Servants of Remnant
Chaldea is gone, but the memories remain. A world, filled with fairy tales, monsters and men. A history unlike any other. Sometimes… a hero is needed. From another world, from another time. Not all of them are great, not all of them are 'good'. But when the world needs a hero, these Servants answer the call. Perhaps only one, perhaps many do. These are the tales of many timelines. The 'Servants of Chaldea' who come to Remnant.
Hektor
"Ektor! Ektor! Ektor!"
"I'm up, I'm up! Hey, kid calm down!" Hektor complained as Ruby bounced on top of the bed he was laying on. He sighed as she tried to give him her best adorable eyes… admittedly, very effective. He climbed out of the bed as she jumped off it, already running over towards Durindana and trying to grab the handle.
"Hey, hey, no touching that Ruby," he complained, walking over to his spear and picking it up with one hand as he looked around the room he'd been in for the past few days. He'd ended up buying some clothes with a bit of cash Tai had lent him in return for saving his kids, while his gauntlet, cape, and the rest of his armor laid pretty much strewn about the room. Apparently Qrow had lived in it for a while, but now he was staying in it.
It did seem however that he'd left… quite the impression on both Yang and Ruby. Ruby kept trying to bug him whenever the little tyke found time, and he'd already caught Yang trying to take his gauntlet, even though she was only slightly taller than it was long. It was kinda cute, and with a bit of careful prodding of the kids, he'd learned a little bit to help blend in a bit more.
"Are you gonna show me!?" Ruby cheered as Hektor held up Durindana, he looked down at her still in her pajamas and smirked, before flicking the spear with his wrist, causing the pole to collapse into the handle of his spear, and he spun it for a second before flicking the sword back into a spear. The look of awe on her face made it all worth it.
"Come on kid, you're dad's probably making breakfast," he bent down, picking Ruby up with one arm as he set Durindana back against the wall with the other. Ruby giggled as he walked out of the room and towards the kitchen, where Taiyang was, infact, making breakfast and Yang was sitting at the table.
"Mornin Tai," Hektor waved, and Tai looked away from the pan for a moment to wave before turning his attention back to it. Hektor sat Ruby down in her booster seat, the little girl clapping as Hektor took his own seat.
"Sleep well Hektor?" Tai asked, flipping the bacon currently in the pan, the food sizzling as he switched to the other pan that currently had some eggs frying in it.
"Well enough until trouble here started bouncing on the bed," he said with a chuckle, rubbing Ruby's hair.
"What are you gonna do today mister Hektor?" Yang asked, still bouncing in her seat as Hektor leaning one arm on the table, and chuckled.
"Oh I dunno kid, probably try and find something new to do," he felt a bit bad taking advantage of Tai's generosity. Honestly so far all he'd been doing was babysitting the girls when Tai went out to go teach at Signal academy for the past few days. He had to find a way to earn a bit of lien for himself. But he still worried about Ruby and Yang pulling another stunt like when he'd originally found them.
But he'd worry about that later, Tai had just pulled breakfast off the stove, and even as a Servant, Hektor wasn't one to work on an empty stomach. After giving it to both his girls, Tai sat down and all four of them started eating.
"Hey Tai?" Hektor started after gulping down part of an egg. Tai raised his head, still cutting his own as Hektor continued. "Anywhere you know of looking for an old hand?"
Tai just chuckled before sticking a bit of egg on his fork. "You ain't that old Hektor," he joked, before taking a bite, and after swallowing continuing. "But a Hunter like you should be able to find work easily. People are always in need of Hunters," he said before continuing.
"Yeah, but I doubt people are looking for a self trained one, rather than certified," Hektor claimed before eating a piece of bacon, and then sipping some orange juice. "Besides that, I feel a bit responsible for once."
"I already told you," Tai started, before Hektor waved at him. He'd already been told about what had happened recently. The girls had lost one mother just a little bit before he'd arrived, and if he and Qrow hadn't been there, they might have died in Yang's ill thought out attempt to find the other.
"You need help Tai, and it's not like I got anywhere else to go. Sides, I think they like me," He chuckled, and Yang just pouted, before eating a bit of bacon. "I told you, I'll tell you when you're older Yang," she was still a bit miffed about not being able to touch his gauntlet.
"I appreciate that, I mean, I guess Signal could always use someone to help," Tai muttered before continuing to eat. It was a thought, but Hektor wasn't sure if he'd be an amazing teacher… actually nah, he was a fine teacher, Troy hadn't stood against its foes on nothing but his back alone. It stood on the backs of their allies, and their soldiers, fighting on bravely to see the next day.
"That is an idea," Hektor admitted, before finishing off his egg, and then his juice. "I'm gonna take a walk. Be back in a bit,"
"Alright," Tai said, nodding as he continued eating. Ruby waved to him with a bright smile, and he could see the look on Yang's face. That devious little kid thought she was smart, but he'd thought ahead and had locked his door before even coming to the table.
Putting his hands in his pockets as he walked away from the table, he was about halfway to the door before someone knocked. "Eh?"
"Who's there?" Tai called, Hektor walking up to the door with a bit of confusion on his face and opening it. Standing outside was a man in mostly black with green highlights, wearing glasses. His hair as white as snow, and a cane in hand… but that wasn't the most interesting part.
This guy had the most mana he had felt since he'd gotten here. And not a small amount by any means, oh no. He was swimming in it. Average Caster levels at least. "Can I help ya?" but not his problem, he wasn't gonna deal with stuck up old wizards if he could help it. But he had a feeling…
"Good morning," the man said with a rather pleasant smile, before looking up at Hektor. "And you are?" he asked, and Hektor smiled.
"Hektor, unofficial squatter here," he chuckled, offering his hand. The man took it, shaking it before Tai walked up behind Hektor.
"Professor Ozpin?" he sounded confused, and Hektor just shrugged, and Ozpin looked towards Tai with a… tired smile.
"I just heard," he muttered quietly, and Hektor's face faltered. Right… This guy must have been a friend, maybe a teacher of Tai and Summer.
"Girls!" Tai called, turning around behind Hektor as he stepped out of the way as best he could. "I'm going out for a little bit,"
"Ok daddy!" Yang called back, and almost instantly Hektor heard a chair shuffle… yep, exactly what he expected as Ozpin let him out onto the porch, and Taiyang followed out the door, closing it behind him.
"Are you okay with?" Ozpin started, gesturing towards Hektor, who just waved his hand.
"If you don't want me here, I can just get walking," Hektor offered, but Tai just shook his head.
"It's… better you learn this now, rather than later if you're going to be staying here," Tai said, before walking off the porch. For a moment, he saw a frown cross Ozpin's face, but it was gone quite quickly. Hektor followed after Tai, moving up to keep pace with him as Ozpin moved over to Tai's other side as they started walking down the road together.
"Are you holding up alright Taiyang?" Ozpin asked, Hektor putting his hands in his pockets as Tai sighed, rubbing the back of his head and looking towards the sky, the blue clouds rolling by.
"I'm… managing," Tai muttered, before just lowering his head.
"Summer was a student of yours?" Hektor asked, and Ozpin just nodded, taping his cane against the ground as the trio continued to walk.
"She was… one of my finest," Ozpin responded, closing his eyes as they walked, Hektor sighed.
"From what I've heard, wonderful woman… wish I could have met her," Hektor mused, before looking towards the sky himself. "Shame those two are going to grow up without her…"
"I was meaning to ask, Taiyang, why is he 'squating' here?" Ozpin asked, and Tai just chuckled for a second before sighing.
"Yang… she wanted to try and find Raven, and she… took Ruby with her while I was out working. When I got home they'd already been gone for hours… Hektor found them, and kept them safe until Qrow brought them all back here," Tai explained and Ozpin looked a bit surprised at that, not overly, but a bit…
"I'll admit, not my best idea to just guard them while the kid wandered around with her sister, but I saw she was gonna be stubborn. It was easier to keep her safe than to try and discourage that behavior… she had to learn the hard way, and I hope she did," Hektor complained a bit, pulling one hand out of his pocket and rubbing the back of his head.
"But besides that, how are both of them doing, aside from a seeming lapse in judgement on everyone's part?" Ozpin questioned, and Hektor just chuckled as Taiyang shook his head.
"Rubes has pretty much latched onto Hektor here, and Yang has tried, what three times so far to try and get your gauntlet?" Tai jested, and Hektor just shook his head.
"Four, she's likely trying right now, locked my door before we left," he stated, and Ozpin just chuckled a bit as Taiyang's face went into a look of shock, almost instantly turning back towards the house in worry, before Ozpin just tapped him on the shoulder.
"Besides that… how's teaching been for you?" Ozpin asked, drawing Tai's attention back to him. The yellow haired man just gave a… sad smile before speaking.
"Its… well it's been going alright. Still don't know how you put up with us Oz, nevermind a full classroom," he stated, and Hektor just laughed.
"One of life's great mysteries ain't it," he jested, and pulled his finger out of his pocket, before realizing that no, he didn't have any cigarettes on him… damn. He was enjoying this quite a bit.
"Changing the subject, Hektor? Do you have a last name?" Ozpin asked, and Hektor just looked over towards the silver haired man before shaking his head.
"Nah, just Hektor. My parents weren't exactly the most inventive people," he muttered and just chuckled after that. "Place I grew up in wasn't an exciting place either… well, before…" he sighed, looking back towards the skies. He missed Troy. But he'd fallen before it had… but his death had heralded its fall to Odyessus' gambit. It was gone now… something he understood happened quite a lot in this world, small towns getting wiped out Grimm before they'd even managed to get on the map. Some that were on the map remaining there for years after they were gone.
"It have a name?" Ozpin asked, and Hektor just shook his head.
"Small place… you ain't about to find it on any map, didn't stick around long enough to get on it. Born there, and it burned before I was… I think five? Troy, somewhere in Mistral, don't know where, never saw it on any map I ever looked at afterwards," he lied. Mistral was the country with the most 'failures' from what he'd figured out. No one could really corroborate his story, not that he cared. He was just a thirty something self trained huntsman who'd eventually found his way to Patch.
"I… didn't realize," Ozpin was quite, as if he'd felt he'd touched something he shouldn't have, and Tai looked rather sad as well. Hektor just waved them off.
"Was too young to really remember it alright, here I am now, what's happened in the past stays there. Just gotta keep moving forward right?" he jested. He was one to talk, 'I'll rest when I'm dead, and last I checked, I died'. Still though.
"I must say, I'm a little curious about your armaments? You're a self trained hunter, so what have you learned?" Ozpin asked, and Hektor just rubbed the back of his head.
"What I've got is a spear that turns into a sword, and a half assed gauntlet that I can use as a makeshift booster, nothing super fancy. Just some range and power," he lied. His gauntlet was far from half assed, Durindana wasn't just 'some spear' even if it was just a tool, and being unbreakable and damn near unstoppable was kinda a cut above 'just a spear'.
"Simple, but effective, Yang seemed to like it," Tai said with a smile, and Hektor just chuckled and stroked his chin.
"Ruby seemed just as excited, she keeps wanting to see me turn it from a spear to a sword and back again," he jested, and Ozpin smiled.
"So many hunters are taking up the shifting weapons, sword and gun at the same time. It's a bit refreshing to find someone who has a taste for something a little more classical… a little," Ozpin stated, and Hektor just smirked at him.
"What can I say, I managed to be a little old fashioned," he shot back, and then Taiyang spoke up.
"So, what do you think you'll do from here Hektor?" he asked, and Hektor just shrugged.
"Probably settle down a bit honestly, been traveling and traveling, so really it's not like I have much else to look forward to. Find a less dangerous job… like watching the kids?" Hektor jested, and Tai smiled before laughing, and Ozpin took that moment to speak up.
"I daresay, taking care of the daughter of Raven and the daughter of Summer may be a bit more dangerous than what you're used to," he cautioned with a joking tone.
"Really now? It's not like I'm about to take on a pack of Ursai, a pair of exciteful children can't be that hard," he joked back, and Tai joined in.
"Say that after you've had to deal with the excitement," he jested, and Hektor chuckled again.
"Already have, or did you forget earlier this week?
From there, the conversation seemed to drag on a while, Hektor assumed they ended up at it for a good… thirty to forty minutes before Ozpin started walking faster, smiling as he said his goodbyes to them. Hektor waved him off with Tai, the professor heading towards the town and back towards the port as Hektor and Tai started walking back towards the house.
"You two seemed to get along well enough?" Tai asked, and Hektor shrugged as they walked together.
"What can I say, felt like I was speaking to a 'fellow old timer'," he responded, leaning forward slightly as Tai chuckled.
"Oz is a bit older than us last I checked," Hetkor just shrugged at that, closing one eye before snapping his fingers.
"Say… what's that school he teaches at like? Big place?" Hektor asked, and Tai just smiled in reminiscence.
"Beacon was… a happy place, in my opinion the best of the four schools, but there's a bit of bias there," Tai started, and Hektor just chuckled.
"Well seeing as how he was your professor, I imagine so," he replied, before humming… "Maybe I should try teaching… nah, I'll find something," he mused.
"There's always guard duty?" Tai suggested, and Hektor just chuckled at that… ah wouldn't that bring back memories, guarding the isle of Patch like he was guarding Troy from invaders… at least this time it would be actual monsters as his foes if he did that.
"Might do that, or just find some odd jobs," he said, as the pair walked up to the door, Tai pulling out his key and unlocking the door.
"Girls?" he stepped inside… and both he and Hektor were left staring at Yang, who was standing on a chair she'd managed to drag up to Hektor's door with a small hammer in hand, Ruby sitting nearby and laughing… and there was a dent in the doorframe.
"Told you so," Hektor muttered, and Tai just groaned, Yang hid the hammer behind her back, trying to look innocent… and failing. Hektor just walked up, slowly holding out his hand and giving Yang a disappointing stare. Slowly she looked away from him, before handing over the hammer, and he tossed it over his shoulder to Tai.
"Yang, you need to stop, please?" Tai begged, holding up the hammer with one hand as Hektor grabbed her before setting her down on the ground.
"I think guard duty might just work, both for Patch and for these two trouble makers," Hektor laughed, but it was quite the consideration. It might actually make it so Yang would stop trying to bust into his room if his stuff wasn't in there to get at.
Tai just closed the door behind him as Hektor walked over to Ruby, picking her up and taking her over to the couch, pulling the remote off the table and starting to flip through channels before finding one he was… fairly sure she'd enjoy as Tai scolded his eldest daughter a bit. Ruby just cuddled into his side as they watched TV, eventually Yang them on the couch as Tai went into the kitchen again.
The rest of the day passed by with little incident, but it had left Hektor with quite a bit of understanding, and a few questions about Oz, and his own place here… He had his options, but one thing was for certain.
He had a pair of rambunctious little girls who had already claimed him as some sort of surrogate uncle, and a new friend he was already enjoying the company of. Remnant was looking to be an interesting world… and an interesting life. There was just the matter of what came of it.
AN: Here we have the second chapter of Hektor, and his first meeting with professor Ozpin. I find that went I read stories that involve the headmaster, its always intrigue and planning, preparing for the next battle or whatever. I wanted to do something different, just a bit of casual conversationbetween our hero, a grievingfather, and a very, very old man. I like hearing from all of you about your ideas, and about what you all think. Here's to the future!