The Lost Son Chapter 17, a rwby fanfic

Chapter 17

Ozpin watched from the doorway as people began to set up portable generators that were being hooked into radio sets while charts of Beacon and Vale were being laid out onto tables. Alexander stood with two of his Housecarls by the far window as another man was reading off some device.

He had no idea why Alexander had moved the Division headquarters from Forever Fall to the tower while moving soldiers closer to the border of Beacon but Ozpin had suspected that he would come to him and talk about it. Yet that wasn't the case, Ozpin had sat in his office for a few hours expecting him to come up and talk to him about it after Goodwitch had allowed his people to move as they please.

Instead he had to go to him and ask him why he was doing this. A move he was confident that Alexander had done deliberately. As his experience with just Vale's Council by the other three Kingdoms would suggest that they would have come to him to offer an explanation, true or not, about what they were doing on his grounds.

"Is there something you need Headmaster Ozpin?" A radio distorted male voice called out and Ozpin turned his head to see an armored Housecarl watching him though he couldn't help but notice that another Housecarl was also standing behind him out of sight.

"I need to speak to the High Lord." He said and the Housecarl nodded.

"Wait here please; if my Lord wishes to speak to you then you may approach." The Housecarl said before walking towards Alexander, everyone parted in his path as he walked up to Alexander. The taller man turned to him as he bowed at the waist and Ozpin could see his eyes flick to him before nodding.

"You may approach the High Lord." The other Housecarl behind him said and Ozpin walked towards him, again aware that the Housecarl was behind him as he stood in front of Alexander.

"Is there something you need Headmaster?" Alexander asked as he waved the people around him away.

"I was just trying to piece together what exactly you are doing?" Ozpin asked evenly.

"What do you mean, you know what I'm doing I've already informed your Deputy about my intentions." He said and Ozpin did recall what Glynda had told him.

"Right, you mean securing your position at Beacon in light of the Council's refusal to postpone the Vytal Festival." Ozpin said and Alexander nodded.

"You've read the reports that have been coming out of Vale, ritual deaths and anarchy are brewing in it. Then that's not even touching on what's going outside the Kingdom, escalating Grimm attacks and more bandit attacks have happened in these last two weeks than the previous two years. If you all would try to force the festival as things are right now you will be painting a target on your backs and I for one would rather be in a position to act than react." Alexander explained and Ozpin sighed. It was true that things were unraveling faster than he wanted but to act like this would only make it seem like they're expecting that to happen.

Ozpin said nothing as he looked past Alexander to see the city of Vale in the distance. As long as he could find the right candidate and convince them to take the burden that he had hidden then things will quiet down, especially if he she didn't have too many questions to ask right away.

"I don't like that look in your eye." Alexander said softly and Ozpin frowned slightly.

"Whatever do you mean?"

"Don't play games with me Ozpin, I'm no fool, I've had this feeling that you're hiding something from me."

"Rest assured High Lord, I have nothing to hide from you nor would I gain from doing so."

"You say that but the way you've been acting has been odd, others may not see it since you often spend time on your high tower looking down on people but so have I and I know when a man is hiding both from himself and from the world."

"I would be careful in where you're going with this High Lord." Ozpin said evenly before looking up at the bigger man.

"The secrets men like us hold can be very deadly to the point that even the knowledge that a secret exist can put someone's life at risk." Ozpin said and for a second he felt a tremor pass over him as Alexander's impassive face stared back at his though his eyes were off like the inanimate eyes of a doll.

"Leave us." Alexander said and like a switch everyone in the room stopped to stare at them for a second before heading to the various side doors. Even the Housecarls left leaving Ozpin alone with Alexander.

"I'm trying to help here but if you keep pushing and hiding whatever it is that you find so important from me than think of the of the men and women I brought here to fight on your behalf against the foes that threaten both of us. If you want to use them as fodder because your principals keep you from taking action that's fine but at least give me the information I need to fight in your stead." Alexander said looming over Ozpin but the headmaster matched his gaze.

"I didn't ask you to bring them nor do I want to use them to fight unlike everyone else I want to avoid fighting if possible. Strength will not grant us victory but merely prolong the suffering of others." Ozpin said taking note the look of disdain that seemed to pass through Alexander's eyes before looking back out the window.

"You really do think I can't see through you like the others Ozpin? Those words you speak, the ones that preach of tolerance, peace, and individuality are nothing more than a mask. It's the mask of an old man who wishes to hide his head in the sand with his cowardice." Alexander said and for the first time in who knows how long Ozpin felt genuine hatred grow in him.

"I can hear you clench your jaw and grip that stick of yours Ozpin. Yet I know you're not going to do anything." Alexander said turning to look down on him again, a small part of Ozpin wanted to strike him but he knew that would just play into his hands yet if he didn't react then he would prove his words right anyways.

His validation of that could be seen in the larger man's eyes yet Ozpin didn't see joy or anger in the other man, to him it looked like disappointment as he looked back out the window.

"We're done here."

A Few Days Later…

Jaune walked through the fairgrounds, visiting families and students of various schools were milling about enjoying the festival. Every now and then he could see Atlesian Knights and soldiers patrolling in pairs or standing at corners of booths watching the crowd.

For some reason whenever he got close to them he felt on edge, he had to stop himself from reaching for Crocea Mors despite it residing in its locker.

"Well if it isn't his lordship." A familiar sarcastic voice called out and he turned his head to see Ilex Maron standing behind him holding a corndog in one hand with cotton candy in the other.

"Oh, hey there Ilex, I haven't seen you in a while." He said and the girl snorted.

"Well duh, with the Vytal Festival being held here my workload outside of class quadrupled from every asshole that doesn't know how to take care of their equipment coming to us whining about how they don't know how to fix a partially melted barrel or replace a chipped blade. In fact I think the system has failed if people can't even fix simple shit like that." The girl said before taking an angry bite of her corndog followed by the cotton candy which Jaune felt was a bit disgusting to think about how that tasted.

"So, is your team going to participate?" Ilex asked with her mouth full as the two of them began to walk together.

"Yea we've actually already passed the second round." Jaune said and Ilex nodded.

"I'm sure having the Invincible Girl made short work of that." She said and Jaune could only sigh as he remembered watching Nora smash the other team apart with a maniacal laugh.

"Actually to be frank our victory is thanks to one of my other teammates." Jaune said and Ilex raised an eyebrow.

"Let me guess, it was Nora."

"You know her?"

"Yea, she came in a few weeks back asking if we could upgrade her weapon to use a bigger round than the grenades she already uses. I told her it was only possible but it would end up either replacing the revolver style magazine that holds the forties for a single seventy two millimeter round that matched her description. She didn't want that of course cause while it's a larger round her hammer's capability would be diminished in favor for it. So instead I added a feature that allowed her to fire all of her loaded rounds at once gives a better damage for her range attacks but still allows her to use her grenades to boost her hammer strikes." Ilex explained and Jaune whistled. He had remembered the devastating strike Nora had launched during their team fight with team BRNZ's marksman in the first round.

"Well I gotta say you did an excellent job with her weapon." Jaune said and Ilex shrugged.

"You know I can help you with your equipment, you're still using that sword and shield with that lame armor."

"It's not that lame." Jaune said though he had to admit the more he looked at his father's armor and the Praetorians it was pretty clear that he looked like a chump. At the same time he knew that his father would craft him new gear soon, since the Vytal Festival had taken over the last few weeks of classes they were all technically guaranteed to be second years.

"The true mark of a warrior isn't their armor or weapon but their spirit." Another voice said behind them and Jaune had to control himself from squeaking as he turned to see Pyrrha standing there. The tall red hair girl was smiling, though she seemed to be staring intently at Ilex who grunted before stuffing her mouth with the rest of her food.

"Lapher Faune." She said, her voice muffled by the food.

"Bye!" He called out though she didn't seem to acknowledge him as she disappeared into the crowd.

"So, what's up Pyr?" Jaune asked finally turning around to look at Pyrrha; he couldn't help but notice that Pyrrha was standing rather close to him. Even with the smell of wood smoke, fresh fried food, and a slight ting of stale sweat from the crowd Jaune could detect the hint of vanilla that wafted from Pyrrha.

"Oh, well you wandered off after we changed from our match, so I thought I'd come look for you." She said as the two of them walked through the fairgrounds.

"I mean, you didn't have to do that Pyrrha I'm sure Ren and Nora would have wanted you to come with them to celebrate the win."

"Yea but they would want you to come and celebrate with them but you left anyways."

"I'm sorry." He said with a small smile that she returned.

"Don't worry about it Jaune anyways Ruby suggested that we all get together in their dorm tonight to celebrate both of our victories. That girl Penny is supposed to be there and Blake said that Sun was coming along as well with that blue hair kid." She said.

"Neptune?"

"Yea that's him."

"Well it sounds like it'll be fun." He said as the two of them walked in silence for a while looking at the various stands of games, food and entertainers.

"So are you going to tell me why you came out here alone?" Pyrrha asked as they reached the edge of the fairgrounds and Jaune shrugged.

"Ya know I'm not really sure, I just sort of felt like going for a walk to relax a bit after watching you fight."

"I think I know what you mean, sometimes it's nice just to unwind after a good win." She said and Jaune laughed a little as she smiled at him.

"I think that's putting it mildly." He said as the two of them reached a row of benches, nearby were some people, mainly visitors from Vale getting out from their vehicles that were parked a little bit away.

"On the other hand if I had to be honest, if we hadn't won I would have still been happy." Pyrrha said as the two of them sat down.

"Really?" Jaune asked surprised to hear that.

"Despite my reputation Jaune, I'm comfortable with losing as much as I am with winning."

"You say that Pyrrha but I've seen how you act sometimes whenever you're going into a match of some kind."

"Oh yea and how do I act?"

"Well when it comes to winning even if there's no prize you always seemed determined to win especially when it comes to fighting. I know we like to poke fun at how much Yang and Nora like to fight but none of the others ever seem to notice how you're just as excited if not more when it comes to fighting." Jaune said and he could see Pyrrha raise an eyebrow at him.

"Not that there's anything wrong with that mind you, it's just something I noticed is all." He added hastily.

"I never knew you were watching me so intently Jaune." She said softly and he cleared his throat as his face warmed up.

"You're an interesting person to watch Pyrrha." He replied felt his heart quicken either in fear or exhilaration as he could see Pyrrha blink in surprise.

"I don't know what to say." She said after a moment, though Jaune could see that she was smiling from ear to ear.

"Then don't worry about it Pyr." He said as he looked back at the fairgrounds, the sun was starting to set casting an orange and red glow over the sky.

"This is nice." He said after a moment as he looked back at her and Pyrrha gave him a quizzical look.

"I mean, just sitting here relaxing after a nice friendly match. No grades, no lives at stake, no fear or anxiety and no pain. Moments like these just make me yearn to live a normal life, or well, as normal as one can get when they're training to become a huntsman or huntress." He said and Pyrrha nodded as well.

"I know how you feel Jaune, sometimes living a cliché or mundane life sounds amazing. Like back before we went to the Hurin Valleys the Beacon Dance was like right around the corner and I was so looking forward to that." Jaune glanced at her as a breeze came through as she starred wistfully into space. For some reason his heart panged in guilt at that the next words to come to his mind that made his mouth dry.

"Say Pyrrha." He began and she looked at him with her enchanting green eyes.

"So, about the dance, I was wondering if you would like to, I don't know." He continued and Pyrrha felt a sudden joy lift her heart at what he was about to say.

"Whoa look at that! It's Pyrrha Nikos!" Someone called out and the two of them looked up to see a group of teens pointing at them excitedly, a few of them had their Scrolls out pointed at them.

"Who's that she's with?"

"I don't know but he looks like a dork."

"Wait a second, isn't he that Arcadian kid going to Beacon?" A woman cried out.

"Oh shit, are they dating!?" Another voiced called out before getting drowned out as more passersby arrived to see the commotion.

"Let's get out of here." Jaune said as the two of them stood up but the press of people was getting thicker and thicker.

The two of them started back towards Beacon but people began to close in, some of them were taking pictures while the others were holding out papers or other memorabilia to be signed. They both had to push people back as they came too close or who were in turn pushed forward by the press of people.

"CLEAR OUT!" A vox modified voice rang out and before he knew it the tall figures of Legionaries could be seen. Unlike the golden Housecarls these were the black armored Legionaries of the main Praetorian Cohorts.

"Move!" The lead Legionary said which was echoed by the others, their menacing looks, loud voices and deadly looking weapons made people disperse though a few shouted insults at them as they backed off.

"High Prince I apologize for the intrusion but duty compelled me to intercede." The lead Legionary said before bowing at the waist.

"My name is Decanus Fanis Elatos; you may report me to Centurion Grylla for my infraction." The man said but Jaune just laughed it off before slapping his pauldron.

"Don't worry about it Fanis, I'm sure your Centurion would forgive you and your Legionaries." Jaune said as he and Pyrrha were escorted back towards Beacon surrounded by the Legionaries. Pyrrha though felt a little self-conscious, though not for the escort, looking down she did her best to hide the squeal of excitement. Jaune hadn't noticed that he had grabbed her hand during the encounter and had yet to let go.

"Well that was pretty intense." Jaune said looking at her and only then did he look down at their intertwined hands. Pyrrha could see his face flush as he released her hand despite her wishing he wouldn't.

"Yea but you'll get used to it, I know I have."

"What? You're really used to that, I felt like I was gonna be suffocated by them, with all their faces staring at us like we're a bunch of neat science experiments." He said as the legionaries stopped and opened their formation up. They were back on the main grounds of Beacon; a number of students stopped to check them out but most just ignored them.

"Thank you Decanus." Jaune said looking at the black armored legionary who bowed in return before walking away with the other nine Praetorians in tow. The two of them started to walk down the main avenue, here and there were more black armored Legionaries.

Jaune found it odd that they were so spread out; beforehand the Centuria was centered on Beacon Tower. Now it seemed like his father wished them to be spread out either to be seen which in turn was to send a message or for reasonable application of a dispersed force.

"I have a question." Pyrrha said and Jaune looked at her.

"About what?"

"Why do you call them Legionaries instead of Praetorians like you do with Areto and the other Housecarls?"

"Have I?"

"Yea, you even referred to Tava's people as Praetorians as well. So how come you call them differently?"

"Well to be fair when we say Praetorian it's more of a general term, as they are all technically Praetorians. However there are different types of Praetorians as you may have noticed, for Areto she's a Housecarl Praetorian, Tava was a Comitatus Praetorian, the ones that Ruby and Blake saw were Umbra Praetorians while the Decanus and his contubernium are Legionaries who are a part of the original core of the Praetorian Legion, who are also the main strength or bulk of the existing Praetorians." Jaune explained and Pyrrha nodded slowly.

"I guess that makes sense." She said as they continued walking, a cool breeze passed through and Pyrrha could only relish at the thought of the fall season. She had always enjoyed the aesthetic and feel of the season. It wasn't too cold like winter nor was it too hot as summer or spring might get yet surprisingly it was the fact that she could stand next to Jaune that made it feel almost perfect.

Jaune however glanced to the side seeing Pyrrha looking ahead with a content look on her face. His mind flashed back to earlier when he had grabbed her hand, he could still feel the slight sensation of where her skin had been in contact with his own.

Though he didn't say anything, in his mind to voice his thoughts about what happened earlier would just spoil it and he could only guess that Pyrrha felt the same. So the two of them continued to walk in what he could only hope was a comfortable silence.

Later That Night…

Alexander watched as his assembled commanders and officers sat down around a long rectangle table. On his right dressed in her Sisterhood outfit was Sanian along with the three Palatines that had arrived with her.

Then of course there was Major General Heider and his colonels. Followed by Major Alida Nessel, commanding officer of the Enginseer Battalion along with the two dozen Captains of the Division's Heavy Weapons Companies. At the end of table was the Captain of his Flagship, Murria Alethia who was also the Commander of the Task Group anchored off the coast.

On the left side seated next to him was Areto, the Decanus of the Housecarls followed by Centurions Grylla and Narses. Lastly were Talbek and Zophiel.

"I would like to skip formalities tonight; there are things that need to be discussed." Alexander said drawing everyone's attention.

"As you may all know the Vytal Tournament is well under way, an event that I strongly urged Ozpin, Ironwood and the Vale Council to postpone if they were unwilling to cancel it all together. Yet it seems that they decided to ignore my concern which is why I had your units shift positions." Alexander said looking at the various Captains of the Heavy Weapons Companies who nodded their understanding.

"As such I want all of you to be ready for what comes next; I've alerted Meidner and Kagiris in the Hurin Valleys who have three infantry companies ready to be deployed via Valkyries if the word is given along with their full contingent of Corsairs, three Avengers Flights and two Lightning Flights on standby." Alexander said and one of Heider's colonels raised a hand.

"Yes Colonel Dreifuss?"

"Sir I understand the need for caution but I was wondering if you could enlighten us exactly what we may face? Are we fighting the Creatures of Grimm or the Archenemy? If not them is it the White Fang or maybe even the Four Kingdoms?" Dreifuss asked.

"I understand your concern Colonel, one I can assume is echoed by some if not most of the officers and soldiers of your Division as a whole, so the best answer I can give you is yes." The man gave him a confused look, one that he could see echoed by almost everyone else at the table.

"I know that doesn't make much sense but to put things simply. It's all of the above as far as we know the White Fang are responsible for the Breach in Vale, the amount of resources that took suggests a sizable operation or backing that they honestly shouldn't have let alone their daring in using it as such. At the same time the Creatures of Grimm have gotten so restless that most of eastern Sanus is feeling their wrath in one form or another. I'm sure you're aware of the reports submitted by the Hurin Valleys about their current refugee crisis. In the last two weeks I've deployed the four remaining companies of Major Schell's 9th Ranger Battalion to delay or mark smaller hordes as targets for the Air Force to destroy as they escort as many Outlanders as they can to safety. Despite that the current estimates have it that in less than a few months we'll have to turn away the refugees who will then start coming to Vale for safety which will only drag the Grimm here as well. At the same time it seems the Four Kingdoms are in a fractious state due to politics and White Fang activity that leaves them vulnerable which may not seem so bad but to discount the threat of one of them falling either to the Grimm or to a taint will be disastrous to us as well. Then of course there is the fact that the Archenemy has a foothold here, it's most likely a small army or traditional legion strength force that was sent here how that's possible is still under consideration however it's been happening longer than we've known which puts us at a disadvantage in the long run." Alexander said before taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly.

"Lastly is something that for the time being isn't to be repeated to anyone outside this room so if I catch so much as a whiff that someone here leaked what I am about to say then know that your lives are forfeit." Alexander said and as if an unseen signal was given the four Housecarls standing in the corners of the room activated their poleaxes with a harsh crackle of energy that made several officers flinch visibly.

"It's become clear to me that Headmaster Ozpin cannot be completely trusted to be on our side nor can we trust General Ironwood by association. As such I caution all of you to keep your eyes on their people. If you so much as get a whisper of treachery from the soldiers or Huntsmen notify those you see around you here then wait for my orders." He said looking around, no one said anything and Alexander.

"You're dismissed." He said and the assembled group stood up as one, the officers saluted while the Palatines bowed before exiting the room leaving Sanian, Talbek, Zophiel, Grylla, Narses and Areto behind. Alexander sat down, the chair beneath him creaking at the sudden weight, he sighed as he ran a hand through his hair before looking up.

"You may sit." He said and they did though Zophiel leaned forward on the table.

"My lord, was that a wise thing to tell the officers? To be prepared for betrayal from the Four Kingdoms?" The Chaplain asked.

"I never told them specifically to distrust the Four Kingdoms but to keep an eye out on Ironwood and Ozpin."

"That's sort of the same thing isn't it? Ozpin had some major pull in Vale and Ironwood controls two seats on the Atlas Council." Sanian pointed out.

"Which means nothing here, for all his bluster he knows that if tries to push his authority on Vale then it will only lead to a bigger backlash. No, of the two we need to worry about is Ozpin but he's not doing anything overtly to show that he'll be the problem which is in fact the problem. His lack of action is a detriment both to our safety and this Kingdom I don't know what he's doing or why beyond his own claims. As such I'm going to assign you all special objectives for the duration of the Vytal Festival, Talbek."

"Yes my Lord?"

"I want you at Amity with Areto; the two of you are to keep an eye on the last part of the Tournament, you have two days to get yourself situated with the layout. If something happens I want to know who did it and why."

"Are we to look at someone in particular or are we to watch for the safety of the Tournament?" Talbek asked.

"Keep an eye on the students participating and the Colosseum personnel." He said.

"Actually I may have some persons of interest that I believe we should keep an eye on." Areto said.

"Fine, gather what information you can about them then bring it to me later." Alexander said as he looked towards Zophiel and the two Centurions.

"I want you three to be extra vigilant about the security of Beacon Academy, set up checkpoints on the main roads leading to Beacon along with additional patrols at night."

"Isn't that testing the boundaries of our agreement with the Four Kingdoms? Setting up military checkpoints to an Academy might ruffle more than just feathers." Grylla said and Alexander nodded.

"Don't worry if Atlas or Vale should impede your effort then come find me and I'll talk with them." He said before turning to Sanian.

"For you, I give the hardest task." He began and paused to see the glint of anticipation in her eyes.

"I wield my sword for you High Lord." She said.

"You will be tasked to watch Ozpin." He said and her smile wavered but before she could say anything he raised his hand.

"This is important; watch what he does and who he talks to I want to know the names of everyone that goes in and out of Beacon Tower that he sees." Alexander said and Sanian nodded as he looked at all of them.

"Be vigilant, be strong, but most importantly do your duty. Dismissed."

Later…

Seventy miles northeast of Vale, Svend Villadsen, Captain of the second company of the 9th Ranger Battalion was crouched on the west bank of a small river with a squad of soldiers.

He doubled checked his rifle then adjust the short sword strapped on the small of his back. To the south, the thumping cracks of small arms fire could be heard going off incessantly.

It had been three days since they had set out on orders from the High Lord to escort refugee caravans towards Valean territory or towards the Hurin Valleys depending on their location. He was leading his first platoon in escorting roughly four hundred Outlanders towards Vale.

However they were completely overstretched since it was decided to split up all the companies by platoons for each village and town since that way they could cover more ground quicker. The last vox check he had on the Battalion net had indicated that none of the companies were near enough to provide support to any unit that might get into serious trouble.

Though he knew or at least hoped that Major Schell would be working on a rendezvous point for them to head towards soon. Since his group had ended up getting ambushed by relatively well organized bandits.

His thoughts were interrupted by the distant thump and boom of a rocket hitting something only for the small arms fire to intensify.

"Captain, second and third squads are engaging the enemy at the bridge and fourth squad reports the last of the civvies are over the second bridge." Corporal Liva Toft, his Vox Operator, reported over the squad vox channel.

"Alright let's move." Villadsen said as he rose into a half crouch then proceeded towards the sound of fighting with five other soldiers while another four were moving amongst the trees about a dozen yards to their left. Night was falling fast and he could see the flash of muzzle and tracer fire in the distance more clearly.

At least three dozen enemy combatants, armed with a variety of submachine guns, long rifles and pistols in addition to various melee weapons were exchanging fire with his men. On the other side of the bridge Villadsen could see them bringing up a flat bed truck with a shoddy looking Autocannon. The long barrel platform opened up like a jackhammer.

"Enemy Technical! Take it out!" Villadsen called out into his helmet's vox pointing towards it, there was a crack and whoosh as a soldier fired a rocket from the tree line.

On the west side of the bridge, several of the enemy combatants turned towards them at the sound before the rocket struck. The shoulder fired rocket round destroyed the cab and threw the gunner off the autocannon while peppering everyone nearby with shrapnel as they got knocked over by the force.

He could see a few of them getting up so he raised his rifle to his shoulder and squeezed off several rounds. One of them pitched backwards as the rest began to return fire just before the other soldiers behind him began firing as well.

Something smacked into his chest hard and he fell backwards onto his ass but he fired half a dozen more rounds then ejected his spent magazine before pulling out a fresh one. There was a hard crack of something breaking to his left as he pulled back then released the charging handle. Next to him a soldier fell forward onto his or her face into the ground, clumps of dirt and mud were getting kicked up as rounds hit around them.

Off to his left in the cover of the trees one of his Assault Stubbers rattled off a long burst hitting another pair of combatants, the people on the bridge began to run across it still exchanging fire with his squad. A second rocket whooshed out hitting the bridge ripping a chunk out the side along with sending a handful of combatants into the water only to get picked off by him and the other soldiers near him.

"Move!" Villadsen called gesturing with his left hand palm out towards the trees to their left. The four remaining soldiers with him moved back into the trees as other Arcadian soldiers appeared near the bridge.

"Captain, the enemy is pulling back." A voice buzzed in his ears over the platoon frequency.

"Roger that, hold your ground and watch your sectors." He said before looking for Toft, who was reloading her weapon, he gestured for her to come closer. As she crouched in front of him, Villadsen took the handset off the Vox Caster that she carried on her back. He always found it a little awkward to use a handset through his helmet but taking it off now would only be inviting a bullet to the head.

"This is Silver 3-1 Actual to all Silver 3-1 Charlie's, requesting sitrep." He called out over the company frequency, within a few minutes he received a response from the various vox operators relaying brief but relevant information on their location and the condition. It appeared that they weren't the only ones to get hit, two other platoons exchanged fire with bandits as well though suffered only a few casualties in total.

"Sir, should we really be staying here?" Toft asked as he handed her the handset back but he shook his head.

"Tell the squads to start withdrawing, but have Weingand's squad set charges on the bridge to slow down any vehicles they might use against us. We'll cover them, Sven take Nils, Casper, and Anton then cover Weingand's left flank." Villadsen said, as the squad split up he looked down at his chest plate, the left strap on his outer chest rigging was barely hanging on by a thread.

The round that had hit him earlier had left a small dent right over where his heart would be; thankfully the armor had done its job. While the rational part of his mind knew that his chest plate would have stopped the Dust round seven out of ten times he still found it a little disconcerting that he could feel the dent and the small web of cracks that surrounded it.

"Sir, do you need a repair kit?" A soldier asked on his left but Villadsen shook his head.

"I'm fine; I just need to remember to patch this harness up later." He said and the soldier nodded before scanning the darkening woods. It wasn't long till Weingand's squad reported the charges were in place and Villadsen ordered the two squads to pull back though Villadsen remembered to collect the name tag of the fallen soldier on the creek bed before leaving. It was a shame that he couldn't bring one of the Chimeras down here to pick up the body but they were mostly being used to protect the convoy.

Night soon changed the woods into a sightless dark mass that required them to turn the night vision mode in their helmets on. It was briefly illumination no doubt caused by the explosion that destroyed the bridge that they had been at.

It wasn't long until they reached another bridge that led to a relatively large river island, camped out on it were the Outlanders that he had sent ahead along with one of his squads while the rest of the platoon preformed a rearguard.

He could see the white flares in his helmet's visor from a number of exposed campfires. It annoyed him that they would do something that could get them spotted by an enemy but at the same time it was necessary risk. Since they didn't have enough portable meals with them it meant if the people wanted to eat they would need fires to do so.

At the far end of the bridge stood the thirty odd soldiers that had returned before them and a tall figure approached Villadsen as they were halfway over the bridge.

"Captain." The figure said.

"Report."

"I've counted three dead and five wounded." First Lieutenant Alwin Sternberger said.

"Make it four, Euric's dead." Villadsen interjected as he and the Lieutenant moved off the bridge then headed down to the water for a semblance of privacy.

"What about the Outlanders?" He asked.

"They're definitely shaken, that ambush took out two trucks and killed almost a dozen people with twice that wounded. The few trained medical personnel they have are struggling with the lack of facilities and it's going to show very soon. Private Kvist took a gut shot earlier, we plugged the hole but she'll bleed out before nightfall tomorrow. Even worse, I sent a fireteam over to the far side of the river to keep an eye out and they had a brief exchange with a few Beowolves, I reckon we should move before first light tomorrow because it's not safe here anymore." Sternberger said and Villadsen sighed as he looked out over the water.

"If it was safe to begin with we wouldn't here. Anyways for now we'll have the squads divide up into their fireteams with three fireteams taking the first watch along with the Outlanders then the second one will be the fireteams alone, I want the Outlanders to get as much rest as they can since they'll need it. In the morning I'll have Weingand's squad use our last Melta Charge to blow the bridge, from there it should be another day or two before we reach the Emerald Forest." Villadsen said as the two men turned to see another figure running to them, it was Toft again.

"Captain! Battalion is on the line and wants to talk with you." She said holding out a handset which he took without response. After a few moments, Villadsen gestures for her to kneel down as he fished out a map from a pouch on his waist.

Toft unslung the vox caster from her back laying it flat as Villadsen placed the map on it before gesturing both her and the Lieutenant to step away. She was grateful to have the vox caster off her back as she walked away, pulling off her helmet to enjoy the cool night air. While the helmets did circulate air but there was a certain artificial quality to it that she couldn't shake no matter how long she wore it.

After what seemed like five or ten minutes the Captain handed her the handset back as he stood up and folded the map again.

"Sternberger gather the squad leaders and the leaders from the Outlanders we need to have a meeting."

Ten Minutes Later…

Villadsen stood in the center of a large circle with Sternberger, the rest of the sergeants in the platoon along with fourteen men and women that were elected to represent or lead the Outlanders.

"What's the meaning of this Arcadian? It's late, I'm tired and we've still have a long way to Vale." A lanky man asked who was dressed in an expensive looking suit that seemed to contrast with the more rugged, rural clothes that the other wore.

"Cobb will you let him talk he hasn't even said anything yet." A thick burly man with tusks growled out from the other side of the circle said, Villadsen cleared his throat loudly before Cobb could respond.

"I called you all here because I've got some good news and bad news." He said spinning in a circle to get a good look at everyone seeing the shifting demeanor from curiosity to wariness.

"The good news is this; our destination has gotten a lot shorter."

"And the bad news?" Another man asked.

"We're not taking you to Vale." Villadsen said and raised his hands as the Outlanders began to talk over each other asking various questions or voice their outrage.

"Listen! Please!" He shouted before Sternberger and his sergeants began to shout them down as well.

"I know this isn't what you want to hear but orders have come down the line." He said as he took out his map.

"There's a small crossroad town about twenty miles northeast from here, our Battalion has been ordered to regroup there taking you with us. From there supplies will be delivered for your people to hold out there until another unit comes along to escort you north to the Hurin Valleys."

"Wait, wait, wait, why is this happening? Why can't we go to Vale and aren't you people supposed to protect us." Someone asked.

"We're not abandoning you but we need to head back east to provide relief to a town called Pinemere." This drew another wave of murmurs.

"That doesn't make any sense. I do a lot of my trading with Pinemere I know it has a Hunters lodge, there should be anywhere from twelve to thirty Huntsmen and Huntresses staying there in addition to their staff." An older woman spoke out but Villadsen shrugged.

"It seems they were on the short end of numbers since they're requesting for help. In either case it doesn't matter, we're parting ways tomorrow after we drop you off. So get some sleep, we're leaving before first light." Villadsen said cutting the meeting short; he didn't have the patience to field every question these people might ask him.

A part of him felt a little sick at how reliant on others they were, ever since the first hour they showed up to escort them they were constantly asking if or when Huntsmen were going to show up to protect them. As if the blood and lives of his men meant nothing to them. If it weren't for his orders he wouldn't have given a second thought about the death of these people, at least the Outlanders near Vacuo or home had a set of balls.

"Captain, are we really heading back east?" One of his sergeants asked quietly as they stood around him after the Outlanders had gone back to their tents.

"No, we're heading back to Vale. The High Lord wants us to take positions overlooking some the Outland towns that are near major thoroughfares. We're to alert the main force in Vale to the arrival of any Grimm or Archenemy attack and only engage if necessary. Now see to your squads." Villadsen said and as the sergeants walked away he couldn't shake the feeling of dread that had filled him upon the sudden change in his orders. Whatever the High Lord knew it wasn't going to be good news.

A Day Later…

Arabella sat on a chaise lounge chair at one end of a large well lighted oval room, lining the room were her Handmaidens. She didn't really like the name, mainly because Talbek explained to her what one of the applications of it was for and she wasn't the kind of woman to share her husband.

Other than the name though the Handmaidens were very useful, the Handmaidens was a relatively small group within the Sisterhood comprised of veteran Sisters with roles similar to that of the Housecarls and Aegis Praetorians. Most of them were based in the High Citadel since she and the royal family were now living there however a small section had also gone with the Sisterhood detachment that Sanian had left with for Vale.

Speaking of which she refocused her gaze on the data slate in hand; it was a brief report from Sanian about the development process of the Convent in Vale. Yet it seemed that Sanian was requesting additional support to the Palatines already on the ground with her.

Comparing this info with the message Alexander sent her explaining the reasoning why he was starting to pull more assets to him. While already drawing the Exhibition Force's sole Ranger Battalion into positions to provide information on inbound enemies which meant he knows that something is coming.

"Is something wrong mom?" A melodic voice asked and Arabella looked up to see Sepherina looking up at her. Next to her was Nessa who sat on a chair with a bored look on her face from the book Sepherina had placed in her lap to read.

"It's nothing dear; I was just thinking how much better Katherine has gotten with her new bionics." Arabella said looking over to the far end of the room where her eldest daughter was.

She couldn't help but think about how she looked after she had returned to Arcadia, the medical examination showed there had been serious nerve damage done to her arms on top of losing her leg and her eye. So in the end Arabella, after discussing it with Alexander, had given permission to Rosenstock to operate on her making her as much machine as human now.

The sight of her broken baby girl had left a fire burning in her chest to take the full strength of the Sisterhood and move on Sanus to find whoever had done it. Talbek, Khan, and Vare however had talked her down from doing anything rash.

Metal ringing as it collided together and the sound of two people locked in combat drew her once more out of her thoughts.

Katherine rolled her shoulders still unused to the whirring sound of machine servos; she wore a sparring helmet that was really annoying since she was still waiting on the new eye, with a chest plate, couters, greaves, poleyns, a heater shield and an arming sword.

Katherine had objected at her mother's insistence about the armor at first. Saying that with the new bionics it felt redundant along with her Aura but Arabella had countered by pointing out how well it went for her the first time.

Across from her was her sister, Mina, who wore a near complete set of plate armor minus a helmet and her weapon which was a large headed Lucerne hammer.

The two had been sparring for nearly an hour already, all a part of Katherine's rehabilitation program mostly on her insistence. As such Katherine had asked her sisters to be her sparring partners in that time or one of the Handmaidens if they were busy.

Katherine turned aside a blow from Mina with her sword but she continued to back step to avoid the quick follow up from the bottom half of the hammer then let the pronged hammer head sail past her as Mina followed up with another overhead strike. She slammed the edge of her shield into the shaft pushing it aside to throw Mina off before thrusting her sword forward.

Mina however twisted her weapon around as she stepped back using her hammer's haft to push the blade off course then side stepped to Katherine's left bringing her weapon back around aiming for Katherine's chest. However Katherine brought her heater shield up in time to intercept the blow but the force was enough to send her stumbling backwards, Mina followed up with another overhead blow with her hammer.

Katherine swiped it aside with her sword then slammed her shield into Mina's chest but her sister instead let go of her hammer grabbing the shield then twisted it as she pulled Katherine over her shoulder in one swift motion.

Katherine was forced to release her shield as she followed through the move rolling on the ground before turning to face Mina as she picked up her hammer and came at her again.

She ducked under a wide swing as she pushed forward with a thrust however Mina sidestepped switching her grip by placing her right hand closer to the head of the weapon then swung at Katherine.

Katherine parried it but Mina locked her weapon in place preventing Katherine from trying to disengage as Mina reached out to grab her sword arm with her left hand just as Katherine reached out to stop her with her own left hand.

Mina frowned as the two of them became locked in place, normally a contest of strength like this would easily go to her favor but with Katherine's new bionic limbs it was difficult to get the advantage over her. She could feel her arms shaking at the effort while Katherine's limbs whirred loudly as she pushed back.

Arabella smiled at the contest of strength, her three eldest daughters were generally close in many aspects but there were certain traits that brought out their individuality.

Katherine was the most independent amongst the three of them, even as a kid she would throw a tantrum if someone wouldn't let her do something alone until she felt ready to accept their help or would simply refuse to continue doing it. As she grew older it became about following rules and responsibility something that would leave a noticeable mark in her relationship with their father. This also had a mark on her fighting style but employing unconventional tactics to throw off her opponent or to get the advantage. While this might work on some, she tended to find it difficult to go up against a skilled or technique based fighter.

Mina was the strongest physically amongst the three able to overpower both sisters on her own even go so far as to match Areto in recent years during their spars. Yet she was also the quickest to anger which has caused more trouble than it has fixed. Once riled up to a point beyond reasoning she'll go after someone until her angry is spent or her body is spent from the attempt. There had been more than one incident where Areto or Alexander had to bring her home after she tore her body up in whatever incidents she was involved in. Mina's biggest weakness would no doubt be against anyone who was quick and able to change their approach of fighting in the middle of a fight.

Sepherina was the most calm and collected while technically being the best skilled amongst the three of them. She spent a far greater time studying as many forms of fighting not only from Areto but from even Sanian, Talbek, Forianus, Khan, and Vare. Yet while being an adaptable fighter she would struggle against who fighters with good endurance and pain tolerance while being able to dish it out in return.

Going back to the fight at hand she could see Katherine grabbing Mina's other arm as she released her sword then levered herself up wrapping her legs around her sister's head. As if sensing what was about to happen Mina fell forward of her own accord just as Katherine locked her legs.

Katherine fell flat on her back she rolled to her left to get back to her feet just in time to see Mina dive at her, reacting instantly she raised a knee letting it collide with Mina's head as they fell back. Not wanting to give time for her sister to recover she kicked out again with the bent leg smashing her foot into Mina's shoulder with an audible crack.

A part of her remembered that her sister didn't have her Aura unlocked which meant she should watch her strikes but her instincts compelled her to go for the win instead. Getting back onto her feet she looked behind Mina where her weapons were then made to move around her, Mina however sprang up, her right arm limp as she used her left arm to grab Katherine's elbow pulling her close only for Mina to smash her forehead into her nose.

The two reeled back however as Katherine straightened up she was mostly fine aside from a little dizziness as her Aura had kicked in. Whereas Mina blinked a few times as she gathered her wits, a thin trail of blood was seeping over her nose from a cut on her forehead.

"Match!" A voice called out and two Handmaidens appeared pulling them a part with light but firm restraining hands. Katherine cursed under her breath she had forgotten that her mother had set a rule about drawing blood, while she won she felt cheated since it was on a technicality.

"Good match." Mina said picking up her hammer.

"Yea you too." Katherine said though they both knew that neither of them liked how the match ended.

"I told you Mina that you should have worn a helmet." Sepherina called out as the two walked towards a table where a few towels and pitchers of water were placed next to it was a table where they were putting their armor pieces as they stripped them off with the help of the Handmaidens.

"Yea but I hate wearing those old helmets, I feel like I can barely see in them." Mina said as two of the Handmaidens held her still before resetting her arm with an audible click though she didn't feel that sort of pain anymore.

"Well, technically that's true but they're pretty durable and the Praetorians fight in them all the time like it's nothing." Sepherina pointed out and Katherine snorted.

"Yea but just because they can fight in them doesn't mean we can, I could barely see out of this thing." She pointed out.

"Well in your case it's different, speaking of which when are you going to get a new eye?" Mina asked and Katherine shrugged.

"Rosenstock said he'll have her new eye ready in another week he's just been busy with some new projects that Administrator Griffin asked his assistance on." Arabella supplied.

"Back to the point though the Praetorians have trained in this sort of armor the moment they could bear the weight even back home the most head protection we had in terms of helmets still had open faces." Mina said turning back to Sepherina.

"Which if you ask me." Katherine began.

"No one ever does and you still speak." Mina butted in and Katherine shot her an annoyed look but knew not to rise to her sister's still shimmering ire.

"Oh you're done already?" A new voice asked the group looked up to see Katherine's, partner, the red head cat Faunus Eiko Ono appeared.

"Yea, it technically was my win." Katherine said as the girl stepped by her side and kissed her cheek before looking at Mina with a sigh escaping her lips.

"Again? Are you sure you shouldn't wear a helmet?" She asked pointing at one of the two helmets on another table where their armor had been laid out and Mina threw her hands up.

"Fine! I'll wear the f-." She began but Arabella hissed angrily and unsurprisingly Mina stopped talking as Nessa was watching them with rapt attention.

"Okay, okay, I'll wear a helmet next time." She said as she crossed her arms.

"What are you doing out here? I thought you were going to watch the Vytal Tournament?" Katherine asked.

"Ah, well I was watching it but some crazy blonde bimbo did something stupid and the broadcast was cut." Eiko said and Arabella frowned as she recalled seeing a dossier of the people closest to Jaune which contained what she had also described to herself as a blond girl with a giant chest surely she couldn't be talking about the same thing. Despite that with what Alexander had told her about his feelings in regard to the Vytal Tournament earlier, at first she was certain that it was just his paranoia but now she couldn't help wonder out loud.

"Was he right?"

Later that Day…

Alexander stood in one of the many courtyards of Beacon; while he didn't care much for the quiet atmosphere he did appreciate its location. Not far away were the Beacon Festival grounds, where dozens of news reporters were spread out with their crews, all of whom were no doubt talking about the incident that had occurred earlier that day.

After the end of the first match of the third round of the Vytal Tournament, Yang Xiao Long had seemingly attacked another student in an unprovoked manner. To break someone's leg in that instance on live television that anyone in the Four Kingdoms and certain Outland towns or settlements could see. Such an unsportsmanlike act done in front of millions is not going to die down quickly before the Tournament resumes.

Even he felt a little disappointed at the young brawler, he had though his advice to her after his special exercise would have left a better impact on her temperament but it seemed that wasn't the case.

What concerned him most however was the fact that Talbek said he and Areto needed to discuss something urgently with him. Though he had no idea what it might be then to top it off reports from his Ranger companies who were still moving into position around Vale but had already reported an increase in sighting of Grimm massing on the borders that were beyond the standard reports he had got his hands on that Vale had archived.

Even General Ironwood had seemed to have taken note of this, as about an hour ago he had seen twenty of the fighter-transports moving in an escort formation around one of the airships. While it was faint but when the wind blew right his hearing could pick out the sound of heavy ordnance being used.

"My Lord." A voice called out from behind him, he turned to see Areto and Talbek approaching him.

"We shouldn't be out here for long; civilians are all over the place." Areto said, her voice slightly distorted by her helmet.

"Then make this quick." Alexander said.

"We did as you asked; all ten of the Housecarls were spread out the main areas, two watching the lobbies, four patrolling the hallways so that left me, Talbek and three others inside the Colosseum watching the stands the match started. One note I will say is that we weren't able to get a proper search going because the Amity staff wouldn't let us go through saying that Atlas had already done it." Areto began.

"During the first match however is when I began to notice something odd; I was on the lowest level of the stands when I felt someone use their semblance near me." Talbek finished and Alexander raised an eyebrow.

"How do you know it was a semblance?"

"I believe it to be a semblance because it's not a power I can use, this power had the sensation that I recognize is native here." Talbek explained and Alexander rubbed his chin in thought as he looked to the sky.

"If what you're saying is true that either means that one of the Four Kingdoms is up to something or there's another variable we're not seeing here." He looked up at them.

"Who was fighting?" He asked.

"Mercury Black." Areto supplied and he hummed.

"Wasn't that the same boy that you saw approaching Jaune after it became revealed that he was my son?"

"Indeed it was my Lord."

"Interesting, I wish to speak with him, where is he?"

"I believe he's being transported off academy grounds to a hospital in Vale." Areto said and Alexander frowned.

That didn't make sense, so far all of the participants for the Vytal Tournament who had lost or were defeated had gone to Beacon's infirmary which he had seen firsthand that they had a capable group on hand. Even then they had a group of Hospitallers from the Mission detachment that had accompanied Sanian to bolster their ranks.

"What about his teammates? Where are they?"

"We know one went with him, an Emerald Sustrai, however the other two teammates were not present at the fight but from what we gathered they were or are still in Vale during the fight."

"Which Kingdom are they from?"

"Mistral sire."

"Lionheart? There's something going on here, redouble your efforts at Amity try to pressure the staff there to let you do a deep inspection, I'll have a squad of Sisters join you though anymore will arouse too much suspicion."

"Aye, I was thinking that as well after this I also plan on going to talk with Miss Xiao Long maybe she'll have an idea of what happened to her after that I'll ask Sanian if she could have some of the Sisters visit them for some question." Talbek said Alexander nodded as he dismissed the two. From behind a row of bushes came one of his Centurions, Narses, judging by the fact that he could see the Fauchard in one hand.

It was somewhat of a tradition amongst the Legion for those either reaching the rank of Centurion or who had done a distinguishable act to be allowed to attain different weapons than the standard poleaxe and arming sword. More often than not Praetorians would go for war hammers, longswords, greatswords, the occasional polearm and spears.

Unfortunately some have requested bows but they have been denied since Arcadia didn't have the means to convert such weapons into utilizing power fields. This would also be the reason why he was trying to find a suitable range weapon for the Legion to use.

While the bolters that the Sisterhood uses were strong in their own right, they were in fact inferior to the ones that most of the core members were used to. The materials and effort to craft the same quality of rounds that the Priesthood of the Red Planet had forged was beyond their means.

That being said they were making headway on developing a new suit of armor to act as a walking support unit on the battlefield for the Legion. Narses bowed before him at the waist before looking up at the High Lord.

"Sire, Lady Sanian requests your presence urgently at Beacon Tower."

A little while earlier…

Sanian watched as Ozpin, Pyrrha, Goodwitch, Ironwood and some other man went into an elevator together. She began to slowly cycle through all the cameras that she had placed throughout the tower but the more she looked the more she realized that she couldn't find them.

As per Alexander's instruction to watch Ozpin, she had decided to place cameras around Beacon Tower, most of which watched the lobby, elevators, and the main hallways on each floor. Along with that she had more cameras watching the various emergency exits and of course Ozpin's office where she had taken the special care of adding audio bugs as well.

Which she could only have done when some random drunkard had created a ruckus out on the main avenue even then she was barely able to get it done without being seen or leaving before Ozpin returned.

Now though she was glad that she did put them in, the things Ozpin had said were beyond belief. She didn't know what the Maidens were but judging by the fact that even Ironwood was in on whatever this secret was while Ozpin didn't even give a hint or trust them enough to inform them about it meant that Ozpin felt that they couldn't be trusted with it or wouldn't like hearing about it.

"Sister Kathata, are you there?" She called out as she lowered the data slate. An unarmored sister appeared at the door of the room Sanian had been sitting it.

"Is there something you need Canoness?"

"Notify the High Lord, we need to talk."

Twenty Minutes Later…

As Pyrrha exited the elevator in the main lobby in the corner of her eye she swore she saw a pair of gold armored figures entering the other elevator. Looking around at the people nearby who were staring, not at her, but the elevator meant that it might have been the case.

She ignored them however as she walked through the lobby towards the exit, her mind was still reeling from the revelations that Ozpin had told her along with her own decision. She didn't know if it was the right one even now she felt immense regret.

"Hey Pyr." A voice called out snapping her out of the haze which had started to form in her mind, Jaune was standing nearby.

"Oh! Jaune, what are you doing here?" She asked and he shrugged.

"I figured I would wait for your meeting to be over with Ozpin, Nora and Ren are heading back to the dorms with meet up with Ruby and the others before they head out to the fairgrounds." Jaune explained as the two of them walked down the steps.

"Why are they at the dorms? I thought they would have gone straight to the fairgrounds."

"I guess they wanted to go check on Yang again, she's been pretty bummed out about not being able to leave the dorms at the moment."

"Makes sense, I doubt she'll be able to leave until after the Tournament is over."

"Speaking of which, do you know when you're going?" He asked.

"I, uh, don't know exactly, it is still randomized."

"Oh yea."

"Though I don't suppose they'll do anymore matches today."

"I guess you're right." He said and the two lapsed into silence. Pyrrha felt like she should say more but, her mind felt like a mess at the moment. If cartoons were real then her mind would be various versions of herself fighting to take control of what she should do.

One part wanted to hide, bury her head to forget everything she had learned. Another part wanted to tackle Jaune to the ground, strip him of his clothes before licking and running her hands over his torso along with various other activities she could scarcely describe.

While the darker parts of her itched to get into the arena in order to vent her fury and frustration. She wanted to scream, why was she singled out, it wasn't fair everything had just started coming together but now it may get ripped away.

As Pyrrha drowned in her own thoughts again, she wasn't aware that Jaune was starting to get worried. Since he could faintly see that she was flexing her hands, a thin layer of black that he recognized as her semblance had formed, nearby a few trashcans, a couple of benches, and even a few light poles were starting to groan in unnatural ways.

"Pyrrha Nikos." A voice called out and the two of them turned around to see Sanian standing a few feet away.

"Sanian?" Jaune asked but she ignored him.

"I need you to come with me." Sanian said and Pyrrha hesitated but nodded Jaune however stepped forward.

"Why?" He asked.

"Jaune I can't tell you."

"What do you mean you can't tell me?"

"It's not your concern Jaune, don't worry about it."

"Ya know, when people say that it doesn't make a person worry any less." He said but Pyrrha grabbed his arm.

"Jaune, trust me it is fine." Pyrrha explained but judging by how Jaune's face twisted up he might not believe her however he relaxed enough to nod.

"If you say so." He said and watched at Pyrrha was essentially escorted away. Something wasn't right but he had no idea how to go about trying to get Pyrrha to talk without pressing an issue she looked to be struggling to even hide. Sighing he turned away to head back to the dorms.

The Next Day…

Alexander sat in his room alone; he was still stewing over the previous day's revelations that Sanian had been able to fish out of Pyrrha.

Sanian had tricked the young girl into believe that they were also well aware of what the Maiden secret was by claiming that they didn't show up because they had only learned of it from Ozpin when they had arrived earlier that month.

Had the girl not been so relieved to be able to talk to someone she believed to be just as surprised about Ozpin's secret she might have realized that they were obviously trying to get her to talk.

With that Alexander learned some valuable secrets and things have started to clear up in Ozpin's decision making. Yet with these answers came new questions, question that he wasn't sure if he wanted answered or not.

"Oh! Another stunning display of combat prowess from these two young ladies! I have to say this may be the best fight I've seen in the last three Vytal Tournaments!" The loud boisterous voice of Professor Port could be heard from the room's sole screen. Alexander looked up to see a replay of Pyrrha striking furiously at some orange hair girl with swords that seemed to be floating on their own around her.

He narrowed his eyes while Pyrrha seemed to have been happy about being able to talk about the Maiden secret. There was something off about how she fought, over the last few weeks he had a ring side seat at watching her fight during the Combat Class and he would acknowledge that she was an exceptional fighter even amongst her own peers.

For a brief second he watched as she looked at her weapons, a dark shadow seemed to form before disappearing in less than a few seconds. Yet he had seen it clearly, she had distorted her own weapons in frustration with what he could only guess what her semblance was. A slight pinprick nudged at his mind the more he thought about it.

Something was wrong.

Elsewhere…

Talbek descended the steps of the stands; people to either side were staring or whispering about him. He didn't blame them, as seeing a giant in blue-gray armor with a large fur cloak and bone talismans must not be a common sight amongst their kind.

He glanced over at the fierce fighting in the arena, Pyrrha had started to struggle and to Talbek it looked like she was losing her composure.

Nearby however was a familiar face, it was the green hair and red eye girl from the previous match. He hadn't expected to see her back so soon, that being said something about that irked him as he recalled that the Sisters that he had asked Sanian to send out couldn't get in contact with her, Mercury or any of her other teammates in Vale.

He started towards her, more than a few people cringed back at he passed them. Looking up he met the gaze of a pair of Sisters who had been a part of the squad Alexander had given them, while one of the Housecarls also took notice. The three of them started their way down to him as he stepped in front of her; she seemed to jump a little after a moment.

"Ms. Sustrai I need you to come with me." Talbek said but a part of his mind seemed to recoil at something as pressure seemed to build up behind his eyes.

"Yea sure, I'll come with you." The girl said as she stood up and strode towards the steps as Talbek followed a few steps. Yet he stopped to close his eyes as he focused in on himself shutting his senses off his normal senses before opening his eyes again.

The world has changed, colors were distorted and the people that surrounded him were no longer there instead humanoid of light that to him had always represented the souls of those around him. He didn't have much time to use this skill; even now shadows that weren't supposed to be there were creeping in on him much faster and in greater than normal quantities.

Looking forward again he was surprised to see that Emerald was no longer by the stairs, turning around he could see that her Soul was still in the position he found her.

From her however were two strings of light, one that connected him to her while the second was connecting her to one of the students fighting in the arena. Though only one looked normal, the other student looked more like an outline of a soul bearing person rather than the ones he could see sitting around him.

That's when it clicked, Yang's testimony and the feeling he had sensed during her round of someone using their semblance in the audience. The girl must have been tricking him with her semblance which she was also using on the other participants in the contesting affecting their mental states.

"What the fuck!" Someone shouted as Talbek whirled around grabbing where Emerald's head should be though he didn't hear them. As he opened his eyes, his senses returned to normal with a slightly dizzying effect. Emerald was held aloft in his hand which was wrapped around her face with his armored finger tips digging into her skull with enough force that she was trying but failing to pry it off her.

Across from them Jaune stood up when he noticed Talbek holding someone from the head. Nora and Ren stood up as well before following him as he ran around the lower level to reach the armored giant.

In the stadium arena below them, Pyrrha blinked and she wondered if she just zoned out. Across from her Penny's swords were poised to strike but Pyrrha had a realization that somehow eluded her in the beginning of the fight.

She knew that there were metal cords or strings attached to the sword how Penny was able to control them with just wires was beyond her but it was enough information to act on. Using her semblance openly for the first time in her fighting career Pyrrha rushed forward as Penny lashed out at her.

With a wave of her hand as she activated her semblance affecting the strings she pushed them to either side like a wave breaking around the bow of a ship while twisting them up before slamming them into the ground behind her at full force giving her the time she needed to close the distance while she called Miló and Akoúo back to her hands.

Penny, while caught off guard, was still able to dodge a fair number of strikes from Pyrrha as she tried to untangle her weapons. Despite her best effort though Pyrrha was still able to keep the pressure up using her semblance to keep an active watch on the various strings in order to gleam what direction they might come from.

While Penny had been able to untangle her wires she had taken more strikes that she knew that she was about to lose. She lashed out at Pyrrha but the red head pushed aside her sword with her semblance or blocked with her shield.

Pyrrha ducked under a sword then jumped up to avoid another, as she spun in the air she flung Akoúo at Penny striking her chest hard. As she caught her shield upon landing Pyrrha lashed out with three quick thrust that made the other girl stumble back. She then spun to the side to avoid another blade however Miló shifted in her hand turning into its javelin form just before Pyrrha slammed the weapon into Penny's face sending the other girl to the ground.

A green light covered Penny before shattering and a horn sounded to end the match as the crowd went wild. Penny for the most part looked fine as she looked at Pyrrha who held a hand out to pull her up. The red head couldn't help but see the hint of sadness in the other girl's eyes as she took her hand but it was quickly overwhelmed by the look of joy that sprouted out of her.

"That was amazing!" The other girl shouted before hugging Pyrrha in a surprisingly powerful grip that locked her arms to the side. Yet she couldn't help but feel a little happy, her troubles from before momentarily forgotten Pyrrha reveled in a hard fought victory.

High up on the roof of Amity Colosseum, Cinder Fall and a red garbed armored soldier with a snarling beast mask covering the lower half of his obviously scarred face were watching the two girls embracing on the area with the match over.

More importantly however they were watching the tall armored figure grabbing Emerald, Cinder felt a smoldering anger raise up before it was washed over with calm acceptance.

It didn't matter in the end her new allies, the Ghourra, an odd name but she didn't care, were everything she hoped for and more. With the remaining Dust she found from Roman's hideouts they crafted more than a dozen bombs each as powerful as the ones that the train in Mountain Glen had.

She then had all of them planted just under the stands while making sure that the Atlas and Arcadian people were turned away by the staff who she had Emerald bride or trick into helping them.

In Vale Damogaur Ara'sax's small army was waiting to launch their attack, since they were vastly outnumbered and outgunned all she needed them to do was sow enough damage to throw the city into terror for more Grimm to hone in on. While Adam Taurus had pooled all of his White Fang forces into the attack on Beacon, Ara'sax also said he still had some choice units waiting to provide support if Adam needed it.

"Do it." She said and the man nodded as he pulled out a blocky square device with a red button on it. He pressed it, below them the unsuspecting crowd was torn asunder as more than a dozen explosive devices went off simultaneously.

A lot of the crowd were students with their Auras unlocked though even that didn't save those that sat directly above the devices who were outright killed by the explosions while those at the fringe at worst suffered Aura breaks. However there were also a number of people that didn't have their Auras unlocked, civilians and families that had come to watch the Tournament they would suffer even more grievously.

In less than a minute, almost two hundred people were dead with nearly twice that wounded. Talbek who had been about to hand off Emerald to the two waiting Sisters and the Housecarl were thrown off the stands along with Emerald.

To the far west in the Vale docks a little less than two thousand soldiers of the group soon to be known as the Ghourras or Ghourraians to most of the world were waiting. A lot of them had been setting road blocks while others worked on trucks jury-rigged with sixteen tubes on their beds each slotted with a 132mm high explosive warhead rockets.

When the explosions rocked Amity, the signal was given. The jury-rigged trucks released their content all at once; civilians in the nearby areas would look up in surprise as the noise of dozens upon dozens of rockets soared into the sky before coming back down.

When buildings and cars were being destroyed in fiery explosions as civilians were killed or thrown about like leafs in the wind panic set in fast.

That wasn't the end of Vale's problems, while the Ghourraians on the dock shifted their rocket artillery. They began to send out the bulk of their numbers into the rest of the Industrial District in platoon or company sized groups.

However there was also a much more dangerous force amongst their numbers. There were six groups of power armored giants wielding weapons while not the more unique looking but utterly devastation in their potential roamed the streets. They would hunt down anyone, be it man, woman or child that may have crossed their path while targeting key municipal targets within the Industrial District.

It wasn't long before the Vale authorities reacted sending in dozens of police cars into the Vale Industrial District as reinforcements while firefighters and medical personnel struggle with the devastation. The police already inside struggled to almost no avail, outgunned and outmaneuvered at almost every point of contact that within an hour almost a quarter of the Industrial District out of Vale's control with nearly being seriously contested mainly by the timely arrival of professional Huntsmen still in the city or arriving from Beacon.

At the same time, the outlying Arcadian Ranger companies flashed the Division headquarters as the Grimm moved towards the city before the bulk of the Battalion headed towards the coast. Already in the sky, Atlas and Arcadian aerial units were starting to engage Nevermores that had risen out of the eastern edge of the Emerald and Forever Fall forests.

Looking back west towards the Arcadian Fleet however they were in disarray, out towards open water a number of Frigates picked up movement from sea based Grimm. The Task Group's Frigates had deployed their depth charges to prevent anything coming right under them.

However the lesser Grimm were still swimming into them detonating the charges leaving room for a swarm of Sea Feilongs to surface though they were well within the range of the various 12.7, 20, 37 and 40 mm Point Defense Weapons of the Fleet. The appearance of the Sea Feilongs however prevented the Carriers Amatheia and the Ceto from launching anymore aircraft to support the few Flights that were already in the sky.

However the fleet's contingent of Valkyries and Vulture Gunships had been transferred to the mainland thus would be able to provide a measure of aerial support where needed. The Atlas air fleet was the lynchpin of the aerial forces as their multitude of autocannons, missiles and laser batteries killing anything that got close to their formation over Vale.

At the borders of Vale, Heider's 14th Division however was well prepared for what was coming towards them from the outside.

To the north along the southern edge of the Forever Fall forest claimed by Vale was protected by the 72nd Line Infantry would be face down over a dozen Ursai packs, the smallest pack being around forty strong while at the far end the largest pack was close to two hundred.

To their east were the stretched out battalions of the 73rd who were holding the boundary of the Forever Fall forest that met the Emerald Forest. They would suffer a quick but deadly charge from Beowolves on their right flank that had skirted the entrenched heavy infantry of the 71st, who were getting locked in by more Beowolves and a dozen Death Stalkers, while Ursai pushed hard on their left flank with a relatively small pack Nevermores. The flying Grimm were picking out their key entrenchments namely static Heavy Stubbers and mortar teams until a pair of Hydra Flak Tanks arrived to chase them off in a hail of autocannon fire.

To the far south however the 75th Heavy Armor had a whole different issue, while the south had wide open space, which would provide clear line of sights and optimal maneuvering room. There was however snag to it since the southern flank of Vale was one of the Agriculture Districts.

So they were forced to contend with the fact that if they're forced back they'll be stuck in bottlenecks while the Grimm could bypass them by using the various facilities and valuable farmlands to move through. The best case scenario would see to it that the valuable crops and food production facilities would be destroyed or seriously damaged regardless if they fired in them. Worst case would be that Vale would have to abandon a significant portion of their southern Agriculture District.

As such their full strength, three hundred Arcadian tanks, along with their Armored Recon Company consisting of twenty Tauros Rapid Assault Vehicles, were stretched out along with the full support of six Heavy Weapons Companies, five combat sections of Sisters and a Flight of Avenger Strike Fighters at the furthest edge of the Agriculture District. Ready to tackle a horde of forty Goliaths, twenty two Deathstalkers, a dozen King Taijitus along with over a thousand Ursai and Beowolves.

Back in the sky however with the fire from Amity becoming more noticeable Atlas decided to break up their formation with three airships heading towards Beacon. While the remained in stations over Vale providing the occasional air to ground fire support to the beleaguered forces in the Industrial District.

At the same time a hundred Atlesian Fighter-transports were deployed all of which first flew over their designated drop zones releasing the waiting Atlesian Knights before turning to engage the increasing mass of Grimm in the sky. Six hundred Atlesian Knights would be deployed on top of the four hundred Knights that had been deployed previously within Vale.

An additional twenty Fighter-transport were dedicated to supporting the evacuation of Amity Colosseum to the nearby Fairground though a flock of Nevermores were causing trouble there as well. A handful of students, a few Beacon faculty members, a few dozen Atlesian Knights, a Arcadian infantry platoon along with a pair of Chimeras and three Tauroses that were keeping the area from getting overrun for the time being. Public transportation had also been organized to take the civilians or students there either towards the relative safety of Beacon though that was cut off soon while the majority of the transports headed westward to the Commercial District.

Beacon soon had a problem of their own on hand; the White Fang had launched a large scale attack on it. The main group was moving in rapidly via Bullheads dropping off their members on the landing pads where they began to fire or fight with anyone that had been in the vicinity.

Defending Beacon however was three companies of Arcadian infantry with their accompanying light armor, two Heavy Weapons Companies, the last three combat sections of Sisters and two Centuriae. Then there was also the Beacon staff. Unfortunately there were only twelve teachers there as the majority had either been at Amity or responded to the crisis in Vale. The other force at Beacon was Atlas who had a hundred soldiers, twelve Paladins along with a hundred and twenty Knights.

The Arcadians however was stretched thin due to two very important positions, there was the artillery batteries to the eastern cliffs. There five Goliath and three Earthshaker Batteries were providing vital support to the regiments in the Emerald and Forever Fall Forests. Then the more important of the two being Beacon Tower where most of the defenders were situated around since it was serving as the heart of their continental operation.

As a second wave of Bullheads advance closer towards Beacon with the aim of dropping within the school, any observer however could see that many of them had cables attached to cages with Grimm in them. Before they even reached the landing pads however a pair of Hydras and four Sabre Halftracks opened up on the approaching aircraft.

In the first minute, a third of the aircraft would be knocked out of the sky while the others broke off to circle around or proceed immediately to secondary drop zones. They began taking more ground fire however as Heavy Weapons specialists equipped with Pegasus Anti-Air Launchers or as most infantry prefer to call them, P.A. , the remaining Bullheads fell from the sky on fire or peeled off as their pilots broke from the attack.

On the ground the Arcadian force was getting in position as the first wave of White Fang was busy fighting anyone still left from the landing pads. While most of them got away there were a fair number of people that went down during the fighting.

As soon as the last student or faculty member was dead or out of the way the Arcadians opened fire. Six infantry squads supported by four Chimeras with their Heavy Stubbers along with four Tauroses two of which sported a twenty millimeter autocannon firing Semi Armor Piercing High Explosive Incendiary rounds. In addition to that there were two Saber Halftracks and a Hydra Anti-Air tank as the others began to move to cover more ground in case more Bullheads try to circle around their line.

While the White Fang weren't incompetent the vast majority of them have never been in combat against a well-trained and prepared force in great numbers as they favored hit and run tactics or sabotage so they could normally avoid the slow but crushing force of any significant Kingdom force.

So when the fifty odd rifles, shoulder fired rockets, six autocannons, Assault and Heavy stubbers began firing at them within seconds a few dozen White Fang members would die in the opening minute under the hail of gunfire regardless of their Aura which was quickly overwhelmed by the superior firepower while suppressing the rest. A lot of the soldiers firing would later note that at least one of the White Fang members, dressed differently than the others seemed to be unfazed by the gunfire though he was lost in the fray.

From the north and south more gunfire rippled out as the neat lines of Atlesian Knights and soldiers behind them emerged as they advanced closer towards the platforms with the support of the full contingent of Atlesian Paladins. As they closed in on the ever shrinking White Fang force they inevitably began to crossing the line of sight for most of the Arcadians. This forced the Arcadian infantry to stop firing though the light armor continued to fire the occasional burst over their heads.

As the Atlas force closed in there was an ear piercing crack that was accompanied by an explosion as one of the Paladins was torn asunder from something, the defending force turned in the direction of the shot.

Even in the dark they could see trees being pushed aside like grass as a massive rust colored tank rolled out with hundreds of red cladded infantry and White Fang marked Paladins advancing to either side of it immediately assaulting the northern Atlas group under a heavy weight of fire. The combine fire from three of the White Fang Paladins would destroy a second Atlas Paladin while sponsons from the massive tank shot out lances of energy that ripped apart the main canopy of a third Paladin in a bright explosion.

With one flank ground to a halt, the second half soon came under attack this time not by an overwhelming force of numbers and armor. Instead sixteen giants in grey and bronze armor came walking almost casually out from the trees leading them were another three lumbering humanoid armored giants that were even bigger than the others.

Despite their small numbers their weapons sewed destruction amongst the Atlas force as a torrent of mass reactive rounds and energy weapons slammed at them with daunting accuracy. With the Atlas group pinned on both flanks the White Fang took this chance to move forward to engaging them as well.

All cohesion broke at that point, the human soldiers and quickly dwindling Paladins backed up as the Atlesian Knights bought precious seconds as they were destroyed by the dozens.

With the retreating Atlas force blocking any reasonable line of sight, the Arcadians began to withdraw as well.

With the west line of the defenders collapsing, the main force of the assault group namely the red soldiers and grey armored warriors would regroup though the grey armored warriors would soon disperse on their own accord. The red cladded soldiers however began digging foxholes while some of them began to set up light machine guns and looted mortars taken from a previous battle they had been a part of when they first arrived to this world.

The massive tank rumbled onto the avenue, its spiked tracks and weight ripping up the cobble ground as its main turret swiveled around tracking the retreating armor firing another ear piercing shot that obliterated a Sabre halftrack.

Of the pair of four barreled sponsons, one would track the fleeing Paladins as well before firing, a bright beam of energy shot out at one of the Paladins. However the pilot whether by luck or skill moved in time for the shot to bounce the shot though it still crippled the arm while the deflected beam struck a nearby column destroying it. The second would fire at one of the Tauroses obliterating it completely in a cloud of fire and debris.

Adam Taurus stood apart from his White Fang group watching the red cladded soldiers, Ghourraians if he recalled correctly. They were spreading out in rough groups that numbered anywhere from thirty to a hundred strong. There was another ear piercing crack as the tank fired, to either side the formations they gathered in began to move into the school as the foxholes with looted mortars began to fire shells into the school indiscriminately.

He didn't like them, sure he respected their ruthlessness but something about them set his teeth on edge like a feeling that he needed to draw Wilt to spill the blood of enemies. As for the grey armored giants, he liked them even less as they had the opposite effect on him, a feeling he disliked, it was the feeling of fear.

Speaking of which he looked back towards Beacon; there was a slight flutter in his chest as a different kind of anger brewed within him. She was here and he knew it all that was left would be to drag her out of hiding like the coward she was.

Meanwhile…

The tower rumbled as Alexander watching the distant firefights break out as the enemy vanguard pushed eastward. At the base of the tower the Zophiel was with Narses's Centuria as they formed up with one of Sanian's combat sections. At the moment their heavy support, in the form of four Assault Lancers along with six Serpent Infantry Guns, was digging in as fast as they could. Already a few mortars rounds were falling at the edge of the square though most landed on the school buildings.

The bulk of their defense however really relied upon his infantry companies which were already fairly spread out to cover the northern and southern flanks to prevent the enemy from encircling them or striking at the artillery batteries to the east. Grylla Centuria had been split up to reinforce key points along their line with the rest of the Sisterhood Combat Sections were attached with them to counter their range weakness.

Yet that all hinged on the point that the one infantry platoon along with most of the Heavy Weapons Companies armor was locked in a rearguard action. As such he had ordered an additional three platoons to move into the bordering buildings. With the dual purpose of not only evacuating any students or staff still inside but also to be used as a rendezvous point to link up with the rearguard before pulling back into the square.

How the Archenemy managed to get a functional Fellblade tank into Vale unnoticed was beyond him but now it was the single most destructive weapon the Archenemy had on the field against his forces.

Hopefully Stanfleda Raulon would arrive in time to support them. Though Alexander knew that most of House Raulon's contingent would be directed towards Vale since they had no presence there. He figured that the Four Kingdoms wouldn't kick up a fuss about him moving military assets into the Kingdom Capital at this point.

He looked up to the skies he could see the thin dotted lines of autocannon fire going after a creature or the flashing light of rocket racing towards a target along with the occasional flash of something catching fire or exploding. A Bullhead came screaming into view, one wing aflame with a dozen Nevermore feather sticking out of it as it spun out of control before slamming into the roof of a distant dorm building.

Behind him were dozens of voices belonging to the Army Division staff as they talked at the same time into their respective vox sets or to each other as they tried to assimilate the information coming to them from all the Arcadian units in the field at once.

"Should we go down there?" Sanian asked behind him and he turned to look at her. Sanian was no longer in her convent outfit. Instead she wore ornate white armor with gold lined plates with crimson robes that hung from her waist and shoulders along with wearing a white Sallet style helmet with the visored that was opened up so he could see her face. He noted the hint of concern at the subtle shift of muscles as she clenched her jaw.

More importantly however was the glow that emitted from her entire body as if she was a walking lamp, it was not a natural glow though and it had taken some time for even Alexander to get used to Sanian's ability though he reckoned that she still struggled with it sometimes.

He remembered when she was young and had come to him with tears in her eyes after she had unlocked her ability. The words he spoke to her as he consoled her would be something that she would have never forgotten; power was not always a gift but burden.

"Not yet, I have to see Ozpin." Alexander said evenly before slipping on his helmet letting it lock around his head with a hiss before striding towards the elevator with Sanian behind him.

The two of them couldn't fit into the same elevator but thankfully there were two elevators already on their floor for them to get into. As Sanian watched the doors close to her elevator she took a deep breath before exhaling, the prospect of battle was invigorating but there were a number of things that felt off.

First was Ozpin's secret and his move to get Pyrrha on his side happening hours before this attack seemed too close to be coincidence. Second was the astonishing level of coordination that seemed to be occurring, the fleet was in disarray, Amity Colosseum was on fire, the Grimm pressing in on all sides while the White Fang and Archenemy assault them cutting them off from the city of Vale.

The elevator dinged and Sanian stepped out. In front of her Ozpin was walking towards them with his cane in hand, what she wasn't expecting however was seeing Alexander lunging forward at Ozpin. Judging by the way he jerked back in surprise neither was he, in what like a blink of an eye Alexander had covered the twenty meters from the elevator to the far end while pinning the Headmaster to the large window right behind his desk which had gotten flung effortlessly aside.

Ozpin now squirmed in the larger man's grip, the cold metal of his gauntlet was wrapped around his neck and the tip of his sword rested an inch away from his sternum as he was held a few feet off the floor. While his cane was pressing against Alexander's chest plate in return however Ozpin knew he was at a disadvantage.

The High Lord's physical strength more than just matched his appearance; on top of that he was in fact surprisingly fast despite his size and armor.

While Ozpin felt certain that in a fair fight he would win more often than not he would be a fool to disregard the fact that Alexander was seen as an expert melee fighter amongst a field of already impressive warriors that was his Praetorian Legion.

Ozpin had seen the footage Qrow had managed to get for him of Alexander's Legionaries sparring with each other and had to admit they could beat the less experienced half of the Huntsmen in the field right now while giving the more experienced half a run for their money.

"I'm tired of your games Headmaster." Alexander said, his voice distorted by his helmet.

"I'm not sure what you're talking about." Ozpin said as Alexander's grip which had been making breathing difficult loosened up but not enough that he could break away cleanly.

"You knew something was going to happen, that's why you brought in Pyrrha. Now tell me everything you withheld from her about these Maidens and why are they so important."

"Now, isn't, the time if the Tower falls then so shall you."

"Is that a threat?" Alexander asked his blade lighted up, blue energy coursing over the finely wrought blade and Ozpin felt a pang of fear wash through him.

"Stop! Stop, I'll tell you everything you need to know but not now everything will be for naught if the tower falls."

"My lord, we should listen to him. Heider's Division is hanging on for now but if we can't deal with the White Fang and Archenemy here fast enough to get a lid on things in Vale the Kingdom might be in serious trouble and so will we." Sanian said though she had her hand on her sword ready to draw in case Ozpin tried fighting.

Though like a signal that there were indeed more important things to worry about the tower rumbled again as something struck it, turning towards a nearby window to look down Sanian could see the flashes of muzzle fire as the fighting grew closer.

Alexander released Ozpin as his sword deactivated, the Headmaster looked at the taller man but his face was inscrutable with the helmet on and so was the woman who he guessed was Sanian Arc that stood further back.

Ozpin watched as the two of them left, the tower rumbling again as something hit it again. He would keep his word to tell him about the Maidens but that didn't bother him, if he could convince Alexander to help him then it would be a win in his book but that was a topic for another time.

The most important thing right now was finding Pyrrha.

Meanwhile…

Pyrrha woke up and immediately felt like she was in a nightmare. Everything looked like it was on fire, people were screaming or shouting as the clash of metal rang out. Someone was shouting at her from nearby but for some reason her ears didn't seem to be working, looking down at her hands she realized that her Aura was shimmering which must have meant that she had taken a hefty hit.

"Can you fight!?" A voice finally came through to her mind and she looked up to see Penny standing nearby. Her floating swords spun in a lazy orbit around them before three of them zoomed out to strike at something which shrieked in pain.

Turning her head she could see a massive Nevermore flapping its wings as it stumbled back from the blow and there were Griffons who were swooping down to attack people in the stands. People were falling to their claws or beaks regardless of whether they had Aura or not since weaponless only a few could challenge the creatures by strength alone.

However Penny wasn't the only one fighting, not that far from them on the arena was the hulking form of the warrior Jaune had called Talbek who cut the head of a Griffon with an axe as the women from the Sisterhood fired their bulky looking weapons.

Pyrrha had to admit they were rather effective, each shot she could see that penetrated the hide of a Grimm then exploded ripping chunks out of it that a few well-placed shots would kill a Grimm faster than most conventional Dust firearms she knew of, even most of the Arcadian infantry weapons paled in comparison. Yet there weren't that many of them and three of them were wounded to the point of requiring serious medical treatment soon with another two clearly dead as their remains would probably fit in a stew pot.

"Ms. Nikos!? Are you alright?" A familiar voice called out as Pyrrha got to her feet calling Akoúo and Miló to her via her semblance. Looking up she could see Professor Port and Doctor Oobleck with weapons in hand.

"I'm good!" She replied a part of her realized that she was yelling which may had to do with the loud ringing that made it difficult to gauge her own voice.

Something flew down nearby, Pyrrha turned to see a locker open up with a familiar sword and shield. Jaune appeared from behind it grabbing Crocea Mors as other lockers landed around the arena a number of them glancing off the Nevermore itself making it fall to the ground. Teams CFVY, SSSN, and BRNZ had joined in on the fight as well tackling the Grimm as they did so with gusto.

"You guys!" Another voice shouted out and Pyrrha turned to see Ruby running to them.

"Ruby? Are you okay?" Jaune called out to his fellow team leader and the shorter girl nodded as she pointed behind her.

"Mercury is back there, I think he had something to do with this." She said and Pyrrha frowned she recalled that Mercury had apparently been injured after his match with Yang so this didn't make any sense to her.

"Explain later, kill first!" Nora called out as she joined in on the attack of the large Nevermore and remaining Griffons that seemed to circle around it preventing most of their attacks from getting to it. In the corner of her eye Pyrrha saw Talbek move forward with surprising grace and speed despite his massive armored frame cutting the head off a Gr iffon that tried attacking him.

"Stand back!" He shouted loud enough for all of them to hear as he faced against the large Nevermore. Recognition and fear washed over Pyrrha as Talbek's eyes turned blue with energy. Tiny electrical arcs dancing out from his eyes as he raised a hand shouting something that no one there could hear or understand for their minds could not comprehend the words that were spoken.

In fact in the Kingdom of Vale there were only four individuals that could understand the words he spoke including himself there was Sanian Arc, Ozpin and one other that patiently watch the unfolding bloody battle high in the night sky.

Above Amity Colosseum there was a loud rumble before a lightning bolt the size of an Ursa Major cracked out striking the Nevermore with smaller but still potent tendrils that reached out to hit the remaining Griffons circling around it.

As quick as it appeared the lightning was gone leaving behind the dissolving corpses of the Grimm that broke apart into clouds of the dark miasma commonly seen from their deaths. Pyrrha blinked hard to clear her vision as her ears rang loudly again, she was fairly certain that her Aura had protected her from going blind or deaf but it still left a brief mark.

"What the fuck was that!?" Someone shouted nearby as Pyrrha looked around, the Grimm were dead though in the sky above them were more Griffons and Nevermores but they were keeping their distance for now.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune shouted and the next thing she knew a pair of arms wrapped around her from behind.

"Jaune!?" She exclaimed a part of her knew that now wasn't the time for this but she couldn't help but feel relaxed in his grip.

"I was so worried when I woke up; you were on the ground unconscious long enough that if it wasn't for Penny you would have been killed by that Nevermore." He said and Pyrrha turned to look at the other girl who was being looked over by Ruby. Though what she saw was something that she didn't expect. The left side of Penny's face was skinless showing a cracked metallic cheekbone along with a black empty looking eye socket while her left arm ended at the shoulder though frayed wire stuck out. Looking around once more Pyrrha noted that there was a hole in the area ground indicating something had exploded there as well and surmised that Penny's injuries must have been from it. This left her to wonder just how much of Penny was actually human or machine.

"Ex infectis machina." A nearby voice laden with disgust said making Jaune turn to see Talbek in a guard stance staring at the injured Penny who Ruby stood protectively in front of.

"Talbek what are you doing?" Jaune asked but the grizzled old warrior clearly no longer his jovial self. He was furious, part of which was directed inwards for failing to realize the trap in addition to losing sight of Emerald in the explosion while being certain that she along with her team must be a part of this debacle. The other part was at what he knew to be a soulless machine that could not be trusted.

"Stand back Jaune." Talbek said as the Housecarls and remaining Sisters pointed their weapons at Penny which prompted the students who had come to help to put their weapons up as well pointed at the Arcadians.

"Stand down Talbek." One of the Housecarls said and Jaune recognized the figure of Areto striding towards them. Her surcoat was ripped in a few areas and there were a few noticeable dents in her chest plate.

"We don't have time for this Talbek; we must escort the High Prince and the wounded Sisters to the docking bays for evacuation." Areto said standing in front of the larger warrior.

"You know as well as I Housecarl that this thing violates the 12th Universal Law, both the High Lord and the Forge Master will not be pleased to hear that Atlas is tinkering with such things." Talbek said and Areto sighed which sounded weird in her helmet.

"Here they come again!" One of the Sisters shouted before the loud booming of their weapons resumed.

"But you're right we can deal with it later, I'll stay here to deal with the Grimm take the others and get out of here." Talbek said as the two of them looked up to see a swarm of Griffons flying down.

"Don't think you'll fight own old man, we shall lend you a hand so three of us shall be more than enough to handle these little fellas." Professor Port called out with Doctor Oobleck hefting his weapon as well.

"Wait we can fight!" Ruby called out but Areto stepped in front of her.

"No Ms. Rose we'll take the wounded and head towards the docking bay, your part here is done."

"Ruby we must not get in their way." Penny said and Ruby looked a little hesitant but reluctantly agreed before following the others towards the closest exit where three of the Sisters were firing their weapons at any Grimm that tried coming after them.

Running through the hallways Pyrrha could see the explosions had a much greater effect as here and there were unnatural cracks running up the walls with even smoke leaking out from under a door marked as maintenance only.

After a few minutes of running the group reached the docking bay, the turmoil of hundreds of people talking, crying or yelling could be heard well before they got there. In the skies beyond the floating Colosseum raged a battle that was almost impossible to truly discern in the night sky.

Yet it was almost entrancing to watch tracers streak through the black or the brief blossoming effect indicating something exploded. Whether it was a missile impact or aircraft getting struck was impossible to tell save for the occasional comet like object streaking briefly towards the ground.

Gunfire cracked out and the group turned to see General Ironwood blasting a hole in a Beowolf Alpha's head. How the wingless creature managed to get up here was something Pyrrha wasn't quite sure but then again had someone asked her if a terrorist attack would happen at the Vytal Festival she would have said that to be impossible as well.

They approached the older man and Pyrrha listened idly as she realized something Ozpin had told her about the importance of the Maiden secret.

The timing of him asking her to take the responsibility was suspiciously close to the timing of this event, had the Headmaster suspected that this would happen? If so then that meant time was running out for her decision on whether or not she should in fact take the other half of the Fall Maiden's power. If this was somehow tied to the Maidens then that would mean that who attacked the poor girl before was trying to claim the other half from the comatose Maiden.

"You've been through a lot but remember that this isn't the time to hide your head in the dirt but to stand up both for yourselves and others." Ironwood said as he stepped onto the ramp of a Fighter-transport inside she could see a detachment of Knights standing still for him as he walked past them. The ramp closed and the group watched as it moved away from the docking bay. Areto began to herd them towards other airships that were being loaded up with people.

However as they moved away it would be at that moment that Roman Torchwick took over Ironwood's flagship.

With Torchwick uploading what would soon be known as the Black Queen's Virus into the command console on Ironwood's ship it would be the mark of a dark stain on the record of Atlas for years to come. As it would give not only the full scope of the ship's systems to Torchwicks disposal but also infecting the Atlesian Knights and Paladins that had wireless data or command links with the Flagship.

At the same time with the Virus in the CCT it would go out to infect the rest of the Atlas Air Fleet's connections that every ship lost control over their robotic detachments. While they quickly identified what the threat was the Virus was programmed with foreknowledge in being able to adaptively beat the firewalls and procedures they had in place.

In addition to that Torchwick began to hunt down the two escort airships that had accompanied the Atlas Flagship firing the main laser battery into the rear of the closest airship knocking out its rear spine propulsion units before firing two more times destroying the portside nacelle.

As the airship listed to the side the second airship began to turning desperately trying to figure out what was going on but garbling noise that the CCT was producing was crippling their radio systems. A fourth shot from the Flagship would strike the remaining escort right at the bridge killing the crew instantly as explosions chained through the vessels before exploding in the sky showering the land beneath it with flaming wreckage.

Ruby who had been watching the devastation from inside an airship that was heading to Beacon with the others would literally jumped ship much to the shock of the others. Though Jaune trusted her enough to know what she was doing, he looked back out the window he stood at with Areto looking down towards Beacon.

The Academy was alight with unchecked fires ranging in a number of the buildings in the outer sections. Jaune could also make out the faint flashes of muzzle fire or tracers as who knows how many skirmishes were being fight down there.

"Do you think Ruby will be alright?" Pyrrha asked from behind him and Jaune sighed inwardly as he looked at her

"Honestly at this point it doesn't matter; right now what I'm worried about is what we're flying into down there." Jaune said and Pyrrha nodded.

"Don't worry Jaune, I have faith in you." She said warmly before going back to sit with Ren and Nora. Turning back to the window he rested his forehead against it and Areto would be the only one to hear him whisper.

"That makes one of us."

Elsewhere…

Yang ran through the halls of the dorm building, students were panicking some were grabbing their belongings while others barricaded themselves in their rooms. Yet there were also quite a few of them that were calling their lockers, which crashed through walls or ceilings to get weapons to either defend themselves or the school though very few of them were actually organized to go out and fight.

Turning a corner Yang saw a few Arcadian soldiers heading into a room followed by the quick sounds of glass shattering. Quickly looking in she could see two soldiers clearing the window before a third soldier set down what she remembered was called an Assault Stubber. In a few moments the long barreled machine gun let out a loud burst of fire spraying spent bullet casings onto the carpet.

Yang continued running down the hall, occasionally spotting a group of soldiers firing from some of the abandoned rooms. As she headed towards the main stairs the building shook violently as something exploded looking up she jumped aside as a part of the ceiling caved in as what looked to be a ruined Bullhead slammed into the top of the building.

"Fuck!" Yang said as she jumped over the railing just as a part of the Bullhead crashed into where she once stood. Thankfully she was only on the third floor so jumping hadn't been much of an issue. Looking up she was now in the main hall, papers were scattered everywhere and the echoing roar of gunfire could be heard coming from one end, most likely the main lobby.

So she moved down the hall towards the main lobby as she reached it the noise and evidence of fighting was much more noticeable now. In the stretch of hallway to either side of the archway that led to the main lobby she could see the dead and dying that had been brought in from the main lobby. Moving past them she was careful not to jostle any of the medics or people on the ground as she entered the lobby.

Atlas and Arcadian soldiers were firing out the windows or main door. While in the center where the circular reception desk was located a few Arcadian soldiers were talking into handsets connected to large bulky looking boxes each with an antenna sticking out of them.

Looking around she could see that there was no point going out the front, while she wasn't sure what the entire situation was like outside she figured that being outside is essentially going to leave her an open target intentional or not.

As she turned to look for another exit that wasn't embroiled with fighting to her left a part of the wall exploded inward making her cover her face as dust and fragments bounced off her. There was more shouts and gunfire roared out but it wasn't coming from anyone inside the building but from the hole in the wall.

She was hit three times, the blows weren't painful and she knew her Aura would keep her safe but the blows still made her jerk backwards before falling on her backside. Others weren't as lucky as her however as most of the Arcadians didn't have Aura those closest to the wall had been killed, wounded or dazed by it before swiftly being shot as well.

Yang leapt up activating Ember Celica as the room's occupants finally reacted firing back with their weapons or pulling the injured into cover. She pushed forward with her hands raised as she approached these people.

They were a lot different than the ones she had faced in the Hurin Valleys as they were almost like a poor man's parody of the armored appearance that the Arcadians exuded.

Yet while the air they gave off was not exactly the same it gave off a far more blood chilling vibe in their blood red clothes under their mismatched red and bronze spiked armor. Their appearance and manners suggested at least to Yang's mind that spilling blood was something they not only looked forward to but excelled at in their own professional manner.

Despite this odd tremor in her body she knew that there was no way she could back down especially as a soldier tried to cover her only to get hit in the throat causing a brief squirt of blood before he clapped a gloved hand around his neck. With a snarl she lunged over his fallen body at the nearest enemy, they leveled a wood and metal rifle at her before letting loose their entire magazine into her.

Yang however wasn't going to be deterred by the gunfire as she knew she had the upper handed in close combat. Smashing the rifle aside with a back handed blow she hammered her right fist into the snarling half mask shattering it and the man's head in one blow.

Everything seemed to stop at that as if the entire battlefield went silent to look at the man she had just killed. She looked up at the nearest intruder; their brown bloodshot eyes stared at her with an intelligence that told her he was about to act.

As if a switch was thrown the remaining intruders turned their guns on her at once but Yang was quicker. With a quick two punches she dropped another two with a shotgun shell each to the face before for closing in on two others. She punched the first one in the chest, bones shattered under the blow before sending a spinning high kick into the other man's face shattering his cheek and jaw as he crumpled to the ground.

Beyond the hole in the wall Yang spotted a trio of men in a rough line, two held rifles but the third one on the right had a long thin tube which he slotted a relative thin looking warhead into the front before pulling a small pin off the very end. She jumped diagonally to her right then left before rolling to avoid the gunfire as she didn't want to take too much damage since she knew it was gonna be a hard night.

She got to her feet within lunging distance while boosting her speed with Ember Celica to quickly get in close to upper cut the first man shattering his skull before swinging once into the other man's leg ripping a chunk out of the thigh with a blast of her gauntlet before blasting him in the chest with her other hand.

The last man aimed the rocket launcher at her but she kicked it off aim at the last second as he pulled the trigger before blasting his face with her gauntlet. Unfortunately the rocket soared into the hole she had just come out off before a sharp thump echoed out the moans and screams of people in pain quickly followed after.

Atlas soldiers came out with their weapons at ready while an Arcadian soldier began setting up an Assault Stubber on the rubble. The Atlas soldiers pushed north towards the fairgrounds while half a dozen Arcadian soldiers came out of the hole.

"You there!" Yang turned to them, four of them jogged past her before taking up a rough semicircle with their weapons out while two stood in front of her.

"What is it?" Yang asked wishing to get whatever they wanted over with so she could find Blake and Weiss.

"You're a student right?" The taller of the two asked and Yang nodded.

"I'm a Beacon student but hey look, I need to go find my teammates, so whatever it is you want get it out right now." She said but then someone shouted for them to get down and they complied as overhead a duo of rockets roared in striking the third floor above them showering them in debris. The soldiers around her began to fire quick bursts or on semi auto while the Assault Stubber let rip a long burst.

"Look we need you with us; this place is going to fold soon." He said then pointed at a headless corpse.

"That kind of strength with your Aura will really help us out here."

"I'm sorry, I need to find my team first then I'll get whoever else is fighting out by the Fairground then lead them towards Beacon Tower hopefully we'll be able to hit these sons of bitches from the back while you keep them at bay." Yang said and the man sighed loud enough that she could hear him despite the helmet.

"Fair enough but you should know this; we're pulling back to the tower square soon. The High Lord is leading the defense there so make sure to head that way and take anyone you find with you." He said and Yang nodded before holding out a hand which the soldier took.

"Good luck out there." He said and Yang grinned.

"I don't need luck." She said but at that moment there was a distant boom and they all looked up in the sky to see one of the Atlas ships falling out of the sky with its portside engine destroyed with fire billowing out from it's rear.

"Probably should have wished them luck." Yang whispered as they watched the Atlas Flagship open fire on the second airship as it turned to it destroying it utterly. Not wasting anytime Yang ran towards the fairgrounds.

Yang quickly found that it was easier said than done as she navigated her way through the battlefield passing by dead bodies, smoldering or destroyed vehicles, damaged buildings some of which were spewing out flames illuminating the area. Then there were with bullets, large caliber shells, rockets and the occasional weird laser beam crisscrossing through the air. She began to realize that going alone might have been a bad idea.

Elsewhere…

Jaune stumbled as the airship shook violent, everyone stood up as the lights began to flutter before shutting off. One of the Housecarls ran towards the stairs leading to the cockpit while Areto gestured for him to grab onto something. As he did so she pulled out something from under her torn surcoat before handing him a small case which he opened, inside was a small earpiece.

"This is for you to wear but mind you this is for restricted use only that way any of the Housecarls, Talbek, Zophiel, Sanian and your father can contact you through it or vice versa. However since you don't have the necessary equipment you can't boost its signal so it will have limited range no more than a mile or two." Areto explained as Jaune picked it up before putting it in his left ear, there was a brief buzzing feeling before it felt it there was nothing there at all.

"Can you hear me?" Areto asked her voice in his left ear and he was fairly certain that Areto hadn't spoken out loud.

"Yea?" He said a little unsure of whether or not he was imagining it.

"I can see you're confused Jaune, yes I did speak through the ear piece but no you didn't hear it directly from me. One of the nifty little functions about these helmets is the fact that you can't hear what we say unless we use the external vox unit that way we can communicate without anyone else hearing us."

"Neat."

"I know."

"Uh, guys." Pyrrha cut in and the two of them looked at the standing red head. The airship had landed, the other teams had already left but loud pings could be heard as someone was shooting the airship.

"Oh right, we should get out there." Jaune said as he readied Crocea Mors while Areto activated the energy field that crackled as it sprung to life shrouding the pole head in a bluish tinge.

Running outside they were met by a sight not too dissimilar to the one they had seen during their mission at the Hurin Valleys. While they didn't land at the main docking bays since the pilots had alerted them that the last thing they heard before the signal from the CCT went haywire was that the western portion of Beacon was being contested heavily.

Instead they had landed at the Fairground, everything was on fire, bodies strewn about Human, Faunus, and even a fair number of Atlesian Knights.

"Come on, we need to get to the tower." Areto called out to the group; there were a few Creatures of Grimm no doubt ones that slipped past the distant Arcadian Division though their numbers were in a reasonable range for them to handle on their own.

The sound of fighting grew louder as the Housecarls took point, team ABRN followed behind them. Sun had his team on their right, with Jaune leading his team on the left along with Flynt and Neon behind them. The Sisters and Penny were in the middle with their hands mostly tied as they were carrying the wounded followed lastly with team CFVY who covered their rear.

"We're blind here Demeli, Rallidis, Vasileia take a twenty meter lead. Asimina push left diagonally Natassa go right. Don't engage unless necessary but let us know what's out there." Areto called out and the Housecarls broke apart.

"Contact thirty meters out, two friendlies engaging White Fang members, friendlies are two members of Team RWBY." Asimina reported a few minutes later.

"Acknowledge, stand by." Areto said before holding a hand out.

"We're moving this way, Faidra; Makis go with the Sisters towards the tower." She called out pointing past a line of trees; Jaune could faintly see the Housecarl known as Asimina standing by a tree beyond her however the commotion of fighting was visible to him. Areto moved in that direction without any other word though no one else spoke up as they followed her.

Dashing through the trees the group stumbled upon Weiss and Blake beating up the last few White Fang members that attacked them. At that moment shots rang out, the group was soon caught up in a storm of automatic fire along with a cluster of shoulder fired rockets.

One struck Sage square in the chest sending him flying into a nearby tree hard enough that it he ripped a portion of it away from the impact. As he slid down to the ground unconscious two of the Praetorians crouched in front of him as his green Aura simmered before failing but their bodies protected him as follow up gunfire raking through the area.

Roughly a hundred meters west of them at least sixty soldiers that had followed the White Fang members that Weiss and Blake just fought moments before had arrived. They were taking cover behind a waist high stone wall or lying down on the ground firing at them.

Coco who had brought up the rear shifted Gianduja into its minigun form then opened up on the distant enemies; the Dust rounds pelted the stone wall in a torrent of gunfire. Not wasting anytime the rest of the group reacted as well, Nora, Nadir Shiko, Neptune, Penny and Weiss began to hit the distant line with range attacks while the rest broke off into smaller groups to maneuver in optimal paths to attack.

Blake, Ren, Reese Chloris, Bolin Hori, Scarlet, Sun, Fox, Neon and Velvet pushed left firing their own weapons as they skirted the line. Some of them stumbling as they were hit by more than a few bullets on the way but their Aura soaked up the increasing amount of damage.

Jaune, Pyrrha, Yatsuhashi, Arslan, Flynt, Scarlet pushed to the right. Jaune and Pyrrha were the closest facing the enemy using their shields to block as many of the bullets as they can.

While in the center the Housecarls pushed in a loose skirmish formation closing in fast on the enemy combatants. The six armored warriors crossed the distance in a little more than eight seconds before they were on them.

Areto stabbed the top of her poleaxe into the chest of an enemy soldier forcing him quickly to the ground. She pulled the weapon out spinning it in her hands as she brought the hammer side around shattering the skull of a second. She then turned to the side cleaving a third man's arm off the shoulder before slamming her haft into his face crushing his skull.

Bullets shattered harmlessly against her armor as well as blades that barely even left scratches before she struck in return killing or leaving them fatally maimed.

Off to the side Jaune would jump shield first into a man with what he assumed was a rocket launcher; the man fell to the ground before rolling to the side as he drew a sidearm. Pyrrha however was right behind Jaune throwing Miló straight at him, the red and bronze weapon struck the man in the chest pinning him to the ground.

Next to him another soldier turned as Jaune pushed forward taking his hand off at the wrist as he sent a thrust with his rifle that had a long bayonet on it. The man backpedaled as he began to fire wildly from the hip with one arm while his stump squirted blood out rapidly in time with his heart beating but Jaune closed in with his shield taking the hits before slashing at the man's neck, something warm splashed against his cheek but he ignored it.

Nearby Fox slammed both fists into a man sending him backwards only for him to exploded in a shower of gore spraying him and Yatsuhashi. Jaune could see the two of them nearly grinding to a halt at what they were covered in.

"Don't think! Focus on the fight!" Jaune called out to them before raising his shield to protect himself as someone fired a handgun as they closed in with a serrated short sword. He turned aside the overhead cut but as he went in for a counter stroke aiming for the man's outstretched leg he missed as the soldier shot him in the face point blank with the pistol in his other hand. Jaune's head rung like the time he was a kid when he had fallen out of a tree and got a concussion as he blinked a few times while his head started clearing up Pyrrha covered him with her own shield in the meantime.

Nearby Flynt blew into his trumpet sending the man flying backwards with enough force into a nearby stone bench that the man bent backwards to a degree none of them would assume he was still alive.

The soldiers began to run, though it wasn't that disorganized as they would break off into smaller groups each other taking turns to stop and fire at them as the others ran. Four of the Housecarls pursued them along with most of the group.

In a nearby building a pair of bright object whooshed out with smoke contrails that slammed amongst one of the groups of soldiers scattering them in pieces as from the first floor of the same building twenty black armored Legionaries came sprinting out into their flank.

"Hold up!" Areto called out; behind them two Housecarls rejoined them with one of them carrying the unconscious Sage while the other had his sword. However not everyone heard her call to regroup as Blake, Reese, Neon, Arslan, and Bolin had all gone out of sight.

"Should we go after the others?" Ren asked from nearby as the Legionaries moved to join them, Jaune saw one with the pauldron markings of a Decanus talking with Areto who nodded in return before looking at them. Areto turned to look at the other Praetorians and Jaune watched as five of the Housecarls went running in the direction that the others had gone.

"Is everyone good to move?" She called out and received of a course of positive replies even from Sage who had woken up by that point.

"Wait is that Yang?" Pyrrha spoke up and the group turned to see a haggard looking blonde girl coming out the building the Legionaries had come out of. She ran up to them while Weiss ran out to greet her, the two quickly came into an embrace only for a trio of Legionaries to circle them ushering them along.

"It's good to see you guys!" Yang called out much to the relief of the others, though Pyrrha took careful note of what she could see of her in the low light. Dirt or soot smudged Yang's clothes and face though of course her hair looked fine but most disconcertingly was the amount of blood that stained Ember Celica. The blonde girl looked around and confusion grew on her face.

"Where's Blake?" She asked and Weiss pointed in the direction she had gone off in.

"She went to go chase down some of those soldiers." She explained and Yang cursed as she took off in that direction ignoring Weiss's calls.

She had spent the last twenty minutes trying to stay alive in the middle of the battlefield that Beacon had devolved into between the Arcadians, Atlas, White Fang and the red soldiers attacking the school.

Not to mention there were two things about this attacking army that even she didn't want to face alone as every instinct in her body screamed at how dangerous they were. The threats being that massive tank that was clearly pushing the Arcadians back while the small group of armored giants that not only routed the Arcadian infantry like they were nothing but killed four Beacon professors with only the loss of one of their own.

"Asimina go after her!" Areto shouted as Yang disappeared from sight and one of the Housecarls took off after her, Areto turned back to the group.

"We don't have time to sit around; we need to move the others can catch up to us later." The remaining Housecarls took up position around the group while the Legionaries split into their contuberniums with one taking the lead while the other stayed back watching their retreat towards Beacon Tower.

As they passed through the building Pyrrha could see the devastation was even greater inside, the metallic scent of blood mingled with the smell of smoke. The hallways and rooms they could see or walked through were torn up by heavy fighting.

The amount of bodies was also a little startling, they could see dead White Fang along with the red cladded soldiers but there was a sizable presence of students from the various schools, Arcadians too, along with Atlas soldiers or Knights.

"This is awful." Nora remarked before visibly swallowing at the sight of decapitated White Fang grunt.

"I'm still having a hard time believing this is real, how did no one see this coming?" Velvet asked and Jaune shrugged.

"Didn't Ruby mention something about Mercury being at Amity or something?" Neptune asked but Sun shook his head.

"No way, he was supposed to be in Vale maybe Ruby mixed him up or something."

"Ruby's my partner and I know she wouldn't lie about something like that let alone make a mistake like that." Weiss cut in and Sun held his hands up.

"No offense Weiss, I'm just saying it might have been an honest mistake."

"I don't know about that there was always something fishy about Mercury and his partner Emerald." Coco chimed in and Yatsuhashi nodded.

"Coco's right during our fight I felt like Mercury was getting much more joy out of beating me than seemed normal plus Coco's weird experience with Emerald."

"Weird?" Jaune asked and the leader of team CFVY nodded.

"Yea just before she defeated me I swear Yatsuhashi came up to me but in fact he was still with Mercury on the other side of arena then when I realized that he was gone and Emerald was right behind me without me even noticing."

"Actually now that I think about it, that sort of reminds me of what happened during my fight with Penny." Pyrrha spoke up and the group looked at her.

"There was a moment where it felt like Penny was poised to strike me with like a hundred of her swords which made me start to panic had it not gone back to normal I was gonna use my semblance to push them all back." Pyrrha explained as she looked at Penny's missing robotic arm.

"In hindsight that might have gone very poorly for you Penny cause you know being a robot and all that." She said.

"So are we going to like, talk about that?" Coco asked but Penny shrugged in return which seemed a little off since she didn't have an arm anymore.

"There isn't much to say at this point, I'm the first synthetic being to generate Aura with the permission of my father and General Ironwood I was able to participate in the Vytal Tournament. Though I'm not sure either of them will be very happy about my lackluster performance after this is all over." She said and Ruby put a hand on her shoulder.

"It's alright Penny, you did fine out there."

"So do you think that big hairy guy that grabbed Emerald had something to do with stopping your vision?" Arslan asked from the back.

"Talbek." Jaune supplied and the dark skinned girl nodded.

"Yea him, what's his deal?"

"There was a suspicion that someone was tampering with the Tournament, High Lord Arc had Talbek, the Housecarls and the Sisters maintain vigilance over the final part before everything turned to shit. He confirmed our worries though when seeing that Emerald was tampering with Pyrrha's mind." Areto cut in and no one said anything as the sounds of them walking as a group along with the combat outside was all that could be heard.

"So wait, does this mean Yang is innocent?" Weiss asked.

"Yes, we suspected that Emerald, Mercury and no doubt the other two members of their team are either working for or with the White Fang and their new allies. Though the sheer scale of this operation is beyond what even we suspected, now be quiet." Areto called out as they reached a small hallway, the din of combat was much louder now that Jaune could feel small vibrations of explosions going off outside.

"We're technically on the wrong side of the lines at the moment so we'll be crossing no man's land, keep your heads down and don't stop no matter what." One of the Legionaries called out and Jaune looked to Pyrrha reflexively meeting her eyes before nodding.

"Ready partner?" He asked and Pyrrha gave him a smile though even he could see that it was a little strained.

"GO!" Someone shouted and the Legionaries took off down the hallway the first one slamming shoulder first into the door shattering it. Once outside Jaune felt panic grip him as over their heads a bright streak of a rocket slammed into the building they were just in showering them in fragments.

They were in the north western portion of Beacon square which surrounded Beacon Tower. To the south Jaune could make out a large tank holding position around the edge of the square exchanging fire with the defending forces.

Littering the battlefield was the aftermath of vicious fighting; all around with the wrecked forms of at least one Tempest Tank, a few Sabre Halftracks, Hydras, Tauroses, most if not all of the Atlesian Paladins, even some aircraft such as Bullheads and Valkyries. Not to mention the bodies the covered the ground, some looked to be students or civilians but there was a fair number of red cladded soldiers, White Fang and even a few Legionaries. Overhead bright flares drifted down slowly with small parachutes illuminating the buildings where it seemed most of the enemy were occupying.

Bullets whizzed or cracked over around them even a giant energy beam passed between Sun, Sage, Neptune and Reese. Thankfully they managed to reach the Arcadian line without anyone getting hit though that might have been in part due to the help of the Legionaries.

Pyrrha saw more than once or twice that one of the black armored warriors stumbling after positioning themselves to cover the students from the firepower that started getting directed at them.

She jumped over a chest high wall, constructed by broken furniture and concrete street barriers. As the others landed around her she looked around finally seeing the state the defenders were in.

None of them had been fully aware how bled dry the Arcadian force was. In either direction there were more students from the Four Kingdoms or Beacon staff than actual soldiers. While that wasn't much of an issue on who was there she would have figure there would be more soldiers here.

Especially since Jaune told her that an average Arcadian Division was around twenty thousand frontline soldiers and even more in the supplementary artillery, heavy support, armor, medical and logistical portions necessary to keep such a large body of soldiers in a functioning order.

"Alright, this is where we must part ways." Areto called out as the last of them were behind the barriers crouched down to the insistence of a nearby Legionary.

"Wait! What we should we do?" Weiss asked, yelling the question as the noise of fighting made it difficult to hear but Areto gestured for them to get in as close as they can.

"Do what you think is right; I imagine most of you are here to fight so find a squad or platoon join with or stick together to form your own fighting unit." Areto said before moving off, Jaune however continued to watch her as everyone looked to their teammates or friends.

"Jaune, take Pyrrha and follow me." Areto said through his ear.

"Nora, Ren, stick with the others." Jaune said looking at the magenta eyed teen.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm going to go find either my father, Sanian or Zophiel. Pyrrha you can come with me but I need at least two of you to stay behind to help out." Jaune explained and Ren stared at him for a moment before nodding.

"Alright, is there anything else?" He asked and Jaune nodded.

"If the others are willing get Weiss to help you formulate a battle formation, try to separate them out into three sections the first being an assault section who should be anyone best suited for close combat followed by fast attack which is anyone that's quick and can move around to attack the enemy from the side while the assault section hits them in the center with the last section being for support long range firepower which is essentially Nora and Coco but I'll leave that up to you to decide the final roster." Jaune explained and Ren nodded. Nearby a soldier who had been manning an Assault Stubber screamed for everyone to take cover a second later something flashed nearby accompanied by a simultaneous explosion that sent a few people flying through the air.

Cobblestones rained down on Jaune clanking against his shield as his held it up. Lowering it to see what hit them he was surprised to see a sizzling hole that looked to be glowing like someone had taken a massive blowtorch before tracing a short line into the ground that ballooned out at the end.

"Jaune should we really go?" Pyrrha asked watching as a pair of Atlas students held down a soldier who was screaming at the top of his lungs while a Beacon medical student was cutting off his melted armor in order to treat him.

"Pyrrha I wish I had a good answer to that but I don't."

"Ya know that doesn't really reassure me."

"Good point." Jaune said as confusion etched into his mind at how weird that sounded but Pyrrha just rolled her eyes. She wasn't all that held up at the idea of coming with him, as she needed to get to the tower and find Ozpin.

She had an answer to give.

Meanwhile…

Yang slowed down to a trot as she got to the main dining hall, a fire had broken out at the back half of the building. Long slash marks covered the front of the building each accompanied by a splash of blood no doubt from the dead Atlas soldiers that were lying around with obvious blade wounds or missing limbs.

The sound of fighting however was different here, while her ears seemed to be constantly filled with the cracks and pops of mass small arms fire along with the diaphragm shaking thud then booms of explosions. The sound here felt more singular, a part of her urged her to get a closer look and she had no reason to distrust her instincts.

Jogging around the side of the building she came up to a shattered window to look inside. There she watched as a red hair man with horns that slanted slightly back stood over Blake who was lying on the ground.

Most importantly however was the red sword that he held which was embedded in the side of Blake. Time seemed to stop for Yang; the ringing sound of combat seemed to disappear. Instead the ever increasing beating of her heart seemed to be all that she heard, a raging anger that she hadn't felt since she felt unlocked her semblance sprang forth.

With a scream of utter rage she jumped forward ignoring the new voice that tried to stop her as she soared at the man as he readied his sword.

Halfway to him however a part of Yang recalled the piece of caution Alexander Arc had imparted to her after he defeated her with a quick strike to her throat when she tried a similar move on him. He had told her that a wise warrior keeps their feet planted as well as their temperament but once rage takes over causing her to leap at whoever was in front of her regardless of the consequences then her faith was no longer in her hands but her opponents.

She would never know what exactly happened afterward as she passed out from the shock of Adam Taurus cutting her arm off at the elbow. His semblance held more than enough energy from all the fighting to overpower this arrogant Human's Aura. Though considering the mayhem his newfound allies were causing might had something to do with it but it didn't matter in the end.

Yang landed without grace, her severed arm not too far away but he kicked it aside feeling a certain level of glee at seeing Blake's anguish as she crawled over to the Human. He was poised over her again saying his final piece watching the resignation on her face.

This was the moment, the one he had been dreaming of constantly for the last few months, the hole in his heart, the emptiness, the cold; it would all be gone with a single swing. So he swung Wilt down, aiming for Blake's neck.

Yet what happened next took both him and Blake by surprise. Wilt's red blade was sparking wildly against a blue shrouded polearm that held his blow back, holding the weapon was a tall golden armored warrior that was easily a foot taller than him.

"Ah the rumored protectors of the High Lord, the Praetorians, it'll be a pleasure to see you die to my blade as well human." Adam mocked before jumping back as the warrior swiped at him with the bottom of the polearm's haft which barely missed his face.

Immediately he realized a few things not only was the warrior strong but they were also fast as he hadn't realized they were there until that very moment, most importantly however was the weapon which he assumed was reinforced by their semblance judging by the peculiar blue glow made it dangerous.

Yet that danger was not just reserved for him, as he began to glow red but before he made his strike the armored warrior lunged at him. Laughing he side stepped slashing down at the haft of the weapon but the warrior pulled it in before bringing it around in an overhead strike.

Adam spun to the side at the last second as he dropped into a crouch striking at the warrior's side as he did so, the tip of Wilt barely a shallow furrow in the plate. He judged that the material used in the armor was strong enough that it would take a while to chip away at it unless he pooled enough energy.

The Praetorian came at him with a high guard, jabbing at him with the bottom spike on the polearm but Adam sidestepped then drew Wilt in time to deflect the quick diagonal follow up. As he tried to step inside the Praetorian's guard he had to jump back to avoid the polearm's haft as it came around before backing up to avoid the quick slashes and thrusts from the warrior.

He slashed at the Praetorian but the blows were deflected by the larger warrior and unfortunately not always by the glowing head of the weapon which annoyed him as it was taking longer than necessary to build up his strength. In return he had to be on top of his game as twice already he was nearly struck but the odd weapon, it seemed the buzzing energy practically ignored his clothes and Aura as he felt painful pricks like needles on his skin.

He spun to the side to avoid another thrust then jumped forward aiming Blush at the helmet before firing four in quick succession.

Asimina's vision went white, not by pain but as her optics fuzzed out from the close range shot which had cracked her right lens disrupting the helmet's visual feed.

"Look out!" The Faunus girl, Blake, called out. While she couldn't see, she was still able to hear, Adam swung at her prompting her to put up a side guard where she most likely assumed he was striking from.

However she wasn't prepared for her Poleaxe to separate as her opponent's blade, infused with the energy he had been accumulating, cut clean through the solid metal haft to embed itself into the side of her chest plate.

Faith it seemed granted her mercy as the visual feed for her helmet returned to normal or as normal as it could as the right side of her vision was disjointed from the cracked lens. Adam Taurus, a known terrorist that had been a part of Decanus Areto's briefing of Vale was glowing red; his semblance from what the intelligence missions had gathered allowed him to harness energy into his sword allowing him to put tremendous power into an edged strike.

Blake watched as Adam's sword cut through the polearm then into chest plate of the Housecarl she had expected the Housecarl to fall to their knees from the sheer pain of such a blow. Instead both she and Adam were surprised as the Housecarl punched Adam in the face making his Aura visibly shimmer before following him with the top half of the Polearm being wielded like a short hafted axe to come slicing down at him.

What the two of them failed to realize was that while Adam's blade had in fact cut nearly an inch into the chest plate of Asimina, a lot of the initial energy from the strike had been spent in cutting the solid two inch diameter metal haft. As such the blade didn't have the energy left over to cut through the remaining two and a half inches of the chest plate nor the inch thick armored bodysuit underneath.

Adam managed to move aside but wasn't fast enough to get away cleanly as an oddly familiar searing pain that made every fiber of his body scream in pain erupted.

Blake stared in shock at Adam who had a long gash running from his right shoulder down across his right pectoral, blood seeped from multiple points along the cut with singed black cloth and flesh visible around the wound.

She swore that his Aura was still intact yet here he was clearly wounded something she had never seen since she met him. In that moment she could see the tension in him build from the many hours she had spent with him, he was now truly sizing up his opponent the all too familiar sneer of contempt no long touching his mouth.

"That hurt." Adam said before dropping into a stance then lunging at the Housecarl, he swung once from a low angle but the move was a feint as he spun to the right changing the direction of the blow to aim at the Housecarl's neck. The blow never landed however as the Housecarl had drawn their arming sword with their left hand intercepting the strike.

The two fought viciously, Asimina attacked and defended simultaneous with her two weapons while being nimble enough not to get overwhelmed by her quicker opponent. Yet she had to admit that he was putting up a fierce fight that she might not be able to win if she wasn't careful.

Adam had managed to cut into her armor not once but six more times. The sixth blow finally drew blood as his blade penetrated Asimina's plackart and the bodysuit underneath to strike her abdomen. However she wasn't worried as the blow wasn't that painful or serious as her Larraman cells started patching over the wound as soon as Adam withdrew his sword if she lived through this fight she'll only have another scar.

For Adam however this was frustrating yet oddly exciting. While fighting the SDC was satisfying there was something that seemed to be lacking from it, freeing his people and fighting for a better future while still a part of his goal no longer made him feel anything.

Destroying Atlas robots and SDC facilities also lacked the same sense of accomplishment, all he had left was the feeling of killing humans yet even that lacked any impact as more and more he'd find people that couldn't push his abilities as a fighter.

Yet now this warrior who seemed utterly uncaring for his being like him with the SDC or Atlas sparked something inside him that he wasn't quite sure, all he knew was that he needed to fight.

Moving forward he ducked under a swing of the poleaxe then sliced upward aiming for the elbow, the Housecarl moved to block the blow but Adam doubled back raising Blush before firing rapidly at the helmed face again. Blake winced as she could see the other eye lens cracking under the repeated blasts.

Asimina cursed mentally, now she was certain the helmet was unusable now as her vision was nothing but blackness besides the list of codes detailing the damage down to her optics before initiating her helmet's automatic release. The four points located at the ramus length of her jawbone and temples hissed as they unlocked allowing her to free her head with a quick push from the back of her hand.

Blake and Adam paused for a moment as the Housecarl stood helmetless before them. Standing in front of them, at a solid seven and a half feet was a grey haired cat Faunus adorned in the royal armor of the protectors of a Kingdom's ruler.

For some reason Blake had totally not expected that, probably due to some internal bias or cynicism stating that the leader of a Kingdom wouldn't have one of his personal body guards be a Faunus unless they were also Faunus. Adam's reaction however was sadly not unexpected.

"So you're a traitor." He remarked coldly and the Housecarl snorted.

"I don't want to hear that from some terrorist scum and why are you still here?" She said addressing the last half towards Blake who looked down as she remembered that Yang was unconscious on the ground.

Blood was pooling around the stump of her arm and Blake realized she needed to get to safety quick. While she had ripped off a piece of her clothing to wrap around it before tying it off with her ribbon blood was still seeping out albeit at a slower rate. She got up putting Yang's arm around her shoulder before making a move towards the front door.

"You're not going anywhere!" Adam snarled as he moved to slash at Blake but Asimina threw the poleaxe like a hatchet forcing him to stop in his tracks to avoid getting hit which allowed Blake to slip past him with Yang.

Asimina dashed at Adam thrusting with her sword but he deflected it before striking back but the Housecarl leaned back avoiding it before slashing at him. Adam parried the blow his joints aching even as most of the force was simply redirected away from him.

Their blades began to clash once more Adam trying to get past Asimina's guard while she was unable to keep Adam from moving out of her reach while protecting her exposed head.

Asimina lunged at him with a thrust but twisted her wrist to get a quick cut aimed for his neck. Adam brought his sword up in time to block the blow but she twisted her wrist again getting her crossguard hooked with the red blade then with another twist to point the crossguard down she pushed against him forcing his down.

In a desperate response he brought Blush up to fire at her exposed head she reached out with her free hand grabbing his wrist then forcing the shotgun sheathe up and away from her. Adam felt a small tinge of panic grip him as the bones in his arms felt like they were about to explode from the pressure that it took all his strength from keeping his knees from giving out.

With their arms locked Asimina realized now that she was in the prime position to kill him. Pushing his arms wide she squeezed tight enough to break the bones of a normal human though in this case it merely broke his Aura. She pulled her head back to head butt the Faunus terrorist aiming to shatter her skull against her own but something stopped her at the last second. A familiar crackle and smell of ozone filled her senses before pain sprouted from her chest or really for a brief second as her body went numb soon after.

Looking down she could see three long thin curved blades sticking out from her chest, a Lightning Claw, she recognized the weapon as she had once seen Ithuriel Kantistus fighting with the 9th Legion Cohort during the Millgamau Wilderness Campaigns thirty years ago when she graduated from Squire to Legionary. At that point any other thought she might have had would disappear as the second Lightning Claw would obliterate her skull.

Adam finally fell down to his knees filled in part with angry and relief at the sudden intrusion on the fight. Yet as he looked up, he became filled with nothing but dread and disgust.

Standing in front of him was a tall figure in armor that made them into a proverbial giant with the strength and power to match.

The armor was a dull grey with bronze etched trimmings around the various plates, with a line of skulls wrapped around the torso by a metal wire, in the center of the massive chest plate an eight pointed star with an inhuman visage molded into the plate that always seemed to move whenever Adam didn't look at it directly.

Adam quickly glanced to the side where his sword had fallen out of his grasp, he wanted to reach out and grab it despite the bone aching pain in his arms but something kept him from trying it no matter how much he willed it.

There was a whir of machinery before heavy footsteps started going away from him and he looked up to see that the armored giant was walking away, the two claws on other gauntlets had lost their electrical glow and Adam realized that they were on the same side. When the giant warrior was gone Adam just sat there next to the dead Praetorian and looked at his hands marveling at what he saw.

His hands were shaking.

Elsewhere…

Pyrrha and Jaune were crouched by the entrance of Beacon Tower as another cluster of flares were shot into the air from out of sight illuminating patches of the battlefield with a pale glow. Thirty feet away the thunderous boom as one of the last few Lancer Assault Guns went off, rattling Pyrrha's teeth.

Arcadian soldiers were pushing aside spent shells as others dragged in pallets laden with more shells. Nearby the armored giant in beige robes and dark green armor called Zophiel was crouched next to Alexander. The High Lord of Arcadia wore a resplendent dark gold armor while wielding a massive greatsword as wide as her thigh while being as tall as Jaune yet in his hand it looked like Crocea Mors did in Jaunes.

"Sire! I just received word from Captain Alethia; the Fleet has cleared the Grimm out and should be ready to provide fire support to all units within range." A nearby vox operator reported Alexander smiled inside his helmet before glancing to the side where Ozpin was simply standing ignoring the occasional bullet the struck near him.

"Good, provide the coordinates of the Fellblade to Aeterna Virtus, Galatea and Thetis. Zophiel contact Narses and Grylla and have them ready the Centuriae to push." He said and the Chaplin moved down the line.

"Areto!" Alexander called out and the Housecarl moved to his side.

"Find Sanian and have her ready her Sisters for a push on my signal." Alexander called out but he faltered as the air seemed to shift. The hair on the back of everyone's neck seemed to stand up as a chill grew in the air.

For the soldiers of the 14th Division they had been struggling hard against the Grimm, in several places they had to reform their lines multiple times as the Grimm finally forced their way through but they were holding nonetheless. Now though the Creatures of Grimm grew bolder, fiercer, ignoring the gaping holes in their bodies as something drove them onward.

Ozpin gripped his cane tighter as he knew what was coming. Not far from the Kingdom of Vale an ancient creature stirred, as the rising negative emotions of millions within Vale along with even those fighting reached a crescendo, before shaking itself free from its terrestrial prison then taking flight towards the besieged city.

Pilots from both Atlas and Arcadia would begin reporting as a long winged shadow came out from the sky trailing a horde of lesser winged Grimm behind it. Alexander would feel his hands grow cold as what they soon saw was a Grimm Wyvern form in the distance.

Ruby who was busy fighting Roman Torchwick and Neo would nearly get thrown off the Atlas airship by the wind pressure as the Wyvern flew by them trailed by lesser Grimm and aircraft shooting it in a vain attempt to slow it down.

Off the coast of Vale the Arcadian Fleet begins to divide up, Aeterna Virtus was staying anchored with the two Carriers with a small cluster of Frigates and Destroyers. While the Light Cruisers along with a few escorts went north or south with the Heavy Cruisers deciding to go through the Vale via its main river regardless of the danger of engaging hostile grounds units that may be in the vicinity.

In the north the Light Cruiser Psamathe would being long range bombardments in support of 72nd Infantry who had been pushed out from the Forever Fall Forest in three places after a concentrated push dislodged them before artillery support could be redirected in time.

A salvo of 210mm rockets would rain down in a mile wide area ripping apart lesser Grimm with ease while causing serious damage to the elder Grimm before air support in the form of two Avenger Flights recently launched from the Ceto arrived to start providing Close Air Support sorties while another salvo was being readied to fire, this process repeating itself for the next hour.

To the south however the Light Cruiser Melia and its escorts would begin bombarding parts of the southern Industrial District as mobile rocket artillery utilized by the Archenemy had begun a renewed assault this time targeting the Fleet. However the Fleet escorts were well prepared launching counter measures in the form of auger assisted Autocannons firing with pinpoint accuracy or Sky Shield Rockets.

Sky Shield Rockets were Dust based rockets with preprogrammed proximity fuses that detonate the rocket before encountering hostile ordnance with an air reactive Dust compound that temporally forms a fragile like cloud of ice. The cloud of ice would be large enough to absorb a blow from almost anything less than Capital Ship fire before dissipating after thirty seconds in a snow like effect.

On the outskirts of the Kingdom the 9th Ranger Battalion would arrive at coast then flying northward after joining up with a cluster of Valkyries and civilian airships that had come to hide before attempting to reach the southern Industrial District.

They would get forced or in truth crash in the central section of the Agriculture District as the new influx of Grimm brought on by the arrival of the Wyvern attacked them luckily only a few dozen were killed or seriously injured. A small detachment from the 75th arrived to bring them back to their line which had shrunk back from the border.

From there three of the Ranger companies would continue pushing into the nearest sections of the Industrial District bordering the southern Agriculture District while the most able bodied stayed behind to provide infantry support to the 75th.

Back at Beacon Pyrrha would make her way towards Ozpin, taking one last look back towards the battlefield; the massive tank had taken out the last heavy support weapon. It looked like the attackers were getting ready for a massive push to take Beacon Square.

While the red clad infantry could be seen forming up the White Fang had apparently pulled back though she had no idea why but if she had to guess it was because they had taken more losses than they could stomach. Instead they were replaced by grey armored giants that looked a lot like Zophiel and Talbek.

"Jaune, I need to go see Ozpin." She called out to her partner who was crouched a dozen feet away from her, he had tried to sit by her side but Areto had pushed him aside stating that they made for bigger targets like that.

"Alright, then let's go." He called out in return and the two of them moved inside the tower, two of the Housecarls made to follow them but Jaune ordered them to help the others. These two would inform Areto that Jaune and Pyrrha were heading inside the tower.

Jaune followed Pyrrha as she ran into an elevator where Ozpin was standing silently in as he watched Pyrrha which Jaune found a little odd as they entered the elevator. Collapsing his shield he sheathed his sword before putting it back onto his belt.

As the doors closed he could have sworn that there was someone else out in the lobby but he figured it was probably just a student hiding from the fighting outside. Though Jaune felt confused as Ozpin opened a small panel in the side of the elevator before turning a handle in it and he could feel the slight shift as the elevator began to go down.

"What's going on?" Jaune asked looking at Pyrrha but she didn't answer so he looked at Ozpin.

"Headmaster, where are we going?"

"You'll see when we get there Mr. Arc for now just be silent." Ozpin replied curtly and Jaune frowned but simply listened to the sound of combat that was starting to get dimmer by the second.

It wasn't long before the elevator came to a stop when it opened up Jaune was introduced to a long nearly empty room. The sole object that seemed completely dwarfed yet at home within it was a strange machine at the far end.

"Uh, guys? Seriously, what's going on?" Jaune asked as Pyrrha and Ozpin strode towards it yet none of them answered as they approached the machine. Upon closer inspection could see that there were two pods attached to it, one was open but the other was closed, inside was a semi dressed brown skinned girl with strange web like scars on her face.

"Who the fuck is that? What the fuck is this? What the fuck is going on?" Jaune asked hating how his voice was steadily rising in pitch.

"If you want to be useful either go outside with your father or shut up." Ozpin said looking at Jaune who shut his mouth at the unfamiliar look of annoyance on Ozpin's face.

"Good, now Pyrrha let me just warn you now that I can't guarantee that this won't be painful because frankly no one has ever tried this before. So if you think you don't want to do this then this is your last chance to back out." Ozpin said just as the room began to shake violently as dust rained down on them as muted booms could be heard.

Jaune reckoned that the Fleet must have begun bombarding the enemy to soften them up before his Father led the Legion in for the counter attack hopefully they would be able to secure Beacon then focus on whatever was going on in Vale.

"Get in." Ozpin ordered and Pyrrha glanced at Jaune before climbing inside the other pod before it closed in on her.

"Are you ready?" Ozpin asked and Pyrrha nodded as he started fiddling with some panel. Jaune stared in a mixture of shock, awe and fear as gold light travelled between some lines or tubes from the other girl before entering the pod with Pyrrha in it. She began to scream, Jaune felt panic grip his heart as he stepped forward but Ozpin held his cane out to stop him.

"Don't interrupt Jaune, stopping it without the proper procedure can have catastrophic results." He warned but Jaune shoved the cane away from him, anger replacing the fear.

"Fuck that, can't you fucking see that she's in pain, you have to stop."

"I can't beside this is what she wants."

"How can you be so fucking sure?" Jaune demanded.

"Because this is her destiny." At that moment something crack and the two of them looked over at the other pod to see an arrow in the brown skinned girl. Her eyes were open staring at it in shock before her head slumped back the gold light that had moved to Pyrrha from her receded before disappearing as a whole.

"No." Ozpin whispered as he and Jaune turned to see a woman in a red dress standing not that far behind them. She didn't say anything as wisps of golden light flowed towards her before she was bathed in power that radiated from her eyes like fire.

"Jaune, take Pyrrha and run." Ozpin said as he stepped forward while Jaune drew Crocea Mors.

"We can help." He said as Pyrrha used her semblance to break open the pod as Ozpin had forgotten about her inside it.

"No, you can't, she is beyond you, find Glynda or your father and tell them the Tower must not fall." He said before at the far end of the hall another figure emerged, this one armored in a slightly tattered surcoat wielding a longsword shrouded in blue energy.

"Jaune!" Areto's voice filled his ear and he winced a little.

"Areto!?" He asked as he put a finger to his ear.

"What's going on here?" She asked.

"I don't know that chick just killed someone and Ozpin says she's dangerous." Jaune explained the best he could but Areto knew exactly what he meant. She knew that this was the chamber housing the wounded Fall Maiden that had been attacked and with her dead at this woman's hands it meant that she was the one to injury her.

"On my mark." Ozpin said to Jaune and Pyrrha who both nodded.

"Now!" He shouted before leaping forward covering the thirty meter distance in less than a few seconds but the woman who Jaune just recognized as Cinder Fall from meeting her with Ruby a few times moved in almost a blur before sparks showered as she had two short swords that intercepted Ozpin's cane.

"Come on!" Pyrrha shouted as the two of them skirted from the sides while the two fought viscously in the middle of the room.

Areto watched the two combatants, even with her training, augmentics and technology she found it difficult to follow the fight. She knew that when a Praetorians adrenaline kicked in during combat made the vaunted speed and agility of most Huntsmen look like any other person's albeit a trained one at least.

Yet watching the Headmaster fight was awe-inspiring. While she could see how the two were move she knew that she would be hard pressed to keep up yet alone strong enough to keep herself from getting overwhelmed within the first minute of the fight.

"Come on Areto!" Jaune called out as the two teens reached her.

"Get in." She commanded and the three of them got in the elevator. The doors closed on the titanic battle, Jaune spun to Pyrrha grabbing her by the shoulders then brought her in close as he hugged her.

"Jaune!?" She asked.

"You stupid fucking idiot, what the fuck were you thinking?" He asked his choice of words completely at odds with his hug and the rasping sound of someone trying not to get emotional.

"I, uh, well." She tried to say but Jaune shushed her and she sighed as she returned his hug the two of them staying in the embrace for a while before Areto finally spoke up.

"Aw, that's nice." Areto said almost mockingly as the elevator door opened and the sound of someone screaming in pain filled their ears. She pushed them out as the elevator began to shake as she stepped off there was a snapping sound and it fell from view.

"Come on, we need to tell the others about this." Jaune said before jogging towards the exit bringing Crocea Mors out.

Stepping outside they could see that the tide of battle had indeed shifted though maybe not entirely for better. The massive tank was nowhere to be seen though a cluster of massive craters circling the area where he had last seen it suggested that the Fleet had hit it pretty hard. This would have been the signal for the Legion Centuriae were all gone from sight along with most of the other soldiers, to chase down the enemy.

In the sky however things weren't looking so hot, over the water they could see the burning wreck of the Atlas Flagship as it fell from the sky along with the massive form of the Grimm Wyvern as it circled the school letting out a loud roar.

What none of them knew however was that the Wyvern was attracting other Grimm to it, the 14th Division would find that the Grimm were beginning to head towards Beacon instead of Vale.

They would attack anything in sight but only if what they saw was on the way towards Beacon or happened to get in their way. This would provide an opportunity for the 14th to strike freely at the flanks of the Grimm while not bearing the brunt of their attention.

Heider would start shaking loose a few companies to start heading towards Vale from the 72nd while a battalion from the 71st to start heading towards Beacon for its inevitable clash with the oncoming Grimm. At the same time, five towering bipedal machines would appear. Four of which would arrive in Vale while the fifth would appear at Beacon attacking the rear of the enemy force.

The Knights of Raulon had arrived.

House Raulon was one of the few Knight Households of Arcadia, technically House Raulon along with most of the noble Houses had existed for generations, the oldest stretching back to the Dark Age. However within recent centuries the discovery of abandon war machines prompted them getting permission from not only the High Lord but Forge Master Rosenstock to allow them to integrate these ancient machines into their care.

As such in Vale three Knights arrived to assist the Atlas and Valean forces. Striding through the streets was a Knight Magaera called Androktasiai, followed by a Knight Warden called Ioke followed by a Knight Gallant called Kauriraris.

Androktasiai and Kauriraris battlefield objectives dictated they head to the far south to support the 75th Armor's defense in the Agriculture District. While Ioke assisted the Valean Forces mainly regulating itself to the most senior person it could find on the field, that being Deputy Headmistress Goodwitch and General Ironwood.

Arriving to assault the rear of the withdrawing enemy at Beacon however was Stanfleda Raulon in her Knight Paladin Zorya Utrennyaya and the Knight Errant Perun. The two would encounter the limping Fellblade that had suffered immensely under the naval bombardment though while it wasn't destroyed it had lost its Flare Shields while taking a few serious hits from the offshore bombardment.

So when the two nine meter tall walkers appeared at its rear opening up with their arm mounted weapons its faith was all but sealed. The Zorya Utrennyaya put half a dozen one hundred and twenty millimeter High Explosive Anti-Tank Shells into it while the Perun fired its Thermal cannon at it striking the rear.

As the two Knights battled the Fellblade Alexander led the charge of the Legion Centuriae after the enemy infantry. Roughly a hundred and twenty Legionaries along with a little less than sixty Battle Sisters plus six platoons of infantry with some supporting light armor chased after the retreating Ghourraians. Of the starting force, there were only around five hundred Ghourraians even then they were of no serious threat as their numbers began to quickly dwindle. Their main focus of resistance was anchored around the armored giants that slowed and match the ferocity of the charging Arcadian force.

Alexander recognized them as traitor Astartes and would personally kill four of them including two of the terminators. However the counter assault would begin to falter as the massive Grimm Wyvern would dive down at the Arcadian force smashing aside Perun after it delivered the killing blow to the Fellblade.

The nine meter tall war machine fell down crushing a few dozen Ghourraians and several Legionaries while the Wyvern knocked down even more as it flapped its massive wings while taking hits from Zorya Utrennyaya and the Sisters on the ground. None of them however were expecting the dark tar like substance that fell off its hide to form into Grimm that attacked anyone near it.

A cluster of Vultures appeared from the direction of the Emerald Forest firing rockets and their nose mounted autocannons at the winged monstrosity. The Heavy Cruisers Galatea and Thetis who were much closer to Beacon than the Aeterna Virtus began opening up with their anti-air batteries. While additional Lightnings began to circle it either fighting the Grimm circling around it or the massive creature itself.

Pyrrha watched as something blossomed in the night sky before falling as a massive fireball that landed in the distance. Behind her she turned around at an odd sound coming from the lobby, going back in with Jaune behind her they could see the elevator that they had used was gone but briefly they saw the red dressed figure flying up through it.

"It can't be." She whispered.

"Ozpin lost?" Jaune finished also surprised at that, another massive roar echoed outside and Jaune looked out the door to see the Wyvern flying closer towards Beacon Tower before flying in wide slow circles around it. The two of them went outside again watching the creature both of them feeling small in comparison to its size.

"We should go inform the others, Professor Goodwitch or my father will probably know what to do." Jaune said looking around for Areto but the Housecarl had disappeared the moment they had left the Tower. In fact the square was mostly deserted as far as Jaune could see, the few remaining Atlas units had pulled further east along with most of the defending students, staff and Huntsmen that had stayed to defend Beacon taking the wounded with them.

"Go find them Jaune; I'll buy you time by facing her." Pyrrha said with a strangely determined face but in the dying light of a few nearby flares he would say that her determined face looked more haunted than anything.

"No, that's a ridiculous idea." Jaune said but Pyrrha shook her head.

"There's no time Jaune, we don't know what she's up too or what her role is in all of this but I have to do this it's my destiny I know it." She rapidly as she hefted her weapons looking at them strangely.

"What the fuck are you talking about, listen to yourself Pyrrha she beat Ozpin there's no way you can stop her especially alone." Jaune said feeling a wave of panic flood him at how crazy Pyrrha sounded so he grabbed her again by the arms to turn her towards him.

"Pyrrha." He began but was cut off as she dropped her weapons then grabbed his face before kissing him. Jaune was taken by surprise but a part of him welcomed the soft feeling of her lips pressed against his, he lowered his hands onto her waist as his mind.

As Pyrrha pulled her head back though he wasn't prepared for her forehead to smash into his nose, a flash of pain erupted from his vision as he reeled back only to feel a hand strike his throat. Had his Aura been broke he would have died to either powerful blow all it did however was disorient him then temporarily cripple his voice and breathing.

"This is for your own good." She said as she knelt down and the last thing Jaune saw was a flash of light as Pyrrha struck him again knocking him out. Pyrrha looked around to see if there was a locker nearby so she could keep him in it for his own safety but the only lockers she could see were visibly damaged. She sighed before deciding to drag his unconscious body inside the tower lobby before heading towards the elevators.

While taking the stairs was probably the safer choice she figured there wasn't much time to do that so she got in one of the elevators, of course none of the buttons were working but that didn't matter to her as she reached out with her semblance bathing the interior with a dark shadow as she looked up, her destiny was in reach now.

Meanwhile…

Ren was crouched behind a shattered wall watching the distant fighting; he had led Nora along with the others that they had left Amity with into a nearby building that the Arcadians had taken over as they went on the counter offensive. It immediately became a triage station for wounded soldiers that were brought back from the expanding frontline.

They also had managed to get team RWBY together after they found Ruby watching over a wounded Blake and Yang who she had come across after the Arcadians had found them hiding in a closet together.

An Arcadian medic or Chiurgeon as Jaune had called them was tending to the two obviously injured girls while Ruby sat with Weiss sitting next to her the young team leader who had a haunted look on her face. Not that Ren could blame her, the moans of pain and cries of fear from the wounded were more than enough to make him use his semblance in case the Grimm in the sky might notice them.

Ruby also had an interesting story to tell since the last any of them had seen of her was when they were flying back from Amity; apparently she had fought and seen Roman Torchwick get killed on Ironwood's Flagship before it was destroyed.

Ren had to admit the girls of their sister team had a strange talent for finding trouble; his thoughts were interrupted as he ducked when a stray round cracked off the wall near him.

While his Aura was still functioning he had taken more than a few hits over what he assumed was the last few hours that he didn't want to risk it, he had seen a fair number of Huntsmen and fellow students from the various schools go down as their Auras failed as they lost track at the amount of hits they were sustaining.

A part of him realized that a lot of them might have been prevent had they been more cautious but he found that was difficult to manage. The inconsistency of getting hit randomly made it difficult to judge how long someone should be out of cover.

This in of itself was a problem as a lot of them fight in a manner that led them to being out in the open, while each person was different like some relying on taking hits to become dish out more damage or having excellent agility or speed that didn't mean they didn't get hit it was just harder.

He had seen the Legionaries take cover more than once despite, in his limited knowledge, superb armor before waiting for the right moment to move into the open to close in on their targets.

Yet at the same time there were a few exceptions, High Lord Alexander, the green armored warrior called Zophiel and what he could only describe as a literal beacon of light that was Sanian Arc. After Jaune and Pyrrha had left the mixed Beacon and Atlas defenders saw the white winged woman flying above them who seemed to glow as if an invisible light from her contrasting the night sky marvelously.

Nor had her looks been for show as Ren had watched her cut her way through a few dozen of the attackers as well as killing two of the grey armored giants before taking a rocket to the chest and walking it off like it was nothing.

"What happened to Jaune and Pyrrha?" Nora asked from behind him making him take his eyes off the ever growing distant battle and he turned to see how his partner cleaning her weapon with a towel that was stained red from the act.

"I'm not sure; they both went to Beacon Tower so I guess they're with the High Lord."

"Yea but we saw the High Lord leading the attack, Jaune and Pyrrha weren't with him neither was Areto." Nora pointed out.

"What are you two talking about?" A new voice asked and the two of them turned to see a girl with peach colored hair joining them, Georgina Tyra, one of the members from team MTEL. Unfortunately Georgina was the only member from that team that they found so far and even before the CCT network started failing she had been unable to contact anyone from her team.

"Oh, we're just talking about Jaune and Pyrrha." Ren said and Georgina nodded.

"I get it." She said evenly and Ren didn't respond knowing full well that this was a dangerous topic to go down so he looked back out into the night a part of him was feeling restless again though. He pulled out his scroll, he pulled up the team status screen where he could see everyone's Aura but the bottom bars were flicking from full to empty as they unable to connect with the others.

"Do you want to go look for them?" Nora asked after a while and Ren sighed.

"Yea let's go." He said as he stood up making sure Storm Flower was loaded as Nora readied Magnhild.

"Do you want me to tell the others?" Georgina asked as she readied her own weapon, a Naginata with a collapsible hilt that turned the polearm into a sword, Ren shook his head however.

"No that's alright." He said but Ruby stood up as well.

"I'm coming too." She said and Ren looked at her.

"You sure?" He asked and the shorter girl just glared at him.

"I'll stay here with Yang and Blake." Weiss said looking up at them.

"Right, let's go." The three of them headed out the room into a dimly lighted hallway a few Atlas soldiers were milling around their pristine white armor was scuffed or stained with a mixture of dirt and blood.

As they made it outside Ren took in a deep breath, the air had turned foul with a mixture of smoke, iron and a sickly sweet ting that clung to the back of his throat almost like phlegm. There was a barely audible popping sound in the distance that was muffled by the fighting and half a dozen white flares were shot into the sky overhead lighting the area up.

The flares bathed the area in a pale glow but they still made sure to keep towards the buildings though, ready to dive into any of them in case they started taking fire again.

When Ren turned a corner he was surprised to see the golden armor of a Housecarl, the taller warrior however seemed to be distracted but that didn't last for long as they turned to him.

"Ren, I was just about to find you." A familiar voice said through the helmet.

"Areto?"

"Yes it's me, is the High Prince with you? He doesn't seem to be answering me."

"Jaune? No we were coming to see if he and Pyrrha were with you."

"No, I left him and Pyrrha by Beacon Tower but I assumed the two of them would have gone looking for you but if you haven't seen them then something else must caught their attention." She mused out loud before snapping her head back towards Beacon Tower when the Wyvern roared as it struck the top of the tower showering debris around the square. Areto felt a pang of panic touch her chest as she realized what might have happened so she turned back to them.

"Go to Beacon Tower and try to find Jaune make sure he's safe." Areto said as she moved westward towards the distant battle.

"What will you be doing?!" Ruby called out.

"I need to find Sanian!"

Elsewhere…

Jaune felt something smacking his face a softly while a few people were talking as something rumbled loudly followed by curses so he opened his eyes feeling a dull ache in his head and neck. Kneeling over him was a helmed Arcadian soldier, specifically a Chirurgeon judging by the winged staff with the Arc crest encircling it on his right shoulder guard.

"Ah, the High Prince is awake." The Chirurgeon said looking over his shoulder and Jaune raised his head to see four other Arcadian soldiers standing by the door with their rifles in hand.

"Nice job Leon." One of them called out and Jaune could see a soldier walking towards the two of them before kneeling down next to him. Jaune could see the stripes of a Sergeant on this soldier as they removed their helmet to reveal a male Faunus.

"You good to move?" He asked and Jaune nodded as he sat up then noticed Crocea Mors wasn't strapped around his waist when he went to grab its hilt by reflex. The Sergeant reached behind him then pulled it out before handing it back to him.

"How did you find me?" Jaune asked as he stood up to buckle Crocea Mors around his waist.

"Well we're looking for the injured; the High Lord pushed forward after the navy bombed the shit out of that tank. Most of the companies pushed forward as well but a few platoons have stayed behind to help triage the wounded. Anyways we decided to enter the tower when that big flying fuck came overhead and Leon here found you." The soldier explained and Jaune nodded.

"You have my thanks, so how's it looking outside?" He asked thinking about trying to find a vox operator to flag down his aunt to get her to fly him up to the top of Beacon Tower.

"Well Creatures of Grimm have been spawning from the black blood that Wyvern has been spilling so there's that." The sergeant said, to emphasis his point two of the soldiers still by the door began firing a few shots at something outside. The faint sound of a Beowolf howling in pain was soon heard before they stopped.

"Shit." Jaune sighed and the sergeant nodded as well.

"Ah, don't worry about it sir, I'm sure one of those fancy Housecarls will probably come bail us out since you're here." The Faunus said with a shrug but Jaune looked up towards the ceiling as one of the soldiers called out to them.

"Hey, we got some people out there, looks like some students."

"Alright flag them down Jan." The sergeant said, Jaune watched as the soldiers took out a small flashlight then began flashing it on and off.

"So sergeant, I never caught your name." Jaune said looking at the Faunus soldier who looked back at him.

"Ah right, my name's Clemens Oberlander, 73rd Line Infantry."

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you Sergeant Oberlander." Jaune said as a trio of familiar figures entered the main lobby.

"Jaune!" Ruby called out recognizing him first.

"Ruby? Where have you been?" He called out as the short girl ran up to him.

"Long story, where's Pyrrha?" She asked and Jaune snapped his head up as he remembered she was in danger.

"Quick, I need your help in getting me up to the top of the tower Cinder killed Ozpin and Pyrrha went to go fight her but none of us can take her alone." Jaune stammered out as he began to panic and Ruby jerked her head back in surprise as Nora grabbed Jaune to stop him.

"Calm down Jaune."

"Calm down? How the fuck can I calm down? She's up there fighting for her life and we're down here." Jaune said and Nora slapped him stunning him along with everyone else there.

"Listen to me Jaune; if you fall apart now then we'll never get to her so think, the elevators are fucked and taking the stairs would take too long." Nora said evenly and Jaune slowly nodded before looking around.

"Ruby is Weiss with you?" He asked but the younger girl shook her head.

"Damn, alright Oberlander I need your help." Jaune said looking at the sergeant.

"What do you need High Prince?" He replied straightening up.

"See if you can get a Vulture or more preferably a Valkyrie to land outside that way we can get to the top of the tower. Did you guys see Areto or my Father out there?" Jaune asked turning back to Ruby as Oberlander put his helmet back on then jogged outside.

"We saw Areto she was looking for you as well but she said she was going to find your Aunt." Ren said and Jaune nodded as he ran a hand over his face wiping off some of the sweat that was trailing down it before remembering his ear piece. He ran outside looking up into the sky for a certain figure but found it difficult to judge anything with the aerial fight going on.

"Areto can you hear me?" He called out and almost immediately she replied.

"Where are you?"

"In front of Beacon Tower, I need your help Pyrrha's in trouble she went after that crazy chick with the glowing eyes that killed Ozpin."

"I know, Sanian is on her way, I'm going to meet with your father and let him know the situation." She said.

"One last thing Jaune, don't try going up there you're only going to get in Sanians way." Areto warned but Jaune ignored her as the steady chopping sound of a Valkyrie came over a few burning rooftops, tracer rounds shot out from the side as a Griffon tried hitting it only to fall towards the ground. However a white winged figured also appeared over the flaming rooftops behind it.

As the Valkyrie tilted it's rotors up to land the winged figure came closer before dropping down to land in front of Jaune and the others, it was Sanian. Jaune found it a little difficult to look straight at her as she was covered in a white glow that seemed to make the aches in his throat and head disappear.

Jaune covered his eyes as dirt was kicked up by the landing Valkyrie while the five soldiers that were with them spread out aiming their weapons outward. Three of them began firing at a few creatures of Grimm that were forming from black puddles that had fallen from the Grimm Wyvern.

"I don't suppose I can talk you out of this." Sanian said her normally cheerful voice was gone instead replaced by an even monotone with a hint of exhaustion.

"No, I'm going whether you like it or not the only difference is if we go together then you won't have to worry about me commandeering this Valkyrie." Jaune said and Sanian sighed.

"I guess there's no reasoning with you so get inside, I'll take the lead but if that Wyvern comes after us you need to get back down as soon as you can while I can keep it busy I doubt it'll be safe for you to be in the air during a fight like that and before you try to argue just think of the others with you, there's no point in saving one person if several more get hurt or killed because of it." She said before flapping her ethereal wings and taking off into the air as Jaune ran inside the Valkyrie nodding to the crew chief who signaled for them to get into the air. As the Valkyrie rose into the air, the side door gunner began firing again but he ignored it as he fidgeted with Crocea Mors, the only thing he could do was just hope he would get there in time.

Meanwhile…

Pyrrha fell to her knees; there was a white hot pain that radiated from her foot up her leg. As she turned around she could feel the arrow that had punctured her ankle break apart inside her foot each crack of the glass like substance sending another lance of pain up her leg.

However she had more pressing concerns, as much as she tried she had failed to defeat Cinder in the end. The new power she had just made it feel like an uphill battle, even with every trick and skill she had Pyrrha knew that she only got this far because of arrogance on Cinder's part.

With a deep breath she managed to look up into the sky as the Grimm Wyvern landed on the side of the tower, its bulk sending a dangerous rumble throughout the stonework. Cinder began to speak but Pyrrha wasn't paying attention but looking past her as a light shone over the edge of the broken tower top.

A winged woman in resplendent white armor holding a sword that looked pure white while seeming to glow to the point as if the sun exclusively shone down on her appeared. Behind her however a Valkyrie rose into place before turning around to reveal an open rear ramp, there she could barely make out the cloaked figure of Ruby, Jaune, Nora and Ren from the interior lights inside the aircraft.

"While I don't mind an audience." She began but was cut off as a pink canister shot out at her but with a wave of her hand a stream of fire erupted out to meet the shot halfway detonating it before it even got close. In an instant Sanian was through the smoke swinging her sword down at Cinder who jerked back in surprise before stumbling back as the sword struck her collarbone.

The Wyvern however looked at the Valkyrie before releasing its hold on the tower flapping its massive red wings before opening its jaws to grab the aircraft. Jaune yelled in angry and frustration as they were nearly close enough to jump towards the tower top but were forced away at the last second by the creature however Ruby jumped out the movement the Valkyrie pulled back to avoid the strike.

"Ruby no!" Jaune shouted but it was too late as Ruby barely slipped through the open maw to slam her weapon into the side of Beacon Tower barely getting a hold on the side before looking over her shoulder down at the school. Even in the dark of night she could see just how much of a nightmare it had become. To the north most of the buildings were on fire which had spread out from the fairgrounds while to the west and south fighting still raged fiercely that she could see the interchanging lines of gunfire or rockets.

The sound of fighting above her however drew her attention again and with a deep breath she launched herself up with her semblance clearing the edge of the broken tower top before firing twice with Crescent Rose to land on top of it.

Pyrrha was on the ground across the tower from Ruby, blood pooling around her ankle while the glowing form of Sanian fought Cinder. Every strike and block seemed to shake the tower causing the loose chunks of concrete on the floor to jump every time. It made Pyrrha realize just how out of her league she was when she had tried fighting Cinder.

Cinder ducked then stepped back avoiding a quick thrust then slash before jumping up sending a stream of fire out to engulf this glowing bitch. Flames covered her but Cinder could see that they were having no effect as a lance of white light shot out of the flames and she spun to the right avoiding it before summoning a pair of blades to block the incoming sword thrust that came after it.

However Cinder fell for what was actually a faint as the woman flapped her wings going over her before jabbing her sword down into Cinder's shoulder. She then flew back out of Cinder's reach as she spun around summoning a whirlwind of fire around her only for another white lance to come through the flames to strike Cinder in the chest blasting her backward to slam into a broken pillar near the edge of the tower top.

"Enough!" She shouted summoning the Maiden power in full strength rising into the air as the wind blew fiercely and there was a crackling boom as lightning flashed from the sky strike the tower top leaving a meter size hole in the broken floor. The armored woman seemed undeterred by this show of force as she too floated with steady beats of her wings. Cinder however remembered that there were other people in fact on the tower top with them, the red cloaked girl Roman was always complaining about and the foolish girl she had beaten before.

Behind her the Grimm Wyvern was coming back up after the aircraft it had been chasing the aircraft from before which had barely managed to escape its attention. That didn't matter to her as with this creature she would be able to kill this woman as well then secure her victory over Beacon.

However something happened that no one in Vale or Beacon was prepared for. A deep roar echoed out from the sky so loud that they could all feel the inside of their bodies vibrating to an uncomfortable extent, from the sky came a winged shape that tore the Wyvern away from Beacon Tower with titanic force.

Ruby's eyes widen as she watched this new creature and the Wyvern landed by the burning fairgrounds with a ground shaking force. Even from this distance she could see that this creature had the scales similar to that of a reptile with four legs and a long tail but it also had massive wings closer to that of a bat with a matching reptile head at the end of a long neck.

It was a terrifying sight, it reared its head back roaring before spewing out fire like a massively oversized flamethrower igniting the sky along with several dozen flying Grimm that had come to attack it, turning them to ash before they would even land a blow. The Wyvern gave off a roar of its own before charging at it, the two creatures collided and Ruby could have sworn the sound of them colliding was like two massive boulders striking each other.

Behind her Sanian renewed her attack on Cinder who was calling down lightning followed by a hail of ice shards a meter long. Sanian however was able to avoid most of it or destroy the shards with her own blade before pooling power into her off hand forming a spear of light which she threw at the other woman.

Cinder intercepted it with another bolt of lightning before dropping back down to avoid a sword slash aimed for her neck. Things were going to shit fast and whoever this was wouldn't go down that easy the longer she tried fighting the more likely other strong opponents would come. Glancing to the side she realized she still had a way out of this.

"So you want to be a hero too? To stop me and save this precious school and these precious kids with your fancy tricks?" Cinder called out, Sanian floated into air pooling her power in her left hand while keeping her sword in front of her ready to deflect or parry a blow.

"Then, my winged hero, let's see how fast you can fly." Cinder said as she raised a hand pointed at Pyrrha who had crawled to safety while holding onto the shattered pieces of Miló fully aware that it wasn't going to do her much good anymore but still wanting to hold onto it since her grandmother had helped make it for her. A calm realization came over her as she knew what was coming next, Ruby screamed Pyrrha's name as the world seemed to explode and everything went black.

Sanian flapped once with her wings diving over the side of the tower, Ruby however fell to her knees a stinging sensation in her eyes as a pain blossomed in her heart. She was tired of it all, the violence, the cloying scent of blood mixed with smoke and of course all the death. That was when she noticed something else, a feeling that she wasn't quite sure of. She felt a strange energizing effect in her body as if a fresh bout of adrenaline had just coursed through her veins then everything went black.

Cinder who had been smiling at watch red head and winged woman disappear over the side of the tower had been about to deal with the last occupant of the tower top when something strange happened. She had seen tears coming out from the young girl's eyes but when she opened them there was a flash of light as she screamed, the string of connection to the power she had felt vibrated painfully surprising her as she was blasted off the tower blacking out at the same time from a searing pain on the left side of her face.

Below them Alexander was directing Centurion Grylla to push her Centuria forward in pursuit of the enemy while Centurion Narses was securing the border of Beacon. At the same time he was directing his infantry to begin to comb through Beacon looking for any stragglers. He glanced over his shoulder back at Beacon Tower, he had seen Sanian both go up then fly down from the tower top but had yet to hear anything from her.

Areto had contacted him stating that Pyrrha was stuck on the tower top and Jaune was trying to rescue her despite the dangerous foe that would be up there. Which made him think about the dire consequences the death of Ozpin would have for not only Vale but the Four Kingdoms as a whole.

Most troubling at the moment was the tremors and teeth rattling roars of the two titanic creatures battling it out. He had to hazard a guess that this could only be The Grey Lady coming to uphold her vow of alliance.

"High Lord." A voice asked and Alexander turned his attention to Captain Eva Strauss from one of the infantry companies stationed at Beacon.

"What is it Captain?" He asked.

"Sir I just wanted to report that I've got my company sweeping Beacon for any stragglers like you ordered." She said and he knew that there was more to it than that.

"You may speak freely Captain this is a battlefield and I want to know anything that might get soldiers killed when it's possible to avoid that." Alexander said scanning the night sky over Vale as long dotted lines of anti-air fire rose almost lazily into sight.

"Well sir we don't have enough people to hold the line and sweep the school. I've got one platoon searching for wounded, another sweeping the buildings one at a time with the last two spread thinly to cover the gaps the Legion can't cover. On top of that we've take some serious hits so we're not at full strength, Lieber and Hertzberg's companies aren't doing so well either."

"Fair enough Captain, I've already been in contact Heider and he says he has reinforcements heading our way but see to it that they give regular updates on their arrival and make sure they steer clear of the Fairgrounds." Alexander said and the Captain nodded before jogging back to her command squad. Turning back to Beacon he signaled the remaining eight Housecarls to join on him, Areto and Asimina were missing at the moment. He knew Areto was heading back towards the tower but no one could get into contact with Asimina.

There was a roar followed by what could only be described as a sickening crack that drew everyone's attention as Alexander could see the grey scaled Dragon holding the severed head of the Wyvern in its maw. He stared silently while so many others around him gasped or talked to their fellow comrades at this sight.

More importantly was the effect it seemed to have on the remaining Grimm in the area; they began cawing or howling before seeming to flee. However as Alexander switched frequencies within his helmet to the 14th Division command network he could tell that it was only the Grimm around the school that were put in flight.

The Grimm attacking the Southern Agriculture District and the two forests were still heading towards them or Vale though their numbers were starting to shrink as less and less Creatures of Grimm were coming. The damage however had been done, he suspected that the Grimm wouldn't stop coming for a while, it might takes a few days, weeks maybe even months before the attacks completely stop.

Despite that for all intents and purposes the Battle for Beacon was over, unfortunately it could hardly be called a victory. While the Battle for Vale was still underway and was barely showing any signs of dying down.

In the city the immediate problem would be the southern Industrial District. He had no idea the full extent of the damages but if the requests for Naval Bombardment from on the ground Ranger companies suggested anything it would be that there was serious damage there as well.

Alexander headed back to Beacon Tower with the intent of checking on the Division command staff; luckily they only had to fight off a few Griffons that had smashed through the main window but were still operating at a functional capacity.

Over the next hour, the Arcadian army companies in Beacon would clear the school despite several skirmishes breaking out with both the Archenemy and a few White Fang groups that had been left behind. Areto would find Asimina dead in the main dining hall after talking with Blake when she went looking for Yang.

The 14th Division would recover its previously lost ground while their Beacon reinforcements in the form of a Heavy Infantry Battalion from the 71st supplemented by four companies of Light Infantry arrived. None of them dared to get close to the Fairgrounds as the grey scaled Dragon seemed to be spewing fire around the area creating a barrier of fire around the devastated area.

Alexander deployed the Legionaries into the land west of Beacon leading the Heavy Infantry Battalion towards Vale with orders to hunt down the remaining forces of the Archenemy. He wanted to uproot every last hint of a taint within the surrounding areas and the city itself.

In the skies above them the first wave of reinforcements from the Hurin Valleys would arrive most of their Avengers would go towards the southern Industrial District while the 74th Infantry would push from the east to attack the Grimm still assaulting the floundering 75th Armor.

Atlas on the other hand was just now getting their hands on controlling and isolating the Black Queen's Virus that had crippled their communication systems while on the ground the Atlesian Knights and Paladins infected by it were finally put down. Before that however people within Vale were already turning on the local Atlas forces jeering and pelting them with makeshift projectiles before Valean Huntsmen and Law Enforcement dispersed them.

Talbek would also return from Amity, the fires had been put out and it seemed like Atlas was withdrawing its remaining vessels around it protectively before it became clear that they would use it as a temporary command post with Ironwood's ship destroyed.

The vessel in question had unfortunately crashed along the outskirts of the northern Commercial District while of its two escorts, one landed outside the city setting several miles of forest afire while the second landed in the Vale River obstructing enough of the river that only one vessel could go through that stretch at a time.

Jaune at the time would be back at Beacon in the eastern portions that were mostly untouched by the battle save for a few mortar rounds that had found their way there.

The constant shelling had died down to only a dozen shells in a minute, a lot of the artillery crews were tending to their pieces or resting. More than a few needs urgent maintenance as they were close to overheating which left a lot of the crews on edge, an overheated shell cooking off within the relatively close proximity they were in wouldn't be good for anyone.

Ren and Nora had wondered off somewhere while Jaune stood alone watching the entrance to a nearby building as stretcher bearers brought in wounded soldiers either by foot or by Chimera. His thoughts consumed about Pyrrha's faith as Sanian had taken her with her apparently and he had no way of confirming if she was even still alive. Jaune looked up into the sky and a part of him realized that it looked a lot lighter.

A new day was approaching, for many like Ren and Nora it gave relief from the fear of dying in the cold darkness. For some, like Blake or Ironwood, it was a spotlight to shine down on the horrors that they had brought down on the innocent by trying to hide their secrets. While for a great deal of people it would be the start of a day to mark mournfully for the years to come at the untimely death of so many.

For the soldiers of Arcadia it was just another day to fight on while Alexander it reminded him of the innumerous problems he would soon have to face. Foremost amongst them was the certainty that it marked a new era in the history, not only for Arcadia but the entirety of Remnant, one that he was all too familiar with.

It was to be an Era of War.

Oh boy it's been a while but I finally managed to have enough time or really patience to sit down and complete the chapter.

There isn't much else to say in that regard, life happens and I've got other things that needed my attention that made writing not even a secondary concern. Which might make it seem like this isn't a good chapter and maybe it wasn't a good chapter hell it really isn't that great of a story in general but I do this not because I believe I am a good writer but as someone who knows they're not good at writing but wants to write nonetheless.

Anyways I've finally been able to start adding some of the other nonWarhammerFantasy/40k elements into the story in a more open manner which I hope to expand later on though if you've seen me on the RWBY subreddit you may already have a good idea of some of the things I have already added or will add.

So feel free to talk to me about some of the elements you may or may not have seen in my story or wish to see if I could add into as I'm always looking for new interesting ideas to mix into this mess I call a story.

Alternatively just feel free to talk about the chapter or story as a whole either by PMing me or writing in the Review section.

Though for now this will be the last chapter for the year, hopefully I'll have another ready for ya'll next year.

With that being said I hoped you've enjoyed this chapter and hope to see you next time.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Years.