The arena floor ascended into the air, sending a jolt up Pyrrha's back as it came to a halt. Penny's eyes were downcast, her hands interlaced and resting against her chest. Penny looked up at her as the announcer's talked
"Let's do our best," Penny said.
Pyrrha said nothing, looking at her hands as she flexed her fingers.
Ruby bolted from her seat, sprinting down the steps, dashing towards the arena edge.
She gagged as something grabbed her hood, yanking her back, and wrapping her in a tight embrace. She started to thrash around, grunting as she strained to get an arm, a leg, anything free.
"Noncombatants are not allowed on the arena floor, Miss. Get back to your seat." The security guard said. Ruby squirmed in his grip; a pair of mechs and another guard heading over to them.
"You don't understand! They're in danger! She's going to get hurt!" The approaching guard cocked an eyebrow and looked between her and the guard holding her.
"We've taken precautions so this round doesn't turn out like that last one, Miss. No one's going to get permanently injured."
Ruby thrashed harder, grunting, straining against his iron vice of a grip.
Penny drew her swords, all ten of them, as the announcers began to count down. Pyrrha drew her spear, her shield remaining on her back.
"Begin!"
Penny twirled her swords around her as Pyrrha charged at her. Penny launched her blade's forward, Pyrrha leaping between them. Penny frowned, pulling her swords back.
Pyrrha jabbed at her with her spear, Penny grit her teeth as her swords swung up, catching the spear. Pyrrha frowned, yanking her spear back and slashing at her. Pyrrha jabbed and slashed, Penny's blades serving as a wall of metal.
Penny pushed forward, her swords slashing against the ground, gashing holes in the floor before ripping up, slashing Pyrrha's chest, sparks jumping off her armor. Pyrrha leapt back, gritting her teeth, glancing down at the cuts in her corset. Penny pushed forward launching her swords forward.
Pyrrha jumped onto one of her blades, leaping from that one to the one in front before pouncing towards her with a yell, swinging her spear down. Penny gasped, throwing her arms in front of her, her swords rushing up to parry Pyrrha's stab. Pyrrha back-flipped off her swords, skidding to a halt, and narrowed her eyes as she looked at her. Pyrrha rose up, her shield sliding onto her arm.
Penny dashed forward, slashing and stabbing with her swords, Pyrrha blocking them with her shield, parrying them with her spear. Pyrrha ducked under the blades as Penny swung them, and jabbed forward, stabbing at her. Penny gasped, the blade slamming against her aura. Pyrrha twirled her spear, slamming the staff end into her face before jabbing it into her gut.
She fell to the ground, groaning, and rolled to the side as Pyrrha stabbed downward, her spear embedding into the metal. Penny sprung to her feet, falling to her knees, and scowling, her swords floating around her. Pyrrha yanked her spear free, and stopped.
Penny looked up, her lips parting; sparks rained down around them, the arena lights flickering between red and white. The arena screens were being distorted by static, their pictures flickering.
Penny looked back over at Pyrrha-
She grunted in pain, as Pyrrha kicked her, knocking her away. Penny grit her teeth, aiming her swords at Pyrrha, green plasma shooting out. Pyrrha's eyes widened in surprise, and she leapt out of the way of the blasts. Penny twirled her blades, the lines of plasma charring the arena grounds, and Pyrrha ducking and leaping out the way.
Penny pulled her swords back, her blades circling in front of her. She pulled her arms back, and punched forward with a yell, a giant beam of plasma firing forth.
Pyrrha threw up her shield, contorting her body behind it as the plasma slammed into her. Pyrrha skid against the ground before being thrown off her feet, her shield flying off to the side. Pyrrha hit the arena floor, groaning, her spear clutched in her hand. Penny pulled her arms back, her swords floating around her.
Penny walked towards Pyrrha, her blades twirling around her. Pyrrha coughed, rising to her knees, and looked up. Fear shot through Pyrrha's eyes and she leapt backwards, stabbing at thin air. Pyrrha twirled her spear, jabbing it behind her, at nothing. Penny stopped.
Oobleck watched Pyrrha slash at nothing, spinning around and jabbing at thin air. The arena floodlights were flickering, sparks jumping as all of the lights turned red. The arena screens were flickering, static over the speaker.
Oobleck pressed on his ear piece, glancing over at Port.
"What's happening down there?" The voice on the other line was hard to hear, the voice broken up by static.
"We do- -ow!" Oobleck scowled, turning in his chair.
"End the match, get them out of there!"
"We ca-! We ha- no –ntrol ove- the –rena!" Oobleck grit his teeth, ripping his headset off.
"What in Dusts name is happening?" Port asked.
Penny lowered her swords, cocking her head to the side. Pyrrha was hacking at the air, grunting, and moving like she was dodging attacks. Pyrrha's body was coated in sweat, the red lights making her look like she was drenched in blood. Penny looked back at the arena screen; her picture being warped and distorted by the static. A red X was over her picture.
She turned back towards Pyrrha, and started to walk towards her. Her aura flickered as she turned it off, hearing a beeping come from the screens. The arena floor would lower if her aura was at zero, right? She held up a hand gently, trying to keep her voice steady as she spoke.
"Pyrrha?" Pyrrha turned, glaring at her, her spear in hand. Penny smiled wider, opening her hands, trying to appear as unthreatening as possible. "It is okay, you have won the match now, you can stop fi-"
The words hitched in her throat. Penny's stomach began to go numb. Pyrrha snarled at her, thrusting the spear further in. Penny screamed, feeling herself get lifted into the air before being flung over Pyrrha's shoulder. She slammed into the arena floor, grunting, gasping. She could hear the audience's gasps and screams.
Her hand went to her stomach, her body starting to tremble. Penny raised her hand, starting to hyperventilate. Blood, oh Gods blood, it was her blood, oh Gods. She heard footsteps, and looked up, eyes wide in terror. Pyrrha stalked towards her, her green eyes cold, her spear bloody, her body red like a demons.
Penny scrambled to her feet, hissing and grabbing her stomach, the warm blood gushing between her fingers. She held up her other hand, backing away.
"Pyrrha! Please!"
Pyrrha walked forward, the Beowolf growling as it backed away from her, black blood gushing from the wound in its belly. Miló switched to its rifle form, and Pyrrha took aim. The Beowolf growled again, raising a claw as she fired.
The wolf cried out as its leg was blown off at the knee, collapsing and howling in pain. Pyrrha ignored the screams coming from the arena; she had no idea how the Grimm got in, but they needed to be stopped before they hurt someone.
She approached the wolf, tossing Miló into her other hand as it turned into a spear. The wolf growled again, reaching up at her with its paw. Pyrrha stopped in front of the wolf, scowling. She thrusted downward, the growl from the wolf ending in a gurgled cry as her spear cut through its neck.
The wolf's head rolled, resting against her foot, black blood oozing from its neck. The screaming from the arena grew louder, and Pyrrha looked up at them in confusion. She looked back down, her eyes widening as green eyes gazed up at her.
Pyrrha screamed.
Ruby screamed, breaking an arm free of the guards, struggling against them. Her head started to throb, white spots popping up in her vision as she stared at them.
Pyrrha fell to her knees, rocking back and forth, clutching her arms as she screamed. Dark blood pooled around Penny, her light clothes turning crimson. Her swords were scattered around her.
She didn't stop screaming, the guards barely audible.
"Wha-what the fuck is wrong with her eyes?!"
She broke free of the guards, running to the arena edge, stumbling, tripping, and falling as she ran. Her world was growing whiter. She got to her knees, her head pounding, and squeezed her eyes shut, clutching her head, tears running down her face.
Coco stared down at the arena, her mouth hanging open, her eyes wide in horror. Velvet leaned forward, her mouth covering her hand, her eyes watering. Velvet fell from her seat, vomiting onto the floor, gagging as she retched. Sun and Neptune stared at Pyrrha; their faces numb.
A high pitched wail echoed throughout the arena speakers, and Coco covered her ears, grunting. She looked over at the arena screens to see they had turned red, a black queen's chess piece logo spinning in the corner of the screen.
"This was no accident," a female voice boomed throughout the arena. Coco lowered her ears, watching in disgust as a loop of Penny's murder began to play. "This is not a tragedy." The screen changed to Yang breaking Mercury's leg. "This is what happens when you hand over your trust." The screen zoomed in on Mercury's face as he screamed in pain. "Your children." Coco gasped, seeing herself on the screen as footage from the Breach began to play. "Your very safety." General Ironwood and Oz's faces took up the screens. "To mere men."
"To men who's ambitions have led to them wielding more power than any other. To men who have fused his Kingdom's education with his military. These men cling to their old traditions in their vain attempts at preserving the peace." The woman laughed, a chill going down Coco's spine. "And yet look what has happened. A Beacon student breaking another student's leg? And another brutally murdering another student while she begged for her life? And why oh why would Atlas construct a machine capable of behaving like a human and train her to fight? The Grimm certainly can't tell the difference between a human and a machine." The woman's chuckle was cold.
"When I lived in Mistral I was fed the lie, like all of you, that Hunters were the harbingers of peace and honor. But now you all see what they truly are. Ozpin, Ironwood, and all the others have trained them to be merciless killers, brainwashing young adults and turning them into glorified weapons. It makes one wonder if Ozpin's high casualty rate at his school isn't out of some sick pleasure."
"Or perhaps this was all a part of Ozpin's plan; to show the world that he would not sit idly by while a tyrant rolled into Vale and began to occupy it under the guise of 'safe guarding the peace' that you all have loved so much."
"The leaders of your Kingdoms have been keeping you in the dark. This peace you all cherish is fragile and hollow. You have all been kept in the dark while the leaders of this world conduct business with blood stained hands. The Kingdoms are at the brink of war and it has all been kept hidden from you. The people of this world."
"When the first shots of war are fired, who will you be able to trust?"
The arena lights blew out, screams ringing out as the arena was thrown into darkness, the screens black. There was static, and a crudely drawn crayon smiling sun filled the screens. Enjoy the show!
A dull red light glowed throughout the arena as the emergency lights flickered on. An alarm started to blare before a mechanical voice started to speak.
"Warning: incoming Grimm attack. Warning: incoming Grimm attack. Threat level: ten. Please seek out shelter in a calm and orderly fashion." People shoved past Coco, screams echoing throughout the arena, the crowd a dark blob as they ran for the exits. Coco swallowed, her hands shaking, her scarred leg aching. This couldn't be happening.
"Everyone!" It was the General. "Please, remain calm. There is no need to pa-"
Ice shot through Coco's blood as a screech rang above them. A Nevermore landed on the energy shield encasing the arena, screeching and flapping its wings as it slashed at the shield with its talons, its beak slamming against it.
"Fuck," Coco whimpered.
Qrow rushed out of the elevator, Glynda at his side.
"Oz!" Ozpin turned, his back straight, his cane in hand, his face stern.
"Get to the city!" Glynda stepped forward.
"Sir-"
"Now!" Ozpin ordered. Gylnda looked over at him, and Qrow nodded. He ran back to the elevator, Glynda at his heels.
Ozpin pulled his scroll out as the elevator door slammed shut. He pressed Ironwood's contact and put his scroll to his ear.
"Ozpin, wha-"
"You brought your army to my kingdom, James." Ozpin narrowed his eyes. "Use it." He hung up, heading towards the door to his office.
Neo grinned, leaning against the control room wall while soldiers bustled around her. A voice spoke over the ship radio.
"This is Blue Four, Blue Three and Two, get into defensive position."
"Roger, Blue Four! Blue Three moving into position!" A different voice said.
Neo drew the knife at her hip, her smile growing; time to play.
Roman looked up as the door to his cell slide open. He grinned before wincing in pain.
Neo stood in the doorway, blood covering her face and uniform. His cane and hat were in her hands. She stepped into the cell, putting his hat on his head, and handing him his cane. She smiled devilishly.
"Time for payback," she signed.
He frowned at that. Neo backed out of the cell, and he stood up, pain shooting through his body, his joints cracking noisily.
He followed Neo to the control room, cocking an eyebrow at the bodies littering the floor, the floors and walls soaked in blood. He went to the main console, looking over the controls. Been a few years since he hijacked an Atlas ship. He cracked his fingers, and stretched his neck; time to see if he still had it.
He fiddled with the controls, the ship lurching to starboard. He grit his teeth, his empty stomach doing flips as the ship moved. It halted, the two remaining dreadnaughts dead center. Nevermore's were perched on the ships, striking them with their beaks and slashing them with their talons. Fighter ships were soaring through the air, firing at Griffons. He glanced down at the controls, his hands hovering over the weapons controls. He closed his eyes, and pressed them.
The ship jolted as its main canon fired, the Dust blasts blowing a hole in the dreadnaughts. Screams and yells washed over the speakers, filling the room with the screeches of the dying. Roman's nose wrinkled, and he muted the radio, looking away as the ships exploded.
Adam loaded shells into his shotgun, his Sibling popping clips into their rifles. He rested his shotgun on his side as he felt the airship slow and come to a halt. He went to the ship door, turning and facing his Siblings. He grinned.
"Show them no mercy."
The door swung open and Adam leapt out, his Siblings landing behind him. His grin grew as Grimm swarmed around the school, their roars like music.