Swords of Intent (sequel to Rose of Titanium)

Chapter 1: Unlikely Allies

POV: Rtas

I woke up to the feeling of grass underneath me, but I heard voices nearby so I decided to keep my eyes closed and pretend to sleep. "All I'm saying is we should be careful" a female voice said. If I were to guess, they were humans.

"He's hurt, he needs help!" Another objected, this voice also was female but sounded younger.

"Girls please, keep it down. He's still sleeping" A third voice said, this one male.

I decided that it was time to make myself known as I sat up. "Actually I am awake."

The three humans, as well as two others I didn't hear, let out a scream in fear as they jumped back. "Y-Y-You speak English?" The youngest asked, she wore black and red clothing to match her black hair with red highlights.

I gave a nod. "I am Rtas Vadum, Shipmaster of the fleet Shadow of Intent."

"What happened to make you crash here?" The male asked, he had blonde hair and wore conventional clothing under a chestplate.

I stood to my full height. "I was on my way to aid some allies, but a portal drew me in and sent me here."

"Wait... Are you an alien?!" A hyperactive female asked, she had red hair and wielded a hammer.

"I am. My kind are called Sanghili, or elites for a shorter term."

The young one spoke again. "Oh! Well, I'm Ruby. That's Jaune, Pyrrha, and Ren." She pointed to the blonde male, followed by the wary female, a hyperactive female, and a quiet male. "So, what are you going to do now that... Well... You're kinda stranded?"

I gave the question some thought. "If you wouldn't mind, I would like to travel with you. I am familiar with this planet, so having your group aid me would make things much easier."

Ruby smiled and gave a nod. "Then welcome aboard Rtas!"

POV: 3rd

Qrow Brawnwen was seething with rage as he saw Rtas, remembering the events that had transpired months prior. All the effort he went through to keep these five safe from grimm and Ruby just invites a being capable of slaughtering them AND him easily. Qrow however chose to remain hidden for the time being. If Rtas were to ever double cross them, then he might have the element of surprise.

Rtas looked to Ruby. "So, what is it you are currently doing?"

"We're hunting a grimm!" Nora replied as she grabbed her hammer.

Pyrrha decided to explain the rest as Ruby went to look for it. "It's called a geist. It can possess things such as rocks to form a protective body."

Rtas tilted his head in confusion. "How do you expect to find such a cre-"

"WOAH!!!" Ruby fell off a cliff with what looked like a rock golemn chasing her. Rtas grabbed his weapons and ran to help, as did the others.

"We need to draw it's attention from Ruby!" Ren yelled as he grabbed his dual SMGs, Nora turned her hammer into a grenade launcher, and Pyrrha turned her sword into a rifle. The three shot at it from different angles, causing it to stagger.

Rtas charged at it head on as the grimm swung an arm at him. The elite jumped onto the arm and ran up the length, he ignited his dual energy swords and severed the arm from the makeshift shoulder. The plasma blade cut clean through the stone, Ruby saw what he did and attempted to do the same by turning her sniper into a plasma scythe. Ruby however missed the shoulder and hit toward the center of the body. The Wraith went to grab Ruby but Rtas lept over and cut off the rocky hand. The grimm decided to extend its grimm arm and use it to possess a log as a new arm. "His arm is a tree! HIS ARM IS A TREEEE!!!" He yelled as he ran from it, being weaponless and chased by the monster.

"Big mistake!" Ruby yelled as she grabbed a special magazine.

Rtas saw the symbol on it and immediately knew what Rubys plan was. "Stop, you'll burn the forest down!" Ruby however either didn't hear the elite or didn't listen. She shot the log with a fire round, causing it to loght on fire.

Jaunes eyes widened in horror. "BIG MISTAKE!!!" The grimm went for another swing, however Rtas caught the arm. With a roar of effort the sanghili was able to rip off the log arm and slam it into the ground, causing it to shatter into flaming splinters and immediately burn to nothing. "Okay, how do we do this?" Jaune asked, thinking out loud.

"I've seen that it tends to guard its face, the rest it doesn't care about" Rtas said. "We will strike there, but first we need to remove its limbs."

Jaune gave a nod. "Ren, left. Ruby, right. Pyrrha, head on. Nora, wanna try out the new upgrade?" Nora gave a nod and got ready. Rtas charged it on with Pyrrha while Ren and Ruby flanked it from both sides. While two of the children tried to go for the head Pyrrha deflected the arm, giving Rtas the chance to sever it. Ruby picked Nora up while using her semblance to throw her at the grimm torso, causing it to be destroyed. The geist left the boulder and tried to fly off, but Ruby simply shot it with her weapon. Everyone regrouped in the little clearing. "Another victory for team JNPRR." Jaune said triumphantly.

"I'm, sorry. Have I missed something?" Rtas asked, completely clueless to the team name.

Ruby shrugged. "I'm honestly just as confused as you."

They traveled to a village where Rtas learned that his new allies were hired to kill it, as well as Jaunes weapon being upgraded. Rtas looked to Ruby. "I must ask, where did you get your weapon?"

Ruby looked at her weapon and held it a bit closer to her. "It... It was my brothers, he passed a couple months back. I learned that who did it was from Mistral so that's where we're headed."

Rtas bowed his head in respect. "I, am sorry for your loss."

Ruby gave a bittersweet smile. "He was a good person when I knew him."

Rtas hesitantly laid a comforting hand on Rubys shoulder, causing her to look at him. "I promise that for as long as I travel with you, you shall never bare that pain again."