The Dreamer Gate

by Malignent

Thousands of Uruk-Hai are drawn to Remnant after a ritual gone wrong, and are more than capable of bringing their own taste of war to this new world. Now the people of Remnant must deal with this new and numerous threat. As the Tournament draws near, and the actions of the Uruk Leaders grows ever bolder, can peace truly be maintained?

18. Chapter 18: The Bone Breaker

Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of The Rings, the Middle-Earth universe, Shadow of War/Mordor or RWBY.

This work will contain moments of intense violence, dark and dirty humor, and MANY canonical divergences.

---

The Bone-Breaker

"It's through!" one of the shield-bearers shouted as a creep lunged in between their formation and darted for the less protected miners behind them. Seeing one of the Mining Uruks turn back too late to raise his pickax for defense, the Creep threw itself at him only for a massive blade to swing into it from the side and cleave it in two.

"Smart...But still not smart enough." Pigug grumbled to himself before standing tall and gesturing to the line of shield wielding Uruks guarding the miners "Tighten your formation!"

A chorus of yells erupted as they moved to his order, tightening just as another group of Creeps erupted from a nearby cave and raced towards them. Like the dozens of groups before them, this group met the shields of Pigug's Shield Bearers and sank upon their spears.

Making sure his Uruks were following his orders, Pigug turned away and walked to the edge of a large cliff before looking down to the immensely spacious cavern around them. The trek to this place had been comparatively uneventful for the Garrison Captains, only a few wandering Grimm interrupting the monotony of their trek. As such it had taken them barely half a day in order to reach it, even accounting for their wagons. The ease of that trek had left many of them confused. Even after their hunting parties had picked the area around the tower clean, they had still suspected some resistance from the dark beasts.

That confusion lasted only until they actually reached the massive mound of sandstone protruding from the face of the desert like a blemish. A gaping hole led to a catacomb rife with resources...

... and Grimm.

From the moment Pigug saw the mound, he was grateful for the lack of resistance along the way. Grimm of all shapes and sizes were scattered around the entrance, and even more lay within. Yet despite their numbers, the Garrison had a mission to complete, one that they had been expressly given by their Warchief. They wouldn't need all of the minerals present within the Catacombs, merely enough to satisfy the Storm's needs.

And so they pushed only as far as they needed to, forcing back the numerous Grimm through the element of surprise. Pigug's Shield-Bearers had been invaluable for this, as the sturdiness of their shields gave the rest of the Garrison the breathing room necessary to flank around the Grimm and cut many down. Using the still vanishing bodies as projectiles to slow down the rest.

Once they'd confirmed the veins of metals and minerals that were needed, they used most of the dust they had to seal up most of the adjacent caves and trap the Grimm below them. It was only after the Miners had gotten to work that the Garrison recognized a significant counter to these maneuvers: The Grimm known as Creeps.

Though pitifully weak on their own, the Creeps could tunnel faster than Beowolves or Ursai could. And so began an over twenty-four hour long battle of attrition. The Garrison was especially good at holding captured ground, but the Grimm never seemed to stop. Every thirty or so minutes a Creep would burrow another way through and a veritable horde would have to be forced back.

It kept them awake through the night, with the Miners having to rely on others for protection. Despite their stalwart defense, a good number of Uruks were dragged into the caves below. But if there were ever a group designed specifically to persevere against such pressures, it was the Garrison.

Pigug had seen far worst battles, had lived long enough to know that they were fairly lucky. While some of the Grimm like that Creep from earlier could show a semblance of intelligence, the vast majority were still mere beasts. And no beasts as weak as these could possibly break a Garrison formation.

Even with that knowledge, they didn't have the benefit of a Spawn Pit to replenish their numbers. So every soldier lost wore at them, made them have to organize differently to account for the lost. Dharg's semblance kept them from getting surprised most of the time, numerous Hell-Hawks flitted about the cave walls and would release shrill cries the moment a breach was occurring.

It wasn't a situation they could hold up forever, but it only had to hold long enough.

At least, that was how it should have been.

A number of Uruks kept watch near the mouth of the Catacombs to make sure there was no risk of them being boxed in, and an even smaller number scouted beyond that just to be safe. It was nearing the second day since they'd left the Tower when two of the Scouts reported something distressing. Atlesian ships, plenty of them. They weren't heading for the Tower, nor did they seem interested in the mound. But it wasn't long before they figured they were heading for Shade Academy, the unofficial capital of Vacuo.

Gathering Forces.

Pigug had called for them to pull back immediately. Though not the exact standards the Storm had requested, Pigug knew they didn't have long before that growing Armada made for the Tower.

So with his Shield-Bearers covering their retreat, the Garrison pulled from the Catacombs and spilled from the mouth of the mound with wagons loaded with metals and gems. It was as the Mound faded into the distance that Dharg asked the same question he'd asked since they departed.

"How's all this supposed to make a Dreamer Gate?"

"The gems..." Pigug said after a while, keeping his gaze on the empty wastes before them "similar ones were mixed in with the one that Dreamer used to bring us all here."

"But Tarz ain't ever used them when he was workin' on it." Dharg mentioned

Pigug didn't answer at first, merely kept up the steady march which brought them closer and closer to their master, "Perhaps such is only necessary when opening a Gate between worlds."

"But then what about Tarks? They say they need more of everything for this gate, but the blood of tarks has been in almost all of them... and yet they ain't askin' us to go nab a bunch more of-?"

"We're following orders, Dharg." Pigug interrupted without looking at him, "If the master believes that this is necessary to get back home..."

He turned back to Dharg and narrowed his gaze within his helmet, "...then it is."

Turning his eyes to the skies, Pigug grumbled "Not that it matters now. We might not be able to get it built before the Atlesians come for the Tower."

Dharg cackled a big before pressing a metal claw to the side of his helmet, "Ooh now that battle I'm lookin' forward to. It's a real chance to show the Master just how far I've come..."

"And it's getting closer by the second!"

---

"And yet you still can't figure out how the Blue Scarves managed to infiltrate the Tournament itself?"

Adam's voice came from a scroll lying on a table next to Cinder, who stared out of the dorm room's window with her lips pulled into a small frown.

Emerald and Mercury watched from the bed as Cinder didn't respond at first, prompting Adam to continue.

"How many times have I asked how they did it?" Adam wondered "How many times have you found not even a hint to an answer?

"Your tone leaves much to be desired, Adam." Cinder finally spoke "What exactly is it that you want from me? Your followers are already in place, mine are as well. All things are ready, so I know it can't possibly be a delay you seek."

"I want you to finally consider that these external forces have become too internal to ignore." Adam stated "Continue with your plot, we will follow in whatever manner you wish. But I know that, as a planner, that boy's stunt must have caught you off guard."

Cinder didn't answer again, so Adam kept going.

"How could it not have? With all the assurances you've given me, here we are with a situation that could've easily devolved into him setting off your hordes prematurely." Adam sounded as if he pulled away from the microphone "Your pets were barely holding back, thrashing around in their cages after everyone saw him nearly end that girl. I guarantee you that if he hadn't been stopped, your Master's army would've been attacking that city before we were even considering putting our ships in the sky."

Cinder turned away from the window, casting an even glance to Emerald and Mercury.

"That would've been more than enough to have this entire plan burning right then and there, correct?" Adam asked "Just a simple oversight could've ruined all the sweat and blood you put into this, and it's infuriating."

Cinder released a small chuckle, "And the point this spiel draws to is?"

"That we cannot risk having such oversights again. Delaying is impossible now, it has to happen the moment the Tournament resumes." Adam declared "If something else like this happens, the Tournament will be facing more than a simple hiatus."

"No worries on that front," Cinder picked up the scroll and cycled through its contents "we recently discovered all we need for a trigger."

"Then might I add a few... suggestions for how we might make your mission a little easier?"

Cinder stared down at the image of the green-eyed girl her Scroll was showing, thinking for a moment before smirking "I'm listening."

---

Beacon Academy- Infirmary

"Ciel..?" Penny called softly as she approached the bed, cautiously glancing back to Weiss and Ruby, who gave her a thumbs up

Grinning, she kneeled beside the bed and took a moment to look at Ciel, "Can you hear me?"

A small groan caused Penny flinch away from the bedside as Ciel spoke, "Just as I said the last three times you've asked... yes Ma'am."

Penny couldn't help the smile which grew on her face, "J-just checking."

Ciel looked away for a moment, the bandages wrapped around the top of her head pulled in a way which made her wince as she leaned up in her bed "And it would seem you once again brought Miss Schnee and Miss Rose with you, I suppose I should apologize again for my Partner's behavior."

"No need, I've gotten used to it, actually." Weiss smirked as Ruby walked over.

"Of course we wanna visit you, we're all classmates!"

Ciel blinked slowly as she leaned back with a thoughtful frown, "I'm fairly certain we aren't-"

"As in students of Friendship." Weiss explained

"Yeah, we can't go abandoning one of our own in her time of need."

Despite herself, Ciel gave a nod before carefully bringing a hand up to her head. The fracture had been more than enough to render her unconscious for a full day, but that was it. Compared to some of the other patients who'd been through the infirmary recently, she'd be out in no time. But for a brief second there she was closer to death than she ever could've expected. Flynt still had Aura left when she fell, meaning almost any attack would've been enough to finish her. It was by mere seconds that she was pulled from the grip of death, and the one person responsible for that...

Ciel met Penny's gaze for a moment, watching her partner smile at her made her feel... bad. She couldn't explain why, couldn't find any logic for it. Her partner had saved her, so she was smiling. So why was it that Ciel felt bad seeing that smile? She pondered the mystery, allowing a tense silence to fill the room. Well, it was tense for Ruby and Weiss, but Penny grabbed the edge of the bed and just stared at her for a moment.

"I'm... sorry." she finally said, causing Ciel to tilt her head.

"For what? You performed adequately during our round and managed to prevent my death." Ciel stated before pointing to her head wound "If anything, I should be apologizing for letting myself get blindsided by such and attack."

"But you wouldn't have gotten blindsided if it weren't for me!" Penny declared, causing Ruby and Weiss to step back "The Ciel I know wouldn't have waited... you would've dragged me to some other assignment you'd have for me! Instead you were... you were trying to make friends with him because of me... right?"

Ciel blinked, her hands lowering to her sheets as Penny pressed her forehead against the edge of the bed.

"I just... wanted you to be happier. I know I'm not your ideal Partner, and I know you wish you were with someone else." Penny looked up at her "So I just thought that if I taught you what I learned then... maybe you'd have as many friends as I do! Friends who you could have fun with and who weren't just a job to you."

"Ma'am, I don't know what you're getting so worked up over." Ciel admitted

"Nobody knew that Flynt was with the Scarves." Weiss interjected "From what he said it seems clear he was aiming to kill someone from the get go, it was just coincidence that you got matched up against him."

"Yeah!" Ruby agreed "It could've been anyone lying in that bed. And ya know what?"

She pulled Penny close and hugged her before nodding to Ciel "You don't have to go get a bunch of new friends!" Ruby stated before giving Penny a squeeze "Because it looks to me like you've got the best friend you could ever ask for right here!"

Penny gasped before returning the hug full force, "Oh Ruby!" she smiled as Weiss rolled her eyes behind them.

Ciel watched the exchange with her usual even expression, hand once more returning to her head as she thought it over. Miss Rose had just provided a suitable excuse to avoid anymore of Penny's Friendship lessons, and Weiss seemed to alleviate Penny's worries as well. Despite what should be a simple resolution to a non-issue, Ciel couldn't help frowning at Penny's smile again.

.{{{{{+-+}}}}}.

Ciel wasn't the only one in recovery.

Leaning against one of the pillars outside of Beacon's large cafeteria was one Yang Xiao Long with a crutch leaned against her. The crutch's owner was currently doing everything in her power to invalidate its existence, running in between the pillars, occasionally leaping from one to another as her partner cheered her on. Though Blake would slow or stumble occasionally, Yang knew better than to point such a thing out while she was speeding all over the place. It was only once Blake couldn't catch herself fully and had to pause to lean against another pillar that Yang grabbed the crutch and walked over.

"Gotta say," she approached with a snicker "it's almost like that whole train thing never even happened."

"Try convincing the medical staff of that," Blake sighed as she leaned down to massage the side of her leg "they won't even let me in the training room."

"I'm sure they're just being cautious." Yang shrugged "With all this stuff happening during the festival, public support's been iffy."

Tossing Blake her crutch, Yang folded her arms and cast her gaze to the side, "With how fast Ren and Ciel have been recovering you'd think they'd give ya some breathing room."

Blake looked back at that before reluctantly taking hold of the crutch and leaning her weight onto it, "Speaking of the Tournament, it looks like I'll be able to watch with you all once it resumes."

Yang went silent for a moment, causing Blake to look back at her once the lack of words became more notable, "Yang?"

"Yeah... about that..." Yang met Blake's eyes with a frown "I know Weiss and Ruby will probably love having you there, but... I don't think I'm feeling it."

"What?" Blake fidgeted with her crutch a bit before turning around "Yang, during my first days of recovery the one thing you said over and over again was that you couldn't wait to watch the Tournament with me."

"I know, and I'm sure it'd be kick ass! But with all the fighting going on nowadays and what happened with Flynt..." Yang shook her head "I think I'm gonna put some distance between me and fighting for a bit. I'll keep up the Training, don't think Ice Queen would allow me to skimp out on that, but I just want to hang out with my friends before school starts again."

"But..." Blake thought for a moment before looking down "I don't need you to go, but the idea of you not being with us while we're watching..."

"It's not like I'm gonna be on my own, Team CFVY's been planning on dunking out ever since they lost to Cinder's team." Yang explained before raising her hand and counting down "Then there's the rest of Team FNKI, Team BRNZ and a couple others."

"Well... I guess if that's what you want." Blake smiled as she turned away and began walking with the aid of the crutch "Then I guess I better hope you don't get into trouble partying with all of them."

Yang smirked before following her "Aw come on, when have I ever been known as a troublemaker?" she asked before folding her arms behind her head "Once the Tournament's out of the way, we can do the whole group training thing again with twice as much vigor with all this downtime we're getting."

Practically feeling her partner's optimism, Blake couldn't keep her own smile from widening along with her's.

.{{{{{+-+}}}}}.

Ren placed a hand over the bandages wrapped around his lower abdomen, frown growing as he traced his fingers over them.

Before he could think too much over them, a gentle nudge at his back brought his attention to Nora, who grinned at him before nodding to the door they stood in front of. Smiling back at her for a moment, he reached forward and opened the door. Inside, Jaune was lounging on his bed and reading a comic while Pyrrha was staring out the window at something.

At the sound of the door opening, Jaune glanced up on to go wide eyed at the sight of Ren standing there, "Ren? They let you out?" he shook his head a bit before sitting up and glancing to Nora "Nora, you said you were just going to visit!"

"I was!" Nora leaned against Ren "But little did I know this absolute tank over here was getting sent back!"

"Then why didn't you call us?" Jaune asked while tossing the comic on his bed "We could've met you guys on the way or something."

"Felt like this would be a much better surprise." She winked as Pyrrha turned away from the Window.

"No matter the circumstances, its good to see you up and about." She said whilst nodding to Ren "How are you feeling?"

"All things considered? Good." He said whilst moving to his bed "The Doctors said I was lucky to avoid any intestinal damage, if it wasn't for the stitches needing a bit more time to settle they probably would've released me earlier. At least now I should be able to watch you go up in the singles rounds."

Pyrrha frowned at that before returning her gaze to the window. Outside her eyes locked to the floating form of the Arena hovering in the distance. As she watched, Nora helped Ren to his bed despite his assurances that he was fine.

"Come on, the Doctors might give ya the all clear but Nurse Nora's here to make sure ya don't push yourself." She stated with glee

"Really, they said that the lacerations weren't hard to treat." he insisted while place a hand over his bandages again "That Uruk held back the moment he broke my Aura."

"Ren... he put you in the hospital." Jaune noted

"Even so..." Ren met his gaze "He was fully capable of doing worst in that scenario."

Pyrrha gave a hum at that, keeping her eyes locked on the Colosseum, "They seemed to be in a hurry, pulling out mere moments before Atlas arrived. Almost as if they knew they were coming."

"And nobody found that woman the scarves tried taking," Jaune added before looking down and idly tapping his fingers together "turns out she didn't even own the place they took her from."

Nora watched all three of them slip into silent pondering before pouting, "Ugh, listen to you guys! Ren's back and all you can do is worry?" she balled her hands into fists "We took on some dangerous guys and sent 'em packing. We need to celebrate! Need to chow down! Something!"

Jaune gave a shrug, "I hear Team CFVY's planning a post-Tournament party for all the contenders, maybe we can ask them if that whole warehouse incident could get us a mention during it."

"I'll take it!" Nora declared before pointing to the door "Come on, let's go find them right-!"

A buzzing interrupted her, and soon they were all looking to a scroll on a nearby desk.

"That's mine, sorry." Pyrrha gave them an apologetic bow before grabbing her scroll and taking the call. As she put it to her ear and listened, her teammates continued discussing Nora's plan. But soon their words became background noise as she focused more intently on the voice on the other side. When the call ended, she wordlessly began making her way to the door.

Jaune picked up on the confused expression she wore and spoke up. "So who was it, Pyrrha?"

His voice seemed to snap her from her confused state, and she soon turned to the rest of her team "Sorry, it would seem Ozpin requires me for something.

"Probably gonna congratulate you for absolutely mulching the competition." Nora suggested before smirking "I bet he's gonna offer you a full scholarship."

"That's not how that works." Ren shook his head

"Either way, you'll have to tell me later how your talk with Team CFVY goes." she said while taking her leave.

.{{{{{+-+}}}}}.

Coco liked working with weapons, it kept her busy, gave her something to do, took her mind off things.

Coincidentally, she'd found herself working in the Workshop more and more these days. There used to be a time when she only did things like this when she figured it was time for maintenance, or when she knew she'd be going into battle soon. Now it felt more like a routine than anything. It was relaxing, therapeutic, both things she felt she needed more as things grew more tense in Vale. She'd been finding more and more excuses to come here ever since their fight with Emerald and Mercury, and she'd come no less than three times since Flynt's debacle.

Honestly, even she was getting disappointed with the excuses she'd been coming up with lately. The recoil was iffy? She was Coco Adel for god's sake, if anyone should be good at making excuses it should be her. She was pretty sure the rest of her team knew she was just on edge because of what happened. Honestly, who wouldn't be? Speaking with some other students, it was clear that the feeling was pretty widespread. A mixture of disbelief, confusion, anger, fear, the whole shebang. Coco considered herself more in the 'disbelief' category. She'd spoken to Flynt, joked with the guy. Neon had been adamant that something was wrong, but even she didn't seem to expect just how right she was.

The media had been going wild ever since, and officials from both Atlas and Vale had been working overtime to reassure people that they had it under control. Coco wasn't exactly sure how they could promise that, what she did know was that she couldn't browse the net for more than three minutes without coming across some wild hit-pieces with theories ranging from feasible to outright stupid. Coco had momentarily sworn off the net until things died down, which probably wouldn't happen until the tournament was over.

And since most conversations would eventually turn to what went down with Flynt, the workshop had become Coco's haven. Here she could just focus on taking things apart, putting them back together, and relaxing.

Except when a pair of pliers slipped from her gasp while she was tightening something. She watched it tumble off the seat beside her and to the ground below. Giving a groan, she reached down to pick it up, only for another hand to nab it first. Looking up, Coco smirked at the familiar face.

"Damn Vel, forgot how quiet you could be when ya want to be." She whistled while leaning back. She kept her eyes from wandering up to Velvet's uneven ears. Though the left one had healed up since the Uruk Slave fights, it was still notably shorter than her other ear.

"Sorry," Velvet stood and offered the pliers "I didn't mean to interrupt you."

"Oh come on." Coco took the pliers and gestured around them "This Workshop used to be our place, remember? When we really started hanging out we would make some of the best mods in here."

Velvet gave a look around before smiling, "You kept asking me why I didn't have a weapon of my own..." her fingers seemed to travel to the camera bag at her side "Said I was 'too cool' not to have one."

"And I was damn right, wasn't I?" Coco turned and continued working on her weapon "Handbags are stylish on their own, but when they contain the instruments of your enemies wreckage? That, Velvet, is a necessity."

Velvet gave a small laugh at that before slowly approaching, "I guess. I'm just happy that you felt it necessary to help me make it."

"What's the point of looking good if you can't make the people around you look good too?" Coco mused "You should know my motto by now, Vel."

"I do." Velvet came to a stop and reached out for a moment before pausing "Hey... Coco?"

"Hm?" so enraptured she was by her weapon maintenance that Coco realized far too late what type of conversation she'd wandered into.

"Would you like to go out with me sometime?"

Coco's hands froze where they were for a moment, the question lingering for a moment before she resumed working with a "Hm..."

"Not that you have to or anything." Velvet was quick to add on after that "I just... well, I figured since we have so much time on our hands...you know?"

"I take it you aren't asking about some kinda friendly get together with the guys, right?" Coco wondered before setting the pliers to the side and leaning forward onto her dismantled weapon "This kinda atmosphere is sorta pointing in some other directions, Vel."

She looked back to Velvet, noting the way she was looking anywhere else but at her. Velvet gave an awkward laugh before lowering her ears, "I guess that's true. I just think you're really cool and you've done so much for me. I guess it kinda just... went that way."

Coco turned back to her weapon, not answering long enough for Velvet to continue.

"I wasn't sure how to tell you, and I wanted to wait until after the tournament." she started before casting her eyes to the floor "But after what happened with Flynt and Ciel, I started having thoughts and... well this is something I wouldn't feel right leaving unsaid. So yeah... I think I might... love you...in that way."

Velvet took a moment to swallow nervously, "Are you mad?"

"Ya know what?" Coco looked up to the ceiling "I kinda am, mad with myself for not being able to see you the same way."

"Oh..."

"I know how awesome you are, know how sweet you can be, and I know that you can rock any style I could set you up with." Coco looked back and tried giving her what she hoped was a reassuring smile "But despite being the best home girl I could ask for, I can't say any of that is... romantic."

Though Velvet kept smiling, her ears lowered notably, "...Sorry."

"Sorry for what?" Coco turned around in her seat.

"I know you've been trying to have your alone time... everyone's getting a little anxious and here I am dropping this on you."

"To be fair, Vel, I kinda guessed what was going on a while ago." Coco admitted

"Really?!" Velvet's eyes widened a bit before she gave an embarrassed cough into her hand "S-sorry..."

"We really gotta work on this apology thing." Coco crossed her legs "It's fine, Velvet... really, so sit down and whip out the camera."

"What?" Velvet gave her arm an awkward rub as she looked to Coco's disassembled weapon "Oh, I mean... Are you sure that's okay?"

"Velvet Scarlatina, if you walk into this Workshop with your weapon on hand, you better be prepared to give it some loving." Coco stated before turning back around and pointing to the seat next to her "Now plant those buns in that seat and work with me here."

She picked up her pliers and went back to work, swapping the pliers for a monkey wrench after a while. She worked silently until the feeling of Velvet sitting down next to her brought a smile to her face.

She glanced over as Velvet set her camera down on the table and stared at it for a moment. After some time, Velvet looked to her and asked "This... this isn't awkward for you?"

Coco dropped her wrench and raised her arms to stretch, "A little, but I'm not about to let that get in the way of workshop time. The workshop is a sacred place, Velvet, where worries and woes are wiped away through the wonderful world of weaponry."

As she spoke, she rubbed a large piece of her dismantled weapon with a touch of affection, eliciting a giggle from Velvet.

"Just give it time, Vel." Coco reassured "We'll be back to normal in no time, hanging with the guys, looking downright stunning, partying hard. The tournament's got everyone out of whack, so no sweat. We're good."

"Yeah," Velvet blinked a bit before grabbing her Camera "we're good."

---

Pug-Bringer Studio

A group of individuals gathered around a holo-projector which had just finished being hooked up. A remote was tossed to a squeamish Faunus who quickly turned it on. Almost immediately the projector displayed a screen which showed an aerial shot of Atlesian ships passing the Vale-Vacuan border.

"Government officials say the Uruk presence in Vacuo is being handled, but have refused further comments. With the images of the tournament fresh in the minds of-"

"Ugh, this ain't it!" someone in the crowd grumbled before nudging the Faunus with the remote "Switch it before its over!"

The Faunus quickly flipped through several more channels before stopping on a a news feed of several Atlesian AK-Units forcing several people into the back of a van.

"Several of the individuals associated with known members of the Blue Scarves have been located and confirmed to have been in support of the group."

The scene changed to show the semi-destroyed warehouse which was still surrounded by police tape and officials.

"After the Incident at Amity Colosseum and the discovery that they'd been attempting to store large supplies of weaponry, the group has been reclassified as a Terrorist cell and many members have been imprisoned. Public outcry against the Scarves has been reaching a fever pitch, with several protests against them being organized-"

"Come on! What are you waiting for?" another voice in the crowd shouted, soon the channel was switched again.

Now the screen showed what seemed to be some guy on a talk show, behind him was a black and white image of Beacon Academy.

"-just want to know how something like this could've happened. These are future Huntsmen, Huntresses, defenders of of the kingdoms. The very fact that the Scarves were even able to get away with something like this has been on everyone's minds, and I for one subscribe to the belief that nobody was prepared for a scenario like this. Atlas keeps going on about making this festival safe for everyone, but can they?"

"Which of you dumb-asses passed the remote to her?"

The grumbles of the other viewers led to the channel being flipped again. The moment the group laid eyes on the person center of the image, they immediately began clapping and cheering. It was an interview taking place outside of a cafe, it seemed the reporter had caught the heavily bearded man in a suit right as he was approaching a limo.

"You've criticized Atlas and Vale officials for their response to Uruk movements in the past, and yet you've been vehement that the criticisms leveled against them for the Incident at Amity have been overblown."

Mr. Bigsby leaned towards the microphone "People have been itching to decry Atlas since they showed up here. They want to vent and this has provided a perfect chance for it. But it's gotten to the point where people have been directing the outrage towards the wrong targets here. Were they incompetent to let it happen? Absolutely, and I won't deny that. But I can't allow people to gloss over the real cause for this. This was an act of terror perpetrated by a bunch of lunatics who want to shout and make as big of a scene as possible because nobody takes their stupidity serious. We gotta remember that they are the enemy, and to let them effect us to the point of stopping the Tournament would be admitting defeat."

The crowd of Masqueraders cheered him on as the program continued, and Bebe promptly passed the remote to the one in the bunny mask before taking her leave. Moving away from the crowd, she leaned against the bar while watching their reactions.

It was surreal seeing how Ogthrak was able to act while in his disguise. She knew he was obscenely pragmatic in most things, but he was still an Uruk. Yet there he was preaching unity of all things to an entire audience of humans and Faunus across all of Remnant. Bebe couldn't tell if she was impressed or terrified, probably both. She just couldn't see why he was doing this. She'd assumed he was trying to turn more people against the Academies before, but now that theory didn't seem to hold as much water.

Before she could think too much about it, the double doors on one side of the room were thrown open by none other than the disguised Uruk in question. Flanking him were Banz, Rolo and the twins; all of whom kept pace with him as he approached the group assembled around the holo-projector.

"Hey boss-man!" the Masquerader holding the remote stood up and shifted his bunny-mask "We were just seeing your interview!"

"Quite inspiring, "Another in the back of the crowd said while holding a hand to her lips "I'd say it was approximately-"

"Grimm Bunny, Dust Kitten, I need you in my office." Bigsby stated before turning to Bebe "That goes for you and Krimp as well."

Bebe quirked an eyebrow just as Krimp popped out from behind the bar, "You got it, pal!"

"What the-?" Bebe stumbled away "Were you just hiding behind that the whole time?"

Krimp shrugged while pulling a cap down over his eyes, "I was getting ready to come offer ya some good ol' Emotional support! Those folks were giving you a bit of a hassle, right?"

He jerked a thumb towards the Masqueraders, who had resumed watching the report as soon as Bigsby began taking his leave.

"That was, like, three minutes ago, Krimp." Bebe looked up at him as he stepped out from behind a bar.

"A real friend just knows, buddy." he stated with a giggle before picking her up and hustling after Bigsby.

One of the Masqueraders watched them leave before nudging the one next to him, "Hey... you ever wonder why our Janitor's built like a fortress?"

There were no answers for a moment until the Masquerader sitting in front of him sighed, "Dude... I'm not sober enough to care."

On the way to Bigsby's office, Melanie eyed the two Masqueraders walking with them, "So... the names."

"Fits the masks." Grimm Bunny stated while stretching his arms behind his head

"Though I'll admit, I believe we may have been utterly trashed when deciding them." Dust Kitten admitted before giving a smile "Even then, I believe we got off lightly. Pretty sure Beth's known as Broken-Bottle."

"What, ya can't change them?" Militia rolled her eyes before tapping a mask at her belt "I mean, Og... the boss gave us the whole Mirror Twin shtick personally, but if you guys decided yours then he can't really-"

"Hey!"

The four looked back to Bebe, who was still being carried by Krimp. She withered a bit under their gazes, but managed to ask "Do any of you know why he's calling us up like this?"

Militia sighed before looking up at the ceiling, "I'm guessing it's not that orgy I've been trying to talk him into."

"You're still going on about that?" Melanie frowned before folding her arms "Strut around spewing innuendos all you want, you aren't seducing shit."

"The words of someone who's been dry for years." Militia shook her head out of pity

"Wait... she's been trying to bang the boss?" Grimm Bunny scratched his head, only for the other Masquerader to giggle

"You didn't notice her many attempts to show off in his presence?" Dust Kitten asked "The unnecessary poses, constant bedroom eyes, the dropping stuff just to bend ov-"

"That doesn't answer my question!" Bebe shouted

"Maybe he's gonna let you go because you've been having a rough time, lately?" Krimp suggested, only for to Bebe to sulk in his grasp

"Damn it Krimp, your optimism is actually depressing." she lamented as Dust Kitten raised a finger.

"I actually have a hunch." Dust Kitten said as they reached the office.

The first thing Bigsby did once the door was closed behind him was immediately walk to his desk. There was a briefcase already open which he went to, pulling out some papers and looking them over as the rest of his employees filled the room.

Before they'd even stopped moving completely, he grabbed hold of his massive beard and began undoing several strands. Soon the beard fell away, and Ogthrak massaged his face before patting it down with a handkerchief.

"Wait, what are you doing?!" Melanie asked before glancing to the masqueraders "Aren't you-"

"Sweet!" Grimm Bunny leaned forward while staring at his boss "You weren't lying about that strong jawline, boss!"

Bebe raised an eyebrow, "You... don't notice anything... off about him?"

"Besides his otherworldly nature?" Dust Kitten asked before turning back to him with a questioning hum "Hm...Nope."

"You knew?!" Melanie asked

"Of course they knew," Ogthrak barked before sitting down at his desk and massaging his temple, "You think I could keep this thing afloat with only you idiots and the Hybrid in on this?"

He set the handkerchief aside and slid the desk out of the way before gesturing towards the window "When you lead maggots, they're far easier to control if you have maggots of your own among them. These two specifically had the characteristics of Tarks who would have no problem leaving their own species out to dry, so I had them informed far before any of you became part of the picture."

"What characteristics?" Melanie frowned "It can't be easy to just find folks willing to sell out their own people."

"I dunno sis," Militia shrugged while walking to a nearby chair and plopping down into it "he's got a lot of money to throw around."

"Screw the money!" Grimm Bunny laughed before balling his hands into fists "The second I heard I could help tear apart Vale, I was all in! The fact that I'm getting paid to do it is just icing on the cake!"

"And I was just really glad that someone needed me for something special." Dust Kitten sighed before gripping her arm "After my boyfriend ran off with that Vacuan woman, I thought I'd just waste away for the rest of my days."

Clapping her hands together, she turned to Ogthrak "But then someone said I was necessary for something, so I'm just trying to show my gratitude."

Militia glared at her for a moment before pointing, "He's mine, remember that."

"Okay, so you managed to find people with shittier morals than my sister." Melanie turned her attention back to her 'employer' "Why the hell weren't we told?"

"Just because your opponent guesses two of the cards in your deck, does that mean you automatically fold?" Ogthrak asked with a raised eyebrow as he stepped back to his desk and opened a drawer before sliding its contents into his briefcase.

"And they were kinda supposed to keep tabs on ya if ya ever started gettin' ideas." Zog followed Ogthrak's example and took off his clown wig, "Seen it all the time back in Mordor, worms keepin' tabs on stuff so the Captains don't gotta spread themselves thin."

"Wait, if you guys knew." Bebe turned back to Krimp "Did you-?"

"A good friend knows everything about his pals, buddy." he shrugged before giving her a pat on the head "I wouldn't be me if I didn't know."

"But due to some events that are about to occur, I need all of you working together." Ogthrak stated as he closed his briefcase and locked it "Tonight has to go perfectly if any of you want to keep your jobs."

"Wait what?" Melanie tried asking, only for Militia to yell over her

"Is it an org-?!"

"No, it's not that." Ogthrak hissed before glaring at her "And stop sending me those damn emails using your company address, last thing I need is some horribly disgusting scandal circulating."

"But..." Bebe swallowed nervously "What exactly is going to hap-?"

"Bring it on Bossman!" Grimm Bunny shouted "I'm ready for anything! Me and Dusty have been waiting for some real action!"

"No... pretty sure that was only Grimm." Dust Kitten thought out loud before folding her hands "I just want to be useful, sir."

"First off, I'll be gone for a while. I know it's happened before, but for this specifically I'm leaving these two in charge." he pointed to Borgu and Zog "They've already been briefed on everything so until then keep everything as usual."

"As usual as this place can be, I guess." Melanie muttered while looking away.

"Good." Ogthrak stood and tossed the briefcase to Grimm Bunny, "This needs to go with you when things go down. The plan may fluctuate a bit as events occur, but make this briefcase a priority. The trucks'll be ready for merchandise about two hours prior so make sure that everyone doesn't panic."

"Seriously!" Bebe gestured towards him wildly "The hell is going to happen!?"

"In summary think of it as an office swap." he said as he walked to the door and fastened his disguise back in place, "A very complicated office swap."

.{{{{{+-+}}}}}.

Moments later, Ogthrak punched in a code to a door tucked away in the recesses of the studio. The door closed automatically as he descended a small flight of stairs to the basement. He soon stepped into what could effectively be called his planning room, where all the non-standard business happened. One wall was nearly covered in a massive map of Vale that had numerous markings on it, some of which were crossed out or rewritten elsewhere. Some markings showed the instances of Uruk activity in the city, whether it be The Blood-Storm's train theft or the Shadow's Wild Bus Ride. Different markings labeled areas where the Blue Scarves had started to congregate, others noted Atlesian checkpoints and outposts.

But in between all of these markings, carefully plotted some distance away from them, were tiny thumbtacks which indicated where the Shackles had been placed.

"Hey!"

Ogthrak shook his head, he always found himself staring at that map for too long whenever he came down here. It was far too late for him to consider last minute additions, best to be done with it and move on to the meeting. Stepping over to a cabinet, he pulled out a rolled up parchment and a red dust crystal.

"Ogthrak... you're there, right?"

Unrolling the scroll against a blank wall, he pressed the crystal to the rune inscribed on it before tugging hard on it. Soon a new Dreamer Gate was hovering there, and no sooner did it appear when two Uruks in Ratlug's awkward Researcher get-ups stepped out. Ogthrak only had to point around him, and the duo went to work immediately moving to collect a number of things.

"Ogthrak!"

With a sigh, Ogthrak turned to the other side of the room, which had been converted into a cell for the Studio's only prisoner. He was still leashed to his chair, but he'd wandered in the direction of noise while shifting the bag over his head to try and see better. The prisoner heard the door of his cell open, immediately turning towards the sound of approaching footsteps.

"Look, I don't know why you're in such a hurry today but-"

He couldn't finish before he was shoved back into his chair, where the metal clamps were refastened and he soon found himself blinded as the bag was torn off his head.

"Agh," Junior squinted at the sudden light, unable to see until his chair was being dragged towards the Dreamer Gate "Wait... is it today?!"

"Yep." Ogthrak said as he approached the gate "Lucky you."

Junior winced as Ogthrak dragged him through the Gate, having not grown accustomed to the awkward feeling unlike his captors. When his eyes opened, he was being dragged through some kind of underground lab.

"I'd like to take the time to thank you, Tark." Ogthrak spoke as he passed several Researchers who were all scrambling about in a hurry, all of them eager to complete their projects before tonight "Without your help I very well might've gone bankrupt in week one."

"Well that's the thing about kidnapping, right?" Junior said while still blinking some of the light from his eyes "Makes people a lot more cooperative."

"True." Ogthrak paused to nod to him before continuing along a catwalk overlooking a dozen large cages, inside the sounds of growls and metal clanking against metal rang out as several Storm Uruks worked to move them into place "Ratlug's been going on and on about making full use of you Tarks and your abilities. While I'm usually free to depend on my own skills, and I hate giving that snake any leeway, I can say this practice has been a welcome boon."

"Hey, to be fair that cell was probably a lot better than what I'd get if the Vale PD caught up to me." Junior gave a nervous chuckle "You guys can be surprisingly reasonable-"

"No... I can be surprisingly reasonable." Ogthrak paused once they entered a large room, "Any other Uruk in this room would've tortured you with a furious vigor even if you were just as cooperative, you're lucky I put the desires of my master over all else."

"Yeah... Lucky..."

The room they were in seemed to branch off in multiple directions, milling about were nearly all of the Storm's Hierarchy. Krosh and Maku were at their master's side with several lesser Captains waiting at the ready. Even a few of Ratlug's Researchers were there, one coughing up a lung while another seemed to tinker with an odd box he'd built on his chest. The Fake Doctor himself hadn't arrived yet, and even then several more Uruks were showing up. All of it was centered around a chair in which the Stormbringer himself sat cradling his journal in one hand and his staff in the other. Junior took one look at the staff and immediately grew a confused expression.

"Is that a pogo stick?"

Almost immediately, Pugrish turned his head towards him, a hint of a grin forming just before Ogthrak stood between them and looked down upon the captive with a snarl.

"Your only concern now, is proving that you can continue to be useful." He said before kneeling down next to Junior and raising a finger "My operations after today will take me to a place where my activities will be far more... challenging. I won't be able to keep track of you on top of everything else, so you'll be leaving my care for greener pastures."

Junior blinked before leaning forward, "Are you, firing me from being your prisoner?"

"My advice is to convince someone you're knowledgeable of Mistral's landscapes." Ogthrak shrugged before snapping his fingers.

The moment Ratlug arrived, he noticed two Uruks dragging Junior back the way he came. Smile growing, he turned to Ogthrak who met his curiosity with a glare.

"Getting rid of him?" Ratlug tilted his head "And here I thought you two were buildin' up quite the repertoire."

Ogthrak didn't answer, instead continuing deeper into the large room and changing the subject, "Will the Mark II be ready for tonight?"

Ratlug frowned before rolling his eyes, "Yes yes, tested and everything." he groaned before shrugging "When I made the first one I just wanted to prove its concept. The whole effort was basically running off of sheer anticipation. But getting stuck with Mark II has made me feel quite under-utilized if I do say so myself. Why get stuck with one breakthrough when I could be accomplishing so much more instead of having to depend on my... underlings."

Saying that he turned his attention to the two Researchers. The Smoker was trying and failing to make use of a cigarette, his coughing interrupting every attempted puff. The Photographer was turning the crank on the strange box he'd strapped to himself, bathing his partner in an odd light.

"Seriously, they got lucky that the Hybrid gave them so much to work on." Ratlug sighed as he shifted his lens-less glasses "Their success has made their terrible habits far more apparent."

"The only thing you need to worry about is the will of the Master." Ogthrak grumbled as they moved amongst the crowd and drew closer to Pugrish "He enjoyed your last performance, so you must exceed it tonight with the Mark II."

"Of course," Ratlug sighed "hopefully afterwards I can be freed to focus on more exciting projects."

As they made it through the crowd, a conversation between Pugrish and his other Warmongers became more understandable.

"-been training the boys harder than ever." Krosh stated while nodding to several captains "Be a real shame to make 'em just sit on all this hot-blood without putting it to good use."

"I assure you... they will get the violence they thirst for." Pugrish said while turning the page of his journal "Whether the plan succeeds or not... that I can assure you."

Ogthrak felt a surge of pride at hearing how enthusiastic his master sounded. His speech contained far less pauses, something that only occurred when he was enthusiastic about something. From the way his smile was straining within the confines of his mask, none other among this collection could lay claim to more happiness than he.

Coming to a stop before him, Ogthrak and Ratlug gave far different bows. Ogthrak dropped to one knee immediately, whereas Ratlug just gave a small lowering of his head before folding his arms behind his back.

Pugrish raised a hand to quite down the murmurings of the attending Uruks, lowering it to gesture towards Ogthrak, "Right on time... speak."

"I've confirmed that the Shackles have been set into place properly." Ogthrak raised his head "Once your spell has been activated, their deaths shall be yours."

The Stormbringer hummed at that, turning the page of his journal without looking up, "And what of your trip... I take it you've made use of the lure we've set in motion?"

"That is," Ogthrak paused to swallow "far more uncertain. Everything hinges on the state of the Arceus once I arrive. I will do all that I can, but I cannot assure success on either front."

Pugrish closed the journal and laid his Staff across his legs. Leaning back, he turned his attention to Ratlug, "And what of your endeavors...?"

"Smooth as a Tark skull." Ratlug declared before grinning at his son "Got all of your whelps armed to the teeth,"

He turned his attention to his Researchers, "Got all my whelps armed to the teeth."

Then he spread his arms before patting himself on the chest, "And I'm more than ready to keep the fires going strong. They won't know what'll hit 'em!"

Krosh grumbled, but Maku stepped forward once the Doctor was done, "Our time frame has tightened considerably. Hork's taken note of the Atlesians, who've been speeding up ever since that stunt at their Tournament. If he doesn't call for the gate soon, we might have to scrap the entire Vacuan theater."

"The Gatekeeper's been getting antsier day by day," Ratlug snickered before looking to his master again, "Think he might end up rushing it?"

"If he does that, then it could throw the whole Vale portion out of whack!" Krosh growled "I know the Dreamer's been getting better at using his dreams and stuff, but basing literally everything on them has always been kinda-"

"It was to the master's design." Ogthrak interrupted as he rose to his full height and folded his arms "So we will follow it."

Krosh stepped back towards the lesser captains in attendance, "I'm just saying, its not like his dreams are the only shaky thing about this. Like the Shackles? The Leash? We have basis for The Dreamer's visions, and we've got enough reports to keep tabs on most factors here. But the Leash hasn't been tested... not even once. And yet it's supposed to be the back up plan if all this goes south."

He chuckled, "I'm all for danger, and I know the Boss just loves Aura stuff, but pretty much any Warchief or, hell, even the Chiefless would laugh at all the things that could go wrong here. Again, all for it, just saying."

"Ugh, can't believe you share my blood." Ratlug groaned

"You said it, not me." Krosh nodded

"Where's your sense of adventure!?" Ratlug demanded "Risk and danger are the mother of all advancement! Its what keeps doctors like myself thirsting for the future."

"You're not a doctor, Engineer." Krosh corrected

"You two will not devolve into another petty argument!" Ogthrak declared "This meeting is to-"

"Aura is... quite great, is it not?"

The words of the Grand Shaman silenced them all. Soon all eyes returned to him as he traced fingers along the pages of his journal.

"It bridges the gap we've had with us from birth..." He continued "Allows us to enact feats of great power... without the touch of any masters who deem fit to grant them."

Looking up, his eyes shone from under his hood as he smiled, "Every single effort we've undergone for tonight... would be absolutely impossible without the generosities of Aura. It proves us more than tools... more than what we ever could've been beforehand."

He lightly tapped his staff which began to fall over, only to begin hovering around his chair as he continued, "For so long, so many sought the powers of the Dark Lord's closest... scrambling up a hill too steep to climb. So many rituals and spells... sorcery of old and new left impossible without subjecting oneself to total control... not anymore."

He closed the journal and grasped it with both hands as his staff continued floating around him, "Aura has granted us power... power to seize upon all that was left barren to us. Allows us a chance to truly wrestle control of a realm from all others in its entirety... to finally ascend our last rung of becoming true conquerors."

"It grants us the rituals the likes of which only the Nazgul could indulge in once before..." he turned his attention to his Captains, "Grants others powers we may take advantage of. Grants us strength to endure far beyond even the Uruks of old could lay claim to... Grants us knowledge, Unity and power that have been denied to us for eons!"

Tightening his grip on the journal, Pugrish reached out and caught his staff as it floated past.

"And it WILL grant me a war worth fighting."

---

The Arceus

The arrival of new inmates was sudden.

The usual spots had been unused for so long and the assault on the Dining Hall had been so tedious that most hadn't even noticed them until one of the crew spotted two being delivered. News of this traveled especially quick, annoyingly distracting many from their jobs of trying to break the Caterers' last line of defense.

It had been long and grueling solely because the Caterers had destroyed almost every known entrance to the Dining Hall, the last few only being known by those who hadn't defected. What was left was covered in pitfalls which led all the way to the Arceus's depths, and blade throwers who didn't hesitate to assault any who tried climbing their way past. They were dug in tight, something which Uthug would've been perfectly fine with if not for Bubol's insistence that Felgrat had to be dealt with before they could escape.

Just like many other times in the past few days, Uthug found himself in Bubol's hidden lair in the depths. It had become the de facto planning room for their escape, or for just about anything they didn't want the Atlesians taking wind of. The most major of these instances was Mitch, who'd been leashed to the center of the room and had taken to drawing vehicles on the walls in the same suspicious substance that Bubol had used to draw his Mural. Bubol was shockingly fond of the mad man, taking to mention his growing desire to try some of the vehicles which now decorated the walls.

Uthug could ignore them for the most part, what he couldn't ignore was just how long he'd wasted waiting for them to get this escape underway. When Kruk arrived he put his annoyances on full display, demanding they get to figuring out how to break into the heavily guarded sections of the ship. Kruk and Bubol gave each other a suspicious look, and then said something that frayed at the small amount of patience Uthug hadd maintained.

"You've already got a way out!?" he yelled while slamming his hands on a rickety table which nearly bucketed under the force.

"Of course we do," Bubol snickered while admiring Mitch's drawings "the first thing we did after my lovely little flame signed up was get them explosives made."

"You said we weren't going to blow up the ship." Uthug growled, only for Kruk to slap him on the back

"Not strong enough for that, Warborn!" he chuckled before pointing up "You want boys surging to ship top, not side of it. Broke my Flame into simplest parts, forged blasts that tear glass."

"That flamethrower thing?" Uthug raised an eyebrow "That's where it went?"

"Holds just enough to make a sweet blast," Bubol turned to smirk at him "yet has room for trigger mechanisms that we've graciously applied. As soon as Felgrat's taken care of, we're gonna fire those suckers into one of the viewing panes them lads got set up. Once they're broken, toss a few chains up there and see if they can stop us before we overwhelm em."

As brash and time-dependent as I figured. There may not be many actual Atlesians on board, but their AK-Units might be able to hold us back long enough for the sinking process to succeed.

"So blast our way through the barriers and surge onto the deck before they can stop us, whatever." Uthug shook his head before gesturing to Kruk "You get the bomb things and we can get the guys ready, let's just do it already."

"Ah ah ah," Bubol waved his finger "Felgrat and I made a game of sabotaging each other's escape attempts back when we first started fighting. Let's just say I'm not keen to see if he's still planning on keeping that little tradition alive. Them Atlas folk are gonna get mighty pissy with us if this fails."

For once, I actually agree with Bubol.

What!?

Even if Felgrat's on his last legs, we have one, repeat that, ONE shot at this. Minimizing all potential threats is crucial, and interference from the Caterers no matter how small could be the deciding factor between life and death.

"Pissy!?" Mitch groaned as he drew the rims of a truck along a pipe "Pissy's getting a flat halfway through the last lap. Pissy's about losing your engine at the very beginning off the circuit, losing us our wills goes far beyond pissy, guys!"

"I just cannot get enough of this car-speak." Bubol laughed before glancing back to Kruk "So how goes things with our Bone-Snapper pal?"

"His boys still mocking the flame, scurry like rodents." Kruk rolled his eyes whilst leaning against a nearby pipe "No reveal hidden walkways, lure boys into hidden blades and pits."

"Come on!" Uthug threw his hands up before glaring at Kruk "You were a cornerstone of the Caterers, you have to know some way in!"

Kruk gave a half shrug, "Maybe, Warborn. Boys been trying one route. No pits, many... MANY more traps though. No warrior who enter leave, either dead or trapped."

Uthug stood up, "Well if that's the best route we've got then I'll use it! Gonna put this shrahk to rest once and for all so we can get on with things!"

"Lovin' the enthusiasm there, Tug-Tug!" Bubol clapped before strolling over to the table and sitting on it "Like a true legend comin' to save me in my time of need."

"Don't go there, you better be ready to go when this is all over." Uthug stated before glaring at Kruk "You, show me where this route is so I can finish this mockery of a 'war'."

.{{{{{+-+}}}}}.

Up in the Arceus's command center, the Officer kept watch through the ports as the prisoner transport started up. It had been tense, maintaining their cover all throughout the drop off. Thankfully, the small number of actual soldiers they had minimized the risk of someone choking up. The groups of inmates coming in had decreased drastically after the Uruk Arena Raid, the presence of the pilots who came with them welcome if not distressing. Those pilots commented numerous times on how quiet things were, despite hearing stories of what was going on within the lower levels of the ship.

The Officer now watched those very same pilots board their shuttle once more and take off, rushing to link up with an outpost on the northern coast of Vale. As he watched, his grip tightened on a nearby table. The few soldiers in the command center watched him carefully, one of whom was briefly distracted by movement on one of her monitors.

"Looks like the Looter and Kruk are back." she noted out loud, leading another Atlesian in the chair next to her to lean over to watch

"Gotta keep an eye on those two," he grumbled, before nudging her "every time either of them wander out of range of our cameras, something winds up going down."

"Get us out to sea."

Both of them turned towards the Captain, watching along with several others as he turned away from the view port and looked over them.

"Sir," one woman stood at attention "Shouldn't we wait until the transport's completely out of sight? If they see us set a course for the nearest open waters, they'll notice us going off our route."

"If they notice they'll call, if they call, I'll handle it." the Officer declared as he strode past her and stood beside his chair "We've been held up long enough, get us out through the rocks south of us. The boys downstairs have the lifeboats ready, right?"

"Y-Yeah," another soldier said whilst leaning back in his chair "we're really doing this."

"Once we get out far enough, we'll have everyone start evacuating and then pull the switch." the Officer stated before sitting down and gripping the musket at the side of his chair "Before today is over... those monsters will drown."

---

Hork's Tower

They knew something was coming

That was the only way that Pigug could rationalize the wide-spread anticipation that seemed to hover over both the Tower and the Shanties. As their carts were lowered down, the Garrison captains saw dozens of other things being moved towards the tower. Dharg had his hell-hawks flying all over, listing things off as he came across them. Armor, weapons, and dust was being hauled everywhere. Trainers hyping up large numbers of Uruks, figures running all over the scaffolds that covered the Tower's sides. Smoke poured from several fires where Blacksmiths sharpened blades, mixing with some more black smoke rising from the sides of the tower that darkened the skies slowly but noticeably.

As their carriages made their way through the Shanties, Dharg spoke up, "The Master knows we've returned," he turned towards him and clacked two of his metal fingers together "he'll meet us inside."

Pigug merely gave a grunt of acknowledgment, eyes locking to several Storm Researchers arguing with each other over something.

As they drew closer to the base of the Tower, they noticed the large number of armaments being hauled in, Garrison soldiers urging other Uruks to hurry while more were checking the tower's walls. Their carts entered amongst a wave of Uruks and metal, heading to the Tower's central chamber. Pigug noted even more Storm Researchers here, a growl rising in his throat only to be cut off by a roar from the elevator at the center "Is it enough?!"

Pigug and Dharg halted, their forces halting as well as their eyes fell upon Hork, standing atop the Elevator with Tugog at his side.

At his question, Dharg gave a nervous cough before clasping his hands together with a noticeable tink, "Sir... the Atlesians-"

"Are coming, I know." Hork stated "With how many of them seem willing to throw themselves at my keep, it'd be hard for any of us not to notice. But that's beside the point, have you met the Storm's requirements?"

Dharg fell to one knee, "My lord, we tried but-!"

"We tried to exceed your orders and collect more than requested." Pigug stepped forward while clapping Dharg on the back "If we had known the Atlesians would've acted this quickly we could've been here earlier."

Dharg looked up at him in surprise, but Pigug merely continued with "We have what is requested."

"Then there's no time to lose, we'll carry the carts up in pairs of two" Hork gestured to another pair of Researchers standing off to the side "Call the Shaman and tell him we need that portal now."

Watching from a higher floor was another Researcher, kneeling and looking over the edge with one arm laid on his knee. He watched for some time before pulling back as the Elevator began its ascent. As the Gatekeeper and his Garrison's carts passed by, the Researcher turned and made his way down an adjacent hall. He had packing to do, tools that he needed to take before things were done here. He'd gotten the same message as all the other Researchers the moment some of them noticed the return of Hork's lackeys.

They'd be pulling out, quietly.

They worked under Ratlug to help with the Tower's recovery as well as fulfilling several other tasks. A few of those tasks were for the benefit of the Shaman's acolytes. Now that they were coming close to the end, they'd be handing things over to them and getting back to their previous endeavors.

Turning a corner, he was about to push open a door when he heard a whistle.

Glancing to the side, he spotted Ishga Blood-Storm staring at him with folded arms. The two locked eyes for a moment, neither moving until the Researcher turned to face him.

"Is there something you need, Blood-Storm?" he asked, receiving no answer beside Ishga letting his hands fall to his sides "Because if ya don't mind, I've got some work to get to-"

Something slammed into the back of his head like a freight train, immediately throwing him forward onto his stomach. His Aura flickered, the impact leaving him dazed and seeing stars as he struggled to push himself up. As his eyes rose from the ground, the first thing he saw was Ishga's foot sailing into his jaw and sending him rolling back to the feet of his first attacker.

"Grab him boys!" a hearty laugh rang out as a gaggle of red-marked Uruks surrounded the stunned Researcher and began grabbing at him with binds and cloth

Ishga paced as he watched Skak and his boys bind the struggling Uruk, "Come on, we need to move him before anybody else sees."

He gestured for them to move, they already had a place for them to chat with their new pal.

---

Amity Colosseum

Ruby nudged Weiss as the two watched the Airbus dock, they waited as the ramp came down. The first form to take steps off of that ship was none other than Blake, holding her crutch behind her back as she met Ruby's overly enthusiastic smile with a smirk of her own.

"You made it!" Ruby threw herself at Blake, clinging to her as Weiss shook her head.

"You haven't been cleared to walk without that, have you?" she immediately asked

"It's a little too uncomfortable for me." Blake admitted while giving Ruby a one armed hug in return

"Maybe you guys will have better luck talking to her." Ren said as he and the rest of Team JNPR disembarked behind her "I kept saying that if the Doctors feel it's still a necessity they have to have a pretty good reason."

"I dunno, Ren." Nora leaned against him while looking Blake up and down "That crutch makes me feel bored just looking at it. I'd probably risk a fracture too."

"Well that isn't saying much." he rolled his eyes before watching the Airbus's ramp slide up before it's departure.

Pulling back away from Blake, Ruby stepped to her side to nod to Jaune, "Thanks for picking her up guys!"

"Eh, we were in the neighborhood." Jaune shrugged before looking around at the crowd around them, his smile immediately turning to a frown "I almost can't believe we're back here. With how much backlash everyone took because of Flynt I was almost positive they'd shut it down."

The arrivals were far more suspicious than they'd been in the first days of the tournament. Enthusiastic conversations were now suspicious mutterings, the tense air that had infiltrated every corner of Vale managing to prevail even here. The sight of which made Ruby grimace, but she turned back to her friends with a determined glare.

"We just gotta remember what the Brawny guy on TV said, we can't let what happened get in the way of us having fun!" she declared as she raised a finger towards the sky.

"You're talking about Mr. Bigsby, right?" Jaune noted as they began making their way into the arena proper "The guy who runs Pug-Bringer Studio."

"While I'll never condone the horrid staff he's accumulated, I can respect his willingness to get everyone back on track." Weiss admitted with a sigh "Honestly, I hate that it happened too, but everyone yelling about the Academies was getting repetitive really quick."

"Oh please!" Nora waved that off "We all know the real reason behind his little support campaign!"

Reaching behind her, she whipped out a new Rolo and Banz album "These babies have been flying off the shelves since his interview!"

"Nora, neither of us have anything to play that on the go," Ren stated "Why did you even bring that?"

"I knew this topic would come up," she defended with a grin "and I do believe you'll find me to be a staunch supporter of visual aides."

"Whatever the reason for it, I'm just glad we get to have the rest of the tournament!" Ruby declared before bringing a hand to her forehead "Oh, could you imagine how many awesome fights we could've missed? We'll show those scarves! I ain't scared, we'll go enjoy the heck out of this together!"

"Not completely..." Weiss sighed, causing Ruby to deflate a little. Seeing that, Blake sped up a bit to pat both of them on the shoulders.

"It's not like Yang doesn't want to go with us." she explained "She's just... a little tired of all the fighting stuff."

"And it's not like she's the only one," Jaune pitched in with a weak smile "Besides you guys and Team SSSN, I don't really know any of the Students who are still coming to watch."

"I do!" a chipper tone spoke up, leading to both groups to pause as Penny charged towards them with cheer radiating off of her.

Ruby immediately held her arms open as Penny lunged for her, taking hold of her and whipping her around in a ferocious hug. Upon finishing her greeting, Penny's grip slackened. Ruby might've collapsed from dizziness if Penny wasn't still holding onto her.

"I see somebody's mood improved." Weiss noted

Looking away from a still-dazed Ruby, Penny grinned, "I've been preparing myself for this, guys!" she allowed Ruby to stumble back, striking a pose while looking all around her "I'm not gonna let Ciel's sacrifice be in vain! No playing around, no getting distracted! In exchange for getting her into trouble, I'm gonna win this for all of Atlas!"

Shaking off the dizziness, Ruby massaged her head a bit, "Penny, she doesn't blame you for-"

"Hang on a second!" Nora interrupted before pointing towards Penny "Bed-ridden friend or not, if you think we're just gonna hand victory over to you on a silver platter, you've got another thing coming!"

"I wouldn't dare to ask for such a thing!" Penny declared whilst striking another pose "I won't feel right unless I give it my all."

Standing straight, she turned her smile towards Ruby and folded her arms behind her back "Don't worry Ruby my friend, even if Ciel doesn't hold me accountable for anything, I still won't feel right unless I make it up to her somehow!"

"But that..." shaking her head for a moment, Ruby tried to match her smile "Okay, if that's your goal then I guess we're in for a treat!"

Penny nodded fervently, only for Nora to cough loudly again "Well just don't expect it to be easy," she gestured behind them "you seem to forget what kinda gal you're running up against, missy!"

They all turned to look at Pyrrha, who had been trailing silently behind the group the entire time. She kept her gaze low, staring intently at the floor as she walked. She bumped into Jaune, only then realizing that they'd stopped moving.

"I'm sorry!" she said quickly before realizing everyone was looking at her.

"Tell her just how ready you are to throw down, Pyrrha!" Nora gestured towards Penny.

"Oh, of course." Pyrrha lifted her head and took a step forward, only for Jaune to shift into her way a bit.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked her "You've been out of sorts since your meeting with Ozpin. Is there something you want to-"

"No!" Pyrrha assured before walking past him with a bow "I suppose the gloom around here has been getting to me as well."

Standing before Penny, Pyrrha placed a hand on her shoulder, "But I promise you that I won't let it keep us from having a superb battle should we come to face one another."

Penny immediately grabbed Pyrrha's hand and began shaking it with vigor, "Oh this is gonna be absolutely sensational!"

As Nora continued hyping Pyrrha up, the Group resumed moving.

All except for Jaune, who found himself staring at Pyrrha for a moment before moving to catch up.

---

Hork's Tower

Pugrish strode out of the Dreamer Gate to dozens of glares, ranging from worry to barely restrained rage. The Stormbringer swept his gaze over the various Garrison soldiers staring him down. From several setting up cannons to others moving crates of weaponry, then to a number of archers arguing near several pots full of dust. Finally those eyes settled on Hork as the Gatekeeper marched towards him with purpose.

"Damn, what is with all of ya?" asked Ratlug as he exited behind Pugrish "You're all lookin' as if the world's about to end!"

"It might as well be!" Hork declared "Scouts have informed me that the Atlesians are preparing to advance on our location. Can you get the Gate open before then?"

"Up up up!" Ratlug held up a finger before glancing behind himself at two researchers who finished emerging from the Dreamer Gate "Druk, Drul! How is it looking?"

The Smoker coughed before pulling his cigarette out and gesturing towards the Photographer, "Maybe if Drul could ignore that damn device for more than twenty seconds I could calculate more accurately-"

"This machine is a culmination of all our ideals!" Drul patted the box-shaped contraption "To deny it the attention it deserves is-!"

"Just give me a guess, then!" Ratlug barked, silencing both of them until Druk shrugged and gave a careful puff of his cigarette

"If we start immediately, then yes. But I can't vouch for-"

"Then we begin immediately." Hork stated before gesturing them forward "Move it!"

As they began walking, the Storm-Bringer looked around whilst tapping his staff against the floor. Halfway to the Garrison HQ, Maku pushed through several Garrison soldiers and ran to Pugrish's side.

"The Researchers below are almost finished heading out." he said as he matched the Stormbringer's pace "Should be outta here before them Atlas folk show up."

"Are they hurrying somewhere, Pugrish?" Tugog asked while walking to his other side "Not keen on joining in?"

"We wouldn't want to step on the Garrison's toes here." Ratlug snickered before nodding towards Pugrish "Ain't that right, boss?"

The Grand Shaman nodded, tilting his head towards Maku, "Have one of them tell some Acolytes to join us here," he said "just in case the portal requires more than my abilities."

"Of course, Master." Maku split off "Like the wind."

Tugog kept his gaze locked to Pugrish as they entered the Garrison HQ.

.{{{{{+-+}}}}}.

Ishga leaned against torn up window frame of the old lab. Once belonging to Tarz the Surgeon, his equipment had been passed to more fitting Uruks after his execution. The room itself had been claimed by Ishga and Skak upon taking control of the Shanties. Skak had mostly been using it for throwing parties for his band of Blood-Brothers, evidenced by empty grog cups lying on the floor and training dummies lining the walls. Now the room and all it's occupants were focused on the chair dragged into the center, with a groaning researcher tied and bound to it.

"You both are fuckin' ya'selves!" he shouted, flexing a bit in his binds before leaning back in defeat "I don't know whatcha think you're doing, but how about I make you a deal?"

He flinched at the sound of something scraping along metal, turning towards Skak who was sitting on a table with his legs dangling off of it. Skak hummed a little chanty that several of his Blood-Brothers joined in on, dragging a sharpener along his Blood-Axe as he tapped a toe against the ground.

Ishga didn't look away from the window frame, watching the sky darken from a mix of the evening setting in and smoke from the fires.

"You guys let me go now, and we can just put this behind us, alright?" the Researcher continued "Atlas and the Warchiefs are gonna tear this entire place apart, any sane Uruk will take any chance to stay out of it. Believe me, I consider myself immensely sane."

"That's probably not gonna work." Skak admitted as he paused his humming to chuckle "Ishga's all kinds o' dead set on getting some answers."

The hum picked up again as Skak resumed focusing on sharpening his weapon. Ishga pulled away from the Window frame and approached the bound Researcher.

"Answers to what!? You loons grabbed me for some shrahk questioning?"

"Things haven't felt right since we came to this realm." Ishga noted as he circled around the captive "That should be known to all. But this ominous air kicked into high gear once you and yours got free reign of the Tower."

"That's-!"

"I've got it on good account that you lot have been up to more than you're saying." Ishga crouched so they were at eye-level "All you have to do is tell me what before I have my pal here chop you up until you do."

The Researcher laughed as Ishga pulled back, leaning forward for a moment until his laughter died down "You lot really have gone mad." he said as he looked around at the remnants of the Blood-Storm "This is treasonous to a T, which anyone can expect from an Uruk. But I was under the impression that a Warchief's underlings were better than that! That backstabbing like this was something only Chiefless rabble got up to. You lot are gonna hang for this!"

"Ya might be right there," Skak slid off the table as the Blood-Brothers began to goad him on "but that'll be after the tearing you up bit."

"I know the type of Uruks that Ratlug keeps close." Ishga folded his arms behind his back "The ones who seek to create their own benefits by their own means. No matter what retribution the Stormbringer can enact upon you, you won't be able to throw your life away for him."

Ishga resumed circling the chair as Skak stood in front of it whilst readying Blood-Axe, "So... what has the Storm really been doing here?"

The surrounding Uruks watched with anticipation visible in their eyes. Skak tightened and loosened his grip on Blood-Axe, his eyes never once leaving the Researcher. Ishga paused at the side of the chair, looking towards the window as he waited a moment, "...not talking?"

"I don't have what ya lookin' for, ya globs!" the Researcher shouted "I was just helping others with their numbers!"

Ishga shook his head before gesturing to Skak, who shifted his grip on Blood-Axe before standing back and swinging it over his head. The Axe chopped into the Researcher's knee, burying itself through bone and sinew as he released a howl of rage.

Skak leaned on the protruding Axe-Handle as the Captive thrashed some more, "Ya wanna try that again, mate?"

---

The Arceus

Could've spent our free time training, figuring out your Semblance and unlocking your potential. Instead, you've spent all of our time on this blasted boat charging headfirst into numerous hostile territories and nearly getting both of us killed every single time. If I had known you were a Berserker before that mess on the train, I perhaps would've been more selective in who's body I tried to steal.

Uthug didn't say anything, following Kruk through his old kitchen while trying to listen to both him and Gundza speak at the same time. Several Firestarters were already there, gathered around a door that Uthug remembered to be boarded up the first time he came here.

"Thought Felgrat tore it up like other paths once I gone." Kruk gestured towards the doorway as they approached "Wasn't sure 'till check, floor still there! But beckons with ill intent, path small and bloody. No boy I send in come out, even if make past first traps!"

And the time when we weren't fighting, instead of training you wasted all of it trying to replace your clothing. I didn't take you for a vain one before, but some level of it must hold sway over your mind to result in such grand procrastination.

Ah, who cares? I've been tearing this place from the top to the bottom! Didn't need no Semblance for most of it! Only really needed it when this big bastard started using his.

I'm merely stating that all of this could've been EASIER on all of us if you exercised even the slightest bit of curiosity over how it works. Think of what we know so far: from how you describe it, we know acquiring someone's Semblance is based on touch, though the specifics are presently unknown. You can mimic their semblance to an extent though we aren't really sure how well this mimicry can be. it seems in some way that acquiring the Semblance gifts you with instinctual knowledge of how to use it even if you aren't sure of it at first.

Yes... and?

It would seem no matter how high of a rank you garner you still have the mindset of chiefless after all.

Kruk finally stopped before a tight service hall which was flanked by two of his fire-starters. Inside, the first thing Uthug could see were two dead inmates with a couple pieces of shrapnel sticking out of them. The second thing he noticed was that even if the path had floors, the flooring was uneven in numerous places. Pieces of the walls were hanging off, and there were dozens of tripwires choking the place.

"Wires only trap we see, but more!" Kruk growled as he placed his fists on his hips "Others try removing slowly, other traps kill."

He gestured to the bodies, "Denied real war. What say you, Warborn?"

"Hand me a blade." Uthug gestured towards one of the Fire-starters, who pulled a small, makeshift cleaver from his belt and passed it over. Uthug reared back and sent it spinning into the hall. There were three tink-sounds as it passed through several tripwires and embedded itself into one of the uneven pieces of floor. After a few seconds, three thin pieces of metal tore through the walls and jabbed into the opposite sides of the hallway. A length of edged metal swung low and cut through the cleaver and got stuck in one of the corpses.

Uthug groaned.

Hmm... color me impressed, I didn't think you were capable of looking ahead enough to test the waters. This is good, if we get enough boys here, we could use their weapons to spot the traps one at a time. Now it might take a while, but given our other options this is a pretty good plan to-

"And this leads to Felgrat?" Uthug asked

Kruk walked past him and gestured to the room around them, "Led us to kitchen through here, Dining Hall close." he patted his own shoulder while looking back at Uthug "Was good walk, once. Now only swift foot evade traps."

Glaring at the Hallway, Uthug held out his hand again, "Another blade."

We should probably have them go run and get some more, and some more throwin' arms to-

That'd take too long.

...What?

"I'mma run it." Uthug stated before giving several stretches and glaring at Kruk, "Bubol better be ready to go the second Felgrat's dead!"

The Firestarters looked to one another and started whispering as they backed away from the hallway.

Hold on a damned second, even if all of the traps are on a delay you can't assume you'll be able to dodge them all!

Already dealt with the traps down in the Depths, this ain't much different.

Wait-!

Besides, the idea of that bastard getting any extra time to live pisses me off.

Uthug, listen for a-!

Uthug roared and charged into the hallway, the cheers of Kruk and his fire-starters were soon drowned out by traps being sprung all around him.

.{{{{{+-+}}}}}.

Ogthrak looked over the cab of the truck, rubbing a hand along the steering wheel before gripping it and turning it just a bit to set the wheels straight. With that done he hopped down onto the grass, leaving the door open as he stepped back and proceeded to run his hand along the hood. The grill of the vehicle had long, jagged spikes protruding from it. Hanging off the tip of one of the spikes was a massive case that Ogthrak grabbed before walking ahead of the truck.

He walked for a few minutes, eventually seeing something rising from the grass ahead. The shrubbery around was sparse, growing more so as he approached a couple Storm soldiers who were busy erecting a ramp right next to a cliff. They'd used up the trees that had been cleared to make this path to construct the ramp, a process which Ogthrak had overseen for the past week along with his regular business.

As he approached, he eyed one of the soldiers while setting the massive case at his side.

"Is it ready?" he asked whilst popping open the case and reaching inside

"Look... boss," the Uruk stood up while letting a hammer dangle at his side "even if we get the rest of the supports assembled in time, that truck's got some massive weight behind it! Even with the rock and rubber, this thing could cave before ya get halfway off of it!"

"It only needs to work once." Ogthrak stated as he slid pieces of metal armor onto himself, clipping together several clasps as he walked around the giant ramp. It wasn't very steep, stopping only two feet from the cliff.

While pulling on a chest piece, Ogthrak stepped past the ram and looked out beyond the cliff towards the vast water below.

"This entire thing is madness..." one of the Soldiers grumbled "Everyone's gettin' ready to fight while we get to-"

"That's enough." Ogthrak turned around and growled "I believe in the forethought of my Master, besides..."

Making his way back to the case and reaching inside once more, Ogthrak slid out a large shield which he proceeded to stick onto his armored forearm, "The Blade's thralls have not failed us so far."

"What about the one at the Tournament?" another one of the soldiers asked, halting in his work.

"The goal was the same, though admittedly not in the same manner." Ogthrak sighed before flexing his arm, the shield folding in on itself as he stood before the ramp and held up a thumb to measure something.

"Mindless tarks just got to mess up just a teensy bit and this entire ploy's gone right to waste!" the soldier grumbled before returning to his work "Know the Master and his lot have it in with the whole mystic stuff, but the Blade's never been the most loyal of globs."

Ogthrak whipped his arm forward, upon which a compact barrel slipped out of the folded up shield. He peered along it for a bit, "The Blade knows better than to fail the Master, regardless of his beliefs."

Reaching back into the case, Ogthrak glared back towards the soldier, "You'd do best to recognize that, maggot."

---

Amity Colosseum

Ruby and her teammates found Sun being congratulated by his team in one of the side halls. They were gathered around, commenting on the battle he'd just won, when he noticed the girls' approaching. Briefly pointing them out, he and Neptune split off from the rest of their team to meet them halfway.

"Hey!" Sun put his hands together and gestured towards them with a grin "So no fooling, give it to me straight... how'd I do?

Before either Weiss or Blake could get a word in, Ruby zipped forward, "You guys were awesome!" she declared before mimicking moves "That guy was all shooting at you with that bow thing but you were like 'Nope Nunchucks' and then he was deflecting and you were doing spins and he was-!"

Blake clapped a hand on Ruby's shoulder to halt her frenzied movements, "It was pretty cool," she admitted while giving him a smirk "Maybe a little too flashy for my tastes."

Sun had just taken on one of the Mistral finalists, a slender dude with a massive bow. For the most part, the matches had gone off without a hitch, and the cheers of the crowd had steadily grown to something resembling the fervor they'd shown before. Ruby could feel the tense air melting slowly, replaced with the eagerness and anticipation that could only be garnered through competition. It was something that she lamented Yang and the rest of the Teams who refused to show up would be missing. But not even that would be able to bring her down!

So after congratulating Sun with his teammates, Ruby was eager to urge them back to their seats before the next combatants were called up. On the way back to their seats, the next announcement began.

"Now to begin the randomization process!" Oobleck called out.

Walking down the steps to their seats, they heard the Audience quiet down as the potential contestants were cycled through up ahead. When Ruby looked up, her yes widened along with her smile.

"Penny Polendina... Versus... Pyrrha Nikos!"

Weiss folded her arms, "Looks like Nora really will get that fight she was looking for." she noted before turning back "Isn't that right, Ru- Ruby?"

Ruby had ran off the moment the announcement came.

"I know we haven't known each other long," Neptune began as they resumed moving to their seats "but she's not usually this... sporadic, right?"

"You'd be surprised." Weiss nudged him "She's probably just trying to hype everyone up, even I can agree that things have been rather dismal. Besides, she and Penny are close, and believe me when I say Ruby has an unhealthy interest in the fighting capabilities of her friends."

"Gotta say though, that Polendina girl is probably the most mysterious Contestant we got here." Sun noted as he folded his arms behind his head and looked to Blake "She's that Professor guy's daughter, right?"

"She is," Weiss nodded before growing a curious look "Though now that you mentioned it, I'd say that Ruby almost definitely knows more about her than I do."

"Wow Weiss," Blake smirked "didn't learn much from those 'Lessons' you guy's have had after all, huh?"

"I was only interested in the contents of the teachings." Weiss defended herself while slipping into her seat and rolling her eyes "Besides, those two just seem to connect better."

Below the stands, Ruby was darting through the halls of the Colosseum, eager to reach Penny for a pre-match pep talk. She knew the way there, but suddenly found her way impeded by someone stepping out in front of her. The two collided, with Ruby falling flat on her butt before looking up to see an exasperated looking Emerald staring back at her.

"You!" Emerald shook her head before growing a confused look "Why are you-?"

"Sorry Em!" Ruby apologized quickly, scrambling to her feet to help Emerald up "I was kind of in a hurry and you just came out of nowhere and I- Ugh."

Once Emerald was standing, Ruby did her best to give some quick bows whilst simultaneously scooting around her, "I'll buy you some snacks later to apologize, seriously! But right now I gotta-"

"No, really..." Emerald held up her hands while giving a weak smile and backing away "I got to go grab my seat for the match, anyway."

Ruby looked at her for a moment before smiling, "I see the awkward air's getting to you too, huh?"

Emerald froze at that, lowering her hands as Ruby rubbed the back of her head and sighed, "Look, just enjoy the fights okay? Things are gonna get better, you'll see."

"Yeah..." Emerald said as Ruby resumed jogging off.

"I can't wait to see your pal out there too!" Ruby called back to her before speeding off.

Letting her hands fall to her sides, Emerald gave a low groan before continuing on her way. She hated how antsy she was, she was usually so much better at masking her temper around here. If that pea-brained Ruby girl could catch even a glimpse of the discomfort she felt, then she must really be off her game. But could anyone really blame her? Today was the day, and the moment was hurtling closer by the second. With only a thought and a will, she would soon set into motion a series of cataclysmic events that will leave the entire world devastated.

Because Cinder willed it.

---

Hork's Tower

The screams died down, finally.

Ishga kicked the severed foot away as Skak raised his bloodied axe over his head and let the black blood leak down into his mouth. The cheers of his followers provided a decent cover for the screams which had echoed from the room. It had taken some time, lots of yelling, and more than enough hacking away to finally break through the Researcher's stubborn resistance, but they got there.

Ishga leaned down next to him and asked, "You ready to talk yet?"

He got several nods as the Researcher struggled to control his panicked breath, every twitch of his now mutilated leg sending him into fits of growls.

"Good, because Atlas is mere moments from tearing this place apart. Your masters are setting up the gate upstairs, so I need you to tell me what it actually does. It's not really gonna lead to Mordor is it?"

"... Dunno."

Ishga stepped back at that, "What?"

"I don't know!" the Researcher snapped before wincing as the binds rubbed into his wounds, "All that gate Shrahk was the Shaman's business! Him and those Acolytes! I dunno what that thing's gonna do, it wasn't what I was brought for!"

"Sounds to me like he don't need that other leg of his." Skak laughed as he gave his weapon a twirl, stopping only when Ishga raised a hand.

"Why not enlighten us as to what you were brought for."

The Researcher hung his head, taking some more breaths, "You know why they don't chase us like the Tarks?"

"What?"

"The Dark Beasts, t-the Grimm." he looked up "That's what we was lookin' into for a while. They fight us when we're near, but they don't seek us like they do Tarks or Hybrids. Shaman wanted to know why. It's because they don't see us the same way, not like they see them."

Sitting up, he sagged back into the chair with a groan of pain, "They treat us the same way they do animals, territorial competition and nothin' more. Is' why they never target us unless tarks are nearby, why we don't have an army of them hammering away at our bases constantly."

"Hold on, what does this have to do with what you were sent here for?" Ishga asked

"The Stormbringer and his Acolytes figured out how to draw them... by messin' around with Aura until they could register to the Dark Beasts... similar to their other targets." he continued, eyes glazing over a bit as he continued speaking "The effects... stunning. Getting all the rage and hatred of an Uruk to register to those monsters, drives them into a frenzy. A single one of those Acolytes could act as a Beacon big enough to draw hordes from miles away. Diving into every painful memory they've had over their entire lives. Lives full of death, destruction and war. Tarks could only dream of seeming so appealing to the-"

Ishga strode forward and slapped the Researcher to the ground, forcing a cry of agonized rage from him. Ishga reached down and hauled him up with flashes of barely restrained anger sparking up in his gaze "Is that what they're doing? Having the Stormbringer draw the Grimm here?"

The Researcher laughed at that, "You think that's the worst that could happen?!" he winced before shaking his head wildly "You don't even know where you all are, what's been right beneath us this entire time!"

Ishga's eyes narrowed before widening suddenly, letting him fall back to the ground as he backed up with a look of growing horror spreading across his features.

---

Amity Colosseum

"Now Penny's got a ton of different ways to attack." Jaune said as he walked with Pyrrha "From her last fights I've noticed a trend that she usually tries to overwhelm her opponents by attacking from as many different angles as possible."

"Right."

"All of those swords move according to her gestures, so I'm thinking that if you keep close and pressure her she shouldn't have much room to counter."

"Got it."

Jaune looked at Pyrrha for a moment before giving an awkward cough, "Um, Pyrrha... are you sure that you're okay?"

Pyrrha's eyes snapped towards him as she came to a stop, "Huh?"

"Because if you're feeling uncomfortable or something-"

Pyrrha stepped around him and gave him a friendly jab with her shoulder, "Jaune, you don't have to worry. Trust me."

Jaune massaged the spot on his arm where she'd jabbed him, giving his best smile, "If you say so, Pyrrha. Good luck out there."

Nodding, Pyrrha turned around and strode out towards the Arena proper as the Audience cheered her arrival. Across from her, she could see Penny sharing a hug with Ruby before marching out towards her as well.

As they drew to the very center of the arena large chunks of it pulled back leaving only a singular platform to float up. Standing a few yards from each other Pyrrha and Penny came to a stop as the platform continued to rise.

But as they looked to one another, Penny's smile vanished for a moment, "You seem a bit concerned, Pyrrha Nikos." she noted before leaning forward with her hands behind her back "Well don't you worry, I'll try to make this fight as fun as can be for you!"

Watching her, Pyrrha gave a smile of her own as she adopted a stance, "Then I shall try to do the same for you."

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

Pyrrha sped towards Penny as a number of blades fired from the pack on her back, each one of them flying in front of her to block the tip of Milo before it could reach her. Pyrrha spun around and swiped at Penny's feet, only for her to leap over the blade and send both of her feet towards Pyrrha. Raising Akuou, Pyrrha intercepted the drop kick and was sent skidding back as Penny flipped back and spun with the momentum. As she spun, several blades spun around her. Rearing back with the circle of spinning blades, Penny sent it flying towards Pyrrha while spreading her arms wide as more blades fired from the pack on her back.

Watching them from the stands, Emerald readied herself, keeping her hands folded in her lap. Turning her attention towards the crowd, her frown deepened. So many teams hadn't shown up, she could only hope that many were partying in Vale instead of hanging around Beacon. She stopped herself before she could worry over it too much, all of that stuff wold be Adam's problem to deal with. She had to focus on her task.

She wasn't the only one who found herself distracted during the battle. Despite keeping his steely gaze on the heated back and forth, Ironwood found his eyes traveling down to his Scroll. He so desperately wanted to check in on the fleet, who could engage the Tower forces at any second now. He had to have faith, relax... they'd gone over their attack plans.

Leaning back in his chair, he took a breath and tried enjoying the fight. Broadcast across all the kingdoms and numerous villages in between, many watched the duel with various temperaments.

.{{{{{+-+}}}}}.

One of such watchers was Bebe, who sat on some steps at the back of Pug-Bringer Studios and looked over Melanie's shoulder at her scroll.

"Ugh, that's gonna be a long one." Melanie sighed

Bebe raised an eyebrow, "Why do you say that?"

Melanie gestured to the screen, "Have you seen both of their progress through the Tournament? They're both insane compared to everyone else. Way I see it, it's gonna take forever for one of them to overtake the other."

Frowning, Bebe leaned back and turned her attention to the alley behind the studio. Looking for a moment, she finally asked, "Why'd you want to watch this with me?"

Rolling her eyes, Melanie hung her head, "My options are kinda limited here. I don't think I know many people in this place who can shut up long enough to pay attention to anything. And the few that could... well-"

"I get it." Bebe gave a weak smile "At least it keeps me busy."

Inside, Rolo and Banz were performing as usual, doing a special series of new songs for the Festival. Borgu and Zog said that they would explain everything about Ogthrak's cryptic warnings once the time came. Knowing that something horrible was probably coming made Bebe uncomfortable inside. She secretly hoped that Melanie was feeling the same, which was why they were actually doing something that could be considered hanging out. She didn't have to admit or deny it, the thought alone made Bebe feel better.

Hearing footsteps, both of them looked to the side as Krimp emerged from the set of double doors near the large garage doors used by delivery trucks. Bebe raised a hand to greet him, only to falter as she realized he wasn't in his usual Janitor disguise. In fact, it was only the familiar shape of his massive form that tipped her off to his identity under all that heavy wrapping.

Walking away from the building, Krimp reached behind him for a massive sword strapped to his back. Kneeling, he drew a cloth from a heavy backpack and began wiping it down.

Bebe cast a confused look at Melanie, who rolled her eyes before returning her gaze to her scroll. Standing up, Bebe approached him carefully, "Hey uh... Krimp? What's going on with-"

"I'm takin' off buddy!" Krimp chuckled while looking up at her, reaching up to pull some cloth down from his mouth to reveal his smile "It's gettin' to be that time."

Bebe froze for a moment before frowning, "What?"

"Vale ain't exactly gonna be the best place to hide real soon." he explained as he pulled out strips of cloth and began wrapping up the sword "Feel like I should be hittin' the old road before that. Might be time to see if Brother's feelin' better. I still got this sword he was supposed to get, thinkin' it could make a good peace offering."

"Oh..." Bebe went silent as Krimp finished wrapping it up and stood at his full height "So... I guess it'll be a while since I see you again, then."

Krimp raised an eyebrow as he slid the sword back into a scabbard on his back. Smiling, he leaned down to her eye level "Don't worry, pal. Krimp always makes sure to keep track of his friends, so don't think this is the last time he'll be poppin' in."

"It's not that, its-"

"Still feeling down about your bro, huh?" he put his hands on his hips and gave a hearty laugh "Worryin' I won't be around to help with ya sad times, anymore?"

Bebe didn't answer, going silent as she cast her gaze to the ground. Krimp nodded before looking away and giving a thoughtful hum, "You know, things may not be goin' your way right now, what with ya bro or ya fang friends, but I'd consider it pretty liberating."

Bebe looked up at that.

"Think about it! Ya got no reason to stick to what they's doin' no more, so you could go do whatever ya want now!" he gave her a nudge "Maybe start up a daycare or get into literature. Uruks live a lot longer than you lot do, so I can't say for sure, but I'd say make use of the time ya got."

She returned her gaze to the ground, "Yeah... okay, I... after finding a way out from under Ogthrak's thumb... maybe I will."

Though she wanted to believe his words, and knew for a fact that there was definite meaning to them, she just couldn't help but feel trapped under the weight of her situation. She actually liked the idea of getting a hobby, anything relaxing to offset the tense scenarios she'd been getting dragged through lately, but would the White Fang really let someone like her move on? Would Bigsby give her such leeway?

Seeing her discomfort, Krimp grabbed Bebe and lifted her off her feet by her sides, much to her dismay.

"Krimp! What are you-?"

"I know for a fact that your big bro still cares for ya, buddy." he said, silencing "Would've just written you off immediately if he wasn't all worried about ya. But you say he was tryin' to talk you back into it?"

Bebe merely stared at him, mouth hanging open as she tried to form words. Before she could, Krimp pulled her close and enveloped her in a bear hug.

"I know my fair share o' fanatics, and the most devoted are all about dyin' for the cause. He wouldn't have thought twice about cuttin' you off if ya weren't still ringin' around in that head of his."

Though a tender thought that almost made Bebe tear up in his arms, a groan cut through the moment like a knife as Melanie finally lowered her scroll and looked at them.

"Seriously? I don't know why you're going to this guy for advice." Melanie turned a suspicious glare towards Krimp as he let Bebe slip down to her feet "Being bodyguard for both Zog and Borgu, I hear tons of stories they share with each other."

"Oh?" Bebe looked up as Krimp gave another laugh and patted at his chest "that sounds like a right fun ol' time!"

"The stories they tell about you are particularly interesting." Melanie stood up and leaned to the side while nodding to him "Tell me, just how many people have you killed?"

Bebe raised an eyebrow at that, about to ask something when Krimp gave another hum.

"Well golly, pal. I ain't slain a single soul in decades." Krimp noted "If ya heard the stories, you should know that I ain't done no slayin' since me bro told me to stop."

Shaking her head, Bebe looked up at him, "What?"

"Huh?" Krimp looked down at her with a moment of confusion before smiling, "Oh! Yeah, I used to help my bro out with his killin' all the time back when we was young. He thought it was hilarious to have me go and hang out with some of his enemies just to chop em up afterwards. Had me a whole lot of friendly adventures!"

"Borgu says you once walked into an ambush on purpose while pretending to be your brother." Melanie recalled "Said he had you pretend to surrender just so they'd deliver you to their camp-"

"-where then I'd bust out and slice 'em to bits!" Krimp finished with a chipper little giggle "Had me a nice chat with the guys who caught me, shared a laugh over spottin' some Caragors tryin' to fight a Graug. Too bad they didn't run while they could, would've liked to laugh with them again."

Bebe backed away a few steps, "Krimp, you never answered her question. H-How many have you killed?"

Krimp pouted, "I'm tellin' ya, it shouldn't matter none." he jerked a thumb towards himself "Ain't killed nothin' in decades, big bro told me I couldn't kill for him no more, so I stopped. Pretty hard to do at first, since other folks fall to pieces so easily, but I learned. Now I'm as harmless as could be!"

He noted her backing up, tilting his head a bit, "You okay buddy? Thought you was used to hangin' around killers and criminals and such."

"I am, it's just..." Bebe sighed "I thought you...I dunno, were different somehow? You always acted different from every other Uruk I met, so I guess... I just forgot what you were."

"And what exactly am I, buddy?" Krimp asked, with Bebe going silent as Melanie stood straight.

"That's another thing, both them and Ogthrak keep saying that you aren't an actual Uruk." Melanie brought up, crossing her arms and standing straight, "You mind explaining what they mean by that? From everything I've seen and you've said, you're an Uruk like them, so maybe help a girl out here?"

"I'm whatever ya think I am, pal." Krimp shrugged as he turned and began walking off, "Before anything else, I'm the bestest friend ever, okay?"

She didn't answer, frown deepening as Krimp waved goodbye without turning around.

"Remember not to worry too much, Bebe! Just like my bro, I know your's still cares."

---

The Arceus- Dining Hall

Just like the previous few days, enjoying his meal became somewhat of a chore.

At the very head of the Dining Hall, Felgrat sat with a slab of cooked Uruk Flesh set on a plate before him. With a small skewer made of bone, he punctured the flesh before pulling a carving knife from his belt and cutting into it. Bringing the skewer to his lips, he bit into the cooked flesh and gave several chews while looking up from his plate.

The Dining Hall was massive, undoubtedly the largest single room on the ship. Despite this, it seemed smaller primarily due to the sheer number of Uruks crammed inside. Having been forced from all other corners of the vessel, the entire Caterer force had to make due with the space they had left. Almost every section had been re-purposed for weapon crafting, cooking and the like. The only part of the room that wasn't crowded was his table, of which his Caterers gave a wide berth. Over a hundred inmates either working or laying back as they waited.

Briefly casting a look at the bone helmet at his side, Felgrat swallowed his mouthful of flesh before sighing and going in for another bite. Before he could bring the next chunk to his lips, one of the doors on the side of the Dining Hall was flung open.

A Caterer stumbled in and immediately raised his hands and yelled, "The Black Cloth's inside Boss! We need's to-!"

A cleaver sailed out of the doorway into the back of his head before he could finish, sending him to the ground as Uthug entered. The Caterers gave him a wide berth as many went for their weapons, makeshift bows and blades rising as he reached down and pulled the cleaver from the corpse's skull.

Congratulations... you've somehow managed to surprise me yet again with how deeply you can fuck us. And here I was thinking I'd seen it all. But no... you managed to tear your way into the enemy stronghold, and immediately get yourself surrounded on all sides with...half? I'm going to say only half of your Aura remaining. It was a good run, I should've known from previous suicide charges that we would've eventually gotten to this point.

Standing up, Uthug immediately turned his attention to the crowd around them. Finding that, for the first time, none of them were attacking. Eyebrow raising, he looked closer and found that many weapons were shaking, some of their wielders attempting to slip back into the crowd around them to no avail.

"So" Felgrat called out before taking another bite of his meal "Seems Bubol's newest toy's come to finish his crusade. Mind if ya let me finish eatin' first?"

"S-Sir?" one of the Caterers next to him asked, eyes frantically darting between him and Uthug.

"If ya do, we can do this in a simple one on one duel and get it done with." Felgrat continued as he began cutting again "Why waste the boys I got left?"

Trap... it's a trap, definite trap!

"Why not just give up and be done with this stupid little turf war?" Uthug asked as he began stepping forward, the confused and terrified Caterers standing out of his path as he moved "As much as I'd want to tear you apart along with anyone who tries to stop me, just ending all of this shrahk and getting to have a nap is preferable in every damned way!"

Felgrat nodded a few times while eyeing a piece of meat on his bone skewer, "You know what it's like working with Bubol? Ya may think ya do, since you've been basically winning his fights for him. But that's in here, out there's a whole 'nother story. Gets himself into all kinds of trouble on his whims, ruining partnerships just as fast he makes them."

"Biding time by talking ain't gonna help," Uthug stated before pausing as he looked up to the frame of a large chandelier suspended above the open area in front of Felgrat's table. Frowning, he walked around the ominous shadow it cast on the floor below it "Just eat ya damned meal and let's do this."

The crowd of Caterers, perhaps acquiescing to their leader's wishes, stepped back, forming a large circle around the rear of the Dining Hall as Uthug came to a stop two yards from Felgrat's table.

He's up to something.

I know.

Then why are you letting him get to it?

Frowning, Felgrat stood and slid the carving knife into a slot on his belt. As he stood, Uthug noted that the armor he was wearing was completely made of Uruk bone and dried skin. Many parts of the armor had bone like needles protruding from them, almost identical to the skewer he was using. As if to prove his point, Felgrat took hold of the skewer and stuck it next to several identical bone needles on his helmet.

Taking hold of the meat, he brought it to his lips before quickly tearing into it. All semblance of restraint gone as he devoured it. After taking a moment to lick his fingers, he raised the helmet and began slipping it on.

"Could've got that sick bastard back," he grumbled as he hopped onto the table "would've done all the other lads a favor. You don't know just how much shrahk he's gonna get you all into if he gets out. So I'mma do you a favor and put a stop to it right here.

Raising his hands to his sides, Uthug gestured around "Think you've got a chance at winning?! You're all sniveling and hiding like some cowards while Bubol's got the run of the place!"

"No," Felgrat pointed to him, "You've got the run of the place. You've been mucking everything up for me. If the Black-Cloth's head is paraded around on my shoulder plate, I'll be turning this around in no time.'

Before Uthug could point out the shortsightedness of that plan, Felgrat flicked his wrist and suddenly three of those skewers slid in between his fingers. He lunged for Uthug, slashing as the Looter ducked under his strike. Felgrat lunged away from him the moment he landed, throwing the skewers at him as the Caterers around them began cheering him on.

Groaning as he slid out of the way of the skewers, Uthug rushed towards Felgrat as he reared back with the cleaver. Felgrat stood and clapped his hands, followed immediately by the sound of something loud clanging above. Noticing immediately where he was standing, Uthug lunged forward as that chandelier frame fell to the floor behind him and crashed through it. Before he could continue speeding towards Felgrat, the floor caved in beneath him and caused him to stumble. He caught the edge of the floor before he could fall, only for Felgrat to kick him back into the pit that had formed around the fallen chandelier frame.

Landing on his back, Uthug angrily rose and glanced to the side at the chandelier, only now realizing that the majority of it had a large cage of jagged metal built around it. Makeshift blades protruded from various parts of it, an assortment of caterer weapons that seemed to have been fused to it here and there. It took up the majority of the pit, with a chain running from the top of it up into the ceiling. Felgrat leaped to that chain and took a hold of it as he stood atop the caged chandelier and raised another skewer to his lips.

"Always pictured Bubol bein' the one stuck in here gettin' crushed by this. One thing I learned hanging around that Wretch, always stack the odds." he declared whilst licking some left over meat off of it and gesturing to the crowd of Caterers around the pit "Come on lads, he falls and we feast!"

"One on one my arse." Uthug snarled as he stood

Don't even pretend to be surprised by this.

The onlookers still looked indecisive, looks of wariness gracing many faces until a few more aggressive Uruks pushed their way through the crowds.

"Out of the way ya yellow-bellies!" one shoved his way forward and whipped a sword in front of him "He bleeds like any other glob!"

With that he leaped into the pit blade first, forcing Uthug to lunge out of the way as the blade dug into the floor. He turned to lunge for the Caterer, only for a skewer to slice across the aura on his cheek, and make him stumble. He briefly glared at Felgrat as more skewers slid from his armor into his grip. Uthug turned back and ducked as the Caterer swung at him, lunging forward and yanking him in the way of several more skewers which tore at his captive's aura. Hefting him up, Uthug tossed the dazed Caterer away as two more leaped in and circled the Chandelier to charge him.

Diving under another skewer, Uthug rammed his head into the gut of one of the Caterers before he could bring he could bring down his blade. Taking hold of his wrist, Uthug slashed at the back of his head with his cleaver before bringing it behind him to block the swing of another's knife.

Watching, Felgrat rolled his eyes under his helmet as the Caterers quickly had trouble landing blows on the interloper. Looking up, he called out towards the ceiling, "What are ya globs doin' up there? Get this thing moving!"

"Sorry boss, we's tryin'!"a vice called back from where the chain of the caged chandelier disappeared, "Just give us a bit!"

The voice was followed by several different grunts of effort as the chain began pulling the Chandelier up off the ground.

Uthug had just finished pinning one Caterer to the ground before jamming his cleaver into his head and twisting it until his movements went still. Out of the corner of his eye he watched another one rushing towards him and quickly yanked out the blade in a spray of black blood. Before they could clash, both became aware of the sound of metal scraping along the ground. Both glanced to the side and went wide eyed at the sight of the jagged chandelier swinging towards them. Both lunged out of the way as it crashed into the side of the pit. Several of the Caterers almost fell in from the impact, but many clung to the crowd behind them.

Felgrat spun around the chain and sent another skewer slicing along Uthug's side, causing him to bellow out a growl with Aura flaring before rearing back with his cleaver and sending it flying at Felgrat. He pulled to the side just to keep it from striking his chest, but the blade did glance along his shoulder before striking one of the Caterers at the edge of the pit. The impact made Felgrat lose his grip on the chain, and he leaped to the side off of the Chandelier before he could fall. He landed beside the other Caterer, who quickly rushed forward as Uthug charged towards them.

Uthug slid out of the way of his strike before sending the Caterer stumbling into the jagged side of the Chandelier, Aura alone keeping him from being impaled immediately. Before Uthug could finish him off, his eyes darted to the side as Felgrat swiped at him with his knuckles clenching skewers. Uthug backed out of the way of the first two swipes before lunging into the next swing, catching Felgrat's wrist. Yanking him close, Uthug swung with his other fist before Felgrat spun, ducking close and causing the numerous skewers on his armor to slash at Uthug's aura as he went.

Uthug slid back out of the way as his aura flickered.

His armor's just as much of a weapon as those damn skewers, find an opening!

"Not the most thoughtful of worms, eh?" Felgrat noted as he twirled several skewers in his fingers and slid out of the way as the Caterer behind him lunged forward.

Uthug stepped backwards as the blade swung centimeters from his face before lunging forward and ramming his elbow into the caterer's chest. Hearing the clacking of Felgrat's bone armor, Uthug spun and hurled the Caterer towards him. Felgrat leaped over the Caterer with his skewer claws bared, but Uthug darted forward and kicked him back to the ground.

"Gah!" Felgrat shouted as he rolled into a crouch, "Get that thing swinging again!"

Before Uthug could take advantage of his position, the Caterer intercepted him with makeshift sword swinging. Uthug's hands shot forward and caught hold of the Caterer's hands before they could bring the sword down, shifting the weapon out of the way as he rammed his skull against the Caterer's and pried the sword out of his hands. The Caterer swung in a daze, prompting Uthug to spin around him and carve the blade through his back. He raised it over the stumbling Uruk's head, only for Felgrat to leap on his back before he could bring it down.

Uthug felt one hand lock around the sword before he could bring it down, and he was barely able to reach up in time to catch Felgrat's other hand before it could drive a skewer through his eye. They struggled for a moment, Uthug stumbling a bit around the pit before he managed to get a good foothold. He heaved Felgrat up over him before charging him with the sword. Felgrat landed in another roll, bringing up more skewers only for them to get slashed out of his grasp by the sword.

Snarling, he spun under the next swing while drawing his carving knife and raking it across Uthug's gut. Uthug bit down on his own growl before rearing back and kicking Felgrat against the wall of the pit.

A garbled battle cry brought his attention to the Caterer who came swinging at him with one of Felgrat's skewers. More importantly, he noticed the chandelier being raised again. Uthug rammed his shoulder into the Caterer's nose before grabbing his arm and using it to pull himself out of the way of the chandelier as it swung towards them. The cage struck the Caterer, whose arm tore off in Uthug's grasp as he was crushed into the wall of the pit. Uthug took several breaths, grip tightening on the severed arm in one hand and the blade in the other as he realized he could no longer see Felgrat.

The clank of metal coming from the top of the cage was the only warning he got before Felgrat leaped off off it and drove both of his feet into Uthug, forcing him to the ground as Felgrat rolled off.

Barely any Aura left, maybe now you'll consider utilizing some form of a-?

"Don't you say it!" Uthug groaned out loud as he pushed himself back to his hands and knees while glaring at Felgrat.

"He's almost done, boys!" Felgrat gave a somewhat shaky breath before glancing up to the edges of the pits "Help me do the honors!"

But his smirk fell upon realizing that, despite wearing his opponent down, the crowd still seemed too terrified to rush to his aid. This sight caused Felgrat to snarl, upon which two Caterers with bows pushed their way to the front of the crowd, "Don't worry none, Boss!" one shouted while aiming his weapon at Uthug "We got this!"

Felgrat rose to his full height and stretched a bit while whipping more skewers from his armor. Uthug pushed himself back to his feet as the Archer's took aim, the shifting of Felgrat's armor unable to cover the sound of meal scraping from behind him. Uthug rolled out of the way as the Chandelier once again swung across the pit. He turned just in time to lean out of the way of an arrow before swinging the severed arm in front of him to deflect another. Felgrat jumped at him, managing to plunge his skewers into the arm and use it to yank Uthug to the side as his other hand came around with more of the jagged bones.

Uthug ducked under this while rearing back with the sword, Felgrat having to jump as it cut into the the ground where his feet once were. Felgrat landed and immediately threw himself into Uthug and rammed into him. Uthug forced him back, rushing to pursue when a pain at his side brought his attention to several of the skewers sticking out of him. Eyes going wild with rage, Uthug looked up as Felgrat darted towards him again. Eyes narrowing, Uthug spun and swiped him out of the air with his sword. Felgrat hit the ground hard this time, but before Uthug could leap on him an arrow punctured his shoulder and nearly threw him to the ground.

Felgrat groaned as he picked himself up, Aura flickering dangerously. Glancing back, he saw Uthug drop the severed arm and immediately reach towards the arrow before swinging the sword to swipe another one out of the air. Felgrat used that point to dart for the Chandelier again and scale its cage.

Don't pull it out!

Stings like hell!

Removing an arrowhead requires careful cuts or else it'll tear you up on it's way out. Just snap the shaft so it doesn't get in the way.

Breathing out in a hiss, Uthug took hold of the arrow and snapped it before eyeing the archers. The moment he pushed himself to his feet, however, that Chandelier came swinging at him again. He rolled forward, catching himself only for another skewer to sink into his leg. he looked up and saw Felgrat riding the Chandelier as it came back for another run.

Lunging out of the way, Uthug found himself spinning out of the way of two more arrows only for another skewer to puncture his free hand.

"Didn't think anyone besides Bubol could be thick-headed enough to run into shrahk with no plan!" Felgrat laughed as the Chandelier began its next pass.

Uthug nearly saw red at that, leaning down and biting hard on the skewer in his hand before pulling it out with his teeth and darting out of the way of the Chandelier. He launched it back towards Felgrat, who took hold of the chain and used it to slip out of the way of the projectile. The Skewer found its home instead in the chest of one of the Caterers who had been watching. As he fell backwards while cursing and reaching for it, the crowd began putting some distance between them and the pit. The only ones still at the very edge were the two Archers, who still sent the occasional arrow flying towards Uthug as he worked to continued dodging.

Reaching down, he yanked another Skewer out of his leg before diving out of the way of the Chandelier. As momentum brought it swinging away from him momentarily, he whipped the Skewer towards Felgrat, who once more slipped out of the way as the Skewer ended up sailing into the eye of one of the Archers. Felgrat glanced back momentarily at hearing him cry out, looking back towards Uthug only to see the spinning makeshift sword for a split-second before it slammed into him. The impact launched Felgrat off the top of the chandelier, landing heavily on his back with the sword stuck protruding from his chest piece.

"Boss!" the remaining archer cried out, others inching closer to see as the Chandelier came to a stop at Felgrat's side.

"What are... you whining about!?" a pained bark brought all eyes to Felgrat as he rolled over and pushed himself back up, a shaky hand taking hold of the sword as he glared up at the crowd "How about instead... of whining like a bunch of sniveling cowards, some of you get down here and HELP ME, DAMN IT!"

As he looked around, not even the remaining Archer seemed willing to lift his bow towards Uthug again.

He's losing support fast, can you still move?

"I'm not falling until he's dead!" Uthug snarled as he got back to his feet.

Felgrat groaned as he lowered his gaze to the ground, "Had to be this bunch to get stuck with, eh?" he sighed to himself as he tore the sword from his chest piece and looked at Uthug as black blood began leaking from his fresh wound, "Ya just had to have thrown in with him?"

Felgrat lowered his gaze to the sword before letting it clatter to the floor and shaking his head before reaching up and taking off his helmet. Shaking a large accumulation of sweat from his brow, Felgrat tossed it to the side, "Nothin' but rotten luck in this world."

Uthug narrowed his eyes, "Oh you have no idea."

Kicking the sword to the side, Felgrat tore another skewer from his armor and crouched down while slowly approaching. Reaching down to tear one from his side, Uthug began stomping his way towards him. Droplets of blood painted the ground behind both of them as they drew closer, with Felgrat feinting forward before pulling back as Uthug lunged to intercept him.

Felgrat threw another skewer into Uthug's arm before whipping out his carving knife and jumping towards him. Uthug brought up his own skewer and slashed the knife out of Felgrat's hand before pulling the newest skewer out with his teeth again. Felgrat went for the carving knife and scooped it up before Uthug's foot came down and nearly crushed his hand. Felgrat pulled back and swung the knife forward as Uthug spat the skewer into his hand whilst dodging. The next time the carving knife came swinging at him, he brought the skewer up and rammed it into Felgrat's wrist. The skewer forced his grip on the knife to loosen until it clattered to the bloodied ground beneath them.

Uthug released the skewer and took hold of Felgrat's wrist, twisting it painfully as his other hand went for his throat. Despite the pain, Felgrat twisted his shoulder around leading to the Looter getting another skewer to the hand as a result. Roaring as the newest skewer broke off of the shoulder piece, Uthug whipped his hand across Felgrat's face, the skewer in it tearing open Felgrat's cheek as his head swung from impact.

Though both of them struggled, the blood on their feet causing both of them to stumble in their tussle, it was Felgrat who ended up slipping right into Uthug's grasp. His feet giving out beneath him, Felgrat careened forward into Uthug, who finally got both hands on him before raising him and throwing him to the ground just short of the chandelier.

Without hesitation, Uthug took hold of the carving knife and rushed towards Felgrat as he struggled to get up again. Felgrat swiped back with his hand, his bone armor intercepting the blade and letting him swipe it out of Uthug's hand. Before he could go for another skewer, Uthug slammed his foot down on his arm and pinned it before kneeling and cracking him in the face with a tightened. Dazed, Felgrat's arms flailed, several more skewers slipping from the insides of his gauntlets to the floor as Uthug hauled him off the ground.

"Give it time y-you stupid shrahk!" Felgrat spattered out as he clutched at Uthug's hands "Everyone who knows that piece of filth long enough would do the same as-!"

Uthug threw Felgrat onto the Chandelier's cage, impaling him on multiple jagged protrusions. Felgrat's eyes went wide, one arm reaching for a specific pipe poking through his chest as his other was stuck on another blade.

Turning his attention to Uthug, who stood and glared at him while reaching up to poke at the arrowhead still lodged in his shoulder, Felgrat went limp against the cage.

Uthug steadied his breathing, turning his glare to the wide-eyed crowd which backed away from the pit as Uthug began approaching the edge of it. Scaling the wall, he eventually pulled himself out of the pit and looked around before standing up.

"Now..." he glared over the assembled Caterers "Is there anybody else... that I have to rip apart to get you piss-heads to drop this damned war?"

Numerous heads shook, several even lowering their weapons as the crowd continued trying to back away from him.

"Good... ya'll have put me through so much shrahk that it's almost unbelievable. But... I'm tired." he gestured towards the other side of the dining hall "So get to showin' me the fastest way outta here... ya'll can make it up to Bubol or whatever, I'mma nap. ."

You have an arrowhead in your-

Nap first... arrow later...

.{{{{{+-+}}}}}.

"Wow..." an Atlesian soldier leaned back in his chair, eyes still glued to the visual feed as two other soldiers passed by him.

One of them took note and paused beside him, "Rhine, the hell are you doing? Weren't you supposed to be pulling video feeds?"

Rhine immediately produced a scroll without looking away from the screen, "Done... everything up to three hours ago." he stated before letting his hand fall "Looter just killed Felgrat."

"What?"

Rhine rolled his eyes before gesturing to the screen, "The Looter, he ran right into Caterer turf and took out their boss!"

"And? Who cares?" the soldier shook her head before gesturing around them "They'll all be at the bottom of the ocean within an hour."

"You don't understand, Mol." Rhine spun around in his seat and stood up "I've been following this fight since Bubol and Felgrat started butting heads. You don't even know how big the reward pool is for who wins."

"What the-? You've been placing bets... on the prisoners?" Mol shook her head,

"Of course! We do nothing but monitor this damned place all day, why wouldn't I?" Rhine stood and raised a finger between them "Just wait, the moment we get off this floating coffin, I'm calling this in specifically and walking away with a nice lump of lienfor my investments."

"Let's keep it moving, people!" the Officer called out as he approached another soldier at the console, "How are we not out of shallow water, Tansen?"

The woman sighed, "Sir, with how many formations run along this path, the quickest way to waters deep enough to completely submerge the ship is just past that cliff face over there."

She gestured towards the viewport, showing a cliff that the vessel was currently passing near. Turning to face the Officer, she continued with, "If we had waited until after the Tournament concluded like we initially intended, this wouldn't be a problem even with the surprise transfer taken into account."

"If that damn transfer hadn't occurred, then we wouldn't even be having this discussion, Tansen." the Officer continued "With Ironwood rushing the fleet to take on those tower beasts, our peers will return much sooner than anticipated."

"Perhaps we could reschedule to a more opportune time to ensure-"

"Tansen, please..." the Officer sighed before gesturing forward "Just get us where we need to be."

Turning away as she returned to her seat, the Officer approached his chair while calling out to his soldiers, "The rest of you ready yourselves, the moment the sequence is initiated we have limited time to reach the escape boats."

Hearing that, Mol approached Rhine again, who was once more pouring over his screen. She nudged him, "Come on, you've already got your records."

"Sorry I was just..." he looked to her and nodded down with a smile "You know, needed proof of me winning that bet and-"

"Are you serious?!"

"-and it just so happened." he nodded towards the screen "I caught sight of some of Bubol's guys, I think they're taunting some Caterers under the main viewing pane."

"I reiterate: who cares?" Mol looked over his shoulder with skepticism

"It's just that," Rhine cycled through the feeds, "I thought that they were doing it because the Looter brought down their boss but, there's no way that they even know about it yet. Look here, Uthug's still got the Caterers taking down their traps. I don't even know where the guys over here came from."

The Officer caught wind of that, approaching them, "What's going on?"

The screen showed several Caterers surrounded by taunting Inmates underneath one of the viewing panes, holding their weapons and tossing insults at each other. As Rhine showed the Officer, he narrowed his eyes, "Do we have eyes on Bubol?"

Rhine leaned down and began cycling through feeds again, "Last we saw he was heading back into the lower section, Officer Dolce. I can look, but he usually spends a lot of time down there so- Oh, there he... what's he-?"

The feed showed Bubol dragging someone along with him, Dolce immediately pushed past Rhine and Mol, "Get me a closer view on that inmate!"

Rhine went for a control panel, after several taps and switching the camera feeds to another one in Bubol's path, they finally saw Mitch's grimacing face as Bubol dragged him through the halls.

"They've got a hold of Mitch." Dolce glowered before leaning back

"I was almost certain he was already dead." Rhine leaned back only to get roughly nudged by Mol. He cast her a brief glare before cycling through some more feeds.

"Sir, should we..?" Mol turned to Dolce, who held up his hand

"Knowing that cretin, he'll try using him as a bargaining chip." Dolce turned away and called out, "Tansen, how soon until we're-"

"No, that's not how Bubol works."

The Officer turned back to Rhine, who looked over the feed, "Felgrat maybe, but Bubol's all about entertaining himself and his boys. He's had to have had him for some time, he wouldn't show off his toy before figuring out how to have fun with it."

"He won't be getting the chance." Dolce walked away, "Keep me posted until we start."

Mol began moving back to her own station, "Not a toy, madman or not that's still a man."

"Wait..." Rhine cycled between feeds of Bubol and the Caterer confrontation occurring under the viewing pane "...where's Kruk?"

Pausing, Mol turned back and watched as Rhine cycled through the camera feeds again, "What?"

"Bubol and Kruk have been nearly inseparable since he defected. He showed the Looter that path and then went back to the depths... if Bubol's coming up and Uthug's stuck with the Caterers right now then- what the hell?"

Rhine narrowed his eyes as Mol came back to his side. Together, they stared at a feed displaying Kruk and several of his Fire-Starters rushing with several odd tubes under their arms. It looked as if they were heading for that confrontation that was starting up.

"Sir?" Rhine called back to the Officer "Kruk's doing something."

Mol and Rhine moved out of the way as Dolce returned. Before them, both the Caterers and Bubol's gang simultaneously moved out of the way as Kruk and his fire-starters showed up and began setting setting up the odd tubes.

"They're making their move!" Dolce shouted mere moments before the first blast launched into the viewing plane.

Down below, Kruk shielded his eyes for a moment with a manic grin. The glass cracking a bit but still holding, "It shakes! Make shutter! More Flame!"

The Fire-Starters moved the next tubes into position as the Inmates around them began chanting.

In another part of the ship, Uthug paused in the middle of a long hall. In front of him, several Caterers were at work pulling wires and pads out of the walls and floors. They too went still as the sound of blasts echoed down the halls.

"The Shrahk was that?" one of them asked

Explosives? But only Kruk would...

Uthug gritted his teeth, grip tightening on the piece of arrow still in his shoulder.

You think they would-?

Bubol... if he was using you to distract the Caterers then-

"Get moving!" Uthug shouted, the Caterers hurrying to continue their work "You have no idea how much you need me to get through here."

Back in the command Center, Dolce approached a center console with a key with a small chain hanging from it. On the console was a button with a keyhole that had a case built over it, outlined in orange.

"Sir, we haven't gotten past the reef." Tansen called from her station "I can't guarantee that the entire thing will be able to reach the edge before-"

The Officer opened the case and inserted the key, "They cannot be allowed to reach this deck."

He turned the key and called out, "Grab what you can and get moving!"

Pressing down, he depressed the button which caused several alarms to blare. The Soldiers moved quickly, moving around the command center in much more hurried motions as a shutter seemed to run throughout the entirety of the ship. Out on the deck, numerous AK-Units readied their weapons as another round of explosions peppered it.

Turning away from the view port, Dolce went for the Musket still lying against his chair. Before he could take hold of it, another Soldier's yell caught his attention.

"What the hell is that-!?"

All spun towards the View port, numerous eyes going wide at the sight before them.

Below deck, Bubol dragged Mitch with him towards Kruk, who called for another volley.

"Gettin' through any time soon, laddie?" Bubol asked as he tossed Mitch to the side

"More flame! Almost deliver us war, little more." Kruk replied as he gestured to his Fire-Starters. They were setting up the next tubes, pausing only when the light from the Viewport suddenly went dark.

Ogthrak sat behind the wheel of the truck, his foot pulling away from the accelerator the moment the vehicle flew from the top of the ramp towards the ship below. Turning in the driver's seat, he kicked the door open as the vehicle plunged directly towards the vessel. He leaped from the vehicle mere moments before it crashed through the massive viewing pane.

Kruk immediately rushed forward, shouting "Move!"

Grabbing two of his Firestarters, he leaped out of the way before the truck crashed-front first into the floor. The Inmates scattered out of the way as it tipped over, some barely able to stumble away as it fell over on its side and crushed two of them. One had both of his legs pinned, and called out to the Uruks around him for help, many were still too stunned by its sudden appearance to do anything other than stare.

Bubol was nowhere near the impact zone, and cooed in interest at it as Mitch arose beside him.

"A truck!?"Mitch shook his head and grinned wildly "A truck!"

"Don't just stand there gawking at it, boys!" Bubol called out with a laugh, several of his underlings staring until Kruk rose and pointed above them.

"Path open! Move to next war!" he shouted

Up on the deck, several Soldiers looked out at Ogthrak arose, plated head to toe in savaged Atlesian armor. He turned his gaze towards the command deck immediately, even as the AK-Units around him aimed their weapons. As they opened fire, Ogthrak surged forward and charged right through two of them on his way towards the Command Deck.

He swung one of his arms at one of the AK-Units, the shield on his arm extending and slamming into it as he went. The Shield kept extending, even as he continued moving, growing to a massive size that he continued to swing around to intercept numerous rounds.

Watching from the Command Center, the Officer immediately turned and approached the consoles again before removing the key from the button.

"Everybody move!" he ordered while gesturing for several of the AK-Units stationed at the edges of the room "If anyone or anything comes near that console, open fire."

The AK-Units near the destroyed viewing window divided their focus, several pursuing Ogthrak while others fired down upon the inmates as hooks and chains were thrown up and many began ascending. Knives and chunks of concrete were flung up, but still several of the androids managed to tear the hooks or break the chains sending numerous inmates falling back down. One such unit was busy reaching for one of the hooks when a flaming club smashed into its head, Kruk used the club to yank himself up as he pulled the AK-unit over him and sent it tumbling below where it smashed against the side of the truck.

He turned as another AK-Unit took aim at him and sent his club sailing into its chest as he rolled up and immediately leaped onto another one that was still firing at Ogthrak. Behind him, several fire starters pulled themselves up and immediately began attacking the nearest droids in a frenzy of mad laughter and roars.

Below, Bubol was standing atop the truck, urging on more and more of his gang and even other inmates up the chains to the deck of the Arceus. Behind him, Mitch had crawled into the partially crushed cab and was rooting around inside of it as several other inmates eyed him up.

This was the scene that Uthug and a collection of Caterers came across as the Arceus' sirens blared around them.

"The shrahk did you do!?" Uthug called out, immediately catching Bubol's attention.

"There's my little munchkin!" Bubol spun around and raised his arms at his sides "Ain't it grand?"

"Answer the question, damn it!"

Bubol shrugged with a chuckle, "Well ya know how you was talkin' 'bout us gettin' right to it? Well Kruk and I figured you'd be keepin' Felsy's lads all caught up in dealin' with ya."

He clapped his hands together, "So here it is! The grand ol' party!" leaning forward, he looked past him towards the crowd of Caterers "And it looks like you brought a few surprise guests with ya!"

Many of them shared worried looks, a number of whom bringing their weapons defensively in front of them. Both reactions made Bubol snicker, "Oh come now, we's gettin' down to some fun! Join in, lads! Just like the old times!"

One of the Caterers looked towards the inmates climbing the chains, eyes briefly darting back to Bubol, "Seriously?"

"Seriously!?" Uthug gawked

"Why not? We's havin' a good time, ain't we?" Bubol gestured around him, almost immediately a number of Caterers ran by to join the inmates near the chains and ropes.

Uthug shook his head before calling up to Bubol again "And ya couldn't wait till I recovered because!?"

"Ya don't like surprises?" Bubol tilted his head to the side, as another loud groan seemed to emanate from the ship around them.

Though Uthug seethed, Gundza's voice cut through his growing rage.

Scold him later, there's no time! We must ensure this ship does not sink!

Growling, Uthug charged past the truck towards one of the ropes. He shoved another Inmate out of the way before beginning his ascent, eyes clenching as the arrowhead dug further into him.

Above, the deck of the Arceus had devolved into chaos. Androids and Inmates of all kinds were brawling, many already lying still as the sirens overshadowed the roars of violence. Running along the outside of the Command Center was a walkway, upon which several Atlesian soldiers fired down upon the numerous inmates. A door opened beside one of the soldiers, Dolce stepped out with the key in hand. Turning towards the corner of the walkway, he ran for it while rearing back with the key, preparing to toss it over the side to the waters below.

Before he could throw it, something impacted with the rail beside him. He briefly glanced over just as Ogthrak swung himself over and brought the side of his massive shield carving towards him. Dolce slid under it as the edge of the shield carved a gash in a few of the command center's windows. His other hand came around and smashed the Atlesian through the now weakened window. Soldiers scattered as he slammed into a console, the key flying from his hands as he rolled over it. Ogthrak began climbing through the hole in the window, his shield soaking up the gunfire raining upon him until one of the other soldiers on the walkway opened fire on him as well. He brought his other arm up, where a second identical shield began extending as well.

With him momentarily held up, Dolce scrambled over the Console and began looking for the key, "He's going for the key!"

"What?" Tansen turned towards him "How would-?"

"Doesn't matter, find it and get rid of it quickly!"

Several moved to help him look, with the one to eventually find it being Mol. Bending down, she managed to pull it from under a chair by its chain. Before she could call out that she'd found it, Ogthrak burst through the window with another soldier. He pinned them between the bottom of his shield and one of the consoles. Bringing up a machine gun, the Atlesian tried to take aim when the sound of a rifle rang out and his body jerked.

Ogthrak raised the shield, revealing a rifle barrel extending along the inside of it. He opened fire and sent the remaining Atlesians ducking behind consoles or AK-Units who returned fire with self-less determination. Crawling behind two work stations, Mol caught sight of Dolce, who had gotten a hold of the musket beside his chair and was waiting for a lull in gunfire.

"Officer Dolce!" she called out to him, he turned to her as she waved the key in front of her. His eyes widened before a moment as he hefted the musket and his firearm at once.

"I'll cover you, go!" he shouted

"But-!"

"Not a single one of us can leave this ship with a clear conscience unless that key is gone, Private!" Dolce declared as he stood and opened fire, "Go!"

Ogthrak charged towards him, dust rounds impacting on his shield as he leaped at him. Mol snuck around the console and went for one of the side doors that led to the walkway. The moment she got outside, a scream brought her eyes to the side as an inmate wailed on a downed soldier. She took aim at him when a roar preceded another Inmate leaping at her from behind and lunging at her before she could pull the trigger.

"The Flame provides! War for all!" he bellowed as the two struggled, leading to both of them tipping over the side and falling over the edge of the railing.

She managed to wedge the barrel of her firearm against his side and fire, the round impacting with his aura and loosening his grip enough for her to twist them around before they landed. He gasped out a cry as she landed atop him, her eyes watching in growing panic as the key landed a few feet away from them.

All around her the inmates were clearly overtaking the Arceus' skeleton crew, the extra firepower of the droids eventually faltering. A pair worked together to rip one of the droids in half while a group nearby stomped on a soldier together. Gritting her teeth, she scrambled towards the key. Just as she got her fingers around it, Uthug finally managed to pull himself past the broken window.

There!

Uthug looked around confused, the fighting around him too distracting initially, "Huh? Where-?"

Right ahead of you! The female tark!"

It took a while, but Uthug's glare eventually fell upon the one Atlesian on the whole other side of the deck. With another annoyed groan, he began moving in between the numerous skirmishes towards her.

Mol turned her attention to the side of the ship, and began rising as a battle cry came from above. She dove to the side just as Ogthrak crashed into the downed Prisoner and immediately began raising the rifle on his shield towards her. She stumbled away just as Officer Dolce landed atop Ogthrak and drove the bayonet of his musket down into him making him stumble forward.

Turning, Mol raced towards the edge of the Arceus as Ogthrak reached up and dragged Dolce to the ground before crushing his head under the immense weight of his massive shield. Turning towards her, Ogthrak raised his bloodied shield at her as she darted forward. Uthug hopped over an inmate who was tearing the head off an android, skirted around two caterers who were already working to cook the corpse of one of the soldiers with the help of a Fire-starter, and ducked under an AK-Unit that Kruk and some other inmate were tearing in two.

Stop her, reach her!

I'm still bleedin from my damned-

Suck it up! Hurry, before she-!

Mol ran towards the edge with her arm raised when a rifle round slammed into her back and spun her around. Her vision spun over Uthug charging towards her towards Ogthrak who fired a second round that slammed into her chest and sent her stumbling back, the third round tore a chunk out of her head as her arms swung and she began tipping over the edge of the deck.

"NO!" Uthug lunged forward and took hold of the key's chain. Despite the hole in her head, Mol's grip tightened on the key as she fell. The chain eventually snapped, and Uthug's eyes went wide as the key began tumbling down with her. He swung for it, only for a shadowy figure to lunge out from his chest and snatch the key. As the shadow took shape, Uthug managed to shake off his surprise and take hold of Gundza's hand before he fell.

"Got it!" Gundza panted, body shaking as Uthug pulled him back. The Looter wasn't prepared for the smaller Uruk to stumble against him, and was even less prepared for the numerous wounds across his face. In fact, he'd never even seen the figure that had been inhabiting him the entire time. Bony cheeks stretched into a wincing frown as Gundza raised the key towards him.

"Quickly, we have to get this to-"

"The shrahk happened to you?" Uthug asked, with the Assassin's face tightening into a frown. In addition to a number of broken teeth and bruises, Gundza was sporting a ghastly looking gash along the side of his head. Despite the wounds, Gundza waved off the question, "I can't heal when I'm stuck in someone, you dimwit!" He snarled before shoving the key in his hand, "Now focus! We need to get up to-"

"You went for the key." Ogthrak called out to them as more creaking sounds rose from the sides of the ship.

Gundza gasped and slipped back inside Uthug before the Looter could protest. Ogthrak approached as Uthug spun towards him, "I just-"

Ogthrak's hand latched around Uthug's wrist, "Take it to the orange button."

Uthug only had time to blink before Ogthrak flexed and pulled him right off his feat. Uthug let out a cry of surprise as he found himself getting spun around before the Warmonger sent him flying towards the Command Deck. His approach was so quick that he barely managed to raised his arms in front of him before he slammed against the window of the command center and slid to the walkway in a heap of pain. As he struggled to get up, Gundza stepped out of him again and crouched at his side.

"Key, give it!" Gundza demanded as Uthug weakly passed the key to him. Standing up, Gundza stepped through the giant hole in the window into the Command Center. Bodies and downed androids were everywhere, with a small group of surviving Atlesians on their knees being taunted by a group of inmates. One of the taunting inmates turned back and took note of Gundza, the look on his face immediately growing confused, "Oi, is that the Shadow?"

Gundza paid them no mind, instead looking over several consoles before his eyes immediately locked to a certain outlined button.

Uthug managed to pull himself up to his knees using the rails, leaning his head on it just as the sirens changed. The loud blaring switched to short horns going off for a bit. As he got to his feet, the horns started dying down. The sounds of battle cries and cheering soon replaced them, but Uthug was able to notice the sound of footsteps drawing to his side.

Glancing to the side, Uthug watched Gundza lean against the rail with one hand pressed to his head wound.

"Take it in, maggot." he sighed "That's the scent of success in the air."

Uthug groaned.

"No need to thank me," Gundza pulled his hand away to look at the blood smear on it before putting pressure on his wound again "the reward is all the thanks I need."

"You better not have been bleedin' in my head that entire time." Uthug managed to get out.

Gundza rolled his eyes, "That's... not how it works."

Down on the deck, Kruk sat upon several broken androids as a group of Fire-Starters tried cooking a severed arm using their burning weapons

"Good war, eh?" he asked back to them.

"Delicious!" one of them cackled as he tore a finger from the limb "It's been too long, all this time chewin' on globs and disgusting rations. Tark Meat! Tark meat has always been King!"

All around the deck, numerous Inmates were in a state of celebration, chanting and roaring as their battle high still ran strong. Amongst the shouting and roars, a single voice rose up above all others.

"Dreamer Gates!"

All eyes went to a Caterer who had just climbed up from the broken window. He gestured down behind him, "That thing is full of Dreamer Gates!"

A few cheers gave way to confusion as he proceeded to start running along the deck repeating himself. The words eventually reached Uthug and Gundza, who leaned over the railing with a confused look marring his features.

"Thing? What thing?"

"Maybe... that thing Bubol was standing on?" Uthug waved it off while trying to rest against the rails.

Gundza looked down for a moment as he thought, so caught up in saving the Arceus was he that multiple details had gone overlooked. But as he remembered everything that Uthug had been looking at down there, he realized that Bubol was standing on top of a... a Truck?

"Where did it come from?" he muttered to himself before turning and calling towards the inmates inside the Command Deck "That Truck! Where did it come from?"

One who was passing in between Consoles looked up at him with a raised eyebrow "That thing that broke the glass? Think that other Uruk brought it?"

"Other...Uruk..." Gundza's eyes snapped open "Ogthrak!"

"Who?"

Where did he come from? Why was he here? How did he know about the key? Gundza found himself rife with multiple questions that adrenaline and worry had kept him from thinking of until now.

Gundza looked up over the side of the railing and immediately spotted the armored Uruk entering a side hall running along the side of the ship. The Storm had helped them, and that was not something Gundza was going to accept at face-value. The Grand Shaman was not one for altruistic moves, even for his fellow Uruks. Something like this was too... suspicious.

"Come on!" Gundza said as he walked past Uthug "We have to follow him."

"Wha-? But I'm-!" Uthug groaned out as he placed a hand around the arrowhead that was still stuck in him before hanging his head in annoyance.

Down below, Mitch had managed to get the rear of the truck to pop open. A bunch of rolled up papers spilled out. At Bubol's urging, several Uruks unfurled them to find markings that several immediately recognized: Dreamer Gates.

"Well well well, the good news just keeps on coming!" Bubol leaned over the edge of the truck whilst gesturing to the few Inmates watching him, "Don't just stand there boys! Let's see where the party goes next!"

With the help of one of the Fire-Starters, the inmates got one of them open. One stuck his head inside for a moment before stumbling back, "City! There's a whole city out there!"

"Really now?" Bubol grinned while looking down at the pile of rolled up papers below before calling out, "Get Kruk and his over here! They're just gonna love this!"

---

The City of Vale

"Geez, these two have been going at it for how long?"

The Bartender sighed as he cleaned a glass and glanced to the wobbly man at the edge of the bar, "Four minutes, Bill. Maybe five."

"Usually things are over by now," Bill turned to him "you think they... they uh... them Tournament guys are having them play it up?"

"Excuse me?"

"To make it seem all cool 'n stuff, you know?" Bill leaned closer as he pointed towards the screen "Get people hyped up again?"

On the screen, footage of the fight between Pyrrha and Penny was still being broadcast

"I think you've had more than your usual, Bill." the Bartender noted "You never start throwing out conspiracies sober."

"Nah, I'm serious!" Bill grumbled while raising his bottle to his lips, only to find it empty.

"So am I." the Bartender continued before nodding towards the door. Bill followed his gaze before frowning and stepping away from the bar while trying to get some more drops from the bottle

Bill stumbled outside before fixing his stance and walking down the sidewalk. He pulled out his scroll and tried finding coverage of the tournament. He paused beside an alleyway covered in Blue Scarves graffiti and tossed his bottle into a dumpster. He gave a brief fist pump before continuing on his way. He missed the sight of some of the Blue Scarves graffiti shivering and shifting, twirling and humming as it began swirling on the wall.

Instead of noticing the shimmering lights in the alley behind him, Bill instead finally found a site displaying live footage of the tournament. He was relieved to find that it didn't look like he'd missed too much, Pyrrha and Penny were recovering from their most recent clash. For some reason, Pyrrha seemed to suddenly start stepping back from her opponent in a shaky manner. Bill didn't have long to raise an eyebrow at this, as Pyrrha suddenly stepped forward and waved her arms at Penny.

A second later, Penny laid in pieces before her.

Bill blinked once.

Then twice.

His eyes going wide as the footage displayed a mortified Pyrrha falling to her knees as the horrified cries of the audience legitimized the sickening feeling spreading throughout him.

So stricken was he by the sight, that he didn't notice the first of several figures curiously exiting the alley behind him. One of them noticed him immediately, and approached as Bill raised a hand to his head as dozens of questions began flying throughout his alcohol-addled mind.

Before even a single answer could reach him, a hand found Bill's shoulder and spun him around.

"Huh-?" something crashed into his head and sent him stumbling onto his back as his scroll clattered away.

"Hey lads!" the Uruk asked over his shoulder as he raised a makeshift club over his head "Which piece ya want!?"

"Haven't had good Tark lung in weeks!" another yelled out as he rushed over.

The two proceeded to start beating the man before he could pull himself away. Right beside them, the scroll continued showing footage. Overshadowed by Bill's screams, a new voice began coming from it.

"This... is not a tragedy..."

---

The Arceus

"Everything's smooth on my end, Krosh" Ogthrak spoke into his scroll as he walked through the halls of the Arceus' administrative sector "Has the Master shown up yet?"

"Ogthrak, something big is going on over here!"

Finding a suitably clear wall, Ogthrak pushed over a nearby cabinet "Could be what the Dreamer saw, is it disrupting the tournament?"

"One of the finalists! You aren't gonna believe this, she was one of them metal soldiers!"

"What?" Ogthrak paused for a second before pulling out a rolled up piece of paper.

"I swear! Saw it with my own eyes!" Krosh laughed in wonder "She got torn up! Scattered in pieces all over!"

"Something like that might actually distract people from the inmates at first." Ogthrak noted as he set up the page against the wall and pulled out a lighter "Meet up with me in Maintenance, we need to make sure that things go smoothly."

"Think the Boss is gonna show up in time?"

"Whether he gets his fight or not, we still have our jobs." Ogthrak set fire to the dreamer gate drawn on the paper and backed away "The Inmates will only be able to keep the tarks' attention for so long. The boys gotta be jumping into Vale before that, no matter what."

"Yeah yeah, whatever. Hey, you think I might be able to snag a piece of that metal gal? Pops'd probably have a heart attack!"

"Don't you dare risk being seen until you're clear, damn it." Ogthrak snarled before vanishing into the gate.

At the very end of the hall, Gundza leaned out from behind a corner and stared at the Gate for several seconds. Stepping out, he approached the gate while gesturing behind him, "Come on, he's gone into the gate."

"Ugh," Uthug groaned as he followed behind "who cares? We got the ship! Let's be done."

"You don't understand, what did we just learn from what he said?" Gundza glanced to him before counting off "The Shaman knows something from the Dreamer. He's trying to fight someone. His soldiers are going to be doing something, but before that they want Bubol and the rest of the inmates to distract some tarks."

"Again... why should I be caring?"

"Figuring out what the Storm could want a bunch of prisoners for?" Gundza offered "Seeing what exactly our merry band of idiots are being lured into?"

"If a glob's dumb enough to hop into a portal with no idea what's on the other side, then I say they can piss off." Uthug leaned against a wall nearby and sighed "Come on, let's have some folk who ain't got open wounds to check it or somethin'."

"Well how about getting utilizing a good entrance into Vale?" Gundza glanced back "Is that good enough reason? We lay low until after everything dies down, heal up so we can go after my target in the aftermath!"

Uthug did a double take at that, "Excuse me?"

"My target? The white-haired cur? The whole point of teamin' up was so that our skills combined could finally allow me to catch her!"

"Oh really now? I thought you snuck in my skin cuz' they messed you up and ya needed somewhere to hide!" Uthug shook his head "Thought a stickler like you'd be wise enough to give up on that."

"What?" Gundza turned to him "She's my ticket you whelp! To redeem myself to my Warchief!"

"Screw the warchiefs!" Uthug pushed him before gesturing around them "We got a metal fortress on the seas! Didn't need no warchiefs for that."

"Oh please," Gundza rolled his eyes before stepping towards him "We don't have time for this. A proper Uruk is never done understanding the threats to him. You can rest when we're done."

"I thought I was done already!"

"Damn it Uthug, you're going to help me with this or-"

"Or what?" Uthug jabbed him in the chest as he growled "By all means, tell me what's 'bout to happen. Because I promise you that if I have to rip your bony arse out of me to not have to walk into some more shrahk, I will find a way and break you."

Uthug and Gundza glared at each other for a moment before Gundza stepped back, "Looks to me like we've got us a bit of a disagreement... guess this is it."

He walked towards the Dreamer Gate as Uthug threw his hands up, "Do me a favor and go get killed ya self-obsessed bastard!"

Gundza didn't even pause to reply as he too vanished into the gate, with Uthug staring after him for a moment before shaking his head and walking away.

So that was that... he was done.

Uthug figured he'd feel better once he was finally free from the obligations of imprisonment. In a way, he did. But more than anything, he felt ridiculously tired. Part of it was undoubtedly the numerous wounds he had, and the sore limbs, blurry vision and growing sense of apathy. But somewhere he understood that the sudden lack of back talk emanating from the recesses of his mind felt almost overwhelmingly liberating.

He was free, free to do whatever he wanted. He was respected by the globs on this ship, and had succeeded in helping them take it. He'd ended a gang war, helped save their new home, and had even gotten rid of the leech that had been hiding in him as a result.

So what exactly would he do now?

The first thing would be getting that damned arrowhead out, it almost seemed desirable to to just tear it out and risk whatever damage it could do. He mulled it over as he approached the broken window, noticing only then that were far fewer Uruks up here than before, only a few dozen milling about, partying or taunting captured Arceus personnel.

Frowning, he glanced over the edge and saw a number of Dreamer gates all over the room below. Streams of Inmates were entering from side halls and forming a massive crowd, many joining a number of Bubol's crew in celebrating or running for the portals. Bubol was enticing more to enter the gates as well, some he even shoved through to the laughter of his underlings.

"Oi!" Uthug shouted down, garnering the Diseased archer's attention, "Ain't you gonna lead them up here?"

"Sorry laddie, turns out there was more fun to be had!" Bubol called back up with a grin, although that immediately turned into a frown as he met Uthug's glare. Bubol grew a confused expression as he stared up at him for a moment, raising an eyebrow and putting his hands on his hips. He opened his mouth to say something when a voice called out to him.

"Says he ready!" Kruk shouted whilst leading Mitch over, his other hand waving off any inmates who drew too close to the man. Kruk threw him to the feet of Bubol, who grinned as he kneeled down beside the man.

"So, you sure you can do this?"

"It's Vale! I know it is!" Mitch looked up and nodded "Cars! Trucks! Engines!"

"Yeah yeah, I'll help ya find one." Bubol waved that off before tapping a finger on the manic man's head "Just make sure ya show us around, eh?"

As Mitch once more nodded furiously, Bubol stood and turned back to the numerous portals, "Now... which one?"

Inmates were opening more and some even stepped back in to call their pals over to join them, but from one of the gates a Caterer with a fizzling aura stumbled through with heavy breaths.

"Soldiers! There was soldiers back there!" he shouted, immediately garnering the attention of several Fire-Starters who gave battle cries and immediately charged past the downed Caterer into the gate. Seeing this, Bubol gave a few nods before turning to look up at a grinning Kruk.

"The call of War, eh?" he offered, with Kruk immediately patting him on the back before joining him in approaching the portal.

"Hold up!"

Bubol paused and looked up to Uthug, who gestured wildly behind him.

"Ain't ya gonna help get this place situated or somethin'?"

Smirking, Bubol gave him a salute, "I humbly grant ya the honor, my boy!"

"What!?" Uthug shook his head "That's not what-!"

Bubol followed Kruk through the portal, dragging a giddy Mitch in behind him. Emerging from the portal, he found the drab air of their prison replaced almost immediately with the slightly smoke-tinged fragrance of an increasingly violent battle. He made sure to take a nice deep whiff of that succulent stench first and foremost, even as Mitch immediately tried hiding behind him.

The source of his fear became apparent the moment Bubol finally let himself take note of the growing battle around them. It looked like they were in the parking lot of someplace, if the parked cars and proximity to a nearby intersection said anything. There were a delicious number of Atlesian soldiers here, who seemed to have been taken surprise by the sudden outpouring of Inmates. Whoever hadn't been slain in the initial attack was currently engaged in small brawls all over the lot, the occasional firearm flying wide into the surroundings.

Bubol turned around to see the gate had dropped them right beside an alley next to the parking lot, a dumpster had been dragged out of said alley and was currently being utilized by a Caterer for cover as a nearby Atlesian opened fire on them.

What had once been a simple military checkpoint for vehicles getting off and on the nearby highway was now a proper war-zone. At least as close as one could get without some massive explosions everywhere.

Satisfied with the level of violence that the inmates had managed to incur in the short time since their arrival, Bubol nodded in appreciation before noticing Mitch trying to pull away. Bubol glanced to him, tightening his grip, "Oi, got somewhere to be, eh-?"

He paused as he looked down and noticed a dot moving slightly on his wrist. His eyes darted to the side momentarily before he surged forward, grabbing Mitch and jumping out of the way as a Dust round plunged into the ground nearby.

Hauling his captive behind the Dumpster, Bubol cackled at the growing surge of adrenaline hitting him. Peaking over the top of the dumpster, he grinned at a single Atlesian soldier who'd managed to scale a nearby fire escape with a rifle. Bubol's hand immediately slipped the makeshift slingshot from his belt, eager to join in the fun.

Alas, as what usually happens when one such as he acts on his whims, he found that he'd only brought about a handful of those metal bits he'd been using on the Arceus. It was hardly enough for a party such as this. It was common for him to have to deal with his own lack of forethought at times, so he wasn't entirely bothered by the lack of ammunition. He'd find something else to fight with, as was the nature of a proper fighter. Until then...

He peaked past the Dumpster and scanned their immediate surroundings. The Caterer who had previously been hiding behind the Dumpster before them had charged one of the Atlesians the moment they'd went to reload. He and the soldier were now trying overpower each other beside a few of the parked cars. The Soldier managed to sneak in a swift kick to the leg which gave him an advantage. But before he could overpower the Uruk, a tiny ball of metal slammed into the side of his helmet, cracking it and sending him spinning away. He grabbed at his head as the world spun, only for the Caterer to rise behind him and drive a skewer through his back.

With a tight grip established, the Caterer took hold of his head before driving it through a nearby car window. He reared back to drive it into the vehicle's next window, only for a rifle round to slam into his aura and throw him against another nearby vehicle.

The sniper did all she could to control her breathing, the shock of the Uruks sudden appearance had nearly had her fall like some of her fellow soldiers already had. Fortunately, she'd managed to work around the ensuing chaos to a position she was confident in. She just needed to steady her breathing, after that she could slip back into a proper disposition for helping her comrades push back the assault. She'd mostly been trying to keep pressure on the Uruks to keep them sloppy whilst waiting for her primary target to become available. That was the big Uruk with the flaming sword who had charged headfirst into the biggest group of Soldiers and had been whittling them down slowly through sheer brute force.

Kruk deflected one baton before ramming his elbow into another Atlesian's gut. Taking hold of their wrist, he threw them against a nearby car before turning as yet another soldier charged him. Before he even had to block, a fire-starter arose from an overturned bench near by and lobbed a pouch of something at the charging Atlesian. One side of his body immediately set alight, and the Soldier stumbled the rest of the way forward as he began batting at the flames. Kruk shoved his weapon out of the way and dragged him into a bear hug, igniting both of them as the flames sought purchase on his skin.

Kruk gave an uproarious laugh as he spun with his captive, the flames covering his body only spurning him on more as he tossed the still flaming soldier away and charged into another group of Atlesians. The skirmish was too close-quarters for the sniper to fire without risking hitting one of her friends, but at just that very moment Kruk slapped one away creating a hole in the brawl that she could-

Before she could even line up a shot, something impacted the edge of her rifle's scope and almost snapped it in half, the contraption bending uselessly to the side mere moments before a sudden flash of color stood out amongst the dark parking lot. A flash of green coming from Bubol's eyes right before a second projectile was launched towards her. She lunged out of the way, only for the projectile to strike one of the fire escape's supports which gave way and had the entire thing slump to the side. She angled her feet before she could fall, sliding to the side and deciding to leap down from the fire escape.

She landed in a roll, trying to line up a shot with those flashing green-eyes only for yet another projectile to wedge itself into the barrel of her rifle before she could return fire.

"Damn it!" she yelled before tossing the rifle to the side and instead lunging behind a military truck that had been parked nearby. Reaching down, she instead pulled her sidearm out and checked her ammunition whilst trying to think of a different angle of attack.

On the other side of the lot, Bubol rubbed at his eyelids a bit whilst casually tossing his last few bits of metal in the air. It had been so long since he'd actually had to utilize his unrivaled talents of long-ranged devastation, it almost felt a bit odd. But that didn't mean it wasn't still as satisfying as it had been before. Loading another one of the bent projectiles into his sling shot, he took aim again. With him suitably distracted by the thrill of battle, Mitch was finally free to start crawling out from behind the dumpster towards his goal. While everyone else was busy fighting, he had no intention of drawing attention to himself. Not until he reached one of those military trucks at least.

Similar instances of this combat were sprouting up all over Vale, with the Atlesean forces that weren't under siege scrambling to figure out where to divert forces to first. Patrols were locked in street warfare in order to stop Inmates from just destroying every building and every citizen they came across. But not all citizens had even taken note of the growing battle in many of Vale's streets. This was due entirely to the CCTV broadcasts all over the City staying locked on the Arena.

It was still broadcasting that message, that message which played over the footage of Penny's mutilated body. That message which called for doubt, called for fear, and warned of war.

It was only after the message concluded with the ominous Question of 'Who do you think you can trust?' that the swarm of confused and angry military chatter between the Altesian outposts could finally reach each other. It was enough radio chatter to momentarily slow some of the Soldiers on the ground, but all of it was immediately curtailed by the reassuring voice of General Ironwood cutting through the confusion.

Not all were in the thick of the violence in Vale, one road just a few dozen meters beyond the City's official limits was currently occupied by a Police Car belonging to the Vale Police Department. The vehicle was crashed directly into a sign that indicated the City's approaching territory, the driver only recently managing to be woken by their grunting partner.

"-on wake up!" they as their vision cleared up "See if the engine's still running, hurry!"

The Driver glanced over to see their bruised partner shaking his head as he looked at them, "W-What happened-ack!?"

A throbbing pain raced through their head, and soon they were leaning against the steering wheel, waiting for it to clear up. As they opened their eyes again, they looked to the front of their car to find the source of the crash. Pinned between their vehicle and the sign was the corpse of what had to be an Uruk. That's right, they had been doing their circlet around city limits checking in with the Atlesian patrols like usual. They'd barely even caught sight of the Uruk before they ran into him, but he... he'd chopped at the windshield wildly with some kinda makeshift hatchet until they'd crashed.

The officer tried to think of where the Uruk could've come from, this was definitely something that needed reporting. But every time they thought really hard on something, that pulsating pain in their head returned and soon, their vision momentarily went dark as sound started fading in and out. Just how badly had they hit their head in the crash? The increasingly panicked yells coming from their partner grew more garbled. Soon the Officer's vision returned and looked up to the sigh, as some eerie glow was coming from some graffiti that seemed to be covering it.

Things were falling from the glowing graffiti now, landing atop their vehicle and slipping around them. The Officer once more tried clearing up their head by rubbing at it, only for their partner to reach over and start shaking them.

"-the engine-! fore they-! me keys-!" his shouts started cutting in and out more frequently, as the shaking only made the Officer's headache more crippling. But despite it, they took note of some dark figure growing larger in the passenger side window.

The tip of a club smashed through the window in a shower of glass that caused both officers to shield themselves.

"Ain't done yet, Tarks!" the Driver heard yelled right before watching their partner get dragged through the window by a pair of arms. Panic overwriting the pain, the Driver undid their seat belt and opened their door. Falling onto the road, they scooted away from the car a bit as they went for their pistol. Another dark figure moved around the rear of the vehicle, and the Officer only barely managed to open fire on them with their muddied aim. The Uruk took two rounds which had him spinning back around the vehicle and ducking for cover.

"Doesn't even know how dead it is!" cried another Uruk who had managed to climb atop the car and was raising their weapon.

The Officer rolled out of the way as he jumped down at them, trying to take aim only for the pistol to get kicked out of their grasp as the Uruk approached.

"Ha! Now for the-!" the Uruk didn't get to finish, his words immediately overwhelmed by a massive Nevermore crashing down atop the squad car and releasing a bellowing shriek.

The Uruks backed away, one of them sending his club flying at the beast as it turned its beak towards the horrified officer.

Seeing its goal, the closest Uruk swung at them only for the Nevermore's beak to beat him to it.

"Hey!" the Uruk roared as the Nevermore clamped down on the Officer, crushing their shoulder beyond recognition as it reared back "Beast's taking our kill!"

The Officer's ghastly cries of agony were once again overshadowed as the Nevermore flapped its wings and took off, their vision swimming as they were brought into the air. While uselessly pounding against the monster's head, they saw the squad car below get overwhelmed by what looked like a horde of Grimm who were tearing towards the city at break neck speed. Soon the Officer was over the city, seeing multiple portions of it looking like a battlefield already. The Nevermore flew high, the pressure on the Officer's shoulder tightening to excruciating levels as it bit down.

Soon the beast managed to bite through and send the now one-armed officer falling to the city below. The last thing they saw before being crushed against the ground was one of the Atlesian Ships turning on the others and almost immediately decimating part of the fleet.

---

Amity Colosseum

Her friend was in pieces...

Scattered around...

The lack of blood or entrails didn't help to make the sight any lest soul-rending to Ruby, who held onto the upper half of Penny's bisected torso for what felt like eons. Staring into Penny's empty remaining eye, the other having been lobbed off along with a chunk of her face during Pyrrha's last attack. Ruby could feel her teammates trying to move her, both Weiss and Blake were speaking but Ruby felt as though they were miles away.

There was also Pyrrha herself, who was still standing across from them on the now settled stage of the Colosseum, frozen in place as she too overlooked the carnage she'd inflicted upon the once smiling girl she had been fighting. All around, screams were still sounding among a chorus of horrified confusion.

Ruby couldn't look at her, the image of her tearing Penny apart too freshly burned into her retinas. She just couldn't bare to look at her yet, but not due to hate. Even though that image will likely haunt her for years if not decades, Ruby knew she couldn't bring herself to blame Pyrrha even if it was by her hand that Penny had been torn apart. She couldn't even blame the ominous voice that had spoken out over the speakers, despite their obvious involvement.

No, collapsed there holding onto the remains of one of her closest friends, Ruby Rose could do nothing else but blame herself.

The outcome should've been obvious, would've been obvious if she had just taken a moment to think about it. She was just so caught up in making everybody cheer up, to get back on track, back to how fun and engaging things were before the Uruks and the Scarves and everything screwed it all up! She was right there with her, sending her off to fight without even giving this possibility a nascent thought!

She of all people should've known! She made a hobby of figuring out weapons, and she considered Semblances to just be another type of weapon! Polarity, Pyrrha's semblance was polarity! She knew that! So why hadn't it even occur to her for even a smidgen of a second that having a friend with Polarity as a Semblance fighting a friend who was literally made of metal would be a horrible idea?!

She didn't have an excuse... she couldn't have an excuse. Even the desperation to get everyone chipper and excited again couldn't excuse letting this happen to someone who trusted her. Ruby was sure she' never be able to truly forgive herself for a screw-up of this magnitude, and was sure she'd never even want to.

The only person who's guilt at the time could exceed Ruby's was the perpetrator herself. But unlike Ruby, Pyrrha couldn't even begin to understand where she'd gone wrong. Had she gone wrong? How could she have? How could things turn out like this?! She'd practically felt the snapping tension as the wires of Penny's numerous swords were turned against her. Only there were far fewer than Pyrrha had seen. Even then, they were more than enough to tear her opponent apart. But... but she didn't know! How could she have!?

Pyrrha clasped the sides of her head with her hands, falling to her knees as she desperately tried to understand what had transpired. The mysterious speech claimed this was Atlas's doing, that Penny was part of some kind of initiative to create a synthetic army? But... she'd spoken to her! She'd smiled with her! She wasn't synthetic! Was she? But what about all those swords?! The ones that had made her feel the need to utilize her semblance in the first place? They'd vanished the moment her attack had reached Penny, but Penny didn't use illusions! So how? Why!?

"I-!"

Blake looked up from Ruby to Pyrrha, who took two steps backwards before tripping and falling onto her back.

"I-I'm-" she stammered words failing her as her grasping thoughts tried anything and everything to make this scenario make sense. Why didn't it make sense? Why didn't anything make sense anymore?! After Ozpin had called her to his office, the World seemed intent on denying all semblance of cohesion.

Her rampant confusion and terror led to her flinching once a hand found her shoulder, glancing to the side, Pyrrha found Jaune with the rest of his team not far behind.

"Pyrrha, you need to get up, please." he said

"W-What?" Pyrrha stammered, as Jaune began helping her up "But I-!"

"This isn't on you!" He interrupted before pointing up "That voice, whoever that was had to have set you up!"

He turned away, "Right Ruby?" he asked, only to receive silence "Ruby?"

Eyes turned back to Ruby, who laid Penny's torso back down before going silent for a moment. The ground beside the torso were soon decorated by the first few drops of tears. Finally she looked up, and met Pyrrha's panicked eyes with her own grief-ridden expression. The grief soon gave way to anger, but then Ruby shook her head as she let her teammates help her up, "No... you didn't do this."

Pyrrha tightened a hand over her heart "...I'm sorry."

"I said you DIDN'T!" Ruby shouted whilst wiping her eyes clear, holding one hand up and taking a breath "Jaune's... he's right. We gotta-"

It was then that the sirens started. It was an alert that everyone in Vale knew of, and it almost immediately caused the crowd to go from mortification to outright panic as they began racing out of their seats and into the halls of the Colosseum, trying to get to its docks as quickly as possible.

"Grimm." Weiss noted "A lot of them from the sound of it."

"The entire world just saw that," Blake added "they've gotta be going wild."

Stepping away from them, Ruby called out towards the stands, "Sun! Call in your lockers, we gotta find one of the teachers!"

Watching her walk off for a moment, Jaune sighed before turning his attention back to Pyrrha, "Look, I know you. You would never do something like this intentionally." he stated

"Yeah!" Nora chimed in "It was those crazies on the speaker talking nonsense! Has to be!"

Pyrrha looked from her to Ren, who gave a nod of agreement, before turning back to Jaune. Tapping at his scroll for a moment, he locked eyes with her "I know a Pyrrha whose always willing to do the right thing, even when she's at her lowest." he said just as lockers began crashing into the Arena around them "And right now, we need to stop whoever that was before they hurt anyone else."

As he finished speaking, he nodded to Ren, who approached with Milo and Akouo. Pyrrha looked between all of them for a moment before her eyes fell down to the offered weapons. Her eyebrows knitted together, but soon she accepted the weapons.

Moments later the group of teams had made their way out of Amity's halls to where Airbus's would pick up and drop off the audience. It was now populated by Atlesian Knights and evaporating Grimm, members of the crowd distancing themselves from the recent battle which took place here. Ironwood stood atop a disappearing Alpha Beowolf flanked by two of the droids, all three opening fire on a Bullhead which was taking off.

"Are those... White Fang ships?" Blake asked as they came to a stop near the General.

"They've been dumping Grimm here since the Alarms came up." Ironwood sighed before turning to the assembled students "With the timing of the Grimm attack, I can only fear that they've prepared for this."

"Its just like what they tried to do with Torchwick." Ruby muttered as she watched the civilians nearby resume trying to get on board the Airbuses nearby.

"Don't even get me started with-!" Ironwood caught himself and holstered his weapon before stepping off the dead Grimm and walking away with his AK-Units "The Grimm and the White Fang are one thing, but that particular vagabond has managed to break out and seize control of my capital ship."

"What, how?" Weiss asked

"I don't know, but until he's dealt with the skies are out of my control entirely." Ironwood stopped before an Atlesian Dropship and turned back to them "and that may not even be the worst of our concerns."

Folding his arms behind his back, he turned to look over the students with a stern expression, "Atlesian communications were flooded with sightings of Uruks in the streets mere moments before the Grimm swept in, so dealing with both them and the Grimm at the same time is taxing without aerial support."

"Before the Grimm showed up?" Jaune thought out loud "Were they part of the White Fang's attack or did theirs just happen to be close in timing?"

Ironwood didn't answer, instead looking down for a moment, "With all these questions, I take it you all aren't planning on fleeing before things get too... hectic?"

Pyrrha stepped forward, "Never."

"Yeah, just tell us where we need to be." Ruby followed up the declaration by hefting Crescent Rose, behind her were various nods and calls of agreement from the others.

Ironwood stared at Pyrrha for a moment, before smirking at the students and gesturing to the Airbuses "Good, get into one of these and get to Beacon. The White Fang have been concentrating their efforts at the Academy for some reason. Find Ozpin and he can coordinate you in the defense."

"But... what are you gonna be doing?" Neptune asked as Ironwood boarded his ship.

"Taking back my Ship." Ironwood stated as the doors closed behind him and the vessel began taking off.

They watched the ship for a moment before Sun spoke up, "Come on guys, before they all take off."

Though the rest moved, Weiss and Blake stopped upon realizing that Ruby was still staring off at Ironwood's ship as it made it flew towards the Capital ship. She continued staring until Weiss called back to her, "Ruby! Are you okay?"

Ruby flinched a bit, turning to the worried look Weiss sported.

Blake approached one of the Airbuses just as Sun finished ushering everybody on board.

"Should take us right to Beacon." he finished calling inside before waving Blake over "You doing okay?"

"I'm not about to fall apart just because the White Fang are behind this, Sun." Blake stated

Sun waved his hands beside his head, "Hey, I know!" he defended before nodding behind her "What about them?"

Blake looked behind her to see Weiss approaching while massaging her eyes, "What's taking you guys?"

"Ruby wants to go for the ship." Weiss sighed

Blake blinked, "Excuse me?"

Ruby ran past Weiss before gesturing towards the halls which led back into Amity, "If taking care of Torchwick is as important as Ironwood said it was, he's gonna need backup!"

"But what about Beacon?" Blake asked

Jaune poked his head out of the ship, "Everything okay back here?"

"Yang and everyone else are already on the Campus." Ruby pointed out before gesturing up towards the Capital Ship "If taking the ship can help everyone in the City then we need to follow Ironwood instead."

Weiss turned back and looked up at the ship as Sun shook his head and gestured to Ruby, "Ironwood can handle it himself."

"But he's still just one person!" Ruby stated

"Guys..?" Weiss said slowly

"I've got an idea!" turning back, Ruby approached one of Amity's halls "If we use the lockers and the Airbus together we can ambush Torchwick before he even knows what's happening."

"I think he already does!" Weiss called out whilst pointing towards the Capital ship.

The very same Capital Ship that had turned its guns on the Colosseum. The very same ship that was now firing upon the floating facility. The Colosseum held up, but shifted dangerously as it spun a bit from the impact. The numerous civilians who were still at the Arena when it was hit found their footing failing them as the entire thing tilted for a moment before settling. The blasts had shaken the very thing to its foundation, infuriating a very specific individual who had stumbled out of one of the maintenance halls at that very moment.

It was Ogthrak, who held onto the nearest wall as the Colosseum settled. This was far from the ideal situation to find himself in once finishing up with things on the Arceus. He had just been in the middle of a very important call with one of his coworkers when the entire place started lurching.

"What was that?!" he demanded as he raised the scroll back up to his lips.

"I'm checking on that now!" Krosh replied over the sound of footsteps "Any word from the Boss yet?"

Ogthrak scowled, "No, that idiot Gatekeeper's been dragging his feet the entire time. I'm not even sure if any of the combatants are even still here!"

Their timing had been on point up until now, everything from the prisoners to the Grimm had gone swimmingly. Of course it would be the part with the Warchiefs where things would go awry. Ogthrak stepped over a piece of rubble and walked down the hall with a sigh, this next part was crucial in his Master's own words. But as far as Ogthrak could tell from the reports Krosh had been giving, this specific portent of the plan had failed before they even had a chance. With how many warriors had abstained from the Tournament, there was no way they'd have enough to satisfy the Stormbringer's desires.

Ogthrak resolved himself to the disappointment he knew his master would feel at this turnout, but that didn't mean there wasn't still much to do. No, even if the Arena was empty, he wasn't about to let it get blown to pieces by what he assumed were the White Fang.

"Hey Oggs," Krosh spoke up "head to the Airbus docks near me. You are really not gonna like this."

"Just make sure you aren't seen!" Ogthrak snarled and picked up the pace, having to manuever around other bits of debris that had been shaken loose during that initial impact. Eventually, he found Krosh kneeling besides two dead tarks which had been crushed by a fallen piece of the Colosseum.

"Speak!" Ogthrak ordered as he approached

"Yeah yeah, so..." he stood up and rubbed at the back of his neck, "pretty sure I found out where those blasts came from."

Ogthrak gestured for him to proceed, but Krosh merely shrugged and pointed into the sky. Ogthrak followed his finger before his frown deepened upon catching sight of the ship.

"No..." he growled as he immediately caught the implication.

"I told you you weren't gonna like it." Krosh shrugged as Ogthrak began making a call "We knew the Arena might be at risk, but I was positive those Pricks in the ships were supposed to be holding off until it was evacuated!"

Ogthrak didn't respond, prompting Krosh to turn around and look at him, "Oggs? What the hell are we supposed to do against that!?"

"I'm calling the boys back at base to make us a Dreamer Gate." Ogthrak snipped back at him before turning his glare towards the ship above "Part of the plan or not, those tarks can't be allowed to sully the Master's property."

---

Hork's Tower, Garrison HQ

Hork stared long and hard at the circle as Ratlug's researchers finished the preparations. Druk and Drul both carried bags of crushed ingredients which they dipped several kinds of brushes in as they worked. Hork watched from beneath the broken window which lie on one end of the structure. Across from him he spotted the Grand Shaman, waiting patiently with a thoughtful smile still etched into his face.

They locked eyes for a moment before Hork returned to the window. Taking hold of the window frame, he leaned his form outside for a moment before snarling and pulling back in, "Can they hurry this up?!" he demanded "I can see those Atlesians from here! We've only got mere minutes before they're raining hell upon us!"

"Would you rather... I risk this spell's failure?" Pugrish asked, tone growing more enthusiastic as time went on "Because I would do so immediately... if you wished it."

"No! I-" Hork groaned before looking to his Captains "Are you sure you guys can handle this until my return?"

"We specialize in digging in." Pigug stated before nodding to the circle "Besides, its supposed to drop you right next to the Overlord's keep. With all of you combined, no one could ignore the call."

"We'll show them!" Dharg bellowed while clacking his metal fingers together "We shall stand strong until your reinforcements come, weathering their destruction like no other! And just when they think we are broken, our Master shall return with an army tenfold to bear down upon them!"

Hork nodded before turning his attention to Tugog, who had been kneeling against a wall tightly gripping his staff since they'd begun making the gate. The Gatekeeper scowled at this blatant display of discomfort before shifting his gaze to the ever-present grin of the Grand Shaman once more, "Shouldn't you be calling your Acolytes up in case you need their help?"

"Just in case... but I assure you my confidence in this ritual... is staggering." Pugrish actually gave a little chuckle at that as he tapped his claws against his own staff "But are you sure... that this is the method by which you wish to proceed?"

"Its simple," Hork approached the two working Researchers "as long as the coordinates you're using are accurate then we should be set right next to the nearest Overlord's Castle. We shall speak to him and have his forces come through to bolster the Tower. With their access to the Spawn Pits, the Atlas filth will find themselves facing a battle of attrition they couldn't hope to withstand."

"Yes but... is my presence truly necessary to convince him?" Pugrish asked with an inquisitive hum

Hork narrowed his gaze and scratched at his flat nose, "In total truth, I simply cannot risk leaving you behind to get up to all manners of subterfuge in my absence. You will be coming with the Dreamer and I solely for us to keep an I on you. Besides, an Uruk of your renown will go a long way in helping us convince the Overlord of the urgency of our situation."

"Yeah? Well then what about me, eh?" Ratlug suddenly stepped forward and jerked a thumb towards himself "Why is it ya gotta drag me with you on this little diplomatic mission o' yours?"

"You're even less trustworthy than he is." Hork stated immediately, much to Ratlug's humor.

"Oh fine," Ratlug waved it off before folding his arms and glancing to the side, "I guess that means you and the Warmongers gotta figure out which o' you's runnin' the show 'till our return, Maku."

At the side of the room, Maku stood with two Storm Soldiers, watching the proceedings, "Oh shove it, Swordsmith. As if we didn't already know who'd be gettin' that title. Just hurry up and go so we can watch the fireworks."

As if on cue, Druk and Drul both simultaneously stood and stowed away their brushes with a curt, "Finished."

"Then let us dally no longer." Pugrish strode forth and gestured towards the ritual "If everyone would please take their places."

Pigug and Dharg stood off to the side, across from Maku and the Storm Soldiers. As Tugog and Hork moved into position, Ratlug grabbed hold of Druk and Drul before they could get away, "Oh no! If I gotta be somewhere then I damn well better have some underlings there to boss around."

Druk sighed as they were pulled to Ratlug's sides, but Drul merely laughed as he patted the machine strapped to his torso, "Opportunities for many pictures, I see!" he snickered.

The Grand Shaman looked around, the massive circle took up a good portion of the room. He closed his eyes for a moment before tilting his head in Hork's direction, "Know this Gatekeeper... if you go through with this... you will come out the other side more powerful than you ever could've been before."

Hork raised an eyebrow as Pugrish continued.

"But... whether you will still be the same Uruk... is uncertain."

"Talk of the Dark Lord's gifts shall be discussed after we win this battle and gift him our discoveries." Hork stated

Pugrish nodded, "Of course...of course..." he then turned towards Tugog, "And what of you, Dreamer? You've been especially... accommodating."

"I trust in my understanding of you, Stormbringer." Tugog managed to say despite the sweat dripping down the side of his face, "As long as I have that, I know that I can make it through this."

Pugrish grinned wide, "How confident!"

"Stop stalling!" Hork roared to him before pointing "Begin the ritual!"

Pugrish waved his hand defensively before giving a soft laugh, "As you have wished it!"

He then began speaking in black speech, taking hold of his staff and tapping it to the ground as his words seemed to melt together. The curves of the Dreamer Gate began igniting, spreading along the entirety of the markings as Pugrish held his staff aloft. Both the Garrison Captains and Maku watched as the entire room began to glow. The Soldiers beside him leaned forward to watch, but Maku merely smirked as he moved to lean back against the wall.

His shoulders couldn't reach it before the sound of doors being thrown open brought everyone's attention to the hall leading into the room. At the very end of it stood a panting Ishga, followed by Skak. Ishga took one look around the room before shouting, "Stop! It's a trap!"

He and Skak broke into a run, but the mutterings of Black Speech which came spewing from Pugrish continued to fill the room as he lifted his staff higher and higher.

Hork blinked at the sudden intrusion, turning back with an agitated glare, "What!?"

Ratlug gave a low whistle as Druk pulled two firearms from his coat. He found Ratlug holding a hand out in front of him before he could shoot, and looked up in confusion just as Ratlug called out, "Maku!"

Maku and the Soldiers immediately ran forward, he drew one of his metal spears as he planted himself between Ishga and the ritual, "Ah yes, been waiting for this one for ages!"

He held his spear up, with both of the soldiers taking their places at his sides and hefting guns towards the Interlopers. Ishga grimaced, slowing down a bit before yelling, "Skak!"

Skak sped ahead of him "Time for Blood!"

He spun Blood Axe in front of him as the Soldiers opened fire, the blade of the Axe intercepting the rounds as they drew closer. Pigug shook off his surprise and stepped forward, "What are you two doing?!"

No answers came, as soon Skak was rearing back with his Axe. Maku slipped backwards out of the way and reared back with his spear just as Ishga hopped on Skak's back and launched off of him, tackling Maku into the midst of the ritual. Skak spun with his Axe, knocking back both of the soldiers just as they began shifting their guns into swords.

Maku and Ishga struggled for a bit, only for Maku to wedge his leg in between them and haul Ishga up over him. This ended up sending Ishga right towards Pugrish, who was still chanting as the ritual markings glowed brilliantly. Ishga reared back with his own spear as he dove for Pugrish, jabbing with his spear just as the Stormbringer brought down his staff onto the circle.

The Dreamer Gate opened in a flash of blinding light that had both Dharg and Pigug covering their eyes. And when they brought their hands away, they found themselves to be the only Uruks in the room. All that was left of the ritual was a burnt smudge on the ground, and everyone who had been caught in its range was gone without a trace.

"Did it... did it work?" Dharg asked hesitantly as Pigug began looking over the room, breath growing more and more angered as his mind processed what had just occurred. Soon he turned and glared at Dharg, who still seemed somewhat lost. Before he could even start trying to explain, a deep rumbling was heard which caused the entire Tower to shake.

"The Atlesians?" Dharg asked as the rumbling subsided momentarily "Have they started their attack?"

Pigug gestured for him, "Come on, I want to know where those Acolytes are."

They exited the Garrison HQ to find that already some portions of the tower were flinging their armaments into the night. Pigug initially moved to order them to stop, only to realize that a number of stars he saw were moving, the Atlesian fleet was almost completely cloaked in the shadows of the night. There were smaller ships departing from the larger one. These ships were now approaching while raining gunfire down on portents of the Tower. The Uruks who had begun firing must've been those more accustomed to seeing in the dark.

Pigug and Dharg made for the nearest Garrison soldier, who showed no little amount of relief at their presence, "Boss! Oh you can't begin to believe how happy I am to see ya's! I told them to hold off until someone showed up to take the reins, but then them Atlesians started sending out their ships and-!"

"The Shaman's Acolytes!" Pigug interrupted "Where are they?"

The Garrison soldier blinked just when a stream of gunfire streaking across the floor nearby had everyone shifting out of the way, "They! They've been over there praying since they showed up!"

Pigug grabbed him, "Where?!"

The soldier pointed them towards a row of archers who were currently opening fire on the approaching ships, each of their arrows glowing with dust. Not far from them were the Acolytes, standing along the edge of the Tower's wall whilst waving and chanting something. As Pigug and Dharg approached, they noted that each of the Acolytes seemed to be radiating something. The strange phenomena was enough to make Pigug falter, but Dharg ran towards them shouting, "What did your boss do!? What did he do with the Master?!"

The Acolytes didn't turn around, merely continued chanting as another explosion rocked the tower. As the Garrison Captains drew closer, the 'prayers' became more audible, "Arise! Arise! Arise!"

They alternated between Black speech as well, issuing the same order over and order as the battle kicked up around them.

"What are you-!?" Dharg's next demand was interrupted as the tower shook again, this time more violently. Pigug held on to a nearby crate to steady himself. Despite the uneven ground, the Acolytes continued their chants even as the shaking continued to grow in intensity. There were sounds of the very ground rendering apart echoing up from below, as if the walls of the crevice were being crushed and reformed. Dharg picked himself up and prepared to continue moving forward when one of the Archers shouted, "What the shrahk is that?!"

The Archer in Question stumbled back away from the edge as something reached up and took hold of one of the approaching Atlesian ships before crushing it. The darkness of night hid the form of whatever it was, but its massive arm swung wildly before them, clipping the side of another approaching ship which spun out of control and crashed into the side of the tower.

The Acolytes continued their chants, voices unfaltering as the innumerable limbs of the massive beast they awoke tore into both the Atlesian and Uruk forces at once.

---

Amity Colosseum

The sound of her Scroll chiming was what eventually roused Ruby back to consciousness. She pushed herself up and looked around to find that she was in one of Amity's halls, a heap of rubble all around her. The moment the blasts had landed, she remembered getting thrown before hitting her head. Looking back, she found the way behind her sealed with rubble. She rubbed at her head a bit and frowned. She hadn't expected Torchwick to turn his weapons on the Arena. Weiss's warning may have helped, but-

Ruby's eyes snapped open. That's right, Weiss and Blake weren't here! Ruby got to her feet, what had happened. Jaune and everyone else were still on the Airbus when Torchwick had opened fire. Her worry lasted only until her scroll started chiming again, and she soon pulled it out only to sigh in relief.

"Ruby!" Weiss' voice rang out the moment she answered "Are you okay?! Say something!"

"Yes yes I'm fine..." Ruby spoke up as she looked to the rubble "I'm trapped on the other side of some blockage, but I'm fine. What happened to everyone else"

Weiss sighed, "Everyone else on the ship... I was able to get in contact with them. They got out, but they got clipped by some rubble. They'll be able to get to Beacon but they aren't going to be able to go along with that plan of yours... and Ruby?"

Sensing the change in Weiss's tone, Ruby paused, "Yes?"

"I-I'm pretty sure Blake fell off the side."

"What?"

"When the first blasts came she was, she was trying to reach the Airbus and I-I can't be sure but I'm pretty sure I saw her go flying off the side. I can't get in touch with her... So I can't be sure but-"

"She'll be okay."

Weiss paused for a moment before asking "What?"

"Blake's capable, I know that she'll be okay. Maybe she just lost her scroll and is stuck on some other part of the Colosseum or something," Ruby stopped herself and sighed "Look, just use one of the halls and meet me inside the Arena, if she doesn't call either of us by then than we can figure out how to go from there."

"...Okay... and Ruby?"

"Yes?"

"...be safe."

"You too." Ruby said right before the call ended. She shook her legs a bit before taking off. The Colosseum's halls had seen better days, but soon Ruby found herself among the rows of seats once again. She looked to one of the nearest exits, hoping to see a flash of white at any moment, but her scroll began chiming once again. She halted in her tracks as she pulled it out again, surprised to find a call from Yang.

"Ruby! Oh my god, finally!" Yang shouted over a chorus of roars, gunfire and battle, "Ruby, wherever you are, Stay Away from Beacon!"

"Yang, what's happening-?" Ruby tried asking, but Yang kept talking after giving several grunts of combat.

"Grimm and White Fang just started sprouting up everywhere! They're- agh!"

"Yang?!" Ruby tried again as the call cut off.

She tightened her grip on the Scroll before lowering it and sighing. As much as she wanted to rush to one of the lockers and head out immediately to help Yang, she knew that a Huntsman's duty was to the people. Ironwood and his forces needed Air superiority if they were going to fight off all these different attackers. She had to keep a level head, wait for Weiss, and then go from there.

Though she told herself that, the world seemed to have other plans. A flash of light caught her attention, coming from the center of the Arena. A glowing circle formed above the Arena moments before several forms fell from it.

Ruby's eyes widened as she recognized several of those figures.

The Dreamer Gate spewed the Uruks out into the center of the Arena, many colliding with the ground in a heap of startled groans of annoyance. Skak had slammed into one of the lockers which had landed there previously, he rolled off and fell next to Ishga, who raised his spear to find that the entire top half of it had snapped off. Growling, Ishga looked towards the only Uruk there who wasn't picking himself off the ground.

Pugrish tapped his staff to his feet as he looked over them with a grin, "Perfect, perfect... absolutely perfect." he gave a small applause as Ratlug and his Researchers got up beside him.

His smile lasted until Ratlug took around and noted the emptiness of the Colosseum, "Knew it, we mistimed it, boss. Looks like you aren't getting that grand Battle you wanted after all."

Pugrish turned around at that, shifting his focus to the desolate stadium around them, "Oh dear... it would seem you're correct, Doctor."

"Of course I'm correct!" Ratlug laughed before stuffing his hands in his coat pockets and walking away "Now that that's out of the way, mind if I get started with my- huh?"

His foot kicked something, and he looked down in confusion as his two Researchers finished shaking off the daze that going through the portal had left them under.

"You!" Ishga looked back to Hork, who shoved a somewhat befuddled-looking Tugog out of the way as he got to his feet "What. Did. You. Do!?"

"Hmm?" Pugrish gave a thoughtful hum, pulling his hood up a bit as the rest of his underlings rose to their feet around him, "I suppose a better question would be..."

"What didn't I do?"

---

AN: I'm actually surprised I managed to finish this by the end of the year, I mean I know it still took over four months but still.

I'm probably still not at the peak of my game since my mini-hiatus, so I'm gonna once more apologize for any rough edges. Hopefully I''ll be back in shape before the next chapter goes live. But considering how much is gonna be in that one, I can't really say that'll be. In the meantime, its been really cool to see discussion about this story still so healthy, all things considered. I know it wouldn't be possible without such passionate readers, so I hope I'm giving my thanks in the form of another chapter.

Okay, on to the titular Bone-Snapper, who wasn't given full title privileges on account of how much of a bastard he was.

Now don't get me wrong, many of the memorable Uruks in this cast were hard to deal with in one way or another, but Felgrat was a special kind of annoying. His gimmick wasn't interesting enough to make him stand out, he was just a regular old Uruk with bone armor and a taste for cannibalism. They're a dime a dozen in Mordor, but Felgrat had an absolutely abhorrent talent for getting in the way of things. I don't know if it was how the Nemesis System designed him or if I was just running into a strange series of coincidences, but Felgrat was responsible for a string of ambushes that would only occur when I was trying to do something else. I could never lure the guy into doing them, he would only show up with his posse to interrupt me when I was busy with something else. In actuality, I wrote in him and Grisha back in the earlier chapters because in one of my earlier playthroughs, they were the ones who would show up whenever I was fighting Bubol. It was only after writing those chapters that I was able to fully remember just how much of a pain he was on his own.

Fare thee well, Felgrat, you were perhaps the worst of the best.

But who are we kidding, there's no way he could even hope to be the star of this Chapter even if I did use a butchered form of his label for the title. What with how much stuff is going on, there's far too many other options available. What with chaos being unleashed throughout Vale as both Cinder and the Storm's plans occur simultaneously, the Students have far more on their plate than even they realize. But they aren't the only ones in the dark, as multiple factions of Uruk find themselves drawn into the Stormbringer's web of manipulation. With only some privy aware of the shadowy hands shifting pieces into place, there's no telling how such a chaotic conglomeration of conflict could turn out... at least until the next chapter.

Anyway, hope you enjoy, any and all criticisms positive or negative are welcomed in full so leave a review or comment if you are so inclined to do. Things you enjoyed about it? Things you hated about it? Any ways you feel I could improve? Expectations for the next chapter? Follow or Favorite at your leisure and I will see you all in the next installment of The Dreamer Gate.

Next Chapter: The Storm