Chapter I: Reclamation

It used to be that when people asked what a hero was, they would say it was something you can only find in a fairy tale. That was until someone in real life stepped up and became a hero straight out of those tales, even if he had gotten himself killed in the process. That man was a boy, a seventeen-year-old boy by the name of Jaune Arc, and he was the boy who gave his life during the Battle of Beacon to stop the terrorist Cinder Fall and her associates from toppling Beacon Academy like a chess piece. Now, two years later, his sword, Crocea Mors, still sits, embedded into the ground, waiting for someone to remove it and use it for their heroic glory. Gods know that people have tried, including all of Jaune Arc's friends and teammates from Beacon. No matter how much they tried, they could not remove the sword from its resting place.

One year earlier, those prodigal children had traveled to Haven Academy, searching for answers and revenge, and in their way, they got what they were looking for. A traitor was exposed and taken care of, Raven Branwen was given the severe reality check that she had deserved and had gone into hiding, along with Adam Taurus, and all of team RWBY was reunited. It took awhile, but eventually, all of the team's members once again became the sisters they once were, and they made a vow to stay together, in respect to the friend they had all lost. Although, the process of helping Jaune's teammates over the loss was a bit more difficult and took quite a bit longer.

Now here they stand together, back at Beacon, awaiting the next move for them to make against the Grimm Queen, Salem. However, the effects of Jaune's passing still took a heavy toll on the teens. Ruby Rose had shed a large amount of her childlike innocence since the passing of her first friend at Beacon, though she still had moments of naivete. Weiss Schnee had been living with a soul full of guilt at how badly she had treated the blond boy, wishing and praying to the gods to either give her a chance for redemption in either life or death. Blake Belladonna may not have known the knight the same way her teammates did, but she knew he always cared for the faunus and never discriminated, which she had great respect for; and although she did not know him well, she could still admit that she was grieving and would love nothing more than to see that goofy smile again. As for Yang Xiao Long, the effect of her fellow blond's passing had been a familiar feeling, but it still took a heavy toll as it coincided with her loss of an arm. She missed him nonetheless, and even her big brawler image couldn't stop her from crying for the latest person to leave her.

To say that Jaune's team had taken the most massive hit from his loss, however, it wouldn't be entirely accurate. The passing of their leader had shown lifelong friends, Lie Ren, and Nora Valkyrie, that life was too short to let things pass by, and they finally decided to become officially together. Together, they helped each other to keep smiling, together, they helped reconstruct their friend, Pyrrha Nikos, whenever she fell apart.

Pyrrha Nikos… the invincible woman, the warrior goddess, but the only thing that RWBY and the couple of team JNPR could see was Pyrrha Nikos… the one who loved Jaune Arc, and never got the chance to tell him how she felt. Even then, that missed opportunity was not what broke her the most; it was the fact that, through investigation, Jaune's death had been a moment where destiny lost. While in possession of the Relic of Knowledge, all of the Beacon students and those who traveled with them were shown by the Relic the future that was supposed to be. It confirmed the death of Pyrrha, the victory of Cinder, and the Fall of Beacon; the destiny that was changed for the better because Jaune had stepped up, using the semblance that he had kept hidden, and stopped the corrupted maiden once and for all. Pyrrha Nikos was a firm believer in destiny, and she had seen that it was her destiny to die for nothing, and that destiny was denied because of the will of a single man.

That was months ago, and now, teams RWBY and OLVN were talking and healing together in one of the few common rooms of the school that still stood. During their travels, the huntsmen and huntresses came across a boy by the name of Oscar Pine, who happened to be the latest reincarnation of their fallen headmaster, Ozpin. They grew to bond and train with Oscar as though he was an old friend, and in time, they all unanimously voted for him to become the new leader of JNPR, remaking the team into team Olivine. It was thanks to the shy boy and his little "connection" with Ruby Rose that Pyrrha was able to smile and laugh, the misty-eyed moments and smaller "crush" moments between the two young ones being entertainment for the Spartan.

Although at the moment, there were more entertaining stories and moments to revel in, "So-hic-, so we get there, and almost immediately, Ruby rushes past us, rose petals and all, and she literally runs up the wall. Then she reaches the ceiling but she's in such a panic that she just keeps running, so dad and I are just standing there, watching her run up and down the walls and floor like she's a super hamster!"

Yang's audience fell to their sides laughing along with her while the story's red-hooded subject pulled said hood over her face muttering to herself, "...'s not that funny…"

Seeing Ruby curled up and embarrassed proved too much for the young farm boy as he stopped chuckling and began to laugh like everyone else, causing the not-so-little-anymore red reaper to look up at him with playfully betrayed eyes, "Really Oscar?"

Taking ragged breaths, the reincarnated headmaster tried to control himself, "I- I'm so- hehe… so sorry Ruby. It's just-" he let out a long wheeze of air, "it's just so funny to imagine a little kid doing that…"

Oscar looked as apologetic as he could while regaining control of himself, and it seemed to be enough for the hooded girl, "Ok… yeah, I guess, in hindsight, it is kinda funny." she began to giggle herself.

'I still don't see why you two haven't decided to try. It has been a year since the two of you met. And ever since, it's been obvious to everyone.'

'Maybe, but I don't exactly feel comfortable dating someone when I have another person inside my head. Can't imagine she feels any different.'

When Oscar got, quiet everyone was able to figure out it was because he was talking to Ozpin, or, thinking to Ozpin… even after a year of getting to know the boy it was still weird to them to have their old headmaster reincarnated as a boy only a few years younger than them. What was strange was that the way he chose to dress didn't weird them out as well. He wore a pitch black short sleeved shirt underneath a colonial-like jacket with rolled up sleeves, exposing his forearms, unbuttoned at the chest and with the same shade of dark green his predecessor had worn, only with a small accent of a dark gold looking color. The collar came from inside the jacket with a popped collar like from a dress shirt and seemed to be of a lighter green than the coat. On his hands, he wore black gloves with light green exes on the back of the palms, baggy cargo pants of the same light green as the exes on the gloves and the inside of the jacket, a black belt over the waist, and black shin high working boots. He looked like what his predecessor must have looked like when he was young, and it was nice to see Oscar had dressed as such out of respect.

Over the past two years, they had all changed their style in their ways. Ruby's hair was in the same fashion only slightly longer than before, and her figure had also filled out in the past two years becoming more womanly in her late teen years. She still wore her deep red cloak around her shoulder but had changed her outfit to be slightly longer and added in white sleeves to give off a more "badass vibe" as she would say. Her partner, Weiss, had cut her hair to be shorter, now reaching to her upper back and flowed down her back. Her outfit had lost its white theme for a more dark blue, like fresh ice, with tiny snowflakes at the hem of her skirt and armor from her waist to her breasts. She added some armor onto her shoes reaching up to her knees and added more pouches for dust cartridges on her thigh. It was easier for her to have a different outfit than try to fix what had happened to her high-end dress back at Haven.

Blake and Yang, on the other hand, had both traded their old outfits for something involving a coat. Blake's was pure white and more reminiscent of a trench coat, while Yang had gone for the duster coat variety. The most significant changes for the two were the lack of a bow hiding Blake's cat ears and the brawler's combat prosthetic arm, still hidden by the sleeve and fingerless gloves. When RWBY had reunited, it took those two the longest to make up, but it worked out in the end, both once again becoming like sisters, neither of them asking for anything different.

Unlike their sister team, those that remained from team JNPR had gone through the least changes when it came to their style. Ren and Nora had a few small changes, nothing too notable, but Pyrrha wisely changed quite a bit more, her new outfit taken from the lessons she learned from the Relic of Knowledge. She had let go of her ponytail and let her crimson hair flow down almost like Yang's. She had added armor to her shoulders and covered her whole top half, only leaving her thighs visible. Seeing herself get shot by an arrow in the chest was more than enough reason for her to make it covered.

Surprising to no one, Ruby was the one who spoke up about Oscar's silence, "Hey Oscar, what's professor Ozpin saying?"

The farm boy looked to the blonde brawler with pleading eyes, only to receive a knowing smirk and a shake of her head, 'Oh boy…'

Ren, seeing the little interaction between Yang and his new leader, figured out what he and Ozpin were talking about and decided to step in, "I'm guessing he said the story gave him an idea for more training, am I correct?"

Oscar nodded his head rapidly, "Yes! Yes, that's exactly what he was saying. Nothing else to worry about or mention."

Everyone around the youngest two in the room chuckled at the boy's expense and the girl's cluelessness, all of them, even Pyrrha, thinking the same thing, 'Young love… so so cute…~'

When she had first figured out that Oscar and Ruby liked each other, Pyrrha wanted to help them just come together, but when her new leader told her that he didn't feel comfortable dating someone while another soul was living in his head, she understood. That didn't mean that now and then she tried to encourage him to go ahead, but she always tried to do so softly, making sure her help didn't stir up too many memories. Both residents of the young boy's mind understood she was thinking about how she wished she had said something before the Spartan lost her chance with the knight, but neither one brought it up out of respect… and maybe just a little bit of fear.

The teens were so busy chuckling and bonding together to notice something in the distance, or rather, someone, 'So… this is Beacon. This is where it ended… and where it begins again.'

Standing in a field by the courtyard, a tall figure in a black hooded jacket and black cargo pants gazed upon the once proud structure of Beacon Tower. This figure had come a long way, and it was time to finish the mission. With a long breath of air, the figure dashed across the courtyard and jumped onto the walls, climbing up with ease, the swift movements showing much experience with parkour and climbing. The character was careful, however, making sure the climbing would make no sound, so not to alert anyone who could be guarding the objective. Unfortunately, to the figure, it wasn't careful enough, as the teens in the common room heard a noise and looked to the window to see the bottom of a boot making its mark before disappearing.

"What the heck was that?" Ruby asked the group.

Before he could answer, Oscar began to glow grey, signaling his "houseguest" had taken over, "I'm not sure, miss Rose, but whatever it was, it's heading upwards, towards the tower…"

Everyone looked to each other, confusion evident in their expressions until Ren spoke up, "But… why? There's nothing up there except…"

The confusion was replaced with realization when the green-clad ninja trailed off, and then the concern came into play. Whatever or whoever was climbing the building was heading for the tower, where the only thing left of their friend was resting. With that, they shot up from their sitting places and began to rush down the hallways.

While the teens of Beacon were racing towards the tower, the figure was finishing the climb and reached the top. Looking up from the crouched position, the hooded one found the objective, the target, the blade. The sword was approached slowly, like a doctor respectfully approaching a patient, until the figure kneeled and spoke, the voice revealing it to be a man, "I have come a long way. I have faced many hardships in these lands. I have come to take your test."

His hood still up, the man raised his right fist and placed it against his heart, "They may not know why, but I do. I know that you have not moved because you have been waiting for someone worthy enough to wield you. I don't claim to be worthy, but I give you my word, if you share your power with me, I will do everything I can to prove myself worthy."

The figure stood up and walked towards the sword, his final words soft as a whisper, "And like him, I always keep my word."

As his last words were uttered, the two teams reached the top and found the figure about to grab the pommel of their fallen friend's blade. Before they could stop him, they were stopped themselves, when large waves of energy began to emanate from the sword. Frozen in place, they had no choice but to watch as the figure started to tug on the grip, the contact making the sword shine like a white sun. The light blinded the teens, rendering them incapable of moving and seeing, even clearing their minds of any thought. Eventually, after an unknown amount of time, the light subsided, and all the teens fell to their hands and knees, panting from the intense pressure that was put on their bodies just a few minutes ago.

When their eyesight returned, they all raised their heads, and their minds emptied once again from the sight before them. The figure that climbed the tower held Crocea Mors in his hand, the blade pointed upward and no longer embedded into the tower. For a second, the students thought it wasn't the familiar weapon because the blade shined brighter and looked to be even longer than it once was. Even the grip was different; it's wrappings shining as blue as they were when the blade was forged, the same with its golden pommel. What caught the most attention, however, was the guard at the top of the hilt. Where it was once ugly and dulled, it was now shining as if it was new, the sides shooting straight out before curving upwards, the triangle portion in the middle covering more of the bottom of the blade, and small intricate patterns across it.

The figure tilted his head as he looked over the sword, twirling it in his hand as if he had been born holding it. He moved both of his hands to the blade, turned it over, then placed the pommel on his forehead, whispering something the others could not hear. All of the students wanted to move, to approach the strange person, but they couldn't move with the chaotic thoughts that began to flood their heads. No one, not a single person, not even Pyrrha herself could push the blade from its place, and right before their eyes, someone whom they had never seen before had scaled the tower and been able to do what no one else could.

Once the figure finished whispering, he lifted the sheath, it changed as well, and slid Crocea Mors into it, 'Time to go home.'

"WAIT!"

Just before he was about to jump down, he turned to see a redheaded spartan huntress with tears streaming down her face, "Please… I don't know how you were able to do that, but please… please don't take the sword… It's all I have left of him…"

His face still shrouded, no one could see if Pyrrha's pleas had any effect on the man as he merely stood there, until he spoke loud enough to be heard, "I don't think so."

The voice was soft and calming, but surprisingly light for how deep it was, "He's always been with you, and he always will be."

He then turned to Oscar and respectfully bowed his head, "My condolences, good mage. I wish I had gotten to meet you before this form."

The farm boy's eyes widened in shock towards the words of the mystery man, an action that seemed more characteristic of Oscar, yet they all knew Ozpin was in control at the moment. More footsteps sounded and all of the teens turned back to see the hooded man standing on the edge, "I can see that parting with this sword is painful for you all. Do not attempt to track me down. It will only cause more pain for you."

With that, he spread his arms out and leaned back, causing him to fall over the edge with a rush of wind. Once all of the teens had regained all of their senses, they sprinted over to where the hooded one fell, only to see absolutely nothing when they looked over the edge of the tower, as if he had just vanished. Pyrrha dropped to her knees, and the tears rained down like a waterfall, her wails sounding like the cries of a mother who lost her children. They all had to grab onto her to make sure she didn't leap off after the thief, except for Ozpin, who was still in control of Oscar's body, looking as though he was trying to solve a universal problem.

'Ozpin? What's wrong?'

'Whoever he was, he called me "mage," not headmaster… "mage"…'

'Yeah… that is pretty weird. Who says "mage" anymore? Why not say "wizard" or something like that?'

'...'

'Wait a minute… what is it that's shaking you up like this? The fact that he knew you were in my head and you were magic? Or does the fact that he called you "mage" mean something to you?'

'You've been learning well.'

"Oscar? Professor Ozpin?" the young boy lifted his head to the concerned looks of his redheaded teammate.

Her concerned look turned to angry glaring eyes once she had her leaders attention, "You know something don't you?"

The fact that the young man didn't back down from the glare told all of them who was in the driver's seat of Oscar's body, "I might, although I am not certain yet…"

Pyrrha looked like she wanted to say more, but her new leader raised his hand to stop her and carefully took in his surroundings, "I just need-"

He immediately ceased speaking when his eyes landed on the center of the tower, where the sword had resided for the past two years, "Someone, make sparks and concentrate them on the center of the roof."

Ruby immediately deployed Crescent Rose and ran the blade across the roof, causing sparks to go flying. One spark landed in the center and suddenly grew to the size of a bonfire, sending the students staggering back on instinct. The flame's edges were blue, and they fluctuated and roared for almost half a minute before they died out. Just before the fire vanished, however, exotic particles that looked to be like ash danced around the air, glowing the same blue as the edges of the flames. When the blue ash dissipated, everyone turned to Oscar, hoping for an explanation from his houseguest, only to turn afraid seeing him gripping his cane so tightly it was in danger of snapping in half. His eyes were showing a burning fury that even a Grimm would be terrified of.

"Professor Ozpin? What's wrong?" Blake almost pleaded to their friend, only to get a growl and even tighter grip.

The anger only started to disappear when the boy looked down to find a gentle hand trying to loosen his own, coming from the little red reaper, "Oscar, listen to me. Whatever anger is going through you, going through Ozpin, help him calm down. I know you can do it, just like he did for you." Slow, deep breaths replaced the ragged growls and the eyes shut, opening to reveal them back to their calm hazel, "I… thank you, miss Rose."

"Alright I've had it." the Spartan had enough, "I know you know something Ozpin. Tell us whatever it is. Please."

Ozpin, still in control, drew in one final breath, ready to tell his next tale, "Salem, the Maidens, the Relics… my first life… what do all of these have in common?"

Everyone looked to each other for only a few seconds before the immortal continued, "Magic. All of it stems from magic. The fifth gift from the two brother deities. When the brothers first created humanity, they watched over them, to see what their creation would do with it's beginning. However, they did not watch from some heavenly plane above Remnant. They watched over from their kingdom. The fifth kingdom: Lothos."

Silence reigned supreme, as could be expected when yet another myth was confirmed as truth, so Ozpin continued, "Lothos was a paradise. While the other kingdoms basked in their gifts, the Relics, Lothos thrived as the birthplace, and the home, of the magic that made it all. Eventually, the other kingdoms became jealous of the fact they had merely gotten the offspring of magic, instead of getting their share of the source. That jealousy that hatred made the Lothonians fear for their safety, their wellbeing, so using the magic they were gifted with, they had hidden the whole kingdom from any sight. At least, until they discovered ways to improve their magic, and for safekeeping, they transported the entire kingdom to another dimensional plane, effectively hiding everyone from all living things on Remnant."

"Wait, then how did you get magic?" Weiss asked.

"I was born with it, the second I was born in Lothos."

Again, a contemplative and tense silence followed Ozpin's words, "In time, it was decided that only a few, select people or families would be able to use the magic, while the rest would be honor-bound to protect the magic. Similar to huntsmen and huntresses protecting humanity here. Now, as far as I know, Lothos is just like the four kingdoms here, with ordinary people, people who use aura, and then there are the people who use magic… the mages. I was one of them, but unlike the rest of them, I wanted to entrust just a little bit of magic to the world that we had left, surely things had gotten better, no?

"Well… the king, his council, and the rest of the kingdom certainly did not see it that way. It was a unanimous vote; they had me exiled. 'If you believe the world has finally changed for the better, then you will not at all mind living there.' And so I was sent to Remnant, without any means of returning to Lothos. That's why I refused to leave my house. I was drowning in self-hatred and hatred towards the kingdom that had cast me out. I haven't set foot in the kingdom ever since."

Minutes passed before anyone said anything; eventually that tense silence was broken by the blond brawler, her eyes turning red with anger and frustration, "You said back in Mistral that you would no longer keep secrets from us. You said that you wouldn't tell us any more half-truths. You said you would leave nothing out."

"Just as you would most naturally leave out anything to do with your runaway mother, miss Xiao Long."

The red vanished, and lilac eyes widened in shock, along with all the other pairs of eyes on the roof. So much had happened at once; Crocea Mors had been removed from its resting place, the one who moved it was from the fictional fifth kingdom, and Ozpin… was angry. The shock of that final fact alone was enough to throw the students, even Oscar, who was mentally connected to the man, off their balance. Upon realizing his outburst, the immortal wizard cleared his throat and looked away, shaggy hair covering his shame-filled eyes. "I… I apologize, miss Xiao Long… I did not mean…"

Yang stepped forward and put a hand on his host's shoulder, her gaze filled with compassion and understanding, "I know Prof… I'm sorry too… I guess after everything we've been through and all the sage advice you've given us, it's hard to remember that you have your scars and traumas…"

A smile found it's way back onto the young wizard's face, nodding up and down in his understanding, "I, guess that it is difficult for me as well. Once I am gone, make sure Oscar remembers that better than I do."

'You do remember that I'm still here… right?'

"So what you're saying," everyone turned to a distraught Pyrrha Nikos, "is that Crocea Mors, the only thing we have left of Jaune… is gone forever?"

Before the young wizard could answer, Ruby sped up and kneeled in front of the crying spartan, "No. No way. We're going to find him, and we're going to get Crocea Mors back."

"One question Ruby: How?"

"Simple Weiss, we do everything we can. If it's possible for the people of Lothos to come to Remnant, then I'm sure it's possible for people of Remnant to get to Lothos. I think we should start with trying what we did here."

"Making sparks that turn into bonfires? What would that accomplish?… other than being a good way to make smores or maybe pancakes."

Ozpin's smile stretched wider, "What happened here was the sparking of residual magic. We create more sparks, and we create more fires, then we may have a trail to follow. Very astute observation and idea, miss Rose."

Ruby's grin was practically sparkling, adorning the blushing face from the praise, "Thank you, professor."

"There are a few problems though." Blake spoke up for only the second time in the night, "He said that if we were to follow him, it would cause pain. Just like taking the sword away from us."

"She's right." the other ninja picked it up from there, "He also sounded like he didn't want to harm us, nor take the sword. So why did he?"

"Perhaps because it was a mission assigned to him by the royal family. Although, I can't be certain." Ozpin answered, "It has been a long time since I have been in my birthplace, and the fact that our 'guest' showed me some respect instead of disgust, I can only assume that the family that occupied the throne in my time has been replaced."

Oscar's body started to glow again, signaling a switch of souls, "I guess that means we've got more questions than answers. But one thing's for certain…

"We've got ourselves a hidden kingdom to find."

A/N's: Wait a minute... this isn't a new chapter for EtR...

Well that couldn't be helped. Unfortunately, due to a combination of work, procrastination, and family issues, I could barely get a few pages into the next chapter in EtR, but I was able to put this idea rolling around my head into writing. Now, don't get me wrong, I'll still be posting on EtR, but due to the growing intensity of my schedule, there will be no way for me to keep any sort of pace for posting chapters. Meaning the time between posts will be unpredictable and sporadic, even for me.

As I said before, this was an idea rolling around my head for a while, and I fell in love with it once I managed to write it down. In a way, this is a small experiment, but one I'll be taking seriously. This is also the last thing I'll be posting before Volume 6 comes out this Saturday, before everybody leaves this site and never leaves Rooster Teeth.

Until then, however, be sure to let me know what you think of this story. You're always welcome to leave suggestions, comments, and constructive criticism, actually I encourage it in fact.

Huge thanks to SunWukongMogar for being the beta for this chapter and hopefully the next chapters to come. I do not own RWBY, it is the intellectual property of the late Monty Oum and Rooster Teeth Productions, LLC.

'Til next time!