Alex kicked the door open to his old training center.

Having nobody around to tend to the site for roughly 2 or 3 years, and it being winter, the shack had fallen into disrepair, with the roof clearly being weathered by torrential rains and bone-chilling winters, and there were signs of water damage all along the roof of the house.

Thankfully, there was more to the shack than meets the eye.

Enclosed was a basement equipped with all of his old training gear, temperature control, a cross-dimensional comms rig, and several other functions that should be able to supply Alex properly for the time being.

There was another major perk to this place. None of his former friends knew exactly where this hideout was.

Even if they had discovered his location, it was a tremendous effort to reach the hideout, on account of it being on top of a mountain.

And by the time they reached the area, Alex would have spotted them and left with time to spare.

"Well, this place could use a pick-me-up.... Honestly, so could I.." Alex muttered, headed downstairs towards the comms rig.

Walking down the stairs, Alex eventually found the training room, with the comms rig to his right.

Taking a seat, Alex turned on the machine, revealing a familiar AI.

"Welcome back, Alexander. How did your earlier mission go?" Andromeda asked.

"How... long has it been since we left you here..? Do an update of the time and date." Alex sighed.

"The date is... wow.. January 19, 2020.. Did Canis leave too?" Andromeda winced.

"Yep. Also, give me an update of the current news." Alex demanded.

"Sheesh, what's got your panties in a bunch..? Let's see... Oh, no.." Andromeda groaned.

"What?!"

"It seems Equestria and the Dragon Lands have started a war. Fiore, Vacuo, Vale, and the Silver Ocelots have sided with the Dragon Lands, with Atlas, Mistral, The Federation, and the Adenien Ryders on Equestria's side." Andromeda explained.

"Ok, ok, ok... We can use this... We'll be fine.." Alex stammered.

"You plan on playing both sides, don't you?" Andromeda flatly deduced.

"How would I be able to make money if I didn't? I know it's a shitty thing to do, but this isn't the time for moral reservations, here." Alex retorted.

"What about Yang? Or your friends?" Andromeda gasped.

"Fuck 'em." Alex shrugged.

"...What happened?" Andromeda deadpanned.

"I'll explain later... Give me a detailed report on all Equestrian and Draconian operations." Alex demanded.

"How would you know whether I still have access to Equestria's military database? Or even anyone's?" Andromeda wondered

"Andromeda, you've been inactive for 2 years at least, and Royal Guards aren't the sharpest tools in the shed." Alex scoffed.

"A group of 30 dragons are flying in towards Baltimare. Intel suggests that Fiore's working on a Dimensional Gate to Canterlot, and The Silver Ocelots have just appeared in Vanhoover.

My estimates suggest that the Equestrian East Coast won't last an hour. However, Royal Guards and Adenien Ryders are working on defenses in case of a Fiorian attack, and Earth's dispatched a new strike team, and should be attacking the Ocelots within 3 days." Andromeda explained.

"Earth has a new strike team? Who's leading?" Alex wondered.

"Some of your old friends." Andromeda replied, pulling up several files. It didn't take Alex long to discover the culprits.

"Vanoss's team is leading a strike force?" Alex gaped.

"It appears so."

"What about Remnant? I haven't heard you mention any operations of the Kingdoms." Alex wondered.

"It seems Remnant is gridlocked in a civil war, each vying for control over their Dimensional Gateways." Andromeda replied.

"Alright... That's all I need to know... Print the info and patch a secure line to one of my former associates." Alex ordered.

"Sure thing, anyone specific in mind?" Andromeda asked.

"Everyone."

Professor Ozpin stood with the other Maidens, now including Neo and Yang, in his office for a personal meeting.

"Maidens of Remnant, war is upon us once more. Our world, once peaceful, is now embroiled in war again." Ozpin began.

"Yeah, a war that was her own fault." Neo scoffed, glaring at Yang.

"You wanna go, pipsqueak? See what happens!" Yang indignantly shouted back.

"With all due respect, we should be focusing on the main problem at hand." The Spring Maiden, Lilac, figured.

Lilac a young woman with purple hair and green eyes, and was roughly 5 or 6 years older than Yang herself.

"True. Especially considering the All-Maiden just so happened to stumble upon the Relic of Destruction!" The Winter Maiden, named Orchid, added with a cold glare in Yang's direction.

Orchid herself appeared only slightly younger than Lilac, yet much shorter with stark white hair and purple eyes.

"That's what this thing is?!" Yang gaped.

"Yeah. The Relic was found in the rubble of Shade Academy after a Fury Infestation. It was stolen a little while before the whole mess in Los Santos." The Summer Maiden, Aster, explained.

Aster was roughly a year older than Lilac, and had purple hair that turned yellow towards the ends, with golden eyes.

"Ladies. I'll have Miss Rose come in with you. Hopefully, you can reach a decision on our next move." Ozpin stated, exiting the room and leaving the door open for Ruby.

"So, what's the plan..?" Ruby asked.

"For right now, we should try to isolate ourselves as much as possible. In a world of gods and monsters, we must remain isolated if we are to survive." Orchid decided.

"But isn't it our duty to help people?" Lilac wondered.

"I'm with 'Cold Shoulder' here. I say we stay hidden. If we broadcast ourselves to the world like your idiotic Unity team, everything we've worked for will fall apart." Neo declared.

"What do you mean 'we'? Didn't you work with Cinder? You know, the psychopath who nearly had us all killed?!" Aster wondered in horror.

"Not to mention she gave you the Fall Maiden's abilities in the first place?" Ruby added.

"Don't bring my history into this!" Neo glared at Ruby.

"Everyone shut up!!" Yang practically shouted.

The entire room quickly went silent.

"Listen. A very... very close friend of mine recently returned from training.. His mentor talked about a very special training technique I think we could use." Yang explained.

"Was it the room with the gravity or the one with the 'wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff'?" Ruby asked.

"Now is hardly the time for idle discussion. We should be discussing battle tactics, or alliances." Orchid shook her head in dismay.

"May I ask where you're going with this, Yang?" Lilac asked.

"If we're going to put a stop to the war, we need to know what we're fighting against, and we need to be stronger than them." Yang answered.

"We aren't even sure who we're fighting for." Aster retorted.

"I say we try to get the Kingdoms of Remnant to stop fighting each other long before we fight someone else's battles." Lilac decided.

"From what I can tell, both sides are evenly stacked against eachother. The only group with any real disadvantage would be Equestria." Orchid stated.

"Equestria has powerful magic on it's side. Sure, a few cities will be burned to the ground by a swarm of dragons, but they won't conquer the entire nation." Neo pointed out.

"Why should we pick sides? Aren't we supposed to help people?!" Ruby asked in dismay.

"And have everyone try to kill us? Not that idealism isn't good, but this is war." Orchid stated.

"What Ruby might be trying to say is that we should help any villages or small towns under attack." Yang suggested.

"If that's the case, I say we stick around the NAF. They're practically defenseless without a steady income of Remnant and Adenien taxes." Orchid scoffed.

"How about this... We stick with the biggest guns: The Dragons, Fiore, and... Wait, who's Atlas with again?" Lilac wondered.

"I'm sorry, but I'm from Atlas. I won't betray my home." Orchid stated.

"Look, let's try a mix of Ruby's and Lilac's first ideas. We stick with helping the smaller communities where neither side will particularly care. It'll also help us stay secret." Neo decided.

"I have another idea! Our new 'friends' here have some friends on all sides! If they can get them to help us, the people running the operations might turn a blind eye to what we're doing!" Aster added.

"That might be true, but Fairy Tail as a whole is essentially a Dark Guild now.. They might want to work with us, though." Yang figured.

"We'll see. Shall we discuss the plan with Professor Ozpin?" Orchid wondered.

A group of cloaked figures walked single-file inside a large hallway. The group headed into a room with a large, round table with chairs in each one.

Waiting for them was another figure with a more ornate cloak, complete with a golden eye on his hood.

"I hereby call this meeting to order. May the Divine hear our words and be pleased." The Leader declared.

"Praise be to the Divine!" The group chanted.

"Now, It has come to my attention that a major war has struck multiple worlds. A war the likes of which has not been seen in centuries. This was not part of our plan. What is the meaning of this?" The Leader demanded..

"According to some accounts, particularly one 'Katherine Anderson', the war was propagated by one Raven Branwen. Katherine explained that Her plan was to merely start a conflict on Earth and financial crisis in Adenien, however the unwitting action of one 'Alex Walker' caused a simple worldly conflict to escalate to total war." One of the followers explained.

"Alex Walker? As in the Catalyst of Inqusitorius?" The Leader wondered.

"Yes, my leige."

"Intriguing. It's a shame Brother Locust couldn't have had him inducted into The Order. Brother Ignis, The Captain worked with you roughly three years ago, yes?" The Leader asked.

"Indeed. He contacted me yesterday saying he was searching for work. It seems he's severed all ties with Unity."

"Such a shame. Talented warriors like Ms. Rose or Mr. Fong would have been useful. Have you made contact with the new SCP Doctor yet, Brother Juno?"

"Doctor Richtofen? Yes, my liege. He's more than willing to assist us in our mission."

"Very good. Brother Ignis, I need you to work with Brother Juno. The combined strength of the Catalyst and the Brilliance of the Doctor will prove most useful."

"Yes, my liege!" Both members bowed.

"Now, Sister Minerva, I need you to make contact with Princess Twilight. Sister Cerise, I need you to accompany Ignis and Richtofen on our operations. The Catalyst trusts you, anyways."

"Yes, sir." Another hooded figure nodded.

"But sir, Why would the Catalyst want to join us, anyways?" Yet another figure, pulling her hood back to reveal Mako, wondered.

"Because we have an offer he cannot refuse." The Leader replied.

Author's Notes:

Aaaaand, still awful with posting chapters.

Hey, everyone! Destoyer here, and I'm going to talk about some of the stuff I'm planning in this story for the future.

First of all, for the Osiris Arc, I'm going to work with some interesting ideas.

Main thing is: I'll have Blood Red Shadows somewhat go back to it's roots somewhat. Y'know, minor occult/conspiracy theory stuff, themes of friendship vs. working alone, all that fun stuff that got people into the story before it became some anime copy-paste.

(Not that this isn't still gonna be one, mostly because it's fun to work with.)

And who better to kick that occult stuff into high gear than The Illuminati?

Something else I've been thinking about implementing..?

Actually I have no idea, what was I saying..?

oh, right.

SECONDLY:

Scarlet Entry #1 is still in Development Hell for the time being while I think of a place to drop Twilight, Fluttershy, and the others besides... ugh... Undertale.

(Seriously, what the hell was I thinking!)

Unfortunately, though, that means Vanoss' new Strike Force won't be entirely revealed until I think of something.

Basically anything outside of Undertale, Teen Titans GO, and Steven Universe is fair game, so I have a lot of options, that's what's taking me so long.

And third....

Feel free to leave a comment!!

(Man, It's been a while since I've solicited comments... I really have lost touch..)

-The Destoyer