Greetings everyone! I have returned with a new chapter that I hope is satisfactory. The coronavirus quaratine has given me quite a bit of free time recently, which is why I have been able to complete this as quickly as I did.

As always, I own nothing except my Ocs and don't forget to review.

The3rdOverlord: I will certainly do my best.

GoofBall14: I'll admit, the original idea was to have Ahriman brought into her court, but it evolved into this. Also I am glad you like this. I aim to please.

A red sun shone across the barren landscape known as the Grimmlands. Jagged formations of black rock dotted the landscape as far as the eye could see. Creatures of Grimm from simple Beowolves to massive Nevermores roamed across the land. And the only discernible landmark was a large castle made of the same black stone. It was pock-marked with symmetrical window of colored glass and surrounded by pools of black liquid from which numerous Grimm formed.

The interior of the castle was carved into an elegant form that seemed to expand throughout and was decorated with finely crafted furniture of stone. The stained glass windows also depicted various scenes of glory from what could only be assumed to be Remnant's ancient times.

But Ahzek Ahriman cared little for such things as he had more pressing matter to attend to. The sorcerer stormed through the castle halls, intent on finding the Mistress of the Grimm after not finding her on the observation balcony where she normally was. In moments, he came across a set of large doors that led to the grand hall used for strategic meetings, where he could feel Salem's presence and that of her pathetic underlings.

So with a hard shove, he made his way through the doors, giving off a loud boom which startled most of the room's occupants. All except for Salem, to whom he raised his staff at and spoke. "We need to talk...alone."

Understanding the emphasis in his voice, Salem quickly dismissed the others. "Leave us."

With that, the handful of mortals that inhabited the castle rose from their seats and departed through the doors behind Ahriman.

The scorpion Faunus known as Tyrian Callows attempted to demand to know what he sought with the goddess, but a scathing glare quickly silenced the sycophantic fool. The scientist Arthur Watts and the berserker Hazel Reinart were smarter in this regard as they merely acknowledged the sorcerer and then went about their way.

When the two immortals were truly alone in the grand hall, Salem gently rose from her seat at the far end of the long table and made her way to a nearby window, gazing out of it as she spoke. 'To what do I owe the pleasure, Ahzek?"

"There has been a unexpected development in Vale. You are aware of the lone loyalist Marine that arrived on this world in recent months, yes?"

"But of course. We both witnessed his arrival through the seer. Why, have more of his kin arrived on Remnant?"

"if that was true, it would not be worth coming here."

Salem then turned to face Ahriman before giving a reply. "Then I fail to see what the issue is. A single man, be it mortal or Astartes, is of no consequence. He poses no threat to your operations, so why worry?"

"Because this Loyalist Marine has silver eyes."

Salem, having begun to walk away from him as he spoke, suddenly halted in her tracks, a look of shock etched on her face as she voiced her disbelief. "That's not possible."

A scoff escaped the lips of the sorcerer at this. "On the contrary, it seems one managed to slip through your fingers after all these years."

Though he would never admit it out loud, a pang of guild hit him as he said that. The legionnaires of the second legion were great warriors in their own right, and were close friends during the Great Crusade. He secretly hoped this new development meant a chance at redemption. But his reminiscing was short-lived as Salem gave off a dark chuckle. "One legionnaire lives. That does not make any difference. He will not be a threat to the plan."

Ahzek Ahriman closed the distance between himself and Salem, raising a single finger to emphasize his next point. "We cannot take any chances, Salem. A single grain of sand can tip the scale. That one Astartes may yet be the difference between our victory and defeat."

An arrogant smirk adorned Salem's face as she turned away from him. "Then kill him. With his death, the balance will quickly swing in our favor."

The sorcerer stiffened at this statement, which sounded suspiciously like an order. And though her choice of words suggested that she understood their agreement, her tone suggested otherwise. So with his tone getting increasingly tense, he began to speak once more. "I have deigned to work with you..."

Realizing her mistake too late, Salem could barely react before her head was enclosed in the sorcerer's gauntlet and slammed against the far wall, the impact forming cracks in the stone. "...so that I may finally accomplish my goals. But know this, Mistress of the Grimm, I will never work for you!"

With that, he slammed her head into the wall once more before letting her fall into an undignified heap. "And you would be wise, to remember the difference."

Having then realized that Salem would be useless on this matter, Ahzek Ahriman moved to depart, summoning a warp portal that would take him back to his operations in Vale.

XXXXX

The sky showed a clear blue above the Atlesian Tundra. The icy landscape remained devoid of life for miles around, aside from the human and Faunus armies that now clashed upon it and around a massive lone complex.

The White Fang had been discovered within the militaristic kingdom and were now fighting tooth and nail against the the Atlesian army now assailing them. A trio of Fang-controlled Paladins charged at a phalanx of Atlesian tanks, their weapons blazing as the return fire crashed into their armor, bringing down one. As the two survivors crashed into the tanks, their cannons tearing into the formation, similar engagements occurred all across the battlefield. White Fang grunts ran all along the killing ground. Riflemen exchanged volley after volley of Dust rounds with Atlesian soldiers and Knight Androids who suffered exponentially higher casualties than their Faunus counterparts. Those that wielded heavy weapons such as RPGs and anti-tank rifles targeted the armored units, destroying tank and Paladin alike in bright fiery balls of destruction.

Meanwhile, within the Fang complex, the high command of the cell huddled around the security monitors that gave them an excellent view of the battlefield. One of them, a female king cobra Faunus, chose to comment. "Fortune favors us today brothers. The Atlesian commander is little more than an incompetent fool."

Two of her comrades, a deer and polar bear Faunus, agreed while the leader of the operation, a dark-skinned, aged and battle-hardened arctic wolf Faunus was not amused by this. "What's the status on the evacuation?"

The deer Faunus was quick to answer his commander's inquiry as he checked his comms. "Just in...all supplies and non-combat personnel have been loaded onto the bullheads."

"Very well then, sound a general retreat, we're pulling out."

The others were not happy to hear that they were fleeing in the face of a defeated enemy, and the polar bear Faunus took the opportunity to voice their grievances. "With all due respect sir, we are pushing the humans back. Why don't we just wait until we defeat them and then evacuate without issue."

"I won't take any chances here. How long until we lose the advantage? How long will we run out of ammo, or if the humans stop acting like idiots? No, we are leaving this place while we still have the opportunity to do so."

As if to prove his point, the four of them noticed on the monitors around a dozen purple figures in the distance that were quickly getting larger. When the four Faunus were able to make out the shape as giant humanoid robots wielding lances and billowing purple cloaks, giving them the image of knights, the leader exclaimed in shock. "Gloushters?! They're supposed to be on the other side of the continent!"

The White fang forces outside were just as shocked as they found themselves under attack from a highly mobile and superior threat in the form of the Knightmare Frames. As six of them broke off and began cutting through the White Fang's Paladins, two of the pilots, a human and a squirrel Faunus, bore cocky grins as they spoke. "Cheap imitation Knightmares?"

"They would've been wise to surrender from the start!"

As those two skewered Fang Paladins on their lances, six others pressed the attack on the complex's main power generator and bullhead hangar, trashing the transports before overloading the reactors. This cause them to blow and trigger a chain reaction throughout the complex.

Meanwhile, back in the monitor room, the explosions knocked out the screens one by one until only one was left. The main view-screen now gave the Faunus a view of the hangar which was now up in flames. The leader was realized when he saw the non-combatants safely escaping the flames, but suddenly hesitated when he noticed the lone Gloushter in sight. On its cape was a golden symbol he grew all too familiar with.

The symbol of the Arc Clan.

This put a grim smile on his face as he only knew one person that carried that symbol. "Cornelia, I should've known you'd be the one to defeat me."

As if the complex agreed with him, the chain explosion reached the room the four of them, killing them all as the lone Knightmare Frame just stood there uncaring of the events transpiring behind it. It's pilot, who was none other than the eldest daughter of the Arc Clan, Cornelia Arc, bore a triumphant grin on her face as she spoke. "Another victory. The Atlesian White Fang have finally been defeated."

Her satisfaction was short-lived as her communicator beeped with the caller ID being the last person she wanted to speak to. But she answered the call regardless, and revealed the livid face of the commander of the botched assault, one Caroline Cordovin. "You bitch, I had this perfectly under control!"

"On the contrary, your forces were being slaughtered in a pointless frontal assault that quickly fell apart when you could've just blown it to hell with aerial and firepower superiority. What were you trying to accomplish Cordovin?"

"I merely wished to showcase the military might of Atlas."

"So you admit to wasting valuable men and assets in a pointless display of bravado. Hundreds of good men and women died because of your incompetence. If we didn't get here when we did, disaster would've struck."

Cordovin seethed in rage. "WHY YOU! IF YOU WERE UNDER MY COMMAND, I'D HAVE YOU SHOT FOR INSUBORDINATION!"

Cornelia rolled her eyes in annoyance. "If I were under your command, I'd have you shot for incompetence. But I am not, so farewell."

With that, she hung up on the Atlesian commander, cutting off the feed until it came alive with another call, although this time the ID prompted the woman to answer it with slight anticipation. "Didn't expect you to call sir. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

On the feed was the personage of her long-time employer and friend, Gabriel Schnee. "There have been some new developments in Vale. But before I give you the details, what's the situation on your end?"

"I am pleased to report that the Atlas White Fang have been defeated. The remnants are being rounded up as we speak. I would've let the army handle it, but Cordovin is leading them."

"That would certainly explain it. But regardless, I'm going to have to cut your victory celebration short. The Valean Fang have managed to get their hands on Glasgows. They used them in an attack on the city."

This revelation caused the purple-haired Arc woman to tense up as she exclaimed in shock. "What?! How the hell did they accomplish that?!"

"Your guess is as good as mine, but this is why I need you and your men down here in Vale ASAP."

Cornelia visibly relaxed at this before adopting a grim demeanor. "I understand sir, we'll leave immediately."

With that, she cut the feed once more, silently swearing vengeance upon the Valean Fang. Her little brother was at ground zero, and no one endangers her family and gets away with it.

XXXXX

An uncomfortable silence hung over Team RWBY's dorm room as the members of Teams RWBY, JNPR, and ASSD stared at the white clad member of ASGD, who returned their looks with an awkward grin. "I suppose you all have questions for me, so what are you waiting for? Ask away."

Blake was the first to take advantage of this opportunity, holding Daniel's hand for both his assurance and her own. "So let me get this straight, you are the one who designed those things?"

"Yep. The Knightmare Frames are some of the best units ever fielded by the Knights of Britannia PMC. A company I founded when I was fourteen."

The last sentence floored everyone in the room, their collective shock voice by Ruby who dangled by her legs from her top bunk. "Wow, you designed these things when you were fourteen? That blows my designing Crescent Rose feat out of the water."

This prompted Gabriel to chuckle in amusement as he responded. "Back in those days, I was merely designing the basics. Rifles, RPGS, grenades, stuff that the Atlas Military has been buying like there's no tomorrow. Its part of the reason we've been able to expand like we did. The first official deployment of the Knightmare Frames wasn't until a year ago at the reclamation of Ginza."

At that, Jaune, who sat with his teammates on the bottom-right bunk, decided to chime in. "That's right, it's around the same time my sister started working for you, though she never did mention you. And that gets me wondering, if you already have all that going for you, why bother becoming a Huntsman?"

With that, Gabriel went over to Weiss, who sat next to Blake and Daniel on the bottom-left bunk, and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I made a promise to look out for my baby sister."

Weiss glared at him. "Okay, first, I don't need to be coddled, thank you very much. And second, you are only sixty second older than me."

"Awww, but you're still my baby sister."

He moved to hug Weiss, but was met by a shove that failed to deter him. Their antics brought a smile to almost everyone's face, especially Ruby and Yang, who could relate. Only Daniel remained grim as he spoke. "And now the White Fang have possession of your creations."

This convinced the male Schnee to turn towards him. "A surprising and regrettable outcome. But one that I planned in designing the latest models. But that reminds me, I noticed at the docks that you seemed to have a personal grudge against them. If you don't mind me asking, why is that/'

All eyes now turned towards the wolf Faunus, who gave a tired sigh. "It all started a couple of years ago, when the White Fang first became extremists. Members that openly supported Faunus supremacy snatched me from my home in Menagerie and dragged me to a facility in some remote corner of Vale."

Blake was the one to hesitantly ask the next question. "What did they do to you there?"

"They, along with a psychotic doctor by the name of 'Grey,' sought to turn me into a living weapon through torturous surgery and failed indoctrination. The days blurred together as I was constantly cut open and sewn back together."

To prove his point, he lifted up his shirt to reveal that part of his torso had been replaced with cybernetics. The sight and story horrified them as Alex spoke up. "How did you managed to escape?"

"The Doctor made a fatal mistake and left one of my restraints loose. After turning her head into paste, I freed myself and fought my way out, leaving no survivors in my wake."

He clenched his fist at the surge of memories, but visibly relaxed as Bake gave a reassuring squeeze of his other hand. Alex, on the other hand, suddenly lit up with recognition. "So you're the one who caused all that carnage."

Having caught everyone's attention now, he went ahead and explained. "Back when I was still part of the Atlas Spec Ops, my squad was sent to a lab in Northern Vale where the renegade Doctor Elizabeth Grey was said to be and arrest her. But when we got there, we found a bunch of dead bodies and the doc's headless corpse in a lab straight from a horror flick. Now I know who's responsible for doing Remnant a favor."

It was at this moment that Nora zoomed to the door. "That's enough with the depressing stuff. Let's get some breakfast, I hear they're serving pancakes!"

That was a sentiment no one could agree with fast enough.

And done! I hope it was to your satisfaction. In regards to my OC's, I will work on developing RWBY-esque trailers to build on their backstory.

Leave a review and let me know what you think.