Reading Key:
Talking: "Sure, let's just waltz right in why not. How about we tell our enemies our names while we're at it."
Shouting: "Leeroy Jenkins!"
Thinking: 'Just how stupid are these people, and why am I only just now realizing that?'
Deities/Dark Entities: "How long do you think his sanity'll last?" / "I give it a few months, tops."
Disclaimer: Tisrem does not own RWBY or any other works of fiction mentioned below. If I did then all of the ideas that appeared from social media would've stayed tf away from the actual canon even the apparently planned bumblebee ship. Seriously, they did Sun dirty. Bro did not deserve to be forgotten after so much screen time and all around being an absolute BRO.
Chapter 1
Date unknown, location unknown
? P.O.V
"What do you think?" Asked a slightly gruff but clear ringing voice. Who is that?
"This could be interesting, if not a bit…. Unorthodox" Answered a calm and soothing voice. There's two of them, where am I? Why can't I move!?
"But still entertaining, no?" Said the gruff voice with a hint of amusement, are they talking about me?
"...Quite" Responded the calm voice hesitantly. What's going on? Who are you!?
"So, shall we?" The gruff voice said, sounding eager. What are you going to do!?
"We…shall. However he must not know of the future, there would be no fun if he did." Said the calm voice, hesitant but willing.
"Fine, spoilsport, balance this game of ours. Not like things are too skewed to one side as is."
As soon as the voice finished speaking, all I could remember after was a bright purple light and pain so unbearable I couldn't even scream.
"You ok son?" is the first thing I heard as I woke up and opened my eyes. A deep but caring and definitely masculine voice alongside the crackling of a fire as I got up, trying to shake off that dream I've been having for a while. The dream of how I was sent to Remnant. Of those damned sadistic gods.
"I'm fine, just that dream again." I said, hearing my own childish voice as I got up from my bedroll and stretched out the last dregs of drowsiness. "I can never get used to it."
"If you're sure, then get ready, we need to head out soon if we want to make any progress before dark." is all the man said as I turned to look at him. An older man with a tan complexion who looks to be in his early to mid thirties with black hair and green eyes and scruffy facial hair. Wearing some green leathers for protection along with some metal-plated armor around his arms and legs, a hilt jutting out from behind his waist to his right as he pokded around the embers of the campfire, smothering it using the ash already there.
This is the man who became my father after I was reborn on Remnant, Reed Blackthorne. A famous huntsman, or at least a retired one.
"Got it." is all I say as I got off of my bedroll and began to roll it up and do my morning routine, one that I had begun ever since my mother in this world died just about a year ago. The same day my new father decided to start my huntsman training.
The day I awakened my aura by complete accident when a grim attack destroyed the village we lived in.
After rolling up my bedroll and getting my sleeping materials together, tied neat and tightly to make sure it doesn't fall off even if we need to go climbing some of the mountains here in the wilderness of Mistral. I went and got changed out of my sleeping wear, ignoring the cold feeling that came with taking it off, some loose fitting track pants and a tank-top. Before I put on my travel clothes, a simple T-shirt and pants combo, green and dark blue that is almost black respectively.
"Ya know Oliver, that semblance of yours makes things a little harder than it needs to be." I heard my father say as he finished smothering the fire and got started on his own morning routine. "If it wasn't constantly stopping mine I could've gotten rid of that fire a while ago."
"Yeah, well-" I said before grabbing the small handgun that dad has been training me to use, one that I built when I first started training, switching the safety off and placing it in its holster. Before attaching the holster to the hem of my pants through the belt loops. "Sorry for that, if I could turn it off I would."
"Are you going to run maintenance on Bloom?" Dad's mechashift sword, the one currently sheathed behind him on his waist. "Or did you already take care of that last night? I wasn't able to catch you before you went to sleep."
"I took care of it last night," I said, folding up my sleeping wear and placing it into my pack. "We should probably visit those old friends of yours that built it over in Argus, it's starting to slow down in the shift sequence, could be a jam in the making. And the hardlight generator's extensions need replacing; constant use is wearing it down and it'll result in an explosion that could've been avoided. And the Dust port is getting rusty, that'll cost us a pretty lien later down the line if we don't take care of it as soon as possible."
As I finished up, I picked up and put on my pack. The weight of my weapon on my waist, and supplies and equipment in my pack on my back is a familiar feeling after having done this for so long.
"You would know better, you have been the only one running maintenance on Bloom for about three years now." I heard dad say chuckling as he lifted his own smaller pack, smaller to avoid getting in the way of drawing his sword, onto his back. "Ever since you turned ten and wanted to start helping the village's defence, even building that little gun of yours. Bloom's practically yours with how much time you spend keeping it in top shape, and that's not considering your practice."
"It is going to be mine when I head to one of the academies," I said, recalling the promise Dad made with me when we started my training. "Best I get to know how to take care of it now, especially since I don't have the aura reserves to activate the overdrive function in the hardlight generator yet, I know for sure getting used to keeping it in shape would be easier this way. Makes good training too."
"Always the pragmatic one," Dad said in a fond yet exasperated way. "You really take after your mom, you know that?"
"Yeah," I said, remembering the incredible woman who brought me into this world, the one I inherited my eye color and complexion from. And the pain that came with losing her, knowing how much it hurts Dad whenever he is reminded of her. "Though being fair between the two of us, someone has to be careful, otherwise who knows. We could've run out of food by now!"
"You swore not to mention that!" Dad shouted in embarrassment, one of his hands covering his face as we started down the road. "A raccoon gets into our supplies one time and you never let me live it down. And it happened so long ago~."
"A raccoon that wouldn't have been able to get into our supplies if you secured it properly and what do you mean so long ago that happened last week." I deadpanned back while following behind the man who is twice my height. "Seriously, how is it that I, a ten year old, am better at taking care of our food than you, a veteran huntsman with over a decade of experience."
"Hey, I never had to take care of our food before." He said exasperatedly before a grin and knowing fondness appeared in his expression. "Jeez kid, you really are good at distractions, you know that?"
A dynamic we've had ever since we started this little journey, Dad would talk, I would accidentally remind him of Mom and then distract him from the pain before he gets drowned in it. Not exactly healthy, I know, but it's the best I can do before we get to Argus. Dad wouldn't really be able to think he can rely on me since I'm still technically a kid, even if I do have the memories of my past life. Something he doesn't know about.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," I said in a faux-haughtyness before talking normally. "You never told me much about your friends, you know, just that they're in Argus and have a daughter."
"We met back when I was still a student over in Haven and was being trained personally by Headmaster Lionheart. Peleus was a business friend, commissioned a lot of swords from him, best damn smith in the world and practically king of Argus by now." Dad bragged about his friend while reminiscing about days past. "I needed an upgrade since my last sword would keep breaking due to my semblance constantly melting the inner components. Kinda hard to use a gunsword if it can't shift ya know? So Headmaster Lionheart told me to find someone to make a sword that can use my semblance instead of-"
I let him talk about the glory days back in Haven, making sure he didn't talk about mom since he hadn't met her until he had graduated. I never knew he was trained personally by Headmaster Lionheart, wonder what that man was like? If his name is anything to go by he's probably one of those passionate old men who act like their still teenagers. And knowing Dad that's probably where he gets it from.
"-Seriously, Peleus and Thetis would just keep dancing around each other, it was so frustrating to say the least! It took me so long just to get them to notice each other, and thank heavens I did since they're married now. Oh, uh, Thetis is the one who made the Hardlight generator." I heard him say as I tuned him out a bit again.
So this Peleus' wife is named Thetis? Is their daughter named Achilles? I couldn't help the smile that came from the bad joke. A habit I've had since discovering that a lot of people in Remnant somehow have the same name as a storybook character if they weren't named after a color. Good thing I was named after a color, if I was named after a character who knows if I would've had to live through the same tragedy as the character.
"That little girl of theirs is really good, she's a dead ringer for an early entry into the Mistral Regional Tournament next year." Dad continued, so their daughter is a fighter? Maybe she is styled after Achilles after all…Hope she doesn't have the same pride, I would not want anyone to wind up dead after pissing her off. "She uses a shift-sword and shield, same as her pops. In fact if I remember right she actually styled her weapons after her old man's so the sword, more often than not, is actually a spear."
A spear? Ok, seriously all she would be missing is a chariot by then.
"You haven't told me her name yet, your friend's daughter." I said while trying to suppress my amusement at imagining a musclebound little girl riding a large golden chariot and dragging a beowulf trussed up behind her.
"Don't know her name," Dad said, shrugging a bit. "Peleus' letter never said anything, just that he had a daughter who's a fighter. Can't exactly ask him either since neither of us has a scroll."
Oh, right. Most of the people from Dad's generation don't have a scroll since they don't want to be "too reliant" on technology. Why that is, I will never know. Just because you use tech doesn't mean you can't function without it when it gets taken away you know.
"She's my goddaughter," Dad explained, now talking about his friend's daughter, and my apparent godsister. "I have met her before but she was still a little thing back then wouldn't remember me, you were still in your mother's womb at the time and as per tradition I needed to meet my goddaughter at least once."
You've met her and still don't know her name? Who thought that you would make a good godfather again?
"Tradition? I've never met my godparent though." I asked while shaking off my amusement at Dad's antics, wondering why I've never met them if it's tradition. "Are they from a different kingdom or something?"
"Aye," My Dad confirmed while looking back at me and grinning. "He's a top huntsman over in Patch, headmaster of Signal Academy at that so he's too busy to leave especially with those two daughters of his. Part of a team personally trained by Ozpin himself."
Huh, so my dad knows someone so important. Wonder how that happened? My godfather is someone who was trained by the greatest huntsman to have ever lived. Wait a minute, if he's in Patch-!?
"Uuugh, and I suppose that you didn't figure out how to get me to him if anything happens to you right?" I sighed out in exasperation considering Dad's always like that. "How am I supposed to get halfway across the world over to him?"
"Heh, I'm sure you'd figure it out." he chuckled jovially. "You're a smart cookie. Definitely smarter than I was at your age."
"By that logic, what's the point in me even having a godfather?" I deadpanned bluntly. "If I could do that then obviously I'd be able to take care of myself without him."
As soon as I said that, Dad just burst out laughing. Good it worked, he didn't even think about mom despite mentioning her. He's the type to wear his heart on his sleeve, so seeing him able to laugh so easily after spending so much time in melancholy. It's good.
As Dad's laughter petered out, we walked down the road in a familiar silence. Not an uncomfortable kind, though it was at first. This silence was a practiced one that I had recommended while out here in the wilds. Never know if a grim will attack us if we're too loud while out here after all.
The laughing and banter from earlier is fine, the grim absolutely hate positive emotions so joking and having fun actually acts as a deterrent to them. But that kind of behavior is impossible to keep up and even if the idea is appealing due to Dad's trauma, it would still only do more harm than good since the noise would scare off the wildlife if we need to hunt some game for our next meal.
Pulling out a map from my pack I read through it and looked for our location based on the recognizable landmarks. We're about halfway to Argus and considering we left for it about two weeks ago we're actually making pretty good time. Though we could've been there by now if we weren't taking our time. According to the map there should be a village in between where we're at right now and Argus named Kuroyuri. We could make a stop there to restock on our supplies that we're running low on.
Hopefully the village is still there, the map is pretty old and villages on the outskirts of kingdoms like this one are prone to be destroyed by the older grim. Even if Kuroyuri seems to be one of the larger villages, all the more likely it is to be destroyed due to an influx of negative emotions from the large populace.
Putting away the map, we had been walking for a while in silence. The road cuts through a forest so there isn't much to see in our surroundings either. It's pretty boring but I have dealt with this kind of boredom enough to not get frustrated with it, both in this life and in my last one.
Doesn't mean I like it though.
After about four hours of walking and some change from taking breaks in between, Dad stopped before settling his pack down, looks like it's time to do some hunting. Settling my own pack and pulling out some tinder and matches I set to putting the campfire together, the sun is already starting to set so better to get this started now
Gathering some errant rocks to act as a border to keep the fire from spreading too much along with some dry leaves to act as fuel before using the match to set the now put together pit on fire.
"Here," Dad said from behind me as he set down Bloom "protection, same as usual. I'll be back in maybe an hour or two, if my semblance comes back maybe less."
As he said that and turned to leave I grabbed Bloom and extended the blade from within the handle. The engine within it reving to life as the hardlight dust began to charge using my aura making a slight wirring sound as opposed to the heavy sound of a car engine, making the blade glow a faint bluish green as it did. After I did that I laid the flat of the blade on the ground to rest my arm but keep it ready as I picked up my handgun and began to manually flow my aura through it and causing it to glow the same as Bloom, charging the aura port in it so that I have some ammo ready if anything.
Focussing my hearing and there being nothing other than the leaves of the trees swaying in the wind, the quiet revving of the dust engine and the light crackle of the fire, the forest around me was quiet as usual. The birds and animals have adapted to the grim in this world resulting in them being silent instead of singing like on Earth, making noise would attract the grim after all and they would wind up dead. Not exactly something conducive to survival.
Still though, the grim for some reason have not evolved to naturally be silent. At least not in the wilds of Anima, unlike the grim of Sanus where there are Deathstalkers and Nevermore, even the Beowulves, the only type of grim to be on every continent, have evolved differently on them all. Only being silent on Sanus yet weaker and more easily gaining strength from age yet low populations due to constant culling from the local huntsmen, but here in Anima having a greater savagery and brutality yet having a paradoxically lower survival rate compared to the high population of Beowulves.
Though being fair, the high population can probably be attributed to the lower quality of Mistralian huntsmen when compared to Valean or even Atlesian huntsmen. The quality and skill of the huntsmen coming out of Animus have been going into decline over the decade apparently, when compared to the past.
I really want to say that's just hearsay and rumour mongering, but considering that for some reason my aura reserves are considered on the higher sides compared to actual licensed huntsmen from Mistral, I can't help but admit there is some veracity to the claims.
The sound of rustling leaves that are unlike the normal swaying knocking me out of my thoughts, I got up and readied Bloom and my sidearm. Aiming at the source of the sound, where I could see the bushes being disturbed by movement within it, in the opposite direction of where Dad left. With how the rustling sounds, it might be one of the smaller grim, has to be young with how rough the rustling sounds.
Either that or it's hurt and desperate and wants a quick snack to recover quickly. Humans are easier for grim to track and that sometimes gets misconstrued in the younger grim's minds as being easier targets.
Speeding up my manual feed of aura into my sidearm, I aim at the bush and ready Bloom to defend if I need to. Before stopping abruptly at what I saw emerge from the bush.
A pair of kids, about the same age as me. A boy wearing green, black hair with a pink highlight and a girl with orange hair wearing white and pink. Both of them having cautious looks on their faces, though that can be justified since I'm aiming a gun at them.
"What are you doing out here?' I accidentally said my thoughts out loud at the unusual sight while letting my arms fall to my sides. "Don't you know how dangerous it is outside the villages?"
"We could ask you the same thing." The boy said as he kept the girl behind him in a practiced defensive stance, he's huntsman trained. "You don't look any older than us, yet you're alone out here."
"I'm with my dad, we're on our way to Argus." I said in response, trying to gain some form of goodwill since it's obvious these two are on their own and need help. "What village are you two from, we might be able to get you back."
As soon as I said that, the two's visages turned dark, the village was probably destroyed then and these two are some of the survivors. Their expressions are a common sight out here, where any day you could die and be left alone.
"I see." Is all I could say to their response. "Well we can take you to another village where you'll be safe, me and my Dad plan on stopping by Kuroyuri to restock so you should be sa-"
"Kuroyuri was destroyed." I heard the girl say, which is unusual apparently since the boy looked surprised. "We're from there."
So the village was destroyed then. And these two are survivors of the destruction, not a good idea to take them back to the site then and if it was destroyed then we would've had to avoid it anyways. This is good luck on our part having run into these kids before heading there, but it's never good to hear about such destruction.
"Ok then," I nodded to myself and sat back down, resting my sword arm once more. "You can come with us to Argus, me and Dad are huntsman trained so you should be safe until then."
"What do you get out of that?" I heard the boy say a distrusting look on his face contrasting the hopeful look of the girl. "What are you going to make us do?"
"Nothing," I said truthfully. "Only thing I would ask of you is to pass on the kindness once you get the chance."
When hearing that the boy stopped looking mistrustful and instead seemingly came to a realization before looking at Bloom. Does he recognize it or something? I know that Dad is pretty well known as being the only competent Mistralian huntsman since the decline started.
"You're a Blackthorne, aren't you?" He asked, a slight quavering in his voice. "That sword is Bloom, the sword of the Huntsman Pine Blackthorne. He always says to pass on kindness."
"Yeah," I nodded, not really paying attention to him now but instead focusing on my surroundings once more though I don't really have to since. "He's my old man, taught me everything I know about fighting."
"Yup sure did," I heard Dad say as he exited the forest while carrying the carcass of a doe, to the boy's apparent awe and the girl's confusion. "Though being fair you did learn a lot of your style by yourself too. I see we have guests, feel free to join us by the fire kids, plenty of room and food to go around."
As soon as he said that, the pair finally calmed down, having my claims verified. They sat down next to me, the boy still being between me and the girl who was clinging to the boy closely.
"By the way," Dad said as he pulled a knife from his pack and set to skinning and processing the doe. "What are your names, don't want to just call you 'boy' and 'girl' all the time."
"I'm Ren, Lie Ren. And this is Nora." said the boy now identified as Ren. "Thank you for helping us sir."
"It's no issue," Dad shrugged the thanks off while impaling the venison on some skewers and setting them by the fire to cook. "The more the merrier. Besides, what kind of a man, let alone huntsman, would I be if I left some kids to starve out in the wild?"
Looks like we have some companions for the journey now, though for how long I have no idea.
A/N:
So, I'm back and have a new fic...
Yeah Guns and Laser swords has been put on Hiatus, sorry about that. I did have a story in mind at first but I wound up having to rewrite the entire story that I had in mind due to all the ideas I kept on having. Though I had this little rewrite of my original fic bouncing around in my head, wanted to see if I could somehow make it better and comparing this to the original it seems to be better. I honestly can't say.
If you have any issues with what is here please let me know, like any mispellings that I missed or grammatical errors, though admittedly some of those are intentional. I tried to avoid the pitfall of walls of text but some of the dialogue still seems like that to me so if that is an issue again please bring it up to me in either a review or a DM.
Thanks for reading.