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Chapter 83: Sibling Rivalry

The uproar of the crowd was incomprehensible, the entirety of the stadium seeming to shake with the sheer tangible force of thousands upon thousands of clamouring and expectant fans. To Qrow it all sounded rather distant as he stood in shocked and numb silence, the hand holding his microphone falling limp at his side, deep crimson eyes wide as he looked down at the arena; the screen displaying the next competing students to do battle silently reinforcing the same fact that his mind was struggling to process until finally after being confronted with the undeniable truth for what seemed like an eternity he finally managed to form a single coherent thought 'This is going to be bad'

"GOOD GRACIOUS! I DON'T THINK WE'VE EVER SEEN A FIXTURE LIKE THIS IN THE HISTORY OF THE VYTAL TOURNAMENT! SIBLINGS PITTED AGAINST EACH OTHER IN A ONE ON ONE BOUT!" Oobleck's voice positively buzzed with excitement as he commented on the unforeseen turn of events "QROW, YOUR THOUGHTS ON WHAT IS SURE TO BE ONE OF THE MOST MEMORABLE MATCHES OF TOURNAMENT?….Qrow?" Oobleck's voice was reduced to a more tolerable volume as the historian and former teacher covered his microphone upon seeing Qrow turn and begin to leave, depositing his own microphone as he went

"I can't host this one Barty" he sighed, running his hands through greying hair "There's no way it wouldn't cause arguments….I've gotta look 'em both in the face afterwards" the two exchanged a brief look before Oobleck finally nodded in silent understanding

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN FOR THE SAKE OF UNBIASED COVERAGE…." Qrow tuned his long time friend out as he left the commentators box, an amused smirk crossing his face as he noted just how ludicrous the reason sounded in the face of the openly biased coverage he'd delivered thus far in Team FADE and CLIR's previous matches of the tournament. As he made his way out of the restricted area he realised that he didn't have a set destination in mind; his first thought was too find his daughter in the stands yet the notion was quickly abandoned as he remembered that Eagle had mentioned in their messages to each other than she would be meeting her mother here today and he had no desire to intrude upon their time together, or frankly to see Antonia Arc at all. Almost predictably he found himself making his way away from the stadium and towards the festival at large; intending to find one of the many places he could get a drink to slow his racing thoughts and watch the match from a distance, he would meet with his great-niece and nephew after their match concluded. He hadn't gotten far, barely more than a few dozen shuffling steps as he used Harbinger in its' scythe form as a cane and maintained the illusion he'd kept up for years before he came to a halt, his unintelligible grumbling stopping instantly as his eyes narrowed

"You can stop skulking around now….I might not be as young as I used to be but that armour isn't easy to hide"

"Well Branwen, it would appear that there is some truth to the stories that they tell about you" Kataigida Nikos noted in a begrudgingly impressed tone as she seemed to appear out of the crowds, her black bear-pelt robe open displaying her armour and as she lowered the hood, revealing her crown and braided scarlet locks. Qrow kept his focus squarely on the woman in front of him as he spoke again

"Both of you" with an irritable huff Syneffo Nikos slipped out of the moving mass of bodies, fingers drumming against the shafts of her weapons as she fell into place beside her mother; her graceful movements offset by the effects of puberty, giving her a gangly appearance as her body grew faster than she could build the proportional muscle mass for.

"No bodyguards?" Qrow noted conversationally as he raised an eyebrow "So I assume you're not here to kill me in cold blood?"

"You assume that I couldn't do that alone if it was my intention? Bold but misguided" Kataigida retorted with an amused smile "I sent my son to New Vale as much to learn how to deal with those born in the Kingdoms and learn skills like diplomacy for when he eventually succeeds me; imagine my confusion when his first attempt at diplomacy is to try and convince to give you a second audience and chance to explain your intentions" her tone may have been bemused and she may have had more than a passing resemblance to the late Pyrrha Nikos but her vivid green eyes currently liked any of the warmth once possessed by the Mistrali champion.

"I can assure that I didn't ask him to do that, I wouldn't use your kids against you" Qrow saw Syneffo shuffle uncomfortably, her silver eyes darting around as she looked anywhere but at her mother

"I am aware of this, my son has never been able to say no to his baby sister" Qrow didn't have chance to wonder about the meaning of those words before Kataigida continued "It seems the idea of turning an already capable fighter into a weapon against the Grimm has intrigued my daughter….my son also tells me that there is a great deal more to this story than I have been led to believe, he wouldn't disclose what it was as it was not his place" Qrow's eyes widened as realisation struck

"Oum damn it Fluffy" he breathed out, realising firstly that Felix must have told his boyfriend everything about Salem, the nature of the Grimm and Qrow's own role in holding the monsters at bay; secondly he realised that Helios's position and relationship to the newly discovered silver eyed girl had presented him with a unique opportunity; though Qrow still doubted that was why Felix mad made the decision to tell him.

"So what is it you're asking?" Qrow enquired after a moment

"I'm asking you to tell me precisely what it is you want to involve my daughter in and explain to me how you plan to prevent her from joining my cousin Pyrrha in the great beyond" Qrow nodded in understanding, his gaze shifting from Kataigida to Syneffo herself

"And what about you, what do you want?….This is your choice to make kid" Qrow's tone was soft, privately he was at war with himself as his need for every available fighter to be ready and prepared for the storm he could sense was coming battled with his need to do right by those he protected, he would not offer this child a non-existent choice the way Ozpin would have"

"I want to protect people" Syneffo said simply, silver eyes almost glowing with hope and enthusiasm "The Nikosi protect all who pass through our lands, it's our way. I want to protect as many people as possible" Qrow nodded silently, forcing himself too ignore a lump in his throat as he looked at the almost fifteen year old girl before him and suddenly saw Ruby Rose, dreaming of being a Huntress before being granted her early enrolment into Beacon Academy. Qrow let out a slow breath and made his decision

"Okay let's talk….fair warning this is going to take a while and I need a drink"

Felix clenched his fists in a desperate attempt to stop his hands from shaking as he made his way into the arena, his legs threatening to give out beneath him at any moment. He thought that his daily training which had been ruthless and punishing to the point of excess had prepared him for any challenger he faced, never in his wildest dreams had he even considered having to face off against Corvid; it was obscene, his sister had been on his side and looking out for him for as long as either of them could remember even before their adoption. Even their sparring matches against each other growing up had been restrained affairs with Felix only truly knowing the extent of Corvid's ruthlessness and capabilities from seeing her face other opponents and the hushed whispers and rumours that spread around Signal Academy about her beating up school bullies and local thugs; Felix had tried to follow in her footsteps only to be caught or get himself into trouble he was utterly unprepared for on more than one occasion. Corvid was what Felix had aspired to be and now he was being asked to face her in single combat and the prospect scared him more than any Grimm could have hoped to.

"Hey bro, you okay over there?" Corvid called out to him, both of them tuning out the sound of the audience and Oobleck's amplified commentary

"Not really sis" he admitted, tail twitching nervously as he unsheathed Hack and Slash and span the blades in his hands a few times out of habit as he took several deep slow breaths in a futile effort to calm himself; a notably more subdued entrance than Corvid's crowd-pleasing arrival had been

"Yeah this kinda sucks" she admitted and though Felix couldn't see her face beneath the visored helmet of the Omega Wing he was sure she was giving him a smile

"Yeah….no way out of it now though" the Lion Faunus shrugged

"Unless you wanna just hop of the edge of the ring like the last idiot did" Corvid snorted, a sudden surge of annoyance welling up in Felix at the comment prompting a low growl to escape him which Corvid evidently noticed

"Hey Fluffy, I want you at your best for this" she warned him "No going easy on me, no pulling punches, no second guessing….you see a shot you take it. Let's give the crowds exactly what they asked for"

"You too" Felix said back simply, shifting his weight and balance as the arena began to form between them, the same tiered battleground that Helios and Trench had battled in

"Hey and I'm sorry about this, but hey you've got another shot in two years!" his sisters' casual disregard of his challenges struck a nerve and Felix brought the chainsaw blades of his swords screaming into life

"So sure you're gonna beat me?" he demanded

"THREE! TWO! ONE!" Oobleck's voice counted down as Corvid rolled her shoulders back, the scarf that had once belonged to Yang flapping in the breeze and standing out against her armour

"Course I'm gonna beat you Fluffy, I'm too hardcore-vid"

"BEGIN!" Felix shot forwards the moment the signal was given, everything beyond the confines of the enclosed arena fading away into the background as he charged towards Corvid who had launched herself onto the central raised pillar and was currently taking aim; her wide stance making it painfully obvious to the Lion Faunus that she was using her Semblance to deal with any recoil that her weapons shock absorbers couldn't handle; a feat that would also render any direct against her all but useless. Felix found himself grinning as he realised Corvid had underestimated him. Two things happened at the same moment, Felix hurled one of his swords at the central pillar with its' blade spinning horizontally and Corvid fired her rail-guns; the blade hurtled through the air and struck the pillar, cutting into its' surface almost directly beneath Corvid's foot and shearing away enough of the metal for Corvid to stagger as the surface beneath her fell away. Corvid's own attack missed and Felix was hurled forwards at even greater velocity as the ground behind him exploded, using the sudden increase to his momentum he managed to scale the central pillar in a single bound and deliver a knee strike to Corvid's chest before she could steady herself; his sisters' Semblance of immovability required her to be properly grounded before it could be used and as such she was knocked back from the pillar; Felix leaping after her as she used the Omega Wing to control her fall, the Lion Faunus using his Semblance to absorb the heat emitted by her propulsion systems and store it for later use.

"FELIX XIAO LONG HAS TAKEN CHARGE OF THE BATTLE EARLY ON!" Oobleck announced, Felix noted that the commentator sounded annoyingly shocked at the turn of events though he was too bust grappling with his sister and trying to keep her off balance to comment on it, eventually though Corvid managed to plant both of her feet on the ground block Felix's slash with his remaining sword; her elbow connected with his forearm and halted the blow with agonising force, sending the weapon flying from his grip. Corvid capitalised with brutal effectiveness, left jab to the stomach, right elbow to the temple as Felix staggered forwards, left backhand and right cross to the face in quick succession; the Lion Faunus tried to fight back only to have his blows turned against him as Corvid redirected his limbs, catching an uppercut only to twist the arm offending arm and deliver a crushing blow to the shoulder, halting an elbow strike and ruthlessly exploiting the fact that his back and kidneys were now exposed; catching an admittedly poorly-thought out spinning heel-kick and simply hurling Felix to the ground; before the Lion Faunus could rise a deafening boom rang out and the next thing he was aware of was his back colliding against the ground almost halfway across the arena and his ears ringing

"Not bad Fluffy" Corvid noted, wisps of smoke still billowing from her rail-guns "But now it's time for you to go home and Fe-lick your wounds" Felix's furious retort died on the tip of his tongue as the four wings of Corvid's battle-suit adjusted themselves and with a single powerful leap the eldest of the Xiao Long siblings was airborne and firmly out of his reach, Felix's eyes widened as he realised what was about to happen and in the absence of any form of cover he bolted, changing direction frantically as he scrabbled to retrieve his weapons while at the same time avoiding the firestorm that his sister unleashed on him; the whole while trying to convince himself that there was still a shred of hope, even if he couldn't quite see it.

"She is not holding back at all" Diamond mouthed as she watched the Xiao Long siblings face off against each other in the arena below; Arctus merely winced in sympathy as he wordlessly agreed and Diamond upon seeing this rolled her cherry red eyes and gave him a brief kiss on the cheek

"Oh come on, I've had to fight Corey before….it's not that bad" in almost comically dramatic contravening of her statement the crowd roared their approval as Corvid swooped low and plucked Felix from the floor, hurling him into the air and unleashing another salvo as he fell; the Lion Faunus managed to deflect several blasts in an impressive display of strength and skill but did so at the sake of his landing, he hit the ground crouching on one knee and was clearly in considerable pain when he rose to his feet

"You were saying babe?" Arctus chuckled

"Dork" Diamond answered simply before making herself comfortable leaning into the Bear Faunus. With Arctus staying on campus unless it were strictly necessary for him to leave due to the very real concerns about him being a high priority target of the White Fang, concerns which had only been heightened following the terrorists' attack on Blake and the Xiao Long siblings and the revelation that they had been buying weapons from a corrupt member of Poly-Tech, combined with their mammoth workload as Atlas Academy subjected the students to countless assignments as the semester came to a close it had been very hard for Arctus and Diamond to find any time to be alone together; constantly finding themselves surrounded or simply interrupted by their friends. As it was, attending the tournament was the closest thing to a real date they had been on for some time and as enjoyable as they both found it the pair both silently agreed that once back in New Vale they would need to make up for lost time, preferably somewhere where Arctus's parents weren't sat mere feet away.

"The boy's doing pretty damn well considering" Arctus and Diamond both turned to the source of the voice, Chiffon was watching from close by where he leaned against a wall and fiddled distractedly with his comms. Everyone present wore an expression that suggested that they had a response to that yet it was Weiss who delivered hers first, acerbic tone at odds with the smile on her face

"If that's what you think doing well looks like then I'm not sure I want you to be the one watching my husbands' back"

"I said considering, Corvid was tipped for the Specialists" Chiffon defended before catching sight of Arctus snickering at him "Something funny baby Slate? Tell the class or I can tell your girlfriend all the embarrassing pranks we pulled on you over the summer"

"Bold of you to assume he hasn't told me himself dude" Diamond noted dryly, the grizzled veteran paused for a moment as he clearly searched for a response and eventually settled for turning his attention back to Arctus

"So you Slate guys have a type then-"

"And what would that type be Cimmerian?" Weiss asked in a tone that was far too sweet, her use of the First Mate's first name a clear warning sign

"Women that are clearly out of their league" Chiffon answered calmly

"Pretty much" Gangrel and Arctus answered in unison, neither of them missing a beat. After a few moments the laughter died down and while Arctus and Diamond returned their attention to Felix and Corvid's bout Chiffon noted that several of the soldiers under his command hadn't checked in

"What is it?" Gangrel asked as he caught sight of his second in commands' frown

"I requested hourly reports from all units; everything on the perimeter is in order but there's a few people who're radio silent inside the stadium"

"You think there's a problem?" Gangrel's amber eyes narrowed and his tone suddenly hardened

"Not yet, this crowd his huge" Chiffon noted "Some of them are embedded with the security teams, might be that they haven't had a chance to call in without blowing cover….screw it, I'm gonna go and check in" Gangrel nodded silently and watched as Chiffon left, at the sound of the door closing Arctus turned and after a moment of roaming the V.I.P seating area his eyes widened and he was unable to keep the panic from seeping into his voice when he spoke

"Mum, Dad….where are AJ and Coral?"

Felix rolled aside as Corvid performed another swooping dive-bomb, the blades mounted on her forearms tearing through the space he had occupied whilst Felix himself took aim and opened fire, Hack and Slash in their machine pistol forms unleashing maelstroms of Dust rounds, Hack in his right hand filled with lightning Dust peppering the rear of the Omega Wing though Corvid's Aura prevented any critical damage to the battle-suit whilst Slash had been loaded with ice Dust in attempt to partially immobilise. The attempt failed as Corvid performed an impressive aerial manoeuvre, made more so by the crackling arc of electricity dancing over her body and armour; a moment later she returned fire with her rail-guns, the amount of shots that went wide led Felix to believe that his sisters' helmet had been damaged and she was currently fighting blind, a notion she soon disabused him of

"HEY BRO!" Felix had no chance to move aside as Corvid shot towards him at full speed and delivered what the Lion Faunus initially thought was a punch only to realise a fraction of a second too late was much worse, his sister was clutching a whole gravity Dust crystal in her hand; time seemed to slow to a crawl as she crushed the glassy obsidian substance against his chest with an open-palmed blow; the air was forced from his lungs and he was sent flying backwards as the effects of the raw Dust took hold.

"A MASSIVE BLOW FROM CORVID XIAO LONG!" Oobleck exclaimed as Felix bounced and skimmed across the surface of the arena with punishing impacts; Corvid however wasn't finished and chased after her brother, catching his tail and swinging him by it before releasing him and sending him sailing towards the protective forcefield encasing the arena. Felix braced himself and attempted to control the way he span in the air before he collided with the barrier; he may not have had Diamond's Semblance and ability to run along the surface of the shielding but he hoped he could at least manage to rebound off of it and back into the arena. The hasty plan seemed to work for a fleeting and painfully brief moment; Felix hit the forcefield feet first in a crouch and immediately felt the painful buzzing sensation of contact with its' surface coursing through his legs even as he absorbed the heat being produced by it with his Semblance, he sprung forwards and launched himself into a back-flip that would have seen him land safely if it weren't for Corvid taking to the air once more and driving her elbow into his back, trapping him against the surface of the forcefield

"Is that your hair starting to singe that I can smell?" she taunted and Felix let out a furious snarl before slamming the back of his head against her visored helmet in attempt to disorient her, then reaching back and wrapping his arm around the jointed armature supporting one of her battle-suits' wings and forcing the wing itself to connect with the forcefield. The reaction was instantaneous, the wing sparked and Corvid was flung to the side, though she still hurtled Felix to the ground forcefully as she spiralled downwards; the Lion Faunus taking the opportunity to recover his weapons before staring down her sister as she readied herself for another exchange of blows

"Really Corey, the tail and then the hair?….not fucking cool"

"Gonna tell….tails on me to our Mums?" Corvid laughed and Felix felt another surge of anger wash over him which he quickly clamped down, though not before he retorted with

"Y'know what, I'm starting to understand why nobody on Patch really likes you" though she didn't respond verbally the Lion Faunus saw his sister visibly stiffen before his eyes darted to the slightly scorched area of the Omega Wing's armour where he'd forced it into the forcefield and an idea struck him as he remembered exactly why Corvid had integrated the currently discarded shielding into her weapon; the wings extended further than she could project her Aura.

"FELIX XIAO LONG MAKING GOOD USE OF THE LIMITED COVER AVAILABLE!" Oobleck announced as the blonde narrowly avoided Corvid's next barrage of heavy weapons' fire, crouching behind the central pillar of the stadium; buying himself a few precious moments to frantically change the magazines currently loaded in Hack and Slash out for what he needed for his new plan

"Really Fluffy?" Corvid laughed as she landed on the other side of the central pillar, effectively trapping him against it as she aimed her weapons "Where's your…..pride?"

"Oh fuck off" he grumbled, mildly annoyed at himself for not having a better retort as he blindly fired at the ground beneath Corvid's wingspan; aiming wasn't necessary however and barely a moment later the magnetic Dust payloads of each of his bullets began to exert their force and pull the wings of the Omega Wing downwards in a stunt based on something he had seen Nyanza do in a previous bout, the armatures creaking under sudden strain; Felix seized the opportunity and lunged forwards, vaulting over Corvid as he shifted Hack and Slash into their sword forms and brought one of his blades down in a low slash

"FELIX XIAO LONG DELIVERING AN INCREDIBLE BLOW, THIS MAY JUST BE A GAME CHANGER LADIES AND GENTS!" Oobleck cheered, making little effort to remain professional as he took just as much enjoyment from the spectacle as any of the fans. On the ground Felix took several steps backwards in a hasty retreat, swords twirling in hands that suddenly shook as he realised exactly what he had just done. Corvid held the severed upper left wing of the Omega Wing in both hands and though her face was hidden he knew that his sister was staring at it in disbelief

"Sis?" he dared to ask "Corey….sis come on I'll help you fix it" seconds seemed to stretch out until the damaged form of the Omega Wing began to peel away from Corvid, reverting to a now one-winged aerial drone form which fell to the ground with a dull reverberating clang

"So what now?" Felix asked, trying to mask the sudden panic that gripped him at the sight of his sisters' murderous expression "You just gonna….Omega Wing it?"

"We are way beyond puns right now" Corvid shot back icily, her knuckles audibly popping as she clenched her fists, rolling her shoulders and cricking her neck before dropping into a fighting stance. Felix could only remember a handful of times he had seen his sister so unspeakably furious and noted with something approaching dread that none of those instances had ended well for the recipient of her temper. Readying his weapons he silently hoped that even if he could achieve a victory here that it wouldn't come at the cost of his relationship with his sister.

The various scents wafting about the seemingly impromptu food court outside of the stadium in Eisenstadt Zweite was intoxicating, even more so to someone who possessed the heightened sense of smell of a Faunus, especially if that Faunus had already been hungry upon arriving. Carcharodon made his way through the crowded streets, slipping through the crowds with practised ease as he sought out the source of a particularly enticing aroma among the plethora of mouth watering smells. Despite the most likely racially motivated assumptions many people made, the Shark Faunus did not enjoy gorging himself almost exclusively on fish the way Raffia did and had a certain fondness for the notoriously spicy Mistrali pulled pork whose scent he was currently tracking; Carcharodon hadn't tasted the dish since the last time the Frost River Tribe had arrived in a settlement along the coast of Anima with the intention to trade rather than simply ransack and he was determined to find the stall selling it before Onyx learned of its' presence and simply devoured the whole pig.

"Oh hey I saw your match in the doubles round! Let's talk!" Carcharodon was forced too pay more attention to his immediate surroundings, suppressing the urge to bare his rows of sharp teeth or hiss in displeasure as he took in the sight of the speaker; a young woman though she seemed to be most likely older than himself clad in an outfit that walked a thin line between professional and provocative whilst behind her a man crouched and held a large video camera with an integrated microphone, in addition to the smaller microphone Carcharodon could see on the woman's open collar

"And you are?" while he was utterly lacking in any form of hair the fact he had raised an eyebrow was still unmistakable; the almost casual venom in the Faunus's tone caused the cheery smile on the woman's face to falter for a split second before she composed herself; turning to the cameraman and giving him some signal to start recording

"I'm Rosetta Burgundy and this is M.E.N Sports the Marigold Entertainment Networks' sports channel; where we bring you the vital news from the Vytal Tournament!" her voice seemed to jump an octave or two and Carcharodon gave her another once over, suddenly realising that everything about this woman's attire and demeanour had been decided and forced onto her without her insight and she was essentially no more than bait to lure in the easily amused; the Shark Faunus found himself struggling with simultaneous pangs of pity and contempt, though the unfamiliar moral conundrum was made easier when Rosetta continued to speak, her voice seeming to grate on his nerves more and more with each syllable.

"I just managed to corner former competitor Carcharodon Gore for an exclusive interview!" she chirped in a bright sing-song tone; before Carcharodon could inform her that she had done no such thing she carried on talking "So Car, can I call you Car? What are you doing in Eisenstadt Zweite tonight?"

"I was following my nose, now I'm being questioned" he answered as tonelessly as possible, the reporters' expression wavered again though Carcharodon was sure he saw the corners of her mouth twitch into a much more genuine smile for a moment before her next question

"So the evening opened with Helios Nikos, the man who beat you, taking another win; care to share your thoughts?" Carcharodon wasn't sure if the needling line of question was due to her employers demands or a response to his own bluntness and merely answered honestly

"Against anyone else his opponent may well have won, they both fought well and the Nikosi firstborn is a credit to his people"

"No hard feelings then, not quite as ruthless as you were made out to be….Any predictions you'd like to make for the remainder of the Tournament?"

"That the winner will be insufferable for a decade if this is how much attention someone gets for losing" Carcharodon snorted.

"And cur" Rosetta snorted, struggling not to laugh. The moment the camera was turned off she shot Carcharodon a suggestive wink before speaking in a voice that was clearly her natural tone "So um, my employer will definitely not like this if they find out but….wanna go for a drink?"

"Not especially" Carcharodon answered simply before walking away, pulling the hood of his black cloak low over his face in attempt to avoid being spotted by more hangers-on. The woman's intentions had been painfully clear and were he in a more charitable mood he would have pointed her in Onyx's direction; he himself had no interest in any kind of physical intimacy. He returned to his original intentions and set about finding where he could enjoy some, hopefully genuine, Mistrali cuisine only to come to a halt as another scent reached his nostrils; a coppery scent that while it triggered something visceral within him was at the same time comfortably familiar

"Still fresh" he breathed out as he set off in the direction of the smell of blood, his previous goals forgotten; he soon found himself doubling back on himself and returning to the stadium, slipping into a restricted yet unmonitored hidden walkway beneath the bleachers. The smell of blood intermingled with the stench of cleaning fluids as the Shark Faunus reached what he assumed was a storeroom for the janitorial staff; wrinkling his nose as he did so Carcharodon ripped the door open with enough force to break the lock, only to stop short at the sight that greeted him. A single Atlesian soldier lay on the ground, their neck reduced to a bleeding stump and their decapitated head left in a nearby sink; the body itself had been positioned in a way that allowed the blood pouring from the wound to run into a bucket rather than onto the floor where it would no doubt have seeped under the door of the storeroom. Carcharodon stepped closer and crouched as he examined the body, he was from a stranger to death and corpses held no fear for him, a low hiss escaped him as something caught his eye; the cut that had severed the soldiers' head was remarkably clean and accurate and as he stared at the sheer tear through flesh and bone he realised that the most likely candidate for this murder was the White Fang and that there were precious few among them with this kind of skill; the same skill that had seen his sister laid low when the Cult of Taurus turned against them.

"Justice will be done" he promised himself as he rose to his feet and left the storeroom, catching sight of a security camera as he did so; noting that their was no need to waste time informing the Atlesians and possibly deny himself the chance to deliver the retribution that he had worked towards for almost two years.

The gargantuan Ansturm haulage vehicle appropriated from the Schnee Dust Company by Svart Frost made its' way through Eisenstadt Zweite without incident; any onlookers who though it odd to see such a massive vehicle travelling through more commercial areas of the city than the subterranean working class districts which housed the factories simply assumed that it was delivering something of importance to the Vytal Festival; the dozen or so cars, vans and small buses behind the Ansturm attracted no attention whatsoever, exactly as planned. Within the cab of the hulking truck Svart and Celeste had been joined by the leader of one of the White Fang cells from the outer settlements whose members had earned the privilege to be on the forefront of the attack; she was a scale-covered reptilian Faunus who made no attempt to conceal either the machete and sawn-off shotgun she carried or the contempt in her voice as she regarded the Emperor Penguin Faunus tasked with driving the Ansturm whose trailers were filled to capacity with armed dissidents.

"High Commander, the Xiao Long children are currently competing in the tournament" she addressed Celeste Lupus with utmost respect as she relayed information given to her by various members of the White Fang stationed at locations around the city as well as those watching livestreams of the tournament from inside the trailers

"I offered Blake Belladonna's son the chance to join us and right the wrongs his mother has committed against the Faunus in the name of appeasing humans and he refused….no more mercy"

"Agreed High Commander" the reptilian Faunus nodded enthusiastically before glaring from behind her mask as Svart "Though we're still too far away from the stadium to make sure we arrive before the match ends" Celeste took this information in her stride, remaining silent for a few moments as she considered her options

"There are others who will act in my stead if we do not arrive before their match concludes" the Ram Faunus stated simply before her thin lipped mouth twisted into a cruel smile "Although it seems….ill-fitting perhaps, for someone other than myself to deliver the opening attack of our crusade. Svart how far are we from the divide?"

"A few minutes away from where it used to be" the driver replied, the several meters thick Atlesian steel blast doors between the upper and lower sections of each city within the icy Kingdom; designed to be sealed in case of any emergency or social uprising had been removed over a decade ago as Atlas made efforts to reform itself; though anyone native to Lower Atlas would know that those efforts were superficial at best and that the segregation between the two halves of the Kingdom was still very real, especially if they were Faunus

"Used to be?" Celeste asked quizzically "The Atlesian military still has checkpoints in place in the exact place the blast doors stood for this tournament does it not?"

"It does High Commander" Svart admitted, Celeste turned to the reptilian Faunus co-ordinating the various cells from all across the continent currently within the city

"The the matter is settled. Tell the other teams stationed at the checkpoints to move in when we give the signal; they'll know it when they see it" the Ram Faunus turned to Svart and with her voice almost with trembling with excitement said simply "Give me ramming speed"

Specialist Commander Cimmerian Chiffon, First Mate to Gangrel Slate was a grizzled veteran of countless clandestine operations that his Kingdom would continue to deny had ever happened long after he had retired or sacrificed his live in the line of duty. With his years of experience tempering the advanced training all members of the Specialist Branch were subjected to he liked to think that he had a fairly astute understanding of the severity of an unfolding situation even without all of the details and could reliably gauge how concerned to be. Currently Specialist Chiffon was deeply concerned.

"Where the fuck is everyone" he grumbled under his breath, right hand absently moving from rubbing the greying stubble on his chin to tracing the prominent scar running horizontally from his right eyebrow along his temple to the back of his skull; a souvenir from being shot in the head when his Aura was depleted and continuing to fight on regardless. Since leaving the V.I.P seating he had been attempting to track down each of the Specialists that he had stationed around the stadium who had failed to report in and give them a somewhat less than official berating for both their tardiness and making him miss part of a good match. A few of those Specialists had been found at their posts, offering excuses such as being unable to find privacy, needing to perform the job they were masquerading as to maintain their cover or simply using the lavatory; several more however were simply missing and Chiffon was beginning to get seriously worried, noting that it was far beyond the realms of coincidence.

"Fuck this" he muttered under his breath before tapping the comm headset he was currently wearing "Control room find Specialist Misty….Control room, Control room do you copy?" when he was answered by nothing but silence Chiffon swiftly made his way towards the control room; walking briskly through restricted corridors and descending down below what guests would consider to be the bottom of the stadium and into the sprawling complex beneath it in which the various battlefields were maintained; the control room was located before this complex and as the veteran reached the entrance he found himself clutching his weapon out of habit. Opening the door with an electronic card-key he stepped inside and immediately came to a halt, blood rushing from his face as he stared at the carnage before him in horror. The control room was staffed by almost two dozen operators who surveyed the countless security cameras which covered the majority of the stadium; each and every one of those two dozen staff were now dead, their bodies slumped over desks and chairs or simply crumpled on the ground where they had fallen after attempting to run or raise the alarm. The scent of blood was overwhelming and the crimson liquid formed pools on the floor and trickled down the walls in steady streams where it spattered when projectiles ripped through bodies; Chiffon clamped down on his emotions and noted with detached disgust that the projectiles in question were a series of three foot long steel spikes.

"Sir" his words were clipped as he contact Gangrel Slate "We have a situation, code black"

Corvid and Felix exchanged blows at lightning speed, though the Lion Faunus was under no delusions as to who was currently winning this fight; since the severe damage he had wrought on the Omega Wing his sister had attacked with devastating precision, force and brutality, as was showcased when she caught her brothers' right hook and turned in the same motion, landing a punishing blow on the inside of his elbow as she swept his legs out from beneath him before using his own momentum to send him crashing to the ground.

"Lion on the ground again?" she snarled before launching herself into an acrobatic manoeuvre that caused the crowd to cheer as she slammed into the space Felix had occupied, her knee intended for his chest while her elbow would have collided with his nose. Before she could right herself she was left seeing stars for a moment by the force of the spinning kick Felix landed on her head; lashing out blindly she managed to prevent him from pressing the brief advantage as she regained her focus and balance

"Y'know what Corey, fuck you for making this harder than it had to be!" Felix snapped at her, Corvid feeling a pang of guilt as well as surprise as the way his voice wavered

"What, you thought I was gonna go easy on you Fluffy?" she laughed, pushing her feelings to the side as the made to kick Felix in the chest; only for him to catch her leg and hurl her to the ground in a reversal of their previous exchange. As Felix threw a powerful punch at her chest she managed to roll to her side and wrap her legs around his arm, forcing him to the ground as she exerted as much force as she could on his elbow and shoulder, Felix responded with a savage snarl as he rolled and landed a firm punch on Corvid's gut which caused her to release his arm. As the two of them managed to return to their feet, both panting for breath and bleeding from previous blows they had landed on each other; Felix spat out a mouthful of blood and glared at his sister with tears in his eyes

"Do you actually want to be here fighting me or something?" he demanded, his voice pained "'Cos I'm gonna be honest, if winning really means that much to you then you can have it….I don't wanna hurt you, I'll just forfeit" Corvid's stomach lurched as she realised in a single instant just how far beyond reasonable or in control she was, she'd been using attacks intended to break limbs and win by the most painful and humiliating means possible.

"THEY SEEM TO BE SIZING EACH OTHER UP FOR ANOTHER ATTACK!" Oobleck announced, clearly misreading the situation from his place above them. Corvid let out a slow breath before dropping her arms to her side and straightening her back

"Fuck this"

"What're you doing?" Felix asked, clearly perplexed; Corvid simply shot him a grin as she braced herself

"Both our Auras are low, I say there's one simple way to finish this that'll keep the fans happy" her smile widened to almost comical proportions "Let's see whose Semblance is better"

"As if it's even a question" Felix snorted before obliging; his blazing Aura manifesting around him as he channelled all of the heat he'd absorbed and stored, flesh blackening as magma like veins spread across its' surface and his eyes, hair and the fur of his tail began to glow with golden light as he entered his Balrog State. The crowd erupted with deafening cheers as they seemed to sense what was about to happen and a moment later Felix charged, covering the distance between them and crashing into Corvid with earth shattering force. The floor of the stadium cracked and cratered around her feet, its' surface beginning to glow as the heat Felix was emitting reduced to a molten state; yet Corvid Xiao Long held fast and grappled with her brother

"Y'know you look cool when you do that….well not cool, you're on fire for Oum's sake" she grunted out through clenched teeth "But it really only works if you can win with the first hit" Felix noted that while his unstoppable momentum may have been simply dissipated but Corvid had greatly misjudged the situation

"Hey Corey" his voice came out as distorted snarl, the mere act of speaking and strategic thought becoming difficult in this form "There's a 'floor' in your plan" he broke free of their grappling and wrapped his arms around her chest, pulling her into a bear-hug before simply lifting her off of the ground and rendering her Semblance ineffective as he launched himself into the air, ending the match with a move more at home in professional wrestling; their collision with the floor sending a cloud of dust into the air

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, CORVID XIAO-LONG'S AURA HAS DROPPED INTO THE RED! FELIX XIAO LONG WINS AND PROGRESSES INTO THE NEXT ROUND OF THE TOURNAMENT!" when the dust finally settled the crowds were treated to the sight of both Xiao Long sibling laid on the ground simply laughing like maniacs at the audacity of Felix's final move

"I can't believe you just did that!" Corvid gasped out as she struggled to catch her breath

"I can't believe it actually worked!" Felix snorted back

"Come on get up" Corvid returned to her feet and pulled her brother up by the arm before proceeding to hold that same arm in the air, gesturing wildly at the Faunus in a way that seemed to imply that she thought the crowds should be cheering louder. The audience obliged and their enthusiasm reached even greater heights, several chants being clear amidst the roaring cacophony; Felix found himself unable to keep the smile from his face and playfully bowed and played up to the fans with his arms outstretched.
Then the gunshot echoed throughout the stadium.

Crowds screamed and began moving in a single panicked mass as thousands of people fled from where they each believed they sound to have come from, crashing into each other and any security personnel attempting to take the situation in hand, live-streams went blank with their final image being the horror in the arena below. Felix Xiao Long staggered forwards before dropping to his knees with his sisters' screams sounding distant to his ears, his navy eyes wide with shock and fright as a wave of cold washed over him in tandem with the deep red stain spreading across his shirt and his Aura flickering out of existence, receding away from the point of impact whilst he clutched feebly at the three foot long steel spike now protruding from just below his ribcage.

Authors Notes:

Well shit, I promised you another cliffhanger did I not?
So yeah, the Vol.6/second year finale is on, battle commencing next chapter.

Not much else to add so let's summarise shall we:
Qrow might be a cynical old bastard at heart but you can't argue with him bracing for the worst there.
"Unbiased" lol.
And again, can't really blame Qrow for not wanting to be around Antonia either all things considered.
I enjoy Qrow's interactions with Kataigida; might have to write more.
Helios managed to get his Mum to at least hear Qrow out, so in this case Felix's honesty was the best policy….not that would honestly have been able to keep his mouth shut anyway; he lied for Qrow once before, how did that turn out.
Qrow is trying to be a better Oz.
Syneffo sounding like a more seasoned and capable, yet just as earnest version of Vol.1 Ruby...probably breaks Qrow's heart to be honest.
Felix was genuinely terrified because of both how much he looks up to Corvid and always puts her on a pedestal but also Corvid is legitimately scary when she wants to be.
There's the thing with Corvid that makes her tricky to write sometimes, she undoubtedly one of the good guys, but at the same time her teasing can easily go into bullying territory and her confidence can come across as cocky.
Also the puns are back.
Corvid's Semblance needs a floor to work, take the floor out from under her and you're back in the game.
Unless of course she decides on "Death from above"
I really want to write more cute Diamond Dust scenes, as well as the other ships.
Weiss has no chill.
The Slate guys type is "Taking none of anybody's shit".
You all knew it was gonna go very very wrong when you saw that some of the security had gone missing didn't you.
Oh no, AJ and Coral are gone….oh no.
Both Xiao Long siblings using Dust related dirty tricks was fun.
Felix forcing the Omega Wing into the forcefield reminded me of a part of Bumblebee and not Starscream fighting.
Also…..she messed with the hair, and the tail.
The comment about nobody on Patch liking her might have been a low blow though.
Yeah, Felix basically used a modified version of the Magnetic Dust trick that Nyanza used against Onyx.
Well, the Omega Wing is broken….that's gonna have consequences.
Also, the fact that Felix immediately started apologising because he knew he'd fucked up.
Rare instance of Car with his guard down a little.
Henry Marigold, aka shitty Neptune from Vol.4….in Downward Spiral I had his family own various media outlets in Atlas; this reporter works for them.
The idea of Carcharodon being caught by a faux bubbly reporter is honestly hilarious to me for reasons I can't quite articulate.
Also, Car might be ace and aromantic himself but let's be honest somebody probably finds him attractive.
So Beta is here somewhere and Car is going on the warpath alone.
"Ramming speed" well that's one way to make an entrance.
If you didn't expect dead bodies when the control room didn't answer then I don't know what to tell you.
Yeah Delta cleaned the place out ruthlessly; which is why nobody spotted the other Specialists and guards being picked off.
Corvid uses Felix's own momentum against him a lot in this fight because even back in Vol.1 I mentioned that that's how she fights when she doesn't have the Omega Wing; she's good at martial arts like Judo and submission holds.
The sad thing is Felix wasn't joking, he would have forfeited if Corvid said it meant that much to her and I feel like realising that he was seriously ready to do that for her was the only thing that would have made Corvid see some kind of sense.
Well that's that debate settled, unstoppable force beats immovable object because the ground around immovable object will break first.
Felix winning with a pun, it had to happen.
Boom.
Please tell me someone saw that coming?

Thank you to SumoSnipe, Keromenson, Funlander, Ferrous, FluffyFirefly, FleetOfWarships and DizzyDwarf for their reviews on the last chapter.
Oh the whole of Team GORE are gonna uncork in ways we haven't seen yet.
Yeah the whole Immovable object meeting an Unstoppable force thing has been planned from day one….seriously, the Cult of Taurus were the first antagonist characters I came up with for this story so things have been built around them for a while.
You though the last cliffhanger was evil….Now you know what I'm truly capable of.
All of you who were scared for what happens next….congrats, that was the correct response.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.