We are back, now let's find out who the new guy is shall we?

RWBY belongs to rooster teeth and Monty Oum I only own the characters.

Jaune had felt many things since the attack on Vale, he had felt anger, love, worry and a brief bliss. He had felt these emotions alongside family in the past as well with his sisters, parents, aunts, uncles and cousins including Tristram who had been born a year after his own birth to his uncle Thaddeus. Tram as his family called him had been born with a light brown head of hair and light blue sapphire like eyes that shone in the sunlight.

Tristram was not like most of the family who preferred close combat in favor of other weapons as Tristram had taken more to using a bow and arrow and then also a dust steel Axe that he used in close quarters. The attire he wore was traditional as instead of wearing plates of steel he instead wore a leather jerkin under a scale mail shirt that had a mottled green and brown tabard with the Arc insignia on the breast in the same colors as the tabard assisting the young Arc with his rather stealthy combat style. Tristram also had the tendency to wear a kettle helm in favor of the normal helmets the family tended to use. To negate the shining of the helm he had painted it black and green with faint gold linings along the edges.

Jaune remembered how he and Tristram would have to watch their younger siblings, usually with little to no help and even though Tristram was quieter than anyone else in the family he did manage to wrangle the calmer children from the pack while Jaune would be the one who coaxed his energetic sisters from wherever they hid, usually having to promise sweets and the like to lure them out to where they hid. The last time he had seen him he had been giving him a copy of the Beacon application forms since he himself could easily fool the system. Now his cousin, stood in front of him, his face covered by a veil of green cloth. Tristram stepped forward, swaying for a moment as he came closer. "Jaune, It is good to see you again." Jaune stepped forward and embraced his shorter cousin as Tristram advanced to do the same. "You've grown! Good to see that." Tristram nodded while removing his helm revealing a cut cheek and black eye that squeezed shut around his sapphire like eye. Jaune shook his head as he inspected his younger cousin,grabbing him by the chin and turning his face so that he inspect the damage.

"Of course I go away for a couple of months for Beacon and you have somehow cut yourself up, I swear you and Jan could be twins." Tristram smiled as Jaune went to fetch a first aid kit leaving Tristram with the rest of a very curious team JNPR. "Hello, I am Tristram Arc, Jaune's cousin, you're the members of his team right?" Pyrrha smiled and stepped forward. "Yes we are, I am his partner, Pyrrha Nikos, this is Lie Ren and-" She was interrupted as Nora jumped over her and landed in a pose in between the two. "NORA VALKYRIE!" Tristrem seemed to not be fazed by Nora's antics as he shook her hand.

Jaune returned with the first aid kit and pulled out a sewing kit first. "Tris can you please take off your armor? I need to sew the wounds shut." Tristram immediately removed the armor, neatly piling it at the foot of the bed before allowing Jaune to begin stitching a long incision that marred down his right arm. "How did you even get these?" Tristram seemed to hesitate for a moment before Jaune looked up from his work with a stern gaze upon his face. "I was fighting a group of White Fang." Jaune sighed and shook his head.

"And how did that come about?" Tristram seemed to stop for a moment before a blush came about his face. "Tristram?" The blush increased though his face portrayed nothing other than a blank slate. The young man remained silent as his cousin shook his head and continued his work, stitching together the flesh and cleaning the wounds as he went. The rest of the team decided to turn the conversation more onto Tristram's weapons and armor as to distract him from whatever happened on the way to Vale.

"So why two weapons and no mechashifting? It seems rather encumbering." Pyrrha's question kicked off the conversation. "Oh these? I use them since I believe it would be easier to repair instead of having to change everything do to one component breaking, that and I believe that it is much better than relying on one weapon that could some day break and leave you defenceless."

Pyrrha nodded as he brought out both weapons showing them off to team JNPR while also causing Jaune to nag at him to stay still for the stitches. "What about your armor? How do you move quickly while in it?" Nora questioned as she picked up the veiled kettle helm. "It's comprised of a gambeson, then chainmail, then the tabard after which I have my gauntlets and bracers as well as vambraces. The helm is actually the part I need the most since it keeps my skull from being crushed in a fight." Nora nodded and then tried to put the helm on, only for her to pull it off immediately. "That's a tight fit." she stated as she put it down. "Sorry, my heads a bit smaller by the looks of it. Maybe I could make more helmets here." Ren appeared to move forward to ask his own question only to be interrupted by a knock at the door.

Ren walked to the door and opened it revealing Grimoire who had a curious look on his face as he stood in the doorway. "I heard we have a guest?" Ren nodded as he stepped back allowing Grimoire into the room. Jaune stood from his seat to greet the lord as he entered while introducing him to his cousin. "So you just arrived? Rather strange but we can't do anything about that. I came primarily to ask team JNPR if they were ready for the mission since it will begin soon." Jaune seemed to think for a moment before he had an idea. "Tristram, you wouldn't mind staying here for a few days while my team and I are on this mission will you?" Tristram shook his head. "I don't mind, I'll just have to occupy my time."

Jaune turned to Grimoire while picking up his pack and sword. "Then I believe we are ready, Grimoire I believe you can assist my cousin in finding everything?" Grimoire chuckled.

"I'll just stick him in the end room, its not occupied by anyone and he can just stick around team RWBY since I will be doing work with them for a few days within Chains Gate." The Lord of Chains Gate walked out of the room gesturing for team JNPR to follow.

As the team walked out of Chains Gate with Tristram in tow towards the gathering band of hunters in training, teachers and fully trained hunters with a fair amount of Vampyres mixed into the group with their now armor being downgraded to leather and chainmail that covered everything but they're heads which had half helms covering them with a padded coif as well.

The Ashford, the Arch Baron of Chains Gate and head of the Vampyric forces spotted team JNPR first. "Alright lads! Form ranks and prepare to march!" Grimoire stopped and faced Jaune before pulling out a rolled piece of fabric and handed it to the knight and put a hand on Jaune's shoulder. "A knight should always carry his banner on him." He then patted Jaune on the back and sent him off.

"Good luck Mr. Arc, Happy hunting." With that, Jaune walked forwards with the band of students and Vampyres from the four kingdoms following him towards the wilderness of Vale.

Ruby watched the ground whip by below her as she was flung across the room. She saw her uncle Qrow on the other side of the room with a smirk painting his face as he faced towards her with his sword leaned on his shoulder. He held out a hand and gestured for her to try again as she skidded to a halt on the stone floor with sparks flying from where her boots had dug into the stone leaving her boots a burning red that she could feel warming her feet.

She smiled and launched towards him but instead of slashing at her uncle with Crescent Rose she locked the scythe and sword together before drawing her short sword and holding it to her uncle's neck. Qrow looked at the blade for a moment before chuckling and kicking out at her legs with his feet managing to knock her off balance enough to get out of the blade lock she had forced him into. "Your getting better, but you still have a lot to learn." Ruby smiled slightly as she sheathed her short sword while circling him.

She saw Weiss circling him from the other side as well but as she expected Blake and Yang had vanished easily enough from Qrow's line of sight leaving him guessing where they could be coming from. "You are the one who trained me Uncle Qrow." She saw Blake and Yang standing on the rafters, prepared for their ambush as Ruby set her sights on Qrow with determination flaring within her. "Iceflower!" She and Weiss struck forwards forcing Qrow to leap up as Blake and Yang leapt down, with both of them firing their weapons as they fell towards the Hunter. With Yang's single gauntlet and Blake's pistol riddling Qrow's aura with pockmarks.

Qrow reacted quickly swinging his sword up while shifting it into it's scythe form bringing his blade a hairs width to the legs of the bumblebee pair as the iceflower pair flew up at him firing rounds of dust at him as they used Weiss's glyphs to soar higher until they were beside him on either side, chipping away his aura as Yang and Blake's bullets riddled his head and shoulders.

Qrow smirked as his eye flashed, swinging his sword in a wide arc he managed to knock both Blake and Yang out of the ring before he swung downwards parrying Weiss's thrust at him from below. He began to fall back towards the arena floor as he continued to fight off the hailstorm of strikes that Ruby and Weiss were pelting him with. The glow of the scoreboard showed Team RWBY on one side and Qrow on the other, the portraits of Yang and Blake were crossed out while Qrow's aura had fallen into the yellow while Ruby and Weiss's were bordering orange.

"You feel like giving up kid?" Ruby smirked as she and Weiss landed across from Qrow and spared a look at the board before responding.

"Never ya old man!" She responded with a grin on her face as she used her semblance to shoot forward with a flurry of blows with both Cresent Rose and her short sword. Weiss had used this opportunity to use her semblance to summon an arm of her knight to stab at Qrow from above, resulting in the old hunter being launched out of the ring to his shock.

"Round End." Droned a metallic voice from the speakers in the arena. Qrow stumbled to his feet and saw that by the end of the match he was only a sliver farther into the yellow than Ruby was much to his inner anguish. "You win this round squirt, so what's the cost for losing?" Ruby smirked as she remembered the bet she and Qrow had made with if she won she could demand whatever she and her team desired while if Qrow won Ruby would have to swear off of sweets for three full months.

Ruby thought for a moment as she bounced on her feet. "What do we want, team?" Team RWBY huddled together and began to whisper among themselves with Qrow looking on until a hand pats his shoulder.

"Thorn and I would have these gambling matches whenever we went to battle, if we won he would decide what to do with the spoils if we lost I chose where to run to, we switched with every battle." Qrow stood up as Grimoire finished speaking. Qrow stretched then cracked his neck.

"They aren't the children they were when they first came to Beacon, are they?" Qrow asked his smile seemed to crack a bit at the edge, before he felt the sharp spike of pain on his back accompanied by a loud smack. "Not anymore, but you'll always be their dusty uncle Qrow, won't ya?" Qrow chuckled. "I guess." Ruby finally turned back around and stepped forward. "Upon much discussion team RWBY has decided that you Qrow Branwen will be banned from drinking for!" She stopped for a dramatic pause . "One week!"

Qrow blinked then reached into his coat only to feel nothing where his flask would be, he began patting himself down until he saw Ruby holding it in one hand and shaking it back and forward. "Na ah ah! No booze for you!"

Qrow then threw his head back and dramatically cried out. "My booze! NOOOOOOOOO!" Grimoire shook as he tried to stifle his laughter from breaking into a mad cackling as Qrow continued to comically beg Ruby to reconsider.

"Oh boy, have fun kids, don't stress the poor old bird out to much." Grimoire stumbled into the corridor outside of the arena and cackled for a solid minute as he continued to walk towards the war room where he knew Althea and Krieg were discussing operations that would be done to find Cinder and her compatriots.

Grimoire knew that at the end of the war he should have followed up his leads, he should have killed off the last embers of a possible retaliation, he failed in his duty as a lord. He swore to not fail again. He arrived in the war room and sat between Althea and Krieg with the rest of his retinue minus Ashford who had volunteered to head the Vampyric forces that would escort the foreign students to Caldam castle which had a functioning air terminal. "Alright, let's start, what's going on at this moment?"

Althea was the first to speak, "Reports from Atlas and Stones Grove are so far positive with the White Fang being placated by my subordinates there." Grimoire raised an eyebrow, he and everyone else knew that the Atlesian White Fang was stubborn to the point of madness but to hear that they had bent easily? That was a question upon itself.

One of the minor Barons raised his palm as his bushy eyebrows seemed to furrow into a wriggling cattapillar atop his brow. "And how did your subordinates do that Lady Althea?" Althea grinned at the question.

"Oh you know, some old horror stories, images of tortured white fang members, even the promise of being protected from being forced into the dust mines again, and here we are now, with a rather shaken but placated group of ex white fang warriors who would rather live under our banner than the kingdoms." Grimoire scratched his jaw, tugging slightly on the growing hairs that had made a home across it as he thought of the repercussions. "Is Ironwood aware?"

Althea's smile seemed to widen further. "He approved of it and even told the Atlas council to go with it, He is planning on dealing with the cause of the White Fang eventually, he and his supporters just need a little hmm push upward." Grimoire smirked. "That's a relief, Though if the first plan fails we do have an alliance with the current Schnee heiress and her elder sister." Althea nodded as the Barons and Baronesses around the room murmured in agreement. "Now then, What of our allies in Vaccuo and Minstrel? Last I heard they were unable to travel here due to issues within their own borders."

The single Baron who had come from Vaccuo stood. "Indeed Lord Grimoire, I and my fellow Barons and Baronesses were greatly saddened when we had to turn back from our march, though it was with good reason as the Grimm in Vaccuo have begun to assault the settlements outside of Vaccuo itself with a great amount of Vigor and we have yet to break their stride." The other barons and baronesses broke into an uproar, many were requesting permission to march to Vaccuo while others were simply stating how ludicrous it was.

He knew that Vaccuo, given time would repel the invaders but that was not what concerned him. "Where are the representatives from Minstrel and Menagerie?" The room seemed to lose all voice as the Barons looked among themselves searching for the pair of missing comrades.

"The reports I have been receiving from my new agents has made me aware that currently the White Fang Vampyres are invading those regions at heavy cost to themselves." Grimoire looked up at Wolfram, who was sitting cross legged in an alcove above them. "My little spies have also found that the White Fang is going through a bloodbath of a civil conflict between the mortals and Vampyres with the conflict leaning towards the mortals. Though that is mainly due to numbers and experience."

The hall seemed to fill with talk of letting the conflict go on in Minstrel until both groups were destroyed. "What of our comrades? Our brothers and sisters in arm! Would you leave them in the fray alone with foes to every side?" The hall was silenced, many barons seemed to shrink back from the twin gazes of Grimoire and Althea as they watched Krieg berate the whole group.

Grimoire leaned back subtly bringing himself closer to Althea. "How much you want to bet Oz is planning a mission to Minstrel?" Althea thought for a moment before leaning back and responding.

"I'm willing to bet quite a bit on it." Grimoire nodded, completely unaware of her phrasing until he muttered it to himself, at which point he gained a disheveled look of ragged hair and widened eyes.

"H'wat?" Althea winked at him as she leaned forewards again to listen to Krieg as the militaristic Vampyre threw a coffee mug across the table in order to gain the attention of some of the younger Barons.

'Note to self, get gifts for Althea.' Grimoire thought as his skin paled to an almost marble white as he continued to listen to Kriegs plan. "So if you think you will be avoiding this jerkydashing war then you will be horribly HORRIBLY wrong!"

Wolfram sighed as he watched the chaos of the meeting as he listened to Roman's report on Minstrel. "We nearly got them, nearly." Wolfram rubbed his brow as Roman filled him in on his and Neo's latest ambush which resulted as the others had in failure. "Is there anything positive Torchwick?" There was a pause in Roman's end as he seemed to talk to someone else before responding.

"We know all of their strong points within Minstrel. Is that good enough?" Wolfram smirked, it would be perfect. The meeting down below seemed to be petering out with little in the way of any planning going on since Vale, Atlas and Vaccuo had been planned for while Minstrel was the odd one out with no plan.

The only good thing about the conflict in Minstrel was the pure number of fortresses that dotted the valleys and hills that made up the geography of the kingdom. These small fortresses now acted as rallying points where local forces could sally out to inflict casualties on the advancing white fang Vampyres who had begun to raid the local villages and towns for sustenance in the form of both Fauni and Humans regardless of their alignment.

Wolfram dropped down behind Grimoire, surprising a few Barons while others had grown used to his comings and goings. "I have news from my agents. They have found all of the White Fang Vampyre strong points within Minstrel." The Barons seemed to let loose a collective sigh as Grimoire scratched the stubble that had grown upon his chin while Althea nodded with a look of approval.

Grimoire stood, a smirk spreading across his face. "My friends, comrades I believe that we now have the means to organize the campaign for the foreseeable future against the White Fang and Cinder Fall's forces." The hall was filled with shouts of approval as the Barons began to think of plans ranging from the basic 'Hit it with my sword' to the far more complex plan of strong point jumping in Minstrel and sweeping operations in Vaccuo.

Grimoire set his mind to working out the plans as in the back of his mind he wondered what the Vale council would think of his actions. He knew the monarch supporters and the monarchs themselves would throw both supplies and manpower into the operation if they heard about it while the Vale council in all of it's 'wisdom' would try to condemn it even at the risk of being alienated by all of the other kingdoms or worse, invaded and replaced by the monarch supporters who would at the time be a rather good choice for Vale's current predicament, but he wouldn't worry about the future, at least not while some good news was here. Grimoire smirked as he smelled the familliar scent of caffeine as the Headmaster of Beacon entered the room. "So Oz, what do you make of this?"

Please Review

Cliffhanger bullshittery is fun.

It's been Awhile I know and I will try to increase the uploading amount if I can but until then I am sorry to say that I will not be able to keep up a consistent schedule. I also want to know what you all think on the story and if you have any theories on where it is going, is so the review box is a great place to debate.

In further news I am looking for people who would like to Beta my work since my current Beta is sick in a rather headache ing way.

Until next time

-LP