AN:
Hello everyone sorry for the LONG ASS delay on this story.
For those who may not know, I was busy with University assignments and essay's that it took up almost all my time.
I also want to say thank you for supporting and patiently waiting for this story. So as thank you for your support, I wrote an extra long story just for you guys.
Now without further ado, here's another chapter
*IMPORTANT*
I reedited the previous chapter a bit to better fit with the canon, give it another read before this one if you readers want.
DISCLAIMER:
I don't own RWBY or Warhammer 40k, they're owned by Rooster Teeth and Gaming Workshop respectively.
"Normal"
"YELLING"
'Thoughts'
'Telepathic communication'
"Demonic/Other"
Chapter 2: Who I am
Location: Atlas Airship, Mantle – Observation Labs
Within the science section of the Atlas Airship, three distinct figures watched through an observation window as scientists, technicians, and engineers bustled around within the lab.
However, what caught the attention of the three figures wasn't the busy scientists, technicians, nor the engineers, but the very object of their frantic study.
"What are we seeing right now Dr. Cobalt." One of the figures asked.
"General, what you're seeing right before you, is possibly the key to the future." Replied the now named Dr. Cobalt to the two figures beside him. These figures were none other than General Ironwood of the Atlas Military and Professor Ozpin, headmaster of Beacon Academy.
Dr. Cobalt is the head researcher of the ship's labs. He's a skinny individual that oddly reminded Ozpin of Bartholomew Oobleck with his lanky but tall build, rectangular thick glasses, lab coat, and messy blue hair.
Just a day ago, Ozpin sent Team JNPR on a reconnaissance mission to discover the unknown energy source within the Forever Fall Forest. The team was lead and accompanied by one of Ironwood's Specialists, Winter Schnee, and a contingent of his Atlesian Knights into the forest. Their mission was straight forward and the only known dangers at the time were both the large amount of Grimm congregating at the energy source and possibly the source itself.
However, just hours after they left, both Team JNPR and Winter herself returned, each member worse for wear. Both Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren were unconscious and had their aura depleted while both Pyrrha Nikos and Winter herself had a severe case of aura exhaustion, but other than that none of them sustain any life threatening injuries.
But what caught both the General's and Headmaster's attention was all the Atlesian Knights that accompanied Winter and Team JNPR were destroyed, but not by the Grimm, but by the very person that they are currently looking at.
When both Team JNPR and Winter returned, they also brought with them an armored being that was carried by two Bullheads towards Ironwood's personal Airship, due to it's immense weight. Winter then explained to both Ozpin and Ironwood how the armored being was the source of the unknown energy signature as she and Team JNPR found him slaying Grimm when they arrived. However, when Winter confronted the being, he showed open hostility towards her and attacked, destroyed all the Atlesian Knights and severely wounded her, Ren, and Nora in the ensuing battle.
However, from what Pyrrha had explained to Winter, the armored being fainted but not before releasing a large amount of aura that healed all their wounds.
Both Ironwood and Ozpin were skeptical at first but couldn't deny what Winter had said until they saw the very being themselves. The very next day both the General and Headmaster made their way to the Airship to see the armored individual.
The armored being is seemly unconscious as his large suit of power armor is shut down, the unknown individual is then magnetically locked at the wrists and ankles to an experiment table. The table is then elevated so it's standing parallel to the ground and facing towards Ironwood, Ozpin, and Dr. Cobalt. The armor is silvery grey and is covered in numerous scratches and battle wear as the armor itself closely resembles to that of a knight of old. The armor is at least eight feet tall and is covered with gold wards in a language that Ozpin has never seen and It is also adorned with multiple wax seals.
Both Ozpin nor Ironwood had ever seen such an individual before in their lives, nor anyone from any of the four kingdoms that closely resembles the individual. Plus, if Winter didn't confirm that there was an actual human being within the large suit of armor, then this armored individual before them would've been easily mistaken as a large droid of some sort.
"What do you mean "key to the future"?" Ozpin asked in an inquisitive tone, he has his suspicions on what the doctor truly means by using that term.
The doctor excitedly answers. "My team and I have been studying and analyzing the subject's armor and weapons throughout the night. And let me say, whoever this person is or wherever he comes from, he has access to technology far more advanced than anything that Atlas could ever dream of accomplishing."
This caught the General's attention. "Explain."
"Unfortunately, the information we have right now on the subject's armor is very limited. All we know that it's a fully enclosed power armor made up of unknown metal compositions that we have never seen before. The metal compositions are extremely durable and the only metals we could identify was traces amount of silver and gold all over the armor." The doctor explained as he shifted through his notes on his scroll tablet.
Ironwood gave him a raised eyebrow. "Didn't the technicians and engineers I assigned to you try to open the armor?" the General questioned, Dr. Cobalt nodded his head with a frown.
"Yes we tried opening the armor numerous times, but whoever created it made it virtually impossible for us to crack it open. At first we used high powered welders and plasma cutters, but whatever metal the armor is made from couldn't even conduct heat, thus rendering all of our energy based cutters useless." The doctor then gave an exasperated sigh.
"So we tried using special drills and saws that were specifically made to cut through even the dense bone armor of Deathstalkers. But not only did that failed to cut through the subject's armor, every drill and powered saws we used against that armor BROKE!" The doctor explained as he gestured to a large medical trolley filled with broken drills and saws with their blades grinded flat.
The doctor then sighed as Ironwood's eyes widened. "Didn't you try to scan the armor?" Ironwood aske, the doctor once again nodded his head. "Yes we did, but all of our diagnostic scans couldn't even penetrate through the outer layer of the armor. This armor not only protects its user from all forms of physical attacks, but it also protects them from scanning equipment and radioactive based equipment. And all the scan results of the armour's metal composition came out with unknowns." The Dr. Cobalt explained in a tried tone.
This greatly shocked Ironwood, a team of some of the brightest minds in Atlas couldn't even discover what the armor is made of. Ozpin frowned as he turned his gaze back at the unconscious being. Whoever created this suit of armor is truly a genius as they wanted to make sure that no one would be able to penetrate the armor's defenses, both figuratively and literally.
Ironwood's shocked expression turned into a stern frown. "And what of its weapons? Did you manage to find out anything we could use?"
The doctor mood immediately brightened. "Yes we did. Unlike it's armor, we managed to get decent amount of information about it's weapons. It's truly fascinating!" Dr. Cobalt said in an awed tone.
Ironwood nodded. "Then may we see the subject's weapons?" Ironwood asked with a hint of curiosity. Ozpin frowned, when Winter told them of the capabilities of the armored individual's weapon, a glowing sword that is able to cut through Deathstalker armor with ease, it's not beyond James to be interested of what advanced arsenal the being is currently carrying.
The doctor smiled. "Of course General. Right this way."
Dr. Cobalt then lead both Ironwood and Ozpin into another lab that was just directly below the observation lab where the armored being is currently being held in. When Ozpin entered the room, the first thing that caught his attention was the man-sized sword slowly hovering within a magnetic field.
The double edged blade was truly massive as it was almost as tall as Ironwood himself, the handle was dark red with a shining golden hilt, but two things caught the headmaster's attention.
The first was the inscriptions engraved on both sides of the blade, written in the exacted same language engraved on the being's armor. The second was the small generator located near the hilt of the blade itself, it's function unknown to Ozpin.
But before Ozpin could ponder on any further, the Dr. Cobalt notices his interest. "Ahh! Headmaster, I see you are interested in the subject's main weapon of choice." Ozpin gave a calm nod to the scientist. "Yes indeed doctor. What can you tell us about this sword?" Ozpin asked with a hint of curiosity.
The doctor smiled as he turned his gaze to the large floating sword. "Unlike the armor, the blade itself is surprisingly made from simple iron with flecks of silver. Something that is surprising coming from such an individual who has access to such advanced technology." Dr. Cobalt explained, he then pointed to the small generator. "But what fascinated the both the scientists and engineers was this generator. After analyzing it, we believe it can create an energy field around the blade, giving the blade the ability to cut through virtually anything. In theory that is."
Ozpin noticed how Ironwood's eyes widened at this discovery. "Did you manage to test this theory?" Ozpin asked, however, Dr. Cobalt shook his head. "We couldn't because we can't even activate this generator's functions. There are no triggers or switches, so we tried activating it with both artificial and normal aura, but it refused to activate. At first we thought it was damaged, however, after doing some scans the results showed the generator was fine and should function normally. We believe that only the subject can activate the blade's true function."
Ozpin nodded his head. "I see… what else do have to show us?"
The doctor then gestured towards a makeshift shooting range near the back of the lab. At the range was an large odd looking mounted gun with a fairly long barrel pointed at a large sheet of untouched metal. The wall behind the sheet of metal has five fist-sized holes, something that caught both the Headmaster's and General's attention.
And right beside the mounted gun was a large metal table, and on the table was an assemble of what appears to be 30 grenade-sized bullets. Each of these large bullets were silver in color and had numerous wards etched into the casing of the shell. And besides the bullets were three different grenades, the first looked like a standard frag grenade, the second was more roundish in shape and had a large handle at the top.
However, what caught Ozpin's attention the most was the third grenade as it was basically a red and gold canister with a golden skull molded on the side of the grenade.
After observing the assortment of strange ammunition, the doctor then went over and retrieved one of the bullets. "This is the ammunition used by the subject's ballistic weapon attached to it's left gauntlet. Unfortunately, we couldn't remove the subject's wrist-mounted gun, however, we did manage to retrieve its ammunition and explosive equipment as you can see here." The doctor explained as he gave the bullet in his hand to Ironwood. Ironwood held the bullet as he tested its weight and examined it with a critical eye.
After a brief moment, Ironwood then gave the bullet back to the doctor. "What is this bullet made out of and what can it do?" Ironwood asked with a hint of curiousity.
"We analyzed the bullet's the subject has. In total, the subject had 100 of these bullets with two large magazines that could hold 60 of these bullets each. The bullets you see now are from the magazine that was attached to it's gun, and for our tests we used ten of these bullets leaving us with 90 rounds left all together." Dr. Cobalt explained as he made his way over to the mounted gun. He then chambered the large bullet into the gun and aimed it at the sheet of metal.
After prepping the gun, he then turned back to both Ozpin and Ironwood. "The bullet is measured to be 0.75 calibre and like the subject's armor it's made from unknown composition's of metals except one…" The doctor then held another bullet as he pointed to the casing.
"Silver." The doctor finally said as he continued. "We also discovered the bullet has both armor penetrating and explosive capabilities due to the tip containing some form of diamond like material and that it's rocket propelled. In other words, it's a miniature rocket." Dr. Cobalt explained to the surprise of both Ironwood and Ozpin.
Ozpin then turned his gaze at the fist-sized holes in the wall, now knowing exactly what caused them. Such a bullet of that size will have destructive stopping power, whether or not the target has armor or not. However, such a bullet will be extremely costly to make for any kingdom, much less an individual Huntsman. Just who is this armored being?
The doctor then gestured towards the mounted gun. "So for our tests we had our weapon engineers to construct a gun that can fire this bullet. After a few failed tests we managed to build this gun capable of firing these rounds, and the results were what we have expected."
Dr. Cobalt said, he then looked at Ironwood and gestured towards the gun. "Would you like to do the honors General?" The doctor asked.
Ironwood simply gave the doctor a stoic stare as he walked over to the mounted cannon. Like the trained soldier he is, Ironwood immediately braced himself, aimed the gun, and pulled the trigger.
DAKKA!
PING! BANG!
The gun jolted from the power of the bullet as said projectile visibly left the barrel of the gun in a bright yellow stream straight towards the sheet of metal. Not only did the bullet pierced through the sheet of metal, but it also penetrated deep into the steel wall behind it before instantly exploding, leaving a large fist-sized hole.
Ozpin didn't need to read Ironwood's mind to know what's going through the General's head. After observing the destructive capabilities of a single bullet, there is only one thing a General of the world's most powerful military can think of.
"Is it possible to recreate these weapons? Both the sword and bullets?" Ironwood asked the doctor, confirming Ozpin's fears.
The one thing Ozpin feared would happen from this is that Remnant wouldn't be ready for such advanced weaponry. If Atlas recreates such destructive weaponry for their military, then other kingdoms will feel powerless and thus will either demand Atlas to share this technology or use underhanded methods to gain such tech. This will in turn will breed seeds of distrusts and hate between Atlas and the rest of the kingdoms, especially since Atlas just recently regained the trust of the kingdoms after the Battle of Beacon.
And if their enemies get their hands on this weaponry, then more blood will be shed in this secret war for survival.
The doctor readjusted his glasses. "Unfortunately, due to the unknown materials used, we cannot make exact replica's, but we can possibly make something similar if my team and I reverse engineer both the sword's generator and these bullets." Dr. Cobalt explained.
Ironwood gave affirm nod. "Then do it. You will have my full permission and funding from the Atlas Military to recreate these weapons." Ironwood said with conviction. Ozpin frowned. "James. A moment please." Ozpin said in a firm tone.
Ironwood turned his gaze towards the headmaster and gave him a knowing look. "Ozpin I know what your going to say. But think of the possibilities that can accomplished from doing this. If we can recreate this technology for our own, then our war against the Grimm and our enemies will be a thing of the past." Ironwood explained, however, Ozpin wasn't convinced.
"Did the Battle of Beacon teach you nothing? If the Atlas Military recreate these weapons, then what will the other kingdoms think of Atlas? If your specialists and soldiers start using weapons that no other kingdom on this planet has ever seen before, then there will be mistrust and fear between Atlas and the other kingdoms once again. Not only that, but our enemies have proven numerous times in the past to be far more resourceful than we have imagined. Once these weapons are made and mass produced, what's stopping our enemies from taking them?"
"Oz, that will not happen, I swear-"
"No James. We have made many mistakes in the past that lead to the death of innocent lives. I will not see you be responsible for another such mistake." Ozpin said with conviction, leaving no room for an argument. However, before Ironwood could retort the room was immediately flooded with red lights as a loud alarm blared across the ship.
Numerous foot steps could be heard outside of the lab as both Ozpin and Ironwood quickly left the room to see numerous Atlesian Knights marching towards the floors above.
"What is going on soldier!?" Ironwood demanded towards the nearest soldier.
The soldier saluted. "Sir! Subject has escaped in Lab 13! We're moving to quarantine the lab and secure the subject!" The soldier explained. Ironwood nodded. "I see. Secure the room and do not engage the subject until I arrive. Is that understood."
"Yes sir!" The soldier gave a final salute before running off towards the floors above.
Both Ozpin and Ironwood gave one another a concerned expression before quickly making their way towards the elevators.
Julius opened his eyes, however, instead of seeing the inner compartments of his helm he is met with a black void, as far as his eyes can see.
Another thing he noticed was that he didn't feel the usual weight of his Aegis Terminator Armor bearing down on him or the familiar grip of his sword. He immediately checked himself and realized why.
He is naked.
It did not bother him that he was naked, what bothered him was that somehow his enemies incapacitated him, removed his armor and weapons, and trapped him in a black void only the God-Emperor knows where.
Julius paused, how did his enemies incapacitate him?
Last he remembered, he was fighting the red haired heretic. After destroying her weapons, he went to finish her off once and for all, however, she said something that made him pause.
She said a name, Jaune Arc.
Julius recognized the name from his memories, but that alone should not have made him pause his strike. But it did. Why did it? Why did he hesitate?
Before Julius could ponder on any further, there was a flash of white in the distance as numerous flying objects started speeding towards him. Julius's battle hardened instincts flared as he immediately braced himself, clenching his hands into fists.
Even without his wargear, he will still fight in the Emperor's name.
However, the flying objects that were speeding towards him started to slow down as they started to surround him with hundred more objects joining, soon creating a large dome around him. It wasn't until Julius took one good look at the floating objects did he recognized what they were.
Each and every one of these floating objects that surrounds him were screens, each playing a different event.
Julius looked towards one of the screens as it showed a small blonde child frantically unwrapping a wrapped box and pulling out a rubber ball in obvious excitment.
He then looked towards another screen showing the same child, but older, mock dueling his father with a wooden sword as several females, both young and old, watched the boy's duel.
Another screen showed a blonde teen unwrapping a package with barely concealed excitement, only to reveal a black hooded sweater with a rabbit head as an insignia located directly on the chest of the sweater.
It wasn't until Julius saw the screen showing the blonde teen receiving his family's heirloom sword did he finally realize whose memories he was currently looking through.
These screens. They are showing the memories of his past life.
"That is correct."
Julius immediately spun around, ready to face whoever dared to announce themselves.
However, Julius paused.
The being that stands before him was the very teen from his past memories, staring right at him with a smile as his entire body was faintly glowing in an aura of white.
Julius couldn't sense any deamonic taint from this teen, but instead the teen's energy felt strongly familiar with his own, as if they are one and the same.
"You are correct in that sense." The teen calmly answered. Julius expression hardened, this teen- no- this being can read his mind, a mind that has been trained to resist the most powerful of psychic attacks and the untold deamonic horrors and temptations that Chaos can conjure.
Just who is this being that stands before him?
"Who am I you ask? The answer is quite simple. I represent all the memories from the life you use to have, from the day you were born to the fateful day you died protecting your kingdom. In short, I am you." The being explained in a calm tone, this shocked Julius. However, his shock only lasted a fraction of a second.
Normally Julius would not trust the anomaly standing before him, however, he couldn't deny that the being's aura strongly resembles his own, and that Julius couldn't sense any deceit in his words.
Julius's expression hardened. "That is impossible. My chapter and the Inquisition wiped all memories of my past." Julius explained in a stern tone.
The being nodded in agreement. "That may be true for your past life as a delusional farm boy on a random feudal world. However, these memories are special. These memories you see now cannot so easily be forgotten. These memories are a part of who you are, for they are part of your very soul." The being explained.
Julius frowned. "If what you say is true, then where are we? What are you trying to accomplish?" Julius demanded in a commanding tone that could even intimidate a Commissar.
However, the being wasn't intimidated in the slightest. Instead, the being's smile grew. "You should know where we are. After all, we are in your mindscape." The being explained in a cheeky tone, Julius stayed silent, not amused by the being's playful nature.
The being continued. "And as for the purpose of bringing you here. I'm here to inform you that once you wake up you will remember everything about your past life as Jaune Arc. And to also inform you of the reason why you were sent to this world."
There was a brief moment of silence as there was only one question in Julius's mind.
"Who sent me to this world." Julius demanded with his usual stern expression.
The being's smile dropped as it was replaced with a serious expression. "The one that sent you here didn't show Himself directly, for He works in mysterious ways. He showed me visions of a world embroiled in darkness and chaos. This very same world that Jaune Arc died in. The very same world that you and I came from. Our home, Remnant." The being explains in a calm but serious tone.
Julius's eyes widened in realization. "You don't mean… the one that sent me here was…"
The being nodded. "Yes. It was He who foresaw your death on that fateful day. It was He who gave you a new life as a Grey Knight. It was He who saved you from the deamons of the Warp and returned you back to your home world of Remnant." The being explained.
Julius was no less shocked, however, his shock only lasted a second before he steeled his resolve. "Then what purpose has He have for me on this world? Why has He brought me back to my supposed home?" Julius demanded, wanting answers.
The being smiled. "He didn't reveal to me everything or as to why He has returned you to this world. However, I believe you will find the answers you seek in due time." The being cryptically explained.
But before Julius could question the being any further, the memories surrounding them started to disappear. "It appears our time is up." The being stated as he turned and started walking away from Julius. Julius, not done with the being just yet, went to follow, however, the being's aura started to glow to blinding levels.
Julius was forced to look away from the blinding light as his vision started to turn white. But before his vision turned completely white, the being spoke once more.
"This will be the last time you hear from me Julius. What you do from now on is entirely up to you. But be aware of the choices you make from now on, for every decision you make will reshape the future, for the better or for the worse…"
Julius's eyes shot open as his armor activates in conjunction to his sudden consciousness. Information and statistics were sent directly to his mind through his armor's neural link. However, he wasn't paying attention to any of that nor what is happening around him for he is in a momentary trace.
He remembers everything.
He remembers his name, his home, his birthday, his parents, his seven sisters, Beacon, his teachers, his friends, everything that has happened till the fateful day he died.
He also remembers the last words he said to the one he loved.
"Goodbye Pyrrha. I love you."
Julius's mind was conflicted, a raging storm of emotions plagued his mind. Anger, longing, sadness, confusion, happiness, love, fear, hate.
However, this moment of weakness only lasted for a single moment before Julius's century of mental conditioning and iron will brutally quashed these emotions into nothingness.
Julius steeled his resolve.
He is Julius Arch, an Adeptus Astartes, His angel of death, and most of all a Brotherhood Champion of the Grey Knight Chapter.
He is no longer the human boy known as Jaune Arc. That life ended when he died.
After quelling his emotions, Julius then analyzed the situation he was in.
He was currently located in a large lab; the precise location of the lab is unknown.
Thankfully he was still in his Aegis Terminator Armor as diagnostic scans showed it was functioning at full capacity. However, what concerns him the most is his missing Nemesis Force Sword, Psybolt ammunition, and grenades.
Not only were his weapons missing, but he is currently locked at the wrists and ankles to an examination table as unknown humans moved around within the lab. Auspex scans showed seven targets, five visibly in front of him and two behind him.
From what Julius could remember, these humans were scientists and technicians of the Atlas Military, which means he's either in an Atlas science/military facility or in one of their airships. From what he could deduce, these humans were analyzing his armor, using their tools to try and breach his armor but without any signs of success.
They will soon regret desecrating his holy armor.
"What is the meaning of this!" Julius demanded, all the humans that were analyzing his armor immediately backed away in shock.
"SUBJECT IS AWAKE!" Shouted one of the scientists in panic. Julius then slowly strained both arms and legs against their respective restraints, testing the metal cuffs.
"Calm down, the subject is restrained by the latest magnetic cuffs. Those things can hold down a raging Ursa. There is no way he could possibly escape." Boasted one of the human technicians as the others visibly calmed with relief.
Julius scowled underneath his helm, they're comparing him to a pathetic Grimm.
He will soon prove them wrong.
Julius, using his full strength, strained against his restraints. Soon the metal restraints started to groan and spark under the sheer pressure of his immense strength, the humans noticed this and started to slowly back away in fear. And with a final push, Julius broke through his restraints, freeing both of his arms in a shower of sparks. He then proceeded to free his legs and drop down onto the steel floor, shaking the ground with his immense weight.
"SUBJECT HAS ESCAPED!" Yelled one of the scientists.
At this point one of the humans ran over to the console beside the entrance and pressed a few buttons. Immediately an alarm went off as red security lights replaced the original lighting of the room, soon all the scientists and technicians quickly fled the room out of the only exit. At the same time the humans had left, his auspex scanners detected multiple hostile signatures coming towards the room, no doubt in response to the alarm.
As Julius turned to meet the incoming hostiles, he was soon greeted by a squad of both Atlas soldiers and the combat A.I called the Atlesian Knights. The soldiers and their Men of Iron quickly entered the room and soon surrounded Julius while covering the only entrance/exit. Soon the alarm stopped and the room went back to it's normal lighting.
"FREEZE! Stand down or we will open fire!" Demanded one of the soldiers as both man and machine trained their guns on Julius. Julius scanners counted twenty hostiles, four soldiers and sixteen combat A.I. He also quickly scanned the room for any other exits. He found none.
Julius then turned his gaze at the Atlas soldiers in front of him. He can tell that each of these soldiers were nervous, from the simple movements of their feet to the constant fingering of their triggers.
Julius expression hardened underneath his helmet. "Lay down your weapons." Julius warned in a strong tone reinforced by his Vox Grill. The soldiers visibly flinched back from the sound of his voice, however, they quickly recovered.
"Why should we!?" Demanded one of the soldiers, his tone betraying his nervousness.
Julius frowned underneath his helm. "Because this is a fight that you will not survive."
The tension grew between Julius and both the Atlesian soldiers and A.I's. However, just as the tension reached its peak, someone behind the group interrupted.
"Stand down!"
Immediately following the command, the Atlesian Knights brought down their weapons and stepped away from the entrance automatously, the soldiers following suit.
"GENERAL IRONWOOD SIR!" the soldiers saluted to a man standing at the entrance with one other.
Julius immediately recognized these two figures. One is General James Ironwood of the Atlas Military and the other in the automated wheelchair is none other than Professor Ozpin, Headmaster of Beacon Academy.
It appears the Emperor has blessed him once again with this encounter.
"At ease men." The General ordered as he and Ozpin approached Julius. While the soldiers showed emotions of nervousness, fear, and anxiety, both the General and Headmaster kept a stoic expression, betraying no emotions.
Soon both men are standing in front of Julius, craning their necks to meet eye to eye with him. There was a brief moment of silence as Julius studied their facial expressions. To the ignorant, it would seem that they were simply staring silently at one another. However, for any veteran, this is not the case as both men in front of him are analyzing him with a critical eye, gauging how dangerous he is.
Julius is doing the exact same, a century of fighting the Arch Enemy has taught him to quickly and thoroughly analyze his opponents, from their weapons to their next attack. Unlike the Atlas Specialist, the remnants of Jaune Arc's old team, Team JNPR, and the soldiers in the room, Julius can tell that these two men have far more experience than any human he has come by so far.
After a brief moment of tense silence, Ironwood spoke. "Greetings. I'm-"
"James Ironwood, General of the Atlas Military. And Ozpin, Headmaster of Beacon Academy. I know who you two are." Julius interrupted, surprising both Ironwood and Ozpin. However, their mild shock only lasted a second as Ozpin spoke. "It appears you already know who we are. However, we can't say the same for you. Who are you exactly?" Ozpin asked in a cautious tone.
There was a brief pause. "Answer me this Ozpin. How long ago was it since the attack on Vale and Beacon? How long ago was it since Cinder was slain?" Julius asked in a calm tone. This was unlike him, however, he needed information and most of all, a powerful ally.
He needed Ozpin on his side. And he knows just how to gain the Headmaster's trust.
Ozpin quirked a curious eyebrow. "Well over a year since that battle. Why do you ask?" Ozpin asked in an suspicious tone. Julius's eyes widened a bit, it has only been more than a year since that fateful day.
After a brief moment of silence Julius answered. "Because it was the night of that fateful day that I died on top of your tower, slaying the witch responsible for the attack."
Immediately both Ozpin's and Ironwood's expressions turned into stern frowns. "What you're implying is impossible. Jaune Arc died that night, sacrificing himself to save Vale. He is seen as a hero throughout Vale and the other three kingdoms for his heroic sacrifice. And now you are here telling us this absurd claim! What proof do you have!?" Ironwood shouted angrily as both his soldiers and Ozpin shared the same sentiment.
However, instead of answering, Julius's helmet depressurized and unlocked itself from Julius's armor, the noise surprising the soldiers and the General. As the helmets' glowing visors dimmed, Julius brought his hands up to his helmet and gripped it firmly before pulling it off his head and held the helmet underneath his right arm.
With his face now finally revealed, there was no doubt in anyone's minds that Julius was indeed a living human being. He has a strong looking facial structure, his expression hardened and showing no outward emotion, his blue eyes showed an experience that is not even the most veteran of Huntsmen has ever come close to achieving.
To the Atlas soldiers and Ironwood, Julius has a face of a hardened warrior that has no doubt seen untold number of battles.
However, to Ozpin's great shock, Julius's resemblance to Jaune Arc was unmistakable.
"James. Tell your men to leave." Ozpin said in a serious tone.
Ironwood gave Ozpin an incredulous expression. "Ozpin what do yo-"
"James. Trust me." Ozpin said in a firm tone as he met Ironwood's gaze. After a brief moment of tense silence, Ironwood relented as he broke his gaze away from Ozpin.
*Sigh* "Men. Leave us."
With a salute, all four soldiers slowly left the room, each hesitant of leaving their superior alone with the huge armored-clad warrior, the Atlesian Knights following soon after. Soon the only ones in the room were Julius, Ironwood, and Ozpin.
There was a brief moment of silence as both the Headmaster and General studied Julius's features once more.
"It's really you, isn't it Jaune. What has happened to you? How did you survive?" Ozpin asked in a tone of disbelief, breaking the silence. Ironwood turned and gave Ozpin an expression of shock and confusion before looking back towards Julius, seeing if Ozpin's claim was true.
Julius placed his helmet back on his head. When it finally locked into place he then replied. "I will tell you. However, I suggest we take this conversation to a more private setting. Away from prying eyes." To support his point, Julius gestured with his head towards the numerous scientists on the other side of the observation window, no doubt listening and recording their conversation.
Ozpin nodded. "Of course. We'll go to my office in Beacon to continue this conversation." Ironwood gave Ozpin an incredulous stare. "Ozpin. You're not serious are you?" The General asked.
Ozpin gave Ironwood a serious look. "James. Trust me."
Both Ozpin and Ironwood had a brief stare off before Ironwood sighed as he pulled out his scroll and placed it on his ear.
"Captain. Prepare an Air Carrier for Beacon Academy in ten minutes. Ozpin, our guest and I will be down soon." Ironwood ordered, he then placed his scroll back into his coat pocket before looking directly at Ozpin.
Ozpin gave him an appreciative nod. "Thank you James." The Headmaster then turned his gaze back towards Julius. "Shall we leave then?" Ozpin asked as Julius gave a curt nod. "Yes. But before we do, I need to retrieve my wargear."
Ironwood raised a curious eyebrow. "You mean your weapons?"
"Yes. Now lead me to where I can retrieve them."
The General frowned. "How do I know you won't use your weapons against us?" Ironwood asked in a suspicious tone.
Julius stepped towards the General, towering over him. "If I wanted you dead, I would have already done so. With or without my weapons." Julius answered in a stern tone. Ironwood went to retort, however, Ozpin stopped him by placing a hand on Ironwood's arm and shook his head.
Ironwood sighed and gave a hesitant nod before leading both Julius and Ozpin out the room and through the halls. After a short walk, the group entered another lab where Julius saw a single Atlas scientist, who is currently studying one of Julius's grenades, specifically his Psyk-Out Grenade.
Without looking the scientist spoke. "Ah! You're back! Good, I'm currently studying the fascinating designs on this grenade. The subject actually used real gold fo-"
"Unhand that grenade at once, human."
The lone scientist finally looked up from his study towards the group and noticed Julius in all his glory. As expected, the scientist's eyes widened as his mouth gaped in both shock and awe. Julius, annoyed by the human tinkering with his gear, stomped his way over to the still gaping scientist and wrested the grenade from his grasp.
This brought the scientist out of his shock. "G-G-General! W-What is the subject doing here?!"
"It's complicated Dr. Cobalt. But he has agreed to tell us the reason why he's here and where he came from. We're here to retrieve his weapons as per his agreement." Ironwood explained. While both the scientist and General conversed, Julius made his way over to the one weapon that he immediately sought out.
His Nemesis Force Sword.
His sword was floating within a magnetic field, no doubt for the scientist to study the function of his sword.
Without hesitation, Julius reached into the magnetic field, gripped the handle of his sword and wrested it from it's confinements. He then carefully inspected his blade for any signs of temperament or damage as he silently recited the necessary prayer and blessing onto his sword.
Once his prayer was finished, he then poured his power into the blade, sheathing it in an aura of white, this caught the attention of the other occupants in the room. Satisfied, Julius then willed his power away and magnetically attached the sword to his left hip where it belongs.
"Fascinating! My theory was right! The generator on the blade DOES activate only to the subject's unique aura!" The scientist stated, however, Julius simply ignored him as he made his way over to retrieve his ammunition and grenades from a metal table. The table is beside what appears to be a smaller version of the autocannon.
He counted two magazines. The first was the spare magazine that he had as it was relatively untouched and still had all its ammunition. However, the second magazine was empty as it's bolts were each taken out and assembled right beside it.
And by the looks of it, the scientist not only examined his bullets but also wasted 10 out of the 40 Psy Bolts left within the magazine for his experiments.
Julius frowned, greatly annoyed by the scientist's blatant use of his precious Psy Bolts in order to sate his own curiosity. He had every right to kill the scientist and he would, however, that will cause unnecessary problems and possibly lose the only ally he had on this world.
With an annoyed grunt, Julius grabbed the spare magazine and attached it to his waist and started chambering each of the assembled bolts into the empty magazine with practiced pace. Once he was finished, he attached the now 30 round magazine back onto his storm bolter and collected the rest of his grenades.
"Sir, you're not thinking of giving back his weapons are you? What about the research? The future of Atlas?!" The scientist frantically argued, no doubt afraid of losing his prime research materials.
"Dr. Cobalt. If you want to tell the 8-foot tall armored giant with the man-sized sword to give back his advanced weaponry. Then be my guest." Ironwood said in an annoyed tone. This seemed to finally shut the now named Dr. Cobalt's mouth, something that Julius was grateful for.
Now with his wargear retrieved, Julius turned back towards the three men behind him and turned his gaze specifically towards Ozpin.
"Let us make haste to Beacon Academy."
Julius started making his way past the scientist and towards the exit. He has a lot of explaining to do.
Location: Beacon Academy, Ozpin's Office
It has been two hours since Julius left the Airship with both Ozpin and Ironwood. When they arrived at Beacon Academy they were greeted by Glynda Goodwitch, Ozpin's secretary and Beacon's only Combat Instructor. Ozpin informed her ahead of time about Julius, however, this did little to prevent her shock of meeting Julius.
After her initial shock, the group then made their way towards Ozpin's office. Thankfully, due to it being the middle of the night, their passage through Beacon Academy was devoid of any students roaming the halls, just the occasional janitorial staff.
Once the group finally arrived at Ozpin's office, Julius now finds himself standing in front of Ozpin, Glynda, and Ironwood. His helmet off and cradled in his right arm.
Sitting behind his desk was Ozpin himself in his wheelchair. Standing to Ozpin's left was Ironwood with a firm expression while to Ozpin's right was Glynda herself, giving him a piercing glare.
The reason for her continued presence is no doubt due to her curiosity of Julius. Plus, Ozpin informed her before hand about the Space Marine and his identity as Jaune Arc. Now it appears she is as cautious and distrusting towards him as the General by the glare she is giving him.
In his past life, Jaune Arc would've cowered under such a glare. But now, it did absolutely nothing to intimidate him. Also the fact that she has to physically glare up towards Julius made the glare far less effective.
However, Julius was somewhat impressed by the level of the glare she was giving him. She would make a good Commissar.
After a brief moment of tense silence, Ozpin spoke. "Jaune. Ho-"
"Julius. My name is Julius Arch and you will call me as such." Julius interrupted with a strong tone.
Ozpin raised a curious eyebrow as Ironwood frowned while Glynda hardened her glare. "Forgive me for asking, but are you not Jaune Arc?" Ozpin asked in slight disbelief.
Julius gave Ozpin a stern frown. "It's true that I was once the human boy known as Jaune Arc. The same boy who dreamed to be a hero like his forefathers. The same boy who foolishly lied his way into this very schola in order to become that hero. The very same boy who died killing the witch on this very spot." Julius said, his tone strong and firm with conviction.
Ironwood stepped forward. "Then why use a different name? And why do you say that you died when you are clearly standing in front of us, alive no less?" Ironwood asked in a tone of disbelief.
Julius turned his gaze towards the General. "It is true what I said. Jaune Arc died that fateful night. His body turned to ashes in the wind. However, through the glory and mercy of the God-Emperor, he was reborn into His realm and was chosen to become an Angel of Death, a warrior to fight His enemies and all those who seek to annihilate His Imperium."
Julius then stood stock straight, as if he was presenting himself.
"That same warrior is the one standing before you. I am Julius Arch an Adeptus Astartes, His Angel of Death, and a weapon bred for the sole purpose to fight the enemies of Mankind. I was brought to this world after I sacrificed myself so that my fellow Battle Brothers could live on to fight the Archenemy."
Both Glynda and Ironwood frowned, no doubt pondering on what Julius just said to them.
However, Ozpin's expression remained stoic, but Julius can see a hint of sadness behind those stoic eyes. As if Ozpin expected to find the same boy he once knew somewhere within Julius.
There was a brief pause before Ozpin spoke. "You said you were reincarnated into this realm by this God-Emperor. Can you shed some light about this realm and who this Emperor is?" Ozpin asked in a curious tone.
Normally the Grey Knight side of Julius would've killed Ozpin outright for not knowing who the God-Emperor is. However, the rational part of his mind told him not to, for it will only bring him unnecessary problems during his time on this world.
Julius gave a single but firm nod. "The realm where I was reborn into is unlike anything that you or humanity on this planet can ever comprehend. I serve and fight for the God-Emperor of Mankind and his Imperium of Man, a holy human empire than spans across our galaxy with over millions of planets and untold trillions of human lives under His rule."
Glynda, Ironwood, and even Ozpin himself were shocked at the information that was given to them. Their reaction did not surprise Julius for the Kingdoms of Remnant tried numerous times in the past to reach the stars, however, each and every attempt to do so failed. The concept of a civilization that not only mastered space travel, but also discovered and colonized almost their entire galaxy is shocking to them.
"That's absurd! How can anyone possibly be able to achieve that?! To carry out such a task would've taken untold number of years, resources, and man power. And you're saying this Emperor achieved this. I find that impossible." Ironwood stated in disbelief.
Julius turned and glared down at the General, his free hand gripping the handle of his sword in raising fury. However, he stayed his blade and kept his fury in check. In slight respect to the General for not backing away in fear, but instead stood his ground and placed a hand on his weapon, an auto-pistol.
Julius hardened his glare, tightening his grip on his sword. "Ironwood… Normally I would've executed you on the spot for spouting such heresy in my presence. However, this world and its denizens are not part of the Imperium as far as I know, thus in turn are ignorant to the glory of his holy majesty, the God-Emperor. So I will only warn you all just this once…" Julius then drew his 6-foot blade and stabbed it parallel to the ground, the flat side of the blade facing the three in front of him, showing the runes etched onto the blade.
"To question the God-Emperor's glory and to slander His holy name in the presence of His holy servants, is to condemn yourself to death. Am I clear." Julius warned in a dangerous tone.
Ironwood stared defiantly towards Julius for a moment before sighing and nodding his head with a frown as he relaxed his hand from his gun. He didn't want to fight the 8-foot tall armored Astartes.
Satisfied, Julius then continued. "And to answer your question. The one who united and ruled all of humanity and created the Imperium of Man is the God-Emperor of Mankind. The one true ruler of humanity and its protector against the foul entities of the Warp." Julius explained with a hint of disgust at the end.
Ozpin noticed his change of tone near the end. "And what is this "Warp" you speak of? Is it another dimension?" Ozpin asked.
Julius grimly nodded. "Yes. It's a hellish realm not bound by physical and temporal laws of reality as it is constantly changing. It is also this very realm where the Imperium uses for its faster than light travel and where special individuals called psykers draw their power from, giving them abilities that no regular human can possibly wield. However, this realm is also the home to one of the Imperium's greatest enemies." Julius explained with a serious tone.
"And do tell what is this enemy you speak of?" Ozpin cautiously asked.
Julius frowned with disgust as he hardened his grip on his sword.
"Chaos."
Ironwood raised a curious eyebrow. "Chaos?"
Julius grimly nodded. "Yes. Since the God-Emperor united all of mankind, Chaos has crippled the growth of the Imperium numerous times in the past. The corrupting powers of Chaos is universal, even saying the name can draw its influence. Many of the Imperium's greatest's warriors fell under it's corruption, even the most stalwart of the Emperors warriors fell. If succumb to its corrupting influence, the individual will forever damn their soul to the Chaos Gods, forever turning them from the Emperors holy light." Julius explained in a grim tone. Ozpin's expression remained stoic.
"And what are these Chaos Gods?" Ozpin carefully asked. Julius's hardened his frown.
"I will only explain this once for I greatly detest talking about the Runious Powers. The Runious Powers are the most powerful entities of Chaos as they reside within the Warp. There are four of these foul gods, each representing an aspect of Chaos. Khorne, the Chaos God of war, murder, and battle. Tzeentch, the Chaos God of change, sorcery, fate, and hope. Nurgle, the Chaos God of death, disease, and decay. And finally Slaanesh, the Chaos God of pleasure, sensation, and desire. Together with their foul deamons and heretics, they spread their corrupting influence throughout the Imperium, feeding on the souls they collect as they seek to destroy all that the Emperor has built."
Julius then paused, letting the information sink in before continuing. "This is the enemy I fight everyday for the past hundred years. I am a warrior, created and trained to fight the corrupted forces of Chaos wherever they may be." Julius explained with conviction.
There was a moment of silence as Ozpin, Ironwood, and Glynda pondered on what they were just told. After a brief moment of silence Ozpin spoke. "You said for the past hundred years you've been fighting a non-stop war against this enemy. How old are you exactly?" Ozpin asked in a questioning tone.
If there is one aspect of Ozpin that Julius respected and detested at the same time, is his inquisitive nature that was on par with some of the most level-headed of Inquisitors. Due to his experience as a Huntsman and Headmaster, Ozpin hears and sees things that no one else does, he is able to "read" another person and judge their character like an open book. In the past, his wisdom to Jaune Arc is like the Julius receiving wisdom from Venerable Dreadnought Orias, something to take to heart and soul.
After a brief moment of silence, Julius answered.
"127 terran years since the completion of my training."
Both Ironwood's and Glynda's eyes widened in both shock and disbelief. "127 years! How is that possible? A normal person shouldn't be able to live that long!" Glynda shouted in disbelief. Julius replied. "It's because I'm not a normal human being, but something much more. I am an Adeptus Astartes, a Space Marine super soldier created and forged in the fires of war, and the greatest warriors that the Imperium of Man has to offer."
Ozpin frowned. "Before you said you sacrificed yourself to save your Battle Brothers. Are there more warriors such as yourself?" Ozpin asked in a curious tone.
Julius nodded. "Yes. There are a thousand chapters that make up the bulk of the Emperor's Angels of Death. Each chapter holds about a thousand Space Marines and each are independent and different in both combat doctrines and culture." Julius explained.
Ironwood's eyes widened. The thought of entire armies of warriors such as Julius shocked him.
"Which chapter are you from?" Glynda asked with curiosity.
Julius immediately answered. "That is classified. To know the existence of my chapter or any one of it's warriors, is to condemn yourself and all those you know to death."
Glynda's eye's widened before turning into a furious glare. "So your chapter executes anyone that even looks at you?" Glynda asked in a furious tone.
"Yes. In order to keep our chapter secret, we will execute entire regiment of soldiers and cleanse the minds of any other Astartes that we fight alongside with." Julius explained without hesitation. Both Glynda and Ironwood glared at the Astartes while Ozpin kept his stoic gaze.
"So. Will you kill us for knowing your existence?" Ozpin asked the question that was on everyone's minds. There was a brief moment of silence before Julius spoke. "In my past life, Jaune Arc sees you as someone he trusted, someone he greatly respected. However, from what I seen through those same memories, you have given me little reason to trust you."
Julius then stared down at Ozpin as he continued. "That fateful night, you took the one he cared the most and included her in something, something that could change her for the rest of her life. You put her into a machine, forcefully transferred an unknown power into her from a dying human that caused her great pain, only for it to fail when the witch, Cinder, interfered and took the power for her own." Julius explains in a stern tone as Ozpin's expression remained stoic.
He continued. "I don't know what you were planning for that girl that night, but I will not tolerate being part of whatever schemes you have secretly planned for me. However, due to my current situation, I will give you the benefit of a doubt. But know this…"
Julius pulled out his sword from the ground and attached it to his left hip as he stepped forward towards Ozpin, now towering over him.
"If you betray my trust. I will end your life and all those who you conspire with. Innocent or not." Julius threatened as he glared down at Ozpin. Both Glynda and Ironwood placed their hands on their respective weapons, prepared to fight if needed.
Any lesser man would've cowered under Julius's imposing presence. However, Ozpin was not intimidated, in fact he was smiling.
"Of course." Both Glynda and Ironwood gave Ozpin surprised looks, shocked at his answer.
"Ozpin, you're not serious are you? He might be lying for all we know! How can we trust him?" Ironwood asked in a serious but desperate tone.
"For once I agree with James. He had shown no proof so far to his absurd claims or his true intentions. How can we trust him Ozpin?" Glynda injected as if Julius wasn't even in the room.
Julius wasn't offended by their lack of trust, he fully expected them not to put their faith on him. In fact, the Grey Knight side of him doesn't trust any of them, even if his past life has shown that these people can be trusted. However, his more rational side tells him to put his faith in them, for it will help him in the future.
Ozpin simply nodded his head towards Julius. "Glynda. James. Look into his eyes and tell me what you see."
Both Glynda and Ironwood gave him confused looks.
"What?" Ironwood asked confused as both he and Glynda did what Ozpin asked.
Ozpin continued. "The eyes can reveal many things about an individual. Their intentions, their experience, their emotions." Ozpin paused as he kept his eye on Julius's own.
After a brief pause, he then continued. "What I see in Julius's eyes is an individual who's experience far outstrip any Huntsmen or Huntresses on this planet. Even mine." Both Glynda and Ironwood eyes widened from Ozpin's claim.
"Throughout this entire conversation, not once did Julius lied, for he has no need to. He has absolutely no fear of us, for he knows that we cannot harm him no matter what we do to him. And… he is correct." Ozpin explained in a calm tone.
Julius remained quiet as he kept his eyes on Ozpin, not breaking it for a moment.
Ozpin continued. "However, even though he doesn't fear us, and is more than capable of fighting us. He instead chose to talk to us, explain where he came from and what he possibly experienced during the hundred years of constant battles." Finally, Ozpin broke his gaze from Julius as he looked towards both Glynda and Ironwood as they did the same.
"Now let me ask the both of you this. What other motives does a warrior like Julius have other than gaining the trust of the very same people that Jaune Arc trusted in the past?" Ozpin asked.
There was a brief moment of silence before Glynda let out a sigh as she nodded.
"I understand Ozpin. I will trust your judgement." Glynda said as both she and Ozpin turned their gaze towards Ironwood.
Said General is currently having a mental war with himself from what Julius can see. However, it only lasted a brief moment as the General closed his eyes and nodded.
"Fine. We'll do this your way Ozpin." Ironwood relented.
Ozpin smiled. "Thank you James." He then turned his gaze back towards Julius. "Now with introductions over. It is time to talk about this mission of yours." Ozpin said, his tone turning serious once again.
Julius nodded in understanding. "The mission was given to me during my state of unconsciousness within the Atlas Lab. Within my mindscape, I met the embodiment of my past life, who took the form of the very boy you all know very well."
"Jaune Arc." Ozpin interjected.
Julius nodded. "The very same. He told me that the God-Emperor brought me back to this world, after saving me from the dreaded Warp, for a mission. However, the Emperor didn't specify to Jaune Arc what my mission was, all he told me was that I will find my purpose on this world in due time and that my choices will reshape the future." Julius explained, recounting the encounter.
Ozpin nodded. "I see… so what are you going to do now?" Ozpin asked.
Julius immediately replied. "This world is dominated by the deamons of darkness, the Grimm. These deamons have driven humanity on this planet to near extinction, with the four kingdoms being the last strongholds of humanity. I believe the Emperor has sent me to cleanse the darkness that plagues this world. And that's exactly what I'm going to do." Julius states with conviction.
"That is a noble but difficult goal. Many Huntsmen and Huntresses in the past has claimed to rid the Grimm from Remnant. All of them failed. What makes you different?" Ozpin asked.
Julius replied, undaunted by the task before him. "I am an Adeptus Astartes. The Emperor's Angel of Death. And I shall know no fear, no remorse, and will show no quarter to the enemy, no matter how vast they may be. I will find the source of the corruption that plagues this world and banish it back to whatever hellish pit it came from."
There was a brief moment of silence before Ozpin smiled. "Then may I make a suggestion?"
Julius frowned, knowing exactly what Ozpin is asking. "Speak."
"Instead of aimlessly wandering around Remnant slaying Grimm in order to find this "source." How about instead, come work for me and for this Academy as a teaching assistant and a full fledge Huntsman." Ozpin suggested. This got surprised looks from both Glynda and Ironwood.
But before either the General or Combat Instructor could say anything, Ozpin raised a hand.
"Let me explain. This way you will have freedom to travel to the other four kingdoms under the alibi of a Huntsman and can roam freely outside kingdom jurisdictions. Also I can provide you with information and resources that you will need for your mission as well as new transcripts. All you have to do is to play the part as a new T.A of Beacon Academy and teach the students alongside another professor. Tell me, do you have experience training others for combat?" Ozpin asked in a curious tone.
Julius nodded his head. "Yes I have."
It was not a lie. His secondary duty as a Brotherhood Champion is to train the new generations of Grey Knights within his Brotherhood to fight the corrupt forces of Chaos.
Ozpin smiled. "Then you should have no problem training the students here at this academy. I just ask of you to not injure any of the students to badly, and to work alongside Glynda as a Teacher's Assistant. So… do you accept my offer?" Ozpin asked.
Julius frowned. While receiving Huntsmen status will allow him freedom outside of the kingdom's jurisdictions, and having Ozpin as a source for information will greatly assist him in his search. For him to teach the students of Beacon in the art of combat will be much like training Neophytes in Space Marine combat. But even though these students are possibly more skilled than the average Imperial Guardsman, they are still children and nothing like the Neophytes that risk their lives to become Space Marine.
However, whether he liked it or not, Ozpin's proposition will greatly aid him in the near future. Only a fool would turn down such an offer.
With his decision made, Julius nodded. "I accept your terms."
Ozpin smiled with gratitude, Glynda pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance, and Ironwood remained quiet.
"Good. I will prepare the necessary documents for your transcripts. But before I can make you an official professor of Beacon, you first have to go through an initiation of sorts." Ozpin explained.
Julius had a sudden flashback to when Jaune Arc did his initiation into Beacon Academy, and how sorely unprepared he was for it.
Julius gave the Headmaster a stern frown. "And what will this initiation entail?" Julius questioned in an inquisitive tone. Ozpin chuckled. "Don't worry Julius. You will not be launched off a cliff by a hidden catapult. The initiation for new professors is quite different as it comes in two parts…" Ozpin then activated a holo-screen on his desk, showing a dense forest.
"For the first part of the initiation, you will be dropped off somewhere in the middle of the Emerald Forest. You will then be scored on how long it will take you to make your way back to Beacon Academy." Ozpin explained as the screen changes to a combat arena. "Then you will make your way towards the Combat Arena where you will face a Huntsmen of my choosing in a tournament style duel. Any questions?"
Julius then placed his helmet back on his head. As the helm locked in place and the visors glowed blue, he replied. "When do I start?"
Ozpin smiled at Julius's eagerness. "Tomorrow, at noon. But before we continue, there is one last thing we should discuss. This concerns Team JNPR." Ozpin said, both his tone and expression turning serious.
Julius frowned underneath his helm. He knew where this conversation was going. "What about them?"
Ozpin laced his fingers on his desk in front of him. "All I want to know is… do you wish for them to know? To know who you are? Who you once were?" Ozpin asked in a somber tone.
Julius hesitated for a brief moment before replying. "It is best that they do not know who I once was. Like I said before and I will say it now. The Jaune Arc that you knew is dead. In his place is I, Julius Arch, an Adeptus Astartes. And that will never change."
They held their gaze for a brief moment, even with the helm on Ozpin's eyes were searching through Julius's own. Trying to find something. Anything.
However, whatever he was trying to find wasn't there as his shoulders sagged, his eyes closed as he gave a nod of understanding. "I understand... If that's what you wish for, then so be it." Ozpin said, his tone laced with sadness.
Glynda sighed as she too gave Julius a sad gaze. "Come with me, I'll lead you to your temporary quarters for the night." Glynda stated as she made her way to the elevator.
Julius turned to follow, not once looking back towards Ozpin's sad gaze. He made his decision, it was for the best.
But then why does he feel this emotion?
This feeling of regret.
Location: Emerald Forest, the next day
Julius now finds himself on his way to a random location somewhere within the Emerald Forest for his initiation.
The Headmaster commissioned an Airbus beforehand to transport Julius to his location, for the Airbus was the only vehicle large enough under the academy's payroll that can possibly carry Julius and the immense weight of his armor.
Though it was no Thunderhawk Gunship, it still served its purpose.
Other than the pilot, Julius was alone within the Airbus, choosing to stand resolute and ready within its passenger space.
They have been flying for at least ten minutes, during this time Julius bowed his head in prayer as he recited The Canticle of Absolution of the Grey Knights, known as The 666 Secret Words.
Just as he just finished the last sentence of the prayer, a video call came in from Ozpin through his helm. Before he left, Julius tuned his Vox-caster, visual and radio comms to Remnant's own CCT network. Now he can communicate with anyone on Remnant as long as they have the means to.
Unconsciously accepting the call, a small window appeared on at the upper right corner of his HUD, showing the faces of both Ozpin and the Glynda standing behind him.
Ozpin gave him a small smile. "Hello Julius. How are you feeling?" Ozpin asked in a calm tone.
Julius immediately replied. "If you are wondering if I'm nervous. Then you are mistaken. I know no such emotion."
Ozpin nodded, still smiling. "Of course. And I'm sure you know the basis of your initiation." Ozpin asked in a calm tone.
"Yes"
"Wonderful. Just as a reminder, you will be monitored by us and evaluated during your way back to Beacon Academy. Good luck." Ozpin explained as the call ended.
As soon as the call ended the Airbus slowly came to a halt as the back hatch slowly opened.
KRRT! "Alright! This is your stop! Good luck out there!" Said the pilot through the ship's intercoms.
Without hesitation, Julius dropped out of the aircraft and fell six meters onto the ground, landing in a crouch position.
Booom!
His landing shook the very ground around him as the noise reverberated throughout the vicinity. Soon the Airbus left, leaving Julius alone within the Grimm infested forest.
Once the Airbus left, Julius stood from his crouched position and started scanning his surroundings. Other than simple wild life, his auspex scans and threat detectors showed no enemy movements within the vicinity.
With no enemies in sight and his objective and destination set, he then started his lumbering march through the dense forest. His blade drawn and ready to smite the enemies of Man once more.
Within his office, Ozpin watched through his desk's holo-screen as Julius decapitated another Ursa.
It has been ten minutes since the start of Julius's initiation, and so far during his ten-minute trek back to Beacon he has come across a few Grimm, mostly Beowolves and Ursas.
Each encounter with the Grimm showed just how dangerous and skilled Julius was with his blade. Each and every one of his strikes were fatal, had no wasted movements, and are deadly precise. All of the Grimm he encountered so far were ended with one swift strike, most were killed before any of them could land a single blow. For those few that did, their attacks simply bounced off his highly advanced armor with no visible signs of damage.
From what Ozpin can see, Julius wasn't even fighting the Grimm seriously as not once did he stop his march towards Beacon in order to fight these Grimm. He is determined to complete his initiation and no Grimm could possibly stop him.
This showed the type of warrior Julius is. Confident, efficient, lethal were just some of the words that can be used to describe Julius.
They say the eyes are the window to a person's soul. This has never been more true when Ozpin looked into Julius's eyes for the first time. What he saw in Julius's eyes was an unflinching resolve for war and battle far beyond human comprehension.
And this shook Ozpin to his very core.
'What happened to you Jaune.' Ozpin thought with a frown as he stared at Julius. This ma- no- this being is unlike anything Ozpin has ever seen, nothing like the young boy he had the pleasure of knowing in the past.
"He's progressing quite rapidly. Don't you think Ozpin?" Glynda asked, standing beside him to his right.
Ozpin nodded. "It's only natural for someone of his skill and abilities. I believe we need to make things more interesting." Ozpin replied without taking his eyes away from his tablet. He could feel Glynda's confusion. "I'm guessing you have something planned for this…"
"I believe the term you're looking for is Space Marine." Ozpin said. Glynda nodded. "Yes. But I still find his claims to be… unbelievable at best." Glynda explained in a tone of disbelief.
Ozpin nodded as he turned his wheelchair to meet Gylnda's gaze. "I can see what you mean. But I can assure you that he is telling the truth. I will bet my entire coffee collection on it." Ozpin said with a friendly smile.
Glynda sighed. "Fine. I understand. Now back to the previous topic, what are you planning this time?" Glynda asked in a suspicious tone.
However, instead of answering her, Ozpin smiled as he turned back to his desk.
He then made a quick call.
"Peter. Is it done?"
"Yes it is! I completed my task!"
Ozpin smiled at his colleague's jovial tone. "Thank you Peter. Make your way back to Beacon. I will see you soon."
Ozpin then ended the call as he went back to observe Julius's undaunted march through the woods.
"What was that all about?" Glynda asked in a suspicious tone.
Ozpin turned and gave her a smile. "We'll soon find out."
Julius bisected two deamons before immediately decapitating their Alpha.
It has been exactly 14 minutes since he started his march through the forest of green, and so far he didn't stop his march as he has no need to. The deamons he encountered so far were weak and came in small numbers, they were easy dealt with.
As he continued his march through the woods, he finally saw a break in the treeline just a few meters ahead. When he broke through the treeline Julius soon came across a large and very familiar clearing.
Julius recognized the large ruins at the far end of the clearing, for it was the exact same location where both Team JNPR and RWBY faced two powerful deamons and slain them during their initiation.
He recognized the very cliff side where Ruby Rose dragged and decapitated a large avian deamon, a Nevermore, with her complex weapon of choice. He remembered how awed Jaune Arc was at the feat.
Julius quickly shook himself out of his moment of nostalgia. He still has an initiation to do.
But before Julius could make his way towards the ruins his auspex scanners blared, showing multiple hostiles coming from the forest to the left.
Soon enough a large horde of deamons howled and rushed out from the forest and into the clearing, blocking his path towards the ruins.
As the last of the deamons left the forest, Julius's threat detector counted almost a hundred deamons of various species ranging from the lesser Beowolves to their larger deamonic kin, the Deathstalker.
However, Julius noticed that many of the leading deamons were looking around the vicinity, as if they were looking for something.
Julius frowned. 'They were chasing something beforehand. Whoever they were chasing lead them deliberately to me before making an escape. But who could it be?'
His question was quickly answered as his helm detected movement on the cliff side in the far distance. Julius's HUD visually magnified towards the moving object, revealing a very familiar portly man scaling the cliff side towards the top.
'Port. So this was Ozpin's doing.' Julius deduced. However, before he could ponder any further, Julius was interrupted.
"CRAAAAAAAAH!"
Julius brought his attention back towards the deamon horde in front of him. It appears that the deamons finally noticed his presence and are now forming a large semi-circle in front of him, blocking all ways towards the ruins.
Rising above the other deamons was a large two-headed serpent, a King Taijitu. Like the rest of the deamons, both heads of the deamonic serpent bore their eyes on Julius. Eyes filled with bestial hunger for his blood.
However, Julius was undeterred. 'Ozpin sent these deamons in order to test me…' Julius thought as he surveyed the horde in front of him, unintimidated. 'No matter. I will show him and these deamons the might of the Emperor's fury made manifest.'
With a resolute mind and will, Julius stabbed his sword into the ground before him, gripping the handle with both hands.
He then slowly kneeled onto one knee and bowed his head in prayer as he opened his comms to a certain Headmaster watching.
"Ozpin what are you thinking." Glynda demanded in a stern tone.
When Ozpin said that he would make things interesting for the armored knight, she was obviously concerned for what he had planned with Peter before hand. In the past, she relatively accepted Ozpin's unorthodox methods of testing their new students for they were usually safe.
But this was taking it too far.
"Worried for your new assistant Glynda?" Ozpin asked in his usually calm tone as he took a sip from his iconic mug.
Glynda gave the Headmaster a piercing glare. "Ozpin. You know as well as I do that very, VERY few Huntsmen in this world could face that many Grimm by themselves all at once. Not only that, but I can see that almost half of those Grimm are comprised of elite variants. I don't care what Jau- Julius claims to be but this is taking it too far." Glynda said in a strict tone, her expression morphed into a mixture of both anger and disapproval.
Ozpin kept his eyes on the screen, his face calm and stoic. "That is where you are wrong Glynda. It's true that a Grimm horde of this size will no doubt kill an average Huntsmen if they are alone. However, Mr. Arch is no normal Huntsman, or human for that matter. Frighteningly enough, I believe what he is facing right now is nothing compared to whatever he had to face back in his realm." Ozpin explained as he took another sip.
Glynda frowned. 'This is considered nothing to Julius? I don't believe it. Not one bit.' Glynda thought. However, she was brought out of her pondering from what happens next.
"I… am the hammer…"
Glynda quickly brought her attention back to the screen, what she saw shocked her.
The self proclaimed super soldier was kneeling in prayer, right in front of the massive Grimm horde.
Glynda's heart dropped. 'What is he DOING! He should escape!' However, to Glynda's dismay, Julius continued his prayer.
"I am the right hand of the Emperor…"
Glynda then noticed that some of the Grimm were getting restless and were preparing to charge.
"… the instrument of His will…"
To her horror, the entire Grimm horde roared as they charged the still praying knight.
"… the gauntlet about His fist…"
The Grimm were rapidly getting closer, just seconds away from Julius.
"… the tip of His spear…"
Glynda started panicking. 'JULIUS WHAT ARE YOU DOING!' Glynda screamed in her mind as many of the Grimm leading the charge leaped towards the knight, their claws and teeth ready to rend his flesh and armor.
"… and the edge of His sword."
Just as the Grimm were upon him, Julius's armor glowed bright white as he did, in Glynda's eyes, the impossible.
In a flash of white light, he disappeared and instantly reappeared in an explosion of white electricity, right in the middle of the Grimm horde.
Then in a speed that a man of his size shouldn't be able to achieve, he instantly bisected a dozen Grimm that surrounded him. His blade sheathed in an aura of white.
"I AM THE HAMMER OF THE EMPEROR! AND I SHALL KNOW! NO! FEAR!"
Glynda watched in mute shock as Julius started cutting down every Grimm within his reach. Each swing of his blade strikes down at least three or four Grimm. The thick hides and dense bone armor proved to be useless against his sword for whatever power is sheathing it gave the blade the ability to cut through the Grimm with relative ease.
She watched as Julius cut down four Ursa's and a Ursa Major, each with a single stroke of his blade.
She watched as he bisected the single Taijitu right in the middle, separating both sides before decapitating both of their heads.
She watched as many of the Grimm tried desperately to rend his armor, but to no avail as their attacks did little to no damage to him.
She watched as he caved in a Beowolf's skull with a single punch.
She watched as Julius sliced off and stabbed a Deathstalker with it's own stinger.
She watched as many of the regular Grimm variants seemly evaporated in his presence, as if they were banished from existence.
In just a few minutes Julius has cut a swath through the Grimm horde, his glowing blade and shining grey armor meeting the mass flurry of claws and teeth. Soon the horde that numbered a hundred Grimm is now cut down to less then half of their original number.
This was not a battle. It was a slaughter.
"This is who Julius is, Glynda. From the moment my eyes met his I saw a warrior that has fought in countless battles, seen horrors unimaginable to man, and an unbreakable will and resolve." Ozpin explained, not taking his eyes off of Julius for one moment.
Ozpin was right. This Julius was on a whole another level. Nothing like the nervous boy she knew in the past.
"W-what has happened to him? What happened to Jaune to turn him into this?" Glynda asked in a shaky voice, afraid of the answer she might receive.
There was a moment of silence.
"I don't know Glynda… I don't know…" Ozpin replied in a somber tone as his shoulders sagged, the stress of his age bearing down on him.
Soon the screen showed Julius to be victorious as the few surviving Grimm retreated back into the forest, seemingly fleeing for their lives. Once the last of the Grimm disappeared back into the forest, Julius resumed his march towards the cliff. He will soon reach Beacon within the hour.
Ozpin then shut off the holo-screen, breaking Glynda out of her shocked state. "He'll be here soon. Call all the students to the combat arena for the second phase of his initiation." Ozpin ordered as he made his way towards the elevators.
Glynda nodded as she regained her composure and prepared her tablet. "Of course Ozpin. But may I ask, who did you pick to fight Julius?" Glynda asked as she walked with Ozpin towards the elevators. She was concerned for whoever Ozpin picked to fight the armored knight. Especially after what she just saw.
Ozpin gave Glynda a smile. "I called in favor. Someone who can possibly give Mr. Arch a suitable challenge." Ozpin explained as both him and Glynda entered the elevator.
"No doubt Miss Rose will agree with me."
Location: Beacon Academy, Combat Arena
Pyrrha is currently sitting in the audience seats within the Combat Arena. Sitting to her right was the other two members of her team, Ren and Nora.
It has been two days since the fight in the Forever Fall Forest against the armored Knight. Both Ren and Nora were rendered unconscious during the fight as their team failed in every attempt to bring down the armoured giant, leaving Pyrrha to face him alone.
Pyrrha prides herself of being an exceptional fighter, she trained for almost her entire life to become a Huntress, winning four tournaments in a row just shows the vast amount of skill she has. But she never lets her pride or fame cloud her judgement of others, especially those who are stronger than her.
However, her fight against the armored knight was brutally one sided. Not only the armored man rendered her semblance useless through sheer strength alone, but he also destroyed her weapons and was just inches away from killing her and her whole team.
However, in her last moments she called out for the one who she loved most.
Jaune Arc.
But what happened next baffled her as the knight stopped his sword just inches from her neck and directly asked her how she knew Jaune's name. Then the knight proceeded to have some sort of mental attack as he exploded, pouring his aura throughout the vicinity and then immediately collapsed and was soon rendered unconscious. If it weren't for his aura, then Ren would've never survived.
However, just before the knight collapsed, he said one thing that shook Pyrrha to her very core.
He called out her name.
No one else heard what the knight said to her. Not even Winter, who came out of unconsciousness just a few moments after the knight fell.
It was at this moment that Pyrrha came to an conclusion.
The fact he recognized Jaune's name.
The fact that his aura felt extremely familiar to her.
And the fact that he called out HER name.
There was no doubt in her mind that the knight that almost killed her, was Jaune Arc.
She didn't tell anybody, not Winter, not Ren, not Nora, not even Ozpin. No one knows what truly happened but her.
The reason she was keeping this a secret from her friends and peers was that she knew for a fact that no one will believe her. She knew her friends trust her and will always support her, but to tell them that the knight that almost killed her and her team was the same lovable goofball that they all once knew.
That, they will never believe.
"Hey Pyr! What's up?"
"Wha!" Pyrrha shouted, abruptly brought out of her thoughts as she jumped in her seat in surprise. She then quickly turned towards the one who spoke to her.
It was none other than Yang sitting to her left with the rest of Team RWBY.
"Woah there! Didn't mean to scare you there, Miss Cereal Box. Just saying hi." Yang said with a friendly smile. The other members of her team each gave Pyrrha concerned looks.
"Are you alright Pyrrha? You seem out of it." Ruby asked, concerned for her red-haired companion.
Pyrrha shook her head as she gave them a reassuring smile. "No I'm fine Ruby. Just thinking about something." Pyrrha explained.
"Does it have to do with the armored knight your team fought against?" Blake asked as she was reading her choice of "interesting" literature. When Team JNPR returned from their mission, Pyrrha told Team RWBY about the mission and how her team and Winter fought the armored knight they found.
However, what Pyrrha didn't tell them was what the knight said to her before he collapsed and her claim that the knight was Jaune. After explaining and partially lying about the encounter, all of Team RWBY accepted her story.
All except Blake. Pyrrha knows for a fact that the faunus was suspicious of her and knew she was keeping something from them. But for whatever reason she chose not to peruse her for the truth.
Pyrrha nodded. "Yes. I just can't help but think what would've happened if he didn't stop his blade. I almost died." Pyrrha lied, hoping that they would just drop the topic.
Yang placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and gave her a smile. "But you didn't. None of you guys did. You're here now and talking to us. And if that guy ever shows his face around here I'll introduce him to Ember Celica Mk 2!" Yang boasted as the forearm of her right mechanical arm shifted into a shotgun gauntlet.
"YEAH! And I still need to get revenge for Magnhild the 1st!" Nora shouted as she sprang from her seat. After her weapon was destroyed by the knight, she managed to repair it and promptly named it Magnhild the 2nd.
Plus, it took five servings of Ren's famous pancakes for her to get over the loss of Magnhild the 1st.
"YEAH! Anyone that destroys weapons is no better than a murderer!" Ruby shouted in agreement as she stood in her seat, her eyes burning with righteous anger. Ruby was horrified after learning about the fate of both Pyrrha's and Nora's weapons.
According to Yang, Ruby hugged her weapon, Crescent Rose, to sleep every night for the past two days, due to nightmares about a large scary knight chopping her weapon to pieces in front of her.
Weiss, with an annoyed expression, yanked Ruby down by her hood, forcing her to sit back down on her seat.
"Ruby! You're drawing too much attention! Again!" Weiss chastised in an annoyed tone. It was at this point did Pyrrha realised that they were drawing eyes from the students around them.
"Oops! Sorry Weiss…" Ruby apologized in embarrassment as she was trying to hide in her hood.
Weiss sighed. "Just don't do that ever again. Anyway, lets talk about something else for a change."
"Yeah, like why were classes canceled for the day? Not that I'm complaining. But why did they also call every student down to the arena at this time?" Yang asked to no one in particular. Just a few minutes ago during History Class, Professor Goodwitch announced through the P.A system that all classes were canceled and all available students were to make their way down to the Combat Arena.
Now, like most of the student body, both Team JNPR and Team RWBY were confused as to why they were called down.
"Because someone new is coming to Beacon."
Pyrrha and the rest of her friends turned to whoever answered Yang's question and saw the entirety of Team CFVY sitting right behind them.
"What do you mean Coco?" Yang asked in a confused tone. Coco smirked. "What I mean is… a new prof will be joining the Beacon staff from now on." Coco explained. This raised some curious/surprised eyebrows among Team JNPR and RWBY.
"And you know this how?" Weiss asked in slight disbelief. Coco gestured to the rest of her team. "We saw this happen once when we were just first years. At that time, it was Dr. Oobleck who joined Beacon Academy." Coco explained as the rest of her team nodded, confirming what she just said.
"But what's the reason for gathering all the students? Don't they just- I don't know- let them in?" Ruby asked in a confused tone.
Coco's smirk grew. "I'll let the Headmaster explain that one."
Before any of her friends could question Coco any further, they were suddenly interrupted when the doors to the arena opened. Pyrrha and the rest of her friends turned and saw Professor Ozpin, Port, Oobleck and finally Goodwitch making their way towards the middle of the arena.
Once they were standing in the middle of the arena, all four professors turned towards the surrounding audience, specifically towards where Pyrrha and her friends are sitting.
Once the audience became silent, Ozpin spoke. "Today. I gathered you all here to share some good news…" Ozpin paused, silence permeated throughout the room. "For the first time since it's reconstruction, Beacon Academy will be receiving another member to its teaching staff."
Many within the audience started whispering among one another, trying to figure out who could possibly be the new professor. Pyrrha would be lying to herself if she wasn't as curious as the rest of the student body.
As the discussion among the audience grew, Ozpin raised a single hand. Immediately the chatter died down. "Thank you. Many of you in the third and fourth years might remember the last time since Beacon had a new member to it's teaching staff. Isn't that right Professor Oobleck." Ozpin said as he turned his head towards said professor.
Oobleck simply nodded his head in reply. Ozpin then turned his gaze back towards the audience. "Right. All of you may already know, but Beacon Academy expects their students to do their best. To strive and become the Huntsmen and Huntresses that protect those who are in need. And in order for you all to reach that goal, Beacon Academy will only provide the best of the best for its students. This includes providing you all with only the best of teachers." Ozpin explained in a calm tone. Soon the large overhead turned on to reveal a map of the Emerald Forest as a trail was marked through the forest and to Beacon Academy itself.
"As many of you may already know, not all Huntsmen or Huntresses can be accepted to teach at any of the four combat academies. They first have to be offered a position to teach at any of the four combat schools and from there must pass a test that the Academy Headmaster has decided to give them. For our school in particular, before any new professor can join our academy they are put through an initiation process. Much like the one many of you had the joy of experiencing in the past." Ozpin explained with a smirk, earning some chuckles and groans among the audience. "However, unlike the initiation we use for our students, the one for evaluating our new professors is quite different." Ozpin explained.
Pyrrha was curious. 'What kind of initiation do they do for new professors?'
Her question was soon answered. "The initiation for new professors has two parts. The first part is much like the student initiation where we send our new professor into the Emerald Forest. However, unlike the student Initiation, the professor in question will be dropped off somewhere in the Emerald Forest and has to make their way back to Beacon Academy alone. As I speak now, your new Teaching Assistant for Combat Class is most likely just completed the first phase of his initiation and is on his way here." Ozpin explained.
Like the rest of the audience, Pyrrha was surprised at this new information.
'A T.A? Why is a T.A going through an initiation meant for professors?' Pyrrha thought.
Beacon Academy only has a handful of professors, however, Pyrrha does not doubt their capabilities to both teach and uphold their duties as Huntsmen. Whoever this new T.A is, he must be an exceptional Huntsmen if he got the Headmasters' attention.
"The second phase of his initiation is why I called you all here. For the second phase of your new T.A's initiation, he will be fighting a fully fledged Huntsman of my choosing in a tournament style duel. You are all here to see and evaluate the capabilities of your newest T.A, make your own judgements accordingly." Ozpin explained.
Pyrrha hummed in agreement. What he says makes sense. Since there is going to be a new T.A teaching them for possibly the rest of their school life here at Beacon, it's only natural for the students to see the capabilities of their new teacher as a Huntsmen. And what better way to do it then a duel against another Huntsman.
Ozpin continued. "Now, with explanations out of the way, let me introduce you to the Huntsman that will be fighting our newest staff member." Ozpin stated as he gestured to the arena doors to his left.
Soon the arena doors opened as a very familiar figure made his way towards Ozpin and the rest of the Beacon staff.
The figure was a middle-aged man with graying black, spiky hair, red eyes, and slight stubble along his jawline. He is currently wearing a gray dress shirt with a long tail, black dress pants, and black dress shoes with a red, tattered cloak. He is currently carrying on the back of his waist a single-edged great sword with a clockwork mechanism built into the space above the hilt.
Pyrrha immediately recognized this man, for he is the uncle to both Yang and Ruby.
"UNCLE QROW!" Ruby shouted excitedly as she shot up from her seat and started frantically waving towards said man with a large smile, much to the ire of her partner.
Qrow in return noticed Ruby and gave her a smile as he returned the wave. In the past, Pyrrha met the famed uncle of Ruby and Yang only once, it was after the Battle of Beacon during her self- depression. Qrow came in one day with Ruby in order to talk her out of her depression. At the time, Pyrrha's first expression of Ruby and Yang's uncle was not necessarily a good one. Qrow was blunt, laid back, and cynical, however, underneath that Pyrrha saw a man that has seen a lot in his life as a Huntsman. He was one of the people that talked Pyrrha out of her depression.
And for that he has gained her respect.
Soon Qrow stood beside Ozpin as he greeted each of the other professors with his usual laid back attitude. Qrow then brought his attention back towards the Headmaster. "Hey Oz. I see you prepared an audience for me." Qrow stated out loud as he surveyed the audience around him.
Ozpin smiled. "I know how much you love being in the spotlight Qrow. Reminds me of the time when you wore that skirt to the auditorium." Ozpin said, chuckling at the memory. Qrow rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up Oz. Now can you please tell me why you called me here? You said something about me fighting someone?" Qrow asked in an impatient tone.
Ozpin nodded. "Of course. You're here because I recently accepted a new T.A for Glynda's Combat Class and as you know, I need a Huntsman to fight him in a tournament style duel." Ozpin explained.
Qrow sighed. "And I guess this lucky Huntsman is me."
Ozpin nodded. "Exactly. Are you up to it?"
Qrow shrugged his shoulders. "Well, why the hell not? Gotta show these kids how real Huntsmen fight. But tell me one thing Oz, how good is this guy?" Qrow asked in a questioning tone.
From what Pyrrha could see, Ozpin raised a curious eyebrow. "What do you mean, Qrow." Ozpin replied, his tone feigning ignorance.
Qrow chuckled. "You know damn well what I'm talking about. If you chose me out of all people to fight some teachers bell-boy and said bell-boy is willing to work underneath Glynda of all people. Something about this guy must have caught your attention. So tell me, how good is he?" Qrow asked once more, his previous comment earned the ire of Professor Goodwitch.
Ozpin gave Qrow a smile. "Why don't you see for yourself."
This reply not only confused Qrow, but also the audience. However, before anyone could ask, Ozpin gestured towards the arena doors on the other end of the arena.
As everyone curiously turned their gaze towards the large doors, a faint sound could be heard as it grew louder over time.
It wasn't until the sound was loud enough did Pyrrha realized the sound was actually a series of heavy footsteps. Pyrrha and most likely everyone else in the room can tell that someone is approaching the Arena. Someone very big.
As the sound of heavy footfalls approached, other then Qrow and the professors, everyone else waited on bated breath for the arena doors to open, Pyrrha and her friends included.
Just as the footfalls reached behind the arena doors, the doors flew open as a massive figure made his way towards the arena center.
Both Blake's and Weiss's eyes widened at the figure.
Yang gave an impressed whistle with wide eyes.
Ruby's eyes sparkled, completely awed at the one who just came into the room.
Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren on the other hand, immediately recognized the large figure as Nora started shaking in both fear and anger.
It was none other than the armored knight.
Qrow has seen many things in his life.
Some good, some bad, and some are the reason why he's usually found passed out in a bar or in a random alleyway.
Long story short, nothing really surprises him anymore.
However, what he is seeing right now made his eyes go wider than usual.
Approaching him was an 8-foot tall armored behemoth carrying a sword that outclasses his in both size and length. Plus, he has what appears to be a wrist mounted, double-barreled cannon attached to his left arm.
At first Qrow thought this thing was some new tin-can robot made by some egg-heads back at Atlas. However, there were two things that proved his deduction wrong.
One was that Ozpin said that this behemoth was supposedly a person, plus his armor doesn't have the usual Atlas Military color scheme or insignias. To Qrow, the armored man looked like he jumped out some sort of futuristic fantasy novel.
Two was how said behemoth partially observed his surroundings for any threats and would occasionally re-adjust his grip on his massive sword. These were very human-like habits, specifically for any Huntsmen worth their salt. This is not something a droid from Atlas will ever do.
Qrow knew for a fact that Ozpin would accept just about anyone who catches his interest, take his niece for example. But where in the world did Ozpin find this guy?
He really outdone himself this time.
Finally, the large knight stopped just a couple of feet in front of Qrow and Ozpin as he stabbed his large sword into the ground before him before gripping it with both hands. Qrow considered himself a bit on the tall side, however, this knight standing before him towered over him by at least a couple of feet.
Qrow, with a confused expression, turned to Ozpin. "Uhh… is this the T.A I'm supposed to be fighting?" Qrow asked in a concerned tone. Ozpin simply nodded with a calm smile, much to Qrow's ire.
Qrow turned back and stared up towards the knight, meeting the cold hard gaze of the knights' visors. Being a Huntsman almost his entire life has taught Qrow many things from knowing his opponent's next moves to knowing just how dangerous they are from first glance.
As he stared up towards the knight he can tell from the knights' still posture and the amount of battle damage that adorned his armor that he is dealing with a genuine pro, a veteran that has possibly fought in many battles as himself, possibly more.
Where in the world did Ozpin find this guy?
Qrow shook the thoughts from his head as he gave the knight a serious look.
"Names Qrow. Glad you can join us." Qrow greeted the knight, trying to strike up a conversation. However, the large knight didn't reply as he just kept staring at Qrow.
Qrow felt a bit unnerved by the knights' cold hard gaze. No doubt he's analyzing him underneath that helmet of his.
"Uhh… this is the part where you introduce yourself." Qrow said as if it was the most obvious thing to do. This time the knight spoke. "Ozpin has chosen you as my opponent. But you have yet to prove your worth to me. Until then, I will not relinquish my name to you, human."
Qrow frowned. 'So he's one of those guys… haven't fought his kind in years. Must be a faunus somewhere underneath that large armor of his. Could explain why he used the term "human".' Qrow thought to himself. He then said. "Look. I'm trying to be nice here. I understand why some faunus's hate humans, but there is no need for any of that here." Qrow said in a placate tone.
However, the knight didn't seem all too happy as his grip tightened on the handle of his sword. "Do not mistake me for some lowly abhuman." The knight replied in a stern tone.
Qrow raised an eyebrow, no doubt THAT comment won any favors with the faunus in the room. "If you're not a faunus then why did you call me human?" Qrow asked, confused.
The knight replied in a strict tone. "Because I am not technically human, but something more."
This confused Qrow. 'If he's not a faunus or a human. Then what is he exactly?' Qrow thought. But before he could ponder any further, Ozpin spoke up. "Well I think you two have introduced yourselves long enough. I believe it's time to move on to the next phase of the initiation."
Both Qrow and the knight gave Ozpin a firm nod as they soon separated and made their way to the opposite ends of the arena. Once Qrow turned to face his opponent, Glynda stood between the both of them as Ozpin and the rest of the professors stood (in Ozpin's case, sat) at the side lines.
Gylnda gave both Qrow and the knight a strict stare before speaking. "As you both know; this will be a tournament style duel. Which means both of you will fight until your opponent forfeits, is incapacitated, or their aura level drops to the red. If any of you decide to take it too far, I will PERSONALLY intervene and stop the match. Am I clear." Glynda explained in a strict tone. Much to Qrow's surprise, it wasn't he who was on the other end of Gylnda's infamous glare, but in fact she was glaring directly at the large knight.
Both men nodded to the dueling conditions. "Alright. But before we begin." Glynda turned her head to look straight at the knight. "I ask of you not to use your aura on your blade. In order to make this duel fair." Glynda asked the large knight. Said knight replied. "I will make no such promise."
Qrow raised a curious eyebrow as Glynda's glare increased ten-fold. "And why is that." Glynda demanded in a dangerous tone. The knight replied. "It's ultimately my decision whether or not I use my powers for this duel. But for now, until he has proven himself worthy, I will refrain from using my sword's full function."
Glynda glared at the knight for a few seconds before sighing.
"Fine. You both may begin in three!"
Qrow grabbed the handle of his weapon, but didn't pull it out from his back just yet.
"Two!"
The knight turned his sword just a bit to the side, no doubt preparing for an attack.
"One! Begin!" Glynda announced as she immediately jumped away from between them.
Qrow immediately un-holstered and extended the blade of his sword as he dashed towards the knight. The knight in turn met Qrow's charge with his own, his lumbering footstep shaking the ground with every step.
Just as they were about to clash, the knight went for a horizontal slash, however, Qrow quickly dropped to his knees as he leaned back, dodging the blade as he slid past the knight. Qrow then immediately spun on his knee and slashed the back of the knight's legs.
Unfortunately for Qrow, his attack didn't even faze his opponent as the knight quickly turned and raised his sword with both hand for a downwards slash. Seeing the inevitable attack, Qrow quickly rolled to the left, however, just as he exited the roll the knight feigned a downward slash as he directed the attack horizontally towards Qrow.
Out of sheer instinct Qrow quickly brought up his weapon just in time to block the attack. However, he was literally blown away from the force behind the attack as he slid back several feet from the knight.
Once Qrow regained his bearings he saw his opponent lumbering towards him at a steady pace.
Qrow's expression turned serious. 'There is no doubt about it. This guy is the real deal. Can't afford to block his attacks, they pack quite a punch. Plus, I don't know what that armor is made of but my weapon ain't cutting it.' Qrow thought as he stood from his kneeing position and held his weapon at the ready.
"KICK HIS BUTT UNCLE QROW!"
"YEAH! AVENGE MAGNHILD THE 1ST!"
Qrow smirked, now he can't afford to lose.
'Let's try this again…'
Just as the knight was closing in on him, Qrow dashed towards the knight, closing the last couple of feet between them. The knight went for an upward slash which Qrow dodged as he quickly delivered a slash to the knight's exposed waist, however, just like before there was no signs of any notable damage.
Qrow scowled as he quickly sidestepped a downward slash and ducked the following horizontal slash at the last second. From then the armored knight relentlessly attacked Qrow with deadly precise attacks as Qrow did his very best to dodge and occasionally (but barely) block said attacks. During this fearsome bout, Qrow was testing the knight's armor for any weak points he could exploit, so far he found none.
After dodging another attack, Qrow jumped back a few feet as he shifted his weapon into it's shotgun function. Qrow then started firing his newly transformed weapon at the large knight, aiming for the head.
As expected, the knights' helmet took the brunt of the shots before the knight brought up his left arm to block any more shots, cutting out his vision.
While the knight was distracted, Qrow quickly sped around the knight while firing his weapon to keep the knight distracted. Once behind the knight, Qrow quickly leaped high into the air as he shifted his weapon back into a sword. He then dove towards the knight, sword ready to pierce through the knight's helmet.
Unfortunately, the knight was prepared as he parried Qrow's attack and delivered a devastating punch to his face while in mid air. Qrow was then launched to the far side of the arena as he crashed and bounced off the arena wall and onto the ground.
Once Qrow regained his bearing, his instincts flared as he quickly raised his weapon just in time to block the knight's incoming attack. Even though Qrow successfully blocked the knight's sword, the sheer force behind the attack created a crater underneath his feet, forcing Qrow onto his knee.
Qrow braced both arms against his weapon as his blade and the knight's grinded against each other in a power struggle, one which he was quickly losing.
In a last ditch attempt, Qrow quickly tilted his sword to the side, letting the knight's blade slide down against his sword and onto the ground to Qrow's left.
Now freed from the one-sided power struggle, Qrow quickly dashed behind the knight and delivered two swift blows to the knight's back before having to leap backwards in order to dodge the knight's counter attack.
Now separated by a good several feet, Qrow used this time to catch his breath and take a quick look towards the overhead boards showing both his and his opponent's aura levels. Qrow's aura levels dropped, leaving him at 60 percent. The knight on the other hand still has a full bar of aura, something that annoyed Qrow to no end.
'Damn this guy is tough! If I don't come up with a plan soon, I won't last much longer.' Qrow thought as he stared at the large knight with a frown.
'It looks like I have to take this up a notch.'
Qrow took a deep breath as he pulled the trigger on his weapon. Immediately, the gears near the hilt of his weapon started to spin as the separate sections of his blade started to detach and curve upwards. Soon after, his handle extended into a polearm, transforming his weapon into a scythe, his most iconic weapon.
Qrow only ever used this function when he needs to end a fight quickly or he's facing a tough opponent. In this case, it's the latter.
"YEAH! GO GET HIM UNCLE QROW!"
"BEAT HIM TO THE GROUND!"
Qrow smirked. If it were only that easy…
Qrow grabbed the shaft of his scythe with both hands as he positioned the curved blade behind him while he crouched into a combat stance. The knight in turn stabbed his sword into the ground in front of him as he gripped the handle with both hands, seemly just waiting for Qrow to make the first move.
Qrow, frowned. He needs to be careful.
After a brief moment of silence, Qrow shot forwards towards the knight, his scythe at the ready.
About half-way towards the still standing knight, Qrow leaped high into the air and swung his scythe full force towards the knight's head.
"I had enough of this."
Before Qrow could react, the knight brought his sword up to meet Qrow's attack.
BZZZZT!
Qrow landed in front of the knight in a crouched position as the head of his scythe flew past the knight and stabbed itself into the ground behind him.
Qrow stared at the shaft of his now useless weapon. His eyes wide in disbelief as the most of the audience had a similar reaction.
However, Qrow's moment of shock was brutally ended by an armored fist ramming into his head. Qrow flew into the air as he soon crashed onto the arena floor on his back.
The world was spinning around him as he tried to stand but was brutally slammed back onto the ground as something extremely heavy kept him pinned.
Soon his vision cleared only to see the armored knight towering above him, a single armored boot kept Qrow pinned onto the ground. Before Qrow could do anything, the knight stabbed his sword dangerously close to his face as he stared down at Qrow. It was at this point Qrow noticed that the knight's sword was now glowing white, indicating that he has somehow sheathed his sword with his aura. Something only a few huntsmen or warriors of old in the past could ever hope to achieve.
As Qrow stared at the glowing blade, the knight spoke. "You have lost. Concede."
Qrow looked up at the knight with a defiance. Unfortunately, he was completely at the knight's mercy and there is nothing much he could do.
Qrow grunted as the knight added more pressure on his chest. "Gah! Fine you win! Now get off of me!" Qrow shouted, desperate to be freed from the knight. The knight stared at Qrow for a brief moment before lifting his boot off of Qrow's chest, something Qrow was grateful for.
Qrow rolled away from the knight's sword as he slowly brought himself up from the ground. He was still feeling the after effects of the knight's previous attack and his chest was no doubt sore from being stepped on by said knight.
Overall, Qrow can walk it off. After a much needed drink.
"And that's the match! Qrow Branwen is defeated by forfeit!" Glynda announced to the audience, much to Qrow's annoyance. Qrow could hear the concerned whispers among the students about the knight, no doubt they feared the knight since the match was generally one-sided in their perspective.
Once Glynda announced the end of the match, Qrow made his way towards Ozpin, giving him a stern expression as the headmaster gave him an understanding look.
He wanted answers about the knight, and Ozpin is going to give it to him, one way or another.
The knight in question pulled his sword from the ground and attached it to the left side of his waist. He then turned towards the exit and started making his way towards the doors.
"Just a moment if you will!" Ozpin spoke to the knight as said knight stopped in his tracks and turned towards the headmaster. "What is it this time, Ozpin." The knight demanded in an impatient tone.
'Jeez. So serious with this guy. It's like dealing with another Glynda.' Qrow thought. Ozpin then replied with a smile. "Since you have completed your initiation. We would like for you to introduce yourself to the students that you are going to be teaching from now on." Ozpin explained in a calm tone.
For once, Qrow could tell the large knight was hesitating. Choosing whether or not to comply to Ozpin's demand.
After a brief moment of silence, the knight turned towards the surrounding audience. He then slowly brought his hands up to his helmet as a loud hiss emanated from his helmet. At this point, both Qrow and everyone else knew what the knight was about to do.
The knight then pulled his helmet off of his head as he held the helmet underneath his right arm. From where Qrow and the Beacon staff were standing, they couldn't get a good view of the man's face, however, from the shocked gasps and whispers among the audience, they were not suspecting a blonde haired man underneath that armor.
Then with a powerful voice, the man spoke.
"I am Julius Arch! Remember it well, for it will be the name you will all come to fear!"
AN:
DONE! Sorry for the delay. I hope you all enjoyed this extra long chapter.
Now onto the questions:
What's the deal with Julius? Why isn't he more like a Grey Knight? After his past memories were restored to him, he now has the knowledge of Remnant and the people he once knew and trusted. Through this and due to his situation, he has a more rational side of him now instead of the usual "kill everything, ask questions later" mindset of the Grey Knights. Plus, you readers might not have liked it if Julius just up and killed everyone in sight.
How come he still have his past memories even after all those mind wipes? As explained his soul kept his memories safe for they are a part of him. Also in the canon RWBY, it was proven that souls actually do carry memories, just watch Season 4 episode 7.
Why use an initiation process? Seems too cliché? I know it might seem cliché, but I got a good reason for this. If you want to learn how to fight, wouldn't you want to make sure your combat teacher is actually good? And in order to see if they are good or not, you want them to demonstrate their skills. Same logic for this initiation.
If you have any questions, suggestions, reviews, or comments? PM me or put it in the comment section below and I will do my best to answer them. (Unfortunately if you use a guest account, I can't reply to those comments)
I will see you in the next chapter.
