A.N.:I was asked to translate my chapter titles, so here goes in order:

Preamble, Johannes the Swordsmith, The deep Sea

Also, I'd like to thank everyone who has taken a bit of time to leave a review and apologise for any spelling and grammatical errors. Criticism is always welcome, even though praise and advice is naturally preferred. You might have guessed that English is not my first language. That's German. If anyone feels confident and motivated enough to proofread, give me a short PM. Also I have implemented the fancy double barrel that was suggested, but the Hunter's and Maria's arsenal will be vast and practical.

Raubtier - Carnivore

Ozpin was not a man to be perplexed easily. To be perfectly honest, he hadn't even always been a man. The many lives he had lived through had taken their toll on his ability to be amazed or surprised. Still, the message that popped up on his desktop made him pause for a few moments and hold his breath. It was not the contents of said message, as he was a very fast reader, but he still had to process letters in order to connect them to any meaning, but instead it was the profile picture of the one who had sent it.

Seeing the platinum blonde again and after such a long time was good, however he still was puzzled as to how the woman managed to retain such a youthful appearance after such a long time. The photograph was what young people these days called a selfie, made from a downward angle and showed her sideways hugging a tall and very uncomfortable looking man.

Maria and Johannes. A long time had passed since he had seen both. Since Johannes had decided to withdraw himself from the politics and events of the "real" world as he had called it. The man had tried to persuade Maria to attend Beacon, to live a normal life with friends and all the conveniences Vale could offer, but she had refused. Had instead followed him into the wilderness of Mistral.

That had been almost twenty years ago. If what Johannes told Ozpin was true, Maria was in her forties by now, though she still looked no day older than nineteen. Ozpin didn't even dare to guess the Good Hunter's age. The power that the man radiated fazed Ozpin a bit less than most people, but it still had left an impression.

He settled to read the message.

"Hello Professor,

How have you been? We are fine. On the way to Beacon right now. We'll need a landing pad in the evening. Johannes has something very important to tell you. I'm excited to see what Beacon looks now!

Maria"

It made sense for Maria to write the message instead of Johannes. The man had always been an enemy of technology of any kind as long as it wasn't related to direct combat. Had the man decided to fight in the war, he would have claimed terrible numbers.

Ozpin quickly relayed a message to the staff to clear one of the landing pads and informed Glynda of the pairs visit. The sun was starting to set, so their arrival would surely be soon. It was a strange kind of excitement that he felt while he organised their stay. A scholar like him had so much to learn from them. Maria had always had the ability to shine like a light during dark times. Ozpin always feared that this quality would shatter when she was confronted with the real world, but then again her counterpart, the Good Hunter Johannes, was what some might call the complete opposite of her.

The man always had seemed pessimistic about most things, until Ozpin realised that his gloomy attitude was not one of mistrust, sadness or even anger, but one of acceptance and calmness. If the man ever had been truly furious the headmaster couldn't even begin to imagine the damage done.

He received the clear from his staff for his request regarding the landing pad and a message from Goodwitch that she would pick the two up when they'd arrive. Her office provided a great view over the hangars and landing field, so she would know immediately when their airship would come in.

It didn't take them too long. Ozpin barely managed to finish the quarter annually report to the council which he had been working on all day, when he received a short and precise message on his scroll as it was usual for Glynda. Grabbing his cane, a cup of fresh coffee he made for the door.

He stopped shortly and gazed upon the small silver bell that sat, neatly presented in one of his shelves. It had been a gift from Johannes, many years ago. He had said to ring the bell if assistance was ever needed. It would summon him, but Ozpin knew how dangerous it could be to insert an unknown element into a combat situation without prior briefing. It had more in common with requesting an impromptu airstrike on one's own position, than summoning reinforcements.

Surprisingly, even more so for a man like the headmaster, the thought surfaced for the first time since he had received Maria's message. Why would they come here? What happened?

/

Beacon was an impressive structure in it's own right. Gothic architecture mixed seamlessly with modern influences and created a style that was unique to all of Remnant. Cinder wondered how the two were involved in the game of shadows that Salem, Ozpin and their respective little sidekicks (She noticed, a barely sullen expression on her face, that she and her company were exactly that.) played, hidden in plain sight. How did these two fit in the puzzle? If they withdrew from the powerplays of the real world, why did Salem want Johannes out of the game?

They had spoken about the thing the Black Queen wanted to utilise, but the Hunter's sentences seemed handcrafted to convey the feeling of receiving information, while he in fact only fed them scraps. It had been frustrating when she realised it and she, curious as she needed to be to stay ahead of her foes, had immediately asked further, only to receive more riddles and vague suggestions.

She had accommodated somewhat to the impression that Johannes was giving off. The malicious aura was a lot less present when she accepted it for what it was. Something she knew nothing about, but was not directed at her. So far he or his surrogate daughter had yet to express any kind of ill intent towards her. The opposite was happening actually.

"Turning away from a promise of great power for loyalty, might just take more strength than refusing to work with what is perceived as "evil" in the first place." The strange feeling that his voice invoked in her was gradually becoming more natural. More welcome. Receiving praise from the man filled her with more pride than she was ready to accept. Maybe this feeling was why Maria was so attached to the man. He might have her hooked, but then again she knew nothing about his person. Only about the things he was said to have done.

"I think it necessary to tell you of your option to leave." The Hunter sat back in his seat. The passenger bay of the Nightowl they used was a lot smaller than a Bullhead's, since the whole vehicle was sleeker and lighter.

"I don't think there is a place on Remnant where we are safe." Cinder caught Mercury's and Emerald's respective nods and Johannes threw each of them a scrutinising look. "And we will face what is to come rather sooner than later."

It was a steady voice. By now, her uneasiness around the pair was under control. Ember and Mercury felt almost the same, but Cinder surely was changed by their encounter with the enigmatic man and his excitable surrogate daughter. She was humbled apparently and she realized her transformation herself. She was still able of the alluring tone that she preferred to use when negotiating her terms with whoever was hungry or foolish enough to collaborate with her. She might still feel the old sense of superiority, but after their discovery of the horror Salem wanted to make her tool, she hadn't felt the need or want to subjugate anyone she came across.

What good would it do when the texts were actually true. When all the weird cults and insane scholars were right? If these things were true than might everything they had heard and read about Johannes be the truth as well? Even if it bordered on the impossible?

The warnings they had received from Dr. Ado, Professor of history at the Lidyan university in Vale, came to her mind. They had been warned that the Professor was not in his right mind anymore, after he had returned from an expedition from the no man's lands to the north. No one knew what he and his crew had seen up there, but the sinister look on his face and the baseless ramblings that he spouted, suggested something unnerving.

"Don't follow the blood." He had muttered while giggling like a mad man. "It makes us whole, eats up our desperate... fear it! Fear it! Don't wake what lies at the bottom of the sea. In their houses of... should they ever walk again..."

His disconnected whisperings had almost made them turn around and leave. But then, suddenly, Dr. Ado's surprisingly strong hand was on her wrist, his voice crystal clear.

"The Swordsmith! Whatever arises from the waters or descends from the cosmos, it can not survive the Swordsmith!"

Johannes's eyes bored into her's. The ice blue seemed to glow unnaturally in the twilight of the passenger compartment. How could anybody be sure this was a man in the first place?

"You worked with Salem. Ozpin is maybe her greatest enemy. Keep that in mind."

"We can take care of ourselves if it comes to that." She said, but quickly shut herself up as the Hunter narrowed his eyes.

She had made a mistake. She had, even though as indirect as possible threatened to fight Ozpin. Her hopes that Johannes didn't take it as such were crushed as the leather over his fist strained audibly. The fist with which he gripped the sheathed shortsword.

"Don't. Cinder Fall. Don't take this path. I have met many who opposed me. You have earned my sympathies, so don't make me your enemy."

The air around her seemed to freeze. A distant scent of saltwater filled her nostrils as she watched his silhouette contort oh so slightly. Almost ignorable, but she caught it. On any other day, in any other place, with any other man, she would have dismissed this as her eyes playing tricks on her, but not with him.

She was far from knowing him, hell she had just met him. Knowing this man without being him seemed impossible, no... she was sure it was impossible. At least for her. Whatever this... being was that sat in front of her, it invoked a primal sense in her. Something that told her, screamed at her to run. To flee and never stop. Her muscles stiffened, her eyes flicked over to Emerald on her left and suddenly...

It was gone again. Like a bad dream it washed off of her. Her breathing stabilised and she let out an involuntary sigh of relief, sinking back into her chair.

"Of course. I didn't mean to suggest-"

"Don't worry. As long as you keep your composure, a fight will be unnecessary."

He lowered his head, closing his eyes as he said that. Calmness radiating from him like, infectious and perfect. How was this even possible?

"Cinder?" Emerald whispered from her left. "We can never go back again."

It was a fact. But one that didn't scare Cinder so much anymore. It was only logical.

/

"Headmaster, your visitors are inbound." Glynda's voice sounded through the speaker of the headmaster's scroll. They would arrive within moments, the sleek, black silhouette of the Nightowl already on the horizon, contrasted by the setting sun. It reminded him of the movies about the last war as he looked out of his window. The only things missing were Atlesian classical music and dropping firedust-bombs. Such a fitting entrance for a man such as the Good Hunter.

He strolled down to the landing pads, his cane in hand (Not that he would need it.) and a fresh cup in the other.

He arrived just as the military vehicle set down on the concrete in fron of the hangars. He answered Maria's excited wave with a modest nod of his own, even though he couldn't suppress a smile. The door opened, sliding outwards and back along the chassis of the airship and revealed three unknown figures standing, then exiting the passenger bay. All of them were young, maybe as old as his third year students. One had raven hair and wore a red dress that revealed much of her right thigh, due to the slit that ran up, almost to her hip. The second one was even more barren of clothing, only wearing a pair of shorts and what seemed to be a sports bra to cover her up. Her green hair and dark skin colour contrasted remarkably though. The third was a young man, clad in grey and otherwise unremarkable clothes. His hair was grey too, but didn't seem unnatural. A lot of people on Remnant had wild hair colours, so grey didn't seem so uncommon.

"Headmaster." The voice was calm and low. The usual rasping, reverberating tone that he remembered from all those years ago. Not a day older, if primordial was a fitting description, Johannes the Swordsmith stepped from the airship, an equally preserved Maria right behind him.

"Johannes! How many times have I told you to call me Ozpin? It is good to see you. Who are your friends here?" He gestured to the unknown trio. Now that he looked at them, they seemed much too uncomfortable for the occasion to just be a courtesy visit."

"Cinder, Emerald, Mercury." He curtly answered, gesturing to each of them. "They will be coming with me. Professor Ozpin, I fear my visit is of professional nature. Can we talk inside? Perhaps with a cup of tea?"

Ozpin nodded and watched the Hunter turn back to the Nightowl and pull an enormous case from within, coffin might be a better word, shouldering it, the container surely one and a half the man's size.

He led them on, Glynda Goodwitch right at his side, suspecting gazes thrown back at the five visitors. Maria ahead, the three newcomers on the middle and the weighty clacking noise from the Hunter's boots from the back.

They entered Beacon.

/

Blake Belladonna was a girl of insecurities. She was afraid of her past, she was afraid of her past catching up to her, of the White Fang finding her, of the other students, except RWBY finding out about her heritage. She was afraid of returning the affection Sun Wukong, a fellow faunus, showed her on a daily basis, because she was afraid it might distract her from her goals.

Right now, she wasn't feeling any of this. She struggled to understand as the anxiety was normally a constantly present weight on her, hence why she often fled into the fictional worlds of her books. But right now, there was focus, calm, like soothing balm that cooled her wounds and threatened to close them.

She looked up. Surely, the gardens of beacon were marvellous in their own right. Colourful, warm during any season and peaceful at most. She had seldom noticed the latter. Too often the gardens were filled with teenage couples, hormones running wild and far too infatuated with each other to care about the peace of others. Often she had fled from a pair going on and almost at it just mere meters from her. Not that she was prudent by any means, but she still had tact.

A small group came into view. She recognised Headmaster Ozpin and Headmistress Goodwitch leading a group of five. A blonde girl was looking around enthusiastically, obviously taking in the scenery, while three others her age trotted behind, their gazes either cast to the ground or at the roofs as if looking for an ambush. And then, there was their rearguard.

It was as if all of her worries, all of her fears and anxieties were sucked away, siphoned towards this man. Black coat trailing behind him and a large container on his shoulder, he moved with purpose, only looking around slightly before their eyes met.

He stood at least thirty meters from where she was sitting and sat the case down on the ground with a heavy thump that Blake thought she felt all the way over. Her enhanced vision was able to pick up details on anyone else. Details most people weren't even aware of themselves, but this man, stood perfectly still, safe for the gentle rising of his chest with every breath taken.

The calm, it was him. He made her feel this wonderful lack of worries, this feeling of safety... like poison through her veins. She steeled herself and forced her cautious nature back to the surface. She would not succumb to such a trap. Her stare had seldom been so aggressive and she was sure he picked up on it.

But he just smiled.

Impossibly clean teeth showed and she was sure he could rend flesh and bones with them. Piercing blue eyes scrunched up in slight amusement as he bowed slightly, drawing one foot back before he turned and walked after the headmaster and the others.

Blakes book slammed shut, startling one of the infuriating couples around her as she stood up and moved.

She hadn't even passed the second corner in her pursuit when she stopped. Her senses alerted her of something behind her, slightly to the left. In a predicament she considered her options. She could keep moving, pretend that she wanted to go somewhere else anyway. She could turn around and face who was undoubtedly the man from before. The eerie and at the same time soothing presence suggested such, but in doing so she would inevitably disclose her intention of shadowing the group. Maybe she could...

"Miss Belladonna." The voice came from deep within her. Something screamed run, something wanted to listen forever.

"How do you know my name?" She turned around to face him. He stood easily two heads taller than her, his hat tucked gently under his arm.

"It's of no importance, young lady. However I would plead that you don't follow us or try to pry into our matters."

"Why?" The question was more aggressive than necessary or intended. He just smiled, baring a jaw full of sharp teeth.

"There are things humans were not supposed to know and would do better if they are kept ignorant of."

"I'm not human!" She snapped and immediately threw her hands over her mouth. So many years of hiding, of crafting an identity to live away from the Fang, threatened so easily by her fragile composure.

His smile grew even wider, now showing the full set of blades within.

"That would make two of us."