wake, from their lowest soldiers to their own champions. All to find a way to overcome the challenges.
All to this possibly final confrontation with what may very well be a part of The Darkness itself.
"Hey Asshole!" Ti'ana the Titan shouted, waving at the giant Minotaur empowered by the Black Heart. "It's bad enough that you're such a whiny bitch you need these toys to fight us! But you could at least have the decency to shoot properly!" The others didn't know if the machine understood her words. It clearly got her intentions though, chasing after her and blasting pillars apart in an attempt to kill her. Bianca the Hunter shook her head at this.
"'Do we think we can kill a god?' What a load of bullshit." She popped out from behind her pillar, blasting away at the Vex's core with her Hand Cannon as Ti'ana led it right to them. The force from the bullets slamming into such sensitive equipment caused it to stumble, allowing Ti'ana to pull out her shotgun and aided in attacking too. "She's going to get herself killed again and I'll have to drag her Ghost out of the line of fire."
"Calm down Bianca." The last member of their fireteam, Katie-5 the Warlock, consoled her as she tore through the Goblins trying to surround them. "She's capable of handling herself. And we're nearly winning this." She glowed a deep, dark purple before throwing a writhing orb from her hand. It slammed into the Minotaur, shattering plating and tearing off its arm as it exploded. "Besides, she's a Titan. First ones in, last ones out. They take the damage so that we don't have to."
"Yeah, but she's taking risks just for the sake of it. If she doesn't calm down, she's going to lose her Ghost." That was a fear all Guardians felt. The Ghosts, the remnants of the benevolent Traveller, were the only things keeping them alive. They granted Guardians the ability to return from the dead from almost anything. To lose a Ghost was the worst thing that could happen. Not only would the Guardian remain dead, but each Ghost lost meant the loss of another warrior. There were only a limited number of them in existence.
Just as Bianca had been afraid of, Ti'ana got too close to the damaged Minotaur. It reached out with its remaining arm and grabbed her tightly, the servos grinding against her armour plating. And it placed her at just the right height to stop them from shooting at its core without hurting her. But Ti'ana proved her bone-headedness by striking the arm that was holding her. She glowed blue from Arc energy, and the arm shattered into a million pieces. The Vex crowding around were sent flying by the shockwave, disintegrating from the super. Smiling behind her visor, Bianca engaged her Golden Gun Super. Holding her Cannon in one hand, a gun of pure golden light materialised in her other hand, allowing her to unload powerful shots into the Vex's core. Cracks glowed all over it as it laid there dying.
And when it died, so did the Dark Heart.
It was a convulsing black orb, resembling something that should be angular but isn't. It squirmed and writhed in agony, making a noise that their minds could only think of as a dying scream. The land shook as it glowed brighter and brighter, until they were buffeted by a powerful explosion. The few towers still standing fell, and the three Guardians were battered from the force behind it. As they got back up, groaning and holding onto injured body parts, they realised they had bigger things to worry about.
The Black Heart had turned into a wormhole.
"I'm picking up signals again! Calling our ships for immediate evacuation!" Ti'ana's Ghost shouted above the sound of the wormhole. They had only minutes at best before they were sucked in. Already they could feel the pull of the wormhole affecting them. Keeping hold of the few remaining pieces still attached to the ground, they saw more than heard their ships approaching. Bianca's Quite Content Damsel, a pointed vessel with a split front section, and Katie-5's Fangs of Nyx, built as a more stub-nosed vessel, hovered overhead, ready to digitize them and fly off.
But then the wormhole screamed, and the pressure grew even greater.
The ships couldn't hold steady in the increase pull. Despite the engines going at full throttle they were pulled through along with parts of the ground. At this rate they were going to die. Luckily for them, as the pull lessened slightly, Ti'ana's own Phaeton showed up. Without wasting any time, her Ghost got them all onboard and tried to fly off. But they didn't get far before the pull increased again. The ship tumbled head over engine as it was pulled through too. With a final explosion, the wormhole vanished.
And our heroes were gone.
"This is really uncomfortable." Bianca said, her voice straining. Because it couldn't waste time redirecting them to the personal quarters, the three of them had ended up haphazardly in the cockpit. This meant that Ti'ana was stuck lying on the seat, with Bianca sitting on top of her, and Bianca had Katie-5 lying on top of her. Now Bianca had first-hand knowledge that the Exo girl's chest was actually made from some form of soft pliable material.
"Ah heh. Oops. My bad." The ghost at least tried its best to look guilty. It took several seconds of pushing and shoving, but eventually they all managed to get free and into the personal hold. The view screens showed an unending stream of blue light stretching onwards to infinity.
"Little Light. Status report." Ti'ana said firmly. Her ghost's case was shaped with two sharp points on the top and the bottom, both coloured golden. It's eye jittered as it ran over all systems and communicated with its fellow ghosts.
"Well, everything inside the ship checks out. The engines are a little hot, but they can cool off while we're stuck in here. And that's the good news." It sighed. "We are stuck inside a wormhole, leading us to who-knows-where. We could be heading for the Vex homeworld right now. Hell, we could be reaching The Darkness." It dipped a bit in the air before floating upwards. "But hey, we might not. We could end up back home. No need to get down if we don't have to. For now, let's just be happy that we killed a god."
"Yeah. And it took us with it when it died. Some ending." Bianca snorted, taking off her helmet. Underneath it she had dark skin that history said came from the continent of Africa, though her wild blond hair suggested she might've come from other lands. White tattoos stood out on her skin, recalling some long ended army against the Darkness. "All that effort, all that time spent, all the deaths we suffered. And for what? To kill some minor piece of the Darkness? And we're supposed to stay positive?"
"Calm down Bianca." Ti'ana consoled her. "We're still alive right now. And if the Vex or the Darkness had a portal home, they've got to have one back to Mars. It's simple logic. Just keep it together until then." She placed her hand on Bianca's shoulder. "We'll survive. We always do."
"And here comes the part where you take off that helmet and give her a deep, passionate kiss." Katie said, ruining the mood. Ti'ana and Bianca complained, but they were both a bit relieved the Exo could find humour in this. Katie removed her helm to reveal her metallic skin and glowing blue eyes. As an Exo, one of the machines built by the Golden Age and blessed with self-awareness, she always looked remarkably different in a crowd of people. No one knew their inner workings except perhaps the Ghosts. But everyone knew they were as human as anyone else. Katie-5 had fins on her ears to differ herself from other Exo, along with a yellow stripe down her face. "But seriously, we just killed something the Vex found crazy. We should be celebrating. Ti'ana, you got any alcohol on board this rust bucket?"
"Not a drop. I'm probably crazy enough as it is without getting drunk before a mission." She had removed her helmet now, revealing herself as an Awoken. They are just as mysterious as the Exo, even though they were once Humans. During the dark times, when the Forces of The Darkness were encroaching on all sides, many humans fled Earth on colony ships bound for the outer reaches of the Solar System. While many people most likely believed them to have died out there beyond The Darkness, something happened to them and changed them. When some of their descendants returned, their skin was a variety of colours, from blue to grey to purple. Their eyes glowed like lights, and they were very susceptible to the powers of The Traveller. Many Awoken born on Earth attempted to return to The Reef to find out more about their people, but they were turned away. The Queen of The Reef wanted little to do with them, or anyone from Earth. Ti'ana's hair was a long pale white, and her eyes glowed a brilliant icy blue. "In fact, I never really thought to stock my ship with anything in case my flight took a long time. It looks like we'll have to make our own fun." She facepalmed as she realised what she just said.
"Great. It'll be a bit tight, but I bet we could all fit in your bunk." Katie was already removing her robes before Bianca stopped her. For some reason, Katie was obsessed with sex. Well, not obsessed so much as she liked doing it. Yeah, some Guardians celebrated surviving a dangerous foe by sleeping with a friend (especially if that friend is a lover and on their fireteam) but Katie was often called 'The Tower's Sparrow'. She'll sleep with anyone and anything. Human, Awoken, Exo.
While Super Good Advice, the A.I onboard Ti'ana's Machine Gun wasn't saying anything, she was pretty sure Katie slept with it too.
"Can't we make some playing cards or a holographic game of chess or something?" Bianca asked, sitting down at the table set up in the back. She opened a pouch at her waist, revealing a food bar that had been slightly crumpled. "Tyrion, how long before we exit this wormhole?"
"Unknown." Her ghost replied, a red shell with white lines. "I suppose that we'll get there when we get there."
"Helpful." She snorted. She placed her guns on the table and had Tyrion lift them into the air. "Well, if we're going to end up who-knows-where, we might as well make sure everything's still working properly." Her sniper rifle was pulled apart into individual parts, several of them now flashing red. Bianca grabbed them and took a closer look, using a tool kit on her belt to tinker with them. Ti'ana and Katie shrugged, and had their ghosts create a holoboard and pieces.
Anything to ignore the endless blue surrounding them.
"B5."
"Goddammit. You sunk my battlecruiser, again. I swear you're cheating, Katie."
"Nah, you're just really predictable. Now, hand over that shirt." Ti'ana sighed, pulling at the black bodysuit she wore underneath her armour, now lying on the floor by Katie. Unzipping it, she revealed a black shirt she wore underneath, slightly stained with sweat. It took a bit to pull it off, but eventually she was sitting there in just a black bra. "Just three more hits, and it's game over. Hey Bianca, you sure you don't want to join in? I bet you've got a killer body under that armour."
"No thanks. I've got better things to do with my time." Bianca replied, looking away from the others.
"Better things to do? You're napping."
"Not all of us can go without sleep or food. Some of us are still human." Another whoop alerted her to Katie scoring another victory. She was certain that Ti'ana was right; there was no way she was that good. She pulled the pillow harder against her face at the sound of Ti'ana pulling off the bodysuit, wriggling like mad. It had been 4 hours since they first arrived in this hellish place, and there was still no sign of an end. She had a vivid nightmare of the three of them sitting at the table, 2 old hags and a malfunctioning robot all playing strip games. That couldn't be their end. After everything they went through she refused to simply waste away like nothing.
"Ti'ana, you'd better put your clothes back on." Little Light suddenly said. "The energy readings are fluctuating. Getting a lot weaker. I think we're about to exit the wormhole."
"You couldn't have waited 5 more minutes to tell us that? I almost had her underwear off. I was seriously about to answer the age old question of whether Awoken tattooed their tits." Katie complained as Ti'ana started throwing things back on. Her Ghost helped her out by digitising her armour and then reapplying them on her body.
"Alright everyone. Hope you're all sorted. We need to be ready to go guns blazing at whatever fat freak's waiting for us on the other side. Be ready for anything." The others nodded, Guardian training taking over.
"Estimating exit time. Leaving the wormhole in three… two… one…" The ship shuddered as the blue glow faded, leaving them floating through space again. "Engaging the engines." The ship hummed as the engines all restarted again, allowing the ship to turn. They all waited with bated breath as something came up on the view screen. It was… It was…
"No way." Bianca breathed, staring in amazement. "No fucking way."
"Well, that's a thing. I hope we didn't uncover some secret invasion path or something." Katie added.
"It's… Earth. And yet it's not Earth." It sounded strange, but it was the best way to describe it. It was the familiar blue planet, with green and brown landmasses dotting it. But the continents were all wrong. They didn't look like anything they remembered. Where was the remnants of America? Or the boot of Italy? Where had they gone? "Little Light, are you seeing this?"
"I am. I'm not completely certain, but I doubt that any continental shift could've done this. Past or future. As crazy as this sounds, we might be on an alternate Earth."
"'Might be'. Meaning you could be wrong." Bianca pointed out.
"If it's actually the past, then we need to warn them about the Darkness." Ti'ana said.
"And if it's the future?" Katie asked uncertainly.
"Then let's hope we're all still around."
"Well, even if it didn't look like Earth, we're still going there. I've detected your ships entering its atmosphere." Little Light said. The other ghosts appeared and started flashing.
"I've managed to sync with the onboard systems, but the wormhole knocked a few things loose. Best I can do is give it a controlled crash landing." They said in unison.
"Normally, 'controlled' and 'crash landing' aren't used in the same sentence." Katie said.
"Well, unless you can get into them and fix them before they crash, it's the best we have." They spotted the ships now, glowing red as they rushed through the atmosphere. The boosters ignited partially, making minute adjustments to their trajectory. "Well, we'd better follow them down. Hopefully we'll be able to see where they land."
"I'll take us in." Ti'ana said, hopping into the pilot's seat. The others quickly sat down as they felt the ship boost forwards, the gravity field compensating. As they passed into the planet's range, the gravity field deactivated, causing them to slightly bounce forward. They passed through a field of clouds, vision down to nothing. As they exited, they were relieved to see there wasn't a mountain suddenly careening towards them. Instead, they saw a large port city surrounded by walls, with a large castle sitting on a cliff above them. But there was no sign of the other ships.
"The crash must've knocked something else loose. We can't pick up anything from them anymore." The ghosts said.
"Well, since there isn't a massive burning fire or a giant explosion, I'd say they're still reasonably intact."
"Yeah, but what's living down there? We know nothing about this world. For all we know, it's populated by monkeys that have enslaved cavemen like that old Pre-Golden Age film."
"You watch too much of those antiques. But, you do make a good point. We need to find an information hub."
"I'm detecting a steady stream of data coming from that tall building in the center of town. That'd be a good place to start." Little Light started flashing. "Hold on. Someone's trying to contact us. I'll patch them through."
"…Repeat, this is the Vale City Airspace. Unidentified aircraft, you are flying too low. Pull up immediately." A human sounding voice spoke through the speakers. They all looked at each other in surprise before Ti'ana responded.
"Vale City Airspace, this is Phaeton V3.1. I was taking my ship for a private run, kinda got lost. Sorry about that."
The other guy sighed. "And that's why we keep telling you lone pilots to wait until daytime. We don't want to have to inform your next of kin that you died doing a crazy stunt like this. Go home, now. And we'll forget this ever happened."
"Roger that. Pulling up and heading out." By now, they were flying a bit above a tall building. Not as tall as the information hub, but still plenty tall enough. "Ok. We're dropping now. Ghosts, make us some cloaks or something I'm worried we stand out too much right now."
"Understood. Dropping in three." They felt the familiar rush of energy flowing over them, causing them to now appear outside the ship. They dropped towards the nearby roof, rolling as they land. Ti'ana nearly got tangled up as a heavy brown robe twisted around her, while the others were still perfectly fine. Stupid long robe/cloak things. They turned to see the ship flying away, heading towards the forest.
"Aright. Let's get moving before someone gets suspicious about three people standing on top of a building." She said, stepping off the edge. Her robe fluttered around her as the ground got closer and closer, but before she hit it she activated her lift, her body glowing as energy fired from her feet. It was enough to allow her to slowly fall to the ground, negating all inertia. No one really knew how it worked – although there were probably some Warlock who had an inkling – but all she cared about was that it stopped her from being a pancake. She felt a small blast of air as Bianca dropped down next to her, landing lightly enough to not make a sound, while Katie glided down next to them, as elegant as you please. "We'll need our sparrows to get there quickly enough. Hopefully we won't stand out too much, or no one will see us long enough." A blue hover bike with red flames on the front and side materialised in front of her, dipping slightly as she hopped on. She was double checking the controls when she heard Bianca give a slight cough. She glared at her and Katie, still just standing there, when it hit her. She groaned and rested her head on the sparrow.
This was going to suck.
Ti'ana winced as she heard the bottom of the sparrow scrape against the road as they went down a dip. She wasn't worried about scratching the paintwork, since no matter how wrecked the sparrow was it would always be materialised good as new. No, she was worried about what that meant for a quick getaway. Or if there was a power line that could be ruptured. Or they might all just get spilled out onto the street, at the mercy of anything that chased them.
On the other hand, it might help get rid of some annoying passengers.
"Katie. Hands. Down." She growled, feeling her hands pressing against her chestplate. It was too pointed to accentuate her beasts, and too heavily armoured for her to feel the touch. But it was the principle of it. Why she didn't have Bianca sitting behind her was beyond her. But the Hunter simply refused to. Maybe she was worried about Katie molesting her, given that her armour was sleeker and more form-fitting than hers. The Warlock immediately wrapped her arms around Ti'ana's waist as she was instructed at the beginning of the trip.
They were lucky to have arrived at the dead of the night. There were few people and vehicles still around, but from what they could see most items were Pre-Golden Age in design. All of the vehicles still had wheels even, like antiques. It made their hovering bike stand out like an Ogre at the Tower (don't worry, it was dead when it arrived). They had to take several detours to avoid inquisitive eyes, their ghosts helpfully keeping them in the right direction. At long last, they finally managed to reach their destination. A very tall structure with arches supporting the walls.
And there were a bunch of guards patrolling the outside.
"Well that complicates things a bit." Bianca said as they watched the troops from behind a bush. "But I've got a way around that. Tyrion, redirect all power to my stealth unit."
"Just try to avoid killing anyone, ok? I want to make sure this stays as just breaking and entering." Ti'ana said.
"Why are we committing some B&E?" Katie asked them. "This place is populated by humans. Even if we haven't seen any Awoken or Exo around, Bianca could still come back here in the morning and sneak in."
"We don't know anything about this place. For all we know, this world has been conquered by the Darkness and they serve its will to stay alive. Or they could've found the Darkness instead of the Traveller. We need that intel ASAP, or else we're going to keep running in blind."
"And besides, I've kinda already dealt with the guard." Bianca grunted, tugging the unconscious man after her. Ti'ana rushed out and grabbed him with one hand, throwing him into the bush and crouching down. Despite her worries, no one came round to check things out.
"Ok. Bianca, start clearing out the main room. We'll cover you."
Sandalwood was starting to feel completely bored. Having the Cross Continental Transmit patrol was considered the dullest job in the district. No one ever bothers to attack this place. There are no valuables to steal; no Lien to pilfer; and they didn't even keep any secret info on the sight. Sure the place looked fancy, but that was all it really had going for it. In all honesty, they could all leave for a quick midnight snack, and the place would still be completely secure. But orders were orders.
"Hey Sam. Anything interesting on your end?" His comm lit up as Kathryn called. He had tried asking her out several times, but he always got rejected. But his repeated attempts had been so enjoyable that they became friends instead.
"If there was, do you really think I'd share it with the rest of you guys? Place is completely dead. Sometimes I wish someone was stupid enough to try and rob this place so we could kick some teeth in."
"Yeah, I hear you. God, this is so… Huh."
"What?"
"The doors just opened. But there's no one there." He imagined she was shrugging. "Probably just a stupid glitch or something. So anyway, what are our plans for…" Sam could hear the sound of something soft hitting the ground around her. His training immediately recognised it as the sound of a person. "What the…? David?"
"The klutz must've tripped again. He's always falling over his own feet."
"No Sam. I think this is serious. He's not…" Another thud. "Andrew? All teams, report in."
"This is Carol. What seems to be…? She groaned, her comms cutting off.
"Alex reporting in. I thought I saw movement. Over by the…" He yelled as something heavy slammed into him.
"I see it. We've got intruders, two… no, three of them." Viridian shouted, before his line went dead.
"All units, move to capture. Take them down." Sam rushed back to the front doors of the CCT, listening to the sound of fighting through his comms. From Kathryn's panicked commands, it wasn't going well. He nearly slammed the doors open in his haste, stopping as he spotted the rest of the guards lying on the ground. Some of their armour was dented or cracked, and none of them were moving much. He pulled his gun free, and nearly dropped it when he saw movement behind the Elevator.
"As… As a soldier in the Altesian Military, I order you both to come out with your hands on your head." He was suddenly very aware of how undefended he was. While having no sudden barricades or cover to hide behind helped when fighting off thieves, it made it rather difficult to take the place back if someone broke in. "I'm warning you, I am heavily armed and I have called my superiors." At this, the two intruders stepped out from behind the cover. They wore full-body cloaks, hiding most of their features. But given how slim they were he assumed that they were both women. Luckily though, they were unarmed. At least, he thought they were. "Hands on your heads, and on the ground now. Both of you."
Wait. Didn't Viridian report three intruders?
He felt someone tap his shoulder before everything went dark.
"Hmm. Easier than I thought." Little Light said as they stepped over the fallen troops, bobbing around them. "Maybe they're not used to having an enemy rush them and engage in melee like that."
"Well as long as that guy was bluffing, I'm not really concerned." Bianca said as they entered the elevator. The next room they found themselves in was completely empty, making the next job far easier. The room was set up with several computer screens around a single desk, while the very front of the room had a receptionist desk. Their ghosts immediately honed in on the desk, while the Guardians had a look around the room. Bianca stood by the tall windows, looking down upon the city. As such, she was the only one to see the jets heading towards them.
"Shit. They got word out. We've got at least half a dozen jets heading straight for us." She ran back towards the elevator, determined to have left before they got there."
"You don't know that they're after us. For all we know they could just be flying by." Katie argued.
"Maybe they are, maybe they aren't." Ti'ana interrupted the argument. "All I know is that I don't want to risk it. Are you three almost finished there?" She shouted at the Ghosts.
"Just a little more… Done. There is some unbelievable information here. This world is amazing."
"You can tell us when we're in the clear. Team, move out."
"Uh, where to? Cause they are definitely landing at the base of this place." Katie responded. Ti'ana replied by slamming her fist through the window, her enhanced strength shattering it. She jumped out, the others close behind her as they fell. They could almost hear the soldiers below shouting at each other, pointing up at them in alarm. When they had almost reached the ground, they slowed their fall as Ti'ana summoned her sparrow. Now she really wished she had a more muted design on it. Oh well, too late to fix that. The three of them landed perfectly on it, Ti'ana stepping on the throttle before they had even landed and leaving the soldiers behind. A quick glance showed that they were running back to their jets, but hopefully they could lose them in the city. Applying a touch on the brakes, they turned 90 degrees and headed down the road before taking another sharp turn the other way. She did this a couple more times in hope of losing them. Not hearing the sound of sirens or engines, she gave a sigh of relief.
And of course, that was when three swords stabbed the side of the sparrow.
The bike was yanked out from under them, throwing them off bodily and crashing into a wall hard enough to explode. As the three of them got to their feet, they were surprised to see a young girl walked towards them. She was dressed in an old-looking dress, with black stockings a collar with green lines over them. There was a pink bow on top of her bright orange hair, and she was giving the three of them a warm smile. "Salutations." She said, waving at them. "You are under arrest for breaking into Government property and assaulting Atlas soldiers. Please surrender, or I will be forced to stop you by force."
"Is this kid serious?" Bianca said over their personal comms. "Does she really think she can stop us on her own?"
"I think she does. We should just rough her up a little. I feel bad about beating up a kid." Katie replied. Ti'ana pulled her alternate weapon, an Auto rifle, from her back, hoping it would be enough to intimidate the girl.
"I see. You refuse to surrender. Unfortunately for you three, I am combat ready." A metal object floated from behind her, folding out into a sword and then splitting into a dozen blades. They hovered behind her like a set of wings.
"Whoa. What the hell are those?" Bianca yelped as the girl threw her hands towards them, the blades shooting straight for them. They were forced to dodge as the blades stabbed the ground, before pulling back towards her. She waved her hands again and the blade spun out towards Katie, nearly slicing her as she ducked. "Please tell me we're not shooting a kid with these guns. They are meant to kill." Bianca reminded them.
"Well we can't just surrender or give up. Try and aim for the blades, see if we can break them." Ti'ana started blasting with her rifle, careful not to hit the girl in the crossfire. But it was hard. Her blades were moving too fast, and spinning around her. They had to stop and dodge almost all the time. She was suddenly reminded of when they had to kill Aksor the Winter Priest. But a few shots were managing to hit, knocking the blades away and leaving marks in the metal. The girl transformed one of the blades into a gun of some kind, firing a beam at Ti'ana. But the gun exploded as Bianca shot it, the bullet thundering into the building behind her. So the girl grabbed a phone box and tossed it at her, the edge clipping her and throwing her to the ground.
"Oh fuck no." Bianca groaned, trying to get back up. But the girl threw her blades too fast, and her barrier was down. She was going to die, again.
Except that the blades didn't hit her. They were stuck in Ti'ana's back.
"What the hell are you doing, you idiot?" Bianca asked her angrily, pushing her off and blasting at the swords still floating around. Another two were shattered, while Katie kept the girl pinned with a pulse rifle. "Hey Einstein. Dying doesn't matter to us, remember?"
"What can I say?" Ti'ana coughed as she pulled the blades out, noticing the string-like material attached to them. "It's the thought that counts, right?"
"Not particul… Charging girl!" The girl, apparently running out of blades, was heading straight for them. Ti'ana turned just in time to catch her hands, stopping her in her tracks. But from the way she as grunting it was pretty hard to keep her from moving. Bianca ran in, ready to knock the girl out, when she realised she could hear servos whirring.
And Katie was too far away for it to be her.
"Wait a minute. This girl's an Exo." She smiled under her helmet, now aware that she could afford to be a bit more lethal. She stabbed her knife into the girl's arm, sparks erupting from it before using her hand cannon to blow her other arm off. Ti'ana stumbled as they were sent reeling, throwing the mechanical arm around in surprise. She swept the girl's legs out from under her, blasting a hole in them as they backed away. With the Exo girl disabled, they materialised another sparrow and ran off.
"You know." Katie said suspiciously. "You were awfully quick to dismember her once you figured out she was 'just a machine'."
"Ah, they can fix her. After all, they did for John-17." Bianca replied.
"John was an unusual case. And he's a bit of a badass." Yeah, there probably weren't many Exos who after having their arm blown off would club an Archon to death with it. Ti'ana felt Bianca squirm as she realised that she was clutching her tightly.
"Hey, Ti'ana. I… Thanks, for what you did back there. It was nice of you to nearly give your life for me. Even if it was completely pointless and stupid." She said. Ti'ana smiled behind her helmet.
"Hey, that's what fireteams do. They watch out for each other, keep everyone going, and occasionally do something stupid for each other." Bianca turned away, probably scouting the area in case they got ambushed again. "So, Little Light. You said you guys got something amazing."
"That's right. You guys won't believe what we found out while we were in there."
"And I think this world might've met The Traveller and The Darkness."
They managed to sneak past the giant wall around the city and into the forest, where they were picked up by Ti'ana's Phaeton without much trouble. Once they were back in outer orbit, the Ghosts worked together to present a video on this world's history.
For as long as anyone could remember, this world, the world of Remnant, has been plagued by dark monsters known as The Grimm. Animal shaped creatures that seemed to have a pathological hatred for humans. Indeed this hatred was so great that they refused to eat anything other than human flesh. They have always been lured by negative emotions, attacking places filled with great sorrow, anger, and fear. Many villages managed to withstand an initial attack only for their fear and sadness to attract more of the Grimm, leading to their demise. Sadly, not much is known about them, since their corpses tend to fade after a short while, leaving it impossible to study them without being potentially killed. And the older they get, the smarter they become.
But there is hope for Humanity. Buried in the mantle of the planet is a strange crystal known as Dust. Coming in a variety of colours, what makes Dust so unique is that it reacts the presence and release of something called an Aura, a manifestation of a person's soul. When used, Dust can create a variety of elemental effects, and is commonly used as ammunition for weapons. It is thanks to Dust that Mankind has been able to push back against the Darkness.
And lastly, Aura. All creatures not of the Grimm are capable of using it, some stronger than others. Those trained in its use can use it to create a barrier to deflect life-threatening attacks, and can even generate amazing effects from it. These effects can range from super strength and speed, to illusions, to even telekinesis. They are known as Semblances, and are used by the most skilled of people. Those who can tap into their Auras in such a way are recruited as Huntsmen. They function similar to Guardians, going out around the world and fighting back against the Grimm to keep them at bay. It is often said that a single Huntsman is equal to a full battalion in a fight, able to slay hundreds of Grimm singlehandedly.
"This place really has no records of the Traveller? Even though it's obvious it was here?" Katie was curious about that. There was no way something so great, so powerful, so large could simply be forgotten.
"And how come this place is still mostly fine? I mean, sure they've got the Grimm. But apart from that it seems less desperate than home."
"I've been thinking about that, and I might have a couple of suggestions. The Traveller may have arrived centuries or even millennia ago, long enough that no one still remembers it. And – and I just want to stress this is a theory – but the Traveller could have received word that the Darkness was approaching, and tried to make it seem that he had never been to this world."
"That would explain the lack of information. If it deleted everything about it, then to the Darkness this was just an ordinary world." Ti'ana realised.
"So either the Darkness left the Grimm because it saw through the act and wanted to destroy this world; or he did it to be a complete dick. Either one would be in character for him." Katie shrugged.
"As fascinating as this is, it doesn't help get us one step closer to getting our ships back. Or getting back home." Bianca replied.
"Actually, it does. On both accounts." Tyrion replied. "Huntsmen are often sent out into the wilderness on missions; to wipe out groups of Grimm threatening the populace, or to investigate ancient ruins. If we could tap into their database without getting in trouble, we could find our ships again. And the fact that the Darkness has been here has given me an idea. We know that the Vex worship it because it is beyond their comprehension. And we also know that they can travel through both space and time. And finally, we know that there are likely dormant networks on almost every planet in our system."
They started understanding. "Which means there might be a possibility that there's a network on this world. And a way to get back home."
"Well, all in favour of trying to bullshit our way into a Huntsmen group and snoop in on their info, say I." Katie joked.
"Not yet. While you three are skilled enough to be considered Huntresses, there are a couple of skills you don't have yet that are considered fundamental to being a Huntsman. The key one is the ability to fight close and long range. Almost every huntsman's weapon can transform into an alternate weapon and therefore fill a separate role. The most common is to have a ranged weapon transform into a melee weapon."
"Wow. Hardcore." Ti'ana muttered. She had to admit, that would come in handy. She's lost count of the number of times she had to beat a bunch of Vandals or Thralls with a stick when they charged her en masse.
Luckily for us, we get cheat a bit. We'll start working on possible blueprints. In the meantime, let's land somewhere private and start training."
"We've got a lot of work ahead of us."
(2 days later)
Ozpin was a bit surprised that someone would try and apply at Beacon as a tutor. He looked up from his scroll – listing quite a bit about these 'Guardians' – and gave the three women before him a good look. They certainly looked rather unusual, even with many of the unique eye-catching designs the younger generation seemed to favour.
The one at the far left of him was dressed similar to a knight, modified to fit in with modern times. She was covered in dark gold armour with dark highlights, and her helmet was bare save for a pulsating set of circles. Her legs were covered with a lot of armour plating, especially around the knees, most likely for hitting people or things with them. Her chestplate was pointed, as though she rammed things with it. But given how much it stuck out, she must either pierced through people or had a massive rack under it. Lastly, there was a long white-and-yellow cloth hanging from her hip. He only saw a glimpse of it, but he could've sworn there was a tower on the side. She was staring straight at him in a familiar military pose. Evidently, she had done previous work in armed forces for one of the kingdoms.
The next woman right in front of him was the only one not still wearing their helmet, revealing a dark skinned lady with blond hair and markings. Her yellow-and-grey armour was mostly a mishmash of armour and cloth, making it seem as though she had put it all together herself. The two most striking things about her was her chest plate, marked with the face of a winged wolf; and her long white cape dragging on the floor. She was trying her best to appear attentive, but he could see her squirm in the chair, impatient to get to work.
And finally, the woman on the far right. Her head was also covered in a helmet, a grey encompassing helm with a muted blue faceplate. Looking into it seemed to almost draw him in, whispering about impossibilities. She was glancing around at his office, taking in every detail as she waited. She was also dressed in a long coat marked with straps everywhere, and with one side longer than the other. On her left arm was a strange band with three white holographic cubes on it, though what it meant was beyond him.
Yes, while they were not the strangest people he had met, they were certainly up there.
"So, Miss Aqua." He addressed the knight and the leader of the three. "What was it about teaching that seems to have drawn you three of the battlefield? According to your files, you're all certainly capable enough to be out there clearing out forests."
"Yes, but we won't be here forever." She replied with a sultry voice. Nevertheless, he could hear the steel of a soldier under it. "Eventually we'll grow old, or make a mistake, or simply run into too many Grimm. So we all decided to bring our skill and knowledge to ensuring that the next generation of huntsmen are at their peak."
"And what made you choose Beacon? It said here that you three came from a remote village out in the wildlands beyond Vale. Quite a journey just to take up a teaching position. And quite frankly, we're not really recruiting at the moment. All positions have been covered."
"True, but we encountered several powerful and dangerous Grimm while out on routine patrols. After the fifth time, we were worried that the students might run into something simply beyond their level to fight. It's hardly their fault if it happens after all."
"But you would do them an injustice by coddling them. If they're not exposed to the harsh reality of being a huntsman, then they won't be fully prepared when they graduate. And then all their deaths would be on our heads."
"We understand. We're not asking to coddle them. We simply want to be a form of back up, in case they come under fire. We'd do them all a great injustice too if we don't help defend them from events simply beyond their control."
"True." He admitted. There had been deaths in the past because a routine assignment had gone catastrophically wrong as a Flock of Adult Nevermores swooped down at them, or they ran into a den of Death Stalkers. And he had to admit, he was rather curious about the capabilities of the Guardians. He had never really heard of them before.
Well, except for once.
"Perhaps we could agree to a trial run for now. We can test your skill and see if you're as good as your file says you are, and maybe after that we could send you with the next group of students leaving Beacon and watch how things go. But if we do, you need to remember some important facts. You are not their babysitter, and you're not expected to behave like one. If a student gets knocked about by some Grimm because they were too pig-headed, then that's their fault. Their teammates should be able to save them. But if they can't, and someone's in real danger of dying, then you may step in. Not before then. Am I clear?"
"Crystal, sir." They stood up, with Tiana Aqua saluting him, Bianca Gaea shaking his hand, and Katie Steel bowing to him. As they left, Glynda watched them as she entered the room. Only when they were alone did she speak.
"Ozpin, you can't honestly be thinking about hiring them." She said to him. "I've gone over every detail about their history. Our records show nothing like what they said in it. Even if you accept that they live in a highly remote area, we should have something by now. Not to mention that only one of them showed her face. They could be criminals for all we know."
"Actually Glynda, I highly doubt that." He replied, still at his desk. "If they criminals, then they would've been noticed only recently by us. Perhaps even 2 nights ago, when strange people in long cloaks attacked the CCT. But there is something else that I want to watch them for." He tapped at his screen, bringing up an old translated inscription they recovered from a secret project. "'Be wary of the Guardians. For they are The Traveller's Might. Be wary of the Guardians, for they bring death to all.'"
"I believe that we may have found some of these 'Guardians'."