AN: Bold is for Japanese, Italics is for the Imperial Language, and regular is English/Valic for RWBY characters.

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or Gate. Any resemblance or mention to existing properties is part of the fic, a reference, or just something that I thought would be cool to include.

Chapter 1: A Portal to Another World

"A mission?"

Professor Ozpin, enigmatic Headmaster of Beacon Academy, one of the premier Hunstman Academies in all of Remnant, nodded in affirmation.

"That's right," he said, "We've just found something very... peculiar within the Emerald Forest, and we need someone to investigate the site. I would much prefer for it to be someone that I could keep an eye on, rather than, say, the Atlesian military, since as much as I trust General Ironwood as a friend and tactician, I'd rather have Beacon boots on the ground than someone who could hide valuable information."

Ozpin sat behind his desk with his hands folded in front of his face. The green-scarved, gray-haired huntsman patiently stared at three huntsmen-in-training sitting in as many ornate and expensive "office chairs". The three fidgeted around, no doubt wondering why the headmaster had called them up so early in the morning. In fact, while the three of them were sitting there, their respective teams of four were still in their dorms, no doubt dreaming and slumbering peacefully.

"So," Ruby Rose, leader of team RWBY, began, "You want us to take a look at something because we're the only ones you can trust right now."

Ozpin nodded, "You are correct, Ms. Rose, but it's not that you're the only ones I trust, it's just that you're the most convenient teams I have on hand that I can use."

"Are you absolutely sure that there's no one better for the job?" Jaune Arc, leader of team JNPR, asked, "After all, JNPR and RWBY are only first-year teams, and the whole Breach incident wasn't really our finest hour."

"I'm sure. All of our third and fourth year teams are going on missions right now, as are most of the second-years. We have little time, and must mobilize quickly. Besides," Ozpin spared a thoughtful glance towards Ruby and Jaune, "I'd say you handled the Breach just fine. It might've been a much bloodier battle with the Creatures of Grimm without you right at the epicenter."

"What was so important about the Emerald Forest that you had to message us on our scrolls to your office at this time of day, in our combat outfits, no less?" Coco Adel, leader of team CFVY, was definitely peeved at their headmaster. If this was his idea of a prank, she might have left his office right now. But she didn't.

The headmaster was certainly someone difficult to read, but she somehow got the feeling that he was being sincere when he told them that he required their services.

"I can't tell you a word about what's out there; it's on a need-to-know basis," Ozpin replied, "I need to know that you'll go through with it before I let you know any important details. However, I can tell you that I'll arrange for you to be rewarded quite well for your work."

The three leaders exchanged a look before Ruby spoke up.

"Unless I'm really bad at reading other people, I think we're all in."

Ozpin straightened up, stealthily removing his personal tablet-sized scroll from a drawer in his desk. "Excellent. Here's what we found."

The Huntsman placed the device on his desk, and a holographic display flickered to life in response. It displayed a three-dimensional representation of a clearing in the middle of the Emerald Forest. Ordinarily, it wouldn't warrant even a cursory glance, had it not been for the large, overt object planted directly in the centre of the model.

In all honesty, it had the appearance of some sort of ancient Mistralan temple. It was a fairly simple triangular roof held up by a few rows of pairs of ribbed stone pillars, intersected by three long, crystalline structures. The depths of the structure was incredibly dark. No light escaped from it, as if it was a black hole. The structure stood solitarily, surrounded by nothing in particular. Not even a single Grimm was in sight.

All three students leaned in to get a better look at the object.

"What is it, Headmaster Ozpin?" Ruby cautiously inquired, for fear of missing some sort of clue as to what the structure's true nature was.

Meanwhile, Ozpin merely stared back. The man with more knowledge and experience than any of them, who seemed to have all answers to everything, finally replied after a minute.

"That's what you're here for. We don't know."

"So... *yawn* that's why we're out here?" Yang Xiao Long, half-sister to Ruby Rose, drowsily asked, "So some random arse decided to build a random old-looking house in a random spot in the middle of the Emerald Forest. I don't exactly see what all the fuss is about."

"Headmaster Ozpin says that the structure wasn't there yesterday," Ruby answered, "So unless Ms. Goodwitch decided to go rouge and build stuff in the woods, then deliberately lost her memory to cover her tracks, the culprit obviously isn't anyone we know. I mean, who else do you know who can build buildings in the span of a day?"

"Plus he said that the building appeared much too old to be some pranksters that decided to mess with the most unmess-withable place in Vale," Jaune added.

"So why send the twelve of us on a Bullhead at 3 in the morning?"

Teams RWBY, JNPR, and CVFY were currently all packed like sardines into the cramped VTOL, individually either sitting along the edge of the open doors, holding onto the overhead handholds, or trying not to be crushed by the presence of the other students. The drab, gray aircraft was piloted very competently; the ride was extraordinarily smooth, even for the likes of Jaune Arc (though to his credit, he had largely gotten over his motion sickness. After all, if your job's primary mode of transportation makes you sick, you lose your ailment or you lose your job). Among the students were pouches and bags of Dust, of varying sizes, types, and ammunitions. Jaune didn't really have much use for Dust as of now, so the poor guy was made into the group's human pack mule of surplus Dust.

Every student was decked out in their combat gear, eyes scanning the horizon and nerves almost ready for a full-on brawl. The Bullhead couldn't go far into the Emerald Forest, for fear of Grimm attacks, so it was to land the young adults as far as it could possibly go, then scram. The students would have to make the rest of the trip by themselves on foot.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the pilot got on the Bullhead's intercom system and ordered them to jump out of the craft. With a little (Jaune) hesitation, they complied, and landed with their weapons drawn, expecting to be swarmed with Grimm.

They waited a minute. Then two. Then half a dozen. Then fifteen. No soulless creatures of destruction made themselves known. The students gave each other quizzical looks before effectively shrugging and moving on their way to the objective, not willing to look a gift horse in the mouth.

After a long, uneventful, Grimm-free hike, the twelve Beacon warriors reached their objective.

"God, that's huge," remarked Jaune. Indeed it was. The holographic projection truly didn't give the true magnitude of the structure. The building easily reached the top of the forest canopy, which was a feat not easily handed out. The Emerald Forest was home to trees as tall as apartment buildings, after all.

"Whoa, Ren. Do you think they'll have giant monsters in there? Or! Or! Or! Or maybe there's a treasure chest filled with gold about *this* high!" Nora Valkyrie, JNPR's resident jolly berserker, excitedly conversed with her very bestest friend and total foil, Lie Ren.

"Nora, if there was a priceless treasure in there, you'd probably spend it all on pancakes and grenades," Lie Ren, JNPR's "ninja" of sorts, answered. The quiet boy knew that his childhood friend would probably go nuts and spend the entirety of the money that they would obtain from such a treasure chest in a week if Ren himself wasn't there to manage her hyperactivity and impulse buying.

"It really does look a bit Mistralan, Jaune," Pyrrha Nikos, team JNPR's champion and typical voice of reason, along with Ren, said, "Which begs the question: What's it doing here, in the outskirts of the Kingdom of Vale, in the middle of the Emerald Forest?"

"It doesn't matter. Let's just get in, get out, and be home in time for breakfast," Coco Adel replied. She was less than amused at all of this, but underneath her mask of annoyance, she waws definitely feeling just as anxious as the rest of them. Taking charge, she said, "We'll go in first. Ruby, you guys will come after us if we're not back within 30 minutes. If they're not back within their 30 minutes, JNPR will go and notify Ozpin about our disappearances. Hopefully he'll be able to send reinforcements, just in case."

"You got it!"

"Yeah, okay."

"Then let's move. Fox, you and Yatsuhashi are on point. Velvet and I will bring up the rear for support. Let's do this, guys."

The two pairs plunged into the darkness of the building, lighting up their scrolls so as to see, noting a lack of any visibility whatsoever, even with the meager amount of light. They inwardly gulped, attempting to strike down any fear they held in their hearts before pressing on.

The JSDF passed through the Gate with, as expected, very little strange effects. It was to be expected. After all, a fully functional, albeit horrendously outdated army did emerge from it to attack Japan in the middle of Ginza.

The "Special Region", as it was to be called, was an unknown, where any manner of man or creature could lay in wait for their highly mechanized task force. Their APCs, LAVs, and tanks could probably handle themselves just fine, but one never knew. It was night on the other side, and the soldiers quickly mobilized themselves with as little noise as possible, setting up basic machine gun nests, firing lines, and cover. They all sincerely hoped that they would not have to fight, but they knew it was probably inevitable, if the Special Region's inhabitants' actions were anything to go by.

Eventually, their fears were answered when firelights appeared in the distance. No doubt it was a defensive force prepared to repel the Japanese invaders. They marched on, unaware of the true might of the JSDF compared to their simple steel swords, spears and wooden shields. Their defenses and weaponry were made to fight bows and swords, not bullets and explosive shells.

Eventually, the JSDF reconnaissance teams determined just how far the enemy was from them, and gave their information to the officers over their radios. Eventually, they reached the distance at which the JSDF would deploy flares in order to reveal their aggressors, which would also hopefully drive them off, should they be a mere caravan, or something else peaceful.

The flares were shot into the air, basking the area with the harsh glow of white phosphorous. The enemy appeared to be another army, similar to the one that caused the Ginza Incident in both outfit and arms. Their positions were made obvious in the light, but the JSDF was nigh invisible to them, as their camouflage and strategic positioning made them impossible to see. Nevertheless, the enemy marched on, intent on fighting the new kids on the block.

They were almost halfway to the defenses when the order to fire was given.

The crackling rattle of Minimis, Type 64 battle rifles, M2 and M1919A4 Browning machine guns rang out through the hills as the approaching force was cut down, occasionally saturated with the loud, metallic pops and subsequent explosions of mortars and firing of tank shells. The native force was effortlessly and ruthlessly mowed down in a spray of lead and explosives, yet still pushed on, no doubt there being heavy consequences for deserters among their ranks. Through all the night, they attempted to push on, but could not gain any more ground than they had, as the JSDF was perched atop Alnus Hill, and the elevation spelt death for the enemy.

Finally, both groups were given a brief respite when the approaching army suddenly turned tail, allowing the JSDF to experience a brief ceasefire. However, they knew that they would have more battles in the very near future, and proceeded to reload their weapons and replenish themselves for the coming conflicts over the hill.

AN: Heya, it's me, AnonymousInsomnia, with a new FanFic. I know that you're probably waiting for my other story, Rose Falls, Oregon, to update, and rest assured, I will, but I'm waiting on my editor for that. He's kind of the bottleneck for this stuff.

So this story will have to hold you over until then. That is, if you like this anime as well as RWBY. I like it though, and It's an idea I've been toying with for quite some time. Hopefully you like it, 'cause I'll be doing this one on the fly, without an editor.

So yeah. Read, Review, Favorite, Follow, all that fun jazz. Until next time, peace out.