Ben 10 RWBY Volume 1: Dimension Twist

by The Omni-Remnant

After an incident involving an old foe and a Null Void Portal, Ben and his team are transported to the world of Remnant... right in the middle of the Battle for Beacon. What will be the consequences? Ben doesn't know, but he does know one thing: It's Hero Time! (Takes place after Ultimate Alien. WARNING: Major changes to the end of RWBY Volume 3 and beyond. MAJOR AU.)

77. Rumble in the Throne Room

A/N: Hey there guys! New chapter comin' at ya! But before we get into the nitty gritty, I gotta say, now RWBY Volume 7 has come and gone, I have to admit that I was really impressed with it for the most part. Sure, I still have my grievances with the show overall (no show is perfect, after all), but for what we got this volume, I was really impressed. They went places I didn't expect them to and I was left really intrigued. Whether any of this stuff happens in THIS series though will remain to be seen, but now that we've gotten all that out of the way, let's get into the chapter. This is…

Chapter 77: Rumble in the Throne Room

…..

As the battle for Menagerie's freedom went on in the streets of Kuo Kuana, the citizens of the sea-side town were anything but relaxed during the situation. After hearing the sounds of people yelling and shots ringing through the night, many citizens wisely decided to stay in their homes, fearing that it was some sort of attack, be it from Grimm or otherwise. Across the somewhat disorganized groups of houses, the citizens all took precautionary measures; boarding up their houses, hiding their loved ones and even grabbing an emergency weapon in case worse came to worse. One such house belonged to a particular family of four who had all gathered in their living room, huddling up in a corner while hoping that the fighting would soon come to an end.

This family consisted of a father and his young son, both of whom had the horns of a mountain goat. The father even had a long goatee to match. Next to them was the man's wife and their even young daughter, both with white, curly hair and the ears of a sheep. The parents were keeping their children close to them while the father kept a free hand near a crow bar, all while keeping part of his focus on the sounds of battle. Occasionally, the sounds would stop, only to resume again soon after. The goat man let out a sigh. "I can't believe this."

His son shifted his worried eyes up to him. "Dad… are we… gonna be okay?"

The man smiled softly to his son, despite the apprehension in the back of his mind. "It's alright, Billy, everything will be okay, I promise."

"I hope so, Will." The sheep woman said to her husband. "Though I can't help but think it's more serious than we realize."

"I know, Shauna." Will set a hand to his wife's shoulder. "But we need to hold out for just a bit longer. Hopefully when the sun rises, this will all be over."

"…Daddy?" the little girl tugged at her father's sleeve. "I… I don't like this. I'm scared."

Will lowered his hand and gently pulled his daughter closer to him and his wife to comfort her. "I know that you're scared, Bonnie. I am to, believe me."

"You are?" Bonnie asked in surprise. "But… you never get scared."

"Oh, trust me, I've been scared more times than you'd think." Will assured. "And this isn't even the first time I've been in situations like this, either. All we have to do is wait it out and hope that… the White Fang can drive them back."

Shauna let out a frustrated moan. "Ugh, as much as I can't stand them now, I suppose that we have little choice but to trust that they can—" But she suddenly cut herself when she heard the sound of shuffling through the nearby window. Her eyes darted over to see a vague shadow moving on the other side of the blinds, making her eyes widen as she grabbed her husbands' arm. "Will!" she harshly whispered before pointing to the window. "Look!"

Will's eyes nearly bugged out at the sight, but unfortunately, his children also spotted the moving figure, causing them both to let out terrified screams. The goat man instantly tried to console his children and get them to stop, but by the time he did, it was too late. The shadowy figure had stopped and jumped back a bit, only for it to start searching for whatever made the sound. Will furrowed his brows, his anxiety growing by the minute. "This isn't good."

However, just a second later, another shadow came up to the window, this one much larger than the other. The two then fell into a heated conversation, making the family confused. "What're they doin'?" Billy asked.

"I don't know, son." Will cupped a hand around his ears and leaned closer to the window, hoping to find out what the figures were talking about. "It… it almost sounds like they're arguing."

"About what, dear?" Shauna asked.

"I'm not sure…" Will reached down and grabbed his crow bar before standing up and going toward the window. "But I'm not taking any chances."

Before he got up, Will felt another small tug on sleeve, causing him to gaze back down to Bonnie. "Be careful, daddy." she pleaded.

The loving father pat his daughter's small hand in reassurance. "I always am, sweetheart. Now stay close to your mother and brother, okay?" Will got a nod from her and she huddled back up with Shauna and Billy, allowing him to stand up all the way and move over to the window. Once he did though, he could hear the conversation much clearer now, and it was there that he could definitely tell it was an argument;

"I'm telling you, I heard children screaming!" one figure insisted.

"And I am telling you that it probably came from inside the house." the other pressed back. "This is the Faun Residence and they DO have children. You were moving too close to the window and they probably saw you."

Will's eyes winded in horror as his hand tightened around the crowbar. The fact that these people knew where he lived was enough to send a chill through his entire being. 'I can probably get the drop on them if I surprise them here. One good strike to the head and they're out.' With that, he took a deep breath before pulling the curtains open and flinging up the window with a single hand. With a cry of exertion, he pushed his upper body through the window and raised the crowbar over his head, intending to bring it down on the intruders. But then, his jaw dropped when he finally caught sight of them, and the crowbar nearly slipped out of his hand from the shock.

One of them was a teenaged boy with blue hair and a pair of goggles, and at the moment, he was jumping away from Will in surprise. It was definitely someone he didn't know, but just by the scent, Will could tell that this person was a human. However, it was the other person that Will was most shocked to see, and it was someone that he knew VERY well. "GAH! William, please!" the large bearded man harshly whispered. "Stand down!"

"G-Ghira—MMPH!" Will was suddenly silenced when the panther man used his hand to cover his mouth. Ghira put a finger to his lips, indicating that Will should keep quiet. With a small nod, the goat man complied, and Ghira removed his hand, allowing him to speak again. "You're back? How?!"

"It's a long story, William." Ghira whispered. "But you need to get back inside before—"

"Ghira?!" Shauna exclaimed as she and her children ran up to the window. "You're alive!"

Off to Ghira's right, Kali came up to the window and put a finger to her lips. "Shauna, please, quiet down. We don't want to alert the White Fang to our presence here."

"Oh! I-I'm so sorry, Kali." Shauna stammered in shock. "But… how did you two get back here? I thought you all escaped by boat to go find help."

"We did, and we succeeded." Kali gestured behind her, indicating a large group of people behind her. "This is Gwen, Penny, Neptune and Tetrax. And believe me when I say that they're professionals when it comes to this."

Will and Shauna directed their eyes over to the group to see even more people in addition to the blue-haired boy. There were two redheaded girls; one with a long pony tail and the other with short hair that curled at the ends. And then behind them was a rather large man in a suit of bulky black armor, his head hidden under a big, dome-shaped helmet with a triangular visor in the middle of it. He couldn't get a good whiff of the larger man's scent since his body was covered in its entirety, but he could tell that the two girls, and of course, the boy, were all human. "But… they're humans. And human children on top of that." Will shifted his gaze to Ghira in bewilderment. "THIS is the back-up you brought?"

"Don't be too quick to judge by appearances, William." Ghira advised. "They maybe children, but they have a good track record when it comes to saving people. And even then, it isn't just them." The panther man jabbed his thumb away from the house, pointing to the center of town. "You've probably heard the fighting going on, right?"

At that moment, Billy came up to the window sill and hoisted his head up over the ledge. "Yeah! What IS that?"

"That would be our friends fighting the White Fang." Gwen clarified. "They're working to whittle down their forces so that their new "leader" has less people to work with."

"But… why help Menagerie?" Shauna asked. "What does human-kind get in assisting us?"

"Absolutely nothing." Penny answered with a cheerful grin. "We're doing this ALL for free!"

Will and Shauna's jaws dropped in disbelief. "What?! Nothing?!" the goat man asked incredulously. "But… but humans have never done anything to help the Faunus without asking for something in return! Are you sure that this isn't some kind of trick?"

"No tricks." Neptune affirmed. "We just wanna help you guys out."

"Indeed." Ghira spoke up. "These young people are friends of my daughter's and they are completely trust worthy, I assure you." The chieftain walked up and set his hand against the sill, giving the family a serious face. "But now isn't the time for small talk. We have a job to do and you all need to lay low while we do it."

The family of four stared at Ghira in silent astonishment before it was broken by Bonnie's small voice. "Is there anything we can do to help?" the little sheep girl asked as she hefted herself over the sill.

"I… actually, there might be, little one." Ghira set his eyes on Will once again. "William, get into contact with anyone you know and tell them to spread the word; the new White Fang leadership falls tonight. But also, make sure to tell them to stay in their homes. We don't want any innocents getting hurt, alright?"

"I wish I could, Ghira." Will shook his head. "But that elephant man confiscated everyone's scrolls to prevent communication between homes. He said it was a to keep people from conspiring against him without him knowing about it."

"Ugh, I see." Ghira pursed his lips in slight frustration. "Well then, remain in your home and stay safe, alright? We don't want innocents getting hurt in all this."

Shauna gave Ghira a small nod. "Alright, Ghira, we'll do that. Stay safe, and good luck."

With that, Will closed the window and shut the curtains, leaving the team outside by themselves yet again. Kali let out a small sigh at what had just happened, giving her husband a saddened look. "It breaks my heart to see these people like this." But just a second later, the cat woman's hands tightened into fists and her ears slanted down, her face hardening up with in anger. "We need to free them, Ghira. I've had enough of that elephant's martial law!"

"I couldn't agree more, sweetheart." The panther man concurred. "Come, let's keep moving."

In the back, Tetrax lowered his helmet, exposing his crystalline face after hiding it from the family. "Tell me, Ghira, are we getting closer?"

"Yes, we're nearly there, in fact. Should just be a few yards ahead."

"Great." Neptune shifted Tri-Hard into its rifle mode, readying it for battle. "I can't wait to finally get a crack at these guys."

To his left, Penny shifted her arms into her Floating Array blasters, the green power symbols on them glowing faintly in the dark. "Count me in on that. The White Fang have gotten away with FAR too much over the past year, and now it's time to end it."

"Just remember to be careful with this, alright?" Gwen reminded. "One false move, and it could be game over."

Neptune sent a smirk back to her. "Ah c'mon, Gwen, you shouldn't be so worried. Besides, compared to what the others are doing, we kinda got the easy job."

The Anodite gave him a small shrug. "Well… I guess you have a point there." Gwen put a finger to her chin in thought, Neptune's words having resonated in her mind. "Now that you mention it, I wonder how everyone's doing."

"Oh, I'm sure they're fine." Penny smiled. "I mean, what's the worst that could've possibly happened over the last twenty minutes?"

…..

"This is the worst thing that could've possibly happened." Blake said to herself, her face anything but amused at the situation they were now in. Sun shared in her sentiment while, in stark contrast, Yang was doing her best to keep her inevitable laughter at bay. Just a second ago, Ben had dialed in Humungousaur and intended to transform into the giant lizard alien. But, as fate apparently hated them all, the Omnitrix transformed him into Rath instead, the tiger-like alien currently snarling at his soon-to-be punching bags. Blake directed her gaze over to Sienna, the tiger lady staring at Rath in utter shock along with Ilia. "Sienna, I just want you to know that I apologize in advance for anything he's about to do."

That statement caught Sienna's attention, and it immediately set off multiple warning signals off in her head. "Blake… what do you mean by—"

"LEMME TELL YA SOMETHIN', TRUMBIPULOR!" Rath shouted at the top of his lungs, scaring the life out of Sienna and Ilia in the process. The Appoplexian narrowed his eyes at Trumbipulor and pointed at him, his voice becoming deathly low for a moment as he made his threat. "Rath might not be Humungousaur… BUT RATH IS GONNA MAKE YOU HUMUNGO-SORRY!"

Sienna made a deadpan face at the alien's demeanor. "…Oh, THAT is what you mean."

Yang wore a cheeky smile at the scene. "Yeah, isn't it great?"

"If by "great", you mean "completely insane"." Ilia commented.

With a mighty battle cry, Rath leapt forward and got down to all fours, bounding over to the villains in less than three seconds. However, the moment he tried to jump Trumbipulor and knock his lights out, Rath was instead met with a heavy strike to the gut, sending him flying right back to his friends with a loud cry of anger. The Appoplexian landed on his chest and shook the daze away from his head, giving out an angry growl soon after. "Grrr… ALRIGHT! WHO DID THAT?!"

"That'd be me!" Thunderhog stepped forward, his Thunder Mace held steadily in his right hand as he pressed the button to activate its energy chain, allowing the mace head to fall freely to the ground. "You'd better listen up, Tennyson!" Hog pointed right back at Rath with an angry glare. "We ain't about to give up after comin' this far, even IF you're a big ragin' furball!"

Exo-Skull let out a laugh as he came forward as well. "Ha! Yeah, an' just look around you!" The rhino mutant spread his arms out, gesturing to the Albains, Trumbipulor, and his best friend next to him. "Sure, you guys outnumber us, but we're bigger and stronger than ALL of you itty bitty little twerps put together! Plus, if ya haven't heard, Lady Salem's gonna be here any minute now! You can't possibly beat all of us!"

Rath grit his sharp teeth and pointed at Skull. "LEMME TELL YA SOMETHIN' FARKAS J. SKULLOVICH, A.K.A. EXO-SKULL…" He then whipped himself around and pointed at Hog. "AND YOU TOO THADDEUS P. HOGAN, A.K.A. THUNDERHOG! RATH HAS FACED MUCH WORSE ODDS THAN THIS IS THE PAST. AND IN THESE KINDS OF SITUATIONS, I'VE GOT A FIFTY-FIFTY SHOT AT WINNING WITH ANOTHER ALIEN!" He then jabbed a thumb to his chest. "BUT I'M AN APPOPLEXIAN, SO I'M NOT LIKE THE OTHER ALIENS! SO IF YOU DO THE MATH, THAT MEANS THAT MY CHANCES OF WINNIN' ARE MORE LIKE TWO-IN-THREE!"

Blake blinked as Rath ranted on, bewildered by what he was spouting off. "Wait… what?"

"Shh!" Yang shushed her partner. "This is getting good!"

Rath whipped his arm back and pointed to his comrades. "BUT THEN YOU ADD MY TEAM INTO THE MIX, AND THAT'S AN EXTRA TWENTY-FIVE PERCENT IN MY FAVOR! SO THE CHANCES OF YOU BEATING US GO DOWN EVEN FARTHER!" The Appolexian swung his arm back around to the bad guys. "SO THAT MEANS THAT NOW YOU GUYS GOT LESS THAN A TWENTY-FIVE PERCENT CHANCE OF BEATING US! TAKE YOUR ONE-IN-THREE CHANCES OF BEATING ME, YOU GET ABOUT THIRTY-THREE PERCENT! MINUS THAT OTHER TWENTY-FIVE PERCENT AND NOW, YOU'RE LOOKIN' AT ABOUT AN EIGHT PERCENT CHANCE OF BEATING US!"

Ilia's jaw had dropped in complete shock. "What is going on?"

Next to her, Sun was had an amused grin on his face. "I don't know, but I'm loving it!"

With a sense of finality, Rath made his conclusion as he jabbed his thumb back to him and his teammates again. "SO BASICALLY, IF YOU TAKE MY SIXTY-SIX PERCENT CHANCES AND ADD MY TEAM'S TWENTY-FIVE PERCENT TO ME, WE'VE GOT A NINTY-ONE PERCENT CHANCE OF WINNING AGAINST YOU HERE AND NOW! THE NUMBERS DON'T LIE, AND THEY SPELL DISASTER FOR YOU!"

After the mindboggling statement made by the angry tiger-man, everyone was gawking at him in complete and utter astonishment. Nobody could quite comprehend what Rath had just said, but in a surprising way, it sort of made sense. But, even still, nobody could quite believe what they had just heard. "What… what was that?" Corsac asked.

"I don't know, brother." Fennec held his head in his right hand. "But I have the strangest headache right now."

Skull was also holding his head with both of his meaty hands. "Oy, I think my head's spinnin' after all that!"

"Can… can we just get a time out for a sec?" Hog requested.

Blake scratched her head in confusion. "I know that I'm not supposed to agree with them, but my head hurts thinking over it too." The cat-girl admitted as her ears flattened out. "This just feels REALLY confusing."

Sun's eyes darted in between his friend in disbelief. "Uh, hello?! Am I the only one surprised that RATH is good at math?! HOW is that possible?!"

"I don't know, but I DO like our odds more now." Yang shrugged.

"Perhaps so." Sienna agreed. "But there IS still one thing that is bothering me." the tiger lady directed her attention up to Rath, giving him an inquiring face. "If you wouldn't mind telling me... what is the remaining one percent?"

Rath's eyebrows shot up, and he answered Sienna with a slightly calmer voice. "Oh, that's Salem." He gave her a thumbs down sign with his hand. "And in case she shows up, that means that we're ALL screwed."

"Ah, that makes sense." Ilia nodded before focusing back on their enemies. "Well, if that's the case, then I guess we should take all of these guys out before she gets here, huh?"

"THAT'S JUST WHAT I WAS THINKIN'!" Rath narrowed his eyes at Trumbipulor, the elephant man having sat himself back down during the math problem. "AND LEMME TELL YA SOMETHIN', TRUMBIPULOR! RATH IS GONNA MAKE YOU SWALLOW YOUR OWN TRUNK BEFORE PULLING IT BACK OUT THE OTHER END! YOU'RE GONNA BE THE WORLD'S FIRST INSIDE-OUT PAKU-DERMOLOID, YA HEAR ME?!"

Trumbipulor facepalmed while resting his chin against his other hand. "Ugh, okay, I'm already feelin' his own headache coming on afta' all this mathematical gobbledygook, so I'm just gonna have my minions do my dirty work." With a wave of his hand, the Paku-Dermoloid gave the order; "KILL THEM!" At his order, the Albains, Hog and Skull let out a collective battle cry as they charged forward, ready for the fight to get underway.

With a loud growl, Rath shouted; "ATTACK!" before lunging straight for Exo-Skull.

Sienna sighed as she charged forth as well. "I suppose this day can only get stranger from here."

Yang balled her hands into fists, her Ember Celica clicking as she readied them. "Well, guess it's time to throw down!" The Blonde Brawler sent a grin toward Ilia with a wink. "Hey, Color-Girl! Wanna help me take out Thunderhog?"

"You bet!" Ilia agreed. "Let's go!"

After Blake watched her two best friends run off toward the large pig-man, she directed her gaze to her boyfriend before nudging her head toward the Albains. "Sun, you and me against Corsac and Fennec. How do you like our odds?"

Sun sent his girlfriend a smirk. "Isn't it obvious, Blake?" The monkey boy lifted Ruyi Jingu Bang over his head and mimicked Rath with a loud scream; "WE ARE THE TWENY-FIVE PERCENT!"

Blake gave a small chuckle and nodded her head. "Alright, alright, let's not get TOO over confident. Just make sure to keep on your toes, okay?"

"You got it, babe! Let's do this!" And with that, the couple leapt into the fray with their teammates. The battle in the White Fang's throne room had officially begun.

…..

Ilia had to admit, after Rath's surprising show of intelligence, she WAS beginning to feel better about their odds. Still though, she wasn't quite sure HOW that muscle-bound hot head of a tiger managed to do all of that math in his head. 'Is he just so jacked up that it's causing the rest of his brain to work in overtime just to keep up?' she asked herself before shaking her head. 'Ah, best not to question it. It's fighting time!' Ilia came to a stop along with Yang when the two finally came face to face with their opponent; Thunderhog. "So Yang, what do I have to know about this guy?"

"Basically, he's big on lightning attacks." Yang answered. "He can make it with his mace AND his gloves, so keep clear of 'em. Plus, he's got a laser in that visor of his."

"I see." Ilia grinned as she pulled the trigger on her Lightning Lash, the weapon shifting from blade to whip mode in less than a second. "Well then, this fight really SHOULD be in our favor."

Hog snorted and grit his teeth. "Don't get too cocky, Skinny Girl!" He hefted his mace mightily over his head and began spinning it around rapidly, generating the electricity in a matter of moments. "'Cause I'll say this now; I am TIRED of bein' told the odds today! Thunder! THUNDER! THUNDERHOG!" With a mighty swing, Hog slammed his Thunder Mace into the concrete floor, making it crack and shake while arcs of electricity sped toward Yang and Ilia.

"I don't think so, pig!" Ilia ran forward and whipped her Lightning Lash forward, which, in turn, made the lightning change direction and come coursing into the chameleon girl's weapon.

Hog's eyes widened at the action, his visor slightly falling down his pig-nose. "What the?!"

"Surprise!" Ilia then sent her whip out again, this time running straight toward Hog with the intent on striking him directly. However, just as she did, Hog lifted up his arm and allowed the Lightning Lash to wrap around it, much to Ilia's surprise. "Huh?!"

"Ilia!" Yang called out worriedly. "Watch out before—"

"HA! Two can play at that game, lil' girl!" Hog smirked wildly as the electricity began being absorbed into his gauntlet, charging it up to full power. "Now, goodbye!" Hog grabbed hold of the whip with his free hand and spun around, tossing Ilia away from him with a powerful throw.

Ilia cried out in pain as she struck the ground, her weapon landing next to her as it automatically went back into its blade form. In less than a second, Yang was by her side, the concerned blonde calling out to her as she helped her up. "Ilia! Are you alright?!"

"Ugh, I think." Ilia ground her teeth as she sat up, frustrated at what had just happened to her. "What the hell was that?!"

Yang's brows furrowed slightly as she glanced back to Hog, the pig man smirking at his little victory. "Ugh, I should've figured this might happen. You guys cancel each other out with your lightning."

Ilia pounded her fist against the ground. "Damn it! Now what?"

Yang pounded a fist into her palm, a determined smile coming to her face. "Now it's my turn. But don't count yourself out just yet, 'cause I've got a plan." The Blonde Brawler drew closer and whispered; "While I distract him, I want you to move around and try to disarm him. Go for his mace and his visor if you can, those are the big two that I'm really worried about."

Ilia smiled and nodded to Yang, finding the plan nominal. "Alright, you got it."

"You two done talkin'?!" Hog hollered as he readied his Thunder Mace again. "'Cause I've got some more electricity with your names on it!"

Yang gave Hog a brief glare before nodding back to Ilia. "Okay, time to get this goin', right?"

Ilia picked up her Lightning Lash with an eager smile. "Right!" With a helping hand from Yang, Ilia got back up and pointed her blade to Hog, her smile going back to a more serious face. "I have to admit, you certainly got the drop on me at first, pig! But let me tell you right now; that WON'T be happening again!"

"Maybe not, but that only means my win will be ALL the sweeter!" Hog swung his mace forward, sending out even more arcs of lightning at the two girls.

"NOW!" Yang shouted, signaling for Ilia to get clear. Once the chameleon girl had gotten away, Yang shot off multiple Dust rounds from her Ember Celica, the bullets coming in direct contact with the lightning before making a sizeable explosion, kicking up a cloud of smoke soon after. Yang shut her eyes and ran directly into the cloud, knowing that Hog would be directly on the other side.

"Oh, COME ON!" Hog shouted. "Is this REALLY the best trick you got?!"

Yang smirked as an idea came to her head. "What can I say?! It comes in pretty handy most of the time!" She dashed to her right side, hoping that Hog would take the bait.

"HA! Gotcha!" Hog activated his visor and shot off three consecutive purple laser blasts into the smoke, hoping to land a hit on Yang. However, instead of the screams he was hoping to hear, all he got were the sounds of his lasers impacting the far wall, leaving him confused as the smoke finally dissipated. "…Oh, this might be bad."

"Ya think?" Hog jumped in surprise, spinning around to see Yang standing directly next to him. "Hi, how's it goin'?" The blonde reared back a fist and brought it forward, intending to strike Hog in his big belly.

"Oh, shoot!" Acting quickly, Hog blocked the hit with one of his gauntlets, but what he didn't expect was for Yang to shoot of a Dust round upon impact. So, while he managed to avoid getting too hurt, the force behind the hit was still enough to hurt his hand and send him back a few feet, his heavy boots skidding against the ground. "GAH!" Hog shook his hand before sending another glare to Yang. "Oh, you just bought yourself a ticket to a WORLD of pain, lady!"

Yang popped a few muscles in her neck before rotating her arm at the shoulder, readying herself for another few rounds. "Bring it on, Mr. Eight-Percent!" At her taunt, Hog surged toward Yang, bringing in the energy chain on his mace to shift it into its normal mace mode for melee combat. As he brought the mace down onto Yang's head, the young girl responded by tucking and rolling under the strike and springing back to her feet directly behind him. "C'mon! You can do better that—WHOA!" Yang literally bent over backwards as the mace's head swung directly over her, her eyes widening at how close that was. "Alright, maybe you can. But so can I!" Yang sprang up again, this time dealing a swift uppercut right to Hog's jaw, making him stumble back again.

"ENOUGH!" Hog roared before slamming his fists together, his mace still in his hand. Altogether, his gauntlets and his mace were now generating a ton of electricity, making Yang more hesitant to throw another punch. "I've had it up to HERE with you heroes gettin' in our way! Well guess what?! I'm not about to let that happen anymo—OH!" Hog was suddenly cut off when he felt his arm being pulled back by his own mace, the weapon having been wrestled out of his hand without warning. "HEY! Who did that?!"

"Who do YOU think, pig?!" Ilia shouted as the Thunder Mace landed at her feet, its electricity being absorbed by the Lightning Lash. "It all comes down to a game of misdirection, doesn't it?" In a swift motion, the chameleon girl tossed the mace all the way to the other end of the room, giving Hog a determined face. "NOW who's got the advantage?"

"Oh, you are goin' DOWN, Skinny Girl!" Hog activated his visor again and began firing off his lasers again in rapid succession, forcing Ilia to flip back multiple times to avoid it. "Get back here so I can end you!"

"Hey!" Hog spun around only to see Yang running at him, her fist reared back for a punch. "Quit calling her that, asshole!" With a powerful hit, Yang managed to strike Hog in the stomach, making him fly all the way back into a nearby wall. "How'd you like it if I started making fun of your body?!"

"Hehe, I'd let it roll of me, blondie!" Hog stood up and pat his stomach with pride. "I'm packin' on those pig pounds and I'm proud of it! Now…" The pig man clenched his fists and activated his gauntlets once again. "Where were we?!" In a few great bounds, Hog made it back over to Yang and began swinging his fists wildly, trying to land a punch on the smaller blonde while trying to back her up into a corner. However, while Hog was much larger and put more force behind his blows, Yang was a professional when it came to brawling, and she could see that his skill was far from equaling her own.

"Seriously?" Yang asked as she ducked under another swing from the electrically charged gloves. She could feel small, staticky tingles traveling through her hair as they went by, but it was nothing that her Aura couldn't handle. "You're putting all your power into your swings, but you're just hoping you'll land a good hit! You've got no technique!"

Hog glowered down to her as they made it just a few feet away from the corner. "What makes you think I need one?!" He brought his fists together over his head and made the lightning in his gauntlets go into overcharge, intending to end it all with one hit. "Besides, there's nowhere to run now, girly."

Yang couldn't help but smirk at that "Maybe, but I don't think I need to run." The moment that Hog brought his hands down, Yang performed a backflip and landed feet first onto the wall behind her in a crouch, making the mohawked mutant do a double take. "Case in point…" Yang brought her fists down against the wall, narrowing her eyes at Hog. "My fists on your face!" With a shot from both of her gauntlets, Yang propelled herself off of the wall and sent a wicked right hook directly to Hog's face, making him fly back again. "Ilia! NOW!"

"On it!" From the opposite end of the room, Ilia came running back, performing a high jump before activating her Lightning Lash again. She swung her arm and whipped Thunderhog's visor off of his face before delivering a kick to his side, forcing him to fall back to the ground. Once she landed on her feet, Ilia sent another whip crack right to Hog's shoulder, making him cry out in pain as the electricity coursed throughout his body. In the end, Hog fell limp to the floor with his eyes closed. For a brief moment though, Ilia was worried she'd gone too far. "Oh god… did I kill him?!"

"Hold on." Yang came over and bent down to Thunderhog's wrist, checking his pulse. "Hmm, his pulse is steady, I can say that much. I think you just—"

"Psyche!" Hog suddenly reached up and grabbed Yang by the arm, a sinister smirk on his face. Yang's eyes bugged out before she was given an intense shock through her arm, making her let out a scream of intense pain. It didn't last long however, as Hog sprung up and tossed her away to a far wall, her body impacting it with a loud WHAM! Ilia stared in horror as Yang's unmoving form fell to the ground, all while Hog let out a bellowing laugh. "AHAHA! The oldest trick in the book! THAT oughta show—"

"YOU!" Hog was cut off when Ilia let out an accusing yell, making him turn around. The pig man's eyes widened in shock when he saw Ilia's skin suddenly shift to red while her hair and spots became yellow, her eyes becoming a vibrant amber in the process. "You bastard!" Ilia surged forward, her anger powering her legs to give her more speed.

"What the—AUGH!" Hog screamed in pain as Ilia's Lightning Lash struck him once again… and then twice again, then thrice more, with each lashing becoming more and more agonizing. It was bad enough that each strike left a rather nasty scar across his arms and body, but combined with the electric shock and the verbal abuse from Ilia, and it hurt even more.

"You! Hurt! My! FRIEND!" Ilia shouted with every whip of her weapon.

"GAH! Please!" Thunderhog hollered desperately. "Somebody, make it stop! AGH!"

At that moment, much to Hog and Ilia's surprise, the pig man was spun around forcibly by Yang, who had made an astonishingly quick recovery. The blonde's eyes burned red as her Aura was flaring, the intense heat practically burning he ends of Hog's body hair. "I'd be glad to." The Blonde Brawler gave Hog a strong punch to the gut, sending him flying all the way to the opposite end of the room, just as he had done to her. Hog slammed into the far wall, though unlike Yang, he was pretty well embedded in it. With the pain too much for him to bear, Hog slipped into unconsciousness, allowing Yang to let out a sigh as her eyes shifted back to their normal shade of violet. "Phew, won't lie, that one caught me off guard."

Ilia's skin shifted back to their normal colors as well, the chameleon girl staring at Yang in amazement. Then, as quick as her legs could carry her, Ilia sped over to Yang's side, giving the blonde a relieved smile. "YANG! You're alright!"

Yang gave her a thumbs up. "Yep. My Semblance kicked in the moment I got slammed into the wall."

"B-But that shock!" Ilia argued. "How'd your Aura manage that?!"

"Trust me, Color Girl, I can take a lot of damage." Yang gave her a wink. "I just gotta be careful not to take too much."

"Well, I… I'm glad you're alright." Ilia rubbed the back of her neck. "I've got to admit, when I saw your body fall, I was afraid that the worst had happened."

Yang gave Ilia a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "Ah, don't worry, Ilia. It'll take more than Thunderhog to take me down." She jabbed a thumb over to Trumbipulor, who seemed to be getting up from his throne to join the fight. "Now, whaddya say we get back in there?"

With a single nod, Ilia gave her approval. "Right!" The two ladies then sprinted off toward the elephant man, a sense of resolve and determination coursing through the both of them.

…..

While his buddy, Thunderhog, had went to take on Yang and Ilia, Exo-Skull instead decided to charge at Rath and Sienna. He wasn't sure about all that math that Rath had spouted off, but he knew one thing for sure; that he wouldn't go down without a fight. With a mighty roar, Skull charged right into Rath, the Appoplexian grabbing hold of his horn the moment he made impact. "I don't even CARE if we're the eight percent! I'm gonna run with that eight percent and I'm gonna kick your asses with it!"

But apparently, Rath wasn't about to let that happen. He roared right back at Skull and, with all the strength he could muster, pulled back on the cybernetic horn. As a result, Exo-Skull was pulled forward in a massive toss, the rhino man letting out a surprise yell as he hit the ground. Sienna had made it just in time to see the amazing feat, leaving her astonished. "By the gods!" she exclaimed, her eyes darting over to Rath. "Just what the hell ARE you, boy?!"

Rath gave her a snarl and pointed at her. "LEMME TELL YA SOMETHIN', SIENNA KHAN, HIGH LEADER OF THE WHITE FANG—"

"FORMER High Leader!" Trumbipulor called from his throne.

"WHATEVER!" Rath shouted back before whirling back around to Sienna. "As I was saying, RATH IS A FORCE OF NATURE THAT YOU DO NOT WANNA MESS WITH, SISTER! WHEN SOMEONE WANTS A PIECE OF RATH, THEY'LL GET IT AND MORE THAN THEIR STOMACH CAN KEEP DOWN!"

Sienna blinked as she processed what Rath had just said, only to come to come to a swift conclusion; "That makes absolutely no sense!"

"I KNOW!" Rath shouted back, getting up right in her face. "BUT HONESTLY, RATH DOESN'T CARE!" He lifted his claw right up to her chin. "NOW, ARE WE GONNA TAKE THESE GUYS DOWN, OR ARE WE GONNA GET INTO A TUSSLE?!"

Though she knew that this sudden attitude change probably wasn't any fault on Ben's part, Sienna couldn't help but feel a more primal urge to fight bubbling up inside of her. There was just something about Rath's anger that was infectious, and it was beginning to have an effect on her as well. She reached up and pulled Rath's fist away from her, much to his surprise. "Don't you DARE threaten me in such a manner, Ben Tennyson!" she rebuked. "Remember, you are in MY palace, and that means that you are to respect my word!"

"LEMME TELL YA SOMETHIN', SIENNA KHAN! RATH'S BODY IS HIS OWN PALACE!" Rath spread his arms out wide to display himself. "WHICH MEANS THAT RATH CAN DO WHATEVER THE HELL HE WANTS!"

"Would you stop talking with your pituitary gland and just LISTEN to me?!" Sienna yelled back.

Suddenly, Exo-Skull picked himself up and whipped around to face them, giving the duo an angry expression. "Alright, NOW it's time to get serious!" He balled his hands into fists and ran at the two, intent on taking them down. "You guys aren't getting away with this!"

Rath and Sienna simultaneously turned their heads toward Exo-Skull before reeling back their own fists, both of them yelling; "SHUT UP!" before socking him in the face. Skull tumbled backwards yet again from the blow, making him roll onto his stomach. After that, the two tigers went back to arguing, their voices echoing throughout the palace halls.

With a frustrated grunt, Skull picked himself back up once more, rubbing his head while he got his bearings. "Alright, that does it, I'm just gonna shoot 'em!" Skull lowered his head and activated the laser at the tip of his horn, the lens beginning to glow a bright blue. A second later, the laser blasted out, firing directly toward Rath and Sienna with great velocity.

"AND ANOTHER THING—huh?" Rath's ears perked up when he heard the sound of Skull's laser blasting out, causing him to move his head around just in time to see it approaching. The Appoplexian's eyes widened and he shouted; "GET DOWN!" before tackling Sienna to the ground, allowing the laser to pass harmlessly over them.

The blast went into the wall directly behind Trumbipulor's throne, the laser just narrowly brushing past the Paku-Dermoloid's head. "GAH!" Trumbipulor slightly jumped in his seat after jerking his head out of the way. He narrowed his eyes at Skull and pointed an accusing finger at him. "HEY! Watch where yer aimin', ya mook!"

Skull's eyes bugged out and he raised his hands defensively. "AH! Uh… sorry, Trumbi, won't happen again! Promise!"

On the ground, Rath and Sienna were lying next to each other on their stomachs, the two hot-blooded tigers staring each other down in anger and contemplation. Finally, Sienna let out a sigh. "Listen, Tennyson, if we're going to beat these idiots, we'll have to do as you said before; work together. I'm not sure where that sentiment went when you changed into this form, but I have a feeling that you haven't forgotten about it."

Rath pursed his lips, both out of frustration and silent reflection on what he had said when he was still human. In the end, he lowered his head, giving a sigh of his own. "Yeah, sure, I guess. But lemme tell ya somethin', Sienna Khan, if you wanna fight against these guys with Rath, then you're gonna hafta keep up with him."

Sienna rolled her eyes at that. "Please, I think I can keep up with a brute like you."

"Good! Because Rath's about to go all out!"

Just then, Exo-Skull stepped over and stood in front of them, glaring down at the two with his glowing yellow eyes. "HEY! Are you two done talkin' yet?" he asked as his horn began to light up again. "'Cause I'm about to go all out myself!"

Rath growled before making an unexpected spring up to his feet, reeling back his fist for a… "URSA MINOR UPPERCUT!" His declaration proved truthful as he landed a swift uppercut right to Exo-Skull's jaw, forcing him to step back with a howl of pain. The laser also ended up firing off as well, this time blasting directly upwards through the ceiling.

"Ugh! C'mon!" Skull grit his teeth. "Can't ya just stay still for two seconds?!"

"LEMME TELL YA SOMETHIN' EXO-SKULL!" Rath immediately retorted. "RATH IS GONNA TAKE THAT HORN AND SHOVE IT STRAIGHT UP YOU KNOW WHERE! AND RATH KNOWS YOU KNOW WHERE, BECAUSE RATH KNOWS WHAT'S WHAT, AND YOU KNOW WHERE IT'S AT!" Rath shoved a finger directly in front of him. "AND THAT CAN ONLY MEAN THAT HERE IS NOW!"

Both Exo-Skull and Sienna blinked in utter befuddlement, only for the former to thrust his hands forward. "WHAT does that even MEAN?!"

Sienna meanwhile was sneering uncomfortably. "And why are you so obsessed with shoving things into different orifices?"

"BECAUSE IT CAUSES THE MOST PAIN!" Rath ran forward and brought his claws up, digging them into Exo-Skull's chest armor. He didn't pierce through to the leathery skin underneath, but it was enough to keep the massive mutant there for a while. "NOW, SIENNA KHAN!"

"My pleasure." Sienna smiled as she pulled her Cerberus Whip out and began to spin it around rapidly, the chain practically a blur as she ran forward. With a mighty leap, Sienna vaulted up Rath's back and over Skull's head, doing a quick front flip as she did so. With amazing accuracy, Sienna lashed the Cerberus Whip around Exo-Skull's horn, the three Dust blades at the weapon's tip allowing it to stay in place as she landed behind him. Sienna pulled Exo-Skull away with all her strength, allowing Rath to step back. Then, with a mighty tug, she pulled herself toward Skull with a flying kick, striking him right in the face. Her whip came undone from Skull's horn as he stumbled back, with Sienna landing proudly on her feet. "Hmph, perhaps you aren't as tough as I thought you'd be."

"OH YEAH?!" Exo-Skull roared again before pulling his giant minigun; the Executioner, off of his back. "I'm just getting started!"

He pulled the trigger and sent a barage of bullets right at Sienna, the tiger lady narrowing her eyes as they came at her. "Well, so am I." She began spinning her whip rapidly again, the chain almost unseen to the naked eye as she whirled it around in front of her. With incredible precision, Sienna was able to deflect the bullets, her whip going from hand to hand as they all bounced off of the chain weapon. She dashed off to the rhino mutant's right side as she deflected the incoming fire, hoping to out run his range. "Oh, come now. Is this REALLY all you have to offer?" Sienna goaded. "I've fought SDC guards that are more competent than you!"

"Shut up!" Skull decided to put even more pressure on her by giving off multiple quick shots from his laser horn, forcing Sienna to stop in her tracks. She was still deflecting the bullets, but she found it harder to do so while avoiding all of the laser blasts. "Haha! Now look who's got nothing to offer! You can't keep bouncin' these puppies away for much longer, and if you haven't noticed, I got plenty of…" Skull went to pat the bandoliers around his torso, but found that they weren't there. His eyes darted down to see that the bullets were completely gone, taking him aback. "W-What the—"

"HEY!" The rhino moved his head around to see Rath standing right next to him, the Appoplexian smirking as he held the bandoliers in his hands. "Heh, I cut 'em off while you weren't looking!" Rath chortled calmly before tossing the bullets away. "CLEVER, HUH?!"

"Why you stinkin' little—" Click-click. The sound of his weapon dry-firing made Skull return his focus to the weapon, only to realise that it was indeed out of bullets. "Oh… crud."

Rath, in contrast, wore a big smirk. "Yeah, pretty much! RRRAAAUGH!" The Appoplexian leapt forward and grabbed the massive minigun, trying to wrestle it away from Skull with all his might. But the rhino wasn't about to give up. He may not have had the ability to fire his weapon at the moment, but he could at least use it as a blunt instrument. He pulled the Executioner away and then rammed it forward into Rath's stomach, making him fly back several feet. But Rath wasn't done yet, landing on the ground in a crouch before calling out to his battle partner; "SIENNA KHAN! STOP HIM!"

"On it!" Now free to run however fast she pleased, Sienna surged forward and dashed right up next to Skull as he ran toward his bandoliers. With a great swing of her arm, Sienna managed to get the Cerberus Whip to wrap around the large rotary barrel of the Executioner and, with another good tug, she managed to pull Skull off course. "Now, let's take care of you, shall we?" Sienna pulled her whip free and began using it on Exo-Skull himself, the rhino taking quite a beating from his faster opponent without time to recover. After making sure he was dazed enough, Sienna did a back flip to get some distance between herself and him before pulling out her next trick. With swing of her arm, Sienna lashed her Cerberus Whip toward Skull again, with one of the three Dust Blades at the end of her weapon detached in mid-swing, flying forward and cutting through the air.

The small, triangular blade pierced itself directly into Skull's armor, but it didn't go all the way through, much to his amusement. "HA! That's it?! After smackin' me around with that thing, THIS is what you—" BOOM! "AUGH!" The Fire Dust crystal embedded inside of the small blade exploded just a few short seconds after impact, much to Skull's surprise. While the blast only singed his armor a little, it was still powerful enough to make him drop his minigun and stumble back… right into the waiting arms of Rath. "W-Wait, DON'T!"

But it was too late. Rath used all of his strength to pull Skull off the ground and over his head, all while shouting; "OPHIUCHUS SUPLEX!" With a powerful SLAM, Skull landed on the ground behind Rath, his head impacting the concrete and cracking it instantly. Once he turned around, Rath jumped up and pulled back his leg to deliver a kick to Skull's rear. "SIRIUS BUTT-KICKING!" The kick landed and Skull went into a somersault, making him fall onto his stomach yet again.

But, in as much pain as he was, this allowed Skull the perfect opportunity to pound his fists into the ground and steady himself. He knew that he had to end this now, so he had to make his next laser blast count. He pawed the ground beneath him and let out a loud bellow before charging forth, the jet thrusters on his back activating as the tip of his horn lit up. "Tennyson! You're finished!" He rammed into Rath with impressive force, taking the Appoplexian for a ride.

"WOAH!" Rath grit his teeth as he was slammed into the far wall, getting pinned between it and the cybernetic horn. He was practically staring straight down the barrel of the laser as it continued powering up, the blue glow lighting up Rath's face. "LEMME TELL YA SOMETHIN', EXO-SKULL! RATH AIN'T SCARED OF NO LASERS! RATH EATS LASERS FOR EVERY MEAL!"

"Then consider this your daily dose of fiber." Skull smirked. "Fiber-optics, that is! AHAHA!"

"HEY! PUNS ARE MY THING!" Rath growled as he tried to push the horn back. "AND MY GIRLFRIEND'S THING!"

"Don't care! Now die!" But just as he fired off his laser, a rather familiar whip wrapped around Exo-Skull's horn and jerked it back, making the laser miss Rath's face by just a hair's length. The massive rhino man then felt something land on his back, and he could tell just by its weight that it was a person. "GAH! Hey! Get off me, lady!" Skull reached his arms around to try and get Sienna off of him, but his arms couldn't quite reach her.

"Like I'd listen to you, brute!" Sienna spat before eyeing Rath. "Now, Tennyson! PUSH!"

"GOTCHA!" With Rath pushing Exo-Skull away from him while Sienna pulled with her whip, the two's combined strength made the rhino mutant stumble away again. This allowed Rath just enough room to duck underneath Skull and, using all the strength he could muster, lift him over his head. "SIENNA KHAN, GET OFF!" As rude as his demand was, Sienna complied and Rath began spinning around and around, getting ready for one final move. "TELESCOPIUM POWER TOSS!" In an incredible feat of anger-fueled strength, Rath threw Skull head first at a far wall, the alien tiger breathing hard as a result.

"MAMA!" Skull shouted before making impact with the wall, his head going straight through it.

Sienna stared on in surprise before shifting her eyes back up to Rath. "Would it KILL you to be more careful?" She raised a hand up to Skull and the damaged wall. "Do you know how long it'll take for that to get fixed?"

But Rath just waved it off. "Ah, that's nothin'! You should see what happens when I REALLY CUT LOOSE!" The Appoplexian flexed his muscles with an eager smirk. "OH YEAH! NOW LET'S STOMP TRUMBIPULOR INTO THE GROUND!"

"Highly unlikely, Tennyson!" Trumbipulor called out from across the battle field as he stood back up, now ready to get in on the action as well. "So maybe these mooks ain't what they promised. And maybe you's guys are gettin' a bit of a leg up on us, huh? BIG WHOOP." The Paku-Dermoloid leaned forward with his arms outstretched, gesturing to the room around them. "Because, if ya hadn't noticed, I'm still in charge 'round 'ere, and that means that I've still got plenty more mooks ta throw at 'chu."

Sienna stepped forth and glowered at Trumbipulor with an apathetic glare. "Perhaps so, but that will all change when we defeat you in combat." She held her Cerberus Whip's handle steadily in her left hand, spinning the chain around in the other. "After all, I think it's only fitting that I take the title of White Fang leader away from you in a fight, wouldn't you say?"

Trumbipulor let out an amused chuckle. "Heh, your funeral, toots." But just as he was about to step closer to them, he felt something explode against his face, making him cry out in surprise. "GAH! Hey!" He balled put his fists and began whirling his head around, searching for the perpetrator. "Who did that?!"

"That'd be me, Jumbo!" Rath and Sienna spun around to see Yang and Ilia running their way, the blonde sending them a wave. "Sienna! Ben!" The duo stopped next to them and Yang gave a small jab to her boyfriend's arm. "Glad you guys managed to take down Skull!"

"She's right." Ilia concurred, her eyes shifting over to the stuck rhino man. "Very impressive."

"OF COURSE IT'S IMPRESSIVE, ILIA AMITOLA!" Rath yelled. "IT'S BECAUSE TIGERS ARE SOME OF THE BEST HUNTERS IN THE WILD. AND SINCE TWO HEADS ARE BETTER THAN ONE, THAT CAN ONLY MEAN THAT TWO TIGERS ARE TWICE AS GOOD AS TWO HEADS!"

Ilia was processing that statement in her head, but Yang set her hand against her friend's shoulder to pull her out of it. "Ilia, it's best not to think too deeply about what Rath says. Trust me, just enjoy the weirdness, okay?"

"Uh, yeah, sure." Ilia complied before sending a nod to Sienna. "Lady Sienna, are you ready for this?"

"Indeed." Sienna pulled the chain of her whip, the metal links clinking together. "Now, what say we take this elephant down?"

"I ain't no stinkin' elephant!" Trumbipulor trumpeted in anger. "I'm a Paku-Dermoloid! An' YOU are gonna learn just how screwed you are!" In a thunderous charge, Trumbipulor ran forward, lowering his head and readying his trunk to attack the four combatants.

But Rath wasn't about to have it, going into a battle-ready stance as his teammates did the same. "LEMME TELL YA SOMETHIN', TRUMBIPULOR!" The Appoplexian ran forward to meet Trumbipulor head on, with Yang, Ilia and Sienna charging in right by his side. "BRING IT ON!"

…..

A fair distance away from the palace, all the way across town in fact, the port of Kuo Kuana was relatively peaceful compared to the chaos that was happening in the town itself. The phalanx of at least twenty Dust cannons that were lined up all the way across the docks had been primed and at the ready for whatever ships, be it from sea or air, to appear over the ocean's horizon. However, it seemed that today was just not a good day for the dozens of White Fang grunts that were manning them. First, they had mistakenly shot down a ship belonging to their own people, and now there was a big conflict happening in the middle of town, confusing the lot of them. It had proven to be a rather strange day.

Standing with them was the White Fang Lieutenant that had arrived with the Valian branch earlier that same day, having been assigned to watch over the defenses. "Keep on your guard." the masked man said. "We may have no idea what's going on, but that doesn't mean we can slack off."

"Well, what do you think is going on?" one foot-soldier asked.

"No clue." the Lieutenant dismissed. "Maybe it's just the citizens trying to rebel."

"Nah, they're far too intimidated by Lord Trumbipulor to do that." another grunt denied before realizing something. "Do you think… that it could be Ghira and his reinforcements?!"

"That's crazy talk!" the Lieutenant exclaimed. "If it really was, then they'd have to get here by airship, and no other ships have shown up since ours earlier!"

"He's got a point." the first grunt spoke again. "There's no way an airship could get past this barricade without getting spotted. And besides, Lord Trumbipulor ordered for these things to be set up across ALL of Menagerie. How could they've POSSIBLY gotten past them?"

"How indeed?" All of the White Fang grunts froze when they heard a rather gruff and commanding voice speak up from behind them. After swallowing their fear for the time being, they all did an about-face away from the ocean to see none other than Ghira Belladonna standing about twenty or so feet behind them, his arms crossed and boring a disapproving glare into all of them. "Well, gentlemen? What exactly do you have to say for yourselves?"

The panther man was also accompanied by five others, most noticeably his wife Kali who was standing right beside him. The cat woman was wearing a stern face as well as she spoke to the White Fang. "Your new boss has caused a lot of trouble over the past couple of weeks, but now, it's time for it all to end." She extended her hands out to them with a small plea. "Now, we can either fight, or you can just give yourselves up right now. Your choice."

But her request fell on deaf ears as the grunts all began to take out their weapons. "IT'S THEM!" one shouted out.

"But how?!" the Lieutenant asked. "We've been on guard all night!"

From Ghira's group, Gwen stepped forward, a small smile on her face. "Yes, you were. But I'm guessing that you've never dealt with a ship with cloaking technology, have you?"

At that, the White Fang began murmuring amongst themselves in confusion. With questions like; "Cloaking technology? But that's only experimental!" and "How did they get their hands on stuff like that?" being thrown around. As the grunts continued to arm themselves up for a fight, the Lieutenant shouted out over the crowded voices.

"Would you all just calm down for two seconds?! We have Dust Cannons!" he pointed out. "USE them!" At the suggestion, many of the guards began to smile wickedly before sprinting back to the cannons to turn them all around. In less than ten seconds, the cannons had all shifted to face the Belladonnas and the others, causing them to recoil in shock.

Neptune shifted his eyes across the phalanx worriedly. "Uh… was anyone expecting this to happen?"

Penny shook her head. "No, but I think we should've taken some more factors into consideration."

Tetrax stepped up to shield the others from the inevitable incoming fire. "Everyone, get back! I can take it!"

"Tetrax, wait!" Gwen called to the Petrosapien before reaching out her right hand, her purplish-pink mana beginning to apparate as a White Fang grunt began to count down. The moment he shouted "FIRE!", the whole line of cannons blasted out their Fire Dust cannonballs straight at the group, a massive explosion occurring the moment they made contact. As the billowing cloud of fire and smoke wafted up into the air, the grunts began celebrating their little victory. Ending Ghira Belladonna's life would surely get them promoted up the ranks! However, their celebration was cut short when the smoke began to clear, revealing a bright pink glow coming from the middle of it. Once everything had settled, the White Fang were astonished to see that the group of six were all still alive, a massive pink energy shield having protected them from the explosion.

Gwen was breathing steadily after bringing up the shield at the last possible second, her eyes glancing back to her friends standing behind her. "Is everyone alright?!"

"Y-Yes, Gwen." Kali stammered. "But are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good." Gwen reassured before shifting her eyes back to the grunts. They were quickly trying to reload the cannons for another blast, hoping that this one would be enough to take down the Anodite's shield. She moved her head to face Ghira with a reluctant gaze. "Ghira, I know that they're probably REALLY old antiques, but if we don't take out those cannons, we won't be getting anywhere."

"You're right." Ghira agreed. "We have to take them out… even if it means destroying them."

"Okay." Gwen nodded before shifting her attention to Neptune, Penny and Tetrax. "C'mon guys, let's get in there and take 'em down!"

Penny gave her fellow redhead a salute as she activated her jetpack. "We're on it, Gwen! Lower the shield!" Gwen did as she asked and Penny powered her jet thrusters up, the android blasting off into the sky soon after. Once she reached a height of about thirty feet, Penny redirected herself back down toward the grunts, a bright smile on her face as she did. "Woohoo! I think I'm starting to get the hang of this!" She narrowed her eyes and they flashed green for a moment. "Okay, now let's change it up a bit!" In a split second, Penny switched from her jet pack to her spiked Punk Busters, her legs bending and preparing for impact. "Incoming!"

The White Fang grunts hollered in panic as they all dove out of the way, Penny's giant metal feet making impact with four cannons as soon as they got clear. "WHAT THE?!" One of the grunts shouted in disbelief. "What's the deal with that girl?!"

"I don't know." Another grunt said as she pulled out her rifle. "But she's toast—GAH!" the woman was interrupted when a sizeable blue blade pierced right through her weapon, making it spark as it was plucked out of her hands and sent to the ground.

The blade was pulled away by Neptune, the blue-haired boy having shifted Tri-Hard into its guandao mode. "Sorry, ma'am, but I'm afraid I can't let ya do that." he smirked. "Besides, I don't think that you'd be able to hurt her anyways. Now if you'll excuse me…" Neptune leapt away from the lady and began disarming more grunts with his weapon, all while the lady grunt watched Penny stomp on more cannons.

Over to the side, Kali had joined in on the fight as well, the cat woman dashing up to one of the grunts with surprising speed. The foot soldier had managed to pull out his side arm; a standard flintlock pistol, and began firing it at her. But this proved to be futile as Kali simply dodged the shots with ease. As she drew closer, Kali pulled her sash off of her waist and whipped it forward, the strip of cloth wrapping around the grunt's weapon with its buckle locking around it. With a strong pull, Kali yanked the weapon from the grunt and into her own hands, allowing her to get the upper hand. She leapt up and did a mid-air flip over the White Fang's head before delivering a spin kick to his back, knocking him to the ground. With a confident smile, Kali spun the pistol in her hands and put her sash back around her waist. "Thank you very much, dear. This'll certainly come in handy."

"Alright Kali!" Gwen cheered as she ran up and began sending multiple mana disks at the cannons, the thin energy projectiles slicing directly down the middle of multiple cannons all at once. "I gotta say, this is going rather well! Tetrax, how're you holding up?"

Tetrax came up beside her and took off one of his gloves, his crystalline hand changing into a sharp blade. "Well, this isn't exactly how I would've gone about things, but it IS still getting good results. So, why not?" With a gravely battle cry, Tetrax charged forth and began slicing the barrels of the cannons off, making the White Fang grunts back away in fear.

"AH! It's some sort of crystal monster!" one of the grunts screamed in terror.

"Hold your ground!" the Lieutenant ordered. "We can't be thrown off by a bunch of—" SMACK! "GAH!" With a hard punch to the face, the Lieutenant stumbled back, only to see Ghira standing a few feet away from him. "YOU!"

Ghira narrowed his eyes at the Lieutenant before asking; "Tell me, you were with the Vale branch, were you not? What made you think it was a good idea to ally with Adam in the first place?"

"I don't have to answer to you, old man!" The Lieutenant reaching into his pockets and pulled out a pair of brass knuckles, with each ring having four rather sharp spikes at the ends of them. But something was odd about the handles; they appeared more like those of a knife. "Your time's LONG since passed, and now, you're done for!" He rushed forward and threw a volley of punches at Ghira, only for the panther man to bob and weave around every strike. Right jab, dodge. Left hook, deflect. And when the Lieutenant threw in both hands at once, Ghira simply grabbed the man's arms and hardened his grip, eliciting a scream from the White Fang's throat.

"I find your statement highly unlikely." Ghira said plainly before closing his eyes and delivering a kick to the Lieutenant's abdomen, making him skid back on his feet a fair distance away. "Alright, I think it's time to end this." The burly man's eyes snapped back open and he flexed his hands out to his size, making his retractable claws pop out. He let out a growl before throwing his purple jacket off, revealing his bare upper torso as he psyched himself up for battle. With a stomp and a loud roar, Ghira lunged forward and brought one of his hands back, intending to slice his claws at the Lieutenant's mask. "I'm through playing this game!"

"Oh yeah?! Well so am I!" The Lieutenant sprang up and pressed a button on his brass knuckles, resulting in a sharp blade popping out of the already deadly weapon. The sharp blades had retracted in a position so that the Lieutenant was wielding them in a reverse grip, so he swung his hands upward to meet Ghira's attack. The chieftain's eyes widened and he tried to avoid the blades, but he got caught on the first slash, resulting in him getting cut across the arm.

"AGH!" Ghira grit his teeth and he glared at the Lieutenant, only for his eyes to widen when three more White Fang grunts came over; one brandishing a spear while the others each held a single blade.

"ATTACK!" At the Lieutenant's order, the grunts ran forth and began their assault on Ghira, hoping to take the large man out.

However, it was apparent even after their first attack that Ghira wasn't messing around. One of the foot soldiers sent a flying kick straight at Ghira's head, but the massive man was able to simply grab the grunt's foot and fling them into the ground without much effort. Then another one came at him, this one swinging a blade right for his head. Ghira managed to dodge just in time before throwing a punch to the soldier's gut, grabbing his head and slamming him to the ground for good measure. The third and final grunt attempted to lunge at him with their spear, only for Ghira to grab the weapon by the handle. The cheiftain then used the handle to fling the solider over his head and slam him into the ground, knocking him out instantly. With his work done, Ghira tossed the spear away and let out a breath… but then, a sharp and sudden pain began going through his back, making him let out a loud scream. "GAAAH!"

The White Fang Lieutenant had taken the opportunity while Ghira's back was turned to stab him in the back with one of his shanks, the pain forcing the panther man to his knees. Beneath his mask, the Lieutenant smirked to himself as he made his way around Ghira, a slight chuckle escaping his lips. "Hehehe, well, I guess that you've gotten less observant as you've gotten older, eh Ghira?"

Ghira clenched his teeth with a snarl. "That… was an underhanded move."

"Maybe, but you can't argue with the results." The Lieutenant proceeded to kick Ghira in the face, sending him sprawling onto his back, which only made the wound worse. The White Fang then bent down and pressed his blades against Ghira's neck, right next to his jugulars, all while laughing in the process. "Haha! Gotta say, it's been fun, but now it's time for you to die. Any last words?"

"Heh, yes, actually." Ghira smiled knowingly to himself. "You really shouldn't be two quick to claim victory over me."

"Oh really, and why is that?"

"Because I'm a package deal. You hurt me…" Ghira watched as the Lieutenant was suddenly grabbed by the shoulder and spun around by a certain person, the man getting socked in the face soon after. "…my wife hurts you back."

The Lieutenant staggered back and shook the dizziness out of his eyes, only to be immediately met by an absolutely livid Kali. Her teeth were grit together and her yellow eyes were practically glowing, piercing directly through the Lieutenant's soul. "Stay AWAY from my husband!" she pulled up the flintlock pistol she had confiscated and used it to blast the brass knuckle shanks out of the Lieutenant's hand, which also caused him to recoil in pain. This gave Kali the opportunity to send a roundhouse kick to his stomach, sending him to the ground for the time being. With her opponent incapacitated for now, Kali rushed over to her husband hand helped him up, her expression going from angry to concerned in less than a second. "Sweetheart! Are you okay?!"

Ghira chuckled weakly, still in pain from being stabbed. All the same though, he gave his wife a reassuring smile and took her hand in his own. "I'll be alright, dear." He sent her a small wink. "You know from experience that we've survived worse."

Kali smiled back and gave him a quick kiss. "I know, but still, YOU know that nothing sets me off more than seeing you or Blake getting hurt."

"Hehe, yes I do." Just then, at the sound of a weak groan, Ghira and Kali spun their heads around to see the Lieutenant getting back up, much to their annoyance. But, with a sly grin, Ghira gave his wife a nod. "Shall we?"

Kali reciprocated the gesture. "Yes, let's." With that, the couple got up and quickly ran over to the Lieutenant, who wasn't expecting such a quick reaction. In a joined effort, Kali and Ghira delivered a double punch to the White Fang's face, finally knocking him out.

Back over with Gwen, Tetrax, Penny and Neptune, the four were just finishing up wrecking the cannons and disarming the other White Fang grunts, all while knocking most of them out along the way. A few of the foot soldiers were quick to retreat when they were disarmed though, but Gwen wasn't all that concerned about it. "Let them go. They're weaponless and they can't get to Trumbipulor without going through our friends in town." the redhead rationalized. "I think we'll be good here."

After wrecking the last cannon, Penny deactivated her Punk Busters and returned to her default state, placing her hands on her hips as she surveyed the area. "Yeah, I think that's fair. Besides, we've already taken out their artillery."

"Yeah!" Neptune pumped a fist into the air. "Now Ironwood can get through securely."

"Indeed." Tetrax affirmed as he changed his hand back to normal and put on his glove. "Excellent work every—GHIRA!"

The Petrosapien's exclamation caused everyone to whirl around just in time to see the aforementioned panther man being tended to by his wife not far away, a visible deep wound having been put into his back. There was also a long slash along his right arm, and it was also bleeding pretty well. In a flash, the teens and Tetrax went over, all while asking if he was okay. "Ghira! Kali!" Gwen called out before stopping right next to the cat woman. "I-Is he alright?!"

"What happened?!" Penny added.

Kali sent them a soft smile. "Everyone, it's okay." she said calmly. "Yes, it's a rather nasty wound, but he'll pull through."

Neptune gave out a sigh. "Phew, that's a relief." The blue-haired boy gave Ghira a thumbs up. "You're on tough dude, Ghira. Mad props!"

Ghira blinked in confusion at the lingo used, but he caught on to its meaning soon after. "Oh, yes, thank you." The chieftain then looked up to Gwen and Tetrax. "So, did everything go through alright?"

Gwen gave him a nod and a thumbs up. "Yep, everything's been taken care of. The cannons are down and most of the foot soldiers have either been knocked out or they've just run away."

"Good, then that means that General Ironwood shouldn't have much of a problem landing here." Ghira winced in pain as Kali tended to his wound. "Gah! Dear god!"

"It's alright, honey." Kali consoled as she dabbed the area around the wound with a cloth that she had on her. "It will take time to heal, but your Aura should already be working to dull the pain."

Gwen stepped closer to the two and her hands began glowing again. "Here, let me help. I'll feed some of my mana into Ghira's Aura to help it along." She placed her hands just slightly above the wound and her mana began to power up Ghira's Aura, which almost instantly made him feel better. Once she was done, Gwen gave the panther man a nod. "Alright, you should be good to go, at least until you can get some bandages on it. How do you feel?"

"Never better, Gwen. Thank you." Ghira stood back up and bowed his head toward the Anodite. "I greatly appreciate the help, but now I think would be a good time to contact Ironwood and see how he's coming along."

"Oh, you're right!" Gwen pulled out her Plumber's badge and activated the comm-link before bringing it closer to her face. "This is Gwen Tennyson contacting General Ironwood. Can you hear me, general?"

At first, it was a bit staticky, but sure enough, Ironwood's voice ran out through the opposite end. "That's a big ten-four, Gwen Tennyson, we're reading you loud and clear! What's the status of the mission so far?"

"It's going rather well, actually." Gwen smiled. "Kevin and Winter are in town with their group and providing a pretty good distraction and we just got done disabling the defenses at Kuo Kuana's port. You should be able to get in, no problem."

"Excellent. And what about the group freeing Sienna Khan? Are they doing alright?"

"Not sure, but considering we haven't heard any big explosions or the like come from the palace, I think it's safe to say they're alright. At least for now." Gwen raised an eyebrow. "So, how long until you and your soldier's get here?"

"About fifteen minutes or less." Ironwood answered. "…However, there HAS been a slight change in plans."

The general's vague statement only made the group more confused, prompting Gwen to inquire further. "Uh… general, what're you talking about?"

"Well, I only realized a short time before I left that bringing Atlesian Army Soldiers to Menagerie of all places probably wouldn't go over well with Miss Khan." Ironwood elaborated. "After all, the last thing that I would want in all of this is for relations between the White Fang and Atlas to be strained even further than before. So, at the last minute… I decided to pick up THESE hooligans instead. And they're actually kind of irritated that you left them behind."

"General, what ARE you talking about—"

But Gwen was cut off when a different voice called out over the comm; "Hey RED! What's the big deal leavin' us in the dust, huh?!"

From the voice's tone, Gwen could tell two things; one, it belonged to a rather familiar young woman. And two, it was dripping with sarcasm and charisma, which elicited a smile to appear on her face, as well as Neptune and Penny's. Gwen let out a small laugh before retorting; "Haha! Oh, boy, THIS ought to be interesting."

…..

Back in the White Fang palace, the foyer was practically dead compared to the chaos that was happening in the next room over. Next to the large pair of double doors that lead to the throne room, Exo-Skull was still trying to pull his head free of the wall without making it collapse on himself. Though he wasn't having much luck thanks to his massive horn getting in the way. "Man, this sucks!" the rhino mutant bemoaned, only to be surprised when the throne room's doors burst open, revealing Corsac and Fennec Albain leaping backwards out into the foyer. "HAHA! Just my luck! Hey guys, mind givin' a mutant a little help?"

But Corsac just sent him a quick glare. "We haven't got the time for that!" Just as fast as his glare was sent to Skull, it was redirected toward a dark shape as it dashed out of the room and clattered against his sai; Inferno. The moment the dark shape came to a halt, Skull saw that it was, in fact, Blake, the cat girl putting on a lot of pressure against Corsac as their weapons clashed.

"Brother!" Fennec called out before he was engaged by none other than Sun, the monkey boy using his bo staff to engage with the younger Albain. "Gah! Why you impudent little punk!"

"Ooh, big words!" Sun smirked. "Let's see if you can back 'em up, big ears!" He performed a back flip away from Fennec before spinning around his Ruyi Jingu Bang in a red blur, dashing toward Fennec again with a plan forming in his mind. Just as he suspected, Fennec stabbed forward with his own sai; Cyclone. The white spiral going down its thin blade began to glow and, true to its name, a strong cyclone of wind shot out from it. In response, Sun brought his staff forward, still spinning it rapidly. Using his weapon as a propeller to counteract the gust of wind, Sun was able to hold his ground, only getting pushed back by about half a foot. Once the wind subsided, Sun slammed his staff into the ground and laughed. "HA! Not happenin', man!"

"What?!" Fennec's eyes widened in surprise.

"Yeah, I had a feeling that white stuff on your blade was Wind Dust." Sun nudged his head toward Corsac and Blake's fight. "And I guess that means your bro uses Fire Dust, am I right?"

"Very astute." Fennec admitted before entering a combat stance. "But that knowledge won't be enough to save you!"

Sun spun Ruyi Jingu Bang around, holding the bo staff at arm's length behind him as he went into his own stance. "Maybe, but I think I can at least get a few good ideas from this." He let out another battle cry and ran forward, swinging his staff in a downward arc toward Fennec's head. The fox-eared man was able to dodge by lunging back though, but as it turned out, Sun was also able to use that to his advantage. The end of his staff slammed into the ground and the monkey boy used it as a pole vault, sending himself sailing right toward Fennec with a flying kick right to the nose.

The fox man screamed in agony as he clutched his nose, blood already trickling from it as he staggered back. "AAAAGH!" He removed his hand and exposed his clenched teeth, which were beginning to be stained red from the blood dripping into his mouth. "I'll END you, boy—AUGH!" Fennec was interrupted however when Sun slammed Ruyi Jingu Bang directly into Fennec's gut, making him double over immediately.

"Sorry, what was that?" Sun then pulled Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang apart into their gun chuck modes, using them to smack Fennec in the face while he was winded. "I can't hear you over me kicking your butt!"

From across the way, Blake hollered; "Sun, what'd I say about getting cocky?!"

Sun's eyes widened and he came to a stop, allowing Fennec to drop to his knees for a brief moment. "Sorry, Blake!" he called back. "Guess I got too into it!"

"It's fine!" Blake answered as Gambol Shroud clashed with Inferno once again, with Corsac giving the cat girl a nasty snarl. "Just keep the bragging to a minimal, 'kay babe?" She got a thumbs up from him and she smiled, her focus going back entirely to Corsac. "Now, where were we?"

"If you'd stop worrying about your boyfriend, then maybe you'd remember!" Corsac growled as he stepped back and sent a blast of fire out from Inferno. However, Blake used her Semblance to make a shadow clone of herself, allowing her to quickly jump out of the way while the clone took the hit.

In a flash, Blake was suddenly up in Corsac's face, the fox-tailed man slightly recoiling at how fast she had gotten there. "Forgive me if I'm concerned for the people I care about." She gave him a quick kick to the stomach before continuing on; "But then again, I AM talking to someone who doesn't give a DAMN about what the people of Menagerie are going through. It's all about pleasing Jumbo in there, isn't it?"

"HOW DARE YOU!" Corsac bellowed before getting up and thrusting Inferno forward, intending to stab out Blake's eye. However, she was able to bring Gambol Shroud up in time to block the hit, thought that didn't stop Corsac from fuming at her. "Everything we DO is in Menagerie's best interest! If the people have to suffer even for the briefest moments so that they can lord over the human race for ALL time, then so be it!"

Blake narrowed her eyes at the fox man, and for the briefest moment, she could see a rather familiar personality in his place. "There's no mistaking it. You, your brother, and Adam… you ARE all the same. So short sighted and naïve to how peace with the humans CAN be achieved!" She pushed back and the two began clashing their blades once more, but this time it was Blake who kept the pressure on. "All you're concerned about is gaining power over them!"

"YOU are the short sighted one!" Corsac retorted. "You, your family, even SIENNA! All of you think that the prejudice can simply be overcome!" Corsac pushed Blake away and pointed Inferno at her accusingly. "It matters not what methods you use… the Belladonna's peaceful protests or Sienna's fear-instilling ways, you both wish for the humans to respect the Faunus. But Adam… now HE was a visionary. He wished to enslave the human race for what they did to us, proving once and for all how Faunus are the superior race. But now… thanks to you and your friends, we had to practically start from scratch with Lord Trumbipulor!"

Blake furrowed her brows at him. "Yeah, and look where that got you two. Now you're just a couple of boot-licking toadies that do whatever you can to please him. That sounds exactly what any self-respecting White Fang would do, right?"

Corsac could practically hear the sarcasm dripping from Blake's voice, which only served to make him even more angry. "SILENCE!" In his anger, the fox man sent out another blast of flame… only for Blake to dash out of the way and jump upwards, leaving him along. "Come back here and FIGHT!"

"Brother!" Corsac's eyes widened as Fennec came running over to him, with Sun not that far behind. "I've kept trying to get this cretin to give in, but he's not budging! Perhaps if we perform our combined attack…"

"Agreed." The elder Albain nodded. "It's time to get rid of these pests once and for all!" With that, Corsac and Fennec raised their arms up, aiming Inferno and Cyclone directly at Sun. All at once, the two Dust sai blasted out a large spiral of energy, combining their fire and wind abilities perfectly.

Sun's eyes bugged out at the attack. "Woah!" He shifted his gun-chucks back into their staff mode and began doing his propeller trick again, hoping that it'd work a second time. Fortunately, it did, but the attack was still very strong and harder to keep at bay than just the wind itself. "Gah! Babe! We need to end this!"

"Couldn't agree more!" the call back caught the Albain's attention, making them divert their attention to the terraces on the second floor of the foyer. There, up above their heads, was Blake, the cat girl standing on the railings as she loaded Gambol Shoud with a vial of Ice Dust. Corsac and Fennec sent a blast of fire and wind at her as she jumped down, but she was able to avoid them both with a flip before landing right between them in a crouch. The Albains raised their sai to stab downward at her, but Blake was able to predict this and she activated her Semblance. In an instant, she was replaced with an icy clone of herself, leaving the Albains to get their hands frozen around it as it came into being.

Sun grinned at the maneuver as Blake dashed over to him. "Alright! That was sweet!"

"Yeah… but it won't last long." The couple directed their attention over to the Albains, with Corsac already working on melting the Blake ice sculpture's head with Inferno. However, Blake gave Sun a knowing wink. "So… ready for our signature move?"

"Oh yeah!" Sun cheered. "Let's do it!" At the declaration, the two began focusing heavily on their Semblances, with Blake loading up a vial of Fire Dust into Gambol Shroud. Corsac and Fennec were initially perplexed as to what was going on, but when they saw Blake's fiery shadow clone surged forth from her being, as well as Sun's light clone burst out from his body, their eyes widened in fear. The brothers immediately tried to pry their hands free from the ice as the two clones rapidly approached, but when they eventually managed to, it was already too late. The clones pounced on the brothers and exploded right in their faces, making them fly backward into the palace's front doors and knocking both of them out. "Haha! Alright!" Sun grasped Blake's hand and spun her around in victory, which the cat girl was not opposed to in the slightest. "Heh, that NEVER gets old, does it?"

"Hmm, well, you can't fault its effectiveness, that's for sure." Blake affirmed before her eyes landed on Inferno and Cyclone, the two sai having fallen between the Albains. "Hey, we should grab their weapons in case they get up."

"Ooh, yeah, you're right." Sun agreed, the couple picking up the sai immediately. "Man, I knew we could take 'em, but I didn't think it'd be this easy." The monkey boy smiled as he pulled Blake in for a hug. "Guess it goes to show how great we work together, huh?"

"Hehe, yeah." Blake blushed as her eyes found Sun's bright smile. For the briefest moment, she wondered if this were a good time to make a move that she had been eager to try. 'This is practically the perfect opportunity! We feel great, things are looking up and—'

"Hey don't go celebratin' just yet!" Exo-Skull called out from his place in the wall. "This ain't over, you hear me?!"

Blake's lips turned up into a sneer of disgust. 'Damn it, I forgot we weren't alone.' She and Sun narrowed their eyes at Skull, the rhino man smirking at the both of them. "You're not exactly in the best position to egg people on, Exo-Skull." Blake derided.

"Yeah, besides, things aren't going too well for you guys if you hadn't noticed." Sun pointed out. "Hell, your head is LITERALLY stuck in a wall."

"Maybe, but like I said; this ain't over, kid." Skull's smirk increased. "Remember, we've still got one last trick up our sleeve. Our "one-percent", if you'll remember."

A slight chill went through the couple at first, but they weren't about to be deterred by the mutant. "You talk big, Exo-Skull, but can you actually back it up?" Blake challenged.

"Yeah, who knows? Maybe Salem caught wind that Ben was here and she chickened out." Sun said optimistically.

"HA! You kiddin'?" Skull laughed. "Salem ain't one for walking away, 'specially not from Tennyson in there. In fact, if I remember, she's actually wanted to talk to the little twerp who's been a thorn in her side for the past two weeks."

Blake and Sun glanced to each other worriedly before they heard a loud BANG from the front doors, causing them to whirl around and face them. Then there was another bang, followed by another and another, the large double doors shaking with every slam against them. The couple pulled their respective weapons back out and readied themselves for whatever would come through, however, not long after they did, the banging stopped. The two were left momentarily perplexed before a loud CRASH startled them back to attention. The windows that were on either side of the front doors had been broken through, and Blake couldn't help but gasp at the sight of what had done it. "AH! What ARE those?!"

Sun couldn't believe what he was looking at. They were some sort of jellyfish Grimm with long, thin tentacles, each with a sharp barb on the ends of them. "I-I have no clue!" The monkey boy's eyes widened when he saw at least three more of the same creatures come floating quickly through the broken windows. "There's MORE of them?!"

Skull chuckled sinisterly behind them as the Grimm began to fly right to the throne room, the doors still wide open. "Hehehe, oh boy, it's time! The Boss Lady's comin'!"

"What?! NO!" Blake exclaimed as the jellyfish quickly floated in. She spun back to Exo-Skull and gave him a hard glare, demanding answers. "What are those things?! What do they have to do with Salem?!"

"Oh-ho-ho, YOU'LL see." Skull chuckled. "If I were you, I'd stop blabbin' and start hiding, because once she gets here… you'll ALL be sorry if you don't."

Blake clenched her teeth and went back to Sun, the Grimm already having reached the throne room doors. "Sun! We've gotta stop those things!"

"Right!" Sun took his bo staff and separated it into his gun-chucks, firing them off in quick succession at the Grimm while Blake did the same with Gambol Shroud. "Your days are numbered, you creepy little—huh?!" But just as quickly as they fired at the jellyfish, the Grimm were able to bob and weave around the shots in midair, almost as if they were dancing. "Oh, c'mon! You can't be serious!"

The jellyfish continued to make their way into the throne room, all of them floating directly to where Rath, Sienna, Yang and Ilia as they continued to fight Trumbipulor. However, the five combatants didn't immediately notice, so Blake gave them a shout; "GUYS! Watch out behind you!"

"HUH?!" Rath whipped his head around and focused his eyes on Blake, pointing to her as he did. "LEMME TELL YA SOMETHIN', BLAKE BELLADONNA! CAN'T YOU SEE WE'RE—WHAT THE HELL?!" It was only then that Rath caught sight of the five jellyfish Grimm that were floating in, and he narrowed his eyes at the rather creepy creatures. "WHAT'RE THOSE THINGS?!"

The fighting between the two sides immediately stopped and they all moved their heads up to see the five Grimm all clustering together, wrapping their tentacles around each other. Yang let out a disgusted sound at the action. "Ugh! I don't know but they're nasty little fuckers!" As the Grimm continued to cluster together, they began poking at their crystalline heads with the barbs on their tentacles, much to everyone's bewilderment. "Wait… are they trying to hurt themselves?"

Blake and Sun ran in as fast as they possibly could, the car girl outreaching her hand. "Don't let them do anything!" she cried. "Whatever they are, they have something to do with—"

But it was too late. The jellyfish Grimm finally managed to pierce through each other's heads, and with that, their tentacles began to conduct the red glowing energy that was being held within the crystalline craniums. The five creatures began sparking with the powerful red energy as they constricted themselves to each other, and then… BOOM! In a powerful explosion that sent everybody flying away, the Grimm all exploded into tiny pieces, all while sending a wave of energy throughout the room. Said energy wave made all of the lights go out instantly, leaving the whole room in practical darkness. The only hint of light left was the faintest bit of red that was emanating from the room's center.

Sienna picked her head up off the ground and stood up, only to gasp at what she was seeing now. "W-What in the world?"

Ilia got up next, followed by Blake, Sun and Yang. The chameleon girl craned her head to what Sienna was staring at, and immediately felt a chill run up her spine. There, in the very center of the room, was a large portal, one that was almost completely black with large, red spirals spinning toward its center. It was almost mesmerizing if she stared at it for too long, but Ilia was able to break away from it. "Is… is this…"

Yang balled her hands into fists. She was determined to keep herself calm, but her mind was practically screaming in fear right now. "I think so." she managed to utter. "Ben… you need to see this."

Rath shook his head, thoroughly miffed at having been tossed away like a ragdoll by practically nothing. "LEMME TELL YA SOMETHIN', YANG XIAO LONG! RATH IS—what?" One look at the portal was all it took for Rath to silence himself, the Appoplexian's face falling at the sight of it. And then, just a few seconds later, a figure began walking its way out of the portal at a very casual pace, with an air of confidence in every step. When the figure finally became visible, Rath's heart sank to his stomach, a feeling that was shared by the rest of his team. "Oh… this ain't good."

…..

Back at the Belladonna family home, Winter was taking stock of the situation. Her squad had just successfully brought down two of the White Fang's best assassins as well as Simian, so that was a good thing. However, there were still many White Fang guards that had to be dealt with. At the moment, she had ordered her crew to regroup at the in front of the Belladonna's house to regain their bearings, as well as put their prisoners in Tetrax's ship. For Yuma and Trifa, it would be a temporary holding place until Sienna decided what to do with them, but Simian was now at least in his new cell, so that was a good thing. The last thing that Winter had heard when leaving the brig was the other prisoner's laughing at the unconscious Arachnichimp's expense, probably because of the pink shirt.

The elder Schnee sighed as she made her way back through the house and into the forecourt with Ruby and Weiss, the two girls having helped her move the prisoners. Once they stepped out of the house, they were immediately met with the sight of Kevin, Rex, and Holiday all continuing their fight against the White Fang guards. "Alright you two," Winter sent a glance toward Ruby and Weiss, "are you ready to get back in there?"

"Definitely." Ruby smiled eagerly. "Now that the guards are almost done with, something tells me that we've got a pretty good chance at winning this now!"

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, Ruby." Weiss reminded. "After all, Ben's team isn't back yet and neither is Gwen's, so we're going to have to—" But right at that moment, the heiress was cut off when a bright pink flash appeared out in the middle of the forecourt, forcing everyone to shield their eyes before the light finally died down. Once everyone was able to see again, the first thing they saw was Gwen, Neptune, Penny, the Belladonnas and Tetrax all standing together in a group, with Gwen's eyes glowing bright pink. "Oh… well, okay, Gwen's team IS back." Weiss corrected before the three ran down the steps and toward the Anodite's group.

"Gwen!" Kevin hollered. "I was wonderin' when you'd be back!"

The Anodite craned her head around and gave her boyfriend a wink before facing the remaining White Fang guards. "Sorry, guys, but I'd like a few words with my team. So if you'll excuse us…" Gwen brought up her hands and created a massive energy field between the guards and the team, one that was able to push all of the White Fang outside of the forecourt. With a small sigh, Gwen's eyes returned to normal and she gave her teammates a smile as they approached. "Hey guys. So, how's your part of the mission going?"

"¡Muy bueno!" Rex said with a thumbs up. "We managed to take down Simian and a couple White Fang assassins while you were away. So, how 'bout you guys?" The EVO pointed out Ghira's shoulder, which was still slightly bleeding. "And where'd you get THAT, Ghira?"

"Hah, I got jumped from behind." Ghira admitted. "It was a rather careless move on my part to leave myself open…" He reached around and put a hand to his wife's shoulder. "But fortunately, I had excellent back-up."

"And don't you forget it!" Kali poked Ghira's chest playfully before directing her attention over to Holiday. "Doctor Holiday, you wouldn't happen to have any medical supplies on you?"

Holiday gave her a nod. "Of course." She reached down into one of her larger pouches and pulled out a med kit, unzipping it as she approached the two. "I always carry this in case of emergencies. Here, Ghira, sit down and I'll get you patched up."

As Holiday and Kali began tending Ghira's wound again, Neptune decided to answer Rex's first question. "The defenses at the port have all been smashed to bits. Ironwood's got a clear way into Menagerie now." However, a quick glance around made something abundantly clear to the blue-haired boy. "Uh… guys? Where's Team JNPR?"

BOOOM! Everyone's eyes snapped open and they whipped their heads around to see a massive cloud of smoke raise up into the air across town, followed up by multiple fearful screams. Ruby gave an amused smile and crossed her arms. "Where there's smoke…"

"There's Nora." The whole group collectively said.

"She really can't go anywhere without blowing something up, can she?" Holiday asked rhetorically.

Gwen rolled her eyes with a small smirk. "Well, considering who General Ironwood's bringing with him, we might just be in for a few more explosions before the night is over."

Winter raised a brow at that. "What do you mean by that, Gwendolyn?"

Penny raised a hand excitedly. "Oh! That's the exciting part! General Ironwood said that he thought it best to not bring actual Atlesian soldiers to the island, so he's bringing a different back-up team instead!"

"Well, don't leave us hanging." Weiss insisted. "Who's he bringing?"

Gwen was about to give the answer; "It's… it's…" but then she trailed off, her eyes widening when she began to feel a rather… malevolent presence begin to make its way onto the island. She hadn't felt something this… evil since Dagon, but even then, this just felt completely different, and utterly dark. After a few seconds of simply feeling it, the malevolent force began to affect her directly, hitting her mind with what felt like the force of a speeding truck, and Gwen felt it immediately. "AAAAAGH!" All at once, Gwen let out a bloodcurdling scream and clenched her head in agony, falling to her knees as her eyes screwed shut and tears began streaming down her face. The moment she felt this wave of pain wash over her, the large energy field she put up had shattered, allowing the White Fang to come charging in again.

"GWEN!" Kevin rushed over and knelt by her side as everybody went on alert, their concern for the redhead quickly matching the Osmosian's. He pulled her into an embrace, but that didn't stop the Anodite from letting out wails of anguish, which Kevin was all to quick to ask about. "Gwen, what's happening?! Please, say something!"

Gwen's screams finally came to an end, but that's when things only went from bad to worse. "It's… it's so dark." She began hyperventilating, which only made Kevin attempt to console her more. "I've… never felt something so cruel."

"Gwen, what're you talking about?" Kevin asked calmly.

"She is referring to my Mistress." The new voice in the crowd caught the team off-guard, making their eyes collectively snap up to the gathered White Fang soldiers. Among them now was a rather familiar face; Hazel Rainart, the man stepping out from the crowd before crossing his arms.

Kevin snarled at the man in anger. "HAZEL! What're you talkin' about?! What does Salem have to do with this?!"

Hazel narrowed his eyes at Kevin, though he still chose to give him a proper explanation. "It's very simple, really. You see, we wished for Lady Salem to meet with Trumbipulor to discuss a potential alliance with the White Fang." Hazel raised a single hand with his palm up. "Initially, it was only supposed to be a casual meeting, however, once she caught wind of your arrival, especially Ben Tennyson's, she was all too eager to show him just what you all are facing." The large man then closed his hand into a fist, his brows furrowing at the group in disdain. "And trust me, after facing her, your leader may just think twice about further challenging her will."

The entire group could feel their blood run cold, all of them speechless at what Hazel had just said. Throughout their minds, one question remained the same, but at that point, they were all afraid to ask it. Finally though, Ruby had gained enough confidence to speak up, but even then, she had trouble getting it out. "W-Wait, does that mean…"

Gwen's eyes opened up and she shifted them in the direction of the White Fang palace, the epicenter from which she was sensing the dark energy. "Salem… is here."

…..

Inside the palace itself, the throne room was nearly dead silent, save for the energy swirling inside the darkened portal. Trumbipulor had moved over to the side while Rath and his team had huddled up with one another, hoping that they stood a better chance if they stayed together. The figure that had emerged from the portal was a woman, though they could tell just by her appearance that she was not one to be taken lightly. Donned in her long, black robe with her bleached white skin, matching white hair and dark red eyes, it was clear that she was no ordinary woman. There was no mistaking it, this HAD to be her. She had settled her gaze onto the group of seven, though she was focused mostly on Rath. She was giving him a small smile, but the Appoplexian could tell that there was an underlying malevolence to it.

"Well, well, if it isn't the great Ben Tennyson and his team of children." Salem spoke, her smile increasing ever so slightly. "We meet at last."

…..

A/N: Well… this probably ain't good. Salem's finally made her arrival onto Menagerie and Hazel's finally making his move. On the bright side though, Hog, Skull and the Albains are currently either down for the count or indisposed at the moment, so there's that. Plus, Gwen's team managed to clear the way for Ironwood to bring in his back-up… but you have to wonder, just who IS he bringing? And I know what you're all thinking; will the family at the beginning actually serve a purpose rather than just being one-offs? Well… you'll just have to keep tuned in to find out. But for now… NEXT TIME! Kevin and his group engage with Hazel while Salem engages in a little chat with our heroes, though not before Ben tries to fend her off. But when a certain tribe leader arrives on the scene, the witch let's a little something slip, something that makes the team question whether the woman they've been trusting up to this point has been entirely truthful with them or not. Thanks for reading guys, and I'll see you all next time! See ya!