RWBY: Destiny of Remnant

by UGX7

In the wake of the fall Team RNJR sets out to bring Cinder Fall to justice while the new Fall Maiden overlooks her master's plan in Haven City. Meanwhile Weiss tries to help a friend, Yang struggles with the loss of her arm, and Blake deals with guilt over the White Fang. Meanwhile someone from Cinder's past returns and Salem's newest pawn rises. Arkos, WhiteRose, SunnyBees, Renora

56. Best Laid Plans

Hey guys, before we begin, check out Relentless Crusader's one-shot fic, a character short on the Remnant Knights. It takes place between the second arc and this one and sets up certain events. I hope you all enjoy.

RWBY: Destiny of Remnant

Chapter 55: Best Laid Plans

The sun was gradually setting on the western horizon, coloring the skies an amberish-red while white clouds moved sluggishly above Beacon Academy. In the academy's breezeways and covered walkways, students walked either alone or in small groups to whatever destination they had in mind, with some students sat on the various benches scattered around the circumference of the courtyard and mingled around while others made their way back to their dormitory rooms.

Everything looked peaceful in the surroundings of the Huntsman Academy, with the CCT at Beacon Academy tower fully operational once more with the skyports bringing in returning teams that have been out in the field disembarking from Bullheads. Other than some minor Grimm incursions around Vale's border, the current situation at Beacon was as peaceful as one could hope for after the unfortunate events that had happened during the Vytal Festival more than a year ago.

While the students were more or less retiring for various rest and relaxation activities while trying to finish up whatever weekend homework was left, the same couldn't be said of the Academy's Headmaster and Headmistress. Besides the endless paperwork, they still had something much more important to deal with within Ozpin's personal office, away from the eyes and ears of the students and faculty.

The Headmaster of Beacon stood within his office that he now shared with his close friend and now partner in running Beacon Academy, Glynda Goodwitch, in the reconstructed Beacon tower which was still casting its shining light to all of Vale, living up to its name. He looked into the eyes of the holographic version of the Winter Maiden as he stood in front of his curved table with both hands resting atop the handle of his cane, absorbing all that she had just told him moments ago.

With the upgraded holographic Atlas technology that had been built into the office during its extensive repairs, which allowed for advanced holographic conferences, Ozpin was not only looking at Elsa but also a number of other important individuals as well. Alongside the Winter Maiden was a hologram of her lover and guardian Kaifin in addition to their accompanying Knight Vanguard from the Winter Templars Knight Legion known as Snow Blade. General Ironwood, Grand Knight Master Seraph, and representatives of both the councils of Vale and Atlas were gathered around the circular room, making the room seem a bit crowded.

Like the rest of the Remnant Knights, Snow Blade was similarly clad in thick detailed gunmetal-grey plates with white trim, with a cloak of white which hung from his pauldrons. He cut a thick muscular and formidable figure, evident with the thick double-edged broadsword that hung from its sheath which was magnetically locked to his Aegis armor. The emblem of the Winter Templars was emblazoned proudly on his chest-plate, and he wore a plain silver helmet with azure lenses that was devoid of dents or cracks, standing with his gauntlet-clad hands clasped behind his back like a Atlesian Trooper ready for his superior's inspection. Ozpin noticed that the Knight Vanguard bowed his head slightly in Seraph's direction with his gauntlet on his chest for a moment, before shifting into a more relaxed posture after the Grand Knight Master gave a barely perceptible nod of his winged helmet.

"Are you sure this is a wise decision, Miss Vorst?" Councilman Henry of the Vale Council pointed out, "Leaving the protection of Watchpoint Glacies could leave you vulnerable to enemy attack."

"We are always at risk of attack, Councilman." The Winter Maiden replied calmly, "That much had been clear ever since Amber's death. However, I do believe that an escorted trip to Beacon Academy would be no more dangerous for me than the usual trip to one of the other hiding places among the Atlesian mountains."

"Miss Vorst has a point, and if she were to come to Beacon Academy for a short time she would be equally, if not safer than she would have been at one of our isolated facilities." A cultured voice of an Atlesian councilwoman spoke from another of the generated holograms. From the image projected outwards by the holographic device, she looked to be in her late forties with locks of pale blonde hair on her scalp and icy-blue eyes that gave off the impression of deep wisdom and foresight. The councilwoman wore the standard white and grey clothing of the Atlesian council, immaculately free of microscopic wrinkles and spotlessly clean, and she had quite the poker face even as she regarded the other people present frigidly.

Her name was Alexandra Maximilius, the current Head Chancellor of the Atlas Council. Her voice was clear and sharp, probably due to years of experience dealing with various matters within the Atlas Council and the political climate, and it demanded the immediate attention of anyone who heard her. Ozpin, Glynda, Elsa, Kaifin, Seraph, Snow Blade and Henry all caught the small glare that Ironwood momentarily shot in her direction, but if the councilwoman noticed it she did not so much as show any visible reaction to it.

Shortly after the battle with the White Fang, Ironwood had been called back to Atlas to attend an hurriedly scheduled sitting of his Kingdom's Council with regards to certain matters that had been brought to their attention in the light of recent events. Despite having his hands full dealing with the fallout which stemmed from the defeat of the White Fang organization, Ironwood delegated as much of the mop-up operations to those under his command and attended the meeting in which he was faced with the consequences of his actions while under the subliminal brainwashing of the Grimm Mistress which was put in place by Ulysses Cy, albeit unwillingly since he was clearly under extreme duress while committing the act.

After a lengthy debate in which the general nearly stormed out of after answering countless questions and accusations, Ironwood had been forced to relinquish his post as the Headmaster of Atlas Academy, in part due to the increasing amount of attention he needed to place on Atlas's military efforts, but mostly due to the fallout of his time spent under Salem's influence which had damaged his renowned reputation. Even though the Atlas Council had tried their best, they still couldn't keep what happened to Ironwood a secret, and concerned parents who had their children within Atlas Academy were evidently wary of putting their children in the hands of a man who had been manipulated like a puppet for some time, even if it was no longer the case now. It was only through a vigorous public relations campaign and the testament of Ironwood's impressive personal service record that the Atlas Council had reduced his chastisement significantly, but he still had to shoulder some blame for what had been done.

And so Ironwood had, with pressure from Maximilius and other members of the Atlas Council, decided to step down as Headmaster of Atlas Academy while reassuring his students and the faculty staff of the academy that he had been given a clean bill of health by various medical experts and a new Headmistress would take his place soon. While he understood their reasons and held no ill will towards the parents nor the students, almost all of whom had saluted him when he announced his departure from the Huntsman academy, the general didn't appreciate Maximilius for pressuring him to resign his post, nor did he approve of some of the security measures she was proposing to the council.

Ozpin nodded at the head of the Atlas Council and said, "While we appreciate the vote of confidence Councilor Maximilius, I personally would like to know why exactly do you wish to talk to my students?" He gave Elsa a questioning look even as posed the question.

Elsa sighed, and she shared a brief look with Kaifin before speaking once more, "I have been curious about certain members of Team Beacon, especially Pyrrha Nikos, whom I've had an interest in ever since I read the detailed reports on the Fall of Beacon. While I have read about her return and the Battle of Haven in the incident reports, but… it's not enough for me personally. I need to speak to her, to hear the story from her lips as one who had lived through that nightmare." The platinum-blonde woman took a breath and continued, "She may not be a Maiden, but she had briefly received the powers of one, even if only for a brief moment. I haven't been there for her, none of the Maidens have. She might not be a part of our sisterhood, but she almost was, and she deserves our compassion and support."

"A worthy cause and while I understand your reasons, I share the same concerns as Councilor Henry. So are you sure about this?" The hologram of Ironwood inquired, "It has been well over a year since the enemy claimed the powers of the Fall Maiden, and while we haven't had any attacks on the other Maidens thus far, it doesn't mean they aren't waiting for a chance to strike at any of the three of you. The current situation is fluid, and the attack can happen at any moment.

"I am not ignorant of the dangers, General." Elsa voiced simply, "...but I am willing to risk it since there are some important things that I must talk to Pyrrha Nikos about. Things I must learn and things she must learn."

"And what of the other Maidens? Do they know of your plan to come here?" Glynda inquired while looking at the Winter Maiden in the eyes.

"Not at the moment, but I shall inform them. I am more than certain they will agree to it. After all, both Heliosia and Amethyst are kind spirits and they'll be eager to speak to Pyrrha." Elsa assured her fellow blonde.

"All of you meeting at once? I don't think we can risk having all the Maidens in one place." A hologram beside Ironwood spoke up, the image being that of a dark skinned woman in her early thirties who was less experienced in council business. This was Headmistress Jacqueline Mapel, a quite intelligent woman who had taken over from Ironwood as the new teacher in charge of Atlas Academy. With a commendable service record in the Atlas military forces due to her competent and effective leadership, as well as showing good rapport with both faculty teachers and students, she proved to be a worthy candidate for being Ironwood's successor and was his choice for his successor.

While she had been performing competently well as an academy Headmistress, Mapel was still a rookie in the field of council politics, as well as the more secretive things the various councils of the Four Kingdoms had to deal with at times. However, she was still capable of handling difficult matters on her own whenever necessary, and most important of all was that her diligence and trustworthiness was what assured Ironwood that she was the ideal choice for his replacement.

"There's no need to worry, since our powers eliminate the need for such a thing." Elsa told her, "The maidens have a shared mindscape that allows us to communicate with each other, and any of the rare former Maidens also have access to it."

"What about Cinder Fall or the Mistress of Grimm? Aren't they able to access that mindscape as well?" Jacqueline asked the next question with a concerned expression on her face.

"No, neither of them can." Elsa answered while gesturing with her hands, "The reason Cinder cannot enter is due to the way she became the Fall Maiden, as she stole the power rather than receiving it willingly from the Fall Maiden herself or earning it. Our predecessors from generations ago, as a precaution, used their combined powers to make it so that the mindscape does not allow one to enter if they have killed a previous Maiden or have evil in their hearts. The same goes of the Mistress of Grimm since she has merged with darkness itself, which is why she had not been able to enter the mindscape in the centuries since she lost her Maiden powers."

Jacqueline nodded her head understandingly as Head Chancellor Maximilius spoke up again, "Since all the proper precautions have been implemented and Headmaster Ozpin has made sure that everything is safe and secure in Vale as well, we still need to make sure that the Winter Maiden is not followed to or from Beacon Academy."

"For once, I agree with you." Ironwood gave a nod before looking to the Remnant Knight leader, "I will detail a protection force and a fast airship from my own troops for the Winter Maiden and her guardian, and can we rely on the Winter Templars to provide additional support, should the need arise?"

"Of course, the Remnant Knights will provide protection for the Maidens as agreed." The Grand Knight master confirmed with a nod, and looked to the hologram of Snow Blade, "Your men will be the Winter Maiden's visible protection, while Snow Blade and the Winter Templars will remain unseen."

The Knight Vanguard of Elsa Vorst nodded and answered, "I and my detachment of the Winter Templars will continue to guard Elsa and Kaifin with our very lives regardless of location. We shall join them on their journey to Beacon Academy."

"Very well, then I see no reason to deny the Winter Maiden her visit." Ozpin gave his agreement, "Are there any objections?"

"As long as we are quiet about this, a visit from Miss Vorst might do Miss Nikos and the other members of Team Beacon some good. I will not object to this as long as we take every possible precaution by keeping the meeting subtle and making sure that everything is secure." Glynda said, while thinking of her students' safety, which she had commonly made a high priority as usual, "I don't want to risk another attack on Beacon Academy."

"No one wants a repeat of what happened at the Vytal Festival, Professor Goodwitch." Councilor Henry agreed and then added, "You have my approval as well on behalf of the Vale Council. How long do you wish to stay, Miss Vorst?"

"No more than a day, I know it's risky to be in the open for so long I have agreed with General Ironwood that our visit will not be a long one." The Winter Maiden informed the gathering of physical and holographic individuals.

"If that's the case, I guess it's reasonable for us to allow it. I hereby give my approval as well." Jacqueline said as she received quite a few nods and voices of agreement from both representatives of the Valean and Altesian Councils. The hologram of Councilor Benedict shared a cautious look with Henry before giving his agreement in short order.

"I will assign a small brigade to guard Watchpoint Glacies and the Temple of Krystallo until your return, Miss Vorst. Just to make sure that no one attempts to break in during your absence and lay in wait for your return. My men will accompany you to ensure your safety during the journey to Vale, so you have my permission." Ironwood stated calmly,

"And mine as well." Maximilius informed Elsa, "Do what you need to do, but don't let the students of Team Beacon know too much beyond what's necessary, Miss Vorst." However, her voice briefly taking on a somewhat condescending tone unfortunately raised the ire of Glynda.

"Our students are quite trustworthy, I assure you." Glynda said with obvious disapproval in her voice as her fellow blonde glared in her direction, "For the past year and a half they have contributed more to the fight against Salem and her forces than most council members do in their entire terms, and their efforts have produced clear results that speak volumes of their effectiveness."

"I am just saying that we should take precautions over what was being exchanged in such conversations, since these information being mentioned shouldn't be known to just about anyone. And teenagers tend to gossip so..." Alexandra remarked slowly, "As an experienced teacher and member of the Guardians of Remnant Order, I thought you should know that better than anyone else."

Glynda was about to respond when Kaifin thankfully cut in, "I personally don't think we have much to worry about, since we shall have Ironwood's troops with us as well as the Winter Templars, both of those factors which will make the agents of the Grimm Mistress think twice about attacking should she somehow find out about this. Watchpoint Glacies will be guarded by a significant force while we're gone, and Beacon Academy has also undergone a substantial security upgrade since its reconstruction, so even if her agents do move against us, we will be more than prepared to give them enough of a fight to make sure they regret it."

Elsa gave him a small smile while the other members of the meeting eventually voiced their approval of the visit after hearing Kaifin's reassuring words.

"I shall approve of it as well," Seraph spoke quietly, but it was obvious that he was thinking hard about something, even through the hologram's audio transition, "Nonetheless, I do have a question to ask of you, Maiden Elsa." The Winter Maiden turned to face towards the Grand Knight Master's hologram and heard him pose the question, "Why have you waited so long to pay this visit? Why not do it after Nikos was recovered a little over a year ago in Haven?"

Elsa thought for a moment before giving a heavy sigh, and then answering, "While there were other contributing factors or things that demanded my attention, it was mainly procrastination on my part. The pain of losing Amber still weighs heavily on me. I've… I've wanted to visit Miss Nikos for so long, but that part of me which mourns for Amber keeps putting it off. I suppose I may be afraid of reopening a wound which hasn't fully closed." Seeing the Grand Knight Master giving a small nod, she continued for the benefit of everyone present, "Coming to terms with the loss of a friend is never easy, and there are times when we feel that we should have done more, or shouldn't have done something that that is already done. With regards to meeting her… I am not putting it off any longer. I need to talk to Pyrrha Nikos as well as her partner Jaune Arc, and Ruby Rose. I need to know what exactly those children suffered through firsthand, and they must know certain things in particular with regards to the Maidens."

The Grand Knight Master of the Remnant Knights exhaled slowly, "A fine answer. You have my approval as well. I think it would be acceptable for you to visit Beacon for a brief while, perhaps it will not only help you, but certain members of Team Beacon greatly." He looked to Snow Blade and some unspoken agreement passed between them, and the Winter Templar gave his leader knight a respectful bow.

"We are all in agreement then. The Winter Maiden shall be allowed this brief visit to Beacon and will return to her current sanctuary afterwards, protected by both Atlas troops and Remnant Knights at all times. Does anyone have anything else to add?" Asked Councilor Henry, looking around at the assembled individuals. When there was no answer, not even from Alexandra Maximilius herself, the representative of Vale's Council declared, "Very well, meeting adjourned."

Upon hearing his words, many of the holograms began to dissipate into nothingness as the people they represented returned to whatever matters that occupied their time, be it formal business or personal. Henry bid Ozpin and Glynda goodbye before his own hologram faded away, while Alexandra simply nodded and focused her glare at both Ironwood and Glynda before hers faded away as well.

"Well, that went better than I expected." Ironwood remarked softly as he crossed his arms, looking around at the remaining holograms of Elsa, Kaifin, Headmistress Jacqueline, Grand Knight Master Seraph and Knight Vanguard Snow Blade.

"James, is Maximilius still trying to get those new security measures passed?" Glynda questioned while taking a step forward.

"Unfortunately, yes. While I am not against putting in place additional security measures to protect Atlas or increasing security within the Kingdom itself, from what I have seen of her proposals it's clear that she's willing to go father than even for an experienced council member like myself expected." Ironwood replied tersely.

"I am afraid I haven't been paying that much attention to political matters, what kind of measures has she been proposing?" Elsa asked, although judging from her careful tone it was clear she knew that she wasn't going to like what General Ironwood was about to reveal.

"To put things simply, the Head Chancellor wants to discourage foreigners passing through the borders of Atlas, and judging from her actions I am positive that she might even want to restrict passage altogether. However she won't be able to do that without a majority vote from the Atlas Council, and while I no longer hold two seats I still have enough connections, influence, and allies to ensure that enough people will side against her to prevent these measures from going through." Ironwood explained, his gloved fingers twitching a little as he gestured before continuing, "She also wants me to increase the presence of the military forces on the borders of Atlas, and while I agree with her it would be considerably difficult as the Atlesian armed forces are stretched thin as it is due to the increasing Grimm attacks on the other Kingdoms. Admiral Nemo has reported to Atlas military headquarters that she had encountered a school of Grimm Krakens near the northwestern border of Mistral while on patrol just the other day, and from the direction they were heading it's very possible if they would have decimated the nearest port town had she not taken action. I feel that we might need to send even more support out to the other Kingdoms should there be no drop in recent Grimm incursions."

"That's indeed troubling." Ozpin observed as he tapped his fingers on the top of his cane, "What else can you tell us with regards to Atlas politics?"

Ironwood heaved a sigh and elaborated, "Maximilius is also proposing increased patrols in the surrounding Atlesian cities located around the continent of Solitas, increased production for all major Atlesian companies including the SDC, and various Atlas military technologies in particular which she has already announced to her own company, Omniscient Industries, and also enacting a blanket Dust embargo on the other Kingdoms, not totally cutting them off but limiting their supplies."

Upon hearing this, Glynda shook her head with one hand nearly covering her face, while Ozpin sighed as he looked downwards at the polished marble floor of his office, while Seraph gauntleted fingers twitched slightly even as he rested them on his belt. Elsa had the appropriate reaction of complete incredulity, "What? Why would she do that?!"

Ironwood held up his gloved hand to forestall any questions, "Look at it this way, although the Head Chancellor's ideas may seem harsh, maybe even risking alienating our allies, she insists that she had the best interests of Atlas at heart. During the Council session I have attended, she reasoned that if the Grimm Mistress makes a move Atlas needs to be ready, and that includes having as much Dust, troops and weapons as possible, and as many ways to keep the Atlesian people safe. And recently I have heard whispers that she might put into place the Fortification Act in which would levy all able-bodied men into the Atlesian military forces."

"A draft?" Kaifin asked, surprised. Ironwood confirmed this with a grim nod. "That hasn't been enabled since the Second Great War, it wasn't even done during the Faunus Right Revolution."

"It seems that her strategy hinges on the concept that the strongest defense is a swift and decisive offense." Seraph remarked quietly.

"As long as most of the Atlas Council repel her proposals in votes, we don't have much to worry about at the moment." Jacqueline added from her own hologram.

"Although judging from how the current situation has worsened in other Kingdoms as of late, it would be a matter of time before those proposals of hers might become reality despite my considerable efforts in repelling their adoption." Ironwood mentioned carefully.

"Well, it does sound like her heart is at least in the right place, but I do agree with you that her measures and methods are a bit extreme." Elsa said, "At least she isn't one of those Mantle loyalists."

"Indeed, Oum knows we need as few of those on the council." Jacqueline agreed before something attracted her attention from somewhere beyond her hologram's emission, "My humble apologies, if you will please excuse me, I still have quite a large amount of paperwork to handle and teacher reports to read. Good night fellow Guardians, Remnant Knights and good evening Maiden Elsa."

As her hologram dissipated Ironwood then turned to face Elsa and told her "I shall arrange to send you one of my fastest Atlas airships tomorrow night. That way you can arrive at Beacon Academy in the early hours of the morning so as not to attract any unnecessary attention, so that way fewer students will notice your arrival."

"Agreed. We need to keep your visit a subtle and quiet affair, and perhaps you can use the same entrance where the Remnant Knights used when they arranged a meeting with us half a year ago." Ozpin said to the Winter Maiden.

"Agreed. You all have my sincere thanks." Elsa responded with a nod of her platinum-blonde head, "It's getting quite late here, so we will be turning in for the night. Farewell for now, Headmaster Ozpin, Professor Glynda, General Ironwood and Grand Knight Master Seraph." Kaifin nodded respectfully to everyone present while Snow Blade bowed his helmet towards Seraph and brought his gauntleted hand to his grey and white chest-plate as their respective holograms deactivated.

The Headmaster and Headmistress both looked to the Altesian general, with Glynda inquiring, "James, in your honest opinion... do you think Maximilius's proposals have a chance of being passed and enacted?"

"Some of them stand a chance, should the need for extra security arise for the kingdom, but I don't think a blanket embargo will happen as it would affect the Kingdom's economy severely and that would probably earn her quite a lot of opposition and has already been deemed far too risky by almost all of the Council. She may be my rival in the Atlas Council, but I do not see her as a threat… for the moment." Ironwood reasoned as he spoke, "After all, despite our disagreements Alexandra has never demanded that I relinquished my position as head of the military after my… unfortunate experience with the mind control tech, even though some of the council members called for my immediate resignation, she was chief amongst those who defended me, so I appreciate her for that. She means well, I think she's simply misguided."

"My thanks for informing us on the developing situation in Atlas, James." The Beacon Headmaster politely thanked his fellow Guardian who inclined his head in return, "And there is one more thing I feel that you should know as well before you leave."

Ironwood's face looked quite attentive as he said, "What is it, Ozpin?"

"Early last week Qrow took a leave of absence to be out in the field chasing down any leads that may give us an indication of where Salem and her agents will strike next, and according to his latest report he seemed to have uncovered a possible link which seemed to point towards the Kingdom of Vacuo." Ozpin explained while watching Ironwood place a gloved hand to his chin and supporting his right elbow with his other forearm.

"That would make sense since their operation in Mistral have been more or less fallen apart after the Battle of Haven, and Atlas is still on high alert at the moment with enough troops, armor and warships to repel whatever attack they could throw at us, Vale has already suffered a strike from her, and despite the loss of Taurus, Vacuo is still open to their operartions, so that would be the next logical place they would attack." Ironwood carefully reasoned.

"I believe Summer Maiden currently at Shade Academy." Glynda looked at Seraph who responded with a nod of his helmet.

"Yes, she even has several of my Knights looking over her. She has been there for some time under the protection of the Headmistress Luna Aria for some months now. She has maintained a vigilant watch over the Kingdom of Vacuo, so the military forces there will be on their guard as well."

"Knowing her, Luna will probably have taken additional precautions after what happened to Beacon when Salem's agents attacked." Ozpin spoke reassuringly, "And besides, she has also pledged to protect any of the Maidens should they come under threat from the agents of the Grimm Mistress."

"The Knight Castellan of the Relentless Crusaders, the Knight of Fire, has informed me that his legions of knights are operating throughout the continent of Vacuo, and a small group of them are watching over the Maiden. Should any of those knight teams discover anything that requires your immediate attention, I shall inform all of you without delay." Seraph continued in his usual deep voice.

"What about Headmaster Jason Argo of Haven Academy?" Ironwood queried carefully, "We did not hear much from him in the past six months, if I recall correctly."

"Jason is currently busy handling matters with the Mistrialian Council at the moment, James." Ozpin answered as he regarded the hologram of Ironwood calmly, "From what reports he has sent us, he has been using whatever resources at his disposal to keep a careful eye on the Spring Maiden who was currently making her way through the lands of Mistral, but even he had reached his limits in terms of his official authority."

"Yes, Argo has worked with my Knights as well, helping them try to keep up with Amethyst Rilo." Added Seraph.

"What about Headmaster Leo Lionheart of Sanctum Academy?" Glynda asked hesitantly, "He previously had quite a network of varying contacts within the continent of Mistral, and it would be slightly easier for us to keep a close eye on the entire eastern region with his significant resources."

Ozpin sighed at the mention of Lionheart, before shaking his head hopelessly, "Leo has told us that he did not want to get involved in anything that relates to the Guardians of Remnant's role in protecting the Maidens and the Relics of Remnant. He has made his choice, and so we shall honor it as was his right when we called the secret council all those years ago."

Ironwood nodded his agreement. "Thankfully, Argo was eventually more receptive to your situation at that time." Seraph mentioned quietly, "Even though he had the same reaction as Leo at first."

"I will only ask Leo to assist us if there is no other choice to keep further tabs on Mistral, but I feel that we should focus our attentions on Vacuo first." Ozpin said and watched the holograms of Ironwood and Seraph nod their heads.

"Thank you for your kind attention, James. Good luck." Ozpin told the cyborg general who gave his old ally an appreciative look before nodding to the Beacon Headmaster, Glynda and Seraph before deactivating the hologram.

"Be safe, James." Glynda added and locked eyes with Ironwood briefly as his hologram dissolved into nothingness.

After the Atlesian general had left, the blonde witch looked to Seraph, "I have one last question, Grand Knight Master, one which I don't feel comfortable asking in front of the others due to its secrecy."

The hologram of the Remnant Knight leader simply tilted his helmet a little and gestured for her to continue, "It has been some time since Ozpin has asked this question of you: How goes the protection of the Relic of Knowledge?"

The Grand Knight Master regarded them evenly as he replied, "It goes the same as it has for the last thirteen years, Professor Goodwitch. The Relic of Knowledge is constantly protected and secured with the utmost attention and dedication within the vaults of Tintagel, guarded by numerous defenses courtesy of the Knight Order including a sizeable team of veteran knights at all times. There is nothing to worry about."

"Very well. Thank you for the reassurance. Salem and her agents have been laying low for months now, being suspiciously quiet with only a few scattered activities which makes it very difficult for us to link anything back to her. The lack of any activity combined with these increasing Grimm attacks is making everyone anxious, I dread what her next move could be." Glynda remarked.

"As do we all, fellow Guardian." The Grand Knight Master agreed, "The Remnant Knights will continue to protect the Relic of Knowledge as decided in our agreement, and it is just as safe with the Knight Order as it would be in a temple. Thank you both, and may you continue to stand against the encroaching shadows as the ever-vigilant Guardians of Remnant."

As the hologram of the large armored knight faded away Glynda turned to her fellow guardian and co-headmaster and said, "Ozpin...do you truly trust Seraph with the relic?"

Ozpin gave her a slight smile before saying, "Glynda, I would never let the Knight Order have the Relic of Knowledge if I didn't have absolute trust them in the first place. If they have given me good reason to doubt their overall trustworthiness, I would have just made sure that the relic would never fall into their possession. But I do trust Seraph and the order to protect the relic just as I would trust them with my life, since they have proven themselves and have earned my trust several times over."

Ozpin remembered when he had decided to give the Relic of Knowledge to the Remnant Knights after speaking with the other Guardians of Remnant, to make sure that Salem never attacked his school over the relic hidden within Beacon's vaults, even though one of her Sin Commanders very nearly came close enough to try. It had been a rather beautiful twilight some thirteen years ago...

"Your coffee is getting cold, Grand Knight Master." Ozpin noted as he watched the tall and regal armored warrior clad in detailed gunmetal-grey and white armor plates looking at the distant mountainscape that surrounded Beacon Academy from the transparent-tinted windows of the headmaster's office.

"Your hospitality is much appreciated, Ozpin… but I don't think I am in the mood for coffee today." The noble warrior turned from the windows' breathtaking view and regarded the grey-haired headmaster with the azure lenses of his knight helmet, his long white cloak slightly rippling with his skillful movements.

"I don't presume to ask what's in your mind at the moment." Ozpin gave a nod and sipped at his own mug, "Since we both know about the hard-won victory we have managed to wrestle from the battle with Salem and her faction."

"We may have won the battle, but we have paid a high price for this victory." Seraph slowly spoke, his voice having a barely noticeable tinge of tiredness in its usual deep brass tones as though he had just completed an extremely tedious journey across the varied lands of Remnant, "A significant number of my brethren knights are still recovering from their injuries within Tintagel even as we speak, and there are also few who would never see battle again. And… I am dreading the final count of how many of my brother and sister knights have been lost."

"On that you have both my most sincere gratitude and deepest sympathies, Grand Knight Master." The Headmaster of Beacon Academy mentioned solemnly, "I promise you that the Guardians of Remnant will never forget the sacrifices that the Remnant Knights have made to prevent the Salem from nearly killing all life on Remnant."

"All seven of Salem's Sin Commanders have been vanquished, and the Grimm King in particular has finally met his demise at the blade of Excalibrus." The leader of the Remnant Knights continued, one gauntleted hand resting on the pommel of the mighty silver blade which was sheathed at his waist, "We have dealt quite a blow to her, most of her inner circle has been more or less decimated as for now, she will be severely lacking in terms of her cadre of agents and pawns."

"Agents in which Salem invested considerable resources and time in." Ozpin pointed out, turning his head a little to look at Seraph's winged helmet, and saw his own face being reflected back from its impassive visage, "She will certainly need more time to plan her next move, time in which we can use to further prepare ourselves for what new obstacles she would throw at us in future."

"Ozpin, we may have gained a relatively quiet peace, but this respite we have won is only temporary at best." Seraph spoke quietly to the headmaster, although his voice easily reverberated around the interior of the Headmaster's Office, nearly drowning out the sounds of various grinding gears which were turning right above both of them. The knight took a step forward and looked down at Ozpin, "If we could find her hiding place I'd say we should not waste time and finish her off once and for all, but we are still recovering and haven't the faintest idea of where she could be. We have to keep watch for her return, it's only be a matter of time before she concocts some other devious scheme to get what the secret order has given you hidden underneath this school."

The headmaster sat at his curved desk, his fingers steepled while having a cautious expression on his knowledgeable features as he regarded the large armored knight standing a couple of meters away, "Of that I have no doubt." Ozpin replied simply, eyeing his slowly steaming coffee mug on the table briefly. "I sympathize with you, my friend, I too wish to end it once and for all, but until such an opportunity presents itself or we manage to find her, we will have to wait for her to make the next move. Like the previous dark queens before her, Salem will never stop coming at us until she had all the Maidens and the Relics of Remnant within her hands. Not until all of Remnant is under her power."

"Ozpin, as much as I find objectionable to admit it, you know you can't protect the Maidens and the Relics at the same time." The Remnant Knight leader pointed out, "Not to mention the Guardians of Remnant are already stretched thin in their duties to protect the four Maidens, no matter where they are."

"I am well aware of the danger, Grand Knight Master." Ozpin answered, "Which is why I proposed the moving returning the Relics to the various secret temples around Remnant they were originally hidden to keep them out of Salem's hands, Salem already believes them to be within our possession so if we were to return them without her knowing she'd never bother to look for them. That way we can focus our Order's efforts on protecting the Maidens from her agents as much as we can."

"Why return them to the temples?" Seraph inquired.

Ozpin answered with "They were an extraordinary challenge to retrieve in the first place, lives were lost on both sides. She wouldn't think us foolish enough to return them. She knows we have them, she might attack the academies directly to retrieve them."

"Beacon Academy nearly being infiltrated by one of the Sin Commanders is already proof enough that she's willing to attack the schools for them. She's testing our defenses… and her pawns nearly succeeded if not for our vigilance." Seraph said while gesturing with his hand, "We may have thwarted the attempt, but the next encounter we may not be so fortunate."

"Indeed, the brazen attempt to infiltrate the school and abscond with the Beacon's Relic indicates that Salem knows that one of the four Relics has been hidden here, and despite our defenses already in place the Sin Commander came very near to getting into Beacon's Vaults." Ozpin said as he continued to rest his elbows on the table.

The hard lenses of Seraph's winged helmet gradually focused on Ozpin's brown eyes, "Headmaster, you know as well as I do that in order to prevent another such incident from happening again, the Relic of Knowledge must not be kept at Beacon Academy any longer."

"I find myself reaching the same conclusion, Grand Knight Master." Ozpin responded grimly. "Sadly the mountain temple where it was kept was destroyed in a battle. We will have to think of somewhere else."

"Have you considered the alternate option I have proposed some time ago?" The Remnant Knight mentioned in a more cordial voice.

The Headmaster contemplated for a few moments more before giving his reply, "I have spoken with Ironwood, the other Headmasters, Councilman Henry and the rest of the council during our previous meeting, and after much consideration, they have all agreed with your proposal, as well as my own. Knowing how well Tintagel is hidden from the rest of Remnant, it would be a more prudent choice to entrust the Relic of Knowledge to the custody of the Remnant Knight Order than hiding it elsewhere. The rest of the Relics will be returned to the temples, while additional security measures will be installed to assure their safety and to alert us should someone try to take them."

The Grand Knight Master gave a slight nod of his helmet as he agreed to Ozpin's choice, "A sound plan. You have my word that the Remnant Knights will protect the Relic with everything at our disposal. As long as a knight still draws breath, the Relic would never be claimed by Salem or any of her agents. We shall also do our part in helping you return the other relics as well."

"I will inform you of the time and place to officially exchange the relic shortly." Ozpin stood up and extended a hand towards the powerful-looking warrior, "And I will hold you to your oath, Grand Knight Master Seraph Pendragon."

"And I will hold you to yours for the Guardians to protect the Maidens of Remnant, William Ozpin." Seraph replied as he clasped Ozpin's hand in his gauntlets and shook firmly.

"By the way, I haven't heard from either Argentius and Soul Seer for some time." Ozpin continued after retracting his hand, "I trust that they have both been well?"

Seraph nodded in agreement and answered "Argentius is currently on another mission for the Knight Order and Soul Seer is assisting her mentor in training more Prognosticators to serve the Order."

"In other words, they are both indisposed as usual." Ozpin picked up his cane once more and walked around the table, "While I had expected that, I wouldn't mind meeting them again some other time… and please give my regards to them as well as those of Mr. Branwen and Mr. Xiao Long."

"I shall convey your regards to them when I return back to Tintagel." Seraph said as he gave another small nod.

"Thank you. Now, shall we go out for some fresh air? I have been cooped up in my office for far too long." The Headmaster gestured in the direction of the elevator, "Let's enjoy the peace and quiet while it lasts."

The Remnant Knight looked at Ozpin for a brief moment before giving his assent, "Lead the way, Ozpin."

The headmaster had a faint smile on his face at the memory as he sat back down on his chair and steepled his fingers upon his desk once more. A small beep attracted Glynda's attention as she looked down at her scroll tablet, before turning to look at Ozpin once more, "Headmaster, I just received a message from Qrow, he has arrived at his given destination in Vacuo."

"Good. Hopefully his meeting with Commander Strider's agent in the morning may provide us with some fresh leads on Salem's activities." Ozpin spoke softly, "Why don't you take the rest of the night off, Glynda? You look like you can certainly benefit from a much-needed break."

His assistant teacher adjusted her collar before replying, her dangling teal earrings tinkling a little, "I will be sure to do that after I finish reviewing the footage from today's combat lessons. Thank you, Ozpin."

Ozpin nodded to her and waited until Glynda left by the elevator located by the far side of his office before letting out a breath and massaged his temple with two fingers for a couple of moments to calm himself. Pouring himself another mug of fresh steaming coffee from his newly acquired ceramic kettle, the headmaster of Beacon returned to his own task of going over the varied reports collected from various members of Beacon's faculty, including from Professors Oobleck, Port, Crane, Peach and many other teachers.

As he sipped his coffee and sat back on his seat, the headmaster silently mused to himself that he might be in for a rather long night as well.

---

Team Beacon had returned back to Vale's Huntsman Academy late in the afternoon after a long trip back across the ocean and dropping Bianca off at her house. Upon their return to Beacon most of them used the remaining hours of the day to indulge in their personal interests or trying to finish up the last remaining parts of their homework before drifting off to sleep.

After the reopening of Beacon Academy, the combined team had been given a special section of the dormitory building which had been specially built and designed so that they could stick together as a whole and not be simply shoved into one large room. The entire section was made up of four normal student dorm rooms and a smaller version of one made just for Penny, and all five of the aforementioned rooms were connected to a decently-sized foyer that made up the common room which had an entry hallway that was connected to the main halls of the building.

The common room consisted mainly of a moderate kitchen, a living room area with a large television set in front of a pair of couches plus some additional chairs, and a dining place where the entire team can sit and eat together should they not be able to make it to the academy's dining hall. The four teams that made up Team Beacon, Teams RWBY, JNPR, CFVY and SSSN, were given one room each for their own use while Penny had the smaller room all to herself yet within easy reach of her friends.

Each team had made their own respective personal additions to their own assigned room, with Team RWBY having worked attentively on their own room to make it look as much like their old one as they could, and despite with the marked improvement of having actual bunk-beds this time, Ruby still put up a hanging sheet over her bed to make it feel just like her old one. The four desks for each of the girls were placed in similar positions just like their original room, with a new addition of a bigger shelf that contained all of their collective books though Blake's section was still the biggest by far. The new shelf also boasted colored plastic dividers to distinguish which books belong to which particular female member of Team RWBY as well. The bookshelf that had been placed beneath the window was replaced by a small couch, and dressers full of each girl's respective clothing had been placed on the sides of the room they inhabited, with Ruby and Weiss on the left in addition to Blake and Yang on the right.

Team JNPR's room had changed quite a bit with Jaune and Pyrrha's respective beds having been placed so close together that they were practically one bed, which was done so the two would be able to be there and comfort one another should any nightmares disturb their slumber. Despite the fact that the nightmares were no longer as frequent as they had once been, it wasn't uncommon every now and then that either one of them could be heard crying out in the middle of the night. Thankfully their close proximity had made them feel both safer and happier as Pyrrha would often wake up to find herself holding onto Jaune protectively, while he was holding her in his arms just as tightly. A certain bonus modification to their room by Ozpin and Glynda was that they had instructed the architects to install two hidden compartments for the Aura Crystal under room's floor as a way to ensure that the crystal would be safe. Jaune and Pyrrha had placed their beds above the main one, while the second one was right under Nora's bed. The orange-haired valkyrie and Ren's beds were up against the wall on the other side of the room, with Ren's dresser and his small bookshelf atop it that were the only things dividing them. Jaune and Pyrrha's dressers were close to their beds while Nora's was at the foot of hers, while their desks were all relatively close together towards the front of the room.

Team CFVY's room was done up to be like their own dorm as well, with Coco's bed in front of the window with several dressers, that naturally belonged to her, flanking her resting place with their desks all lined up along the walls, two to each side. Yatsuhashi and Fox shared a loft bed, with Fox sleeping on the top bunk since he was shorter than his fellow male teammate, while the giant teen slept underneath him on the floor, resting on a brown tatami that was laid upon the floor. Velvet's bed was across from her partner and Fox's shared beds, and hers in particular was flanked by the dressers of not only herself but Yatsuhashi and Fox's as well, giving her some privacy if she needed it, and additional bookshelves to stock her own wide variety of books on various subjects ranging from Remnant's history to geography and social studies. The young Rabbit Faunus had even put up a little tent made up of extra blankets to make it feel like her own bed at home. Back in their first year she had apologized to Yatsuhashi and Fox if she was initially coming off as antisocial or anything of the sort, but both of them had assured her neither of them were offended at all, and they didn't mind her initial bashfulness. The male members of Team CFVY simply accepted what changes she had made to her side of the dorm room, and felt it would help her get used to living in Beacon, and so Velvet decided to keep the blanket tent up as it felt quite cozy to her.

Team SSSN's room was made up to be similar to their old dorms back in Haven Academy, that is to say messy and a bit chaotic by the others' standards. Each boy had their own bed in a corner with their respective desks, dressers and belongings in their own little corner of the room. The dorm walls were covered in posters of various interest kinds, with the possessions of the four teenage students scattered about the place atop the dressers and desks. Their belongings ranged from memorable pictures of their families to various knick-knacks to assorted maintenance and cleaning tools for their weapons. While Neptune's corner was slightly more neater due to his Atlesian upbringing, while for Sun, Scarlet and Sage's corners it looked as though someone had actually ransacked thoroughly through their possessions.

Penny's room was narrower than the others, consisting only of a plain well-made bed with an electrical lap on a nightstand, a simple study desk, and an Altesian-made computer console for her various research goals. On the nightstand were a couple of framed pictures, including one of herself and her father Doctor Polendina as well as one of herself and Ruby taken during the Vytal Festival, one of her old team, among others which she had stored within her internal memory. There was no need for a dresser due to the fact there wasn't a need for Penny to change her clothes since she was a synthetic android, nor the need for her to use the bathroom as well. There was also a swivel chair right in front of her desk, though no one knew where and when got it ever since Ruby just noticed it one day.

However, right beside Penny's bed was a large box-like piece of Atlesian equipment which looked like a cross between a backpack and a transport crate, white and grey in colour with gently glowing green lines with her emblem imprinted on top. Doctor Polendina, whom Penny still called every night, had nicknamed the item 'The Toolbox', which served as a portable diagnostic and repair center for Penny so she wouldn't have to return to Atlas regularly for her maintenance while she stayed with Team Beacon. The Toolbox could unfurl itself to become a mobile repair bay for Penny to undergo minor repairs and even housed a few small replacement parts to keep her functioning until the Atlas military forces can get Penny to a full repair bay should the worst happen.

Due to her robotic nature Penny didn't sleep like the others, it was more like she simply entered into some sort of low power mode for the duration of the night, all the while being monitored by the Atlas-based equipment in her room. She looked relatively peaceful when she was recharging her internal batteries by sitting cross-legged on her bed, with her hands resting on her lap and going into "sleep mode" after plugging her portable charger into the wall recharge socket like any other electronic device.

The android girl was already awake and was currently sitting on one of the couches in the living room, doing some early morning reading on her own, while Jaune and Pyrrha just returned from their morning jog at the indoor gym's jogging circuit which they often did together to keep in top shape, though it was something that the blonde knight had struggled to get used to now that he had homework assignments to balance as well. Ren, who possessed admirable culinary skills, was making everyone a light morning breakfast while the other members of the combined team were slowly waking up at their own set times to prepare for the coming day ahead.

"Sun! Come on man, get up! Your clock went off ten minutes ago." Neptune said to his partner who still had his face buried in his pillow.

"Nep, do me a solid and...ergh..." Sun tried to speak, but he was still tired and was not in the mood to talk, so he simply pulled his covers to conceal his entire body from view.

"Hey, are you seriously doing this again?" Neptune groaned as he shook his head.

"He never learns." Sage muttered as he buttoned up his uniform's shirt. One of the things most of Team SSSN has struggled to get used to at Beacon Academy was the uniforms, and while Neptune didn't mind it the other members of his team didn't exactly like to follow the dress code, least of all Sun who had been the most vocal, but he still wore the uniform to avoid breaking any of the academy's rules.

Neptune sighed and then added, "Sun, do you really want me to get Yang to do the water bucket method to get you to wake up?"

The Monkey Faunus growled as he jolted up almost immediately, "Fine...fine! I'm up, geez man!" He complained even as he stretched out, his bare and well defined torso out for all to see.

"Stop showing off, Sun. Blake ain't here." Scarlet chuckled a little as he combed his hair out while in front of his own desk.

"Jealous much?" Sun teased jokingly even as he got up and went to pick up his pants from the chair beside his own study desk, and began to pull them on.

After he was mostly dressed, Sun went to retrieve his tail. Some months after the events in Vacuo and the defeat of Adam and the White Fang, Sun had agreed to have a robotic tail implanted on him to replace his old one which had been sliced off by the late White Fang leader. With offers to help pay for it from Weiss and Blake's family in Menagerie as a way of thanking him for all he did, Doctor Kimball performed the surgery. Kimball had been forced to remove the rest of the tail, something that the blond faunus had thought about very carefully in those months of consideration. After undergoing removing the rest of the tail, the Kimball had implanted a small port for the full prosthetic where the base of the spinal cord where the original tail used to be, so that the replacement could be attached and detached whenever necessary so that Sun wouldn't have to sleep with it or get it wet in the shower, just like what Yang had to do with her arm as well.

In the months after his operation Sun had been training vigorously in Beacon's gymnasium for a couple of hours each day, using the monkey bars (no pun intended), parallel bars and even the balance beams to work on his overall balancing issues, with Blake and Yang cheering him on whenever possible along with the rest of his team, even though that did attract quite a crowd of predominantly female students as well. While he had been working on his balance for the past few months, he still haven't perfected it fully yet which resulted in Sun being a little reluctant to rely on his prosthetic tail whenever in a combat situation at the moment.

With a series of soft clicks and whirs his robotic tail locked in and was attached to his body, and he took a few seconds to work the kinks out of the mechanical appendage before letting it drop. The robotic tail was mainly controlled through his brain signals being sent to it that were received by the advanced technology built into the port that delivered them to the aforementioned tail, making it move however Sun wanted it to.

"You alright?" Sage asked as he saw Sun sigh, a flicker of grief crossing his normally optimistic features.

"Yeah. I'm still trying to get used to this thing, it's still heavier than the real tail was." Sun answered as he had the tail move, stretching as he did so.

"It's only been a few months, just give it some more time, mate." Scarlet said to him encouragingly.

Sun smiled at him as he put some deodorant on before quickly buttoning up his shirt, checking himself over one last time before exiting Team SSSN's dorm room with the rest of his team members.

All of Team RWBY had already up and while Blake was waiting on Yang to finish her morning shower, Ruby and Weiss had already made it to the table in the common room, eating breakfast together. Weiss was having some eggs while Ruby ate pancakes with Nora, who was in one of her sharing moods.

"Hey, I'm sorry I needed your help so much last night, but those names are easy to mix up!" Ruby defended before putting another skewered section of pancakes in her mouth.

"I don't see how you could mix up General Calthrop with Admiral Cyanz, they didn't even face each other in the second great war!" Weiss pointed out grumpily after she swallowed down a bite of her egg.

"Eh, bunch of old people who have been dead for years. I know why we have to study them, so we know old strategies and possibly improve upon them and so we can avoid any mistakes they made, but do we have to remember each of their names?" Ruby asked.

"Eh, depends on how famous they are." Coco voiced from the other end of the table, finishing up her morning salad. "Another fine meal, Lie. If being a Huntsman doesn't work out, you'll always have the art of culinary." Velvet nodded happily as she ate some cereal while Yatsuhashi ate eggs and a pair of apples.

Ren smiled and said "I get that a lot, but thank you Coco. However, I have no plans on pursuing any other career."

"And if you did, we'd talk you out of it!" Nora declared, her mouth full of pancakes.

"Talking with one's mouth full…" muttered Weiss, shaking her head disapprovingly.

"Don't bother Weiss, I've tried to break the habit for years but it never sinks in." Ren told her as he ate his toast.

"Good morning everyone!" Bid Pyrrha cheerfully as she appeared, dressed in the school uniform like the others.

"Hey Pyrrha, how was the jog?" Ruby asked.

"Same as always, a tad cold since it's still winter, but pleasant nonetheless." Pyrrha answered as she took up a piece of a toast and sat down to eat it as Yang and most of Team SSSN came out to join the others, Scarlet was still getting dressed.

"You made the bacon, right?" Sun asked Ren, who nodded.

"Alright, Ren's Beacon Bacon!" Said Yang as she grabbed a piece and shoved it into her mouth.

"Did you have to name it?" Neptune inquired as he took up a strawberry.

"Yes." Both Ruby and Yang answered at once.

Ruby looked over to Penny and asked "You alright Penny? Have a good sleep?"

"Yes I did, Ruby! However, I feel the need to remind you that you can always come to me if you need help with homework." The robotic girl told her.

"Oh, right." Ruby said, a bit embarrassed, "I keep forgetting you don't have trouble going back to sleep like the rest of us."

"Nope." Penny confirmed, "I can simply shut myself down whenever I need to, so do not hesitate to ask, because I think keeping Weiss awake will simply make her grumpy."

"Grumpier." Fox said dryly from the couch, having already eaten.

Weiss rolled her eyes while Ruby, Yang, Nora, and Sun all laughed. Jaune came out and said "Good morning," to everyone.

"Set the security systems in our room?" Pyrrha asked him as she handed him a plate of bacon and scrambled eggs.

"You know it, Pyr." He assured her as he accepted the plate, smiling at her. Ozpin had also installed security systems for Team JNPR's room, including a laser tripwire alarm that would alert them should anyone attempt to take the Aura Crystal.

"You should all eat a bit faster, the school day will officially begin in seven minutes, so we have a total of thirteen minutes to get to our first classes." Penny announced.

"That's just barely enough time." Jaune said as he began to eat a bit faster.

Yang shook her head and reached into her bag, only to notice that her homework papers for Oobleck's class were missing. "Aw crud…" She muttered. She turned to go back to RWBY's room, only to see Blake come around the corner with the papers in hand.

"Forget something?" The Cat Faunus asked as she handed her partner the papers.

"Oh you're a lifesaver!" Yang told her partner as she took the papers and quickly put them in her bag. "Where were they?"

"On your desk." Blake answered as she made her way over to the table. "It's no problem, I just saw them there and figured you forgot again."

"Ugh, weekend memory bugs. Sometimes the brain just doesn't work." Yang griped.

"I know that feeling." Sympathized Jaune as he continued to chow down on his food, getting some egg stuck around his mouth, making Pyrrha giggle before she reached over to clean it off his face.

Soon everyone was done eating, they were all dressed in the school uniform, and ready for the day to begin.

Ruby took out her scroll to check the time, and stopped a moment to admire the picture that served as the background; it was a photo taken the first time she had come home, with her mom sitting in a chair while her dad held a newborn version of herself, with Uncle Qrow holding a toddler Yang. Ruby smiled at the photo before looking at the time and saying "We'd better get going if we're gonna make it."

"Let's get moving boys and girls, don't want first class teachers to be all stuffy about punctuality." Coco voiced as she led her team out of the foyer.

"Okay, next stop; Professor Port's class!" Ruby declared as she darted out of the room, the rest of her Team and Penny not far behind her, because Penny was the most comfortable with Ruby, she had been assigned to classes with Team RWBY, since she was without a team, therefor she was essentially an extra member to the team.

Team SSSN went next, with Scarlet still trying to make sure his uniform was on correctly and Neptune assuring him it was.

Team JNPR was the last to leave, closing up the main door and locking it before following Team RWBY to their first class of the day.

---

Salem sat upon her throne, waiting for Watts to come in. At the moment she held a large scroll in her hand, looking over the data she had received from their ally within the upper ranks of the Kingdoms, that the Winter Maiden would be making a trip to Beacon Academy quite soon. It was a good opportunity, but not the one they were waiting for. The Knights would still be protecting her on the mountain facility and Beacon was too well protected now that they had rebuilt. They would be expecting some kind of attack, so she would be sure to let them down. She still needed to wait for the opportune moment to strike, and once she did…

Her train of thought was interrupted by the door opening. She looked up to see Arthur Watts approaching her throne. "Is he ready?" She asked.

"Yes, Mistress. Your newest servant has the refitted armor and his body is stable. And his training has made sure that he shall be more than ready should the need for a fight arise." Announced Dr. Watts pridefully.

"Excellent. It is nice to know that Adam's body will not go to waste." Salem said as she rose from her throne.

"Or the others." Watts added as a square shaped pit opened up in the center of the room, where a large marble slab rose up, guarded by a pair of Grimm Knights. Strapped to the slab was a well-build, masculine figure, his head covered by a mask and his body decked out in a black suit of armor that hugged his muscular form.

The figure was alive, as it was slowly breathing in and out, its form intimidating thanks to the armor of one of Salem's long dead servants, the Grimm King, refitted for his less bulky frame. The helmet was in the likeness of a Wyvern, similar to the one Fotia Drakos had worn, where the dragon's eyes would be there were darkened glass lenses, hiding his eyes from the outside world. Two horns jutted out from the sides of the helmet and the bottom of the headpiece ended with jagged teeth like spikes.

The armor was made up of a series of interlocking plates, painted black with thin red edges. Since the late Wrath had been far larger, the armor had been scaled down to fit the Son of Salem. The plates overlapped each other and upon them were small red shapes similar to the designs on Salem's robes, the shoulder pauldrons were curved yet slanted at the sides, and the beneath the armor the Son wore a dark-purple undersuit, covering the red veins, pale flesh, and scars he had been given during his creation.

As the rising platform came to a halt with a subtle noise, Salem walked towards the slab and placed her hands over his body, before placing one hand atop his head.

"Rise, my son."

The figure's body came to life as Watts pressed a button on his scroll, retracting the straps. The masked face looked up at her, his eyes weren't visible but Salem knew what was behind them; nothing.

No love, no hatred, no sorrow, no empathy, nothing. This was the result of combining Adam's dead body with several other corpses that she had preserved via freezing them over the years. After Adam's death she, Watts, and West worked to connect the suitable body parts that were still usable after death, there had been one in particular that had been used more than the others, however, so this was who the figure looked like more than any other body without the mask.

After using her dark magic to bring the amalgamation of body parts to life, he had begun an intense training regiment to hone his skills to make himself a warrior worthy of fighting for her, and his name; The Son of Salem.

But the reason there were no emotions at all, was due to one major thing not given to him; a soul. Without a soul, one couldn't think for themselves, or allow themselves to be ruled and manipulated by things such as love and compassion. No soul also meant no ambition, another plus for Salem, as when one took all of these things account he was much easier to control than the likes of Cinder and Tyrian, and the chances of him turning on her practically zero.

The only true problems experienced with the Son so far, was the fact that Grimm he was given to control, the Wyvern, refused to obey him or let him near it. Salem had grown frustrated with the dragon, Wyverns were always different from the other Grimm because of their half-breed nature, as they had originally, in fact, not been true Grimm, but the last of the dragons, tainted and transformed to a new species of Grimm by the original Grimm Queen centuries ago, and this made them different and harder to control than the others, in fact Salem knew that this Wyvern was still loyal to Pyrrha Nikos, despite everything that had happened and the amount of time it had been since it had seen her.

Before and after his 'birth', he had been kept an absolute secret, known by only a few of her other servants, such as Tyrian, Hazel, and Sheer Kaa, who had been instructed to train him, so while they knew him and had seen him, most of her disciples did not know he existed. This mission was to be his unveiling.

The reason for this, was because Salem did not want the Red Fang knowing what she had done to parts of Adam Taurus' body prior to burying it. Tyrian had actually managed to remain serious when he promised her not to tell them about what parts of Adam's body ended up in the son. She also didn't want too many of her servants to be familiar with him, just in case she needed him to fight them, should any of them, be they her Maiden candidates or scientists, ever think of betraying her.

The Son sat up and got off of the slab before standing still as a statue, he did not say a word as he could not talk. No soul, meant no true voice, and while he had vocal cords, he had no use for them, as he relied on his body language to communicate.

"Are you ready for your first mission, my son?" Salem asked him.

He nodded.

"Good." She said as Watts' used a device to project a hologram of a thin, middle-aged man in a business suit. Salem gestured to the man and continued "This will be your target, Charles Meredith, a mid-level business man in the Schnee Dust Company. Last year one of our associates, Damien Ante, arranged a deal with Mr. Meredith to supply us with five percent of the Dust from the SDC's Haven division, which he agreed to after some persuasion. After the incident in Haven, we rewrote the contract to make it appear as though business was being done with another one of the companies under our control. Recently, however, he has not lived up to his part of the bargain, maybe he thinks that since we no longer have a major presence in Haven we are not a threat to him, or maybe he thinks that since Ante is no longer there he's safe. I do not know why or care why he has done this, but I do know that he has slowly but steadily decreased the Dust supplies we were being given. We cannot let this arrogance go unpunished, and so you shall be the one to deliver him his sentence and a message to all others who think about backing out on us. Do you understand?"

The Son silently nodded.

"Excellent." Salem said with a small nod. "Now, listen to Dr. Watts, he shall tell you the details of your assignment.

The Son nodded again and looked to Watts, who stepped forward and began. "We have sent Meredith an anonymous message, instructing him to come to one of the lesser guarded warehouses the SDC has in Haven, alone. You are to take a dozen Grimm Knights with you to empty out the facility, save for the dead body of Meredith, and any guards he brings if he's foolish enough to do so. The Grimm Knights are to destroy any and all security cameras and all footage that proves you were there, all we need you to do is to eliminate this loose end and to make sure Mistress Salem's message is heard. Do you understand?"

The Son looked up to Salem and nodded obediently.

"Good." Salem said approvingly and gestured for a Grimm Knight to come forward. "Take your sword."

The Son of Salem turned and accepted his weapon the robot held, the Chaos Edge. It was a long, black, double-bladed sword that could slice through matter like hot knife through butter. Forged through Salem's dark magic and binded with the essence of an Elder Grimm, the blade had turned out completely black with small, vein-like red lines running along its length. The hilt was a pale while its sheathe was black as well, with a number of small red glyphs carved on its surface.

The Son gripped the hilt tightly in his hands, Salem gently grabbed his chin and brought his head up to look her in the eyes.

"Now go, my son. Kill Meredith and destroy that warehouse. Do not fail me." Salem ordered him.

He bowed to her, and rose up to turn and leave the room, a squadron of Grimm Knights following him.

As he made his way to his ship, Watts turned to the Mistress of Grimm and asked "Are you sure he was necessary? You already have the Grimm Hybrids, the Maiden Candidates, and many other servants, why bother making him?"

Salem gave him a small smile and answered "Well, I suppose every woman, deep down, wants to truly be a mother." She began to walk back to her throne and glanced back at him to add "Besides, one can never have too many aces up their sleeves."

Watts nodded and gave her a bow before taking his leave.

Salem sat back down on her throne and smiled. "Everything is falling into place. Soon this game will finally come to its end, and we shall stand victorious."

---

Qrow followed the Vacuo Ranger into one of the local stations within the city of Tarshta, a city that wasn't as large as the capital but was still considered a major city, with large buildings and some factories, as well as a thriving marketplace due to having some of the more successful farms in Vacuo in the surrounding area.

"So Lieutenant Santaro, what do you know about the Red Fang?" Qrow asked the ranger in front of him.

"They're an offshoot from the old White Fang run by that Taurus punk and they're not trying to get as much attention as they used to. And aside from the raids and murders committed by them, they've been lying pretty low so we don't know much about them, but we think we've managed to identify their leader, if the small bits of footage we recovered from their last raid is anything to go by." Santaro answered.

Qrow nodded, intrigued. "Who is it?"

"You ever hear of an assassin named Tyrian Callows, Branwen?" Santaro asked.

Qrow thought, and nodded. "Yeah, I think so. He was a student around the same time I was, injured another student and got sent to prison, then became infamous for being some big name professional assassin here in Vacuo, right?"

"Got it in one." Santaro confirmed.

"Haven't heard about him in years, why? He have something to do with the Red Fang?" Qrow inquired.

"I'll tell you once we get to my office." Santaro told Qrow as they entered the ranger's station. The building was average sized and didn't have much going on, most of the rangers were most likely out performing their duties.

They soon arrived to a medium sized room with a desk and chair before the window that allowed one to view the outside. Qrow sat down in one of the two chairs before the desk as Santaro typed something into the computer built into his desk.

"Tyrian Callows is, or was, a human Huntsman-in-training from this Kingdom." The computer brought up an image of a young looking man with pale skin, yellow eyes, and braided black hair. "Estimated age as of now would be thirty-seven years old. He was an orphan who had a history of disorderly conduct and a reputation for being difficult, but he was accepted into Shade Academy where he was trained for two years, but early into the third year, age nineteen, there was an incident with one of Callows' peers. Apparently the two had always disliked each other, but one day during combat training Callows became violent and used his weapons, a pair of wrist mounted blades, to fatally wound the student, nearly killing him." Images of the blood covered gauntlets, Tyrian in handcuffs, and documents of the court case and reports from a psychologist. "Shrinks marked him down as sociopath suffering from violent psychopathic tendencies. In the end he was permanently expelled from any and all Huntsmen Academies and sentenced to five years in prison for attempted murder." Santaro finished.

"But that's not where the story ends, obviously." Qrow stated.

"Nope. In prison he ended up making friends with some thugs who had connections with Dominic Pariss, formerly one of Vacuo's leading crime lords. They saw his skills in the courtyard and when they made bail they managed convince Pariss to buy Callows' freedom as well." Santaro elaborated, bringing up an image from the newspaper, and the local public outcry against Tyrian's freedom. "From what we've been able to gather he trained for a couple more years to become a deadly warrior and assassin for the crime lord, and even took out some of Pariss' rivals' hired hands."

He brought up a picture of a bloody crime scene, chalk outlines detailing where the bodies had been. Blood was splattered about the walls and the floors, bloody handprints could be seen dotting the room.

"Couldn't tie the hits to him, right?" Qrow guessed.

"Not the first time, or the second, third, fourth times either. He became Pariss' top ranking assassin, he was hated and even respected by the rest of the crime syndicate, but they all feared him. For about five years he made a name for himself as a deadly assassin, known through the capital as a threat, but under protection of the syndicate, neither the Rangers or the cops could touch him." Santaro elaborated, showing a photo of Tyrian in a slick looking white suit at a nightclub, ladies in tight dresses draped on each arm.

"I remember hearing about him when he was the mob's killer who was hot shit. What happened to him?" Qrow asked.

"Well, it was something that happened gradually over four years, but the short version is: he got sloppy." Santaro stated as he showed pictures of increasingly bloody crime scenes, there were slash marks on the walls, brutal cuts on the corpses that exposes arteries, intestines, and muscles. Eyes had been gouged out, corpses tied to chandeliers, hearts left out in the open on dinner plates. "As time went by he became even more brutal in his killings. He became cocky, made some mistakes, left evidence behind. It was enough to land him in jail, and the bail Pariss had to pay didn't make him happy. From what we understand when Pariss lectured Tyrian, the psycho threatened his boss in front of his top lieutenants. It was clear to all of them that he was becoming a liability and a threat."

"I can see where this is going; they decided to take care of him before he could do any more damage." Qrow surmised.

"Yeah, but not right away. Pariss let Tyrian off with a warning, and the next morning invited him to come over for a meeting, some kinda 'forgive and forget' talk, was what he was supposed to have told Callows. Really he was setting a trap to eliminate Tyrian, but Callows was smarter than they thought, and already figured it out. The moment he stepped into their headquarters the slaughter began, took out the guards, the lieutenants, the armed servants, everyone. He used his wrist blades and some guns he managed to get from his victims, but in the end most of the people who tried to kill him that day ended up dead. Including Dominic Pariss." Santaro said before adding "We couldn't release most of these to the public."

The computer began to show pictures of the massacre, corpses of the guards and hit men lay all over the syndicate's headquarters. Limbs and heads were severed, blood had been plattered everywhere, bullet holes, blade slashes, and blast burns all marked the walls with shattered glass strewn about the floor.

Qrow's eyes actually widened upon seeing that horrific state Pariss' body had been left in. It was rare for something to actually bother Qrow after the living the life he had and knowing the things he now knew, but the images of what had been done to Pariss' body would induce nightmares in less-experienced people.

"Bad way to go." The Huntsman remarked.

"Pariss was a scumbag, but even he didn't deserve that." Santaro voiced.

Qrow nodded and said "So I take it Callows ran after that?"

"Bingo. Used what little connections and friends he had left to skip town, and since then he vanished. Over the past fourteen years there've been reports of killings that match his M.O., but nothing solid. Until a few nights ago…"

"And that's where the Red Fang come into the picture." Qrow said, before asking "Did Callows or Pariss ever have any connections with the original White Fang, or any Faunus extremist groups?"

"I don't think they ever dealt with the White Fang, Pariss was dead before that Taurus kid took over. They did have some dealings with some Faunus terrorists in Atlas though, mostly so they'd have something of a hold over the Atlesian businesses who came to Vacuo to do business. Since these guys were local boys they never had anything against Faunus, but we know zilch about Tyrian's relationship with 'em. Then we saw this footage. When the attack began the security systems transmitted the footage to this station since we're the nearest law enforcement base, it's a little security measure that helps us catch the perps. Watch." Santaro instructed as he began the video.

Qrow watched with interest as he saw footage of a Dust warehouse, the video feed changed to multiple angles from time to time, only for one of them to suddenly go out. This was followed by another, and another, and then all of a sudden a door on the second floor burst open, and standing there was none other than Tyrian Callows, dressed in a white sleeveless jacket with leather belts strapped to it, open showing his bare, scarred chest. He also wore white pants along with leather boots that went over his shins, ending in knee guards. He also had silver, ring-shaped earrings on each of his earlobes and another one near the top of his left ear. But what really captured Qrow's attention was the large, thick black belt around his waist.

In the footage, Tyrian went to work immediately, eviscerating a guard's torso before finishing him off with a well-placed slice to the neck. Guards opened fire on the assassin, only for a small group of Red Fang operative to rush in and begin fighting back. The other angles of the security footage were still being cut off, until only one remained.

Qrow leaned forward, and could just barely recognize the large shape of Hui, the White Fang lieutenant, among the Red Fang attackers. All of a sudden something took Qrow by surprise; a large, scorpion-like tail shot out of Tyrian's waist and impaled a guard through the stomach. Tyrian brought the guard forward and killed him by slamming both wrist blades into his chest. With that, the security feed went black.

Qrow was rendered speechless by the sight. Santar sighed and said "I know, now get a load of this, I'm going to go back and freeze-frame. There's something on the camera right before it cuts out." He reversed the video, and began to play it frame by frame. Slowly, the shape of a head began to emerge from nowhere right in the middle of the screen, a face with brown skin and freckles could be made out before the screen went black.

"There it is. They just popped out of nowhere. Possibly a camouflage Semblance, but it could be something else."

"After seeing what Callows whipped out I don't blame you. Any survivors?" Qrow questioned.

"None. Nine people were killed that night. We got the full reports if you want to look at them." Santaro stated.

"Yeah, I wanna look at 'em. Get me all the data you got on Callows and every scrap of info you got on the raids the Red Fang have committed around here. You were right to call us, I think we're onto something and I want to send the data to my superiors, Ozpin, Goodwitch, and Ironwood, they're gonna want to see this crap." Qrow ordered.

Santaro nodded and asked "You think Callows is in league with that Cinder Fall lady? I mean… there hasn't been a sighting of her since that fight in Haven about a year ago."

Qrow sighed and said "Don't know for sure, but it's a safe bet they're acquainted. Go get those data files. I'm going to contact my boss."

Santaro left the room and went to get the files while Qrow took out his scroll. He stopped a moment to admire the picture that served as the background; the same photo Ruby had. He shook his head before he went ahead and called Ozpin.

"Qrow?"

"You bet Oz, I'm here at Tarshta, you ever hear of a killer named Tyrian Callows?"

"...Yes. That name is all too familiar. I attended his trial and was one of the judges who decided to strip him of the Huntsman rank and privileges permanently. Some years ago I heard of his new ties to the Vacuo mob, but I understand that it didn't end well. I suppose you're going to tell me he has thrown his hat in with Salem?"

"Give the man a prize." Qrow confirmed.

"I suspected Salem would want someone like him. Over the years there have been reports of assassinations and killings that bear a resemblance to Callows' methods, but no solid evidence to prove he was there. I suspect Salem is using him as an supervisor of the Red Fang, but he's not a Faunus, so why-"

"Funny thing, Oz. The lieutenant here showed me security footage of the Dust warehouse that was raided the other night. Callows is there and, get this, he has a scorpion tail!"

"A scorpion tail?! Are you sure?" asked Ozpin, startled for a brief moment.

"I saw it on the footage, and the coroner report on the victim will probably confirm a giant scorpion stinger rammed through the poor guy's gut." Qrow remarked.

"If Grimm-Human hybrids are possible, then turning a human into a Faunus, an arachnid one at that, is not impossible." Ozpin commented thoughtfully.

"Heh, Oz, I stopped counting on the word 'impossible' to apply to my life a while ago." Qrow snarked with a smirk on his face.

"Maybe I should too. Collect as much of the data as you can and sent it to us, some of the footage as well so we can review it. Have a look around, Qrow. Maybe your gift will help you find a clue leading to Tyrian's whereabouts or a link to the Red Fang's operations at least."

"You got it Oz, and we're already working on getting that data ready. Over and out." Qrow said before ending the call.

The rugged Huntsmen rubbed his chin for a moment as he thought about his current mission. Tyrian Callows didn't sound like a pushover. If he was going to confront him, he was going to need to be prepared.

"If only Raven… Stop it. Can't dwell on the past. I don't have Taiyang or the teen squads with me. These Rangers are good enough for now." He said to himself before taking a brief drink from his flask.

---

There are certain forbidden places throughout Remnant which few people know of, and fewer still dare to go. Those who do go are usually brave archaeologists or thrill-seekers, looking for ancient relics or adventure. However, one place in particular had been known to a select few for quite some time. It was now time for its treasures to be plundered.

Deep in the rocky mountains overlooking the Vacuo deserts, a large group had gathered deep into the rocky outcroppings and steep hillsides, sand and stone covered the land as the blistering sun above showed no mercy. The group was an excavation team, they had entered a large cavern and were currently digging away at the rock and earth, aided by holographic maps and data to guide them towards their goal, lights were hung up over the cave's ceiling to provide some light in the darkness.

Further in, the sounds of drilling and digging reverberated from the curved rock walls as the workers, people and robot alike, tried to uncover what was hidden behind the tons of near-solid rock and sediments before them. They did their jobs silently and methodically, fearing the consequences of what could happen to them should they fail.

A little back was a larger cavern within the cave, the main site of the mining operation. The large cavern was nearly the size of an Atlas Airship, and it was practically a hive of activity from the miners and excavation robots, frantically digging, axing, and drilling away at the walls. Long, thick power cables and generators took up some space of the cave floor, providing light for them. The air within the walls was stiflingly hot, the stenches of sweat, dust, and overheating machinery ruled the air. The workers did their best to carve away the walls and find the objects of Salem's desire, but progress had been slow thus far.

Dr. Yiro West wiped his face off with a rag as he looked back to the excavation efforts. One arm extended outward, a small scanning device in hand, showing off the latest deep tunnel scans delivered into the device by the larger, more advanced scanning devices about the cave. He usually had no interest in mining operations, but in this case he was very interested, as Salem needed him to find something for her.

He took a sip of water from his canteen before turning his eyes back to the flickering images of the scanner's screen, ignoring the activities of the miners around him. Formerly a second hand to the late Dr. Giger, he had been promoted after the Grimm expert's death at the… teeth of his own creation. While he was decently knowledgeable in robotics to help Dr. Sherizawa and Dr. Cadmus, he was more 'at home' in biological sciences, hence the success of the recent Grimm Hybrids, Anansi and Mavis. But because of his experience with technology, he had been chosen to oversee the operation, which he did so closely, helped out by the decent number of Grimm Knight provided by Sherizawa to ensure everything went smoothly and so punishments could be provided if any of the workers stepped out of line.

Those weren't the only things there to help him. Ziz, the winged Grimm Commander, had arrived that morning, after leading a swift attack on a Vacuo town in the desert. Salem had sent her there to help speed things up, and as a result a few Griffons were currently digging their talons into the dirt to help, she had to control them to make them ignore the fear and unease emanating from the workers around them.

"What do we do with these people after the job's done?" Ziz asked him as she sat atop a large rock, stretching.

"Assign them to work on another job. Our master always has something needing to be done." West answered. "How did your attack go?"

"Same as always. Fast and brutal, left 'em confused. Didn't count the casualties." She responded, leaving out the fact that she had only allowed her Grimm to claim a few lives. Ever since she discovered what really became of her team, her blood lust had diminished significantly, something that hadn't gone unnoticed by her fellow Hybrids. They did not question her on it, however, as she had proved herself just as capable in combat as she ever had. They knew she no longer hated her team, but some other things far more deserving of hate. "Real out of the way place, huh? I don't even think these mountains were on the maps."

"Not on most of the official ones, anyway. It's out of bounds for most people, who wouldn't dare come this far into the desert. We're practically in the middle of it." West told her.

"Heh, so far from civilization that the law doesn't even matter." She mused. "You've been down here for a week, how much longer will it take?"

"Don't know, maybe another week." West answered plainly. "According to these reading the rock surrounding our target is extremely dense and will take some more time to break through it."

"Spending all day in a dark, hot, dusty cave digging. Can't imagine anything more boring." Ziz remarked, as a foreman came running towards them.

He gave a nervous, unsure look up at Ziz, before looking to West. "Sir, we've found something towards the back of the new tunnel, I've sent some Knights ahead to guard it." He reported. He held up a broken pickax, the blade snapped in half after being worn out for untold hours of work. "It shouldn't have snapped so easily, I think we hit something."

West nodded, "Lead the way." He said as Ziz glided down from her perch.

The foreman nodded and took them into the tunnel, directing other workers to get back to work as he did so. Ziz gestured towards the Griffons and they turned to face her, only for the winged hybrid to order them outside for the time being, so the beasts opened up their wings and flew out of the tunnels, leaving the workers be.

They walked deep into the tunnel until they came to the area where the Grimm Knights stood guard, their red visors shining in the dimly lit cave, missing nothing, not even the uneasy glances of the workers. They parted for the three to get through to the small area.

"The rock is thick, but when we broke through the sound it makes when its hit is odd." The foreman exposited, taking a shovel and slamming it down into the rock, following it up by banging it against another, exposed bit of earth, and the sound of the impact did have a subtle difference.

"Interesting. Is there a scanner in this tunnel?" West asked.

"We're about to boot it up." The foreman confirmed.

As they waited for the scanner to come online, West consulted his scroll and made a fascinated sound."Very close to the location Dr. Merlot wrote about." he said.

"Merlot? That name sounds familiar." Ziz said, trying to recall who he was talking about.

"He should. Merlot was once Salem's leading scientists, formerly one of Ozpin's top students. Dr. Giger was Merlot's second in command of Salem's biological science division, just as I was once his. Before he allied with Mistress Salem Merlot wandered into this no man's land, and spoke of skeletal remains of monstrous creatures long dead, hidden in these caves, along with statues and machines. This intrigued Mistress Salem, but she would only let him return to this place once he was done with his Grimm hybridization experiments. Obviously that never came to pass after that… unsuccessful hybrid went mad. I recently rediscovered Merlot's notes on this place and Mistress Salem deemed it a worthy of investigation." West told her before the scanning machines came alive and began to transmit data to his handheld device.

"What kinda creatures was Merlot talking about? Dragons?" Ziz asked.

"Close." West answered with a nod before he looked at the new data. "The sensors indicate that it is in fact made up of something different from the rest of the rock. There is something beyond the wall. Will drills work?" West asked.

"Yeah, but it might take a while…" The foreman said.

"Hmm… the sensors aren't picking anything large on the other side of the wall… Will a controlled blast do the trick?" West inquired.

"Sure, if it's powerful enough to blast through and not powerful enough to bring this place down around us. We got just the stuff for it. You wanna go through with that?" The foreman asked, a little unsure.

"I'm afraid we cannot let this obstacle impede our progress for Mistress Salem, the fast we get these remains to her, the more pleased she will be." West explained carefully.

The foreman nodded and signaled to the other workers and gestured to a large wooden crate, a couple of the workers opened it up and took out several small explosive charges and got the tools ready.

"You, go to the main chamber and tell the others what's happening. Get them all ready for stand by and have them be ready for evacuation should the need arise." West ordered another worker, who nodded and eagerly ran off.

As the foreman began making sure these charges weren't powerful enough to bring the tunnel down he looked to West and questioned "Are… you sure about this sir? Using these explosives might be risky, we could damage a one of the specimens if they're behind the wall."

West nodded, but said "I know, but it is an even greater risk to keep Mistress Salem waiting. This is our first real lead since we got here, and we need to find out if its what Merlot wrote about. If there's nothing behind this wall we'll be forced to keep digging around these mountains for weeks. I'd rather us finish this project in a way that doesn't disappoint her."

"Listen to him man, the faster this goes, the sooner you'll get outta here." Ziz advised.

The foreman sighed and nodded. West turned and commanded "Grimm Knights, take the charges and plant them on the wall."

Upon receiving their orders, the robotic soldiers did as told, fetching the charges from the miners and moved to plant them on the walls. After that the workers filed out of the cavern, tools in hand, while West and the foreman moved back towards the entrance just to be on the safe side. Ziz stayed up with the Knights to make sure that all the connections were intact as they were placed on the proper places.

"Tell me again, why does Mistress Salem want those robots when she has all those Grimm?" The foreman asked, curiously.

"The Grimm Knights do not need to feed like the Grimm do. Besides, there are cases in which the Knights are better suited to a task than Grimm, need I remind you how uneasy the beasts make you and your co-workers?" The foreman shook his head, understanding what West was saying. "They're easier to control than either Grimm or living guards. No fear of death or injury, no ravenous appetite, no will at all." West finished.

Ziz finished keying the charges up to a remote detonator and returned to the two men, the Grimm Knights forming a protective barrier behind her. "Alright, we're set. Everyone take cover and enjoy the fireworks!" She held up three fingers and brought them down one by one before clenching her fist around the detonator and pressing the button.

Inside of the main cavern, lit up by generator powered lights, there was a sudden tremor that shook the room before a huge cloud of dust burst out of the tunnel caused by the explosives, which also sent small rocks cascading down the rock walls and made machinery shake as the crews ran to secure everything and make sure that there wasn't going to be a cave-in. Luckily, nothing of the sort occurred and none of the surveying equipment or scanning devices were damaged. The most that had happened was a few light bulbs bursting.

Inside of the tunnel the near-deafening boom of the blast had sent rocks falling from the walls and ceiling, but luckily the tunnel was still structurally stable and the Grimm Knights had protected the three from any harm, leaving them dusty, but unhurt.

As the dust settled, everyone in the tunnel was either wiping or waving the dust away from their faces. West was coughing a bit as he held the rag over his mouth.

"You okay sir?" The foreman asked, his voice a little raw from the dust he had inhaled. As Ziz, who had recovered just fine, flapped her wings, blowing the dust away from them

"Yes, I'm fine." West answered, waving his hand dismissively. "I am more concerned about what's behind that wall… I hope we didn't damage the specimen… Go get your workmen and come back, be prepared to enter the new opening."

The foreman nodded and ran back to the main cavern. West shared a look with Ziz before walking forward into the dusty opening created by the blast, the winged hybrid and the robots following him.

The duo and the small group of robotic warriors entered the dark cavern, illuminated only by the Grimm Knight's lights and visors. The wall had collapsed entirely, blown open to reveal an entrance to something Ziz hadn't expected; the second floor of what was unmistakably a rather large room.

Before them was an ornate stone barrier that only went up to their waists, and once they looked over it, they beheld the specimen they sought in all of its shocking, terrifying glory.

"Holy shit doc, what is that thing?" Ziz asked in a hushed voice, which still echoed in the large, dark room regardless.

"That… is a truly magnificent specimen. Merlot was right." West admitted, his eyes displaying a childlike wonder as he stared at the humongous fossilized skeletal form of a creature which towered above the bottom floor, standing over rusty metal bars and torn banners, dusty floors and worn support columns. Held up by steel rods, it was truly an intimidating, but awe-inspiring sight to behold.

Its skull, mouth filled with dozens of sharp teeth, faintly shone in the light of the Knight's flashlights, which combined with the clouds of thick dust and the look of a place that had been totally abandoned and lost to time, gave off a foreboding, eerie atmosphere, almost like the place should have been left hidden.

"Yeah, I get it, it's a nice skeleton, but what the fuck is it?" Ziz reiterated crassly.

"What we are looking at, is one of the greatest predators to ever walk the face of this world. There was a land that existed before Remnant did Ziz, one that ended with the shattering of the moon, and before that, creatures like this ruled the world. One can only imagine what it looked like in the flesh. No wonder Merlot was no fascinated with it. No wonder Mistress Salem wanted it found. I had my doubts, but oh, they're all gone now! This, my friend, is a Tyrannosaurus Rex." He answered, his voice filled with awe.

Ziz nodded and looked about the room, ancient and dominated by dust and decay. "I bet dust mites have been the only things living here for centuries. What was this place?" She asked.

"I believe this was a museum in the world the was. When the shattering occurred the world changed radically and quickly, it's likely that this place collapsed into the ground and by some miracle this skeleton has remained unharmed for thousands of years. The other specimens, were not so lucky, it seems." West observed, as he surveyed the rest of the room, seeing bones of other extinct creatures, long claws, a club-like tail, a head with three horns, a long series of spike-like vertebrae coming out of a spine...

The foreman soon arrived with a group of miners and workmen, and they were more than a little startled by what they saw when they entered. Some of them couldn't believe their eyes, many couldn't make a sound, allowing a stunned silence to take over as they tried to process the sheer size and monstrous majesty of the remains before them.

West turned to Ziz and said "Go tend to your Griffons, and inform Mistress Salem that we have found it, it's right where Merlot said it'd be. I am sure she will be be… delighted upon hearing some good news."

"You got it." Ziz stated, before taking her leave and walking out of the cave.

West turned to the Grimm Knights and said "Scan it and create a holographic reconstruction of it, we'll need to have sufficient data on its skeletal structure if we are to transport it. We'll have to put it back together for Mistress Salem."

The Knights flew up into the air and began to scan the Tyrannosaur from multiple angles, checking where the joins of the bones were connected.

"So we're taking the specimen out of here?" The foreman asked.

"Correct. We can't take it out in one piece, it's too big." West stated.

"I can see that." The foreman remarked nervously, his face tight with unease. "So… is this is it? This is what we're looking for? What is Mistress Salem going to do with it, exactly? Why have us come all the way out here for some giant lizard fossil in the middle of nowhere?"

West turned to face the man, a smug smile on his features as he answered "Because we need a new Grimm, something bigger, a new breed of Elder Grimm, and I believe this... Dinosaur, or lizard as you called it, is the perfect candidate. It was the greatest predator that ever walked the planet's surface, and now it can be reborn as the ultimate Huntsman predator."

This chapter was co-written by RelentlessCrusader and GojiGrimlockSaurus with help from azndrgn thanks guys! Be sure to check these guys out.

I'm very, very sorry if I disappointed anyone with the last chapters, as barely anyone bothered to review them, but I will do my best to improve. I don't know why, but I still feel empty and I sometimes feel like nothing I do matters and that this story is just a waste of time, but I hope I am wrong. If I am, I wonder why it's not as popular as other fics. I'm sorry I'm being whiny, I just get sad sometimes, my own fault really. Not to sure about a certain scene in this chapter either...

I had already toyed with the idea of a Dinosaur Grimm, but when GojiGrimlockSaurus came to me with the idea, I decided 'why not?'

This is the first time members of the Atlas Council have been named, they've been mentioned but never named up until this point.

About Merlot, had I known about him prior to writing this story I would have had him in place of Giger, but what's done is done.

Son of Salem isn't Adam reborn, he's a new person entirely, a silent killer for Salem with no ambitions of his own, so Adam's still dead for good, only parts of his body were used, the rest was buried.

This story now has a TV Tropes Page! Please check it out and feel free to contribute!

If you enjoyed this story, then please consider faving and following this fic and leave a review if you read it on fanfiction . net. If you're on An Archive of Our Own then please leave a kudos and a comment. Tell me what you liked and what you didn't, and how I can improve. Please guys give me some feedback, as it keeps me and this story going and if you want me to keep writing please tell me what you think, please! For those of you on the RWBY Reddit please give this fic a mention, thanks. Please guys, help me out here, let me know if you enjoy this story, what's good and bad about it, tell me if you liked it or tell me if it sucked, please, I work really hard to make this story good so please give me some feedback, please let me know that my efforts aren't wasted.

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