Drifter leaned against the wall by the classroom door. Beacon's classes for the semester were underway, and Glynda had invited him to sit in on a combat class so he could learn the students' strength better.
He had collected plenty of data from the recordings of initiation. However, he wanted to investigate their combat class as well. Individual combat against other people differed from team combat against Grimm, after all. He looked forward to seeing the students fight.
Nothing killed a Guardian faster than another Guardian. He wondered if that applied to Huntsmen as well.
Students trickled in and the room began to fill. Drifter scanned their faces, picking out familiar ones. Four girls in distinctive colors entered, chatting amongst themselves.
"Miss Xiao Long, good to see you again," he called out with a grin.
Hearing her name, Yang turned and abruptly stopped as she made eye contact with Drifter.
"Oh my gosh, you really are here," she said, wide-eyed.
"You know him?" Ruby whispered.
Yang looked away, glancing at the ground.
"It's, uh, a long story," she muttered.
He waved her on. "Don't worry about it now, come talk to me later."
She gave an awkward nod and went to find a seat, her confused teammates following close behind.
Drifter stuck to the back as he watched as Glynda ran the class with the same strict demeanor she always had.
The fights between students progressed. Some were exciting, others were one-sided beat downs. He, or rather, his Ghost took notes of the different weapons and Semblances visible. The Aura tracking technology was interesting. Guardians used something similar through their Ghosts, but it was impressive that the people of Remnant had developed something similar all on their own.
From his observations, Drifter could estimate the power and limitations of Aura and Semblance. It was undoubtedly a paracausal power—similar to the Light, Dark, and magic—however it lacked the potency. Much like how the Grimm were reminiscent of the Darkness, but nowhere near as potent, so too was Aura like a diluted, foreign Light.
Despite knowing Aura's capabilities, he remained ignorant of its origin. Once he resolved all immediate concerns, Drifter planned to research Remnant's origin stories. The fairy tales he'd found were intriguing, yet too vague for him to draw any conclusions just yet.
Halfway through the class, Glynda called Yang up to fight. As expected, she maintained a fast and brutal style that made quick work of her weaker opponent. The fight ended without her even activating her Semblance.
After a few more fights, Glynda announced the end of class.
While disappointed that he didn't get to see Pyrrha in action, Drifter was overall pleased with what he had seen. The students were fast and struck with power. They lacked intent behind their blows, but he expected that, given their lack of experience. With some training, they could become formidable fighters.
When there wasn't a large skill gap present, the fights went on for quite a long time. Drifter recognized that would be good for Gambit. Since the students couldn't safely kill each other—an odd phrase, for sure—he would have to tweak the invasion mechanic. If he applied their Aura-tracking technology, he could tie the success of an invasion to the percent of Aura depleted, rather than the number of opponents killed.
Drifter watched as students shuffled out the door. He saw Yang saying something to her teammates before hurrying over to him.
"About the other night, I am so sorry—"
"Hey," Drifter interrupted, "don't worry about it, sister. I won't tell."
She breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Professor, I wasn't thinking straight."
"Water under the bridge," he reassured her. "That's not why I wanted to talk to you."
"What is it then?" Yang asked curiously.
"Your fight at The Club was good work," Drifter told her. He motioned back at the classroom: "Same thing with your fight in there. You've got potential to be a real warrior."
"Thank you," she replied, looking abashed by the sudden praise.
Drifter thumbed a coin. "This isn't official for another week or so, so do me a favor and keep quiet about it, all right?"
She nodded.
"Soon you'll be testing a little game of mine, called Gambit. It'll put you and your team against another team, with some Grimm for good measure.
"Sounds like a fun time," she said with an honest smile.
Drifter nodded. "It is, but Gambit's also a tough game. Like I said though, I think you've got what it takes to excel."
"So, what should I do?"
He shot her a grin. "Nothing yet, just be ready."
The two parted ways. Drifter lingered by the door for a few minutes longer, waiting to catch Glynda on the way out. She stepped out, and he waited for her to finish locking the door before approaching.
"Hey, Glynda, nice class in there."
"Thank you, I hope it was helpful."
Drifter nodded. "I got a good idea of their skill now. Gambit'll be ready to go in a week."
"Mind if we walk? I have a meeting with Ozpin," she asked. He agreed, and the two began heading towards Ozpin's tower.
"So," Glynda continued, "we will introduce you next week and observe your exhibition game. Gambit is not yet a part of our curriculum, we will determine its status based on what we see."
"I get it," Drifter replied with a dismissive wave. "It'll be smooth sailing, I promise."
"I expect so. Speaking of, have you given any thought as to who the teams shall be?"
"I have, I'm thinking RWBY against JNPR."
Glynda hummed. "Yes, a sensible choice. They have shown themselves to be among the top of the first year teams."
"Glad you agree."
She turned to him. "I do want to review Gambit before the first match. Let's schedule a meeting beforehand—I want you to walk me through every step. I will not risk students being harmed."
He raised his hands placatingly. "Don't worry sister, it's safe. One-hundred percent Drifter guaranteed. But, if you want to inspect it, I'm happy to oblige."
Glynda nodded sharply. With the discussion finished, the two said brief goodbyes and parted ways.
Next stop, Pyrrha Nikos.
According to his Scroll, which displayed the students' schedules, she was free for the rest of the day. This left Drifter with no choice but to wander around Beacon looking for her. He walked aimlessly around the campus, trying to stay near common buildings like the cafeteria and library. While he did so, he flipped a coin idly and let his thoughts wander to the future.
Things had been progressing smoothly. Soon, Gambit would be running at Beacon and he would have a steady supply of Motes. That was a critical step, because he needed a lot of them for his plans.
Drifter hoped he could use Junior and his contacts to identify threats to his ultimate goal. So far, all his research implied Ozpin, Torchwick, and the White Fang were the biggest players in Vale. Mistral and Vacuo were small enough to ignore; while Atlas was a different beast altogether.
Still, there was much mystery surrounding the relationship between Torchwick and the White Fang. It seemed no one understood the partnership between the two, nor the reasoning behind the massive amount of Dust theft, as none of the stolen goods ever turned up elsewhere.
An infamous thief and a terrorist group working together to stockpile massive amounts of Dust undoubtedly pointed to something more nefarious.
He just needed to know who.
A buzzing caught his attention—his Scroll. Drifter quickly walked behind a nearby building, making sure no one was around before he answered the call.
"Hey Junior," he greeted.
"Hey Wu, listen, Roman's here asking for you. Wants to get in contact with you ASAP," Junior explained. "He, uh, he doesn't look happy right now, so if you could get down here before he starts blowing holes in the wall…"
"I get it brother, I'll be at The Club in thirty. Tell him to wait for me, all right?"
"Will do, thanks Wu," Junior said.
"He's in the back hall," Junior said as he led Drifter through The Club. "You good going in alone? I'm sure you can handle yourself but he seems pretty pissed and his cane is a grenade launcher—you know that right?"
"Hah, now I do," Drifter replied. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. Just, uh, don't come inside. Even if you hear weird noises."
Junior turned and raised an eyebrow.
"Especially if you here weird noises," Drifter added.
The other man shook his head. "I don't even want to know. Don't die, and don't destroy my building," he said as he opened the door. "Good luck."
Drifter stepped through the door which led to a dark side room. Torchwick had been pacing back and forth a few feet away, but stopped and looked up as he entered.
"You're the guy?" Torchwick asked.
"That'd be me," Drifter said, spreading his arms with a smile.
"All right then, listen up," he announced. "Junior told me you're new in town, so I'll give you a one-time pass on this."
Torchwick raised his cane and pressed it against Drifter's chest. "I run this town, and every bit of Dust here belongs to me. Every. Single. Speck." He pushed harder with each word. "So don't think you can take what's mine, and don't think I'll play your games."
"Worked, didn't it?" Drifter said with a laugh.
Outwardly, he was calm and collected. With the cane against his chest, though, he felt his ancient heartbeat quicken. His breathing sharpened, and his fingers yearned to grab his own gun. He hated being threatened with violence. It brought back memories of the Dark Ages, of all the death and suffering—both of others, and his own.
His Ghost could resurrect him, but he never relied on it. His own survival was all that mattered. Guardians did not fear death, they forgot mortality and humanity—and many foolishly died trying to push their luck. Ghosts were powerful, but they had limits, and there were many foes who knew just what those limits were.
"Cocky bastard, this is a courtesy," Torchwick replied. "Try something like this again and I'll put you down. Now, hand over what you got."
"Hah! Hate to break it to you, brother, but I lied. I don't have any." He raised his empty hands and waggled his fingers for emphasis.
Torchwick grit his teeth. "You're trying my patience, I know you sold some Dust back to that shop."
"Didn't take it from you, I got it from somewhere else."
"Where?"
"Secret."
"You son of a—," Torchwick growled and clicked a button on his cane. A sight flipped up. "Talk."
Drifter tilted his head. "Heh, you're passionate about your Dust. Afraid of letting the Fang down?"
"Huh? I don't care about those animals."
"You sure like to work with 'em."
Torchwick's eyes narrowed.
"I get you, Roman," Drifter continued. "One last question—who's your boss?"
"All right, I've had enough." Torchwick shoved Drifter back with his cane. "Heard Hei just fixed this place up, too bad he'll be scrubbing you off the walls."
Drifter pointed with his right hand.
Confusion flashed across Torchwick's face. "What?"
"Behind you."
A portal howled into existence behind Torchwick. He whipped around at the sound to see a massive figure dropping from the portal.
"What?!" he shouted, instinctively stepping away.
Drifter smirked as he saw the fearsome Taken Captain emerge.
The Taken Captain was once a high-ranking pirate of the Eliksni species, now corrupted by the darkness. It stood at an imposing six and a half feet tall, with four arms and two legs. Like most Taken, its body was a gradient of color, from blue-white at the bottom to black at the top, and it had a single, glowing white eye at the center of its head. Its top two arms carried razor-sharp blades that arced with electricity.
Torchwick didn't have a chance to react before the Taken slammed its arms into him with a roar, sending the man flying past Drifter and into the far wall. He grunted on impact and fell forward on his face.
Drifter ducked away as the Taken passed him and moved towards its victim.
Torchwick struggled to his feet, trying to aim his cane at the Taken Captain. The monster gave him no opportunity to fight back. It charged a wispy black orb in its right arms and hurtled it at the man.
The orb slammed into Torchwick with a ghostly sizzle. He fell to the ground, crying out in pain. The wispy black energy left erratic burns and scorch marks across his clothing and skin.
Drifter quietly unsummoned the Taken Captain and looked at Torchwick. "First time's always the toughest. Hang in there, brother. Can't have you dying on me."
Torchwick was on his hands and knees, blindly fumbling around and groaning in agony.
Being hit by a blast from a Taken Captain was unpleasant. Side effects included temporary blindness, severe burns, pain, and an inability to use Light for a short duration.
Drifter had reasoned this so-called Taken Burn would disrupt Aura just like it would Light. He could confirm that theory, thanks to Torchwick's assistance.
He squatted down next to Torchwick, who was recovering, and pulled Thorn out from his waistband, gently holding the barrel to the man's head.
"Now then," he began, "let's talk about that boss of yours."
"I-I don't," Torchwick gasped, "I don't know what you're talking about."
"C'mon, it ain't hard to see there's someone sticking you with the Fang."
"They just pay well."
"I doubt even they could afford all of a city's Dust."
Torchwick coughed and tried to scrabble to his feet, but Drifter shoved him to the floor again.
"Take it easy, hotshot. We got time."
"Uh, Boss?"
Junior looked up from cleaning a glass. "Hm?"
"Should we check out that noise?"
"What noise?"
"That screaming and banging in the back room."
"All I hear is the sound of us just now finishing repairs. Repairs that'd be undone if we let an angry Torchwick run around."
"You really don't hear the—oh…" the henchman trailed off.
Junior gave him a knowing nod, and the man shrugged and walked back to his post.
"Wu, you better not leave a mess," Junior muttered.
Drifter sat in his room that night, playing with a coin.
While Torchwick had yielded little useful information, he'd encouraged the man to find out more and call him when he did. Drifter now knew the man had a boss, one that could control both him and the White Fang. He would identify them and deal with them appropriately.
Gambit would start soon, and with it would come fresh Motes. It was power—his power. He could scrape together a new crew and store enough Motes so that nothing in Remnant would threaten him. Not petty criminals, not terrorists, and certainly not skulking schemers. It would keep individuals like Opzin in check and carry enough power to dissuade even Atlas from interfering with him.
He survived the war between the Light and Dark, and he intended to survive on Remnant as well.
The situation in Remnant reminded him of Earth—humanity restricted to small enclaves, surrounded by monsters. Guardians and Huntsmen, wielding powers supposedly meant to protect.
On Earth, violence filled the peoples' lives until their final breath. The power of the Light only created more conflict and prolonged human suffering. Drifter himself realized the foolishness of trying to be a savior of the people long ago. No matter how hard he tried, people always died in the end.
By now, the heroes of Earth had likely perished. He'd offered the few Guardians he liked a chance at Salvation, but they rejected it. He respected their devotion, for it was their belief and purpose. Everyone had a code. His was to survive, it always was.
Huntsmen and Huntresses were analogous to Guardians, but they had not forgotten mortality. They clung to to their lives with the passion only a mortal man could exhibit, and they valued the average citizen as well.
Perhaps there was still hope for this world.
ANs:
Hi all, thanks for all the positive support criticism!
1. "If The Drifter still doing Gambit matches, wouldn't that bring the attention of the Nine to Remnant?"
Since the Nine are the consciousnesses of the planets of the Solar System in Destiny, they have no power in Remnant.
2. "It's a bit weird seeing Drifter not react much to the superhuman strengths of Remnant natives without Light. Will Drifter explore the nature of aura and other impossible physics in this universe?"
Yes, and the lack of reaction is because Aura falls under what Destiny calls "Paracausal powers," i.e. anything that breaks physics. So Light, Darkness, magic, wish-granting, etc. all fall under that category.
3. "I'm kind of surprised Drifter had nothing to say on Ruby's little 'ride a Nevermore to get unlost' plan."
He probably did! I just glossed over a lot of initiation because I figured most people have already seen read it a dozen times.
4. "Great stuff as always but i wonder, in-game and canon destiny the drifter gave rewards after gambit matches and allowed guardians to create gambit based armour sets that gave them gambit power ups, will we be seeing this in the story"
Drifter may have some rewards for those who help him.
5. "Speaking of Gambit will Drifter run the illegal version of gambit in remnant?"
Depends on if he stays with Beacon. An underground variant would require scrounging up strong Aura-unlocked fighters who don't mind working together, however it would also lack scrutiny.