To say tensions were high would be a horrible understatement. Ozpin and his allies arrived at the landing platform waiting for the bullhead fleet to land. For known reasons, Raven and the gods stayed inside Ozpin's tower, waiting, and watching in case things went bad.
Soon enough, some of the ships landed, and from the main one emerged Hotaru, Ryu, and Mr. Ko. Ozpin then noticed General Ironwood reaching for one of his guns. "James…" Ozpin warned him with a low voice. Soon enough though, they also began to move to meet the representatives of Seido in a middle ground.
"Professor Ozpin! So nice to meet you again" Hotaru greeted them with a vow. "General Ironwood, Special Operative Schnee, what a delightful surprise to meet you here! Are we interrupting something?".
"Just checking on some Grimm activity. Nothing we should bore you with" Ironwood answered, managing to even put on a fake smile.
"What brings you here though?" Ozpin then asked. "You never mentioned you were returning and so early in the day".
"Sadly, this isn't a pleasant visit," Hotaru said while pretending to look disappointed. "We have been informed that a former employee of mine is in your school," he said as Kollector pulled a picture of Sun from a suitcase. "This young man was caught conducting corporate espionage and broke out of our correctional facility. Reliable sources tell us he arrived here, so we will just take him off your hands".
As Hotaru finished, all members of Seido began to move forward but were blocked by the others. "I'm sorry, Mr. Taakoizu; but I fail to see many things in your story". More than confusion, Hotaru's face showed annoyance. "How could he have escaped a heavily guarded facility all by himself? And furthermore, how are you so sure he is even here?".
"Of course, headmaster. I was going to ask you for privacy, but just like last time I believe everyone present can hear what I am about to say". Kollector then pulled out four more pictures. Doctored images of the ninjas' assault on The Pyramid. "My sources tracked these four people back to your school. They are dangerous cultists who follow a madman who believes himself a god. Even more troubling… I believe this cult is working together with a woman who claims to… control Grimm. Furthermore, they see our intentions to destroy those beasts as a sin".
Credit where credit was due, Hotaru's performance was outstanding. "I see…" answered Ozpin shortly after. "We will look into this and tell you what we find about the students, but I can assure you I know nothing about this 'Wukong' person".
Ozpin and his allies were then ready to head out but were stopped by Hotaru's next words. "Of course, you will headmaster. I also hope it won't take long for our best interest".
Ozpin could have let the topic die there and then; but there was something about the way Hotaru just said that that bothered him. "Pardon me?".
"Well, I fear what could happen if your investigation takes too long, we don't want to get the police involved. This situation has caused turmoil in our company and I fear rumors could begin to spread. Your academy has already made the news because of the attempted murder of one of your students at the hands of his teammates, I'd hate for something like this to fall on both Beacon… and Atlas" he then said while also looking at Ironwood and Winter.
That, in turn, seemed to have pressed the wrong buttons for the General. "Are you threatening us!?".
"I don't believe I have General. I am just giving you my interpretation of this situation and how it could affect you".
"James, calm down…" Qrow said, grabbing the other man's shoulder.
Ironwood simply pushed Qrow's hand away and continued. "We know who you are, Orderealmer," he said the last word both in a derogatory and threatening way before Qrow and Ozpin managed to pull him back.
The surprise in the faces of Seido's representatives was more than obvious. Nonetheless, Hotaru recovered quickly. "And you are willing to trust assassins for hire and a petty sorcerer over us?" he then asked all. "We come here, offer our assistance and fight a common enemy; but all that was really needed is for us to attack your schools, manipulate your students and… apparently tell an obtuse story of what is actually happening".
Although there was no outright distrust among the members of Beacon and Atlas; the seeds of doubt seemed to at least have been planted. Most faces were however replaced by shock and horror in an instant. Hotaru then saw all eyes were converging… behind him!
Sure enough, he turned around and saw as someone with blond hair and wearing a white suit of armor swung a sword at him.
Team RWBY and JNR plus Neptune had agreed to head back with the ninjas after Sun and Cardin were rescued by Raiden. Truth be told, it had been a long day and the prospect of sleeping in a comfortable bed having regained their innocence sounded good; but once they got there, none of the eight people felt like sleeping. It had been a couple of hours, but sleep came to any of them.
"Let me guess: You want to see what the ninjas are doing?" Weiss asked Ruby as the younger girl got down from her bunk bed.
"You too?" Then asked Blake.
"So do I" Yang affirmed.
Now that they knew they were professional assassins, the girls figured the boys weren't really going to sleep; in fact, they had many questions for the time being.
Ruby then opened the door and found herself with Ren closing the door while the others were already heading down the hall. "Looking for more answers?" the young girl asked them.
"Feel like you didn't ask all the right questions?" asked back Nora.
Everyone then went as a group and stood in front of the KHTE dorm. As Yang was ready to knock, the door swung open, and they were greeted by Ermac with his arms crossed. "We could hear you coming. Learn to be stealthier" his voices said as Ermac then stepped aside to allow them to enter.
"Don't worry, they will know you are with us; but yours, Jax, and Kitana's ranks will be kept secret. Are you sure though?" Hanzo managed to ask quietly as the eight students entered the room.
"Yes. The last thing we need is to make them think of some sort of special treatment for us. Trust me, I panic when Kitana has to go head-to-head with a Red or Black Dragon; worse when it has to be in Earthrealm". The avatar of Sonya said from his amulet.
With that done, Hanzo stored his amulet again and faced the students along with his team as the teens closed the door.
"Did you tell us everything?" Ren finally asked bluntly.
Sub Zero answered him in the same way. "We answered what you asked and what we considered pertinent at the time. None of us saw this coming".
"Well… what else CAN you tell us?" Blake asked them.
Sub Zero took a deep breath before continuing. "We now know the true identity of who leads Seido: Onaga".
The faces of all the students then turned into frowns. "That's it!?" asked Jaune in disbelief. "We could have told you that! How is that new!? Not like they were hiding it!".
"Because not even we knew about Onaga's existence until a few hours ago. We thought he was made up person, so we never bothered to tell either Raiden or Fujin".
"And how bad is he?" then asked Neptune.
Hanzo answered him. "A half dragon half human giant monster bent on getting revenge by any means against he who betrayed him is bad enough for you?".
That was not a question they were expecting. "Revenge against who?" finally asked Weiss.
None of the ninjas seemed happy with what they were thinking. If anything, it showed pain.
"A despot… by the name of Shao Kahn" Hanzo answered. "Remember when we mentioned the six realms?" he then asked, and the eight students nodded. "Well, Shao Kahn once ruled over Outworld with worse than an iron fist. His hunger for power is endless, and many realms and races have fallen because of him. We always believed him to have been the primordial ruler of that realm… but the truth is that someone came before him: Onaga, the Dragon King. Raiden tells that Onaga was the one who united Outworld under a single rule with Shao Kahn as a close advisor, but the madman never held the emperor's interests as his own. Shao Kahn killed Onaga in a fight to the death and claimed the realm for himself. That day marked the beginning of countless massacres and wars, all to satisfy Shao Kahn's wish to rule all".
"So… Onaga wants to use Remnant to take revenge on that Kahn guy… how? And why shouldn't we be worried for him? He is still alive!" Yang questioned.
Smoke, in turn, answered. "Some years ago, Shao Kahn tried to conquer Earthrealm. But the process is not as easy as it seems. To earn the right to merge a realm, the invader realm must win ten consecutive victories in a tournament known as Mortal Kombat. Against all odds, Earth took away Outworld's nine victories with their champion: Liu Kang, but that proved of little success as Shao Kahn's wish to rule Earth led him to invade us and try to merge the realms almost succeeding until Liu Kang, with the help of the Elder Gods, defeated the emperor and killed him in kombat".
Immediately after, Ermac continued. "In the aftermath, a power vacuum was left in Outworld. Shao Kahn's allies did not see his daughter, Mileena, as a worthy successor and some rallied with a shunned general, Kotal, who assumed the title of Kahn himself. Mileena faced two options: Fight herself a war she would lose, or try and bring Shao Kahn back… she chose the second". Ermac then turned and sighed with regret.
"You… had to do something with that, don't you?" Blake then asked him.
"We were created to serve the ruler of Outworld, by the extent, that meant Shao Kahn; but we also served a second purpose: In case anything happened to the emperor, his soul was to be contained among us. We suffered for days until the right soul was found; we would have been consumed by the sorcerer who helped Mileena had we not gained free will and escaped. We served that monster for years, killing, mutilating, and torturing all who we deemed a threat to him. It is not something we are proud of".
Sub Zero then resumed the explanation. "Since then, Outworld has been in civil war. Kotal Kahn is a less violent ruler but lacks the authority and power of Shao Kahn which is valued by Outworld's traditions. With his army reduced to half, Shao Kahn will not risk a new invasion. As to what Onaga seeks in this world, Raiden speaks of an army to be built by the Tekunin; but we learned from The Pyramid that mass production of cyber-ninja has not happened since they arrived".
"And that means…?" Yang asked, not sure as to why it seemed to take them long to just make robots and then leave.
"As we said, we don't know. We are hoping, however, that the information you gave us will be enough to clear that". Sub Zero told them.
Their conversation was then cut short when the ninjas received a message through their medallions from Fujin. "Grandmasters! Smoke, Ermac, do not leave the dormitories! Seido will be landing soon on school grounds" the god's projection said before fading out just as quickly.
It went unnoticed to everyone that their conversation seemed to have taken some time as the sun was already coming out. It was also then that Nora noticed something missing. "Ren, did you see where Jaune went to?".
"What are you talking about? He is…" Ren began to answer but was then confused by Jaune's absence.
While everyone kept looking around, Ermac and Hanzo looked out of the window at the landing bullheads and those still in the air.
"NO!" Ermac's many voices yelled in unison, scaring everyone.
"What!?" then asked Weiss as she headed to the window and then saw what altered the ninja: Jaune was on his way to landing platforms.
Logic and reason had been thrown overboard when Jaune heard that Seido was coming. He had seen the bullheads landing, and he deduced that the amount of security meant one thing: Hotaru was here. Anger was his fuel right now. He would save Pyrrha from her captors if it were the last thing he did.
He was not an idiot, of course. He hid behind everything he could until reaching the bullhead from which Hotaru and his two allies came out. He then took a quick peek at what was happening; Hotaru seemed to be in an intense argument with General Ironwood and that had Ryu and Ko distracted as well.
His mind then began to think of Hotaru's smug smile and how he was always portrayed as a hero despite having who knows how many gallons of blood in his hands, never mind the poisoning of Cardin and whatever he was doing with Pyrrha. Jaune unsheathed his sword and then sprinted towards Hotaru while holding the grip with both hands.
He was getting close. By the time everyone was focused on him, he would have already delivered his attack. A few steps away and no one had tried to stop him. But as soon as he was within reach, Hotaru turned around. Worse of all was that he was not even scared, he just looked confused at his attacker.
Jaune swung his sword with all his might, but not only did Hotaru manage to dodge the blow, but he mealy also leaned back a few inches as the sword tip of the sword passed in front of him. Jaune then retrieved his shield and went to attack again, but Hotaru was not impressed at all; he just placed his hands behind his back as Jaune gave two vertical slashes and he just stepped away from them. Jaune then went to parry him with his shield but Hotaru stepped to the left and out of the way.
Before Jaune could fall on the ground, Hotaru back kicked Jaune's knees and elbow smacked the back of the boy's head before grabbing the shield and yanking it away from him.
Before Jaune could respond, Hotaru then used the shield against his face three times. As Jaune was then recovering from the attack, Hotaru threw the shield and prepared to receive the next attack. Jaune went for another vertical slash, but Hotaru grabbed the boy's wrist with his left hand as the right delivered a palm strike on Jaune's elbow, making his adversary drop the weapon which Hotaru then caught with his right. Hotaru then turned around and used the arm he was still holding to body slam Jaune.
As the blond boy laid on the ground, Hotaru took his time to get in front of him. When Jaune then opened his eyes, he was greeted by the tip of Corcea Mors inches from his face before Hotaru slammed his foot on his abdomen.
"Sloppy, slow, predictable, weak" Hotaru listed before leaning towards Jaune. "What does she see in you, boy?" he said, not in a taunting way, but with confusion before giving him an evil grin. "Don't worry. You are more useful to me alive. For now," he said with a soft malicious voice before looking at the rest of their audience.
"Let him go!" ordered Goodwitch.
"I will professor, don't worry," Hotaru said before stomping Jaune's abdomen again. "As soon as he learns to respect his guests. Consider this… a class in manners". Then came another stomp. Everyone else was now heading towards Hotaru and Jaune but were blocked by Kollector and Ryu while some of the bullheads seemed to be aiming their guns at them. "Anything to say, child?".
Jaune just looked at the older man with nothing but hate before spitting on him. Hotaru's smug smile then disappeared as he then raised the sword. Hotaru knew the boy could take the damage before his aura was gone, but the pain it inflicted would be a nice reminder to him.
Everyone was already pushing Hotaru's henchmen out of the way, but the white-haired man almost dropped the sword when out of nowhere a blackbird flew towards him and scratched his left cheek.
"Agh! Miserable animal!" he cursed as he turned back to find the bird.; but the image in front of him left him petrified and without words. He was lucky enough that his reflexes blocked the incoming slash from a katana.
"You let him go, now!" Raven ordered Hotaru.
"You… but… no… how!?" Hotaru asked in complete disbelief. When Kollector and Ryu turned to look at what was happening, both were just as shocked.
"I have to tell you nothing!" she said before pushing Hotaru away. The man walked a few feet back almost falling but being caught by his men. Raven then helped Jaune on his feet before also pushing him towards the teachers.
Hotaru managed to regain his composure before addressing Ozpin and Ironwood. "So… you associate yourself with a terrorist and criminal?" he asked them rhetorically.
"You are one to speak" Qrow answered sarcastically. They were all shocked however when the bullheads shot warning shots just behind them.
"Fine; then we are doing this the hard way. Give us Sun Wukong and no one gets hurt!".
Hotaru's threat was immediately followed by a strong wind current that managed to take the bullheads out of formation and almost made the members of Seido fall on the ground. When they looked up, they were not surprised to have found the source of it: Fujin.
"Leave. Now! They are under our protection, Hotaru!" Fujin threatened.
Hotaru scuffed at his threat. "It will take more than just you to intimidate us, Fujin".
"Do what he says!" a strange voice then said, and the three men were now focused on a young man with long, braided white hair and wearing nothing but a patient gown stepping in front of the teachers.
The moment of silence that followed was then broken when all three members of Seido began to laugh. "Or else what?" then taunted Hotaru.
The man in question just stretched his arm and opened his hand, never looking away from Hotaru. A bolt of lightning then fell from the clear sky and forced all present to shield their eyes while Hotaru and his group stepped back; but when they opened their eyes, new, and fresh horror was once again present on their faces, Ryu above the others.
If the lightning was not a dead giveaway, then the straw hat surely was. Now decorated with the head of a Chinese dragon. He also wore a white shirt with a dark blue vest over it with a short shoulder cape over his left shoulder and dark blue arm guards. A brown belt with the Elder God's mark in the middle that held baggy pants and black boots. On his hand, he was holding his new staff and the hood that covered part of his head, and the hair was now gone. He then just raised his head and showed them the lightning coming from his glowing blue eyes.
To the Netherrealm with their secrecy, each of the members of Seido thought. Kollector hissed at the sight of Raiden while Ryu growled audibly. "It's impossible…" Hotaru then said. "That explosion killed her, and it should have killed you as well!". At that moment, something everyone thought unthinkable happened, his composure finally broke. "WHY DID SHE DIE WHILE YOU SURVIVED!?".
Silence fell once again when the tip of Raiden's staff was now pointing at Hotaru's neck. "I almost didn't. I do feel my survival was nothing short of a miracle" Raiden told him, and while her betrayal hurt and angered him, Raiden would be lying if he said he didn't feel sad for losing a long-time friend. After a deep breath, however, Raiden spoke again; loud enough for everyone present to hear. "As I told you before, in front of you is no mere police officer or just a soldier. I present to you: Hotaru, the High Commander of the Seidan Guard, Orderrealm's worldwide law enforcement and military force".
Before Hotaru could throw a punch, Ryu grabbed him by the shoulder and pushed him back towards Kollector. He then looked at both with eyes that showed nothing but the intent to kill if they did something out of order. Both men understood the message and were now getting ready to board their bullheads again; but before they could, Raiden spoke again. "And this is not just a faunus boy who found himself in apposition of power. Professor Ozpin, General Ironwood, let us show respect at the ruler of Orderrealm himself: Chief Executive Damashi!". Ryu then turned back and looked at Raiden with an even deadlier look while growling and showing his sharp teeth. "Or should I address you by your real identity, deceiver: Onaga!".
That information came as a shock to everyone. Their real enemy was out in the open all this time? And he was just a man standing in the middle of enemy territory? But before any of Raiden's allies could make the first move, the thunder god stopped them. "Do not bother. What you see is but an avatar, created by the Dragon king himself to keep an eye on his operations without the knowledge of his allies". He then turned around and began to walk towards his group. "We are also soon to receive an audience. Many students have noticed the bullheads; they'll be arriving within minutes; can you take care of them by the time they arrive?" he asked rhetorically.
The message was clear; a confrontation right now would mean rumors, suspicions, and investigations which would expose things on both sides. At that, Hotaru seemed to have regained his composure. "So that's it, Raiden? A stalemate?".
"Our battle will come, Commander. You and I both know it".
Surely after, many talking voices of many students could be heard getting closer. The people from Seido looked around and saw the destruction. They knew Raiden was right, so they got on their vehicles and left along with their fleet.
Raiden also left along with Fujin and entered Ozpin's tower just as the students arrived and took pictures of the fleet and the destroyed medical building.
Before they did, however, the ninjas, RWBY, Ren, Nora, and Neptune had arrived and hid away from the confrontation just after Raven had saved Jaune. Goodwitch was also ready to give the boy a scolding like never but stopped when she saw him fall on his knees and almost break into tears.
When his friends and the ninjas arrived, Nora and Ren explained the situation with Pyrrha and were thankful that she did not press on about the information Seido held against her.
"Miss Rose, you and your friends take care of Mr. Arc. Glynda, take the other students away and meet me in my office. James, Winter, Qrow and… you madam, come with me" he told his group. He then looked at the ninjas and pointed at them with his cane. "You four as well. Everything goes back to normal; understood?". Everyone then nodded and they all headed to do their tasks.
When Ozpin got to his office, he was glad to see that both gods were already there, looking through the windows. Ozpin then went to sit and sighed, resting his head on his hands. "What now?" he asked, and everyone knew who he asked the question to even though he wasn't looking at said person.
"Now we wait and prepare. The academies are officially at war with Orderrealm".