"Celebrimbor, where are we? This does not look like any part of Nurn we've visited before." Talion asked the Elven wraith.

The ring-smith's ghostly figure showed itself and gazed around at the surroundings. "I do not know. My vision was focused on the Eldar tower, but soon became clouded with darkness and now we are here." He summarized.

The two were puzzled as Talion had just eliminated another of Sauron's many warchiefs after killing the Black Hand and once they were safe, Talion had asked the wraith to transport him to a nearby tower, only to end up in the middle of a forest shrouded with greenery.

"Something lurks in these woods." Celebrimbor warned the ranger, disappearing from Talion's view.

He then drew Urfael and prepared for combat as a blonde girl wearing a tan jacket, black shorts, gauntlets and a yellow undershirt emerged from the brush with a device in her hand, looking straight at him.

Team RWBY had been chasing down a man part of the White Fang organization and were now spread out in the Emerald forest, desperately seeking out the valuable source of potential information. Yang was walking around as stealthily as she could, taking lessons from her cat-faunus partner.
"Does anyone see him?" Ruby asked over the team chat on the scroll Yang held in her hand.

"Nothing yet, Ruby." Her sister replied.

"No." Blake called.

"Not yet." Weiss added.

Yang let out a frustrated sigh and painted a mental image of the man they were tracking down. Mid-thirties, black, greying hair wearing a greenish-grey shirt with a grey cloak and leather boots carrying a sword. The team had not gotten a very good look at the man, but they still had some idea of whom they were searching for. Yang thought it was her lucky day when she got out of the brush and glanced to her side to see the man in question with his sword drawn, staring her down.

She looks to be about Dirhael's age. Talion thought, saddened at the sudden reminder of his deceased son. He shook himself awake as the girl suddenly charged at him, fist raised and ready to hit. The ranger dodged out of the way and slashed at the enemy, successfully landing a hit, although oddly enough, not causing her to bleed. The girl spun around and aimed a right hook at his head, which he countered by letting metal meet metal as sword and gauntlet clashed and Talion kicked his opponent in the stomach, causing her to reel back. Then, when their thoughts collided, the captain of the Black Gate allowed Celebrimbor to take over his body and he slammed a fist into the ground, causing a shockwave that stunned the attacker. Talion regained control over his body and walked over to his opponent, placing her in a chokehold, but she was still strong as she elbowed him sharply in the ribs, causing him to let go. She then let loose a blast from both of her gauntlets and the projectiles impacted in the ranger's chest, leaving him wounded and stunned on the ground. However, as if the brutal training he had endured during his time at the Black Gate wasn't enough, when he was resurrected by Celebrimbor, Talion's endurance, strength, speed and reflexes had all been vastly enhanced, making the impact of the hit feel like nothing more than the bite of a mosquito.

The captain swiftly got up and prepared for another bout, as his opponent appeared to be doing the same.

Why is this guy bleeding already? Yang asked herself as she gazed at the spot on the man's body where she had fired Ember Celica. And how did he do that shockwave thing? She would've gone on wondering if she wasn't so focused on beating her opponent. She attempted to strike the man again and again, each punch either being dodged, countered or just missing completely. Soon, she got so enraged that her semblance had activated itself and she was now a flurry of fists and fire, moving far faster than before.

Eventually, frustration also crept into Talion's mind as he fought off his attacker, countering her strikes and then striking her and allowing for the ring-smith to aid him in his altercation. Soon enough, he found himself striking without mercy, sword slashes dealing devastating damage that normally would've killed any uruk outright, sending shockwaves to the ground that felled the trees and causing his sword to glow a bright blue.

After Talion had blocked yet another attack from his opponent, his other half decided that enough was enough and fired three Elven arrows at his opponent, all of them striking her directly in the head.

Yang didn't know what happened. She had aimed a punch at the man's gut, he blocked it, then the rest was a faint memory as she lay on the ground, her head feeling as though Nora had just hit it with Magnhild. Her eyes fluttered open and her attacker placed her in another chokehold. Yang was too weak to fight back as he spun her around and placed his left hand on her cheek. The right side of her face burned as she felt her knees buckle and she saw an odd, ghost-like figure replace the man she had fought with.

"YOU WILL OBEY!" It thundered. "Where are we?" It demanded.

Yang felt her mouth move and heard the words leave her mouth, but it was not of her own volition. This… thing was probing around her mind, seeking any and all information it wanted.

"The Emerald Forest, at Beacon Academy." She replied.

"Why did you attack?" Celebrimbor pushed further.

"I thought you were someone else, someone me and my team were tracking." The girl stated.

Celebrimbor, release her. She has told us all that we need to know. The Elf-smith agreed and let Talion take control as the girl groaned in pain and fell backwards, unconscious.

"Yang! Yang!" A high-pitched voice called. Talion looked up from the comatose blonde girl to another wearing a red and black themed outfit, her eyes wide and jaw open as she looked at the sight in front of her. Celebrimbor phased in front of Talion, blocking his view.

"I will not fight her. She reminds me far too much of my own daughter." The wraith stated simply as he disappeared once again. As he faded away, Talion saw two other girls behind the one in red, one dressed in white and the other in black carrying an unconscious man between them and they gawked at the ranger and his unconscious assailant.

Ruby had regrouped with Weiss and Blake after they had reported finding and capturing the man they were looking for. She then led the search for her sister and upon seeing her helpless on the ground while a man that resembled the one they already had in custody stood over her, staring back.

The little reaper prepared Crescent Rose for battle, but the man held up his hands in and shouted for her to stop.

"I have no ill intentions!" He called. "She started attacking me and I defended myself, that's all!"

For a minute, Ruby doubted the man but then remembered her sister's tendency to punch first and ask questions later. She folded up the sniper-scythe and rushed over to Yang to make sure she was okay.

"She's fine, just weary." The man declared. Ruby wanted to believe him, but once she examined her sister's head, she noticed a large bruise that undoubtedly hurt.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Talion, former captain of the rangers of the Black Gate." At the mention of the fact that the man was a captain, Ruby immediately assumed that the man was military and probably stationed somewhere else and had just gotten lost.

"Okay, I'm Ruby. Can you help us get her back to Beacon?" She asked. Talion said nothing, merely picked up Yang and nodded.

As they walked, Celebrimbor entered the wraith world and noticed four large figures in the distance heading towards the party. Talion stopped and gingerly placed the blonde girl against a tree where she would be comfortable. Ruby looked at the man, confused.

"What are you-" That was as far as she got before four beowolves emerged from the forest in front of them and let loose howls of rage.

Before any of the three girls could unsheathe their weapons or literally blink, two of the monsters dropped, the first with a large gash in its throat, the second with a sword-shaped hole in it's skull while Talion stood atop the third, eyes glowing blue instead of red as it wrestled the fourth. The ranger slashed repeatedly at his new attacker and with the beowolf's help, brought it to death with a bite to the throat. Once the last one began to disintegrate, he leapt off the monster and with a clench of his left fist, detonated the head of the beowolf.

The three girls stood in shock at the mysterious man's abilities, wondering he had managed to kill two beowolves in less than a second and somehow control a third into killing another.

"I think it's about time you told us who you really are." Weiss stated with crossed arms.

Talion turned around to face the heiress. "I've already told you who I am." He said with a shrug.

"What's your semblance?" Blake demanded.

"Semblance?" The ranger parroted.

"How did you manage to move so fast?" Ruby asked.

He contemplated telling the girls about his Elven companion, but the ring-smith objected to the idea.

"They need not know who I am, or that I exist. Until such a time as it is necessary, secrecy is key." Celebrimbor declared.

"Much skill." The ranger replied. "Years and years of practice has taught me to kill quickly."

The three girls looked doubtfully at each other, but eventually decided to trust the man as he picked up Yang once more and they continued to make their way back to Beacon.

Professor Ozpin waited at the top of Beacon cliff as the top first-year team made their way to the airship docks where a bullhead manned by Atlas military personnel waited to receive their prisoner. But he noticed something was off. Although the Professor had near-perfect vision, he noticed that there were six shapes instead of five. Confused, he made his way to the docks to greet team RWBY and debrief them.

As he got closer, he noticed that Yang Xiao Long was in the arms of a man who looked remarkably similar to the other man that they were hunting and the Headmaster, not being a fan of strangers to his Academy, approached with a frown.

"Thank you, ladies. We will place him in custody and begin the interrogation tomorrow morning." The Atlesian soldier said, dragging the man onto the aircraft.

"Anytime." Ruby said with a two-fingered salute. She then turned her attention to the strange man and her unconscious sister.

"Do you have a medical tent nearby?" He asked.

"There's the infirmary if that's what you mean." Blake interjected.

Talion nodded. "Just point me in the direction." Weiss then noticed Professor Ozpin approaching and elbowed her partner to alert her to the Headmaster's presence.

"Professor!" The little Reaper greeted him. "What can we do for you?"

Ozpin's face remained frowning. "For starters Miss Rose, can you tell me who this man is?" He said, gesturing with his mug to Talion.

"He's uh…" She started, not sure how to word her next sentence. "A friend… I guess."

"Hmm." Ozpin then dialled the number for the infirmary and ordered two doctors immediately get out to the docks with a stretcher for Yang. They promptly arrived and placed the fiery blonde on the cloth before taking her away.

"I would like to speak to all four of you in my office. Now." Ozpin said with an unusual amount of anger. The three girls all shuddered in fear while Talion, unfamiliar with the man and his mannerisms, merely followed behind him.

Once they were all at the top floor of the clock tower with Ruby, Weiss and Blake seated in chairs in front of the Headmaster's desk while Talion merely stood behind them, Ozpin began to speak.

"You came in bearing one of my students." He said, addressing Talion. "And although it may have looked like you were simply helping from an outsider's point of view, I prefer not to assume and must consider all options."

"You believe I harmed her?" Talion stated rather than asked.

The headmaster nodded as he sat at his desk. "That is one possible option, yes. But I need the rest of team RWBY's opinion on the matter." He turned his gaze to the three girls. "What happened?"

Ruby shrugged. "I…I don't know for sure, Professor. But after we got the actual bad guy, we tried to get to Yang and we found him standing over her when she was knocked out." Ozpin nodded at the news and his expression grew grim. "But after I was about to attack him, he said that Yang hit him first and he defended himself." Ruby quickly interjected.

"Hmm." The Headmaster pondered the little Rose's words. Yang's academic record did show that she had a reputation for striking without question, and considering the fact that the man they were hunting looked similar to the man in front of him, it also could've been a case of mistaken identity.

Talion waited for the silver-haired man to speak again as Celebrimbor showed himself to the ranger. "Remember, secrecy is key. What these mortals do not know will not harm them." The former captain silently agreed and waited for the Professor's response.

"Thank you girls, you may leave us. Go back to your dorm, get some rest and when you are able, visit your teammate in the infirmary." He stated. The girls thanked the Professor and made for the elevator. Once the doors closed, Ozpin smirked at the ranger. "So, are you going to introduce me to your companion?"

Talion shrugged. "I came here myself."

The other man nodded. "That may be a feasible lie to others, but I'm talking about the one shrouded in darkness and blue."

Celebrimbor phased in front of Talion and looked directly at the Professor. "You can see me." He declared.

Ozpin nodded. "I do not know who you are, but I get the feeling that you already know my name." He said to the wraith.

"My name is of no importance to you. All you need to know is that myself and Talion do not wish to harm you nor your students."

"Celebrimbor." Talion addressed the Elven ring smith. "How is he able to see you?"

The wraith sighed. "Just as any who come into contact with the rings of power are able to visualize me, a being of similar power is also able to perceive me."

"The rings of power?" Ozpin echoed. "I sense you two are not from this world."

"No, but I have a plan to get back." Celebrimbor replied.

Ozpin nodded as he poured himself some more coffee. "What do you need?"

"Time and stone." The Elven wraith replied. "And lots of it."