Disclaimer - RWBY is the property of Roosterteeth

I apologise for the long hiatus. My initial plan was to post a chapter a week but unfortunately that went out of the window almost immediately. First I had exams, then I had to ton of work to get a university place since I did worse than expected in said exams, and then I was whisked away to Holland so I couldn't update. The upside is that while I was away I had plenty of time to write, so I have two chapters ready for uploading. The second should be up within the hour assuming no complications.

This chapter is fairly light on action with the really interesting stuff happening in the next one.

Have fun!

The rest of the journey was uneventful, almost as if the monsters lurking in the forest were as scared of me and my rifle as the girls were. They tried to hide it, but every so often I would catch them glancing nervously at the weapons on my back and in my hands. There wasn't any meaningful conversation, so I had plenty of time to think. Judging from the girls', called team RWBY apparently, reaction to the scorpion; such attacks weren't rare, if not normal. That meant one of two things; they were involved in a secret project kept from the public, unlikely since Weiss expected me to know about the monsters as if they were common knowledge, or I was in some kind of different world where these creatures actually were common knowledge. There was also the possibility that I was hallucinating or dreaming, but I forced those thoughts out of my mind, if I didn't treat this seriously and I was wrong, then I would most likely end up getting myself killed. Only one thing was certain; I was no longer in the Middle East. The constant dry heat pressing down on me was gone and in its place was a cool, refreshing breeze more suited to a beautiful summer's day back home in Hereford than the horrendous climate I had been in and out of more times than I cared to remember. The greenery that surrounded me was far too lush and verdant to belong to any region of the Middle East. All around me was the cheerful chirping of birds and scurrying of small animals as they avoided our advance. The entire forest was calm and tranquil; a stark contrast with the horrors that hid within.

Eventually the forest thinned out and gave way to open ground before a cliff that towered overhead. Immediately my soldier's instincts told me to turn around and find another way up the cliff. Plenty of open ground with almost zero cover facing high ground where enemies could easily hide? No thanks. However, the girls carried on without a single hesitation, heading for the equally tactically terrible path leading to the top of the cliff. I shrugged off my fears as paranoia and followed the team, trying to ignore the severe lack of protection as we climbed. Any soldier worth his stripes would tell you that you never fight uphill if you can avoid it and what I was doing right now was going against everything I had learned in Sandhurst as an officer cadet three years ago. I trusted that the girls knew what they were doing and assumed that we were in friendly territory. Suddenly my body and mind relaxed as I realised why they were so nonchalant: there was no enemy. I had spent so long in constant fear of taliban snipers and ambushes as I patrolled the areas still under their control and even the areas that weren't, that I had simply assumed that my body armour and uniform meant that I was still fighting. Back there every person you walked past was a potential threat, hiding any kind of weapon under their clothes. Every hill, bush or tree was a potential hiding spot for a sniper. The place I had come from was a war zone, full of terrors, but that wasn't the case here. The only things to fear out here were in the forest behind us, and those creatures aren't anywhere near as hellish as humanity can be.

As we reached the top of the cliff I could finally see our destination. In the distance it looked like some medieval castle that wouldn't be out of place in a kid's film. As we got closer I started to feel very out of place in my uniform and being so visibly armed. Pockets of teenagers appeared more and more frequently as we approached the large complex of buildings. Most of the adolescents wore the same smart uniform leading me to believe that was entering a school of some kind, though I wondered what kind of subjects were taught if all the students were like the four in front of me. I could feel everyone's eyes on me as I walked past, clearly I wasn't the most inconspicuous person at that moment and the students must have been curious as to why a man in full military gear was being led into their school but there was little that I could do to quell any fears. I did what I could, however, and let my sling support my rifle at my waist and removed my helmet, trying to avoid seeming threatening as much as possible. It didn't work to any great extent as no one seemed to treat me any differently, continuing to watch from afar their eyes were filled with, not fear, but mild curiosity. I guess in a world where giant wolves and scorpions are commonplace, I wasn't as threatening as I thought I was. Finally breaking the awkward silence, I asked what kind of place this was.

"It's called Beacon, it's our school and our home. We're going to see the headmaster." Ruby answered cheerfully.

I inquired further into the school and found that this was where they learned to fight the grimm and that everyone else at the school was equally skilled. It certainly diminished my confidence to hear that; I was supposed to be the best of the best yet there was an entire school of children who completely put me to shame. I couldn't imagine how strong the adults of this place were.

The corridors of the main building were decorated lavishly, further reinforcing the fairy tale image I already had in my head. Luckily, their technology wasn't as medieval as their appearance. At the foot of the tower that we were to climb we found a large and extravagant elevator. Yang pushed the button corresponding to the top floor and the machine came to life, silently and efficiently taking us to the top floor. When we reached our destination, Ruby knocked on the large oak door and waited nervously for a reply. I heard a faint "Come in" from the other side and followed the girls in.

Ozpin, I found, was a middle aged man, older than me by a few years, with dishevelled, unnaturally white hair that seemed to refuse to stay combed. He had an aura about him that put one at ease, I immediately felt like I could trust him. The woman to his left however, was not as warm. Dressed in a black skirt and a purple cape, her icy gaze focused on me as I walked towards the desk the headmaster was seated behind. Ozpin stood up as I approached and walked with a cane in hand to meet me in the middle of the room. He held out his hand to shake and as I took it he began to speak.

"Your uniform is not one that I recognise yet you're clearly a soldier, so I must ask; where's the war?"

I smiled, starting to like the man instantly. "Very, very far away apparently. Ozpin I presume?"

I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage, my students must have told you who I am, but I know nothing about you."

"My name's Lieutenant Mark Ross of the British SAS, though I don't think you know who they are. Your girls tell me I'm in Vale, but I don't know where that is."

Ozpin raised an eyebrow at this but did not speak, instead he simply walked over to his desk and rummaged through his drawers.

"I assume they didn't think to show you a map, Lieutenant?"

I shook my head as he retrieved a tattered scroll and laid it flat on his desk. Before me was a land utterly foreign.

"This is the world of Remnant. Vale is here." He pointed to the map. "On the eastern end of the continent."

"Continent? You mean this is the whole world?" I had never seen these landmasses before, but that would be understandable if they were simply small islands.

"Indeed. But I suspect not your world. Tell me, are you familiar with the many-world theory?"

From there the headmaster explained his theory. The universe that I had come from was very different from the one I was currently in. Ozpin told me about how scientists were currently trying to prove the existence of worlds beyond their own, though they met limited success. It seemed ridiculous, yet at the same time easily possible; I had seen feats that shouldn't be accomplished and creatures that shouldn't exist, the weapons I had seen were simultaneously years ahead and behind my own and the buildings were similarly archaically advanced. With all this evidence it was suddenly trivial to accept that I was no longer on Earth. Silence filled the room as Ozpin finished his explanation. I remained quiet as I considered my options, at the time the decision seemed obvious.

"How do I get back?"

Ozpin sighed, "I thought that would come up. As I said earlier, the best scientists are still unable to prove the existence of other universes, much less reach them in some way. How you got here is a mystery itself." Ozpin sat down at his desk once more. "I will inquire into this matter further. In the meantime, you are free to do as you please. The girls will be relieved of their duties for the day to show you around and answer any questions you might have, and you will be assigned a guest room for the night. We'll speak again in the morning."

As I turned to leave Ruby nervously spoke up. "Um, sir? While we were out there we were attacked by a deathstalker. Mr Ross' weapons managed to smash through its shell in only a few shots."

Ozpin raised an eyebrow but otherwise didn't react. "I'll be sure to take that into account."

With nothing else needing to be said, the girls and I left the office and began my lengthy tour of the academy.

The library was filled to the brim with books ranging from almost every topic you could think of. There were books about the many monsters of this world, about the uses of 'dust', even ones about the care and maintenance of weapons. The books that drew my attention, however, were those written about the history and world of Remnant. I selected a few tomes that looked appropriate and sat down to read. Team RWBY had been extremely helpful; showing me around and allowing me to quickly commit the layout of the campus to memory, as well as answering all my questions. The girls had taken me to my temporary room first so that I could drop off all my unnecessary equipment before we began. Unfortunately there came a time when the girls had to leave and prepare for tomorrow, but I still had plenty of time before I needed to turn in for the night. Normally I despised studying, part of the reason I ended up doing so badly at school, but if I was going to spend the foreseeable future in this world then it was a necessity to learn all I could about Remnant as quickly as possible. The library was empty as all the students had already finished for the evening, so I wasn't intruding on anyone. Two topics interested me more so than the rest, the first being 'nature's wrath'. These people had no electricity whatsoever, instead they powered what would otherwise pass for electronics with what they called dust. It was similar to coal, in that it released energy when combusted, however dust was far more volatile and came in many different variants. Fire, ice, lightning; they were all types of dust and all had their place in society. Dust and aura were discovered by the first hunters and huntresses and since then had been integral to protecting civilisation, whether it was used in its pure form, sewn into clothes or used to propel bullets. One could very easily argue that the species owes its existence to the use of dust. Both species in fact.

My second topic of research was the faunus. A second intelligent species that are indistinguishable from humans, except for an extra, bestial body parts. Throughout history the faunus had been treated as lesser people, and were even moved and confined to Menagerie, an island far to the south. Obviously the faunus weren't very happy about being exiled and staged a revolution, beginning a war that would eventually end with equality between the faunus and humans. There were many parallels between the treatment of the faunus and slavery in my own world, and considering how events played out with the civil rights movement, I suspected that true equality hadn't been achieved just yet.

The guest room wasn't quite spartan, but it wasn't too far off. The bed was heavenly and the steaming shower was a welcome luxury after months of having to make do with what essentially amounted to a bucket of cold water. But that was it aside from a chest of drawers and a desk, but I supposed not much else would be needed. The night was surprisingly calm and restful. I found myself nodding off almost immediately despite my concerns about finding myself in a completely different world. Only once I was in bed did the exertions of the day finally catch up with me, knocking me out cold.

When the morning came I slept in for what felt like the first time in years. I would have slept for much longer, my fatigue and gratitude for being able to sleep on a decent mattress for once overruling my training and self discipline, however, an overexcited knock at the door ended those plans. Outside my door waited a young, bubbly team leader who, although initially taken aback by the fact that I had decided to only throw on a pair of trousers before opening the door, was far too energetic for the average teenager at this time in the morning.

"Good morning Mister Ross! I'm here to-"

"First of all, I'm either Mark, Lieutenant or Sir, never Mister." I interrupted. "Secondly, where can I get my hands on some food."

With all the commotion of the previous day, I had forgotten that I hadn't eaten since the morning of the chinook ride that led to my arrival in Remnant.

"That's what I'm here for!" Ruby replied cheerfully. "Professor Ozpin asked me to be your guide for the morning."

"Did he now?" I mused. "So where's our first stop?"

Breakfast was a uncomplicated affair; the large cafeteria offering everything a young student could wish for. From pancakes to cereal to bacon to eggs, it was all available. I pulled together as much of a full english as I could, bacon, sausages, fried eggs, the works, and wolfed it down. The school day had already started, leaving Ruby and myself alone in the large hall. I offered little to the conversation, letting Ruby babble on about nothing in particular. I occasionally answered the odd question about my world, but I was otherwise content to listen.

I soon found myself back outside Ozpin's office, waiting to be admitted. As soon as I entered the office I could tell something was wrong. It was written all over the headmaster's face. My suspicions were confirmed when he spoke.

"Lieutenant, I'm afraid I have some bad news." He said in a tone that seemed almost bitter. "Unfortunately, both my colleagues and my superiors, including my right hand woman, refuse to even entertain the notion that you are from another world, let alone divert any of their precious time and resources towards finding you a way home."

In truth, this didn't surprise me much. The story seemed incredibly unlikely even to me, so as many as a single person believing us would be a miracle.

"So what do we do now?" I asked, confident that the headmaster of a school designed to train warriors would have some kind of plan.

"I was told to put you on the next airship to Vale and let you make your own way, but fortunately I'm not so heartless. I've decided, if you are willing of course, to employ you. How do you feel about working for Beacon security? A soldier such as yourself should have no problem filling that particular role."

I pondered the offer for a moment; staying affiliated with the one man that believed my story was most likely the best course of action, however, anyone strong enough to threaten the students and staff of this school would have no trouble dealing with me. Although, when I voiced my concerns, Ozpin merely chucked.

"The security team is staffed entirely by ex-soldiers, discharged due to either injury, or simply old age. In an emergency any number of the students can be mobilised to combat the threat, in fact there was just an occurrence not too long ago of which Miss Rose was at the centre of. Your job would be to solve the smaller problems such as vandals and the overly intoxicated, so that the students have more time for their studies. It's a small and easy job, hence why I reserve it for people who have nowhere else to go, a category you fit into very nicely, Lieutenant.

Despite the fact that I was being lumped with men past their prime, my only other option was to "make my own way" in a world utterly foreign to me. The choice was obvious.

"When do I start?" I asked, extending a hand.

"I have some paperwork to fill in to make it official," he replied shaking it firmly, "but you can start now. I'm sure Miss Rose can show you to their office, she's been there plenty of times before."

Ruby's face turned as red as her namesake and quickly turned to leave. Only once we were heading down in the elevator did she speak in her usual animated fashion.

"I'd just like to say that it's not my fault I have to visit security often, it's just that Yang is always caught after curfew and I have to go there to collect her every time. Also that incident Professor Ozpin was talking about, we had nothing to do with it. Completely coincidental that we were there."

I merely grinned and nodded. Not once believing her for a second.

"You must be the new guy!" A big booming voice for a big guy. Easily six feet tall and built like a tree despite him obviously being advanced in years, the man who came to greet me reminded me of a bear, threatening even with his limp and cane.

"Ozpin told me all about you. It's a strange story I'll give you that but if Oz says it's true, then it must be! I'm Captain Gabriel Oak, head of Beacon security, although that title isn't as meaningful as it once was!"

He wore a tight fitting, long sleeved top with matching trousers, both navy blue, with white pieces of body armour adorning his chest and limbs. The armour was made out of what looked like a tough kind of plastic material. Perhaps it was strong enough to stop a grimm's claw or a blade, especially when combined with aura, but it appeared far to rigid and brittle to stop a bullet. For that, my kevlar vest could protect me from most threats in this world, combine it with the steel and ceramic plates that come as standard issue and my own set of body armour could deflect even the most powerful bullet.

"I'm Mark Ross." I greeted him warmly, already starting to like the boisterous old man.

He chucked heartily after hearing my name. "That's one of the things we need to talk about my friend. Follow me and we'll sort everything out.

He led me through a door behind the desk situated in the middle of the small room. I found myself in a large locker room with several guards chatting, dressed in a uniform identical to the captain's. Not one of them was less than five years older than me, a few were sporting helmets made out of the same kind of material as their armour. The musk of sweat and tobacco filled the air and clogged my nostrils. Ozpin wasn't kidding when he described this as a casual job. Oak led me to his personal office in the corner of the locker room and asked me to pull up a chair.

"First thing we need to sort out is your name." The captain said as he sat down in a plushy chair behind his desk. "You may have noticed that all our names are related to colour. I shan't bore you with a history lesson but let's just say that after a war many years ago it became tradition. Some even went as far as to change their surnames, my own for example."

I nodded in acknowledgement, I had noticed a theme but thought nothing of it, as more important matters were at hand.

"Okay... But I don't see why I need to change my name."

"Not everyone knows Ozpin like I do so they're not going to take his word that you really are from another world, or yours for that matter, so we need a cover story."

"I hope it's nothing too complicated" I joked. "This is starting to sound like something the spooks at MI5 would cook up."

Oak chuckled again, clearly not understanding but realising it was a joke nonetheless.

"No, nothing complicated. We're going for a rather clichéd amnesia story. Ozpin's letting you work for him until you get back on your feet. Now what are we changing your name to? Personally I like the sound of Mark Nutt."

"Nah." I said thoughtfully. "Sounds too much like a bad joke. What about Rust? Mark Rust?"

"Yeah, that'll work. "He said, disappointed. "Similar to your real name too."

He reached into a drawer and pulled out a key after some rummaging around.

"Your locker is number twenty. The previous owner is finally retiring so you'll be filling his role as squad leader." I took the key as he continued. "We operate in groups of four, each squad patrolling certain areas of the grounds on a rotating schedule. Your squad is made up of the twins Ebony and Ivory Winchester and Simon Cole. Ebony might be a handful, he wanted the promotion badly but if we tell him you're an ex-officer then that and his brother will keep him in line. By the way the Winchesters have a younger brother in his first year here, try not to let them play favourites. Finally you'll find in your locker your uniform and a scroll."

"Scroll?" I asked.

"You not have them where you're from? Communication device, sends messages and voice calls among other things, runs on dust." Oak stood up and shook my hand. "If that's it, welcome aboard!"

The next week passed by quickly. Ebony was indeed pissed at my appointment but I'd dealt with far more insubordinate soldiers in the past so keeping him in line wasn't too hard, especially with his brother's cool head to help. Occasionally the monotony of patrolling the grounds was broken by a meeting with the headmaster. He'd inform me of his progress, however little there was, and in return I would tell him off my world and my role in it. I told him about the SAS and our reputation, how we're experts in anti-terrorist operations. He seemed interested by our tactics, noting that there wasn't anything like it on Remnant. There was no need for them. Not until recently.

I was watching the news broadcast with my squad and a few other friends I had made, not really paying attention, when a breaking news story came up.

"Half an hour ago, White Fang members stormed an office building in downtown Vale. They have taken an unconfirmed number of hostages and so far police have been unable to take any action for fear of the hostages being harmed. Anyone with information or contact with a hostage is urged to come to the police. We'll bring you more information as we get it."

Live footage of the scene showing a police cordon around the building played while the report was given and what I saw irritated me with what was sheer stupidity to me.

"They don't know anything from down there!" I yelled in frustration. "There are buildings all around and those windows are fucking massive! Get some snipers in them and figure out the situation!" The terrorist's actions were almost textbook and so was the best response; locate the terrorists and hostages, then send in men through every available entrance hard and fast. Mission start and end should be minutes apart. Suddenly I heard a voice from behind me.

"Why don't you go down there and tell them that yourself?"

I know I would explain the strength of the rifles in this chapter, but the story is deviating from what I originally intended and I reckon it's better this way.

Please review, and if anyone has any questions; maybe I didn't explain something properly or if you're simply curious, feel free to ask me!