The Vault

A sanctuary for the knowledge of untold years, holding numerous artifacts and treasures of Remnant. It was also home to one of Beacon Academy's greatest secrets, and one of his greatest crimes. Far down into the looming catacombs of the vault, lay a stasis chamber, holding a very important and peculiar person; The Maiden of Fall.

Her she has rested for several months, held frozen in stasis mere moments from passing on into the afterlife by a near impossible saving, hidden from the rest of the world. Her visage is mired by a tinted green glow and the decaying skin upon the left side of her face, giving way to a shattered like appearance, a merciless wound from her attackers. Torch fires lined the great structure of the vault, the emerald like materials reflecting and glowing. It was this glow that casted the three figures standing before the stasis pod and its machine.

The first figure was that of the Heroic Jaunne Arc, his back turned towards the other two as he gazed out, weapons in hand at the huge opening of the Vault, back towards it's entrance. A secondary pod lay next to the first, connected by machine and tubing overhead to the one holding the Maiden. The second figure of the group, setting her weapons aside, entered the standing pod, long red hair following the movements of her head as she continued her short lived conversation with the third member of the group. The stasis pod closed, embracing the second for the gift it was about to bestow. The receiver being none other than Phyrra Nikos.

The third figure leaned over the keyboard resting in-between the two pods, his fingers imputing and calibrating codes and algorithms for the purpose of the machine. The ground above trembled, quaking at the approach of the unknown. The third member quickened his pace and with a sad look in his eyes he looked at Nikos, asking for confirmation to begin the action, a justification to his coming atrocity. She nodded, and with further willing from the final figure vocalized it, her eyes full of determination and sorrow. With a final sequence of keys, the final figure raised his hand, and glanced once more a Nikos.

The third member brought his hand down, bringing the machine into action. The first pod raised up, bring its cargo to view as a orange glow surrounded the Maiden. The third member took a step back, eyes switching between the Maiden and Nikos, sorrow apparent on his face. The Maiden's eyes, despite the stasis, fluttered open slightly, her head trying to move towards the third member as a solid liquid flowed out the back of her stasis pod and up the wall, filtering before it came back down into Nikos's pod. Upon the liquid entering the pod, being pushed into her aura by an intense mental and physical pressure, Nikos let out a continuous cry of agony and despair, the transfer raking her body with pain.

Arc turned around, calling out her name as he looked at the machine and the man beside it, unable to do anything as the third figure looked solely at Nikos now. The final member broke his gaze, looking somewhere far off as if in a trance before uttering three words.

"I'm so sorry." Ozpin said aloud his eyes of inner turmoil and regret.

The process continued for a few seconds, Nikos's cries giving way to silent gasp of agony and constant shifting within the pod. Her pain was ceased however, when a swift moving arrow penetrated the glass of the first pod, and impaled the Maiden's chest. Warning sirens echoed from the machine as the Maiden within glowed brighter, before her form was fully enshrouded in the orange glow. With a sudden burst of force, the orange glow was ripped from the maiden, her form disappearing as it was sucked back to her killer, Cinder Fall. The raw power was absorbed by Cinder, who slowly started to float as the power of the Maiden flowed around her. Jaune stepped forth, raising his arm to strike despite the protest of Ozpin, before he was thrown back by a massive explosion of flame.

Cinder floated above them, a small smile lit upon her face. She looked at the three, not even glancing as the door from the second pod was launched towards her. With a slight movement of her hand it was deflected, her appearance one of absolute care free. Nikos readied her weapons, already charging forth but was stopped by the strong arm of Ozpin reaching in front of her.

"Go, find help, find anyone." His tone was absolute, no argument was to be brokered despite what she felt. Jaune got back up from his position, and sprinted aside the wall, Nikos forming up with him as they hustled past Cinder, who spared them only a look as they travelled by before returning her attention to Ozpin. The two stood and floated, watching each other, until the toll of the far off elevator was heard.

Instantly the two were a fury of aura as Cinder and the Headmaster clashed in a multitude of blows and trades, orange and green slamming against each other in the great expanse of the Vault. The two smashed spell to spell, attack to attack, to where it would seem it was even. The trades were broken by Ozpin, who increased his speed to burst forth at Cinder, landing multiple, simultaneous and somewhat devastating strikes at cinder before punching her directly, slamming her back to where she placed a hand to stop her speed with a glowing gold trail underneath. Instantly she rose, and with it the pure gold rose up condensing into Ice shards before being lanced towards Ozpin. The headmaster in a great burst of speed blocked all of the projectiles but was dismayed to find Cinder had rose several feet in the air, a great glowing orb of fire and aura expanding behind her. Eyes ablaze, the energy condensed before her in a smaller orb, before firing. With great hast Ozpin slammed his cane into the ground beneath him, a glowing green orb surrounding him as a pure beam of flame shot forth, curling around the orb.

He took steps forward, his shield pushing forward against the solid lance of fire. He got half way towards her, before the power was too great, and with a might glow of white, the Headmaster's shield broke, and he was flung backwards at the stasis machine, his body slamming into it. Cinder, in a moment of spite despite having already rendered her opponent unconscious and soon to die, trailed her lance of fire once more, destroying parts of the machine that would once be Ozpin's salvation, into his destruction.

The machine sparked and glowed a bright white, sirens blaring as Cinder turned away and floated towards the elevator, away from Ozpin's crumpled form. She blasted open the doors, revealing the elevator shaft. She floated within, before turning about, to see the gigantic glow of white and bright purple taking shape. A smile formed upon her lips, before she cancelled her aura into her palms, a glow surrounding them as she rocketed up the shaft, leaving Ozpin to his assured destruction.

The blaring was all he could hear, that and he could barely see past the glow despite his closed eyelids. The machine was going to self destruct, he knew, and with it, it would kill him. He had failed, but he had at least bought the others time. time to prepare, to escape. He hoped that the students were safe, that Glidia, Crow, or Ironwood had been able to save them. He, in his final moments, reached out to fate, out to anything, asking for them, pleading for them to be saved from his failings. That his work could be finished, and that he would not die in shame, not die with his mission incomplete, for someone to take up the torch.

Fate answered him.

The machine stopped blaring, but the glow kept strong, seeming to increase if that was even possible. It reached a waxing phase, and then stopped, only to release a shockwave so large one could mistake it for a small earth quake.

The glow spread apart, less centralized as the shaking stopped. Ozpin opened his eyes to find three solid white glows around him, no longer glaring but still rather condensed. The first was to his left, the second on his right, both human sized in height. The third one was in front of him, this one much larger, more in size to an alpha Beowulf.

The glow to his left shaded in first, giving way to the form of a lightly armored man. Bronze spear and round shield in hand, followed by a leather pieced skirt and sandals, to be topped by a full bronze chest piece, abdominal muscles hammered into its design. the top of his head was covered by a bronze helmet, revealing eyes and a strip of the mouth and nose, a bright red plume was atop it, its color held out in the fading light from his glow. Tan skin held firm in form, power radiating in him as he stood, spear in hand, shield in front as a defensive stance was formed.

the glow to Ozpin's right solidified next, revealing a much more armored figure. Whereas the first warrior held shield and spear, this one kept a shield, though of a more triangular pattern, his weapon of choice a war hammer. His form was steel armor and chainmail, full encompassing his body including a boxy helm a eye slits and several holes for breathing. The chest plate was covered in a tabard that reached down to the person's knees, a white cross embedded upon the black cloth. The war hammer was held by the shaft, as if in salute or present to cheer.

Ozpin's and the two new arrivals attention were snatched away by the forming and solidifying of the final glow. It was completely black, akin to the robe of the second member and intimidating tall, around eleven feet at Ozpin's best guess. This new arrival was completely encased by armor that seemed infallible, large armored boots leaving imprints upon the floor as they connected to a belt with large leather strips. The belt was imprinted with an open white hand, surrounded by a cog, large outstanding containers were attached to the belt, larger than a person's hands. From behind the belt rose three cables back dropped by another layer of armor, leading up into the central chest piece that looked immensely thick. Embedded with metal studs and what looked to be a double headed Eagle, the chest piece gave way to a large collar, and the upper part of a helmet, which had glowing blue eye pieces.

The helmet gave way to a large covering, no doubt to keep from attacks from behind, the left corner having what appeared to be sensors or light systems. The covering branched off to two large double plated shoulder pieces, the bottom pieces having similar leather straps hanging down akin to those upon the belt. The arm pieces were proportioned equally to the rest of the body, massive gauntlets covering the arms and glove like hands to where the figures weapons drew the eyes of all three present. In the left hand rest a massive firearm Ozpin realized, with two barrels. The first one looked to have a huge bore, with holes upon the sides of the muzzle to expel flash. The other one was longer than the first which resided next to it. This one had a smaller bore, though not by much, however the muzzle was larger and had more separated ventilations on it, as if it was to focus the firing round. A gigantic ammunition hopper rest upon the under belly of the fire arm, and it was the same figure of those that rested upon the Giant's belt. The secondary was completely different, and much more out-landish.

Where as the Giant's armor was proportioned somewhat equally, the right hand of the thing was a different story. This gauntlet was more like an over sized glove, large and immensely heavy looking. The fingers were bigger than most people's hands, and even then, if the giant so wished, he most likely could kill someone just by punching them with such a massive fist, aura or not. The item beneath the glove attracted Ozpin's attention next. Upon the under belly of the glove rested what appeared to be a chainsaw blade, save for instead of the blade being fully open the top half was partially covered by a guard for the fist, its revving sound filling the room. What brought more surprise to Ozpin's face was that the entire fist, including the chainsaw like under weapon, was glowing an intense blue. He was so shocked to the giants weapons that he did not notice that the fire arm had been leveled at his prone form, and by extension, the other two arrivals.

The three arrivals were at a standoff, their weapons readied and moving in targets as they circled around the lying form of Ozpin. They said nothing as they slowly moved, the only sound being the clanking of armor and the heavy footfalls of the Giant. His body unresponsive an severely damaged, Ozpin could do nothing physically to break up the standoff, but he could mentally do it.

"Stop, whoever you three are, I wish for no one else to die this accursed day." He spoke. The three looked down upon him, as if just noticing him there.

"Where am I? I stood with my kinsmen upon the pass, only to be knocked away by the overwhelming bodies of the Persians. I fell from the cliff, still stabbing at them as I fell only to end up here. Where is my glorious death!?" spoke the first, his confusion and anger present.

"Where am I? I stood with the brotherhood upon the blood soaked sand, our weapons held high as another victory was bestowed upon us by God above! We had driven the heathen Arabs back and were prepared for our next conquest to take back The Holy Land!" yelled the second, his pride and glory evident.

"Where am I?" We battled the Daemons of the unholy god of Fate and I was but a strike away from killing a greater daemon before I was snatched away. My absence will not be off much affect to the battle for my brothers will hold firm against the daemonic tide and destroy it, as is the way of the Xth!" the Giant boomed, its fervor and might echoing among the grand chamber.

"I can tell you were you stand, but for how you arrived here, I do not know." Ozpin spoke, his voice a mere whisper compared to the three warriors.

"Then speak. I have no time to waste." The Giant replied, its voice unwavering.

"You are upon the planet of Remnant, specifically the city of Vale. Above you rest Beacon academy, once the greatest academy among the four kingdoms, and you are within the Vault, before me, its head master." Ozpin said, his voice holding some form of willpower despite his cracked frame.

"Once?" The first asked.

"It lies in ruins above us, due to treachery, deceit, and an enemy long thought dead." He replied.

"Remnant? What of Earth, What of the Holy land?" the second asked.

"I know not of a place called Earth, or a holy land, for we here in the four kingdoms are mainly without faith save in ourselves and life in general, save for some who pray to the maidens, but overall religion is not very large or common." He said, though something felt off.

"I know not of a planet names Remnant, but alas, your lack of faith is disturbing, to think that you are so far from the God Emperor's Holy light is more than concerning. Being that the Throne on Terra does not reach such a place yet is neigh unbelievable, and for it to not be touched by chaos or other Xenos near impossible. Tell me heathen, what is this Schola for, if it is so prestigious to be thought as the best upon the planet." The Giant spoke at him, its tone commanding.

"Beacon academy is home to Huntsmen and Huntresses, who guard and protect the kingdoms of Humanity and Faunus from the ever encroaching Darkness. The Darkness is pure evil, physically manifesting into monsters that we have termed Grim. They are seemingly without number and have been known to feed on all forms of negative emotion, leading them to hunt humanity down for having such feelings. We would be near hopeless if not for the use of Dust, a powerful array of minerals that interact with Hunters Auras, the physical manifestation of what we believe to be our souls. Selective people have them, causing the four academies to be formed through the four kingdoms to train these soon to be hunters in hopes of turning the tide against the Grim in an endless struggle of life and death. Unfortunately, the tide has turned in the Grimm's favor and this time, there may not be a way to stop it." Ozpin spoke, holding the attention of the three warriors, though his whisper soon fell off into a rasp, his body barely being apple to stand anymore action.

"I will tell you more, but only if you can ferry me away from this soon to be infested place, and find me aid." He continued. Hopefully their lust for knowledge would help him live to see another day.

"Fine, for the sake of reason and knowledge I will help you, but realize this, if I believe I am being played a fool or being lead into some form of Daemonic trap, I will not hesitate to kill all of you." The Giant spoke, before stepping forward towards Ozpin. He opened his large palm, the blue glow dissipating and the chainsaw turning off before scooping up the Headmaster like an infant. His green form contrasted to the midnight black of the Giant, before being turned around. "Where is the nearest exit?" The voice boomed.

"Head towards that elevator shaft, then take a left, there is a secret passage that will lead us out of Beacon, and into the mountains." He said before continuing. "from there we shall find away from this fallen place. We will head south, following along the shore heading west until we arrive in Vacuo, one of the other four kingdoms. We must travel quiet and quick, for my enemies, and now, by extension I suppose, yours will be out to kill us all for their evil master. Most of them however, will assume I am dead, so we can use this to our surprise."

"Do not think so far ahead grey hair one, for even if we do leave this place unharmed, if our questions go in-answered for too long, will find someone who will, your allies or not." the first said, before hefting his spear.

"I agree with him, we sign no contract until we have more explanations." the second one confirmed.

"Then I advise that getting me healed would do well for all of you, not just myself." Ozpin spoke, a small smile appearing on his lips. The two nodded, before moving, their foot falls soon to be over shadowed by the lumbering giant, its speed, though seemingly slow, out striding the lesser armored two, creating a marching pace. Though Ozpin did not know the combative abilities of his friends, he felt a reasonable feeling within his gut that said they would be able to handle themselves if they crossed any Grimm or foes along their journey.

Author's Note: Re-written: Hello readers, Eternal War here, I just wanted to say that I am glad I got some coverage within the first 24 hours, and it makes me really happy. I decided to come back and ad a little bit of detail here and there, as well as fix most of the grammatical and spelling errors, as well as eliminate most of the repetitive statements or descriptions. Just so its clear (If you haven't figured it out already) that the new arrivals are a Spartan, a Crusader, and an Iron Hand's Cataphractii Terminator Captain. Also the Terminator may or may not have to do with a certain competitive character from the chapter in Tabletop, who may be nick named PRIME. If you do not find rape amusing and complete cheese unacceptable, do not look up "Chapter Master Smash Fucker" and its final lvl known as "SMASH FUCKER PRIME". Hope you guys like the story, and if you want to see it continue I'll update by next Monday night.