s"Welcome back to the doubles section of the Vytal Festival Tournament!" Port's voice blared. "We have had some incredible matches thus far, but this next match is going to be quite interesting! The last match of the doubles section will be Team RLMR of Ylisse, and Team EBLM of Haven!"

"Team RLMR certainly did quite well in the quad section of the tournament, and I expect nothing less here!" Oobleck said.

"Hey!" Ben said from across the stadium. "Let's have a good fight, all right?"

"We won't do anything bad." Lucina said. "But, we won't go easy on you either."

"Good." Emma said. "Because we aren't either."

"That's what I like to hear." Robin said, smiling.

The stadium rose up into four parts: Arches, Cave, Lightning Storm, and Tornado Alley.

"Hmm." Cinder said. "This'll be interesting."

Shulk was looking across at Cinder, Emerald and Mercury. Cloud leaned over. "What's wrong?"

"Those three over there." Shulk said. "They're the ones. The ones who are going to cause the most trouble in a few days. They're the enemies we're looking for."

"So what are we waiting for?" Cloud said. "As soon as we have the chance, we take them out, right?"

"No, we can't." Shulk said. "We can't just arrest them without a reason. They're smart. They have a plan. And besides, even if we do, and we actually arrest them, there will be so much negativity towards us. And negativity brings the beasts."

"Grimm."

"Precisely. We just need to wait this out."

"Why didn't you tell us before?"

"Why not? I know more than you. This was the time to tell you. Later, the rest of the crew."

Cloud sighed. "Sometimes, I really hate you." Shulk merely smiled.

"3... 2... 1... Begin!" Oobleck counted down.

Robin ran forward, and turned into a lightning bolt, warping behind Ben and swiping at his back. Ben brought the two blades attached to his elbows behind him and blocked the attack, and turned around with a counter. Robin brought up a sword in one hand, lightning in the other, and started to duel with Ben.

Emma ran forward towards Lucina, who waited. Right when Emma was about to attack with her stun stick, Lucina brought up a sword, and blocked it. She used wind magic to push Emma, and chased after her.

"Go Mom and Dad!" Morgan yelled.

"Come on!" Reflet yelled.

"So those are your parents?" Ruby asked. "They look...young."

"Well, they're...kind of my parents." Morgan said, thinking.

"Our genealogy is not easily explained." Reflet said. "Best to not say anything."

Emma kicked Lucina in the side, but she pushed herself up with wind magic, and pulled Emma towards her, slicing with her sword. Emma brought up her stick and blocked the swipe, and delivered a punch to Lucina's face. "Oh!" Port yelled. "That will leave a mark!"

Ben was spinning the blades on his arm, creating a shield that had little room to penetrate. He was pushing Robin back, away from Lucina. No matter how hard Robin tried, he couldn't break Ben's defense.

Robin was pushed into the lightning storm by Ben, and ran into the heart of the storm. Likewise, Lucina ran into the Tornado Alley.

"They've run into the two most dangerous areas in the arena!" Oobleck exclaimed. "What is their plan?"

"Come out!" Ben yelled.

The storms started to stir. Soon, they spread throughout the arena. Ben and Emma were trapped.

"What is this?!" Emma exclaimed.

A tornado picked up Ben and Emma, carrying them into the air. Lightning struck them as they were carried up, lowering their aura. Soon, they were up to Robin and Lucina. Using the wind, they hit the two with their weapons, one by one. Then, in the air, hit them straight down, destroying the storms.

"Unbelievable!" Port said. "What an incredible display of using the elements to your advantage!"

"Yes indeed!" Oobleck said. "Team EBLM is out! Team RLMR will advance!"

"Yeah!" Morgan yelled. "Let's go!"

Robin reached down and put his hand out to Ben, who took it. Robin pulled him up. "Good job." He said.

"Wow." Ben said. "Looks like we have much to learn."

"Well, we've been doing this for years." Robin said. "I led a whole army once. Against another army on the back of a dragon."

"When pigs fly!" Ben said.

"This concludes the doubles section of the tournament." Port said. "There will be a day of rest before the finals! All remaining combatants, prepare accordingly."

"The end is near." Shulk said. "We all need to plan accordingly."

"Why are you here?" Ozpin asked. "Everything is going well."

"No, everything is not going well." Shulk said. "Pyrrha can't handle this stress!"

"Why not?" Ironwood asked. "What makes her incapable of becoming the Fall Maiden?"

"Pyrrha Nikos is not the Fall Maiden." Shulk said. "If you put her in that abomination of a machine, she will die, along with the Fall Maiden, leaving no one to inherit her power."

"Well what do you propose we do?" Qrow said. "We don't have very many options. In fact," Qrow said, walking over to the lone Shulk. "I think you know who our enemies are."

"I can't deny that." Shulk said.

"So why aren't you telling us?!" Qrow yelled. "How do we know you're not one of them?!"

"Because if I were, I wouldn't be here having this conversation!" Shulk yelled back. "Pyrrha Nikos is a strong one. If I was with the enemy, I would take any chance to have her die. And I'm not telling you because if I tell you now, we will go down a path of darkness. I see the entire flow of time, but I try my best not to mess with it. As of now, we are going down a path that ensures eternal peace. However, it is the only path. I am doing my best to keep us on that path."

"You have a compelling argument." Ozpin said. "But, you still don't have a solution to our predicament."

"Soon, everything will go wrong." Shulk said. "When it does, all the maidens need to be here, in Vacuole. Many people will die, but sacrifice must be made to ensure peace. If blood must be spilled for the future of our children, then I will happily do so."

"So you want us to get Winter and Raven here in a few days?" Ironwood said. "That will not be easy. And we don't even know where the Summer Maiden is currently..."

"I do." Shulk said. "Just get Winter and Raven here. The rest will fall into place."

"And what happens when it doesn't?" Qrow asked.

"It will." Shulk said, huffing. "As long as I'm willing to make the sacrifice."

"Shulk, wai-" Ozpin said, but was cut off by the door closing shut behind Shulk. Ozpin sat down, and took a sip of his coffee. "James, call Winter." Ozpin said.

Ironwood pulled out his phone, and called Winter. He put it away. "She will arrive in a few days."

"Good. Qrow, I'm counting on you to get a hold of your sister."

"You're going to take his word?!" Qrow exclaimed. "What if he's lying?!"

"He hasn't been wrong before." Ozpin said. "I have full trust in him. We will just have to wait."

"Welcome to the 1 on 1 Finals!" Port's voice blared. "Why don't you explain the rules, Oobleck?"

"Hey." Mercury leaned over to Shulk on the stadium floor. "I mean, I see you're very powerful, but if we're matched up together, don't think I'm going to go easy on you."

"Wouldn't have it another way." Shulk said.

Mercury leaned over to Shulk's ear. "Better not use your seer powers against us, huh?" Mercury smirked. Shulk's expression didn't change.

"Yang Xiao Long and Mercury Black!" Port yelled. "All other combatants, please leave the stage."

Shulk left, with Cloud next to him. "He knows." Cloud whispered. "That Mercury kid knows. Why aren't you doing anything?!"

"The time's not right." Shulk said.

"Stop lying. If he knows, then the rest of them know. They will kill you. Why aren't you reacting?"

Shulk didn't respond.

"What's going on?" Pyrrha asked.

"Nothing." Shulk lied. He leaned over to Pyrrha. "Whatever you do, don't take the burden you are given."

Pyrrha's eyes widened. "How-"

Shulk cut her off. "You are not to be Fall. If you do, you'll die. Now, let's enjoy the match."

Turns out, the match took a turn for the worse.

"But I didn't do it!" Yang yelled.

"I know you didn't." Shulk said. "But so many people believe you did. For now, you're stuck on the Skywind."

"But it isn't-"

"I know it isn't fair!" Shulk yelled. He took a deep breath, calming himself. "I know for a fact someone framed you! But there's nothing you can do about it now. Best to just wait."

"So why didn't you do anything about it?!" Yang yelled. Her eyes grew red. "You say you can see everything, but you did nothing?! Why?!"

"Because sometimes tragedy needs to strike in order for happiness."

Yang yelled in anger and, not thinking, swung a fist at Shulk. Shulk's hand went up quickly and caught her fist in his hand, much to her surprise. "Yang Xiao Long..." Shulk said. "The reason they played this illusion on you and not your sister, or anyone else was because you are hot headed. Even Weiss said this. You need to learn to control your anger."

"First Qrow and now you." Yang said, bringing her fist down. "You may be my captain now, but I'm sure not happy about this."

"I know you're not. None of us are. But trust me. You will get your chance to fight again. When you do, you'd best be ready to control yourself." With that, Shulk walked out of the room.

Yang crashed on the bed. Zwei barked and jumped on her lap. She started petting him absentmindedly.

Somebody knocked on the door. "Come in." Yang said. Tifa opened the door and walked in.

"Hey." Tifa said. "How are you?"

"Horrible." Yang said.

"Well, I made you a drink." Tifa said. "Tea, right?"

"Yeah, thanks."

Tifa poured the tea into a cup, and put some sugar in it. "It's hot. Figured you'd like it. Goes with your whole style."

Yang grabbed the cup and took a sip. "Everyone else has left for the next match, except me, Cid, and you." Tifa said. "Weiss, Blake, Melia and Reflet have gone to the city to get some food."

"Why did Cid stay?" Yang asked.

"Oh, he wanted to fix some things going on with the ship. 'I'm makin' adjustments that will make this thing unstoppable!' were his words."

"So why did you stay?" Yang asked.

"Because I wanted to." Tifa said. "I'm a few years older than you, yet you seem so much more stronger than I am. I'd like to fight you."

"Fight me?" Yang asked.

"Yes." Tifa said. "Think of it as a training exercise to get your head off of your mistake."

"Thank you." Yang said. "I needed to let off some steam."

"Even the hottest engines need to cool off." Tifa said, smiling.

Yang rolled her eyes. "Let's go."

"I've talked with Cid." Tifa said as they walked. "If you want, he can make the walls play feed of the battle going on. Would you like it?"

"I would love that, actually." Yang said.

"Great." Tifa said. "By the way, I'm glad you're joining us on our journey. It feels great to have someone who acts a lot like me."

"Well, I hope that we'll become greater friends in time."

"And I you."

"Where's Ruby?" Lucina asked Shulk. "I don't see her."

Everyone was off the stadium except for Pyrrha and Penny, the next two combatants. Shulk put a bag around his back, and started putting Materia into his arms, as many as he could. Shulk closed his eyes. "Lucina." Shulk said. "Look for Emerald in the crowd. Once you spot her, stop her at all costs."

"O...OK... Why?"

"Just trust me. Cloud, things will go wrong after this battle. I need you to be prepared."

"Shulk, what are you..." Cloud said.

"I need to do something on my own. Nobody follow me. And I mean that." Shulk finished putting Materia into his body.

"Shulk-" Lucina said, but he was gone, pulling out the Monado and running out with the Speed aura surrounding him.

"Showtime." Mercury said. Ruby, without her scythe, tried using her Semblance to get past Mercury to the battle, but Mercury was ready. He brought his foot up to Ruby, and caught her in midair, kicking her to the ground. Ruby pulled out her scroll, but Mercury fired a bullet from his boot, destroying it. "Let's just keep this between us 'friends'." Mercury said, smiling.

He dashed in, ready to bring his foot down on Ruby. Ruby shut her eyes tight, but the hit never came. She looked up, and saw Shulk grunting, holding up his Monado to Mercury's leg. "Run Ruby!" Shulk yelled. "Get as far away from here as you can!"

"But-" Ruby said.

"Just go!" Shulk yelled. He pushed Mercury to the side, and put the Buster aura around himself. Ruby regretfully turned and ran to the door.

Mercury smiled. "About time you showed up." He said. "Been wondering if you'd ever had the guts to fight me. I bet you knew my leg wasn't actually broken, huh?"

"I know a lot of things." Shulk said.

"So why didn't you stop it? All this pain, this suffering. You could've stopped it all! Now it's too late."

Shulk ran forward, and Mercury smirked. Mercury kicked up, but Shulk dodged, and blasted fire into Mercury's side. Mercury yelled in pain, and ran forward again. Shulk swung low, hitting his unguarded legs, tripping him, and grabbed his other leg on the way down, and threw him towards the wall.

Mercury grimaced. He tapped an earpiece he had on. "Emerald." Mercury said. "Whenever you're done, I could use some help. I'm fighting the seer. Get here as soon as possible!"

Shulk put on the Speed aura, and put away the Monado, running in, delivering a flurry of punches taught to him by Tifa. Mercury kept throwing out moves, but Shulk always saw them, dodging every time. Eventually, Mercury severely messed up, and Shulk put on the Smash aura, and hit Mercury through the floor, onto the docking bay. Apparently they were down there a while, because crowds were running to the evac ships.

Mercury sat up. "Emerald?" Mercury said. Emerald came out of the crowd, pulling out her dual guns. "Ready?"

Shulk got into position, pulling out the Monado again. Emerald and Mercury's backs were to the edge, where the city sat miles below. There were fires going off, and screams sounding all over the place.

"Two won't make a difference." Shulk said.

"We know." Emerald said. "That's why we brought back up." With that, Emerald and Mercury jumped off the edge. Shulk ran towards the edge, right when a giant ship came up, with Emerald and Mercury on top of it, joined by two more people.

"Greetings, Seer." The man with red hair and Grimm mask said. "I believe we haven't met..."

"Adam Taurus." Shulk said. "Neopolitan, Emerald Sustrai, and Mercury Black."

"That is correct." A new voice said, and Cinder Fall walked out from behind the four of them. "We've been studying you a lot, Seer. But, I believe we should get a bit...closer." Cinder's eyes glowed, and four patterns appeared underneath Shulk. Shulk quickly put on the Jump aura and jumped onto the ship as the symbols exploded where he was standing.

"Roman!" Adam said. The ship took off, not giving Shulk a chance to jump off. It flew away from the stadium.

"Shulk!" Shulk heard Fiora yell from the stadium. She had her armor on, and had a look of despair on her face.

"Aww..." A new voice said. A hatch behind Cinder and everyone opened up, and Roman Torchwick came crawling out. "Got a crush?"

"A wife." Shulk said. He pulled out the Monado. "And I am not going to let you take her from me!"

"We won't." Cinder said, smiling. A roar came crashing from outside the city. "But that will."

"Penny!" Ruby yelled, running to the tattered remains of her robot friend. Pyrrha sat there in shock. A Nevermore was on top of the shield, trying to break in. After the strange message from that voice, the Grimm started attacking full force.

"Barret!" Cloud yelled to Barret, who was jumping down onto the stadium. "Throw me!"

"Got it!" Barret yelled. He offered his hand, and boosted Cloud into the sky. Lucina jumped up, propelling herself with wind magic, and grabbed Cloud's free hand, throwing him up even further, and shooting a tornado to blow Cloud even faster up.

The Nevermore was flying straight down to the shield, and Cloud up. As soon as the Nevermore broke the shield, Cloud yelled, and sliced the ginormous bird in two. He came crashing down, with tons of lockers filled with the student's weapons crashing next to him.

"We don't have much time." Cloud said. "I've contacted Cid. He's bringing the Skywind around to pick us all up."

Roars came from above, and bird like creatures with legs sat on top of the stadium. "Griffons." Sun said. "We'd better hurry."

Everyone picked up their weapons, ready to fight the Grimm. Ruby called down her locker, with Crimson Rose sitting in it. As soon as Ruby ran to grab it, a Griffon landed on top of it.

"Ruby!" Sharla yelled. Right when the Griffon was about to attack Ruby, it was blasted by a giant fire ball.

"Students." Port said. "I think it best that you all go with these foreigners."

"But-" Ruby said.

"Ruby." Oobleck said. "This day will no doubt go down in history. I'd rather have my students live to tell my tale than myself."

"We don't have much time." Robin said. "We must hurry!"

"Right!" Fiora said. "Come on!" She ran out, wearing her armor.

"Ruby." Cloud said, catching her on the docks, leaving the room, where Oobleck and Port took their last stand. "I know you probably don't know this, but do you know where Shulk is?"

"No..." Ruby said, her tears starting up again. "I'm sorry, Cloud, but he made me leave!"

"Hey, it's all right." Cloud said. "Let's just get down to the city."

"All right."

Ironwood left on the ship, after giving a quick speech to the students of Remnant. "Shulk!" They heard Fiora cry. everyone turned to see the ship taken by Roman take off, with Shulk on top, fighting six people at once.

The Skywind landed at the docking bay, and Yang came running out, hugging Ruby. "You're OK!" Yang yelled, nearly suffocating Ruby.

"Oof! Yeah...I'm...OK..! Ow..." Yang let Ruby go. "We need to hurry." Yang said. "Weiss and Blake are in danger! They're down there alone!"

"OK!" Cid said. "Everyone o-" A giant roar cut off his sentence, and everyone stopped.

"What was that?" Aerith asked.

"No..." Dunban said. "Fiora!" He yelled. "We need to move! Now!"

"What the hell is it?!" Barret yelled.

Another roar sounded. The bars above the creature were failing under the creature's strength. Eventually, they broke, and the creature unfurled its wings, flying straight to the stadium. It smelled its target. It must complete the mission it was given by Zanza.

Everyone saw the creature as soon as it took flight. "No!" Melia said on the ground, helping Weiss and Blake fight the Grimm, and now, the Atlas robots designed to protect them.

"A Telethia?!" Reflet exclaimed. "They're still alive!"

"What's a Telethia?!" Blake asked.

"Something bad." Melia said. "And this one is ginormous!"

"It's heading straight for the stadium!" Blake said.

"That's where everyone is!" Weiss exclaimed. "Why is it heading there?!"

"Its mission, before its master died, was to kill all life from Bionis, and Ylisse." Reflet said. "And the stadium is where most of those lifeforms are."

"Dinobeast! Dinobeast!" Riki yelled. "Very, very big one coming here! Riki's friends need move!"

"Everyone on!" Cid yelled. "Double time!"

The Telethia's feet landed on the docking bay. It's head was bigger than the arena. It's wings completely encompassed the stadium. It started tearing it apart, piece by piece, looking for Homs.

Everyone got on the ships faster than before, and the evac ships took off fast. The Skywind was the last one to take off before the stadium exploded underneath the Telethia. The Telethia's armor was so thick, it absorbed the blast. It roared, and smelled the ether running through the crew of the Skywind. It turned, and took off towards the Skywind.

"Damn it!" Cid said. "That bird is following us!"

"Everyone!" Dunban yelled. "If you have any form of ranged attack, get on the deck and fire at that bird!"

"Did you see what it just did?!" Neptune exclaimed. "It took that explosion like it was nothing!"

"We need to slow it down, crybaby!" Coco yelled. "Or do you want to go down as our teachers did?!" She grabbed Neptune by the collar and brought him up to the deck.

Cloud looked to the debris of the stadium falling to the ground below. He brought his hand to his forehead in a salute. "You will be remembered, Peter Port and Bartholomew Oobleck. I swear it. Your death will not be in vain." He put some Materia into his arm and followed everyone up to the deck.

Shulk looked out in horror at the destruction caused by the Telethia. "You thought they were gone, didn't you?" Cinder asked, smiling. "Some of them survived after all."

"Enough of this." Adam said. He ran forward, firing his sword from his case at Shulk, trying to catch him off guard. Shulk grabbed the sword out of midair and swung at Adam, knocking him back. Shulk ran forward, Speed aura on, and threw Adam's sword at Neo, which she blocked, and swung the Monado at her. She jumped, but Shulk grabbed her leg and threw her. She landed on her feet, and Shulk punched her in the chest, catching her off guard.

Cinder jumped back, and pulled out her bow. She fired at Shulk, while Mercury and Torchwick ran in. Shulk grabbed the arrow fired at him out of midair and stabbed it into Mercury's robot leg, and brought up the Monado to Torchwick's cane, and deflected the strike. He summoned fire in his hand through a Materia and blasted Torchwick, causing him to bounce into the ship's cockpit.

"Emerald." Cinder said. "Time for your trick."

"OK..." Emerald said. She focused on Shulk, and caused him to see nothing. It was all black. Shulk looked around wildly, the illusion working. Adam and Neo wasted no time. They took this vulnerability and struck him on the back. Adam grabbed his sword and sliced Shulk across the back. Shulk yelled in pain, and swung where Adam was standing. Adam was gone, and Neo ran in, and delivered a kick to his side. She was about to do another, but then Shulk opened his eyes. When he did, they were glowing blue.

Shulk reached up and grabbed Neo's leg, and her eyes opened in surprise. He put on the Smash aura and threw Neo once more. Emerald kept trying, but couldn't get the illusion to work on Shulk again.

Mercury pulled out the arrow from his leg and fired a barrage of bullets into the air, surrounding Shulk. Cinder summoned fire and threw it at Shulk, who jumped up, and hit Emerald on the way down. Everyone quickly backed away from Shulk, and the bullets circling him came crashing down.

Mercury smiled. "Guess he lost the will." He said. His smile quickly faded as the smoke cleared. Shulk was standing there, with his hand up, and all the energy from the bullets was focused into one ball in his hand. Shulk yelled and pushed his hand outward, creating an explosion of light pushing everyone back. While they were down, he took the time to use magic to heal himself and his wounds.

Shulk was about to run in, when he heard an explosion. He turned to see the ship Ironwood take crash in flames on the ground. General James Ironwood was dead. "No!" Shulk yelled.

"Oh, yeah..." Torchwick said, coming back out of the ship. "I might have done that. Oh, and don't worry about your friends. They're next."

The ship turned around on its own, and aimed its guns at the Skywind, which was still being chased by the large Telethia. The ship started firing. Thankfully, Shulk and Robin designed it with very sturdy shields, but they wouldn't last.

"What are you gonna do now, Seer?" Torchwick teased.

Shulk looked around. He was on the edge of the deck. The engines were right below him. This ship currently had control of the skies, and somehow, Torchwick hacked the Atlas robots to fire on humans, killing Ironwood. Winter was almost here, and no doubt got word of what was happening. Raven was on the ground, helping Qrow fight the advancing Grimm. He needed to free up the skies.

Adam pulled out his shotgun and fired a barrel at Shulk. Shulk put up a barrier and froze the ground underneath his enemies feet. He put on the Buster aura, and, using as much energy as he could, he willed the Monado's blade to grow, and he swung down on the engines, destroying them.

"You fool!" Emerald yelled. "You'll kill all of us!"

"A noble sacrifice." Shulk said. The engines exploded behind him, and the ship tilted downward, causing all seven of them to slide into the cockpit of the ship.

"Starlight Kick!" Melia yelled, kicking a Grimm away from her. Reflet came down with a sword in hand, stabbing it through the chest. She turned around and blasted an advancing White Fang with dark magic, and pushed the soldier aside.

"Get down!" Blake yelled, pushing Weiss down to the ground as bullets fired past their heads. The Atlas robots turned against them, and were trying to kill them. They encircled the two girls, causing them to draw their weapons.

Melia and Reflet got as high as they could on Beacon campus, fighting off Grimm and White Fang along the way. They looked out at the ensuing carnage. "It's horrible..." Melia said.

"Yes it is." Reflet replied. "But we have to prioritize at the moment." She pulled out her scroll, which Ozpin was kind enough to give all the members of the Skywind. She dialed Robin's scroll and called him. "Robin! Are you all right?"

"I'm fine!" Robin replied. "Right now, we're being chased by a giant bird we thought was extinct, but other than that, yeah! Totally fine!"

"Who's all with you?" Melia asked.

"All of the students from the tournament, and all the members of the Skywind except for you two, Weiss, and Blake. Are they with you?"

"Yes." Reflet said. "Any one else not on the ship?"

"Let's see, we have a count for everyone except for...Shulk. He's on that ship trying to keep us out of the skies."

"Why did you let him there?! That's where are enemies are!"

"He didn't give us a choice. He made us stay at the stadium. Last I saw him, he was dueling with six other people. He'll be fine. I'm pretty sure, at least."

"What about your current situation?" Melia asked.

"The Telethia? Oh, we...kind of have it under control. It has thicker armor than any we ever fought on Bionis. It must be an alpha or something like that. And it can also read minds, like all the rest. We have everyone that can up above firing bullets, magic, whatever they have at the Telethia, trying to take it down." There was an explosion that came from the phone. They could hear Cid say a choice four letter word. "They're shooting at us?! I need to go. Stay safe you two, keep Weiss and Blake safe. If we can ground the Telethia, we can land and help you four out." Robin hung up.

Reflet and Melia jumped down to Weiss and Blake, and helped them finish off the Atlas robots. "Where were you two?!" Weiss exclaimed.

"We were making sure everyone's safe." Reflet said. "All of our friends are on the Skywind, plus some."

"That's good." Blake said.

"Well..." Melia said. "Shulk isn't on board. He is fighting what we believe are the generals of this scheme."

"Adam?!" Blake exclaimed. "You think he's fighting Adam?!"

"We don't...know who Adam is." Reflet said. "I guess if he leads the White Fang, it's likely."

"He's here..." Blake whispered to herself.

An explosion sounded from above, and they looked up to see the engines of the hijacked ship blow up, causing it to fall slowly down to the city. "What...?" Reflet exclaimed.

Weiss's scroll vibrated. She answered it. "Hello?"

"Weiss! You picked up! Thank goodness!" Winter's voice came out. "I was so worried you had died!"

"Winter!"

"Weiss, listen to me. I am coming to Vale. If you were somehow part of that plan to destroy that ship, I thank you. I have a small army here with me to help you out. Just sit tight, and we will be there in a few minutes." Winter hung up. As soon as she did, three cargo ships came flying from the north, past the mountains, firing at the large Telethia.

"Why aren't we hurting it?!" Yang yelled, frustrated, firing bullets from her Ember Celica.

"It has so much armor!" Pyrrha yelled. "Can we even dent it?"

"I don't know." Coco gritted her teeth. "Even my weapon can't hurt it."

"Does anyone have some sort of idea?" Lucina asked.

"Look out!" Vincent yelled. Him, Aerith, Yuffie, and Nanaki came up and put up a large barrier, just as the Telethia reeled back, and fired a large beam of ether. They gritted their teeth, trying their best to stop the beam from hitting them. The large barrier was destroyed, knocking the four of them back into the wall. The Telethia roared, starting to get annoyed by the constant onslaught of bullets and magic.

"We have to keep trying!" Morgan yelled. "Just...I don't know! Keep giving it your all! We got all the resources we need here. We just need to find its weakness."

"Sorry, lady, but we've been looking for a while now for one." Nadir from team ABRN said.

"I have a name! It's Morgan!" Morgan said, a bit stuck up.

An explosion sounded from below, and the ship shook. "What the hell was that?!" Barret exclaimed.

"Bad news!" Jaune said, looking out the side of the ship. "That big ship that was hijacked? It's guns are aimed at us!"

"We can't shoot at it." Fiora said.

"Why not?!" Nora exclaimed.

"Because Shulk is on there. If he falls, we may not win."

Then, an explosion came from that same ship. It's engines were on fire, and it tilted downwards, crashing towards the city. "No!" Lucina yelled. She turned to the stairs and ran down to the cockpit. "Did you do that?!" She yelled at Robin. "Shulk was on that ship!"

"I know he was!" Robin yelled back. "We didn't do that. No ship fired at it. It was either destroyed by Grimm, or Shulk destroyed it himself, trying to save us."

"Heads up!" Cid yelled. "That ship might be down, but we got two more ships just like it coming from the north!"

"Seems they're trying to make contact with us." Robin said. He answered. "This is the Skywind, please state your business."

"Is this...Robin? I believe we have met before. I am Weiss's sister, Winter Schnee of Atlas. We have brought reinforcements to help with the current Grimm problem."

"Oh, thank the gods!" Robin said. "We currently can't land and help out innocent people. We don't have powerful enough weapons to take down this large creature. It's called a Telethia."

"A Telethia? We'll see what we can do. I...shouldn't ask this, but is Weiss with you? On that ship?"

"No. But, I was just in contact with my clo...sister, and she said that Weiss is safe with her. They are currently at Beacon. Give her a call on her scroll."

"All right. Thank you. We will figure out a way to defeat this Telethia. I will talk to you later." Winter hung up.

"Robin." Lucina said. "I'm going back up."

"All right. Love you." Lucina walked back up to help the rest of them fight off the Telethia.

"Ruby!" Morgan yelled, continuing to blast fire at the Telethia while moving towards Ruby. "Do you have any ideas?"

"Why would I have any?!" Ruby yelled. "I don't know anything about this thing! I wasn't taught! We didn't even know this thing existed until now!"

"Well, whatever! Just-" The Telethia blasted the ship again. This time, the barriers put up by the crew of the Skywind wasn't enough. It hit Morgan square in the chest. She screamed, flying into the wall, just as Lucina walked up the stairs. She looked at her duaghter in horror.

"Morgan!" Lucina yelled, kneeling next to her body. "Sharla! Get over here!" Sharla ran over with Reyn, and Reyn carried Morgan down to the medical bay. Lucina followed the two of them.

"No!" Ruby yelled. She turned to the Telethia, her eyes glowing with a strange fire pattern.

"Ruby...?" Yang said, seeing the pattern. "What...?"

Ruby yelled, and started to float in the air. "You monster!" She yelled. "How could you do that to Morgan?!" The Telelthia roared again, and started charging up another ether blast. Even though it was the darkest night, made even darker with the Grimm, from the sky, a light as bright as the sun emerged, and growing brighter.

"Ruby-" Yang started, but Pyrrha grabbed her.

"No." Pyrrha said, her eyes widening. "Let it go on."

The light kept getting brighter and brighter, until eventually, it reached the first Grimm in the atmosphere. It burned straight through them, disintegrating them immediately. The Telethia turned to the light, and screamed at the light. It kept coming, and then a bright ball of fire as big as the Telethia hit it in the chest, and exploded in a flash of light. Everyone instinctively closed their eyes. When they opened them, the Telethia, smoking fell down into the ground, making a large crater in the city.

"It's armor is gone!" Velvet yelled. "It also looks like its wings were completely burned off!"

"Yay!" Riki yelled. "Dinobeast hurt! Friends fight! Friends fight on ground!"

Ruby landed on her feet, the glowing in her eyes gone. She looked down at the Telethia in shock. "Did...I do that?" Ruby said, looking at her hands. She was panting heavily.

"If you did, I..." Yang said, completely wordless. "I don't know who else it could've been."

"Ruby!" Ruby heard Morgan yelled. She came up, limping a bit, but otherwise OK.

"Morgan!" Ruby yelled, hugging her new friend. "Are you OK?"

"She'll be fine." Sharla said. "She just took a hit that knocked her unconscious for a bit. We were able to wake her up. She also broke her leg, but we were able to fix that with some Cure Materia."

"Thank you again, Sharla." Morgan said. "I don't know what we'd do without you."

Robin came upstairs as well. "I was just in contact with Winter." He explained. "Now that the Telethia is grounded, they can come freely and defeat as many aerial Grimm as they can. We are now free to land. We'll land in Beacon. From there, some of us will go and finish off that Telethia. The rest will go where they are needed, and help any survivors who can't fight for themselves. Understood?" A yes resonated on the deck.

Robin's scroll vibrated he answered it. "Hello?"

"Robin! Listen, we don't have much time. I need you and everyone on the Skywind to listen to me. I have Reflet, Melia, Weiss and Blake on this same line. I have a plan."

"Shulk?!"

"You really are something special, aren't you?" Cinder said, smiling. The ship was flaming all around them. Shulk could feel the altitude dropping. He was breathing heavily with the oxygen being eaten up by the flames. He was standing on the windshield of the ship, holding up the Monado, ready for any move from his opponents above him, standing on other equipment, poles, whatever the could with the ship being perpendicular to how it should be.

Shulk looked down. They were still pretty high up from the ground. He bent his knees, and put on the Jump aura. He yelled, and jumped up to Cinder, who was the farthest from him. He turned in midair, and with precise movements with his hands, guided the bullet fired by Torchwick back to him, causing him to jump to where Neo was standing.

Shulk swung the Monado down on Cinder, who brought up her swords and caught the Monado in between them. Shulk used that to his advantage, and used his momentum to swing himself up above Cinder, and swung straight down. Cinder jumped out of the way, causing Shulk to miss. He destroyed the control panel, leaving no one to control the direction of the ship.

Neo activated the blade on her umbrella, and jumped up towards Shulk, poking at his chest. Shulk blocked each blow as they came. Mercury jumped up behind him, and kicked at his back. Shulk jumped up, and Mercury instead hit Neo, who quickly pulled up her umbrella, blocking the attack. Emerald was above Shulk, and she spun, her blades in her hands. Shulk brought up the Monado again and blocked the attacks. When Emerald was done, Adam jumped off the wall and slammed Shulk down into the window, causing him to break it. Shulk was just barely able to grab the ledge of the broken window, and hung there.

Torchwick lifted up his cane, but Cinder stopped him. "What?" Torchwick complained. "Why?! He's finally vulnerable!"

"We need to go." Cinder said. Shulk looked down. They had almost reached the ground. Cinder put her foot down on Shulk's fingers, and he screamed in pain. "This is too bad. I so hoped you would live. Well, fate can never be changed, can it?" Cinder looked into Shulk's eyes once more, and stomped her foot hard on his hand, causing him to let go, falling to his death.

Shulk flailed in midair, falling. Cinder broke his fingers on his left hand. He looked up, and saw the cockpit of the ship explode. It was coming fast towards him. He leaned his body to move away from the ship, which barreled past him. He barely put on the Shield aura before he hit the ground.

He slowly got up, his body aching. He quickly used some cure magic to fix himself up, and pulled out an elixir from his bag he brought with him, bringing him back to full strength. He looked around, seeing the wreckage of the ship all around him. Flames were everywhere. A few buildings were destroyed, and Grimm were running rampant, though staying far from the wreckage Shulk currently found himself in.

A huge light came from above. Shulk looked up, and saw a huge ball of light as bright as the sun hit the large Telethia, and, smoking, it twirled down to the ground, on the other side of the city from him.

Shulk pulled out his scroll, and linked it to Reflet's and Robin's scrolls. "Robin! Listen, we don't have much time. I need you and everyone on the Skywind to listen to me. I have Reflet, Melia, Weiss and Blake on this same line. I have a plan."

"Shulk?!" Robin's voice came first. "Thank the gods you're all right!"

"Shulk, you idiot!" Fiora's voice blared, causing Shulk to flinch. "Why didn't you let us come with you?! You could have died!"

"I'm here now, aren't I? And I'm fine. Now, all of you, listen. We are in over are heads right now. I have a plan. Cid will land the Skywind at Beacon to reunite with Reflet, Melia, Weiss and Blake. From there, Blake and Lucina will enter the CCTS Tower. They will head into the basement. There is something there needed for Blake."

"Shulk, why...?" Blake started.

"Just do as I say!" Shulk said. "We don't have a lot of time left to us. If you do that, we are one step closer to winning. The students on the Skywind will go about the city, helping innocent people and defeating Grimm and White Fang. Now, aside from Lucina and Blake, the rest of you will head to the spot where the Telethia landed. It's grounded, but not dead. You will work on killing it. Understood?"

Shulk, I-" Fiora was cut off, as an arrow came flying into Shulk's scroll, and destroyed it.

"Oh, how sad." Cinder said from above, a transport ship with her, Emerald, Mercury, Neo, Torchwick, and Adam on board. "All cut off from help, aren't you?"

"I don't care." Shulk said. He pulled out the Monado once more. "They aren't coming, anyway. It will just be us."

"Oh, that's too bad." Torchwick said. "I was really hoping to lay a number on that girl of yours."

"Shut up." Shulk said. Neo landed the ship, and they all got out. They didn't advance, however.

"What are you accomplishing?" Emerald asked. "By fighting us? You're fighting a battle you know you won't win."

"Perhaps." Shulk said. "But, you can't see past the now. I can. Even if I fall, I can fall, knowing that you won't win."

"On our own, perhaps." Cinder said. The ground shook once more. "But, we have yet one more trick up our sleeve."

"Shulk, I..." Fiora quieted down, and as she did, Shulk's connection was interrupted. "Shulk? Shulk!"

"...What now?" Melia asked from the end of the line.

"We won't listen to Shulk." Robin said.

"What?" Ruby exclaimed. "Why not?"

"No, we'll do his plan. But I'll make a slight alteration. A tactician must change the plan as it is completed, and that's what I'm doing. When we land, Blake and Lucina will head inside the tower, and head downstairs. The students will go where they will, doing whatever they want. Meanwhile, us, the crew of the Skywind, will go and fight the Telethia, hopefully killing it. But, me, Yang, Ruby, Weiss, Morgan, Reflet, Fiora and Cloud will all go and help Shulk. We don't leave anyone behind. Is that understood? Reflet, we'll land soon. Then, we'll go. Understood?"

"Yes." Reflet said. "We will see you soon." She hung up.

When the Skywind landed, they let all the students go, who quickly got to combat with Grimm. The rest of the crew ran out and quickly reunited with Reflet, Melia, Weiss and Blake.

"I'm so glad you guys are OK!" Blake said, hugging Yang and Ruby.

"We need to hurry." Robin said. "Cid. You take everyone that's going on the Skywind to where the Telethia crashed. I'll lead the group we're taking to go and save Shulk. Let's go!"

Blake and Lucina ran to the tower, Robin's group ran out to where the ship crashed.

"Shulk, just hang on..." Ruby muttered. The ground shook. They all stopped.

"What was that?" Yang asked.

Qrow sliced through a Beowolf behind Glynda, and quickly ran up to Glynda. "Things are lookin' bad." Qrow said.

"Why must you be negative now?" Glynda asked. Grimm surrounded them on all sides. They brought up their weapons, ready to defend themselves.

Some Grimm were flying up in the air in the back from both sides. "...What?" Qrow exclaimed.

From the right, A gun sounded. Ironwood came through the crowd of Grimm, blasting them as he walked, his robot half exposed from his clothing.

From the other side, the sound of metal slicing through Grimm. A girl in a red cloak and a mask with a large sword sliced through Grimm left and right.

Eventually, all of them surrounding Qrow and Glynda were dead. "This area is secure!" Ironwood yelled.

"Glad to see you, Raven." Qrow said, patting his sister on the back. Raven took off her mask, revealing her black and white hair and red eyes.

"It's been a while, Qrow." Raven said. "I see everything isn't going well?"

"What do you think?" Glynda said. "We need all the help we can get. And James!" Glynda walked over and slapped Ironwood's face. "Don't ever scare me like that again!"

"What were you expecting?!" Ironwood yelled. "My troops turned on me suddenly and fired. It was a miracle that I survived."

"Where's Yang?" Raven asked.

"She's safe." Qrow said. "I should tell you, she and Ruby joined this team of foreigners on a trip across the world."

"Who are all very nice people, and have promised that they will take care of the students." Glynda promised.

"That's good."

"Winter has the skies taken care of." Ironwood said. "Us four will need to focus on the ground. You saw that giant bird? The foreigners will take care of that. Right now, we need to help any civilians in danger, and kill all the Grimm still in the city. Is that clear?"

"Whatever, general." Qrow said. "Raven and I will take care of that last part. You and Glynda figure out the civilian problem."

The ground shook. "No..." Glynda said. "It's waking up."

In the mountain, cracks started appearing. The ground shook again, and even more cracks. A claw emerged from the mountain, and the mountain exploded. From it, a dragon Grimm took flight, flying towards Vale. Ooze dripped from its body. From the ooze, Grimm emerged, and continued the assault on Vale.

"That's not good!" Cid yelled, trying to steer clear of the new Grimm in the air. "We need to land quick!"

A call was sent to the Skywind. Cid picked up. "Winter, you better take care of this dragon thing!"

"Don't worry, we will." Winter said. "You know more about the Telethia than we do. That is your priority. We will take care of this ancient Grimm. Worry not." Winter hung up.

"All right, here's the plan." Tifa said. "When we land, that thing will no doubt be ready to attack. It's big, so it has a large range. However, it isn't used to ground combat. We need to use that to our advantage. If we can trap it, we can strike with it having limited moves. Whenever you have a plan, shout it out. We need to take this thing down as soon as possible. Got it?" There was a murmur of understanding. "Good. Let's go!"

The cargo bay opened up above the Telethia. Sharla, Aerith, and Cid stayed on the ship to pick up and take away any injured in this fight. One by one, they all jumped off the ship, diving straight towards the Telethia. It was scorched, limping along the ground, feeding on any Grimm that crossed its path. It saw the approaching attackers, and roared, ready for the Skywind crew.

"JNPR, go!" Tifa yelled. Nora sped up her descent, and smashed her hammer on the Telethia's head. Pyrrha and Jaune came down next, putting their swords below them, landing on the back of the Telethia, penetrating their swords through its thick skin. Ren stabbed one of its eyes, but the Telethia roared and shook the four of them off. Tifa came flying down, delivering a devastating punch to its back. Nanaki landed next to her, biting into its back. Barret and Reyn landed on the sides of it, shooting bullets from afar.

The Telethia soon got up. It shook everyone off of it, and charged up an ether beam. It fired it in a circle around it, causing all of them to retreat. Buildings collapsed around it, making the area fill up with dust and debris in the air. The Telethia roared, and tried to sniff out its prey. Then, from out of nowhere, a swift strike from Dunban hit its face. It roared again, snapping at where Dunban was, but he was gone. Yuffie stroke with her shuriken at its tail, and the Telethia twirled to fight off Yuffie. Tifa was ready, and delivered a swift uppercut to its chin, and retreated. Nora climbed up its back and smashed its head once again, and Pyrrha and Jauned thrust their swords through its neck, but its neck was too thick for one thrust to kill it.

"Summon Bolt!" Melia yelled, and a bolt of lightning came down on the Telethia, stunning it. "Now! Pin it down!"

Ren ran up to its tail, and stabbed the two blades on his guns into the tail, and pinned it to the ground. He grunted, trying to fight the strength of the Telethia.

Dunban ran up to its right wing with Melia, and stabbed his sword into the wing and pinned it. Him and Melia put all their weight on the wing, stopping the Telethia from moving it.

Jaune and Pyrrha pinned the other wing. "OK Tifa!" Pyrrha yelled. "Do it!"

"Reyn!" Tifa yelled. "Go!"

Reyn and Riki ran forward, aiming at the Telethia's neck. Riki stabbed his biter into the gash, and pulled out a chunk of the Telethia's neck. Reyn jumped up into the air. "Now it's REYN TIME!" Reyn yelled as loud as he could, and transformed his mechanical arm into a sword, and sliced straight through the Telethia's neck, killing it for good. Everyone put away their weapons, panting heavily.

"We did it!" Yuffie yelled. "Yeah!"

"We can't celebrate yet." Vincent said. "There are still hoards of Grimm around the city, plus the new dragon one."

"All right, everyone." Tifa said. "Spread out! Take out as many Grimm as you can! We are one step closer to victory!"

"You still think you can win." Cinder said, her eyes widening. "How? Look around you. Vale is clearly lost. And yet, you still fight us. By now you know that you'll lose your power to me, don't you?"

"This is what needs to be done." Shulk said. "I will not let you win!" His eyes started glowing again, and he activated the Jump aura. Then, the Speed. Then Shield. Buster. Smash. He activated all five at once, his body a complete rainbow. "Come at me!"

Torchwick fired a bullet at Shulk's feet, who jumped up into the air and swung down on the ship that took them, destroying it. He ran forward, and swung quickly at Neo, who jumped away. Shulk chased her, and dodged under Adam's swipe and kicked out his legs. Emerald was shooting bullets from afar, but they weren't affecting Shulk. Neo jabbed at Shulk, but he dodged and grabbed the umbrella. He threw it, with Neo still holding on to it, towards Mercury, who was dashing in to help. They hit each other and fell back.

Shulk ran forwards towards Cinder, who brought up her blades and started to duel with him. "That toy of yours seems to do most of the work." She observed. "Without it, I doubt you'd ever had made it this far." She jumped away, and blasted fire at Shulk. He jumped back as well, and Torchwick was waiting. He swung down his staff, but Shulk brought up his Monado and blocked it, disarming him, and kicking him in the gut.

Shulk ran towards Emerald, who pulled out her blades, and got into a stance position. Shulk slid underneath her legs and kicked out her legs, and with the hilt of his blade, jabbed her in the stomach. He dodged Adam yet again, and blasted fire magic at him. He brought up his blade, which absorbed the energy, but Shulk punched him across the face, and sliced down on Adam, who brought up his blade and blocked it.

"You know you're fighting for the people you hate." Shulk said to Adam. "Why?"

"Why else? Power." Adam kicked Shulk aside, right in front of Cinder, whose eyes were glowing with the power of the Fall Maiden.

"Let's put a limit on you." Cinder said. She shot a huge ball of fire at Shulk, who instinctively brought up his sword. The ball exploded, sending Shulk flying into a large piece of debris. He groaned and sat up, and looked in horror at his sword torn in two, sparking, the symbols from the center disappearing.

Shulk got up slowly, the auras around him shattering. The bag he had around him ripped, and elixirs rolled out, shattering on the ground. "Got a little stockpile of your own, huh?" Mercury said.

"Now he's truly vulnerable." Adam said. "Finally."

"Attack!" Cinder yelled. She aimed an arrow at Shulk, and fired. Shulk dodged, now much slower than before. Mercury dashed in and kicked him in the face, knocking him back. Neo jabbed him with her umbrella, and Adam shot him with a shotgun barrel. Shulk regained his balance and yelled, trying to throw a punch at Mercury, who brought up his leg, and kicked Shulk in the stomach. Shulk summoned lightning and hit all six of them, but their auras absorbed the majority of the blast. Shulk kept using as much magic as he could. Eventually, he tried to fire one last lightning bolt, but he couldn't. He was all out of magic power.

"Hah!" Torchwick said. "Not so tough now, are ya?" Torchwick brought up his cane and smacked it across Shulk's face, knocking him to the ground. Mercury wasted no time, and smashed his foot on Shulk's stomach, knocking the breath out of him. Neo got up in front of Shulk's face and smiled, her eyes changing color to green, then back again. She stomped on Shulk's face. Adam then stabbed Shulk's stomach, taking in the pain on his face.

"Don't kill him, Adam." Cinder said. "We still need him." Adam snarled, then pulled out his sword. "Torchwick?" Cinder said.

Torchwick shot out the hook of his cane, and tied up Shulk. Emerald and Mercury grabbed Shulk's shoulders, pulling him up eye to eye with Cinder.

"You've lost." Cinder observed. Shulk said nothing. "You knew you were gonna lose, didn't you? So, why?" Shulk still didn't answer. "Answer me."

Shulk looked up slowly, a black eye and blood dripping from his nose. Despite his pain, he smiled. "If my sacrifice means the victory of my friends, I will gladly sacrifice myself for them."

Cinder put on a white glove. "So, what you're saying is, if I become a god, then they will win?" Shulk still kept his smug smile. "You really are an idiot."

"Shulk!" A familiar, high-pitched voice said. Shulk looked over to see Ruby turning a corner, eyes wide open. "No!"

Cinder motioned to Torchwick. Torchwick aimed his cane and fired an explosive at Ruby, who dodged. "Oh, Red! I believe we have unfinished business!" He ran forward, with Neo following him.

"Perfect." Cinder said. "Now your friends will see your failure." A red circle appeared in the middle of the glove, and the tick-like Grimm came emerging out, and Shulk closed his eyes as the black webbing shot across his face, blinding him, and his mind left him and didn't return.

The dragon Grimm was flying high above, but Robin, Yang, Ruby, Weiss, Fiora, Cloud, Morgan and Reflet didn't worry about that. They had one goal at the moment. "Ruby." Robin said. "Use your Semblance and scout ahead. You can see the wreckage of the ship from here. See if you can get to Shulk and help him. Go!"

"On it!" Ruby yelled. She focused, and turned into a bouquet of rose petals, and bounced from wall to wall, trying to reach the wreckage as fast as she could. She skidded to a halt as she reached the wreckage. She looked out in horror as she saw her biggest fear come true. Shulk was tied up, beaten, and held up by Mercury and Emerald to a girl in a red dress, wearing a white glove. Torchwick, Neo, and a man with a rose design on his jacket surrounded them.

"Shulk!" Ruby yelled. "No!" The girl in the red dress motioned to Torchwick, and he untied Shulk from his cane and fired an explosive towards Ruby, who jumped out of the way. She ran around the wreckage. "Oh, Red!" She heard Torchwick call. "I believe we have unfinished business!" She turned and saw him and Neo running after her. She quickly ran around some wreckage and pulled out Crimson Rose. She swung around, hitting Torchwick's cane, and Neo jumped over Torchwick and kicked Ruby in the face. She flew through the air, and stabbed her scythe into the ground, stopping herself. Torchwick fired a bullet directly towards Ruby, but a blur came in front of Ruby and blocked the bullet.

"Come on, Ruby!" Morgan yelled. "We can take these two!" She summoned fire into both of her hands, and ran forward. Ruby pulled Crimson Rose out of the ground and ran next to Morgan, renewed vigor in her.

"Shulk!" Fiora yelled. Shulk's body was shaking violently as Cinder was taking his power. Fiora ran forward by herself, but Mercury let go of Shulk and kicked her square in the gut, blasting her away. She landed on her feet and dashed forward, Cloud next to her. Cloud brought his blade up to Adam's and let Fiora run straight past him. Emerald came up this time and brought each of her blades up to Fiora's, and pushed her away.

"Reflet!" Robin yelled. "You and Weiss go help Ruby and Morgan. Yang and I will go rescue Shulk."

"Got it." Reflet said. She and Weiss turned and dashed towards Neo, who brought up her umbrella and blocked Weiss's stab. Reflet ran right past and killed an Ursa that was about to jump Morgan.

Cinder smiled. The webbing on Shulk's face retracted, and his body fell to the ground. The glove on Cinder's hand disappeared, and the symbol Mirai appeared on her back, which means future. Cinder Fall had now become the new seer by force.

"No!" Fiora yelled. Yang got into combat with Mercury, and Robin took over with Emerald, leaving Fiora to dash towards Cinder. "You bitch!" Fiora yelled, and swung down on Cinder. Cinder adapted to her new powers fast, and brought up her blades right before Fiora was about to hit her, and pushed Fiora aside and sliced at her stomach, creating a gash in the armor. It sparked, and Fiora clutched her stomach.

"I could get used to this." Cinder said. "But, I have no time to be toying with you pathetic whelps. Adam, Blake Belladona is below the CCTS Tower. Go to her if you want. Mercury, Emerald, come with me." Cinder kicked Fiora down to the side, and Mercury and Emerald followed, fighting off any of them that choose to follow. Cinder hit some debris, and it fell, blocking the way for any of them to follow.

"Blake's down below us, then?" Adam said. He grabbed Cloud's arm and threw him into Yang, who was dashing forward. He ran off, disappearing into the shadows.

"Oh, come on!" Torchwick yelled. "They left us?!"

Fiora knelt down next to Shulk, brushing his now damaged face. He wasn't breathing. "No..." She said. She threw herself on his body, and cried on him. Cloud came next to her, and pulled her off gently.

"We need to get him on the Skywind." Cloud said. "Maybe Sharla and Aerith can get him up."

"...Right." Fiora said. She pulled out her scroll and dialed in Cid.

Neo kicked Weiss out of her way, and delivered a flurry of swipes to an advancing Robin, who blocked and shot lightning. Neo jumped up and swung down on Yang, who was running in. She dodged, and grabbed her umbrella and threw her, but Neo used her legs and grabbed Yang's neck, and carried her with her. Neo flipped around, flinging Yang into a wall. Reflet ran up behind her and punched Neo, causing her to fall to the ground. Reflet created a cloud of darkness around Neo, blinding her. She looked around, trying to find her opponents.

A punch came from behind Neo, and she recoiled, swinging her umbrella in the direction it came from, but her attacker wasn't there. Lightning hit her from all directions, and she fell to the ground. The darkness disappeared, and Weiss, Reflet, Robin and Yang were standing above her, keeping her imprisoned between them. Neo dropped her umbrella and put her hands behind her head, surrendering.

"Little reds?" Torchwick said. "Now there are two of you!"

"Shut up!" Morgan yelled. Torchwick swung his cane at Morgan, but she rolled behind Torchwick and blasted fire. He flew into the air, and Ruby jumped up and hit Torchwick down again, hitting the ground. Both of them landed and aimed their weapons at Torchwick.

Torchwick sighed. "I hate doing things the hard way..." He said. He swung his cane quickly, tripping both of them. He smacked the two of them. "You want to be heroes?! Then play the part and die like every other Huntsmen in history! As for me, I'll do what I do best; Lie, steal, cheat, and survive!" Right when he was about to deal a finishing blow to Ruby, he was sent flying towards Neo, and rolled right into her.

"Ruby Rose!" Glynda yelled. "Are you all right?"

"Mrs. Goodwitch!" Ruby said, pulling herself up. "Uncle Qrow!"

"Hey, kid." Qrow said. "Glad to see you're still up."

"General Ironwood!" Morgan said. "You're alive!"

"Indeed I am." Ironwood said. "But we must not dwell on the past. I see you have successfully captured two of our evildoers."

"That's putting it nicely." Torchwick said.

"...Mother?!" Yang yelled. She ran towards Raven, who was hiding in the shadows. Raven took off her mask to look at her daughter clearly.

"Yang..." Raven said. "It's good to see you."

"Hey..." Qrow said.

"Uh, come on, Uncle Qrow!" Ruby said. "I want to introduce you to my friend, Morgan!" She dragged Qrow over to where Morgan was talking with her father.

"There's something I need to tell you." Raven said. "I won't be staying."

"What?!" Yang exclaimed. "Why not?!"

"I have a goal in mind." Raven said. "I believe that I am finding a path that will lead to the good of the world. But, it's a path I need to take on my own. You have your own path you're going to follow after this. Both of us will be exploring the world, but not together. You will have friends, but I must go alone."

"But, why?!"

"If I told you, you wouldn't believe me." Raven sighed. "You know the story of the maidens, correct?"

"Yes, we all do."

"Well, long story short, it's true. Qrow, Goodwitch, and Ironwood know this as well. And... I am one of those maidens. The Spring Maiden."

Yang laughed. "Oh, come on! You really expect me to believe that?!"

"Yes, after what your sister did to that ginormous bird creature." Raven said. "Her mother, and my friend, Summer Rose, was the Summer Maiden. When she died, Ruby inherited the powers of Summer. I feel that you two, with the powers of two maidens, will become a team so powerful, you could take out nearly any obstacle in your path. So, I'm giving you my power."

"Mom, I'm not sure..." Raven shushed Yang, and closed her eyes. She began to glow yellow, and the aura around her flowed down from her head, up from her legs, until it was all condensed into one ball of light. She lifted up and placed it on Yang's forehead, and the ball melted into Yang's skin, the yellow aura spreading throughout her body. Once the aura surrounded Yang, it disappeared, and mother and daughter opened their eyes, the transfer complete.

"...How did you do that?" Yang asked.

"I've learned some things." Raven said. "Some things maybe I shouldn't know. But, regardless, you are now the new Spring Maiden. Your sister, Ruby Rose, is the Summer Maiden. It is up to you to find and pair up with the other two maidens. I must go now. There is something I need to attend to. Your friends here will save Vale. I am no longer needed, now that the Spring Maiden is here."

Yang sighed, then wrapped her arms around her mother. Raven flinched, but slowly returned the gesture, not used to this kind of sentiment. She let go, put on her mask, and created a portal with her sword. She walked through, leaving Yang with tears in her eyes.

"So." Qrow said, leaning against a wall. "You're the new Spring, huh? That's good. Raven never liked the burden. I felt like it would always fit you."

"Qrow!" Yang said. "So, that's' all..."

"Everything Raven said is true." Qrow confirmed. "Ruby is Summer, you're Spring, and together, you would be extremely powerful."

Yang looked at her hands, not sure how she would use her new power. The Skywind flew above, landing next to Fiora and Cloud, who were carrying Shulk's limp body. "Shulk!" Yang yelled. She quickly ran over there, checking up with Shulk.

"We got him." Aerith said. "We'll figure out what's wrong with him, then see if we can do anything about it."

"Thank you..." Fiora said. She started to cry, and Sharla came over and hugged her.

"It'll be fine." Sharla said. "I promise, I will do whatever I can to get him back. Do you want to come back on the ship?"

"I...would love that." Fiora said. She put away her armor, and followed Sharla and Aerith to the medical bay.

"We'll keep these two on the ship." Robin said to Ironwood. "You're welcome to watch over them, question them, whatever. We can get you a fresh set of clothes, too."

"Very well." Ironwood said. "It is good news to hear that the Telethia is dead. Now we just have that ancient Grimm to deal with, and the one who stole Shulk's power."

"We'll deal with the latter." Robin said. "We promise."

"Good." Ironwood said. "I will go on board this ship and see if I can get anything out of Torchwick and the girl. The students are currently keeping a safe zone for civilians at Beacon. Glynda, care to join me on this ship?"

"Yes, thank you." Glynda said. She and Ironwood walked onto the docking bay. "You, Qrow?"

"Nah." Qrow said. "I'll go help out those students. See if I can kill off a few Grimm, or take out a leader of the White Fang." He turned to Ruby and Yang. "See ya, kiddos." With that, Qrow ran off.

"All right." Ironwood said. "You guys, find are attackers and deal with them. Farewell." The Skywind took off into the air, closing the docking bay, and flew around Vale, seeing if there was anyone to help.

"So, what now?" Ruby asked.

"We do exactly what we signed up for." Robin said. "Let's find a way past this debris, then go and take out Cinder, Emerald and Mercury."

"Why did Shulk want us down here?" Blake asked Lucina. They had just entered the CCTS Tower, where an elevator sat. In front of the elevator, though...

"Not so fast." Ozpin said, blocking the way. "Where are you two heading? Shouldn't you be out, helping?"

"And why aren't you?" Lucina asked.

"Because I have unfinished business here. I am looking for Pyrrha Nikos. Do you know where she is?"

"Look, Ozpin. I am terribly sorry." Lucina said. "But we must take that elevator down. Shulk said there was something there. Something Blake must do."

Ozpin widened his eyes. "Shulk said that...?" Ozpin sighed. "Very well. You two, come with me." He opened the elevator, and motioned for Blake and Lucina to join him.

The elevator went down. And down. Down so deep the commotion above couldn't be heard. Eventually, the door opened. Ozpin walked out and quickly ran towards the end.

"What is this?" Lucina asked.

"Fall." Was Ozpin's reply. "Blake, you know the story of the maidens?"

"Yes sir." Blake said.

"It's real." Ozpin said. "What you are looking at is the Fall Maiden. Some of her power was taken, and now she's in stasis. If she is taken out of that pod, then she will die. But, we need her power. Ironwood made this machine so that you can attain her powers. We were originally going to have Pyrrha take on this responsibility, but I believe we simply do not have time. Though, I must warn you. If you do this, your life will forever be intertwined with Amber's. Are you all right with this?"

"What?!" Blake exclaimed. "This is...all so fast."

"I know it is, Ms. Belladonna." Ozpin said. "But we must hurry, before-"

"Gah!" Lucina yelled, flying into a wall. She hit it hard, knocking the breath out of her.

"No!" Ozpin yelled. Before he could react, a bullet pierced Amber in the chest, and her eyes opened quickly, feeling the pain immediately. Ozpin quickly opened up the container holding Amber, and Blake rushed to Amber's side. Ozpin turned to see their attacker.

"Professor Ozpin." Adam Taurus said, standing at the end of the hall. "It's been a while."

"So you're this leader of the White Fang I have heard so much about." Ozpin said.

"Adam?!" Blake said, looking up from Amber. "No!"

"Hello, Blake. It's been a while."

"...Blake..." Amber said weakly. "Such a...pretty name..." Amber took her last breath, and her body went limp in Blake's arms.

"No..." Ozpin said. He perked up. "Blake, get out of here." He said.

"Why?!" Blake said.

"You have inherited it." Ozpin said. "The reason Shulk sent you down here was to obtain Fall. You are Fall now. I want to keep it that way!"

"Enough of this." Adam said. He dashed forward, slicing at Ozpin, but Ozpin brought up his cane, blocking the swipe. He kicked Adam away and dashed forward, swiping quickly with his cane.

Blake quickly ran over to Lucina, and helped her up. Lucina groaned. "Sorry. He blindsided me."

"That's all right." Blake said. "Adam's a master swordsman. It takes more than one person to take him out." Blake looked up to Adam and Ozpin dueling. She looked at her hands. If she had the power of Fall, could she save Ozpin?

She lifted up her hand, and closed her eyes. She could feel something inside of her. Something powerful. She yelled, and a blast of wind came shooting out of her hand, blasting Adam into a wall.

Lucina got up, and pulled out a sword. She dashed forward, hitting Adam with the hilt of her blade. Ozpin came dashing in as well, and jabbed at Adam's stomach.

Both Lucina and Ozpin jumped out of the way, leaving Blake to dash in. Adam got up at this point and sliced at Blake, but Blake created a copy of herself and rolled under Adam, hitting him up into the air. Blake jumped on the wall, and pushed herself up into the air as well. Lucina propelled herself up with wind magic, and carried Ozpin up as well. Ozpin smacked Adam, and landed, grunting. Lucina and Blake sliced through Adam, Lucina controlling them with wind magic. They went back and forth, chipping away at Adam's aura. Ozpin pulled on the handle of his cane, and pulled out a rifle. He fired at Adam, hitting him.

Blake flew up, her eyes glowing with the power of Fall. "Grah!" She yelled, and a blast of fire came from her hands. Adam hit the ground hard, his mask skidding across the ground.

Blake and Lucina landed on the ground, and pointed their weapons to Adam, who was hiding his face. "It's over." Blake said. "Put down your sword."

"You traitor..." Adam said. "This could've been our day! We could've become rulers! Instead, you ran! You ran from me! Like I was the monster, not humanity. Now, I see you as nothing but a traitor. I will not yield!" Adam jumped up, showing blood red eyes. He swung at Blake, but Lucina was quick and blocked the swipe. Ozpin came up from behind and stabbed Adam's back, then kicked his legs out from under him. Then Ozpin smacked his cane across Adam's face, knocking him out.

Ozpin huffed. "I'm getting slow in my old age." He said. "But, we did it. Blake, you are now Fall. I have now have no doubt in my mind what Shulk is trying to plan. I just hope his plan succeeds." He turned to the elevator. "Come. We must go up and help in any way we can."

"All right." Blake said. She and Lucina grabbed Adam's unconscious body and carried it to the elevator.

As the elevator went up, Ozpin said something. "You are now carrying a large role, Ms. Belladonna. I hope you are ready."

"Me too." Blake said.

"Damn it..." Winter said. The dragon just destroyed the other cargo ship that came along, leaving Winter's ship to deal with it.

"Ma'am!" A worker yelled. "We can't kill it with our weapons! It's too strong!"

Winter sighed. "Then ram it."

"Wh-What?!"

"You heard me. The explosion from this ship might be enough to take it out, if we hit it square on." She spoke into the speaker. "Abandon ship! All crew members, get to the nearest evac ship! This includes all of you on here."

"What about you?"

"I will steer the ship myself. When all crew members are evacuated, light this ship up. With any hope, the explosion will be enough to kill this Grimm."

Everyone in the cockpit looked at her with wide eyes. Then, one by one, they saluted. "It was an honor working with you all." Winter said. "Now, leave, and live to fight another day."

They all quickly ran out, leaving Winter alone at the controls. The dragon spotted her, and roared. Winter steered the ship directly towards the Grimm, and flew towards it.

A call came to the ship. She answered. "All crew members evacuated!" The man on the other side of the call said. "Ready to commence firing, at your command!"

"Do it!" Winter yelled. She braced herself as explosions came from all sides, and the warning lights for the ship blared all around her. She smiled, then thought about something. She dialed in a number she rarely did.

"Winter?" Weiss's voice came out of the speakers. "What's going on?! Your ships are firing on you!"

"I gave them that order." Winter said. The ship rammed into the dragon, and it roared, being dragged down with the flaming ship. It tried to fly free, but it was trapped.

"Winter, the ship's going to explode! You know that, don't you?"

"Yes, I do." Winter said. "My time is up. I just want to say a few things. Work on your summons, tell Father about me, and..." Winter sighed. "I...I... I love you, Weiss. I wish we would have been closer. Listen. You will become the next Winter. Use the power you will get from me to win this war!"

"Winter, I..."

"Save your breath. I already know."

"Win-" Winter hung up on Weiss. She focused all her attention on Weiss, sealing the deal that she would become Winter. Then, the ship exploded, and Winter's body vaporized in the heat.

"No..." Weiss said, seeing the explosion in the distance. Winter was on that ship. She sacrificed herself to take out that ancient Grimm, and she succeeded. The entire city could see the explosion, and the scream of the Grimm fade away slowly. It was dead. But, it wasn't over.

"Blake!" Ruby yelled, seeing Blake and Lucina in the distance, followed by Ozpin. Lucina had a limp body over her back.

Robin pulled out his scroll. "Cid, time to land again. We got another prisoner."

Thankfully, the Skywind didn't go far. It landed quickly, and Lucina carried the limp body of Adam to the prison section of the ship, where Torchwick and Neo were being held.

Sharla walked out. Dunban quickly ran over. "How's Shulk?"

"He's still alive." Sharla said. "But there's absolutely no brain activity. Whatever Cinder did, it completely turned off his brain. No Materia we have is doing any good. It's only keeping him alive until we can figure out how to turn his brain back on.

"All right. How's Fiora?"

"She's...not doing too well. Best not to bother her right now."

"I see."

Lucina walked out of the ship, followed by Ironwood and Glynda, Ironwood with a fresh suit on. Ozpin walked towards them. "I see that you have good news?" Ironwood asked.

"I believe so." Ozpin said. "we have just captured the leader of the White Fang. They will soon be pulling out of Vale, retreating from the Grimm. The big threats are now over. The Telethia and Dragon are dead. Now we just-"

Another roar pierced the air. Multiple. There were hundreds of Grimm in the air already, ranging from Nevermores to Griffons. But now, joining them, hundreds to thousands of Telethia flying in from all over, ranging from human sized to stadium sized. They were feeding on the Grimm in the air. "Oh, for f *$s sake!" Barret yelled. "Now we have more Telethia?! What the hell are we supposed to do now?!"

"Damn it." Robin said. "I was afraid something like this would happen. It seems that two years ago, when Shulk recreated the world, he didn't destroy the Telethia. They fled all over the world, and reproduced. It appears that the one we took out was the mother of all Telethia here in Remnant."

"And now every single Telethia is here, feeding on the largest concentration of Grimm in history." Jaune said. "Perfect! Just what we needed!"

"What do we do now?" Pyrrha asked.

Robin sighed. "I really hoped we didn't need to do this." He motioned for his family to come over to him. One by one, he handed each of them green stones.

It was Reflet's turn to sigh. "Damn. Things must be going really rough now, if we have to pull these out."

"What are they?" Tifa asked.

"Dragon stones." Lucina explained. "You all know that all four of us, at one point or another, have been dragons?"

"Yes." Melia said. "You two were the hosts of Naga and Grima, Morgan once became host to Atera, and Reflet is a copy of Robin."

"Wait, what was that last part?" Yang asked.

"Never mind that." Robin said. "Well, when they left each of us, they didn't leave without a trace." Each of them pulled back their hair, and revealed pointed ears towards the top, instead of rounded ones. "We have the blood of dragons in our veins still."

"These stones will awaken that blood." Morgan continued. "When it does, we'll...become dragons again."

"We've known about this for a long while." Lucina said. "About our blood. We've been wanting to avoid this, since we aren't naturally able to turn into dragons, like Manaketes. If we turn into dragons..."

"There's a chance we might not turn back." Reflet finished. "But it's a chance we need to take."

"No." Cloud said. "If you will lose yourself in the process, I won't let you do it." Cloud pulled out his sword, and pointed it at the four of them.

"Well, to bad." Reflet said. "This is the only option handed to us."

"Go!" Robin yelled. Lucina used wind magic and shot all four of them up into the air. In the air, they each used their dragon stones.

"Morgan!" Ruby yelled. "No!"

Their screams could be heard in the air, and their bodies twisted into cruel shapes. Wings protruded from their backs, their arms and legs grew claws, and their necks extended. Their screams became roars, and soon, four dragons were flying in the air, one yellow, one green, one red, and one black. Each of them were clearly based on the elements Robin, Lucina, Morgan and Reflet used.

They landed violently on the ground, roaring at their once friends. "Robin!" Cloud yelled. "Wake up! Don't let the beast take over!" The dragon that was once Robin responded with shooting lightning at Cloud, electrocuting him.

"Cloud!" Tifa yelled. She ran forward about to punch Robin, but Yang's hand came up. "What? Why?!"

Slowly, team RWBY walked up to the four dragons. Each of them reared back, ready to attack. But they didn't. "What's going on?" Glynda asked.

"The Maidens are...talking to the dragons." Ozpin said. "Talking, bringing them back. Incredible."

"So, these are the four new maidens?" Ironwood said. "Team RWBY, each of them one of the maidens. Remarkable."

Each of the members of team RWBY walked up to a respective dragon: Yang to Robin, Blake to Lucina, Weiss to Reflet, and Ruby to Morgan. They all seemed to be glowing with the power of the maidens. "There's no need to fight." They all said in unison. "We are your friends. We are here to protect you. To help you. You are not beasts. You are the elements. Now, awaken the two other elements, and we will win!"

"Other elements?" Melia asked. "What do they mean?"

The four dragons stepped back, and circled around the maidens. Then, starting with Robin, they shot their elements up into the sky. Lightning, Wind, Fire, Darkness. They collided in the sky, and where they collided, a large portal opened up. It grew and grew, until two more dragons came flying out. One was blue, while the other was pure white. They flew down, and the elemental beams stopped. The two new dragons flew down and landed in the circle of dragons surrounding the maidens, and all six of the dragons bowed down to the maidens.

"Reincarnations of the elements: Lightning, Fire, Wind, Darkness, Water, and Ice." The maidens once again said in unison. "You are now united. Now keep your human conscious, and as dragons, defeat this menace, and save the world you have created!" The six dragons roared, and took to the skies, firing blasts of fire, lightning, water, ice, darkness, and wind at the Telethia and Grimm all over Vale.

The auras around team RWBY disappeared, and they were back to their normal selves. "Woah." Ruby said. "Did we just do that?"

"Yes, we did." Weiss said. "I am just as surprised as you."

"It appears we have sky support now." Ozpin said. "Our dragon friends will be sure to continue their work. We will worry about our new arrivals at a later point. Right now, we must find this power thief. She could be anywhere-"

"She's north." Blake said. "I can feel the other part of Fall in her. She is north, waiting."

"For what?" Reyn asked.

"The maidens." Blake said. "She's waiting for us."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Cloud asked. "You four will fight this Cinder. Meanwhile, the rest of us will fight her minions, ensuring you a fair fight just between you four and her. We must get back the powers she stole. Everyone on board! Blake, I want you up front with Cid, guiding him to where Cinder is hiding."

"Got it!" Blake said. She ran up to the cockpit, ready to end this.

"We're doing this." Cloud said. "We are about to win the greatest battle in Remnant's history. If we fail here, it isn't just Vale that falls. It will eventually be all of Remnant, then Gaea, then the rest of the world. If we fail here, we lose the world. So let us not fail! Tonight, we stand! We will not go quietly!"

"They're coming." Cinder said. "I can see it. They will soon be here."

"Do you see us failing?" Mercury asked. "I mean, they took out two of our biggest advantages, and have Torchwick, Neo and Adam all prisoner."

"There is one path I can see of them winning." Cinder said. "But, it will require one of the biggest miracles mankind has ever seen. They will need an army out of nowhere, ready to kill all Grimm left standing in Vale. But, if that doesn't happen, then it doesn't matter. We will win if anything else happens."

"That's good to hear." Emerald said. "I don't like all this fighting. I just want it to end, one way or another."

"Good, because it will end in our victory, as long as everything goes well."

The Skywind landed. Blake had led them to an abandoned part of town, where many buildings stood, but were falling apart, never taken down for new buildings to grow. "This is the place." Blake said. "I can feel her. She knows. She knows we're here."

"Yes she does." A voice said from shadows. Mercury and Emerald walked out, alone. Cinder wasn't with them. "She is waiting for the Maidens. Only the Maidens."

"Cinder will only let them through." Emerald said. "If anyone else will follow, we will be forced to take them out. Let the Maidens through, then we will leave you in peace."

"Cloud, should we?" Ruby asked. Cloud nodded. "OK... Come on, team RWBY. Let's finish this." The four members of Team RWBY ran past Emerald and Mercury, and they didn't fight back. They let them go.

"Now, Cinder didn't say what to do with the rest remaining." Mercury said, smiling. He pulled out his scroll, and pressed a button on it. Grimm from all around roared, and jumped from surrounding buildings. Every type of Grimm was here, and all of them had collars on them.

"The White Fang were generous enough to get together a small militia of Grimm for us to control." Emerald said. "5000, to be exact. Now, we will use all of them against you right now."

Mercury pressed a button, and all the Grimm charged the crew of the Skywind. "Go!" Cloud yelled. The remaining crew of the Skywind, including Ironwood, Glynda, and Ozpin charged down the unrelenting number of Grimm. Cloud and Tifa didn't bother with them, and jumped over the majority of the monsters, and went into combat with Emerald and Mercury.

"Come on, Jaune!" Pyrrha yelled. "Stay with me!"

"I'm not leaving your side, Pyrrha." Jaune said. The two of them went back to back, and defended each other from the advancing darkness surrounding them.

"Nora Smash!" Nora yelled, swinging her hammer down on a Beowolf, and shot an explosive from it, launching herself out of harm's way. She started swinging her hammer, hitting Grimm along the way. Ren followed closely behind her, shooting bullets and flipping over Grimm swipes.

"Final Cross!" Fiora yelled, and destroyed many Grimm advancing towards the Skywind. She ran forward, her suit repaired. She found Dunban, Melia, Reyn and Riki, and they swung at the onslaught of Grimm, determined to win for Shulk.

"There's so many!" Yuffie yelled, throwing her shuriken, which sliced through many Grimm before returning to her. Vincent shot a Grimm behind Yuffie, and brought his gun over his shoulder, killing an Ursa that was about to jump on him. Cait Sith ran forward, trying his best to keep all the Grimm at bay with magic. Nanaki jumped out of a horde of Grimm, and roared, a beam of light appearing above him and penetrating a row of Grimm. However, the divide quickly filled up with even more Grimm, which charged the Skywind crew.

Nora screamed as a Grimm tackled her to the ground, and even more Grimm kept jumping on her. "Nora!" Ren yelled, and tried to help her, but more Grimm stopped him from advancing.

"Nora's in trouble!" Jaune yelled. "We have to help her!"

"We can't!" Pyrrha yelled. "There's too many Grimm between us and her!"

Mercury kicked Tifa, who brought up her arms and blocked the strike. But, a Grimm came and swiped at her back, and she yelled in pain. She used some quick magic, and got right back into battle.

Cloud was having trouble with Emerald. She was using her Semblance to confuse Cloud, making him see four Emeralds. He pulled out his two small blades, and swung, but each Emerald he hit was a fake, replaced quickly by another fake Emerald. At this time, Emerald swung at Cloud from behind, and he yelled, and turned quickly to strike, but Emerald wasn't there, jumping into the sea of Grimm. "Come out and fight!" Cloud yelled. He blasted fire magic into the Grimm, but only succeeded in killing a few Grimm. Emerald came from behind again, this time swiping upwards, and kicking Cloud's legs out from under him. She kicked his head hard, knocking him out.

"Cloud!" Tifa yelled. Mercury punched Tifa in the back at this point, and she yelled in pain and turned around just as Mercury brought up his boot, and kicked Tifa square in the face, sending her skyward. She landed on top of the Skywind with a thud, unconscious.

A roar came from above, and lightning shot down where Nora was. "Oh yeah!" Nora yelled, and pushed, knocking all of the Grimm off of her, powered up from the lightning. She killed the Grimm next to Ren, and paired up with him. Pyrrha and Jaune were able to fight their way through the Grimm towards Nora and Ren, and together, they fought off the impending Grimm.

The six elemental dragons swooped in from above, fighting off Grimm near their comrades. However, two large Telethia came flying through, and took the attention of the dragons. They had to fly off, fighting off the newly arrived Telethia.

"This is hopeless!" Melia yelled. "We need help!"

The sound of gunfire and roaring Grimm came from afar. "What's going on?!" Reyn exclaimed.

A Grimm swiped at Dunban, who brought up his sword to defend himself. Before the swipe came down, however, the Grimm fell apart in two, dissolving. Dunban looked up to see his savior. "Glad to see you, Chrom." Dunban said.

"Sorry we weren't here sooner." Chrom said. He turned. "Attack!" Chrom yelled.

Grimm went flying as the Army of the Emblem advanced, clearing out Grimm. In the midst, there were Mechon, as well as Colony 9 Defence Force soldiers and ex Shinra soldiers.

From the other side, the students of Remnant fought off the Grimm, followed by Atlas specialists. "Oh, hell yeah!" Barret yelled. "Time to kick some ass!"

"No!" Emerald yelled. "This isn't supposed to happen!"

Pyrrha jumped forward, and swung down on Emerald, who jumped out of the way. "So it was you." Pyrrha said. "It was you who used an illusion on me to make me kill Penny."

"Who told you?" Emerald asked.

"It doesn't matter." Pyrrha said. "Right now, it's my job to stop you!" She dashed forward, past Cloud's limp body, and swung her spear. Emerald stopped it with one of her blades and swung at Pyrrha with the other, who blocked it with her shield.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune yelled. "Hold on, I'm coming to help!" He ran forward, but a bullet hit him in the side, skidding back. Mercury walked forward casually, smiling cockily.

"Jaune!" Nora yelled. She started to run forward, but was stopped by a hand on her shoulder. "Reyn?!"

"Hold up, kiddo." Reyn said. "If you're leader's gonna join us, he has to prove himself. Don't worry. If he's in trouble, we'll intervene. Right now, there are still many Grimm. We gotta job to do."

"...Fine." Nora said. She turned towards the Grimm, many of them running away from the battle, the newly arrived Army of the Emblem bringing a surge of hope to the people of Vale.

"It looks like all the Grimm are here." Fiora observed. "With them, the Telethia. Come on! Let's finish this!"

"Riki is ready!" Riki yelled.

"Chrom." Dunban said. "Just a fair warning, there are six dragons in the sky right now. Four of them are Robin, Lucina, Morgan and Reflet. Just make sure nobody takes them down. They're on our side."

"Warning noted." Chrom said. "Um... Who's Reflet?"

"Oh, Robina decided to change her name." Fiora said. "It's not important right now. Let's go!"

Pyrrha was deep in combat with Emerald. She couldn't concentrate on Pyrrha, her mind now cleared with a clear goal in her mind. Emerald couldn't use her Semblance on Pyrrha. "This isn't supposed to happen!" Emerald yelled. "Cinder's plan was flawless!"

"Well, you didn't count on one thing." Pyrrha said. "Our will to survive!" She dashed forward, bashed with he shield, catching Emerald off balance, and hit her head with the back of her spear, knocking her out. She looked out to Jaune, who wasn't doing to well. "Hold on!"

"No." Cloud grunted, getting up. Pyrrha grabbed his shoulders and helped him stand up. "This is his fight. He needs to grow."

"Really, this is too easy." Mercury said, kicking Jaune's shield, knocking him down on the ground. "What's with you? I mean, seriously. You're surrounded by some of the strongest people in the world. What are you, compared to them?"

Jaune got up, an angry expression on his face. "I don't care what I am. If I die to protect those I love, then I have succeeded in my mission. Now, once more!" Jaune charged forward, and Mercury got in fighting position, ready to hit Jaune when he failed. Jaune ran forward, but, right when Mercury was about to strike, Jaune jumped into the air, higher than anything he'd ever done before. A light shone around him: his Aura, protecting him from everything. His weapon had also transformed. He landed, a shield in blue, with a red bird-like design in the middle, and three golden triangles above the bird. His sword had grown in length, the same triangle pattern on the blade. It had a purple hilt, wing-like guards on either side, and green ribbons intertwined on the hilt. It had a golden diamond embedded in the middle.

"What...?" Jaune exclaimed.

"So what?" Mercury said. "You're still the same." He kicked at Jaune's face, but Jaune brought up his shield, his reflexes faster. The shield blocked it surprisingly well, and Mercury's eyes widened in surprise. Jaune pushed Mercury's leg, and swiped down with his new sword, cutting the robotic leg cleanly off. He brought it down to Mercury's other leg, and sliced it off just as well. He kicked the legless Mercury down to the ground, and aimed his sword at his neck.

"Surrender." Jaune said. Mercury slowly put up his hands, grunting his disapproval. Dunban and Reyn came forward and grabbed Mercury, while Barret grabbed the unconscious Emerald and brought her to the Skywind.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha yelled. Jaune turned around as Pyrrha kissed him on the lips. Neither of them let go for the longest time. Eventually, they heard a cough. They broke away from each other.

"Good job, Jaune." Ren said.

"Yeah!" Nora said. "You were so cool! You're new weapon is so cool as well! I wish mine could transform like that!"

"It can't be..." Marth said, walking forward with Ike and Roy behind him. He looked at it in shock.

"What?" Jaune asked.

"The Master Sword." Ike said. "But that means..."

"What does it mean?" Pyrrha asked.

"No." Roy said. "We can't say. We aren't for sure certain, but we'll tell you when we are."

"Yes." Cloud said, walking forward, towing Tifa. "All the Grimm are cleared out of Vale. With them, the Telethia. Now we just need to call down the dragons, hopefully restoring them to their normal selves."

"Uh, looks like we don't have to do that." Reyn said. The six dragons flew overhead, and landed in a line.

"They don't look happy." Jaune said. They roared, looking like they were gonna attack. Everyone pulled out their weapons, ready to defend themselves from the dragons that were once their friends.

"So, you've made it." Cinder said, talking to the four maidens who just ran in. She was facing away, looking at a map of Remnant, labeled with targets on the kingdoms, the first being Vale.

"Cinder, stop this." Ruby said. "Or we will have to make you!"

Cinder merely smiled. "Salem." She said. "That is why this is happening."

"Salem?" Weiss asked. "What is that?"

"Not what, but who. Her way will bring true peace to this world. A world where yes, nobody is free, but there will be no conflict. No war, and no hatred." Cinder turned, her eyes glowing blue with the power of the seer. "You think your mission will bring peace?! Ha! I have seen what will become of you. You're going on a fools errand, joining the trip across this world. Salem's plan will bring true peace to us all!"

"Enough talk!" Yang yelled. She fired a bullet at Cinder, but she avoided it and shot fire at the four of them. They rolled out of the way, and Blake and Yang charged Cinder. She dodged each one of Yang's punches, and slapped her to the side. Blake came running forward, and Cinder hit her with her sword, but the illusion took the hit. Blake jumped up into the air, and came down with her sword in hand. But, Cinder was prepared, and blocked the attack, and kicked Blake away. She blasted fire at the advancing Ruby and Weiss, stopping them in their tracks.

Her eyes were glowing ferociously, the entire world changing around them, changing to a living hell, with black spires protruding out of the ground, red clouds fogging the entire terrain, and the shattered moon above a blood red sky. "This world is too chaotic for its own good!" Cinder yelled. "It needs a leader! One who can straighten it out right! Lead it on the path of unity!"

"Where are we?!" Blake yelled.

"It doesn't matter!" Ruby yelled. "Come on! We are the maidens! We can stop her!" She used her Semblance and dashed forward, avoiding attacks by Cinder, and swung at her with her scythe. Cinder blocked all of the attacks, and jumped out of the way as Blake came from behind and tried to attack Cinder, but hit Ruby instead when Cinder jumped out of the way.

"We need a plan!" Weiss yelled.

"What can we do?!" Yang yelled. "She has Shulk's powers. And we've all seen what Shulk can do with that power."

"I think I've got something." Blake said. She closed her eyes, and reached out her hand. "Join me!"

"What?!" Weiss yelled. "What kind of plan is that?!"

"Just do it, Weiss." Ruby said. Her and Yang stood up and held out their hand, joining Blake. Weiss sighed and did the same. Cinder was closing in fast, ready to strike the four of them with one swift swipe. Right when Cinder swiped, all four of their eyes opened at once, and Blake made an illusion of all four of them, which Cinder hit instead of them. Then, Blake reached out and touched the symbol on the small of Cinder's back. Cinder gasped, and an orange aura surrounded her and Blake. The aura around Cinder began to disappear, and Blake's strengthened. Soon, Blake let go, and the entirety of the Fall Maiden's power was rightfully hers.

"No!" Cinder yelled. "This isn't right! Why didn't I see that? I have the seer's power!"

Team RWBY started each to glow with the power of the maidens. Their weapons were taken from them, into the air, and they started to glow as well. A blinding light engulfed their weapons, and when the light disappeared, team RWBY had their weapons back, but they were glowing gold, with a magical aura around them.

"This is impossible!" Cinder yelled. "That power was mine! MINE!"

"Now!" Ruby yelled. "Freezer burn!" Weiss froze the ground, and Yang punched it, her newly powered up weapons creating even more fog than ever before. It was almost blinding. Cinder tried looking around, but the power of the seer wasn't working. Her head was aching, but she ignored the pain.

"Ice Flower!" Ruby yelled. Weiss created glyphs in front of Ruby's scythe, and she fired bullets at Cinder, freezing the ground around her. "Ladybug!" Ruby and Blake ran forward, running back and forth, hitting Cinder again and again, her aura quickly depleting. "Checkmate!" Weiss ran forward, and with Blake, sent a flurry of swipes at Cinder, who tried her best to stop them, but couldn't. "Bumblebee!" Blake threw her whip at Yang, who caught it. Blake swung around, and Yang used her new momentum to hit Cinder square in the chest, breaking her free from the ice, and sending her skidding back. "Morning Sky!" Ruby yelled. She ran with Yang forward, and swung her scythe at Cinder, who got up quickly and dodged, but Yang ran up from behind and hit her up into the air. Ruby aimed down her scope, and fired a perfect shot straight at Cinder's head, almost depleting her aura.

"Now!" Ruby yelled. The four of them ran forward, their eyes glowing the color of the seasons. They lifted up their hands, each of them sending out a ball of energy each representing the four seasons. "Four Season Strike!" They each jumped up into the air, and one by one they came down, hitting Cinder with their energy. Spring, Fall, Winter, Summer. They each came down hard on Cinder, and the blood red sky disappeared.

When the dust settled, they were back in the same warehouse. Cinder was slowly getting up, her aura gone. When she stood up, she screamed, a blue energy emanating from her head. She crumpled to the ground limply, and the blue energy flowed outward, to who knows where.

"We...did it!" Ruby yelled, hugging Yang. The four of them admired their new golden weapons, with almost sacred power.

A roar came from outside. "No time to celebrate just yet." Blake said. "We need to get our friends back."

"Right!" Ruby said. "Come on!"

The dragons were angry. They were out of control. They couldn't tell what was right and what was wrong. They saw a lot of people holding things that could hurt them, but they didn't care. If it could hurt them, it was a threat. The six of them were side by side, ready to attack. Then, their minds became clouded. Four women appeared in their thoughts, each with drastically different personalities. "Your fight is done." They said in unison. "Return to yourselves, and return to us!" The dragons roared. A light encompassed them, and their bodies transformed, and became more humanoid. All six of them collapsed on the ground.

"Come on, Morgan..." A high pitched voice said above Morgan. "Wake up, please... It's me Ruby. Come back!"

Morgan groaned, and tried to sit up. "...Ruby!"

"Yay!" Ruby yelled. "You're alive! I was worried for a bit. You were the last one to wake up."

"Wake up from what?"

"Uh... Do you remember about you being a dragon?"

"I...remember taking the dragonstone and using it to transform. Nothing much afterward." She gasped. She looked around to see she was back in her room on the Skywind. "Did we win?! Is everyone alive?!"

"Uh, yes!" Ruby said. "All of us are alive, and all healed up. It's been a week since then. You're parents woke up a few hours ago, along with Reflet. I was getting a bit worried you wouldn't wake up."

"Hey, there she is." A voice said from the hallway. Shulk came walking up, his face still bearing a slight scar from the Grimm that sapped his power. "How are you, Morgan!"

"Shulk!" Morgan said. "You're back!"

"Yes, I am." Shulk said. "After Ruby and her team here defeated Cinder, my powers returned, and I woke up immediately. Now, I'm fully recovered. This mark might not go away anytime soon, but I'll live with it. How about you have Ruby there help you up to go see your parents and mysterious newcomers?"

"Newcomers?" Morgan asked.

"Shulk?" Ruby asked.

"Yes, Ruby?" Shulk acknowledged.

"Why couldn't Cinder use the powers of the seer when she had them? She could've beaten us, but she couldn't use it properly."

"Being a seer isn't something you can take. It requires physical and mental strength few possess. If the person is deemed unworthy, the power will move to the next person who is deemed worthy. I was deemed worthy by my predecessor, Cinder took that power from me, but it didn't find her worthy, so traveled back to me, reviving me."

"I see." Ruby said. "Well, anyways! Here, Morgan, let's go see these new people. We'll have to go past the prison to get to them, but I think you might be happy to see it." Ruby helped Morgan up, and, with a bit of a struggle, got her used to walking again. When they passed the prison, Morgan smiled, seeing Torchwick, Neo, Adam, Emerald, Mercury, and Cinder all locked up in separate cells. "Cid did something with the cells so that they can't use their Semblances in anyway. No escaping for them anytime soon!"

When they passed the prison, they reached the room the newcomers were in. Robin, Lucina, Reflet, and the rest of team RWBY were there. Sitting down, two people, a boy and a girl, with white blonde hair, were sitting down, in silver clothing, wearing a blue cape and no shoes.

"Morgan!" Lucina yelled. She walked up to her daughter and hugged her. "Good to see you up."

"You too." Morgan said. "Who are these two?"

"We'll introduce ourselves." The boy said. "We are the royal twins of Nohr. I'm Corrin."

"And I'm Kamui." The girl said. "Now, how did we get here?"

"Truthfully, we don't know." Robin said.

"We saw you come out of a portal in the sky, as dragons." Weiss said.

"Yeah!" Ruby said. "It was pretty cool, but that portal closed after you two came out."

"Dragons?!" Corrin exclaimed. "That can't be right... I know we have the blood of dragons running through us, but.."

"Excuse me." Cloud said, walking into the room. "Hello. I'm Cloud Strife. I understand that you come from a different world?"

"We are from Nohr." Kamui said. "If you've never heard of it, then I suppose we are, yes."

"Nohr..." Reflet said. "Is there another kingdom known as Hoshido next to your borders?"

"Yes!" Corrin said. "So you know of it?"

"Yes, I know of the mythical kingdoms of Nohr and Hoshido, tensions always tight between the two."

"Mythical?" Kamui asked. "Oh no..."

"Hey." Cloud said. "If you came from there, there's a way back. We'll find it. Now, Cid wants all of us up on the deck. That includes you two. I'll meet you up there." He left the room.

"Come on!" Ruby said. "I'm sure you'll love everyone here!" She left, and everyone else followed.

"This is too strange." Corrin said.

"I know, brother." Kamui said. "Xander would know what to do..."

"Well, he's far from here. The best we can do is stay with these people." They stood up, and ran to catch up with their visitors."

"Hello, Corrin, Kamui." Shulk said, shaking their hands. "Hope you've been getting used to us?"

"It'll take a while." Kamui said. "It certainly is awe inspiring, though. All of...this."

"Sure is." Cid said. "Took years to make!"

"Be quiet." Robin said. "You never had anything to do with the bulk of it!"

"But I am the one constantly fine tuning it."

"Can't argue with that." Tifa said, smiling.

"Anyway." Shulk said. "Repairs to Vale and Beacon are complete. The Grimm no longer seem to be interested in attacking here. No reports of Telethia have been given, either. The Army of the Emblem have pulled back a bit, ready for us to discover any new lands. We're ready for liftoff, just one more thing." He walked towards Corrin and Kamui. "Corrin and Kamui. If I can offer it, will you join us on our journey? We go around, discovering new lands, and striving for a world of peace. If you join us, it will give you a chance to find your homeland. But be warned: we are a team of good. Whenever we run into conflict, we do our best to help them. Now that I have said all this, the choice is yours."

Corrin and Kamui looked at each other. They seemed to talk to each other telepathically, like twins. Then they both turned to Shulk and nodded. "We accept." They said in unison.

Shulk smiled. "Excellent." Shulk turned around. "We'll leave in a few hours. If you wish to say goodbye to your friends here, teams JNPR and RWBY, then by all means, go right ahead.

Everyone at Beacon hailed them as heroes. Even team CFVY, considered to be the coolest team of them all, had praises to say. Some were jealous, others happy for them. Cardin Winchester even apologized to Jaune for all the things he did to him. Jaune, with some convincing from Pyrrha, accepted his apology. Blake and Weiss parted with Neptune and Sun, though they promised to call each other and visit as often as possible.

With goodbyes done, everyone got back on the Skywind. Shulk nodded to Cid, and the Skywind took off, flying toward the vast unknown. Thirty heroes were on the Skywind, and more were yet to come.

"Their numbers are growing." A man with a calm, collected voice said. He walked over and poured some tea in a cup for his shady master.

"I can see that!" The woman said angrily. "What are we going to do?"

"Cinder Fall did fail her mission." The servant said. "Even with Salem giving her all she needed. Perhaps we need to send someone more...powerful."

"But who?"

"Perhaps, we should send more than one. Part of their search is to find Hoshido and Nohr now. Perhaps we should be ready for them when they eventually reach those kingdoms."

A/N: School. That's all I have to say. I fell behind, and I've been swamped with homework and assignments. This simply had to be pushed to the side. Not to mention this chapter became way longer than I ever expected. I suppose I shouldn't make promises I can't keep, huh? Anyway, I'm torn between four options for the next chapter. I decided to let you guys vote which one you want in the review section next. Please note, though, I will do a chapter on all of these franchises eventually. I just want a vote to see what I should do next. 1st option: Fire Emblem Fates. My only problem with this one is that the games just barely came out, and I kind of want to give people time to experience the story before I do much with it. 2nd choice: Kid Icarus. I feel it fits very well, but I don't have as much of a thought out story as some others, like the Fates chapter I will eventually write. 3rd choice: The Legend of Zelda/Hyrule Warriors. This one seems like a no brainer to write. I would probably do Hyrule Warriors, since it has a reason to cross over with so many games in the franchise. Last choice: Pokemon. It's Pokemon's 20th anniversary this year, and I want to celebrate it. Since 30 can be divided by 6, I could have 5 people from the Skywind land in each of the 6 regions. Only problem with this one is the recently announced Pokemon Sun and Moon. I may want to wait until that one comes out. Anyway, Fire Emblem Fates, Kid Icarus, The Legend of Zelda/Hyrule Warriors, or Pokemon. Please tell me which one you want in the review section. I'll probably come out with a little side story not really connected to the "canon" of my story in the meantime, something I've wanted to do for a while. Anyway, hope you enjoyed!