The Bullhead ride so far has been filled by chatter between the Cadian and the Warhawk, both of them laughing heartily as they recounted their earlier days during the common campaigns and their old comrades, whom were currently not present. Team RWBY watched this, all four of them smiling as they saw the encounter going accordingly. Yang chuckled as she saw them bump fists, then said "It's a downright badass family reunion over here, I reckon."

"Fulcrum's gear is so cool!" Ruby exclaimed happily.

Weiss simply regarded the two men silently with Blake, seeing them in the light as Veterans. Soldiers who serve a cause and nothing less than heroes in their own right. Both girls listened intently to their stories about the Third Aurelian Crusade under the Inquisitor Adrastia, as her personal bodyguards with two more boys. Most of the combat sounded horrific, but the boys recalled it in such a hearty manner, with so much laughter, it almost seemed like a Saturday Night Cartoon with Heroes to Blake and to Weiss, like two close friends just recalling simple childhood misadventures, rather than possibly life-ending missions against Daemonic entities and creatures she didn't want to or would even dare fathom.

"... Then you stomped on that Throne-damned Ork Choppa's face. I've never seen so many Orks collectively soil themselves like that! Even their Warlord, Bludflagg lost some weight!" Marcus said with a wide smile, making Fulcrum once more burst into laughter himself. The Cadian nodded, then said "Aye, I recall that. It was the first time I saw something like it happen too."

"Ah, fun times." Marcus sighed, leaning back into his chair. Fulcrum nodded, then turned to team RWBY and asked Marcus "So, fancy any of them?" in a whisper, with a shit-eating grin as he saw Marc jumpstart and snap straight. The Harakoni glared at him, then said "I've only been here for less than a month, Fulcrum. You are really asking me this now?"

The boy's trollish grin widened as he said "Yep."

"... I am going to stop you there, old friend." Marcus sighed, then checked his Hellgun. The Guardsman peeked from beside the door and nodded "Beacon ahoy!" to which Fulcrum stepped out to his side, to gain a better view. He was slightly impressed. The architectural marvel that was Beacon was an interesting sight to behold. Even more so considering the city that extended out after the flowing river and the lake below the cliff.

"Wow. Not a bad-looking Schola." The boy said.

"Oh, trust me, it's good... The Food especially." He smirked, seeing Fulcrum's eyes light up. Marc looked to the team, then said "Your vacation is about to start, is it not?" to which Ruby nodded and said "Yep. After the Bullhead ride home, team RWBY's goin' partying!" with excitement bubbling in her voice. Weiss groaned, Blake shrugged and Yang grinned happily. Marcus nodded, then said "You enjoy it, girls. Breaks are important."

"We should know. We barely had any." Fulcrum smirked.

The final approach and landing were calm. Team RWBY bid their goodbyes to Fulcrum(With Ruby vowing directly to ask Fulcrum more about his gear when they got back to school) and miss Goodwitch led the two boys to the Beacon tower. The combat teacher looked to both boys as they exchanged small-talk in a dialect she didn't, nor would make any effort to currently understand. They were boys. Probably just a year or two above team RWBY in terms of age, yet there they were, reminiscing still about years of combat that she couldn't comprehend, despite being a Beacon veteran.

It almost brought a tear to her eye, to know that these two were veterans as young as this. And from what she got on board the Bullhead, many as young as them don't live beyond two hours in combat. Those who do, like these two boys, were either very lucky fellows, very skilled and trained, or had been in a squad with someone as lucky or skilled. One in ten Guardsmen made it past his or her first time in battle.

They clearly weren't something to frown upon. She could only think of vivid imagery of the demons they must've been fighting.

Marcus looked to Fulcrum, then asked "How is your family doing?"

"You mean Sisters and Mama? Hmm... I sadly don't know..." Fulcrum denoted, looking a bit down.

Marc sighed and said "I'm sure they're fine, Fulcrum. They're your family after all."

Unnamed World. Segmentum Pacificus. Argus sector.

The holler of Lasguns over muddy ground, the wet sound of boots slapping against dirt, the crunch of a Lasgun's butt breaking bones in hard impact. These were sounds common of a Krieg assault. But the Krieg unit fighting was no mere, simple squadron. Clad in longer overcoats and with modified Lucius Lasguns, four women led the assault against a Heretic stronghold, stepping over the corpses of those that attempted and failed to retreat.

The gas masks they wore represented a Death Korps skull, giving off their ranks as Panzer Grenadiers, with the woman ahead being the lead. She was tall, seemingly strong enough to crush a Heretic's skull in with a single bash from the back of her rifle and her chest plate(Which barely fit her actual chest) had the markings of the Watch Corps, the Leading Caste of the Death Korps. A Watchmaster, she carried a power sword and heavy las pistol aside from her usual guns.

"Advance!" She ordered sternly, her voice like that of an angel.

Her daughters responded with a volley of Lasgun fire that had slain many a enemy. The three girls, of similar looks to their mother, advanced with every weapon in their arsenal. One of them hauled a Flamethrower. She used it to sweep the trench ahead clear, burning heretic after heretic with a gout of reddish flames. Beside her, her sister fired las-shot after las-shot, killing any that managed to flee the inferno.

Other Kriegs-truppen joined the girls, firing their weapons. The Watchmaster, Sasha, drew her Power Sword and pistol, then ordered "Follow them to the gates of the Eye of Terror! None of them leaves this planet alive!"

Before she sneezed.

"Are you well, mama?" One of the girls asked.

"I think we have just been mentioned somewhere, Elsa." The woman returned, inhaling. "It matters not. Keep up the advance!"

Back at Beacon.

"Pretty sure they're fine." Marcus reassured, grinning. "I mean, all 4 of them are genuine badasses."

Fulcrum smirked right back and said "I'd bet my skivvies." before he looked to Marcus and said "Old friend, I've honestly missed you. It's been far too long since we've spoken."

"We will get to talk more within my quarters, brother." Marc said, gripping the Cadian's shoulder. The trio now entered the Beacon Tower and walked to the Elevator that led to Ozpin's office. Marcus looked over his Hellgun and shut the power off, detaching the hoses from underneath it, before taking out a cleaning rod and citing a passage from the Rite of Maintenance.

"No Tech-Priests?" Fulcrum asked, to which Marcus shook his head.

Upon finishing the cleaning procedure, the boy reattached both hoses and nozzles, before sliding the weapon into the hold on his backpack, locking it in with a click and answering with a shake of his head. As the elevator dinged, the Lieutenants and the professor stepped out of the elevator. The Headmaster, on his feet and looking out the window, swiveled about and smiled, then said "Ah, welcome." as he walked toward them. He nodded to Marcus and said "I am happy you managed to recover your friend, Lieutenant." before turning to Fulcrum and extending his hand "I am headmaster Ozpin, of Beacon Academy. It is good to finally meet you in person, Lieutenant"

"An honor to meet one of those who train the future generations of protectors." Fulcrum nodded, shaking Ozpin's hand with a firm grip. "Marcus has told me briefly of Remnant and its Huntresses, Huntsmen and struggle against the Daemons of Grimm. You now have two soldiers of the Emperor to help in this Crusade against our common foe, for where Marcus goes, I go."

"I see. This is a brotherhood you only meet among soldiers who have fought on the same front, against the same foes." Ozpin observed "And from what mister Maelon told us, you two and another two have seen plenty of battles in the same unit."

Fulcrum grinned "Yes. Under service of the Inquisition, we were some of its best Scions. The Inquisitor we served under can tell you as much."

"That's good." Ozpin said "I can have Lieutenant Maelon brief you about the situation on Remnant more. Since you decided to stay in Beacon, I'd say that should help, correct?" giving a smile. Fulcrum nodded, then saluted... And blinked as a flash blinded him for a moment. He blinked away the white, his blurry vision returning to normal... He shook his head, then looked to Glynda.

"We have to have pictures for the School database, since you'll be staying here as students." Glynda explained.

"I see." Fulcrum smiled at her. He winked "Thank you for telling me."

Marcus paused for a moment, swearing he saw miss Goodwitch blush. Ozpin chuckled, then nodded to the boys "You're free to go, boys. Enjoy your stay at Beacon. All its facilities are free for you to use and you may go to the Library to catch up on past and current events, as well as for some light reading. There are also a Shooting Range, Forge and Training Grounds near by the Tower. That and a Gym close to the dorms."

"Thanks, Headmaster." Marcus said, nodding as he and Fulcrum walked out of the room. As the two marched toward the Dorms, Fulcrum paused for a second, looking over his comrade. Marcus raised a brow, but took to ignoring it as they calmly walked through one of the recreational locations of Beacon, the Park. The Infantrymen of the Guard regarded the greenery around with a slight sense of awe. Sure, the Aurelian crusades showed them plenty of biomes to be remembered, but sights such as undisturbed, undamaged parks like the one in Beacon, with the architecture of similar Gothic design as their own cities, brought memories of home for both.

"Through the Darkness, vengeance incarnate shall light the way..." Marcus once again quoted the song written for the Cadians. "When we heard of Cadia's fall and the 8th's heroic last stand, I, like many of the others, thought you died with the planet, mate." He then grinned "Glad to see my doubts are always wrong about you. Those few that I have."

"Hey, what do you take me for, man?" Fulcrum quipped. "We're footsloggers, but we're the best of the best." He then punched Marcus playfully in the shoulder. The Harakoni shrugged, then nodded with a grin as they finally entered the Dorms building and took the elevator up to Marc's room. As they entered, the Drop Trooper looked to his friend and showed him to a bed on the far right of the room then said "Put your bags and gear where you see fit. The bathroom is behind that door there if you need it. We also have other amenities that were usually seen as private to Officers... Like a shower with running water" Marcus then grinned.

The Cadian Kasrkin nodded, then said "Tha... You said a shower." He turned to his friend, eyes wide.

"Yep. With running water. And good pressure." The Drop Trooper nodded, removing his carapace armor piece by piece. The trooper paused as he saw Fulcrum dash off. His bags were on the floor next to his bunk and on a nightstand, as well as his armor already off. The trooper chuckled as he heard running water from the shower and shook his head. As expected, Fulcrum must've been doing battle for a hell of a long while now, so showers weren't in the planning phase.

"Also, Fulcrum!" Marcus yelled, leaving himself in nothing but the undersuit of the Carapace "We've got a lot of good food at the Cafeteria. Sure as hell beats standard rations, so I can take you to grab a bite! I've had lunch for today, so it'll be only you eating! That, or we've got a kitchen here!" before he heard Fulcrum's silent celebrations in the shower. The soldier sighed, grinning, then set his gear down by his bunk and sat down, taking out his Scroll... Huh, he'd gotten a message.

"'Sup, Chief! It's me, Jeanne. When you got a moment, we need to talk about my brother. Answer when you can."

The soldier rubbed the back of his neck, then typed back "For the moment, I have to give the tour of Beacon to my friend, the one we helped with the Civilians. We'll set up a meeting time and point after. A good day." before sending the message and standing up. He pocketed the smart device and took the holster of his laspistol, alongside the weapon, with him and tied it around his waist. He had an uneasy feeling about Beacon's future. It was uncertain, to say the least... But if they could keep it safe, the alliances and friendships they'd forge here would help them with their crusades against the Grimm.

AN:HOLY SHIT was it a long time since Updated this...

Sorry for the wait folks, but... You can kinda guess what's happenin'.

Well, long story short, the 6th Volume of RWBY dropped, so I thought why not push through and continue some of me old stories... Aside from School being a factor that's keeping me away from writing for days on end. Anyways, I'll see y'all later... I also have an idea for who to pair Marcus up... It's a long story, really.

Laters!