A/N: For those wondering when I'll move onto season 2, you'll have to wait for another 1-5 chapters, as these are 'non-canon' chapters and I hope you guys don't mind. I say that because some people like it better when the author sticks to the main story, while others like it when the author adds in unique chapters that aren't in canon.

A question to all reviewers and PM'ers - in future, would you like to see a lemon scene between Ruby and Eien? If so what type: An implication of it before cutting to another scene, a detailed lemon, or no lemon at all? You decide!

I DO NOT OWN RWBY

Chapter 11: Monochrome Snow

It had been two weeks since he and Doctor Oobleck tested his new-found ability with Dust, and overall they were pleased and inspired by the new possibilities it invoked. After a few days of testing they had found out the limits of the Dust Crystals upon coming into contact with my blood, and not only that but his Aura affected them too! It had been so exciting that Ruby and Yang were forced to drag me back to my dorm to sleep, and coincidentally repeated my sleep deprivation from not too long ago, although this time it was cured by Ruby hugging me and staying in my bed, blushing but refusing to let me go, resulting in us both falling asleep.

But for the past few days now they had been plagued with end-of-term exams, thankfully only written ones at the moment. Personally he, Weiss and Blake didn't have too much trouble, gaining 92%, 95% and 90% respectively on their overall exams, while Yang got 80% and Ruby 87%. Jaune had gotten 75%, Pyrrha had - as one could expect - gotten 100% on her test, Ren had gotten 92% like me and Nora had gotten 83%, barely surpassing Yang.

However now that the multitude of written exams were now over, we were onto the physical ones, which were spars between students. It sounded simple, and it relatively was, but got a little complicated at times. There were two types of scoring; Team score, which contributed to how high your team would rank, and Individual score, which determined your personal ranking amongst your year and your % on the test. Team score was more to choose who would be in the Vytal Festival Tournament opposed to actual % on the test, while personal did matter.

I sighed as watched Jaune's fight against Weiss came to a close, finishing with Weiss at 72% while Jaune was just below the base amount at 9%. It was near the end of the singles matches, and my final match was against Adam, funnily enough. Ozpin drafted his Team in, although made it clear to the students they were being evaluated and were not an official team yet. They had made a relatively... okay reputation so far. Adam busted up Cardin after the latter not only insulted Adam himself, but did so while pushing Velvet to the ground and insulting her. Emerald had teamed up with Yang and had a surprisingly good friendship with the blonde, both of them dedicating themselves to pranking Beacon students/staff during their free time. Mercury on the other hand was just quiet, not shy but not finding a reason to talk, just acting cool in the background.

''Eien vs Adam Taurus!'' Glynda broke me from my muse as I got up, moving down the seats to the stage and smiling friendlily at Adam, showing what happened didn't matter outside the battle, which he clearly understood via a nod he gave. We both entered the arena, the barrier flickered to life around us, I unslung Judgement and fell into stance.

''Three!''.

''Two!''.

''One!''.

''Begin!'' Glynda barked and I shot behind me, taking off towards him. As per Ozpin's rule, he was not to use his Semblance because of its guaranteed lethal properties, and I was on the same boat funnily enough.

He raised Wilt and blocked my strike, the odd angle I used with my scythe leaving me to his right. I spun fluidly and twirled it over my shoulder, firing at my feet just as he swung at me, missing me as I went airborne. As per my usual tactic I shot again and allowed momentum to stick me to the ceiling before summoning a black gravity Sigil, muttering the summoning words under my breath. Gravity intensified as I was propelled towards Adam, who was taken off-guard by the sudden gravity and allowed me to land a solid kick to the chest and slash to his collar, using him as a springboard as my Sigil deactivated.

Adam: 88% / Eien: 95%

I raised an eyebrow at him as I landed ''You're tougher than you look''.

He smirked faintly ''I've been told''.

I shot at my feet again, this time spinning Judgement on one hand. Just as gravity began to pull me down I threw Judgement like a flail, crashing where Adam once stood, the redhead now standing to the left. I landed on the ground and he charged me, blade within his sheath as he prepared to draw it in the Iaijutsu form of combat. Just as he got close enough I drew Punishment and aimed it loosely at his torso, firing an explosive round at close-range, exploding on his chest and sending him skidding back. I took advantage of his momentary recovery and shot off towards him in a burst of natural speed, preparing to use my teleporting technique in a moment.

Just as he recovered and prepared to attack I teleported behind him, Judgement behind me so my blade caught his from over his shoulder. I fired a shot and the recoil forced his own blade at him, his own strength and Aura the only thing stopping it from cutting him. I knocked his feet out from under him and as he fell I fired another shot of Punishment, knocking him back as I regained my breath.

Adam: 60% / Eien: 85%

I panted as I reloaded Judgement and Punishment ''Damn, you are really tough''.

He just grunted ''And you pack a punch''.

I chuckled ''Try Yang on for size then when she's angry, its like fighting a Goliath barehanded''.

''HEY!'' Yang shouted from the crowd, making both me and Adam chuckle quietly before falling back into combat stances, serious once more. He charged me and I waited for him, raising Judgement and blocking his bullet-speed blade with the shaft. I twirled it over my shoulders and hit the blunt end into the side of his ribs, but got a slash to the shoulder to pay for it. My knee came up and hit him in the stomach, but he barrelled through it and smashed the hilt into my face, making me grunt as my nose broke. Aura would repair it after a few minutes, possibly an hour at most but it still hurt.

Adam: 48% / Eien: 62%

We broke off, only for me to use SchattenSchritt to teleport behind him, but he spun around and blocked my attack. He took advantage of my surprise and head-butted me, but I managed to kick his leg out from under him, making him off balance and allowing Judgement to pass a gash over his shoulder. He surprised me again as he placed his hands on the ground and spun, knocking my own feet out from under me. More out of reflex than anything I placed my hands on the ground and back-flipped away before falling back into stance, panting.

Adam: 38% / Eien: 50%

I transformed Judgement into sniper form and aimed, firing a shot which struck his side. He grunted, but blocked my second shot by cutting the bullet in half. He charged me and I jumped, firing and using the recoil to clear more distance between us. I transformed Judgement and also charged, waiting until we got close before I rolled out of his swing, fired Judgement at his leg, extended a hand and created a Sigil all in the span of a few seconds.

''Insho: Chikara'' I called as the Sigil glowed, sending an intense pulse of force at him, knocking him off his feet.

Adam: 22% / Eien: 44%

I charged him again just as he got up, barely able to block my strike as I knocked him off his feet, Wilt and Blush knocked away from him while I held the blade of Judgement to his neck.

Adam: 16% / Eien: 40%

''Yield'' I panted in unison with him. Adam grunted and nodded, holding his hands up in a surrendering gesture.

''Winner: Eien!'' Glynda barked and I sighed, sheathing Judgement and hefting Adam up, his larger weight almost pulling me down on him. I returned to my seat with a tired sigh as Adam went back to his, the next match being Cardin and Nora.

Everyone knew how that would turn out.

I was making my way to my seat when I caught something with my eyes, making me pause in stunned confusion. In the corner of the room stood Naomi, who for all reasons should not be in the school, and held a small smile under her hood. She turned slightly, apparently now focusing directly on me as she made a 'follow-me' gesture. I blinked owlishly and obeyed, passing an easy lie to my team I needed to use the bathroom, which they didn't question. I entered the hallway outside the main arena and found Naomi at the end of the hall, smiling before disappearing down the hall. I followed with a slightly annoyed tick, given that I was slightly tired from my fight.

After following her down a dozen or so halls and across the open ground of the academy, I finally found myself at the highest roof of the academy, the skies grey with a forecast of snow. In the centre of the rooftop was Naomi, allowing me to see her whole form. Like before she was dressed in a black robe that hid her whole body down to her feet with a silver lining, everything above her nose hidden in the shadows of her hood.

''What are you doing here, Naomi?'' I asked with a mild frown when I noticed her companion. The other girl, standing at equal height to Naomi, was dressed in a white sleeveless shirt and a pink hoodie with a white heart over where her real one would be. She also had a pink skirt, striped white and pink tights and a pair of elegant pink shoes like Eleanor. Her most surprising features were that of her face; soft and childish, probably only around twelve to thirteen, with pink hair tied into a ponytail behind her and her bangs cupping her face, the ponytail going down just to her neck. Her eyes were by far the strangest; her left being a turquoise blue, while the right was a hot pink. Evidently she liked pink.

Surprisingly the unknown girl giggled, speaking in a young but eager tone ''We came to visit you, Eien-kun''.

I blinked ''Uh... my name's Eien, not Eien-kun''.

''Its an honorific'' She sighed dryly ''I thought you learnt the old language of Japanese?''.

''Only the symbols'' I said plainly and she sighed again.

''Damn... oh well'' She shrugged.

I raised an eyebrow at her ''So... why are you here? More to the point who are you?''.

She giggled, nudging Naomi who just looked away shyly.

''I'm here 'cause I was curious about your power, then I went and checked with ol' Death and Life and they confirmed you were 'The One' they kept on talking about'' She said casually and I blinked owlishly ''You've got quite a large amount of support from the gods you know, since you're one of the few humans who naturally have a lot in their favour; Dunkelheit, Semblance, Large Aura, Intelligence, etc. etc.''.

''You know Death and Life?'' I asked, still stunned.

''Yup!'' She exclaimed cheerfully, holding a finger up with a cheery smile ''After all, I'm just like them~''.

''You're a god'' I stated before looking at Naomi ''And perhaps is she also a god, or a lieutenant of sorts?''.

Pink grinned ''Yup~ Intro time~!''.

She looked at Naomi, who shyly took a step forward and pulled her hood down, revealing an equally young face with raven-black hair tied into two ponytails, one on each side of her head that went to her chin. Her eyes were a deep blue like the sea, but held shy nervousness in them.

''I-I'm not called Naomi...'' She said, her voice soft in both volume and sound ''My true name... is Era''.

''And I'm Reality!'' The pink-head proclaimed proudly ''We're both gods-in-disguise, and its worked so far''.

I blinked, then sighed ''Of course you guys are... I presume Reality is the god of, well, reality?''.

''Yeah...'' Reality nodded sheepishly.

''And considering your name...'' I pondered while looking at Era, who was standing shyly waiting for me to guess ''...Perhaps... God of Time?''.

''Bingo!~'' Reality cheered with a grin, voice high pitched ''She's Era, god of time while I'm Reality, god of reality''.

I blinked slowly ''So why are you two kids?''.

''Because its more fun'' Reality shrugged and Era nodded ''Plus its easier to hide on Remnant if we're kids, since people pity kids and anyone who tries anything will find we're more than simple kids''.

Deciding to probe, I asked ''So how old are you exactly?''.

They shrugged in unison while Reality spoke ''Eh, probably a few thousand years, who knows? All I know is gods like us have been around since the beginning of existence, so there ya go''.

''Are there any other gods beside you guys, Life and Death?'' I asked curiously - Life and Death hadn't exactly told me about it.

''A few'' Era whispered quietly ''Destiny and Fate are two, they're nice''.

''So there's a world of gods beyond Remnant?'' I asked with a raised eyebrow and they nodded, making me quirk both eyebrows at them ''So why are you hiding here, and not there?''.

''Because 'there' is so boring~'' Reality groaned ''Its not fun at all, nothing interesting happens, ever. But here on Remnant there's lots to do''.

I nodded ''I can understand. Wait... if you're the god of Reality, does that mean you can effectively 'remove' things from existence?''.

Reality quirked a brow at me ''Yeah...?''.

''Then couldn't you get rid of the Grimm?'' I asked and she nodded, to my surprise.

''I can, but I won't do it'' She said, smiling sombrely ''I remember hearing you say once 'Why are the Grimm angry at us?'. The reason the Grimm exist is to help humanity survive''.

I frowned at her, even as snow began to gently fall around us ''Grimm kill us, not help us''.

''But if Grimm never existed, then you would never have found Dust, never have made Hunters, never have accomplished many of the feats known today'' She pointed out rather sharply ''And if I got rid of them now, then what do you think will happen? Humanity's greatest threat is now gone, all that is left is the other humans on the planet. At some point someone would screw up and lead to a war between the kingdoms, leading to destruction of humanity in the endgame. I know the Grimm may not be the best solution, but at the time its all we had, and we cant very well just remove them and replace them with something else, since our existence is supposed to stay hidden to a degree''.

I smiled sheepishly ''My team can keep a secret''.

She sighed ''Yeah, Yeah''.

''But could you have at least made them... less vicious?'' I asked with a frown.

''No, we couldn't. If we made it so the Grimm never killed anyone, or even never harmed a human, then sooner or later people would realise this, and then they'd take advantage of it. Sure the Grimm would be scary, but people would probably just ignore them if they knew they didn't kill'' She sighed, looking into the distance ''Grimm exist for the sole reason of making sure Humanity stays in line, and even then its evident its not working at times. People are slowly disregarding Grimm, they see them as a threat, yes, but they are more worried about their fellow man than the monsters of the night. The Great War was a perfect show of this... humans are strange creatures, but always have a moment of arrogance, which will one day lead to their doom''.

We stood in silence for all of a minute before I asked ''So, why are you here, besides just to find me?''.

''Well we heard that there's a three-man team you yourself formed consisting of some ex-criminals, so we're joining it''.

I blinked slowly ''What''.

She smirked ''Lets go visit Ozpin, shall we?''.

Reality strolled past me, cheerful while Era followed quietly, shyly.

I sighed.

What the hell had I gotten myself into?

The door to Ozpin's elevator dinged as it opened, and Ozpin himself raised his gaze from his scroll and raised an eyebrow at me. I simply sighed dramatically as Reality and Era walked (Reality; skipped) up to Ozpin's desk as I followed behind.

''May I ask what you are doing in my office?'' Ozpin asked cordially.

I sighed and rolled my eyes, gesturing to the duo ''They dragged me along''.

''And who might 'they' be?'' Ozpin asked, now directing his attention to the two odd-coloured girls.

''I'm Reality'' Reality stated dramatically.

''...Era'' Era said quietly.

''We've never met before'' Reality started ''But~ We'd like to enroll in your school, the current three-man team in particular''.

Ozpin raised an eyebrow ''You are implying you wish to become a student of Beacon in the middle of the year, without any proof of your abilities or past?''.

I gave Era a dry look ''I take it Reality isn't one for subtlety?''.

Era gave a smile and soft laugh while Reality looked at me, eye twitching in annoyance. Before I could blink suddenly snow fell on me in a tidy pile, reaching my shoulders, I blinked as Reality snickered evilly while Era smiled shyly.

''That's what you get'' Reality said smugly as she turned to Ozpin ''Okay, let me say it bluntly; I'm Reality, the God of Reality''.

''I'm Era... God of Time'' Reality whispered quietly, an embarrassed blush coming to her face. Ozpin himself blinked, once, twice, thrice, before looking at me.

''Can you confirm this?''.

I gave him a rather dry look ''I don't remember snow magically appearing when I was present in your office, so I'm inclined to believe her''.

''Yup! I can control everything in existence, sans fellow gods or their subjugations, and create or remove things from said existence'' She said before her smile fell, forming into a serious look as Era also became serious ''My power allows me to change Reality, and Era gave me permission for my power to affect her, changing our original looks into what we look like now. We're undercover to kill a woman who should not be alive by this point, one who plans to destroy all human life on the planet''.

''Cinder?'' I questioned with a frown.

''She's just a pawn, funnily enough'' Reality said nonchalantly, making both me and Ozpin freeze in shock. Ozpin recovered however, face falling into a frown as he said one word with such disdain and anger it was worrying, but even more-so when I saw the age-old fury in his eyes.

''Salem...''.

After ten minutes of explanations and questionings, I was free to go with Reality and Era in tow. He'd do the paperwork later, but for now the two children were now officially part of Adam's team, which would soon be called AREME(Army). The duo behind me were quite different in terms of personality; Reality was cheery, open, blunt and overall a less perverted Yang. On the other hand Era was quiet, shy, closed-off and much like Blake, if a bit quieter than the Faunus ninja.

The plan was that their powers would be classified as their Semblances, which wasn't too far a stretch from their true power apparently. Their Aura was massive, far higher than I could ever hope to reach, but they themselves could easily cloak the detection of their large reserves from the machinery that judges them. They would essentially just be under the guise of prodigies from a distant village that one of Ozpin's old friends were in. The village was destroyed and these two killed a dozen Deathstalkers, Nevermore and even several Goliath, which would prove their power. They would also be aged at 15 but with a childish body, because people may begin to question Ozpin's judgement by letting two thirteen-year-old looking girls into his school.

I also learnt some things via questioning the two childish gods. One of these things being that Death and Life could not naturally manifest on Remnant, because of the potential that they could affect the balance of the world. Their mere presence would either kill everyone nearby in Death's case or grow everything nearby and make everyone age in Life's case. Both of them were essentially the two strongest of the gods in a sense aside from 'The Creator' which is what most people on Remnant deem as 'Monty Oum'.

Destiny and Fate were apparently had a sort of sisterly relationship with Reality and Era, despite all of them existing since the creation of the universe. Both of their names represented their main aspect of power, much like the other gods. Fate's power mainly revolved around what was going to happen to someone, in that she could 'fate' something to happen to a person. Destiny on the other hand held a similar power, but it was more investing; her power usually took a while to take affect, and therefore she usually 'destined' things to happen down the road by a couple years, but overall the effects were far more powerful than Fate's. The only things the Gods could not affect with their respective powers were other gods, Maidens and Demi-Gods.

Ozpin, Reality and Era were rather secretive about Salem's existence, not wanting to fill me in yet. All they told me was that she was an evil demi-god that was intent on destroying Remnant or something along those lines. She was Cinder's superior and someone who had some level of control over the Grimm, so considering she apparently was also invincible against time (And therefore a part of Era's powers) and therefore ageless it was quite concerning.

Either way I dismissed those thoughts as we entered the dining hall, swooping up my late lunch, since the exams had ended at three in the afternoon the lunch period was now three. Thankfully no more classes though. I walked over to my table, JNPR (E)RWBY with Adam, Mercury and Emerald along with them. I sat next to Ruby on the end seat, Era and Reality sitting next to Adam's right, across from me.

''Who'd you find this time?'' Yang said with a mock-sigh and teasing grin, but did eye the two kids with curiosity ''And kids. Really?''.

''Hey I remember you!'' Ruby said, pointing at Era, but her mouth was full so nobody heard her. She swallowed what was in her mouth before repeating the sentence, getting curious looks from everyone ''Naomi!''.

'Naomi' looked away, a shy blush on her cheeks as she whispered ''Actually my name's Era...''.

Ruby blinked ''Eh?''.

''Its complicated'' I sighed, putting a hand on her shoulder ''Guys, these are Era and Reality, two new students Professor Ozpin drafted in, same age as me and Ruby despite their appearance... and the new members to the soon-to-be five man team of AREME(Army) featuring Adam, Emerald and Mercury''.

Everyone at our table stared.

''Hey, its what Ozpin said'' I twitched.

Yang was the first to speak ''Nice names''.

Reality smiled ''Thanks''

''What about Ramirez?'' Ruby asked Era quietly.

Era shook her head, the lie rolling off her tongue ''He's moved with relatives over in Vacuo since I'll be here''.

''That's nice'' Ruby smiled and Era nodded. Lunch passed at a rather languid pace, with Reality sparking off an instant friendship with Yang after she - to our annoyance - also greatly enjoyed puns.

Insert horrible series of puns.

Even after everything that's happened recently, from getting criminals onto our side, training like mad and meeting the gods of Remnant - I'm pretty sure I should be more bothered by that - I still found time to relax. Said time at the moment was spent sitting in the back of the library, sitting next to Ruby as she went through magazines on weapon-related things while I was reading one about Dust and very detailed information about it, some information which I hadn't found previously outside of Beacon. The silence was companionable, interrupted only by the sounds of pages turning.

''What about this one?'' Ruby asked as she showed me a page in her magazine, showing a broadsword that fired a 40mm grenade from the back of the hilt.

''Hm... not bad, but the low magazine would mean it would be better for a last resort, and you would have to leave yourself wide open when using it'' I gave my opinion and she hummed, nodding.

''Yeah... it is pretty bad... but still kinda cool'' She said, whispering the last part making me chuckle.

''You think every weapon is cool''.

''Yup'' She giggled. Once again we fell into silence, however it only lasted two minutes before something out of the corner of my eye caught my attention. I blinked in surprise at the sight of snow falling outside the window. I poked Ruby's cheek and pointed to the window, directing her gaze as she caught sight of the snow, grinning as her eyes gleamed.

''Its snowing!~'' She squealed, but immediately was reprimanded with a dozen 'SHUSH!' that came from all around the library. However it also unintentionally alerted everyone to the windows also, provoking a collective murmur around the room.

''Wanna go outside?'' I asked Ruby, who grinned and nodded. We'd been in here for a few hours, and through my reading I had also looked at a book on Semblances and Aura, which had further inspired my seemingly endless curiosity. Idly I wonder if Fate or Destiny had done anything on my life, but I shrugged it off; I couldn't find out, so I wouldn't know. However I was eager to experiment with my newly found power of Dunkelheit, not to mention the gift of knowledge that Life had given me.

We made our way down several halls before we, along with many other students, made our way outside. It was surprisingly cold for the sudden snowstorm, and snow was quickly building up. Probably quite a bad amount of snow considering previous snowstorms, probably the worst I've seen so far, and that's only a guess. Before Ruby could eagerly jump into the building snow I pulled her back, much to her disappointment.

''Snow clothes'' I stated plainly ''Its pretty cold, and we don't need you getting a cold''.

She huffed ''Fine~''.

On the way back, Ruby had coincidentally picked up the rest of their team, along with JNPR who had a similar idea. Despite their earlier fights with the other students they were eager to go out in the snow, and we did so. Walking out into the open snow, which was now not snowing as heavily, was a collection of students. We were about to move in one to go into the commotion, when Nora went to the right, near the side of the building.

''Nora?'' I blinked, confused.

''We can go have our own snowball war!'' She called happily as she went around the side, and we joined her. It was mostly level with the falling snow, but the trees had naturally formed small walls.

''I say we divide into small teams of our partners'' Weiss said, a tad smugly as she stood next to Ruby and me, implying our superior numbers.

''Whatever'' Yang smirked ''Me and Blake will trash you guys!''.

''No! Me and Ren will!'' Nora barked, hugging Ren to her as the stoic teen gave a slight nod.

I smirked in challenge ''Alright, five minutes to set up our defences. You're only allowed to stay on this side of the building, no Semblances - including mine - and no use of Aura to cause extra harm''.

''Alright!'' Jaune grinned ''Lets do it!''.

I nodded, easily picking out a patch near the wall with a tree for extra protection. Immediately we hunkered down in our winter gear - well, mine was my normal gear. I collected a bunch of snow and pushed it together to form a small wall, piling snow up to build a wall on the left side of the tree. Ruby did the same on the other side, Weiss building the snowballs. Yang and Blake had built one by the trees as well diagonally left to us, while Pyrrha and Jaune had a similar idea as us, building by the wall but without a tree for extra help. Ren and Nora had built basically in the open, but had found a natural ridge so their walls were higher. Not only that but somehow they had made it with a window for Ren to see through, eyeing us as he probably made snowballs or something.

Finally five minutes passed, leading to us all having semi-circle walls. I would be the thrower, since I was the best at it that we tested. There was silence for all of five seconds, the slow patter of snow being the only sound. I poked my head out, and shouted;

''Banzai!''.

Instantly a hail of snowballs were fired from J/P towards us, forcing us to duck. I angled my back against the wall and began rapidly picking up snowballs and throwing them like a catapult towards their direction. A few indignant cries signalled I struck at least a few times. I poked my head out and confirmed that, as one half of his wall had collapsed on them, allowing more of mine to strike. B/Y had also done the same to them from the other angle, but that wall held up, but the snowballs still went over the wall on occasion. Surprisingly R/N hadn't fired at all... until now.

In the lull of the battle, a literal mortar hail of snowballs fell down on us. The tree took some, but ultimately an absolute maelstrom of snow fell down on me, Ruby and Weiss. Like they were an automatic mortar they moved onto Pyrrha and Jaune, snowballs going in an upwards arc before plummeting down on them, further destroying what remained of J/P's base. Finally they moved onto B/Y, but the duo faired quite well, having expected it. Yang acted as an anti-air cannon almost, firing snowballs with great accuracy and shooting down the snowballs before impact. Some, not all.

In unison, all three of us wordlessly targeted N/R. We all unleashed a hail of snowballs, the amounting force taking down their walls. It exposed their, funnily enough, mortar-like stance with Nora firing them vertical in an arc and Ren handing her them. Yang was merciless and unleashed a hail on the duo, making them cry out in surprise as they were buried in their own fort. Our momentary concern was unwarranted as they popped their heads out of the top, Nora pouting.

''Game over'' Yang grinned at them.

''Not yet!'' Nora cried out as she used her incredible strength to throw large chunks of snow at all of us, less snowball and more like a veil of snow. We all ducked, hiding behind the walls of our bases. I poked my head out and swore I saw something red, and I was proven correct when Nora bounced up in front our wall.

While carrying a snowman-sized snowball.

''Fuck''.

I rolled out of the way when she crashed the snowball down, engulfing Ruby and making her a snowman while Weiss managed to escape. Weiss ran around in the open, scooping up snow and unleashing a hail of snowballs at Nora. Pyrrha nailed her right in the face, knocking her onto her back while calling out an apology for it. Weiss sat up, grumbling slightly, when I noticed something.

The green, snow-topped trees behind her.

There was a figure of pure white disrupting the background canvas.

With bright, crimson eyes.

Grimm. A Beowulf by the looks of it.

A white Beowulf. Without any spines.

It growled softly, and immediately all actions ceased as we froze. Weiss also paused, eyes wide as she turned around to face the Beowulf. A cloud passed overhead, allowing me to fully see the monster. It was nearly eighteen feet tall on its hind legs, pure white fur and crimson eyes, the right having a scar over it. It lacked any armoured plating, but its age showed in its height and body type. None of us, not even Yang, would be capable of fighting even a regular Beowulf unarmed. I instantly used SchattenSchritt to appeared beside Weiss, in front of the Beowulf and fixing it with a blank look. Silence reigned over us all, until I spoke.

''Weiss... get back to the others'' I ordered quietly, but firmly as I never broke eye contact with the White Beowulf, who was staring at me not in natural hate but... curiosity?

Weiss obeyed, rushing back to Ruby as the whole group collected up into one about fifteen feet behind me. They murmured something and Ruby disappeared in a flurry of rose petals, so I stayed silent and stared at the odd Beowulf, deciding to communicate with it.

''What do you want?''.

A rather stupid, but reasonable question.

It growled softly, falling on all fours as it still towered over me by a few feet. Its eyes stared into mine as close to eye-height as it could reach without seeming submissive. Then just as abrupt as its appearance, it growled softly before turning and beginning to walk away. I stared in mild confusion as it did so, but it turned its head back to look at me and make a gruff noise, jerking its head towards the forest. My eyebrows raised as I made a step towards it, making it give some semblance of a nod before continuing on. I blinked before following.

''I'll be back soon'' I called to my friends, giving them a stern look ''Don't follow''.

They were smart enough not to question my judgement. I turned and followed the white Grimm into the snowy forest, my footsteps leaving footprints behind the larger Beowolves ones. It led me deep into the forest, much to my confusion as we walked. Eventually we got deep enough into the white forest, revealing a darkened cave. It was too big to fit inside, barely being able to allow passage for a regular Beowulf, and so sat outside to the right of the cave. It fixed me with an odd look and its muzzle nudged the cave, implying what it wanted me to do. Confused but not questioning, I walked in.

It was like a tunnel almost as it curved downwards, but not steep enough to warrant concern. I shrugged and went inside, the natural lighting coming in from the holes in the ceiling. As I descended I raised an eyebrow at the dust now beginning to appear in the small cracks of the walls, but still I descended while lamenting how weird this day turned out. Regardless I reached flat ground, the tunnel opening up ahead of me. I walked out and blinked owlishly at the sight of a large, expansive dome-like cave with various ledges and tunnels. But that was not concerning compared to the other sight.

Large Ice Dust Crystals littered the place, jutting out of rocks in varying sizes. Even then it didn't make the place look cramped. However even more concerning was the pack of easily forty white Beowolves scattered around the cave. All of their eyes trained on me. I blinked at them, both confused and worried about why I was being directed into here - I was only one person, I wouldn't be worth dragging back here just to kill when they could attack Beacon itself. Slowly one approached me, larger than the rest at the height of the same one outside. Actually, I realised belatedly, it was the exact same one, coming from a tunnel on the other side of the cave.

It approached, standing on all fours but still towering over me. We stared off once again, but eventually it turned once again and gestured with its muzzle to a particularly large Ice Crystal. I went up to the crystal, which was in the centre of the room, and looked at the Grimm for an answer. In a display of intelligence it raised its large claw and make a motion of putting its palm on the crystal. Raising an eyebrow I mimicked it but with the real thing, and instantly I felt an intense burst of energy. To put it in perspective, it was like putting your hand on a hot stove, but the heat travelling up your arm and through your body. I hissed as I felt the pain, but under it I could feel the raw power in it. Like a vacuum I absorbed the energy from it, my left arm stinging on the inside.

Then I felt the power change, become more... violent. I held my palm out in front of me so as to see what the hell was happening, and unintentionally creating a small ball of Aura with the now-black energy. I frowned, looking at the 'mute' Grimm for an answer even as my arm burned on the inside. The Grimm must've been very old, as it raised its claw to its face and poked its mask, before making a downwards drawing motion, as if using sign language. Mask and downward pulling, not the easiest to decipher. I focused on the energy, morphing it like my Semblance and willing it to become a Beowulf mask. It did so with ease, and upon it doing so I plainly held it up to my face, unsure of what to do next.

Then everything exploded.

I woke up with a quiet grunt-gasp as I blinked rapidly, a hand reaching to my face as I felt skin, not a bone mask to my relief. I had gone fully unconscious like when I went into a coma, not semi-unconscious. I remembered everything, so I immediately took note of my surroundings. I was still in the cave, lying on the ground and propped up against a slanted piece of rock, which was relatively comfortable considering the material. I sat up, idly taking note of the two white Beowolves on either side of the rock, in a submissive state but guarded one, protecting.

What a day this is turning out to be...

I sighed and sat up, drawing the attention of the two wolves. They surprisingly just looked at me, eyeing my posture before falling back into their regular stances again. I caught sight of the large, presumably Alpha White Beowulf approaching me once more. It stopped a few feet from me and when I looked at it, I felt a tingling of sorts in my head, like an itch. I ignored it in favour of watching the Beowulf repeat the action it had yesterday.

I raised an eyebrow ''Last time I exploded''.

It shook its head, repeating the action.

I sighed, holding my arm out. I pictured the blackened energy in my hand, as most of my abilities appeared to be mentally triggered, and I confirmed this as the black ball formed. I mentally moulded it to a Beowulf mask once more and, ignoring the higher part of my brain telling me this was a bad idea, placed it on my face. I heard a quiet 'click' and felt it strap onto my face without any said straps being visible. Odd. I watched as my vision sharpened, my eyesight becoming clearer like when I activated Dunkelheit. I blinked several times, scanning my surroundings when something unexpected happened.

''Hello, Hunter'' A voice spoke in my head and I flinched faintly, surprised by the old, but unfamiliar voice with a strange(Russian) accent. I looked to the Beowulf for answers, and got a reply ''It is I who is speaking to you''.

I blinked, then sighed.

'Of course it is' I sighed mentally 'This day is turning out to be weirder than the last'.

The Beowulf blinked, apparently not understanding my mild irritation.

'Either way... care to explain?' I asked, pointing at the mask now on my face and tapping my head for emphasis.

The snowy Beowulf nodded ''I am Nazai, the Alpha of my Pack''.

'Eien, student at Beacon Academy' I replied lamely before beginning my questioning 'So, why are you and your pack white instead of black?'.

''Because we are the dividers, created by Monty Oum himself to prevent the Grimm from going too far, and to prevent humans from going too far as well'' Nazai explained, once again being another to reference the god-of-gods ''Recently however the Grimm have begun to... evolve, to an extent''.

'How so?'.

''Dust. Our blackened brethren have begun utilising Dust within themselves, causing increased intelligence and Dust-related abilities. I have not found many ancient Grimm who have followed this trend... but one notable figure has''.

'Who?'.

''Alexia, an Arachne Grimm who dwells within Mountain Glenn as you humans have come to call it. She has been alive for many centuries, nearly a millennium, and is a the one who gave me the scar on my eye'' Naizai explained ''She is quite... defensive of her kin, to put it lightly. I didn't know that, hence my mark to remind me of that fact''.

I was sure if he could, he would've chuckled.

''She had begun to use Dust a month ago, consuming the crystals and hardening her skin, sharpening her weapons, acidizing her poison. I imagine she'll be quite a force to reckon with, if she was still in her form that is''.

I blinked, brow furrowing at his odd statement 'What do you mean, 'form'?'.

''Are you talking about me, Nazai?''.

I jumped slightly as a second voice entered my head, and more out of instinct than anything I turned to my right, watching as a person - human - approached us. She had black hair that was bunched up into two bundles before falling behind her, small but bright crimson beads holding them up. Her skin was pale and made her bright ruby eyes stand out. She wore a black dress that went down to her ankles, black elegant shoes underneath and smooth cotton gloves on her hands. The dress itself was like a smooth silk, being a V-neck that had partially see-through sleeves that stopped at her elbows, her Yang-sized chest pressed against the constraints of the dress.

'Who are you?' I asked mentally, since the conversation had continued in this manner '...Actually, given your last statement, you're probably Alexia, no?'.

Alexia smirked ''Looks like you hold some intelligence after all aside from instinct''.

'So if you are the Arachne Grimm, how are you human?' I asked rather bluntly, looking at Nazai who was mentally grumbling.

''My, that is indeed a question worthy of a curious cat'' She chuckled audibly ''Dust is the answer, it is how I have attained a human form. I have experimented on my fellow Grimm, and have found that only those of age can attain it, as a Beowulf below the age of 200 was not able to attain it, but one of 210 was''.

'So why are you here?'.

''Because we are becoming human too'' Nazai interjected with a grunt ''Oum himself has ordered me so, in order to keep up with my fellow Grimm. We are all over the age of five hundred, so we will been assured to humanize ourselves''.

I looked between the Grimm-turned-human and soon-to-be Human-Grimm 'So why am I here, aside from now being able to create a Grimm mask to communicate with Grimm?'.

''You learn quickly, and decipher just as quickly'' Nazai admitted with a touch of respect ''You are here, because Oum himself said you are to be our leader against our brethren''.

I blinked owlishly 'WHAT?!'.

''I will still retain my position as Alpha, but your authority overrides mine'' He explained ''Oum said something about 'having the cards in your favour', but I'm afraid the meaning of those words in lost on us''.

I blinked again, then sighed 'Alright then, if 'The Creator' said so, then I'll go along with it. When are you guys transforming?'.

''Now''.

'Fuck'.

Once again, everything exploded.

I grunted as I sat up once again, thankful my consciousness had only been out for a few seconds, a minute a most, as I got up. Dust concealed most of the cave except the faint shimmers of the remaining Dust Crystals. I waited as the dust in the air slowly disappeared to the ground, revealing a scene that made me blink at, along with sigh at. I swore I'd have grey hairs before I was thirty at this rate.

All of the previous White Beowolves were now human. And naked. And were of both genders.

A sigh escaped my lips ''They'll need some clothes''.

''I agree'' A now-familiar voice said from behind me and I turned slightly to look at the once-Arachne, Alexia ''Perhaps a uniform would be best, since they will fall under your command as will I''.

I looked at with confusion ''You're willing to fall under my command, despite being a Grimm?''.

She smiled ''Yes. I am no longer a Grimm. I may have retained some abilities and traits from my previous form, but I have forgone it instead for my current form, which I assure you is not weak by any standard''.

''Even if it means turning on your fellow Grimm?'' I frowned.

She barked a short laugh ''Especially if its my fellow Grimm, I have no qualms about doing so''.

''I see'' I hummed, quelling the infinite number of curious questions I had for her ''Well then, time to make a uniform then...''.

''What will we be called then?'' She asked as I looked over my new soldiers, all with pale skin, almost white, with black hair and crimson eyes. All of them were of varying sizes and body types, their hair different styles and eyes of different 'shapes'. But one consistency was that their hair was black, skin pale and eyes red.

I smirked as a perfect name came to mind ''We'll be called...''.

''The Monochrome Knights''.

It took an hour total to make the uniform for all of my new 'soldiers'. There were a total of sixty three, including Alexia and Nazai and Nazai's second-in-command, or Beta as he tends to call him, Artyom. The uniforms for the soldiers would be a white, double-breasted trench coat with a black belt buckle, grey buttons with white pants and shoes with black laces. On the back of the coats were a black circle with a white shield, their emblem. The 'Lieutenants' of the Monochrome Knights (Alexia and Nazai) wore a cape, pinned at the shoulders and similar to Era's cloak in that if you were not moving it covered your whole body, stopping at the knees, the difference being they didn't have hoods and were white - along with the V neck at the collar.

I myself had also changed my outfit as in commemoration for this event. My outfit now consisted of a cloak nigh-identical to Era's, except the silver outlining was replaced by a more metallic iron-silver, but still silver-looking. I had also modelled the hood so it would cover my eyes so that nobody would know if I activated my Dunkelheit or not, although I had forgone my bandana for the sole fact of style. I changed my vest for a black shirt with three white stripes diagonally down the middle, my pants also black with military boots.

All in all I didn't mind it, as I had found - to my mystery and awe - that my ability to summon Judgement through apparent telekinesis also extended to manifestation. I.E. I could spawn it in on a whim instead of carrying it around, which was awesome since Judgement's compact form was just its sniper form, unlike Ruby's which became a box. I kept Punishment on my person under my cloak along with Fragment, encase I was ambushed.

I looked over as my soldiers finished adjusting their uniforms, none having weapons yet, but my Semblance had been pushed quite a bit today with making all the clothes, and while it was regenerating surprisingly quickly it would still take a while. Alexia and Nazai approached me from my right, standing out with their capes. Nazai's human form was massively tall and muscular, standing at around 6'7 with spiky black hair with the standard crimson eyes. Both of them had a relatively serious look on their faces, awaiting orders from me.

''So, what do we do now?'' Alexia asked, shifting idly and pulling at her coat, muttering something about breathing room.

''I've given it a bit of thought'' I drawled slowly, my tone stern ''Given Humanity's stance on Grimm, it would be best if we keep quiet about this, only Ozpin needs to know. As it is we need to establish a place for you guys to stay, since I doubt Ozpin will allow stay in the dorms, as they are for students only and until we have a full understanding of this we should avoid any unnecessary interaction with Aura users''.

''I see'' Nazai nodded thoughtfully ''What should we do then?''.

''Hm...'' I hummed in thought ''I'll see what I can do, probably find a complex for you guys to live in, but that'll take a few hours. For now have Artyom stay here with everyone, you two come with me back to Beacon to see what if Ozpin can help with anything''.

''Mm, alright'' Alexia hummed as she dusted off her clothing.

''I'll go alert Artyom'' Nazai grunted as he went over to the Beta, who was nearby and intentionally listening in. Artyom was tall, probably around 5'11 with a Mohawk of black hair and crimson eyes with slit-like pupils. He was of a fair build, his face slightly narrow and slightly slender, but still relatively buff. As the Beta he wasn't a lieutenant, but was a sergeant, below a lieutenant in ranking. The two exchanged words for only half a minute before Artyom nodded, heading over to a small cluster of people talking in uniform. He came back to me and I nodded, gesturing for them to follow as I headed back the way I came in.

The path was darker than when I entered, but when I got out I immediately noticed the heavier snow, nearly three and a half feet of snow on the ground. I frowned at the unnatural weather, immediately noting that - with all the coincidences happening around me - it was probably a god, demi-god or Maiden or some crap going crazy, I just sighed and resolved to figure it out later. Alexia and Nazai didn't comment as we pushed into the snow, trench coats/cloak helping us as we progressed through the snow. It was heavy, and didn't look like it was going to end soon, not to mention the howling wind that I idly noticed was becoming more vicious.

''Weather is harsh'' I commented idly. The snow was the only thing holding my cloak down, otherwise it'd be billowing around me.

''Yeah...'' Alexia drawled with a grunt ''This... isn't normal...''.

''Ya think?'' Nazai said dryly.

The conversation died down as we continued through the howling wind and patter of snow, the sky dark with grey clouds. However several minutes later amongst the dying light I spotted Beacon in the distance, the lights shining through the windows. My companions also saw this, and we all picked up the pace towards the front entrance. The snow was nearly four and a half feet now and it was becoming difficult to manoeuvre through it, but I ignored my freezes lower half as I pushed to the main doors, pushing them open and letting my two companions enter. The lights were dull and flickering, as if the generator powering them was damaged.

''Odd'' I murmured as I progressed down the hall, taking an opposite route to the dorms and towards the administration offices. I walked down almost silently before I sensed someone else, and I spun on my heel as I caught sight of two figures I had actually been hoping to meet. Reality and Era.

Reality raised an eyebrow at us ''Uh... explain?''.

''A new look'' I shrugged before gesturing ''Walk with us''.

Both blinked, but nodded and caught up next to us, Alexia and Nazai not saying a word sans raise an eyebrow at the two.

''So, who's the duo?'' Reality asked in a lax tone, jerking a thumb at the two lieutenants.

''Alexia and Nazai, my lieutenants'' I intoned with a small smile ''Alexia/Nazai, meet Reality and Era, current gods of Reality and Time respectively''.

Reality glared ''You're not supposed to tell people that''.

''I thought it was you'' Nazai interrupted, looking at Reality ''Oum himself told me of your existence... but I am surprised by your appearance''.

''Meh'' She shrugged, eyeing the tall man with interest ''The Creator talked to you?''.

He grunted ''I am Nazai, Alpha of the White Beowolves, and now lieutenant of the Monochrome Knights''.

Reality blinked, then hummed ''Monochrome Knights... has a nice ring to it''.

''Thanks'' I smirked as I kept an ear out for anyone listening in ''Either way, any idea why the freak weather?''.

Reality shrugged ''I don't got a clue, I ain't doing it''.

''Neither am I'' Era said quietly from beside Alexia, who had also remained silent.

I hummed ''Well that's strange. Is anybody hurt or missing?''.

''None so far, Ozpin called an early curfew when the snow reached three feet'' Realty hummed, hands behind her head as we reached the elevator, getting inside she continued ''He should be up here though, why do you wanna see him?''.

''To alert him of the Monochrome Knights and that we aren't enemies, just encase someone got the wrong idea'' I shrugged nonchalantly ''Besides he could help pick out a spot for our guys to stay''.

''How many?''.

''Fifty-one besides Alexia and Nazai'' I commented and she nodded. The elevator dinged as we reached Ozpin's office, but were given the surprise when we found that (E)RWBY, JNPR and the other members of A(R)EM(E) also present with Ozpin, Qrow and Goodwitch. I blinked as all eyes turned to us.

''Are we... interrupting something?''.

A flurry of rose petals and I was hard pressed not to be knocked off my feet as I was tackled in a hug by Ruby, who probably guessed it was me over my intoning voice. I smiled as I hugged her back, walking out of the elevator to let the others walk out (Reality; skip). They did so, with my lieutenants standing close-by to me, the action not escaping the teachers notice.

''Hey Sweet Rose'' I smiled at her as we exchanged a brief kiss ''You okay?''.

''Mm'' She hummed with a smile ''We were worried about you after you disappeared for the past five hours''.

I chuckled ''Sorry about that, passed out twice''.

''Are you okay?'' She frowned and I smiled, nodding.

''I'm fine Ruby'' I smiled and we broke from the embrace ''So... any reason everyone's gathered up here?''.

''The storm'' Weiss answered with a huff ''Its not natural''.

''I agree'' Nazai intoned with his strange accent ''It is strange, not normal''.

Yang shrugged, eyeing the two nigh-identically clad people ''So... who're you two?''.

''Would you believe me if I said they're my lieutenants for a mini-army I've been made the leader of in the span of five hours, and called the Monochrome Knights?'' I smiled cheerfully.

Everyone blinked, staring.

''I... yeah that pretty much happened'' I finished lamely, gesturing to the amused Alexia and stoic Nazai ''Alexia and Nazai respectively''.

Silence reigned for about thirty seconds before Mercury whistled ''Well if anything; you're full of surprises''.

Weiss sighed ''I can't disagree there''.

''I'll take that as a compliment'' I smiled disarmingly and the previous tension bled from the room ''Either way, the snow doesn't look to be letting up anytime soon-''.

Abruptly the lights flickered before shutting off, the gears above us that made up Ozpin's office's ceiling grinded to a halt as the energy shut off. I saw Ozpin cast an annoyed glance upwards, grunting in annoyance too. Glynda looked out the window with a frown, joined by Qrow as the man cursed.

''Power's off'' He reported, a concerned frown marring his features ''Do you think that the cold shut the generators off... or is it possible someone got access to them and shut them off?''.

Ozpin sighed, looking at his deactivated monitors as he replied ''I don't know, it could be either''.

''It likely the cold'' Nazai grunted with his accent ''I remember time in Atlas, snow freeze metal and make it break easy''.

''But this isn't Atlas'' Weiss sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose ''This is likely the worst recorded case of snow in Vale history, if not the worst in Vacuo and Mistral too, not counting Atlas since its snowing most of the year''.

''It not normal'' He replied coolly, getting a murmur of agreement from the repeated conclusion; this snow was not normal. If it wasn't... then my men...

''Professor Ozpin'' I asked, gaining the attention of the headmaster ''Is it possible for Bullheads to fly in this weather?''.

He hummed ''Potentially, but only for a short period of time, why?''.

''My men are out there'' I said in a stern tone ''And I can't let them freeze out there on the first day''.

He raised an eyebrow ''How many men?''.

''Fifty-one'' I replied sharply.

He was quiet for a moment, before nodding ''Very well, I'll have four Bullheads prepare for launch and have some rooms set up, will you be able to guide the Bullheads?''.

An idea came to mind, and I smirked.

''Tell them to follow the crimson Bullhead''.

A/N: So... hate me yet?

I know some people have a strong disdain for OC's, but I wanted to add unique aspects to this story, one of them being the Monochrome Knights. They'll have a future purpose, like everything, but for the most part they'll just make random appearances and be another weapon for Eien to use.

How'd you guys like the story so far? I wanna know~

Reality and Era are now on the scene, but because they're undercover their powers will be severely limited until they reach Salem. I am aware that season 4 of RWBY will one day come, but unless something in S4 drastically changes my plans, I'll continue with my plan for this story and not alter it if S4 comes out.

Anyone know why a sudden snowstorm appeared? Why the generators are off? Do you? Cause I don't... I totally have zero idea because... I'll just stop while I'm ahead.

See you next time~