Kratos was in Team SCRN's dorm, calling up a certain info broker. "It has to be one of them. It's the only explanation." Kratos said, remembering a talk he had with Coco after her match against Emerald and Mercury in the doubles round.
Flashback...
Kratos went up to Coco and Yatsuhashi after they exited the arena from the doubles round. "You fought admirably." He told them.
"I should've won. I don't know what came over me." Coco said.
"What do you mean, Coco?" Yatsuhashi asked.
"When I was pulled into the forest, I thought I saw you. But then I heard you were taken out in the geyser area. I must've been hallucinating. Too much stress and Adrenalin..." She explained.
Kratos was surprised and suspicious of this, but managed to hide it well. "Perhaps. Or perhaps it was something else..." He said, looking to Mercury and Emerald as they, too, made their way off the stage.
Back to now...
Kratos was brought back to reality when he heard the click of the other line picking up. "Why, if it isn't one of Mistral's Champions. And what can I do for you on this fine day?" Izaya asked from the other side of the call.
"I need information on these 4. Whatever you know, pertaining to their semblances." Kratos answered, showing him pictures of Mercury, Emerald, Cinder and Azula.
Izaya looked at the pictures, before appearing to instantly recognize one of them. "Well, well, there's a familiar face." Izaya said, enlarging the picture of Emerald on his end.
"Emerald? What about her?" Kratos asked.
"Why don't I tell you a story about a master thief. She'd often go to jewelry stores and steal the most valuable jewels or rings they had. But she would not sneak these rings, or come in late at night and steal them when no one was around. No. All the reports say the same thing. She walked right up to the counter and purchase the ring she was stealing. And each time, the manager would smile and hand her the ring once she handed them the lien. And she'd leave. But as soon as she did, the lien she gave them was gone. Like she'd never given it to them in the first place. But they DID give her the ring." Izaya explained.
"The lien was never there... an illusion." Kratos said, knowing all too well about illusions himself from his last life.
"Precisely. And now, it looks like she's moved on to more serious crimes. That WAS her partner Ms. Xiao Long SUPPOSEDLY crippled after their match, was it not?" Izaya asked. "I heard Ms. Xiao Long as well. It sounded like she believed he attacked her first. There can only be one truth. But if she was the victim of an illusion or hallucination, that may be why she can't see the truth." He explained.
"You're right. Thank you again, broker." Kratos said.
"It's my pleasure. You and your friends at Beacon are among my favorites in this tournament, so what they did to Ms. Xiao Long is simply deplorable. I hope you'll be able to fix this and clear her good name." Izaya said.
"I plan to." Kratos said, hanging up.
As Kratos made this call, we cut to the outside of Team RWBY's dorm, with two Atlesian Knight-200s guarding the room.
"I'm sorry, but you've left us with no choice." Ironwood could be heard inside the room.
Now inside the room, Yang is sitting on a bed. "But he attacked me!" She said angrily.
"Video footage and millions of viewers say otherwise." Ironwood countered, pacing around the room, not looking at her.
"Maybe you should've sent some soldiers along with Mercury to question him on what happened. He must've tricked Yang into attacking. If not him than SOMEONE on his team." Bayonetta said.
"They must have done something. One of their semblances, maybe. Their whole team has been up to something ever since they got here!" Dante said.
"They haven't done anything suspicious or that gives us reason to doubt them, unlike Ms. Xiao Long." He said, looking back at Yang.
"But Yang would never do that!" Weiss said, gesturing to her teammate from the other bed.
"Yeah!" Ruby agreed, standing up from beside her sister.
Ironwood turned around as Yang sighed and placed her head in her hands. "You all seem like good students, and the staff here at Beacon are fully aware that you would never lash out the way you did... under normal circumstances." He continued as Ruby sat back down, the entire team looking despondent. "What I believe and hope this to be is nothing more than the result of stress and adrenaline. When you're out on the battlefield, your judgment can become clouded in an instant. Sometimes you see things that simply aren't there. Even after the fight is past..." He explained. With that last statement, he looked to the right while rolling his right shoulder.
"But I wasn't-" Yang started.
"That's ENOUGH!" Ironwood snapped, angrily stern. When the room falls silent, he went on. "The sad truth is, whether it was an accident or an assault, it doesn't matter. The world saw you attack an innocent student. They've already drawn their own conclusions. And it's my job to inform you that... you are disqualified." He explained.
Yang's shock turned into miserable understanding when she looked to the ground and Ironwood left the room.
When the door clicked shut, "Dante growled. "Innocent my ass. They're up to SOMETHING! We just haven't figured out what yet." Dante said.
"But we WILL figure it out." Bayonetta said, looking to her twin. "And we WILL clear your name, Yang." She said.
Yang smiled at her sister. "Thanks, Cereza." She said, hugging her sister. She then turned to her teammates. "You guys believe me, right?" She asked.
"Duh!" Ruby said.
"You're hotheaded, but not ruthless." Weiss agreed, shaking her head).
Yang began to smile at this, when she realized one of their number hasn't spoken. "Blake?" She asked.
Blake turned her gaze away, earning a shocked look between Ruby, Dante and Weiss and a glare from Bayonetta. "I want to believe you..." She said.
"Huh!?" Ruby asked.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Weiss demanded.
"You must've gotten a hold of some bad fish or something." Dante said.
Yang's eyes widened, tears forming instantly. "Blake?" She asked in a hurt voice.
Bayonetta stood up instantly, glaring at the faunus girl. "Blake, I suggest you change your answer or prepare to be spayed." She warned.
Blake looked up at Yang, then back down. "How can you say something like that? Yang would never lie to us!" Weiss argued.
Blake glanced at Weiss, then took a deep breath before starting. "I had someone very dear to me change. It wasn't in an instant, it was gradual - little choices that began to pile up. He told me not to worry. At first they were accidents, then it was self-defense. Before long, even I began to think he was right." She explained, then pauses. "This is all just... very familiar." She told them as Yang looked up, tears now falling down her face. "But you're not him. And you've never done anything like this before. So... I want to trust you. I will trust you. But first, I need you to look me in the eyes and tell me that he attacked you. I need you to promise me that you regret having to do what you did." Blake said sternly.
Yang wiped her eyes of tears. "I saw him attack me, so I attacked back." She said as calmly as possible.
Blake let out a deep breath as she closed her eyes and smiled, then looked back up at her partner. "Okay. Thank you." She said.
Yang was still looking down. "I think I'm gonna rest up." She said.
"We'll get out of your hair." Blake said, standing up with Weiss and Ruby, all of whom were smiling.
Cut to outside the room, where Ruby was closing the door, pausing only for a second to see Yang slump forward before shutting it completely. She joined Weiss and Blake in the middle of the hallway.
"This is a mess..." Weiss said, shaking her head and sighing.
The sound of Scrolls dinging could be heard and Dante and Bayonetta opened their scrolls to see the video that Ryu had sent them. "Dammit! I knew it." Dante said.
"They're caught. And now I'm going to make them pay for it." Bayonetta said.
"What is it?" Ruby asked.
"It's a video from Ryu. Mercury's team did set up Yang." Dante told them.
The door to team SCRN's dorm opened and Kratos emerged. "Emerald's semblance is illusions. She made Yang see Mercury attacking her." Kratos said.
"You've been spying on them?" Weiss asked.
"Ever since the break-in at Beacon's tower, Ozpin asked us to keep an eye out for anything suspicious. And few things are more suspicious than Cinder's group. Now we know why." Bayonetta said.
"So, they put Yang through this... They're the reason she's like this now..." Ruby said, looking up at Bayonetta. "Sis... Make them pay." She said.
"They will. I promise." Bayonetta told Ruby, hugging her quickly.
"Let's go." Dante said, the three teammates running down the hall.
"What's the plan?" Kratos asked.
"First, we need to show Ironwood the video. Get Yang out of trouble and make him eat his words." Bayonetta said.
"Then, we need to keep watch for them at the Colosseum. From what Cinder said, it doesn't sound like they're done yet. And we need to get Ryu back here." Dante explained.
"Will he be alright? He's in the middle of enemy territory." Kratos said.
"He'll find a way. We always do. Besides, the enemy's gotta be working on their final move, so they should be moving out more than focusing on him." Dante explained.
Ryu was forced to leap out from cover as Medusa attacked him, alerting Cinder, Mercury, Emerald and Azula to his presence. "Ryu?!" Emerald asked in shock and disbelief.
"Your plan is over! I recorded your talk and sent the video to my team and Ozpin!" He told them.
Cinder was shocked at this. "No... Our plan can't fail... Not after all this time and planning!" She said in her mind, trying to process the idea of her plan failing, becoming furious in the process.
"You mean I had to let blondie screw up my leg for nothing?!" Mercury demanded.
Ryu glared at him. "You seem no worse for wear. But if you'd like, I can change that." He said.
Cinder, Emerald and Mercury prepared to attack, but Azula stopped them. "No! They only just received our next step, but they can only guess what it is. And even then, it will take them time to act on it. Everyone else is still in position. If we move now, we can still salvage the plan!" She informed.
Cinder glared at her briefly, before realizing she was right. "Very well." She said. "Medusa. Don't take too long with him. You'll be needed soon as well." She informed the bitch- I mean, the witch!
"Oh don't worry. I don't plan on missing this for the world." She said, turning back to Ryu as Cinder's team made their escape.
"Why are you doing this?!" Ryu demanded.
"Humans and faunus have achieved so much, having to deal with the Grimm. But Kingdoms and Huntsmen have put evolution in a stage of stagnation. With them gone, humans and faunus can adapt and become stronger." Medusa said.
"And if they don't, they'll die. If you go through with this, hundreds- no, thousands of people will die." Ryu said.
"That's called natural selection. The strongest survive, but the weak perish, leaving only the fittest to go on and make Remnant stronger." Medusa explained.
"The people of Remnant are strong enough on their own. You think you're helping, but you'll only throw the world into chaos. The Grimm are more dangerous than you could imagine. Without safe havens to stay safe and prepare, humanity will surely fall to stronger, more powerful Grimm. You claim to want to help people, but you only want to see them suffer. I will put an end to your evil ways!" Ryu said, drawing the Dragon Sword and taking his stance.
"Very well then. Let's see how well you've adapted." Medusa said, creating her Vector Blade in her hand.
Background Music: "Get Out Alive" by Three Days Grace
Ryu rushed in and jumped forward as Medusa swung at his feet, grabbing Medusa's head, going over and landing behind her, throwing her by her head over himself, flinging her into a stack of crates of dust, before using Gravity Dust and firing his Art of Piercing Void ninpo and flinging a black hole at the witch, slamming into her, also hitting and breaking the crates as well, catching the dust in a reaction that caused and explosions of various elements, no doubt causing major damage to Medusa.
"A shame. You were given a second chance at life, but wasted it again with evil intent." Ryu said.
"Vector Arrows!" Medusa announced, a number of black arrows shooting from the smoke from the explosion, flying towards our ninja hero at great speed. Ryu deflected one and slashed another, before doing several back handsprings to avoid the rest of the arrows. Suddenly, Medusa was right in front of him, having used a Vector Plate to launch herself towards Ryu, who had no time to react before she hit him in the midsection with her blade, throwing him back. He landed on his back, but quickly rolled into a crouching position, noticing 3 arrows around him in a triangle that would push whoever was on them to the next one.
Medusa created another plate underneath her to push herself forward, hitting the plate in front of Ryu and being pushed behind him to the left. Ryu turned just in time to block her next strike, before the arrow pushed her behind him, Ryu bringing his blade behind him a split second before Medusa's blade could hit him in the back, then she was pushed back to the first arrow. Ryu blocked several more strikes, before switching to and swinging around his Vigoorian Flail.
The nunchaku-like weapon easily allowing Ryu to attack from every angle, easily deflecting Medusa's attack or catching her with a quick, yet painful slash, eventually slowing her down enough for Ryu to catch her with a powerful attack to launch her into the air, jumping after her, grabbing her and spinning in the air and smashing her into the ground with the devastating Izuna Drop. Ryu then jumped back to a safe distance as Medusa struggled back to her feet.
"I admit. You're quite skilled. Not to mention powerful. But you're also a Revived. You were already a warrior of immense power in your last life, now with all your previous experience and skill. You're already on par with most Huntsmen. The people of this world can only hope to be as strong as you. If our plan succeeds, then people will continue to adapt and easily be as strong as you are now. Perhaps even as strong as you were in your last life." She explained.
"But so many innocents would die in the process. You don't care if they adapt or not. You revel in the carnage your actions create. And that's why I'm going to put an end to you!" Ryu snapped, rushing in with his Dragon Sword once again. Medusa shot several more vector arrows at him, but he managed to dodge them all and slashing her into the air, before vanishing, reappearing in the air beside her, rushing past her and slashing her, before vanishing again and repeating this process at least a dozen times. He finally appeared above her and blasted her down to the ground with his Torn Sky Blast attack.
End Music
Medusa skidded back from Ryu's attack, panting heavily, her aura flickering as the last of it was depleted, her Vector Blade dispersing as her Semblance could no longer sustain the blade. "Damn you!" She snapped, before smirking. "No matter. Cinder and the others are surely in place by now. I've bought them more than enough time." She said, smashing open a nearby crate and pulling out and handful of Dust crystals. "Take heart in knowing that when we're done, Remnant will be a stronger place. Without Beacon." She said, throwing the crystals to the ground between them.
"No!" Ryu shouted, rushing forward, but the crystals hit the ground and exploded, filling the warehouse with smoke. When the smoke cleared, Medusa was gone. "Damn! They're really trying to take down Beacon? I can't let that happen. I've gotta get back there and help the others. Ren... Nora..." Ryu said, using one of his lesser used Ninpo, spinning and vanishing in the wind, becoming a falcon and flying through a window of the warehouse, flying back to Beacon as fast as he could.
Bayonetta had split off from the group to get to the Colosseum as Dante and Kratos found Ironwood. "General!" Dante said.
The general sighed at this. "I'm sorry, but I told you that-" He started.
"This isn't about Yang! It's about the people who attacked the Fall Maiden." Kratos said.
"What?" Ironwood asked.
"Ozpin already let us in on the secret. We've been looking for any questionable activity and that group is always questionable. Our teammate followed their ambulance and sent us this video." Dante said, showing the general the video.
The general growled at this. "They've been under our noses, this whole time! Dammit!" He cursed. "I'm sorry for doubting your friend. But I'm afraid it's too late to undo her disqualification." He explained.
"Also, we cannot simply announce the guilty party." Ozpin explained, walking up to the group.
"Professor Ozpin." Kratos said.
"We will alert the guards to be on high alert in case the team returns, but we cannot publicly announce them to be guilty. After seeing Mercury's apparent injury, it would raise too many questions, or make it seem as though Beacon is trying to excuse Yang's 'attack' on the boy." Beacon's headmaster explained.
Dante sighed. "I don't like it, but you're right." He admitted.
"Then what do we do?" Kratos asked.
"We'll increase security and have them on the look-out for Cinder and her team." Ironwood explained.
"Good. And we're heading to the arena to keep an eye out for them there. Bayonetta's there already." Dante explained.
"Excellent. Whatever their plan is, it must be moving into its final stages. And we must prepare for it." Ozpin said.
"Right. Let's go, Kratos." Dante said, heading for the arena.
Kratos started after him, but then noticed Team JNPR and, in particular, a depressed Pyrrha. His sister had been acting strangely for some time now. And Kratos had to find out why. "I'll be along shortly." He said, following Team JNPR.
In the twilight, Pyrrha sat alone outside the dining hall, head bowed as the wind rose. She saw the air blow a single orange leaf onto the cobblestones at her feet and she looked at the fall colors with a face of total fright, remembering the sight of Amber in her comatose state and the choice weighing her down.
"Pyrrha." Kratos said, Pyrrha turning to see her brother walking up to her, before sitting next to her.
"Oh. H-hello, Kratos." She said.
"Something is bothering you. I can tell." He said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You know you can tell me. I'm your brother. And I'm here for you. Always." He told her.
She sighed. "Kratos... Ozpin told me everything." She said.
"What?!" Kratos asked, shocked and worried. And starting to become furious at Ozpin.
"He told me about the maidens and how his group protects them and the world in secret. And that you were reborn on Remnant from another world." She explained.
Kratos growled at this. "Bastard! I told him to keep you out of this!" He snapped.
"So, it's true. And you knew." She said.
"Yes. About all of it. I am a revived warrior. All of Team SCRN is." He explained.
"Why wouldn't you tell us? You're my brother, but now it's like I don't even know you!" She said.
Kratos sighed at this. "I never wanted you to know." He explained.
"But why?" She asked.
Kratos sighed. "In my old life, I was born in a land called Sparta. It was a brutal, savage place. If you were born weak, sickly or disfigured, you were discarded." He explained.
"Discarded?" She asked.
"Thrown off a cliff." He elaborated, causing her to gasp and cover her mouth in shock and horror. "And from then on, as a boy, you were trained to become a warrior for the Spartan army. I joined the army and rose through the ranks, becoming a general." He said, turning away from her before continuing. "But I was cruel and vicious. I constantly lead invasions into countries and cities and slaughter countless innocents. Men, women and children. Then, in one battle, as I was near death, I called out to the god of war, Ares. He slew my foe and I became his slave... and even more of a monster than I already was. He sent me to kill even more than I already did, driving me into a crazed state of bloodshed... where I killed my own wife and daughter. And I was cursed, their ashes forever clinging to my skin, turning it deathly white. I became the Ghost of Sparta" He explained.
"Kratos..." Pyrrha said, shocked.
"I caused so much pain and suffering in my last life. I vowed in this life to protect everyone and everything I could to atone for my actions. And I hid those actions, that life, from you, from our parents, everyone, because if you knew, you'd never look at me the same. You wouldn't see me as your brother. Only the monster that I was... That I am." He said, looking down.
Pyrrha walked up and hugged her brother tightly. She then looked up at him. "You said it yourself, it was another life. The man who did that was the Ghost of Sparta. But you are the champion of Remnant. And my brother. And you've already done so much to make up for all you did in your past life. You've saved so many people. And in the future, I know you'll save even more." She said.
Kratos was shocked, but then hugged her once again. "Thank you, dear sister." He said, before pulling away. "But, what did Ozpin want with you?" He asked.
"He showed me the Fall Maiden. He wants me to take her place. But, to do that, they'd have to take her aura... her soul... And put it in me." She explained.
"Perhaps I'm not the only monster after all." He growled.
"I don't know what to do." She told him. "If I did this, I could save the world, but I may not be who I am anymore." She explained.
Kratos put a hand on her shoulder. "The person you are now is enough to save the world. It needs people like you, Pyrrha. Whatever power you may gain. It isn't worth it if you lose yourself to it as I did." He explained.
Pyrrha glanced up as she wondered what to say. "Do you believe in destiny?" She asked.
Kratos was slightly confused in this. "Well... in my last life, there were beings known as the fates, who literally weaved the destiny of all living things." He explained.
She shook her head at this. "When I think of destiny, I don't think of a predetermined fate you can't escape. But rather... some sort of final goal, something you work towards your entire life." She explained her opinion as the wind blew the two leaves away.
"I've had similar devotion, but it always led me down the wrong path.
"What do you mean?" She asked.
"I've already told you how I became Ares' slave. That came not only from the fear of death, but the desire for my men to win the war and continue on, so that I could spread Sparta's glory. What I considered my goal. My destiny. Then, Ares made me kill my family and my goal became to destroy Ares. And I did. And became the new God of War. But I was betrayed and killed by Zeus. I escaped the pit of Hades and tried to kill him, only to slay my sister, Athena. She told me all of Olympus would protect Zeus, so I made it my mission, my destiny to destroy Olympus. But, in doing so, I left the world in ruin. I was so caught up in achieving my goals I failed to notice the harm I did to everything around me." He told her.
Pyrrha was shocked at this. She had never even considered what harm this action may have to those around her. "Then, what should I do?" She asked.
"As I told you, do not lose yourself in your goals and think about the harm you could do to those around you." He explained. "But, whatever your decision, I will support you and stand beside you always." He told her.
She smiled and the two hugged one last time. "Thank you, brother." She said.
"We should head to the stadium. You may be next to fight." He said.
"Right." She agreed, the two heading off.
Back in the Colosseum, people were back in the stands cheering and ready for entertainment as Ruby noticed her dark-haired sister. "Bayonetta!" She said, descending down the steps to an open seat next to her.
"Hey, Ruby. I haven't seen Cinder or her team yet, but I'm still looking." Bayonetta told her.
"You think they're back already?" Ruby asked.
"From the sound of it, they're moving into the final stage of their operation. It must be happening here somewhere." Bayonetta explained.
Ruby nodded and looked around, before gasping as she almost immediately noticed Emerald from across the stadium. "It's Emerald! You were right!" She said.
As if sensing she was being watched, Emerald leaned forward to glare at Ruby, who suddenly got up with a worried expression, along with Bayonetta, who sported and angry, yet determined expression, the two running towards the exit tunnel. Checking to see if no one was around, they entered a door labeled with a yellow maintenance sign and found themselves inside of the Colosseum. "Kratos found out Emerald's Semblance. It's illusions. That's how she tricked Yang. She'll likely try the same thing with the next fight. So if we stop her, we stop their whole operation." Bayonetta explained.
"Okay." Ruby said seriously as she walked forward with determination as the announcers' voices were heard, muffled behind the brick walls.
"All right, it's now time to begin the randomization process for our next fight!" Oobleck announced.
The sound of the roulette was heard faintly, but what made the sisters stop in their tracks was the sight of another unexpected "friend" stepping out from a nearby tunnel, completely unharmed and definitely not going home.
"Mercury?" Ruby asked, squinting as if making sure.
"It looks like our first contender is... Penny Polendina from Atlas..." Port announced.
Ruby's attention went from the broadcast to the fraud "What are you doing?" She asked.
"It doesn't matter. We're putting a stop to it. It looks like Yang didn't hurt you too badly after all. I'll have to fix that." Bayonetta said, walking towards Mercury.
"And her opponent will be... Pyrrha Nikos from Beacon!" Port added.
Ruby dipped her head in thought until she realized the awful truth. "No..." She said.
Bayonetta stopped at this and turned back to her sister. "Ruby, what's wrong?" She asked.
Mercury put a hand to his chin. "Ooh, polarity versus metal. That could be bad." He explained.
Ruby glared at her new opponent, reaching back to grab Crescent Rose, only to remember she didn't have it on her. She glared back at Mercury and started towards him, but Bayonetta stopped her. "Ruby, you know you can't fight without Crescent Rose! What's gotten into you?!" She asked.
"I won't let you hurt Penny!" Ruby snapped at Mercury, trying to get to him past Bayonetta.
"Why will Penny be hurt? What's wrong?" Bayonetta asked, getting Ruby to face her. "Ruby, you can trust me. I'm your sister. You can tell me anything." She said.
Ruby looked unsure for a moment, but nodded, deciding Penny's well-being was more important than a secret. "Penny's... a robot. An artificial human, but she has a soul and aura, everything. So if Pyrrha uses her Semblance... She could destroy Penny." Ruby explained.
Bayonetta was shocked, but knew about Amber and the aura transfer machine and stuff, deciding it was possible to give aura to a robot. "I understand." She said, standing up and glaring at Mercury, who simply grinned maliciously and set himself up in a fighting pose. "I won't let them hurt your friend. Get ready. And when I make my move. Run." She explained.
"Okay." Ruby said determinedly.
Outside, the arena's center was lifting back into the air and an oblivious Penny was grinning wildly, with her fellow redhead Nora cheering excitedly from the stands, even getting Ren to let out a reluctant "Yaaay..." The screen faded to black.