Despite the lazy clouds and weak breeze, tension hung in the air.
It was time for Gambit, and for Drifter to solidify the first crucial step. Ozpin and Glynda were watching. He couldn't see them, but he felt their judging eyes. Any mistake here would make for later obstacles.
He kept the rules safe for this one: no blockers, one invasion.
"All right, mavericks, welcome to Gambit Light. You all ready?"
A chorus of affirmation came through the speakers. Drifter grinned.
"Grimm, at the trees!" he shouted into the microphone.
The report of Dust-rounds and howl of monsters in the distance broke the forest's quiet. Drifter watched the fighting on his Scroll. He called out as needed, and each word passed on through the earpieces he'd given the students.
Meanwhile, his Ghost managed the flow of Grimm. It activated the transmat once more, sending additional Grimm to reinforce their fellows.
The mass of Beowolves and Ursas appearing in the woods didn't slow either team. In their respective arenas, RWBY and JNPR ran to engage the monsters.
More Grimm flashed into existence before her. Yang leapt towards them with a yell, crashing into the group in a whirlwind of thunderous punches and explosions. From the fading body of the Grimm shone small, bright pyramids—Motes, she recognized.
She knelt down and gave one an experimental poke. "So we just pick these up?"
Beside her, Blake turned to look at it. "I think so," she answered.
Yang moved to grab it, but it disappeared in a flash of red.
"I'll get these, keep fighting!" Ruby called out from ahead of them.
Yang laughed. Ruby's Semblance would make collecting the Motes and returning them to the bank a breeze!
"Grimm at the cliffs!" they heard Drifter call.
She turned to Blake, and they exchanged a nod. "Let's go."
"Hey, you two, hop on!"
Weiss had created several glyphs. Without hesitation, Yang ran to one and let it propel her across the arena.
"Thanks, Ice Queen!" she shouted back.
"Stop calling me that!"
Team RWBY fought back the Grimm in each area. With each wave, their teamwork grew stronger. Ruby used her speed to dart around the arena, gathering Motes and defeating any stray Grimm. The other three engaged the biggest groups of Grimm with the help of Weiss's glyphs.
Steadily, the Bank began to fill.
Drifter smiled as he watched RWBY. They adapted to Gambit quickly, and their lead over JNPR was growing. Within minutes they would be at fifty Motes, the number required for the invasion. At seventy-five, they'd pull the boss.
JNPR fought well, but they lacked the speed offered by Ruby and Weiss. Despite their best efforts, time burned as they ran between the fight and the Bank.
The few Motes Yang had picked up compressed themselves in her hand. With a grunt, she slammed them into the Bank. The white flames within seemed to burn with excitement.
She heard Drifter's voice: "Portal's up, go say hello."
The circular metal frame next to the Bank erupted with energy. In the center, a swirling black sphere formed, crackling with unknown energy.
Yang's hands trembled in anticipation. She felt the energy radiating from the portal—it called to her.
"Go, Yang. We can handle the Grimm," Weiss said from somewhere.
"Good luck!" she heard her sister shout.
Yang nodded mutely, not turning away. Step by step, she approached the portal and reached out an arm, slowly reaching toward the dark sphere as if it would lash out at any moment.
She touched it, and the world fell apart and reformed before her eyes with an electric whoosh. The vertigo passed as quickly as it came, replaced by sheer adrenaline.
Yang landed in the other arena, by their cliffs. She did not see the cliffs behind her, nor the Grimm in the distance. Blood roaring in her ears, she only saw four targets.
Team JNPR ceased to exist. She was a Huntress; they were her prey.
Surroundings became a blur as Yang shot forwards. Someone yelled. A warning? A threat? She did not know.
Yang's fist carried her momentum into Jaune. He cried out as the punch sent him flying into a tree. There was no time to relax, however. She felt two others behind her. With a quick turn, a volley of her own punches met Ren and Nora's attacks. The two fought in sync, dividing Yang's attention and attacking her blind spots relentlessly.
Yang did not withdraw. They could try if they wanted, but they were nothing.
A hammer caught her chest, sending her stumbling backwards into a thrown javelin. Both attacks struck with force, but Yang remained standing. Her Aura would protect her.
Her Aura felt stronger, too. Even without her Semblance active, it was a raging inferno that dwarfed anything JNPR could bring to bear. Forget Pyrrha, there was a new invincible girl.
A flurry of strikes punctuated with a sharp kick sent Nora out of the fight. Yang pushed her attack on Ren, who steadily lost ground. Offense forgotten, he struggled to maintain his defense, one that threatened to shatter with every strike.
Yang threw one more punch to finish him, but a bronze shield interrupted her.
Pyrrha rushed to her teammate's aid, and together they renewed their assault on Yang. She could feel cuts and bullets slip past her defense, chipping away at her Aura. It mattered not. Their attacks were insect bites compared to the resilience she felt.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jaune and Nora reentering the fight. Yang tried to push her attack, but the four of them rebuffed it. Pyrrha's strikes were rapid, and her defense impenetrable. Nora's hammer rained down thunderous blows. Ren exploited any gaps in her defense. Jaune shielded his allies from many of Yang's attacks.
Yang kicked off Jaune's shield to gain distance. The four maintained their position, cautious and ready for her next move.
She inhaled, feeling the power stored within her, and allowed it to erupt. Lilac eyes flashed red and blonde hair turned to flame.
This power, it would be enough to stop them.
She would defeat them.
She would kill them.
Yang's eyes widened. Where had that last thought come from?
There was no time to think—her opponents were approaching.
"Ten seconds left."
The fight resumed. Yang rushed them with a shout, every one of her strikes unleashing a tremendous amount force. Despite most being blocked, the power in the explosions chipped away at JNPR's Aura. With time running out, she abandoned defense.
Yang landed a solid blow on Nora, before being thrown back by Pyrrha. Before she could react, the world distorted, and she was back in her arena.
"Welcome back!" Ruby shouted as she sped past with an armful of Motes.
Yang looked around for the Grimm, ready to rejoin the fight. She had not returned unscathed, but she had enough Aura left to make it through the rest of the game.
She held a hand in front of her face and watched it tremble slightly. The power from before vanished, and her mind felt clear, lacking the ferocity that had overwhelmed her.
"What was that?" she muttered.
"Woo! Your invader's back, good work," Drifter announced.
With Yang's invasion, the gap between RWBY and JNPR widened further. JNPR tried to fight her as a team which allowed her to stall their progress towards filling the Bank for the entire invasion period. They also had to contest with the swollen Grimm population, which had gone unchecked during their fight.
JNPR's setbacks piled up, but there was still a chance. Their strategy shifted, and now Pyrrha was rapidly collecting Motes from a distance. Somehow, she was drawing them in towards her. Drifter stroked his chin in thought—her Semblance, perhaps?
The students continued to cut through the Grimm. His Ghost began moving in some tougher Beowolves and Ursas they'd captured. Drifter frowned. Even these hardly hindered the students' progress. He'd have to find better Grimm for them to fight. Tougher Grimm would have more Motes, too. It'd take time to capture all of them, though.
Where was a Cabal troop transport when you needed one?
Not that he'd ever try bringing those aliens to Remnant He didn't know if the Cabal Empire had any contact with this region of space, but he wasn't willing to try. Those military-obsessed space rhinos would try to subjugate Remnant with an armada and bring with them a galaxy's worth of trouble.
RWBY finished another wave of Grimm, and their counter topped out.
"Bank those Motes and summon a Primeval!"
The four girls rushed to their Bank. Drifter smirked and flipped a coin in his hand.
"Ready to send it?" he asked his Ghost. His companion did not reply, but he felt its affirmation.
With seventy-five Motes in the Bank, it flared brightly and folded up, returning to its compact disk-shape. The telltale roar of a Taken portal erupted in their arena. This one dwarfed the rest, though. Errant energy sparked in the air and the girls stumbled away from the portal.
From the portal came a floating sphere. A segmented, metal sphere covered in patches of bulbous flesh protruding from it. Dark, translucent tentacles surrounded the gaping, fang-filled maw in the center.
A Taken Chimera. Once a machine, now a semi-organic monstrosity.
Drifter swore. The coin he'd been flipping tumbled to the ground, forgotten. His hand twitched closer to the grip of the hand cannon at his waist. The lesser Grimm might not be a real threat to the students, but a real Taken Primeval would kill them if they weren't careful.
"That's not supposed to happen," he hissed to his Ghost. "They were supposed to get a small Taken!"
Its red eye stared back.
"Error with the equipment, you think?" he muttered. "I'll check it later."
Drifter took a breath and rolled his shoulders. The kids were in a tough spot, and the upcoming invasion from JNPR wouldn't help matters. Neither intervening nor cancelling JNPR's side of things was an option, though. Any action on his part would alert Ozpin to something being wrong. If that happened, he'd be lucky to get Gambit running at any Hunter institution, let alone Beacon.
All he could do was wait and hope RWBY could handle a Primeval. If one of them died, he'd just have to run.
Maybe Junior would let him run mini-Gambit in his basement.
"What is that thing?!" Weiss sputtered.
Ruby grimaced. "That's one ugly Grimm."
"Is that even Grimm?" Blake asked.
"Who cares! Let's take it down," Yang said, slamming her fists together.
The purple maw of the beast glowed and unleashed a blast of energy. The four scattered, leaping to get clear before returning fire with their own weapons.
Their shots scratched the metallic shell and ripped small chunks from its flesh, but it continued to float towards them.
"Aim for the mouth!" they heard Drifter call.
Readjusting their fire had an immediate effect. The monster howled and its tentacles lashed erratically in every direction. It fired off another blast before turning away, protecting its center.
Yang grit her teeth as the blast passed near her. Even without it making contact, she could feel it eat away at her Aura.
"Don't let it hit you!" she yelled.
Weiss gave her a flat look. "I'll try."
Yang rolled her eyes and turned to Weiss and Blake. "Just watching out for you, Ice—crap, Ruby!"
They dodged away from the blast in different directions, and the Primeval had pushed into the gap. Now, Ruby was across from them, separated by the monster.
It was facing only her now, pursuing the girl as she jumped and fired shots at it, using the recoil to gain space.
Blake and Weiss opened fire, trying to get its attention. Yang charged it directly. Her blow landed squarely on the back of the Primeval's shell. It shuddered and roared from the impact. For a moment, she thought it would fall. Then, a tentacle lashed out and struck the side of her head with a crack. The blow sent Yang into the ground, leaving a small crater from the impact.
"Go help Ruby, I'll check on Yang," Blake told Weiss. The girl nodded and flew off with a glyph.
Blake rushed to her fallen partner. "Are you all right?" She grabbed Yang's shoulders and helped her sit up. A trickle of blood flowed down the side of the girl's head. "You're bleeding, your Aura must be low."
"Ugh," Yang groaned. "That thing hits like a Bullhead."
She tried to stand, but Blake pushed her down. "Stay here and rest, I need to go help the others."
Blake began to move, but Yang grabbed her arm. "No, I can still fight!"
"Yang, your Aura—"
"I don't care, we have to help them!"
Blake's eyes flicked to the battle. Despite its lumbering appearance, the Primeval moved deceptively fast. Its positioning and attacks kept Weiss and Ruby from being able to flank it.
Ruby dodged the blasts it fired, but each one was a closer miss than the last. She was pinned at the cliffs now, and there was no space left to retreat.
"Use your Semblance to get past it!" they heard Weiss shout.
"I can't, it—" Ruby cut off as she ducked away from another blast. "I can't get around the tendrils!"
"We have to move," Yang urged.
Blake turned her attention back to her partner. "Let's go, but keep your distance," she said, helping Yang stand.
Yang took a few steps and stumbled, hissing in pain. "Go on, I'll catch up."
With a reluctant nod, Blake ran to help her teammates.
On the other side of the arena, Ruby was struggling to evade the Primeval's attacks. Despite its bestial appearance, it had enough sense to separate her and drive her towards the cliffs. Now, with massive rocks cluttering the area, it was too late to sprint past it. Taking her attention away from it for even a second would leave her open to attack.
Verticality wasn't an option either, it was too tall for her to jump over. Even with the help of Crescent Rose, Ruby doubted she could go high enough to clear the monster and its tentacles. If a single hit from them could injure Yang, she would be lucky just to survive them.
"Invader inbound!"
Invader? Ruby glanced around. Sure enough, a portal opened near her, and a figure strode out.
"Oh, hi Pyrrha!"
On her teammates' urging, Pyrrha invaded RWBY's side. Finding out her Semblance could draw in Motes remotely had sped up their collection, but it still wasn't enough. She needed to stall RWBY long enough for her team to catch up.
The moment she entered, Pyrrha was almost overwhelmed by exhilaration. A deep, burning desire to fight rose deep within her. Her knuckles whitened on Miló, her javelin. How long had it been since she'd experienced a real fight? Her grip relaxed. This would be her victory.
Before her stood Ruby, mouth moving but words inaudible. Her guard was down, scythe held low and away. Mistake. Pyrrha dashed forwards in an instant and struck Ruby with her weapon. Aura halted the point, but the force behind the blow sent the girl tumbling away.
Pyrrha looked to the side, feeling her other three targets closing. Blake and Weiss were competent, perhaps even a challenge together, but she would defeat them. Yang wouldn't be a threat for much longer.
Miló transformed into its rifle form and Pyrrha took aim, ducking to the side to get a clear line between the Primeval and her target. It was strange, really, that such a monstrous creature stood before her, but she sensed no danger from it. They were comrades seeking the same prey.
Her crosshair lined up on the limping Yang. She sneered, feeling the pathetic flicker of Aura left in her target. It'd only take one shot.
Miló barked and seconds later, Yang stumbled backwards before disappearing in a flash of white.
"Aura's in the red, Yang Xiao Long is out!"
Saved by the rules, she supposed. It'd have only taken one more shot to kill Yang. It would have been so easy.
Pyrrha stumbled—what was she thinking? Yang was a friend, this was only a game, she reminded herself.
An attack from Weiss cut her thoughts short. She brought Akoúo, her shield, around to block the wave of dust-charged energy while her rifle returned to its javelin form.
Sprinting past the Primeval, she clashed with Weiss. They fought on evenly for a moment, exchanging strikes and parries. Then Pyrrha had her opening. Her Semblance activated, pulling the rapier aside ever so slightly and causing Weiss to overextend. Pyrrha spun, setting Weiss's weapon aside with her shield, and her spear shot out. The impact was solid and knocked the other girl backwards.
Pyrrha jumped back as a hail of bullets clattered against her shield. Blake was on her in an instant, a blur of speed and precision. Miló turned into its sword form and Pyrrha met the attacks.
She was the superior fighter, but Blake was evasive. Pyrrha struck shadow clones down, only to be met with attacks from the other side. She maintained a strong defense, and her Aura reserves still felt greater than ever been. Blake's Aura was weak, Pyrrha knew. She just needed to land hits.
Her eyes narrowed. There was a pattern here. Pyrrha kicked through a clone and let herself spin, throwing her shield behind her.
There!
Akoúo slammed into Blake's face, bouncing off her Aura and back to Pyrrha's hand. The blow sent Blake tumbling backwards. The girl regained her senses, and she flipped gracefully through the air. Landing on her feet, Blake looked to the side before throwing her weapon. It caught a tree, and she pulled the ribbon, leaping away from Pyrrha.
Pyrrha gave chase while her opponent continued to jump and flip away. She fired a few shots, but none found their target. Blake was inside the forest now, soaring between the trees and obscuring the line of sight. Trees splintered as Pyrrha smashed through them, adopting a direct approach.
She passed through another tree. Suddenly, from above, Blake launched herself at Pyrrha. She caught the attack with her shield and kicked away, swiping with her sword but only catching a shadow clone. Blake had already retreated into the trees.
Pyrrha growled—Blake was weak, they both knew it. If only she would accept her fate, instead of wasting her time!
"Ten seconds left."
Explosions and gunfire sounded in the distance. Pyrrha swore—she'd wasted too much time running after Blake, while Ruby and Weiss fought the Primeval. If it died, they would lose.
Blake knew this, if her smirk was anything to go by.
Pyrrha threw her javelin, then her shield. Both crashed into Blake, and Pyrrha rushed. She grappled the stunned girl, twisting and slamming her into the ground. Miló and Akoúo returned to her hands, and she plunged her spear downwards into Blake.
It nearly hit, but then there was a flash of white and Pyrrha was back in JNPR's arena.
She blinked. It was like waking from a dream. The haze in her mind vanished, replaced with clarity. What happened? Her legs felt weak, she sat on the ground heavily.
"Pyrrha, are you all right?" she heard Jaune ask.
"Y-Yes, I'm fine. I just need a moment."
Drifter nodded his head as the invasion finished. Both Yang and Pyrrha had performed well enough, and they certainly had potential to be greater. The Primeval Chimera was nearly dead, and at the rate the three remaining members of RWBY were going, the game would be over before JNPR summoned theirs.
Ordinarily, JNPR would get another invasion as a chance to catch up. However, Drifter wanted the game done as soon as possible, so nothing else could go wrong. He'd quietly spent a few Motes to weaken the Chimera, making RWBY's job much easier. Chimeras were nasty beasts, ones that could kill Guardians, and he did not want to take a chance.
Ruby, Weiss, and Blake maintained a barrage on the Chimera. It howled in protest and fired energy blasts at the girls, but they continued to dodge. Chimeras had power, but lacked speed, and the students easily exploited this weakness with their speed and agility.
Another wave of Dust rounds and energy hammered it and the cracks lining its shell spread suddenly, glowing gold. It rose into the air, roaring with fury before its body began to dissipate. Then, it folded on itself into a single point of light and vanished suddenly.
"Primeval's down, good work. Game's over kids, head back to the cliffs," Drifter announced.
He sighed and relaxed his shoulders. "Close one, huh?" he asked his Ghost. "We'd better check the gear tomorrow and make sure another Primeval doesn't show."
The Ghost floated back to Drifter's hand and disappeared back to storage.
"Let's go see what they thought. Hope Ozpin's happy."
Drifter walked back to the staging area between the arenas, where the eight students were waiting. RWBY was celebrating amongst themselves and chatting with JNPR. Ruby was waving her arms around, recounting the fight against the Primeval to Nora and Jaune.
Pyrrha and Yang stood with their teammates. Their faces wore smiles but uncertainty filled their eyes.
Drifter would talk to them later. The first time was a frightening thing for most people. After all, to invade in Gambit was to infuse yourself with Taken energy. It was a temporary infusion, but in that time the invader felt boundless power and ruthlessness. They became more monster than man.
The pair didn't know that, however. They probably thought they'd lost control and allowed the heat of battle to cloud their senses. That was fine—the less they suspected, the better. He would dissuade their fears and they'd come around. They always did.
"All right," Drifter said, clapping his hands together. "Good work out there kids, you made this first run a success. Hope you liked it."
The students nodded, murmuring their agreement.
"It was a fine test of fighting ability and teamwork," Weiss spoke up.
"Too bad we couldn't get our Primeval," Jaune muttered.
"Don't worry about it," Drifter reassured him. "JNPR did a fine job, your just didn't get the Motes as fast. Next time, I'm sure you'll have something."
Ruby waved her hand. "Ooh, Mr. Drifter, what was that thing anyway?"
"Just Drifter, please," he said with a laugh. "And that was a Primeval. A Chimera, to be exact."
"A Grimm?" she asked.
He shook his head. "Not exactly, but close. They're ancient monsters of Dark, and very rare."
She bounced up and down. "Did you hear that, Weiss? We killed a super rare monster!"
Weiss sighed. "Yes, Ruby, I'm right here—"
"Team RWBY will defeat them all!" Ruby exclaimed with a fist pump.
"So, how'd you do that thing?" Yang cut in. "When my Aura was low, I just teleported back here."
"Good question," Drifter responded. "Portals. You entered a portal to get to the arenas. When your Aura hit red, I just reversed it. Same thing when you invaded."
"Right…" Yang trailed off and her eyes flicked to the ground at the mention of the invasion.
While the Taken portal played a part, the main form of teleportation was a simple transmat. In a transmat, matter was converted to a digital form and beamed to the destination where it re-formed. He wanted to keep that a secret, however, because despite its common usage on Earth, Remnant had no such technology.
"Works with my Semblance," Drifter threw in. "That's all I'll say though, can't give away all my secrets just yet," he said with a grin. "Well, that's all I got for you today. Honestly, I usually pay out rewards for participation in Gambit, but Ozpin said 'education should be its own reward,' so, sorry about that."
They groaned at that remark and headed back up the cliffs to Beacon.
Things had gone well, Drifter decided.
After the game, Drifter reported back to Ozpin's office. The headmaster sat behind his desk while Glynda stood to the side.
"That was quite interesting," Ozpin said.
"In a good way, I hope?"
He nodded. "Your case for it being a good teaching tool had merit. RWBY and JNPR had to work together and adapt as they went along."
"I must admit, it could be a very good experience for the students," Glynda added.
Ozpin leaned forward on his desk, clasping his hands. "Those benefits are secondary, however. Tell me, how are the Motes our students collected?"
"Good, good," Drifter replied, summoning one in his hand. "Got a nice little stock, enough to experiment with them. I've got an idea too, on how we could use 'em."
"Go on."
"These things come from Grimm, right? If they've got the same kind of energy, a concentrated number of them might mask anything, or anyone, in the area…"
"Thus concealing the presence of people," Ozpin finished. "A promising idea."
Glynda nodded. "That would be very beneficial, and offer much change. I hope you can make this work."
"I hope so too, I'll start work on it tomorrow," Drifter said.
"One last thing—at the end, that Primeval—was that one of the mysterious monsters too?" Ozpin asked.
"Yep. They come in all different shapes and sizes."
"Much larger than the one you showed us," the headmaster noted.
Drifter shrugged. "That's about as big as they come, so I wouldn't worry about them. They're scarce, and as you saw, a few first-year Huntresses can take one down with little trouble."
"I thought you said they only attack Grimm?" Glynda asked pointedly.
"Ordinarily they do," Drifter explained. "You can convince them to go after other targets, though. It's part of the game."
Ozpin hummed. "You have kept a handle on them so far, and they do not seem to present any extraordinary threat. Still, I will ask you to not use them for anything other than research and Gambit. We know little about them."
"Will do," Drifter replied. "Once I have more Motes, it'll be easier to summon them. We can learn more then and see how they do against the Grimm."
"Good, I look forward to seeing your results. Anything to add, Glynda?"
She shook her head. "No, sir."
Ozpin stood and extended a hand. Drifter shook it.
"You've brought us many new possibilities. If they bear fruit, we may even push back the Grimm."
"That's what I'm hoping for, brother. Our Salvation."
Drifter wasn't lying. Power over the Grimm was more power for him. Dark forces may have been at play in Remnant, but he would overcome them.
He resisted the urge to laugh. He'd survived worse—the Grimm and thugs of Remnant were child's play.
Salvation. The word tickled his tongue.
He was so close now. Leaving the Solar System freed him from the war between the Light and the Darkness. Once he had enough Motes and guns in his crew, nothing on Remnant could challenge him.
ANs:
Thanks for all the support, everyone! This story has gotten more popular than I ever thought it would, and I hope I can continue to please.
Questions & Comments
1. "When drifter starts getting his crew will people like roman and neo be offered a place in it I feel like they are people who will do anything to survive just like him?"
It's a possibility, if he believes they can help him.
2. "Will drifter help team RWBY till volume 7 and will Salem see him like a threat ?"
Salem has spent centuries fighting Ozma. Unless overt, new threats might escape her notice for some time... As for helping RWBY, it's possible, however Drifter is always on a team of his own.
3. "Magic is not paracausal power because paracausality..."
A good point! Do Semblances and magic, etc. go against cause-consequence? I can see arguments for both sides, however that's beyond the scope of this work. Perhaps it would be better if I said they will be lumped under "funky space stuff" to make things simpler :)
4. "Let it be said right here and now, I have had the Gambit OST ready the whole time..."
Haha, it's what I often listen to as I write!
5. "Will Drifter replicate more of the technology back home? Like ships, redjacks, perhaps even some Vex and Fallen technology."
Some of that is outside his expertise, however Drifter will certainly never stop improving his tech.