AN: This is a rewrite of my original Destiny and RWBY crossover. I began the original before The Taken King was released and decided to rewrite many of the aspects and change the storyline. Much deliberation went into the story including who allies with who and how to meld the two worlds of Destiny and RWBY into one "seamless" universe. Basically almost all the characters from both universes will make an appearance and many have taken new jobs within this story.

Also a major shout-out to my beta reader and collaborator The Assassin's Mentor. One of the first authors I contacted on here and this is my first story to be written with his help and in all honesty his motivation. Some of his characters will play big roles in later chapters but I shall not spoil anything here.

Diclaimer - I do not own RWBY nor Destiny. They are the property of Rooster Teeth and Bungie, respectively.

Running with the Wolves

"Quite frankly my dear, I don't give a damn. The dear Prince is a pompous fool and I believe it would be in the Queen's best interests to not listen to him." Cinder was seated on a couch below the Tower Hanger arguing with her teammates, more specifically Emerald. Neo and Mercury stood on either side of the nearby table inspecting their weapons. "The only thing Uldren has working in his favor is that he is the brother of the Queen. That is how he gained his position among her councilors and also Master of Crows."

"He is skeptical. He does not trust the other Guardians, nor for the most part us, for good reason. The Speaker seeks to control the fights against the Darkness, that means he seeks to control the Reef." Emerald was starting to get upset, her fists clenching as she began pacing in front of the furnace. "He has the Reef's best interests at heart, whether you believe that or not."

"No, he is looking to overthrow his sister. Become the most trusted that way no one suspects you to betray them." Cinder was starting to get angry herself, flames began curling about her hair and fingers. "The Awoken are a matriarchal society. Being born into that is an extremely difficult burden for him, like being Faunus centuries ago before the Golden Age. He will never rise to King himself unless he overthrows his sister and betrays the Reef to our enemies."

"You would be tried for treason if you were Reef born! Goodness Cinder, have you fallen that low?" Emerald had stopped and was now staring at the Awoken woman now engulfed in flames sitting before her. Neo and Mercury looked to where the two were arguing surprised to hear Cinder say such things.

"I think you guys should take a break and blow off some steam." Mercury grabbed his shotgun from the table behind him and walked back to the two Awoken. "Come on. Let's go patrol for a while. Cayde and Zavala called us here because some dangerous Fallen out to the Mistral Dead Zone. I figured we could go because the regular patrols are getting slaughtered. I don't like spending too much time here with the Guardians watching us warily." Mercury wrapped his metallic arm about Emerald's waist and began to slowly pull her out of the lounge.

"Come on Cinderelly, let's go!" Neo hopped over the table and eagerly grabbed Cinder's arm and began pulling her up. "Gotta help them Cinderelly. Got no time to dilly-dally. We've got to get a going!" Neo's childish antics were amplified by her stature. Standing at barely five feet the short Exo had created a wig that she wore when the group were in the Tower or the City. Bouncing in front of the older woman brought a smile to Cinder's face.

"Okay Neo, let's go." Cinder rose and followed the rest of her team up the stairs, only to find them stopped looking at a pair of strange Ghosts before them. "What is this about little ones?" Cinder studied the small machine before her. The Ghosts were very of strange design, one with jet black wing patterns forming the exoskeleton and the other with a purple shell and beautiful gold designs and most curiously, a small purple and gold striped tail.

"Madame Cinder, we ask that you allow us to accompany you to the Mistral Dead Zone to hunt for new Guardians." The black winged Ghost had a deeper voice than most other Ghosts, almost reminiscent of the old actors and narrators in the Golden Age cinematics the Cryptarchs had uncovered.

"Why seek us out?" Mercury stepped forward and looked shrewdly down at the Ghosts hovering before him, his dark gray eyes examining them.

"We admire you. Not to mention, we are not the same as the Ghosts. We seek not remains to be reborn into the Light for the first time. Our original Guardians were sent out centuries ago to a small Mistral town to aid fugitives. When the battle turned for the worst, they ordered us to abandon them and they would return to find us." The second Wraith chimed in at this point, speaking in a distinctly female voice, not unlike the old AI used by Golden Age super soldiers in their armors.

"Well, we are heading out to the Dead Zone. Hitch a ride with one of us and see if there is anything to find." Cinder addressed the two Ghosts before her group. Walking past Mercury and the rest, she hopped the hanger railing and approached her ship in the landing bay, a mahogany colored Ceres Galliot strike craft. In the next few stalls, her companions' ships sat waiting for their pilots. Emerald approached her custom Regulus ship, the Little Light, and Mercury boarded his blockade runner bedecked in the House of King's colors. Neo skipped toward her newly completed Phaeton lightning craft, the Manus Celer Dei. As one of the fastest and most elusive Hunters in the history of the City, aside from the infamous speed of the gunsmith's prodigy, and the fact that the Rogues were selected for dangerous experiments, she was given the prototype ship capable of breaking light speed thanks to technology utilizing newly discovered and controlled tachyonic particles.

Boarding her ship, Cinder watched the two Ghosts float past her and study the control panel. Summoning her own Ghost, she allowed Jardis to float to her brethren while Cinder settled into the seat and closed her landing door. "Jardis, where are the Grimm presently?" Cinder addressed her Ghost, encased in what appeared to be icicles giving her a intimidating visage for a small being, or whatever the Ghosts were classified as.

"It would appear that Aslan is currently roaming Forever Fall Forest with the others. According to what I can read, they are hunting a pack of Dregs that are evidently scouting around the wall." Jardis floated to the navigation table followed by Cinder, who punched a button on the side and summoned the holographic map of the planets, the moon, and the Reef. Tapping the Remnant globe at the position where the Emerald Forest was located, the globe expanded until she saw the signatures of her allies' Grimm gathered in a clearing. "I will alert the others. Shall I begin launch procedures?"

"Initiate launch. Let Penny know of our departure." Cinder returned to her seat after selecting the position of the Grimm and inputing the flight commands into the ship. She sat and leaned back against one arm of the chair with her head resting on one hand while she drummed her fingers on the other arm. Cinder was agitated and she did not know why. Perhaps the argument with Emerald had struck her even deeper than she anticipated. She did know that what she was proposing was to be considered traitorous, but she did not trust Prince Uldren and she wished the Queen would realize.

"Tell you guys what. If we do manage to find some out here, I will buy everyone a round at the bar." Mercury spoke up across the ships comms.

"Smart move, considering you are guaranteed to buy only two drinks for us Awoken." Emerald replied. "Unless you buy Neo a nice can of oil, and if the newborns are organic."

"EMY! You know us. We can take our liquor. We are not completely robotic. I just wish I could remember my human body. Or maybe I was Awoken. OR MAYBE! I was a pixie who the humans caught and put into this body!" Neo began jabbering over the comms. "Maybe I was even an Ahamkara, which means you better treat me nicely. Or I could have been a Grimm who was given this body as an experiment!"

"Neo, I highly doubt you were any of those things. I think you were a little girl who went some place you weren't supposed to be and ended up in that body." Cinder smiled. Her little companion was quite fun to be around but like all Exos, a complete enigma when it came to the origins.

While the Exos were originally built as robotic soldiers, something happened during the Collapse that gave them sentience. Thanks to the work of Master Rahool and his Tower replacement, Madame Schnee, along with a squad of Exo thanatonauts they were able to discover that the Exos who can wield the Traveler's Light were at least partially organic. Cyborg was the best explanation for the Exos who contained several vital organs: including a beating heart, a brain with electronic implants, working stomach and lungs. Many of the other organs had been replaced by robotic parts that served as nerves and organs like the liver or intestines. this allowed the Exos the freedom to do as their organic brothers and sisters like eat and drink, or even more personal experiences like the sexual intercourse without the burden of producing offspring.

"Alrighty folks! Happy hunting!" Penny's clear chipper voice sounded on the comm and the four ships rose from the ground and shot from the hanger bay. Cinder performed a quick Immelmann Turn as she approached the Traveler allowing her to dart back over the Tower and off over Forever Fall Forest. Her companions swerved to the right and flew back over the Tower, Neo getting as close as she possibly could on her knife edge so she could slip between the Tower's antennae.

Neo giggled madly and her Ghost, March, appeared and shook his body at the childish behavior. "I do wish you would not be so reckless with your life. While I am responsible to resurrecting you, I may refuse it if you are doing it with such indiscretion." Neo giggled again and Dinah sighed. He drifted over to the control panel and set the ship to follow closely to Cinder's contrails.

As the group flew over the warm red canopies of the forest, Cinder slowed her ship to a stop over the ruins in the northern section of the forest. Transmatting herself to the ground before the ruins, she began walking toward the small pack of Grimm greedily eating the bodies on the ground. As she approached, a large jet black lion Grimm turned from the feast and approached her. The Grimm dwarfed Cinder, and it lowered it's bony head to Cinder's open hand. She began petting the Grimm as her companions' Grimm began working their way toward their respective partners.

"Greetings Cinder." The voice spoke in her head, but the large Grimm was the source. "Jardis told me that we are headed for Mistral." Cinder nodded. "Then let us get going." The great lion, a Nemeaus, and Cinder then dissolved and reappeared inside the ship, the Grimm curling up behind the pilot's seat. Cinder waved her hand at her Ghost and set herself in her chair. The engines fired and the ship darted up into the clouds. "Something is bothering you Cinder. Care to enlighten me?" Cinder stared out the cockpit window as her ship entered low orbit before sighing.

"I have a bad feeling about Prince Uldren. I fear he may be hiding some evil from us. The Queen is in danger, and I know not how to approach her with this." Cinder began drumming her fingers against the armrest again, agitated.

"Perhaps it would be best to not say anything and simply do what you can without the Queen's permission." Aslan's deep voice echoed in her head. "I may not be your species, but I can read them. When we return to the Reef, I shall evaluate him if you wish." Cinder nodded her assent and leaned her head back. Aslan's head lowered back to his front paws and he yawned widely.

"Don't fall asleep big guy. We shall be there in a few minutes." Cinder smiled a small smile as she pulled a scroll from the armrest and returned to her chess game. While the Guardians generally did not trust the Rogues such as herself, she did regularly engage in debates with some of the Warlock Orders in the Tower. This chess game was between her and the Warlock Vanguard, Ozpin. Studying the board, she noticed large selections of moves she could make with her pieces, until she noticed a risky move she knew Ozpin would not expect. Moving her Queen diagonally to the left, she took one of Ozpin's pawns. As expected, Ozpin's bishop moved to take the Queen, which she quickly followed with a pawn to take the bishop. A greedy wicked smile curved her lips as she watched Ozpin move his king back to a seemingly safe position. She slid on of her rooks two spaces to the right, successfully trapping the King in his place. Pulling up a bubble, she typed in the words 'Checkmate…again' and set the scroll in her lap.

"We have reached the landing zone." Jardis's clear voice announced as she brought the ship to a hover several yards above the ground. Cinder stood from her chair and opened the rear hatch. Behind her ship, the others' ships came to a halt and the hatches opened to reveal the Rogues and their Grimm companions. They jumped from the ships and landed in the soft dirt. The two Ghosts accompanying the group appeared behind Cinder and began sweeping over the ground leading into the ruins they disembarked near.

"Little ones." Cinder spoke to the two machines drifting away from them. "If you wish to keep your escort, you should stick close to us. We are seeking a Wolf Pack that is rumored to be holed up here." The two orbs bobbed their heads and returned to the group as the Rogues drew their weapons and began down the ridge into town. Neo's Grimm, a much smaller Nemeaus without a mane and a slim body and tail, quietly sprinted down the street among the shadows of the buildings. Neo and Emerald climbed to the rooftops and began sneaking their way along the street, glancing into the houses through the collapsed roofs. Cinder and Mercury walked down the street with the rest of the Grimm and the two Ghosts, which were scanning bodies along the route.

The group continued this way for a long time, until they found themselves in the center of town. The town square consisted of two rows of storefronts, a large bank and a massive cathedral creating the square. In the center, a large statue of a man holding a set of scales in his right hand and a ball of flame in his left. The plaque on the base, while very difficult to read, said "The fire of God will judge us." Cinder stood back and scowled up at the statue, noting something she had overlooked. While she thought the banners hanging from the statue were from when the town still thrived before the Collapse, she saw a blue tattered strip with the House of Wolves insignia on it.

"Neo. Emerald. Keep your eyes open. We have a Wolf banner here." Cinder raised her fusion rifle to her shoulder and began scouting the storefronts around them.

"We have something as well!" The deep voiced Ghost called from the entrance to the cathedral. Cinder walked toward them although her eyes kept flitting around the square. As she came to the Ghosts, she saw what they were looking at, two human figures on the ground, one the obvious metallic body of an Exo and the other a tall slim skeleton that made Cinder think it was to an Awoken. "These two are full of the familiar power. I was the Ghost of the Exo and my companion was the protector of the Awoken."

Mercury and Cinder turned to keep watch while the two Ghosts worked on reconstructing the beings on the ground. A groan behind the two made them turn to look down at the newly re-arisen soldiers. The Awoken sat in the basic Hunter field-weave without his helmet and ran a hand over his face. As he looked up, Cinder noticed his skin was the same royal purple hers was, his face was very angular almost elfish and fluorescent neon green eyes. His hair was shaved along both sides and the hair on top of his head was very long and swept back, black as the Ghost that had just revived his partner. Around his eyes were black markings, reminding Cinder strongly of the wild cats that inhabited the Kingdoms of Remnant prior to the Collapse.

The Exo sat with his arms resting on his knees and his head back, studying the sky. His faceplate resembled a humans face with plates representing the cheek bones and an empty space showing the blue light of his mouth. His faceplate was a dark black color, but his eyes shown with a brilliant cyan color. White paint had been splattered across his face like warpaint, and he had a crown of short blood red thorn like protrusions, encircling the crown of his metallic head. Something that surprised the onlookers, two metal wolf-like ears were present on his head as well, just above the ring. After staring at the sky for several seconds, he looked around and let his eyes rest upon Cinder. His mouth began to fall open as he stared at her face

"Madeleine?!" He jumped to his feet and approached Cinder, standing before her and placing his hands upon her shoulders. Cinder stiffened at his touch and he must have felt the tension appear in her shoulders as he let her go. He looked down at himself in his tunic and synthetic polymer armor. "Apologies ma'am." He turned to the building and got a look at himself in the metal plaque beside the door. Looking himself over, he turned back to the others. "Am I a machine?"

"Exo, technically." Mercury started in. Removing his own helmet, he revealed his gray faceplate and black features. "You and I are pretty similar."

"What are your names?" Cinder spoke tersely to the newborns and got their attentions.

"Baldr." The Awoken Hunter replied. "Baldr Venj." He paused and looked at his Exo companion. "How do I know that?"

"Some memories resurface immediately when you resurrect. Others will not make them selves evident for some time, even years." The female Wraith spoke up, addressing her partner.

"Wolfe-13." The Exo replied and ran his hand over his head, pausing and feeling his ears. "Faunus machine?" The others nodded, just as surprised as he was.

"There must have been more negative effects than we previously believed." The jet black robot flew about the head of his Guardian and scanned him briefly. "Do either of you remember our names?"

"Yeah, you are Corvus right? My Ghost?! It's been a while!" Wolfe happily grabbed the little flying machine and ran a finger along the designs. "I remember carving these after discovering the ebony metal on one of Saturn's moons."

"Yes, Titan to be exact. After our first scouting expedition beyond the wreckage that was then being called the Reef." Corvus nodded his entire body in agreement.

"Sorry to cut in, but we have trouble!" Emerald's voice announced her arrival and she sprinted across the square. A roar from the far end of the square drew their attentions to a pack of Fallen staring at the Rogues.

"Formalities later. You two! Take a gun and get ready for a fight!" Cinder spoke as she leveled her Vex Mythoclast before her at the enemies. "Prove yourself and then we will talk."

Standing above the group, two slender figures, a shrouded Exo and a masked Awoken, crouched on the top of the cathedrals arches watching the newborns. "This shall be interesting." The Exo quietly confided in her partner, who nodded silently.

AN: So this is chapter one. I kept the majority of the story but included several things. First off, Baldr and Wolfe are old Guardians from several centuries before the current setting and they order their Ghosts to abandon them and only return with proper protection if they did not survive. When they were still young Guardians, the powers of Stromcallers and Nightstalkers were much more prevalent.

Second, many RWBY characters are vendors within the Tower acting as apprentices or successors. Penny is the Shipwright while Holliday oversees and competes in the SRL full time. Ozpin and two other RWBY characters have also joined the ranks of the Vanguards allowing the old mentors we know and love to seek excitement in their own retirement.

While this will generally be focused around the six characters introduced so far, I will have some interactions with the fireteam of The Assassin's Mentor as thanks for collaborating with me. I will head the writing while he helps me and he has agreed to Beta for me. This will mostly be my story but his Guardians will follow his direction.

As for other questions and conspiracies I have addressed that float about the Destiny universe (mainly Exos), this will contain my own personal beliefs of how things happen or will be revealed. There will be many RWBY characters brought in and will mix with the Destiny characters or replace them. As I did state before, I will be playing around with various powers in the system, like the Nine and Rasputin as well as the Wanderer, a power of my own invention, and how they will interact with one another.