Chapter Two- Welcome to Beacon
Ozpin was looking out of his window of his office looking at the small fleet flying outside of his academy. 'Most interesting.' His office was the tallest tower in Beacon, at the top of said tower.
Glynda was standing beside him. Her arms were crossed and she had an annoyed look on her face. "Ironwood certainly loves bringing his work wherever he travels," she stated.
"Well, running an academy and a military makes him a busy man," Ozpin replied. "But yes... Those are a bit of an eyesore."
A small beeping noise was made and he turned around to look at his desk to see a notification. He looked at the door and sighed. "Come in."
A man came walking in dressed in white military clothing. It had sort of a futuristic feel to it. He had short black hair combed over with his hair whitening on the sides of his head and grey eyes. "Ozpin."
"General," Ozpin greeted back. The man shook his head and hand. "Please, drop the formalities." He walked to Ozpin as he did the same. They shook each other's hands with small smiles on their faces. "It's been too long." He then saw Glynda. "And Glynda, it has certainly been too long since we last met."
Glynda brought up her hand and waved a bit at him. "Oh James." She then looked at Ozpin with the same look on her face earlier. "I'll be outside." And with that, she made her way to the doors.
"Well she hasn't changed a bit," James stated.
Ozpin nodded a bit. "So," he began as he walked over to his desk. "What in the world has brought you down all the way from Atlas? Headmasters don't typically travel with their students for the Vytal Festival." He poured a cup of coffee and handed it over to James.
James took and nodded in thanks. "Well, you know how much I love Vale this time of year." He took out a small silver canteen out of his coat and poured it's contents into the mug. "Besides, with you hosting, I thought this might be the opportunity to catch up."
Ozpin chuckled and walked over to his seat. "Well, I can certainly appreciate quality time between friends. How ever, the small fleet outside my window has me somewhat concerned."
"Well, concern is what brought them here," James replied.
"And I understand travel between kingdoms has become increasingly difficult-"
"Oz, you and I both know why what brought these men here."
Ozpin sighed at his friend and placed his coffee mug down. "We are in a time of peace. Shows of power like this which is going to give off the wrong impression."
"But if what Qrow said is true then-"
"If what Qrow said is true, then we will handle it tactfully." Ozpin placed his hands together and looked at his friend. "It's the Vytal Festival. A time to celebrate unity and peace. So I suggest you don't scare people by transporting hundreds of soldiers halfway across the continent."
"I'm just being cautious. I mean, look at you, you have eight elite soldiers from another world at your academy. Aren't people going to look at it differently?" James replied.
"I know James. As am I. Which is why we will continue to train the best Huntsmen and Huntresses as we can. And I believe everyone deserves a chance. These Ghosts have shown great promise and we've taken in the youngest of the eight to have a chance here at Beacon."
"Believe me, I am." James turned around and began to walk out. "But ask yourself this." He turned around to look at Ozpin. "Do you honestly believe that your children can win a war?" With that, he took his leave.
Ozpin sighed at him and looked at the closed door. "I hope they never have too. The Ghosts have suffered too much already. I want to spare them from this."
In the library...
The four teams sat around a couple of tables, doing various things to keep themselves occupied. Greg, outfitted with blue jeans, white t-shirt and a blue plaid open button shirt, cleaned his M1911 .45 Caliber Pistol while Velvet, dressed causally in dark blue jean and a small red t-shirt, leaned against him, watching the process with curiosity. Leland, dressed in his combat uniform, played a game of cards against Team RADR, winning a bunch of Lien off of the former Airborne soldiers. Meanwhile Randi, dressed in black jeans and a small blue t-shirt, read a popular magazine, sometimes giggling at the funny stories she looked at.
Alex threw his cards down in rage since he kept losing most of money. He clutched his head and groaned. He was wearing beige pants with a white shirt saying "Sniping till tomorrow." He had red runners with white accents on them and a grey best over his shirt.
"I hate playing card games with Leland," he muttered out.
"Shut up, idiot," Rick talked back to the sniper in Korean as he sighed. He was wearing a blue long sleeved shirt with the sleeves rolled to his elbows and green cargo pants. He was wearing grey runners.
Derrick shook his head as he looked at the pile of winnings Leland had. "If you were at Las Vegas, you woulda loved it there." He was dressed in a dark blue hoodie with the sleeves cut off and white pants on.
"He would've won a tournament if we had one in Vegas," Raiden mentioned. He was wearing a pair of blue jeans with a black hoodie and blue shirt underneath it.
"What expect when you play any gambling game with me? Might as well back down for your wallet's sake." Leland replied, placing his earnings inside his Kevlar Vest. The pyromaniac wore green camouflaged combat pants, black combat boots, a black sleeveless shirt under the vest, and a olive drab bandana on his head. He also wore his contacts in place of his glasses. "You guys really need more luck than ever. Might I remind what happened to you guys in the food fight?"
Leland turns his head looks over at Team RWBY's table.
"Wonder what game they're playing." He comments before getting up to rejoin his team, leaving a groaning and moneyless Team RADR behind.
"I hate losing money," Alex groaned.
"Well, you always lose, Al. Always lost to the soldiers back in base back in Santa Monica when we weren't on mission," Raiden explained.
The four members of RWBY looked at their cards as they looked at each other occasionally. Ruby looked at her cards carefully and grinned. "Yang Xiao Long, prepare your kingdom for battle!" She announced as she pointed a finger at her.
"Bring it on!" Yang replied.
Ruby grinned as she pulled on one of her cards. "I deploy the Atlesian Air Fleet!" Yang gasped in shock at that. "Looks like I get to fly right over your Ursi and attack your walls directly!"
Yang narrowed her eyes at her sister. "You fiend!"
"And since Atlas is part of Mantle, my repair time is only one turn."
Yang was laughing arrogantly at her sister. " pretty sneaky, sis, but you just activated my trap card!" She showed her sister the card and she was disturbed. "Giant Nevermore! If I roll a seven or higher, fatal feathers will slice your fleet in two!"
"But, if you roll a six or lower, the Nevermore will turn on your own forces!"
"Well that's just a risk in willing to take!"
Much later...
"Nooo! My fearless soldiers!" Ruby whined as she laid sprawled on the table.
"Eh, most of them were probably androids."
"Goodbye my friends, you will be avenged!"
"Well, Weiss, it's your turn."
Weiss looked at her cards. "I have... Absolutely no idea what's going on."
"Look, it's easy! You're playing as Vacuo which means that all Vacuo-based cards come with a bonus," Yang explained.
"That sounds dumb," Weiss replied.
Yang started looking through her cards. "See, you've got Sandstorm, Desert Scavenge... Oh, oh! Resourceful Raider! See, now you can take Ruby's discarded Air Fleet-
"Noooo!" Ruby shouted.
"And put it in your hand," Yang added.
"Okay," Weiss answered.
"And since Vacuo warriors have an endurance against Natural-based hazards, you can use Sandstorm to disable my ground forces and simultaneously infiltrate my kingdom! Just know that I will not forget this declaration of war."
Weiss was still confused. "And that means..."
"You're just three moves away from conquering all of Remnant!" Ruby cried.
Weiss soon had a crazed smile on her face and began to laugh like a maniac. "Y-yes! Fear the almighty power of my forces! Cower as they pillage your homes and weep as they take your children from your very arms!"
"Trap card," Yang threw out suddenly.
"Huh?" Weiss asked.
Yang swiped the pieces off the board. "Your armies have been destroyed."
Weiss slumped in her chair and teared up.
"I hate this game of emotions we play."
Ruby suddenly hopped into Weiss's lap and hugged her. "Stay strong, Weiss! We'll make it through this together!"
"Shut up!" She then hugged back. "Don't touch me!" She ordered, just being a hypocrite.
"Hey, Derrick. I think you got some competition over Weiss with Ruby." Leland points out, earning laughter from his entire team and RADR's.
Rick punched him on the shoulder. "You better make your move, Big Brother, before anyone else can."
Derrick rolled his eyes at the Korean. "I got it, I got it, man. You'll see."
Yang then looked over at her partner and nodded placing her arms behind her head. "Alright Blake, you're up!"
Blake was confused at this as she was looking at her cards. Oh, um, sorry, what am I doing?" she asked.
"You're playing as Vale, trying to conquer the Kingdoms of Remnant," Yang explained.
Raiden came over and sat beside his girlfriend. "This game looks really familiar."
"Bro, it's like that Risk game we found in that toy store beneath that collapsed building," Alex brought up.
Rick snapped his fingers at that. "Ah, I remember that. You guys kept getting your asses kicked by South Korea."
"Shut up, America is better than all of y'all!" Alex shouted back.
That's when Jaune walked over to the table and saw the game. "Hey! Can I play?" He asked them.
"Sorry, Jaune, we already got four people," Ruby answered.
"Besides, this game requires a certain level of tactical cunning that I seriously doubt that you possess," Weiss told him.
Yang and Raiden made a small snickering sound. "Uhh, you attacked your own naval fleet two turns ago."
"Bring it on, Ice Queen! I'll have you know that I have been told that I am a natural born leader!" Jaune challenged.
"By who, your mom?" Alex retorted.
"A-and Pyrrha!" Jaune quickly added.
Pyrrha waved up from their table with a smile. "Hello again!"
Jaune placed his together and began to beg. "Come on, let me play your hand for a turn!"
Weiss scoffed. "I'm not trusting you with the good citizens of Vacuo!"
Jaune groaned at her. "Why not? You've trusted me with way more important stuff before. I mean, you told us all that Blake is secretly a Fa-"
Pyrrha quickly darted from her tables and slapped a hand over his mouth laughing nervously. "Fun-loving person, whom we all admire and respect."
Blake had an annoyed look on her face since her secret was out to her friends. "You alright, Blake?" Rick asked her.
"Yeah, I'm fine," the car Faunus replied to the Korean.
Jaune nodded at them then. "Right. That. Ladies, enjoy your battle."
Him and Pyrrha walked away as another pair of footsteps were heard. "'Sup losers."
Everyone looked in the direction where that came from and they saw that it was Sun. "Hey Sun," Ruby chirped. They then saw Neptune walking up and standing beside the monkey Faunus. " Ruby, Yang, Blake, Ghosts... Ice Queen."
"Why does everyone keep calling me that?" Weiss demanded.
"I never got a chance to formally introduce you to my old friend," Sun continued.
"Well, it's always nice to meet new people," Derrick said.
Neptune looked at them and the game they were playing for a moment. "Uhh, aren't libraries for reading?"
Ren threw his arms up in the air with a relieved sigh. "Thank you!"
Nora snorted awake and looked around for a second. "Pancakes!"
Sun rolled his eyes at his friend. "Shut up. Don't be a nerd."
Neptune waved a finger at Sun with slight annoyance. "Geh, geh, geh, geh! "Intellectual", okay? Thank you." He then looked at the table. "I'm Neptune."
"Nice to meet you," Rick greeted him
"What did he say?" Neptune asked.
"He said nice to meet you in his country's language," Raiden translated for him.
"Oh."
"So, Neptune, where are you from?" The heiress asked.
"Haven." He walked over to her with a small smile. "And I don't believe I've caught your name, snow angel."
"Umm, I'm Weiss."
Derrick coughed awkwardly at Neptune with a stern look in his eyes. "Right, sorry bout that, man," Neptune told him.
"Anyway aside from introducing my friend, Neptune, here, I also picked up someone that is very important to a certain Ghost around here." Sun continued, a third figure stepping out from behind a book shelf. It was Miguel Pineda, wearing a black duster with gray chest armor underneath it, gray jeans with a black belt, and black cowboy boots. Greg looked up after cleaning his M1911 and looked up at the figure. His eyes widened and he dropped the pistol, causing it to go off, firing a paint round right into Alex's face. This shocked everyone and earned a series of indignant curses from the Airborne sniper as Greg got up to meet this new person. At first he looked Miguel up and down to make sure it wasn't a sick joke. However, Miguel smiled at his lost twin brother.
"Welcome home, brother." This prompted the two reunited twins to hug each other. Greg was practically crying into his brother's duster before he released the hug to wipe his tears.
"Miguel. I thought you were kidnapped by our aunt at birth and both of you had died from the ODIN attacks?" Greg questioned, causing Miguel to frown in confusion.
"What do you mean kidnapped? I was told you and our parents died in a freak accident. And what's ODIN anyway?" Miguel inquired, which caused Greg to be the one to frown.
"Wait. Are you saying you lived in Remnant your entire life and that I was born here?" Miguel nodded slowly, causing Greg to think and slump back into his seat. All his life, he was told that he and Miguel were born in San Antonio and nowhere else, yet he strangely felt like he fitted in perfectly here in the world of Remnant despite his supposed past. However his thoughts are shattered when Velvet clears her throat and asks a question.
"Greg, who is this and how do you know him?" Greg turns around and quickly gets back up onto his feet.
"This handsome devil," Greg starts off, smiling while placing his hand on his twin's shoulder. "He is my twin brother separated at birth."
Miguel bowed slightly at the rabbit Faunus with a smile. "Pleasure meeting you. You're a friend of Greg's?" Miguel asked.
"Uhhh, Miguel, she's my girlfriend," Greg stated for his twin.
Miguel widened his eyes at that. "All this time, my long lost twin brother has a girlfriend?" He was silent for a bit until he grinned widely. "That's awesome, man!"
All the while, Alex was wiping off the paint off his face mumbling curses. "Great, I get stabbed in the hand then a paint round gets shot into my face. Anything else?"
At that moment, the librarian came along and glared at Alex.
"Please don't fire off weapons inside the library. Else I will report you to Ms. Goodwitch."
"But I don't fire anything off!" Alex shouted back.
"Bro, shush! Don't talk back to a librarian," Raiden hissed at his brother.
"If anyone should be blamed is Greg over there! He's the one who fired a round into my face!"
Alex kept on ranting until he felt his arms being grabbed from behind. "Alex, calm down. Deep breaths," Rick told the sniper in Korean. "Deep, long, breaths."
Alex calmed down, but still glared at Greg or at least he thought it was Greg.
"Hey, brother. Why is your friend glaring at me?" Miguel questioned when he noticed the Airborne soldier looking at him with a dark look on his face. It was at that point, Alex noticed that there were two Pineda's right in front of him. This made his brain stop for a moment before it kicked into high gear.
"Oh my god! There's two Greg's now! My nightmares have become reality!" Alex screamed in terror before running at full speed out of the library.
Raiden smacked himself in face from his brother doing that in front of all of them. He looked at Miguel and nodded ."sport bout that there. My brother can be... difficult to work an be with. But he's true to his heart. Just went through some tough times," Raiden explained to the twin.
"He can be a bit of an asshole as well," Rick mentioned.
"There's that too," Raiden commented.
"Isn't that a bit to harsh on the guy?" Miguel asked, causing Greg to look at him like he had grown a second head.
"Are you kidding?! The guy deserves every bit of bad luck coming at him! He's racist to Hispanic's, Faunus's, and me again! He left me out in the open a couple of times during a firefight and sometimes would actually friendly fire at me most of those times!" Greg listed, turning Miguel's opinion about Alex from feeling sorry to out right being disgusted by his actions.
"What a complete asshole!" Miguel fumed out, wanting to give Alex a piece of his mind for treating his twin like that.
"That's what I just said!" Rick voices out again.
"It's all because of the Federation, Greg. I know that you've been fighting for the U.S, sweating and bleeding for it to make sure to keep them off our soil. But you have to remember, our mom died during the ODIN strike on us. You need to understand where he gets his racism from. You can't blame him for it," Raiden pointed out to Greg.
"But Raiden, he vents it out on Greg anytime he can. It's not right, even though he's been through that pain. He can't blame everyone because of that," Velvet replied.
"I know... I just wish I could do something for him... Anything..."
"Besides, need I remind of the incident at the docks with the live and hot weapon he had. I think its time to deliver the ultimatum to him." Greg's suggestion caused the three other Ghosts to turn pale in fear.
"You don't mean..." Raiden trails off when Greg nods his head at the meaning of the situation.
"I mean it. He has only two choices: drop the racism that is splitting the group apart or its time he gives up the mask and right to be a Ghost. He is a liability to our sake as a group. One way or the other he will have to stop it soon."
Raiden was distraught by this. He held his head and leaned back onto a bookshelf and slid down. He was Alex's brother. He was there defending him whenever him and his squad was out from Santa Monica. He was there to look after him when their father was busy coordinating the reserves of the military. He couldn't do this. But at the same time, he was his squad/team leader. He was a Ghost. They're all brothers-in-arms. Why couldn't he accept Greg for his reasons to fight against the Federation? He knew he suffered. All of them did. But for Alex to vent it out on Greg because he's Hispanic? That wasn't right. No. It's cruel.
"Raiden, what's your answer in this?" Rick asked.
"Alex is being a hazard in this group. He needs to throw away his act before he gets us into shit-creek without a paddle," Derrick replied.
"You know what! Forget the ultimatum! He can stay all he wants! I quit!" Greg shouts frustrated, taking his Ghost mask and tossing it onto Team RADR's table. This shocks all of the Ghosts around the table since Greg was like a brother in arms.
"Wait, you just can't quit because of-" Raiden started off but Greg cut him off.
"No! I'm done being a Ghost! I tire of war and wish to quit! This mask only keeps me attached to war! Keep the damn thing, but I quit!" With that Greg storms off with Miguel, Velvet and the rest of his team in tow.
The three members of RADR just stared at the weathered mask on their table. Raiden stood up from the floor and walked over to the table. He grabbed the mask and looked at it before clenching his fist on it. This was something that made the death of Ghost seem so far away. A Ghost quitting made every member of the Ghosts heartbroken. They're all they've got.
Yang came over and hugged him lightly from behind. "I can't believe it... After all that happened... He quits... Why Alex? Why?"
"Its not completely Alex's fault, Raiden. You know what happened to his family, his mother, and Captain Anderson. It's that he doesn't want to fight against another living human being in life's biggest game called war. He recently told me that ever since the war started, he wished that the Federation hadn't broken the truce and killed off his family and friends. He always wanted to serve his country as a Marine, but never imagined he would actually fight in battle with another human being. He feels guilty of killing multiple human beings even though they are his enemy." Logan Somers explained, surprising Team's RADR, RWBY and JNPR with his sudden appearance.
Raiden quickly calmed down from his surprise and nodded. "But Logan, he always kept on venting his hate on Greg. I know we've went through trauma that we will never recover from, but we could've stayed together if my brother would've accept him into the group."
"No. Even if Alex were to change his behavior, Greg would have still turned in the mask. He told the rest of Echo Squad about his plan and personally Nathaniel agreed to allow him to leave the Ghosts. He still will retain his current rank of Lance Corporal and will be considered as a US Marine, but he will no longer be called a Ghost. It was his call and none of us dared to stop him. We tried to convince him that he was making a mistake, but he said that he was practically a ticking time bomb waiting to go off. Ozpin even approached me and informed me of a series of psychiatrist appointments Greg had scheduled for treatment of PTSD." Logan continued, making Raiden realize the true reason that Greg left the Ghosts. He was the real liability to the team and to himself. His leaving of the Ghosts was the solution of his issues and the beginning of recovery from PTSD.
"Understood, Logan. Even a soldier has his limits in war. Sooner or later you'll just break. I think that had happened before in my family's military tree. My grandfather fought in the Second World War in the Pacific Theater. I used to read his journals. I remember him saying he's being discharged from combat when he started to have night terrors when he would sleep. I understand. Greg needs a break from this. But I need to teach my brother to let go of his ways so he could start treating him better. I believe that would make a good step forward to help Greg recover," Raiden said to the older Ghost, saying his last sentence into a vow. Greg may have quit, but he was still their friend. And friends are there no matter what.
Later in Team RWBY's dorm...
Blake was sitting on her bed with her knees tucked up to her chest and arms wrapped around them.
"Brothers of the White Fang, why are you aiding this scum?"
"The White Fang and I are going in on a joint business venture together."
She closed her eyes as she started to remember the fighting between her and Torchwick on the docks that night. Explosions rang out in her head as well the criminal's laughter rang out in her head.
Flashback...
"Well, this has certainly been an eventful evening."
Blake looked up from the table in the small room and saw Ozpin enter the room. She just nodded quietly in agreement with him.
"I'm sure that after a night of thwarting attempted robbery, you probably just want to go home and take a nap. But, I was hoping that maybe we could have a chance to talk," Ozpin told her.
"Of course."
Ozpin nodded as he sat down in front of her. "Wonderful. As you know, in order to enroll at my academy, students must first pass a rigorous entrance exam. Most applicants spend years of preparation training at one of the many combat schools around the world. You are one of the few that did not. And you passed the exam with flying colors."
"I was raised outside the kingdoms. If you can't fight, you can't survive," Blake explained herself.
"Well, you have most certainly survived, Blake. I admire your drive. And I am proud to run a school that accepts individuals from all walks of life. Rich, poor, human..." He took a small sip from his mug. "Faunus..." Blake gave him a small glare. "Why do you wear that bow, Blake? Why hide who you are?"
"You may be willing to accept the Faunus, Professor Ozpin, but your species is not," the cat Faunus replied to him.
Ozpin nodded at this and had a small saddened look in his eyes from that. "True, but we are continuing to take strides to lessen the divide."
"With all due respect, you need to start taking some larger strides. Until then, I'd rather avoid any unnecessary attention. I want people to see me for who I am, not what I am," Blake pointed out.
"And what are you?" Ozpin suddenly asked her.
Blake was taken off guard by this question. "I don't understand what you're asking."
"How did you know that the White Fang would be at the shipyard tonight?" Ozpin asked her.
"I didn't. I just happened to be at the right place at the right time. Besides, how did the Ghosts know about the shipyard and were there before me? I could sense them as I came there," Blake questioned the Headmaster.
"That is something I can't tell you. That is something you will know in time. And you wouldn't have been the first. But what happened tonight was not an isolated incident. I may be your headmaster, but I am also a Huntsman, and it is my sworn duty to protect this world from the forces that conspire against it. Blake, are you sure there is nothing else you would like to tell me?"
"I'm sure," Blake replied coldly.
"Very well. Thank you for your time, Ms. Belladonna." Ozpin stands and heads to the door. He stopped before going out the door and turned to Blake. "If you ever need to talk to me. Please, don't hesitate to ask. Never hesitate to tell your friends. Especially Mr. Grimes. He was worried sick when you disappeared." He left the room leaving her alone.
"Rick? He was worried about me?" Was all she could think.
Team RADR's dorm...
Alex was sitting on his bed with a few magazines on his bed with a box of bullets beside him. He was loading in the magazine for his sniper rifle until the door opened. He saw the rest of his team entering. "Why all the long faces? It looked like you lost an argument against Bigfoot."
"He left, you idiot," Rick muttered in Korean at the sniper.
"Who left?" Alex asked.
"Greg left the Ghosts," Derrick told him.
"He did?" Alex was grinning mentally in the inside. 'Whoo! Greg isn't a part of the Ghosts anymore! I never thought I'd see this day!'
"How come he left?" The sniper asked.
"Don't act like you didn't play a part of him leaving, Alex," Raiden growled at him. He walked over and showed him the mask Greg gave up. "He left because of everything he went through. He lost all of his family. He suffered the worst out of all of us and you still have the knack to exclude him out as an American? Moreover a brother?"
"He would never be a brother to me. You know what the Federation has done, bro. Mom died during the ODIN strike. How can I forgive those filthy Hispanics for doing so?" Alex reminded him.
"Yes, Mom died during the strike. But Greg lost his mother too. He fought alongside us. He bleed with us. He gave it his all to protect the United States against the Federation. Why do you include him in your rantings?! He never done anything against you!" Raiden shouted at his brother.
"Why do you have to include Greg in this? He wasn't the ones who killed Mom. The Federation are the ones to blame. You treat the Feds with more respect than a fellow Ghost. What would Mom say about that if she was still around? Would she want to see you venting everything you have on a guy who lost everything, and I mean everything. She would be disappointed in you, Alex. Dad as well, he would've have you discharged of duty to have you clear your head." Raiden was silent for a moment as he made a hard decision in his life. "Give it to me."
"Give what?" Alex asked.
"Give me your mask, Alex, that's an order," Raiden told him.
"What?! You can't do this, Raiden! I'm your brother!"
"Yeah, your older brother who cares about you and the welfare of the people around us." He extended his hand out for the mask. "Until I see that your head is cooled down and you've thrown away your racism act, you're no longer a Ghost until then."
Alex just glared at his brother. He took his Ghost mask out and threw it at his brother before standing up from his bed heading towards the door. "Fine, take it!"
"Where the hell do you think you're going?!" Raiden shouted.
"To clear my fucking head, genius!" Alex shouted back before slamming the door shut.
In the hallway...
Greg left his brother with the rest of his team in their dorm so he could walk among the halls alone. He need time to clear his head after the choice he made in the library. Personally he felt a great weight lifted off his shoulders when he set that Ghost mask on the table. However this wouldn't be the end of the plague of nightmares that haunts him in his sleep. He can still hear the screams of his former squad mates who died along with most of the First Marine Division at the Battle of Fort San Monica.
Flashback...
"I suppose your mind is on the right track, except that the mind is under constant attack as well." Ozpin stated, sitting down with two mugs. He passed one to Greg who silently thanked the headmaster for the drink. The Hispanic teen suffered one of the most severe nightmares of all time recently and it terrified him so much that he nearly fired off his pistol in reality.
Ozpin took a small sip from his mug and placed it down on the table. "Greg, I know it's hard for you going through your life after all that has happened to you. A friend of mine has the same condition as you, and he has come to me for help asides from the usual therapists to help him."
"I know, sir." Greg whispered, taking a sip of the hot chocolate in front of him to try to stay calm. The recent nightmare still haunted his mind especially the part where every single dead friend, family member, and enemy returned from the dead and began to drag him to hell. The scariest part, however, was when he saw Alex portrayed as Satan in hell. He shivered at the thought and set his mug down on the table. "That's why I'm leaving the Ghosts for good. Truthfully I think that the mask I wear is the only thing that keeps me attached to the war. I'm sick of bloodshed and murdering others in warfare, sir."
"I understand your desire to no longer be a part of warfare and respect your decision. Just be careful when you go into Vale to start your recovery process. I'm sure General Ironwood would love to try and recruit you into his academy." Ozpin warned, looking concerned for the Lance Corporal. The headmaster was in fact worried about the possibility that Ironwood could run into one of the Ghosts downtown.
"Yes, sir. I saw the military airships myself. Don't worry though. The doctor said that having my team go with me would help with the recovery process." Greg replies, setting the mug down on the table and shutting the door as he left.
End of flashback...
As Greg continued down the hallway, Alex stormed out of Team RADR's room and slammed the door shut. He turned around and saw Greg in the hallway, making the Airborne soldier even more pissed off.
"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Alex yelled, charging at the Hispanic Marine and tackling him to the ground. The two boys wrestled each other before Alex grabbed the knife from Greg's boot sheath and then it became a fight for survival.
"The hell are you doing, Alex!?" Greg exclaimed as the knife got closer and closer to his chest.
Greg's eyes widened when he saw bloodlust in Alex's eyes. A maniacal smile came upon his face with a crazed laugh coming out if his mouth. "Die... Die... Die... Hahahaha!" Alex cackled at the Marine.
It was at that moment Greg did the unthinkable. Using his free hand, Greg pulled out his pistol and fires twice into Alex's stomach. Alex screams in pain, falling off of Greg and clutching his stomach. Greg scrambles onto his feet and aims his pistol at the screaming Ghost.
"Stay away from me, Alex! Satan is inside you and I will not be using rubber bullets next time!" Greg yells at him, turning around and running away from the scene.
Alex slowly got on his knees and held his stomach. He winced from the pain from the rubber pellets and began to cough with his hand going to his throat trying to catch his breath. His eyes soon turned back to normal from his previous crazed look. "What? What the hell just happened?"
Alex propped himself against one of the hallways walls with his face in his hands. He was so confused why he lashed out at the Marine like that. While he hated Greg to an extreme level that you couldn't understand why, he would never lash out at him like what happened earlier. "What the hell did I do? I... I-I almost killed him... I almost killed him..." He clutched his head as if he was having a major headache. 'Why? Why? I may hate him, but I would never go out of my way to murder him...'
After running down the hallway for a few moments, Greg finally stopped and slumped down against the wall. He still couldn't believe that Alex had lashed out at him like that, forcing Greg to use force to stop him. He placed his head in his hands and sighed deeply. He began to wonder if Alex was the Devil himself since he always was trying to bring death closer to him than anything else. As he sat there in thought, he was oblivious to the trio of exchange students approaching him.
"Excuse me, but are you alright?" A female voice asked, causing Greg to look up at the students. There were two girls and one boy in the group that stood above the weary Marine. One female had long black hair with amber colored eyes and white skin while the other had dark skin, mint green hair, and red eyes. The guy had pale skin, slivery-gray hair, and gray eyes. They wore black school uniforms with the two girls in gray and black plaid skirts and the guy in black trousers. Greg sighed before looking back up at the three students.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired really." Greg lied, jumping onto his feet as he got a closer look at the three. Truthfully he had never seen these students before in his life to have remembered them being here. Then again, they were in a different school uniform so they must have been exchange students. "So which academy are you guys from?"
"Haven." The black haired girl replied, placing her hands on her hips. She looked down and noticed the M1911 Pistol resting in Greg's pistol holster attached to a thigh pistol holster system on Greg's right leg. The Marine spots this too and makes a mental note of it.
"I see...Anyway, I better get going. Need to go practice on the firing range, else my accuracy will get rusty." Greg waved goodbye before walking down the hall, leaving the exchange students behind.
Team RWBY's dorm...
Blake was still curled up on her bed when the rest of her teammates came in. She hinted that way Yang was acting was her normal though. "Ugh, we should have never let them play!"
"You're just mad cuz' the new guy and Ghosts beat you! See, if you had just attacked when I told you none of this would have happened," Ruby explained.
Blake took this as an opportunity to leave the room. She got up from her bed and walked over to the door. That's when Weiss had enough of this. "Stop." Blake stopped before her hand could even touch the doorknob. "Lately you've been quiet, antisocial and moody!"
Yang just looked Weiss as if she was meeting her for the first time again. "Uh, have you met Blake?"
"Which I get is kind of your thing, but you've been doing it more than usual! Which quite frankly, is unacceptable! You made a promise to me, to all of us, that you would let us know if something was wrong!" Weiss reminded the Faunus. "So, Blake Belladonna, what is wrong!?"
The girls were surprised to see Weiss balancing herself cautiously on a chair on one side. She grinned sheepishly and placed the chair back before standing beside Ruby and Yang again. "I just, I don't understand how everyone can be so calm," Blake told them.
Ruby downed slightly at her teammate. "You're still thinking about Torchwick?"
Blake nodded at her leader. "Torchwick, the White Fang, all of it! Something big is happening and no one is doing anything about it!"
Yang sighed at her partner. "Ozpin told us not to worry. Between the police and the Huntsmen, I'm sure they can handle it."
"Well I'm not! They don't know the White Fang like I do!" Blake exclaimed.
"Okay, between blowing up nightclubs, stopping thieves, and fighting for freedom, I'm sure the three of you think that you're all ready to go out and apprehend these ne'er-do-wells!" Weiss stated.
Ruby was confused by the heiress's words. "Uh, who?"
"But let me once again be the voice of reason. We're students! We're not ready to handle this sort of situation!" Weiss explained to the Faunus.
"Well yeah, but... But the Ghosts know how to do this... I think..." Ruby muttered.
"We're not ready!" Weiss threw out.
Blake stared down at the heiress and snapped slightly. "And we may never be ready! Our enemies aren't just going to sit around and wait for graduation day. They're out there, somewhere, planning their next move, and none of us know what it is, but it's coming! Whether we're ready or not!"
They were silent for a bit after Blake pointed that out. That's when the redhead came up with an idea. "Okay, all in favor of becoming the youngest Huntresses to single-handedly taking down a corrupt organization conspiring against the Kingdom of Vale... say aye," she proposed, all the while looking manic at them.
Yang pumped her fist excitedly. "Yes! I love it when you're feisty!"
"Well, I suppose it could be fun," Weiss added in.
Ruby crossed her arms and pouted slightly." None of you said aye!"
Blake smiled at this. Her teammates were actually going to help out in this endevour. "Alright then, were in this together."
"You can bet on that." The girls almost freaked out when they heard Raiden's voice.
"R-Raiden?! How'd you get in here?!" Weiss demanded.
"Easy, I picked the lock on your door after hearing you guys shout at each other about not being ready an' all," the Ghost Leader explained.
Derrick and Rick came in as well since the door was wide open. "Sounds pretty exciting to do instead of hearing Prof. Ports rambling of his boring young life," Rick pointed out.
"Yeah, it's also our duty as Ghosts. We're there to strike the enemy where they least expect it. We can easily blend in with the crowd and we're gone," Derrick explained.
Ruby thought for a moment as she placed a finger beneath her chin. "Well... I don't think it hurts if you guys came along to help."
Rick pumped his fist into the air with a wide grin in his face. "Awesome!" He cheered in Korean.
Ruby then gasped as her widened in horror. "I left my board game in the library!"
Weiss slapped a hand to her head. "We're doomed."
Without saying another word, Ruby zipped out of the dorm into the hallway. "I'll be right back!" She then ran into someone since she wasn't paying attention to her by landed backwards and landed on her bottom. "Ow." She then looked up. "Sorry. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," the girl in front of her said and extended a hand out to her. Ruby took the hand and nodded. "Just watch where you're going."
"Oh, right, sorry." Ruby was lifted up and smiled slightly at the girl she ran into. She had a dark colored skin tone, mint green hair and red eyes. She noted that there was a boy beside her had a pale skin color, silvery grey hair and grey eyes. They were dressed in a different style of uniform clothing consisting of black. "Um, I'm Ruby! Are you new?"
The girl stepped aside as another one came in view. "Visiting from Haven, actually." She had charcoal black hair and amber eyes that seemed to glow.
Ruby stared at the girl for a few seconds as the girl did the same back to her. "Ooh! You're here for the festival! But exchange students have their own dormitory."
"I guess we just got turned around," the boy replied.
"Hey, don't worry, it happens all the time." The girl and boy walked past her leaving the amber eyed girl looking at Ruby. "Uh, your building is just east of here."
"Thanks." The girl walked past Ruby and gave her a polite gesture. "
"Maybe we'll see each other around."
"Yeah, maybe." Ruby waved them off and had a smile on her face. "Oh, uh, and welcome to Beacon!"
What's up, guys? Marinerecon here with Chapter Two of Ghosts of Remnant: Season Two. TheAssassin'sMentor and I have been working along just fine now with creating these chapters that we are making decent progress. Now you're wondering about why the importance of Greg having a twin brother would effect the story. Well I figured the way to explain why Greg fits in almost perfectly in Remnant is because both of his parents were originally from the world of RWBY. It explains why he seems to be on par with the characters of RWBY with the help of revelation's of Infamous Origins (IT SHALL BE COMPLETED IN THE FUTURE!). Believe it or not, Miguel Pineda is actually the first RWBY character I created for an RP of the series so I felt like bring him to life in order to be a close family member of Greg Ander- I mean Greg Pineda. Anyway I haven't figured out if Miguel would be the match for Ruby Rose but if you guys want to vote on it, then please leave a comment about the story and your vote for us. Now I'm going to enjoy a Blizzard from Dairy Queen to cool off from the brutal Texas heat so this is Marinerecon signing off.