Dreams Do Come True

by DragonoftheEastblue

Do you believe in destiny? I certainly do, and so do two young Huntsmen-in-training who are about to have their lives changed forever. A retelling of events from the end of the Beacon Dance where Jaune realizes and accepts Pyrrha's feelings, and takes the first step on a journey he never knew was waiting for him. World-building/Canon-Restoration. Arkos, Boop, BlackSun, Iceberg, etc

11. Chapter XI: Divide and Conquer

Author's Note

One of my favourite moments of this entire story happens in this chapter. I wonder if you can guess which one it is?

Chapter XI: Divide and Conquer

The following morning was as beautiful and calm as the one before, which was the exact opposite of the typhoon of emotions Pyrrha was experiencing as she tried to eat breakfast with her friends and teammates. She had slept sporadically the night before, due to both being unable to relax, and having vivid nightmares wrench her out of sleep. They were not separate dreams, but rather a continuous stream of related fears. Grimm invading Albion, White Fang forces marching through the streets, Cinder killing Amber, her friends falling in battle, Jaune's white armour stained red. That final image had firmly bound itself to the front of her mind, to the point that she could see it clear as day every time she shut her eyes. She knew that she was letting her fear get to her, but she had no idea how to overcome it. Normally she had a very good grip on her fears, never allowing them to cloud her judgement, and open the floodgates to errors that could cost her victory.

'Just pretend that this is a regular tournament' she had told herself. 'Just another tournament; no different than the many you've competed in since you were a girl.' However, she knew with every fiber of her being that this wasn't just another tournament.

It wasn't her reputation and record that was on the line, but rather innocent civilians, her friends, and the boy she loved. It was an all or nothing scenario, with everything to gain and everything to lose. How could she stay as calm and collected as the Order wanted her to in such a situation? Huntmaster Ozpin had been more reassuring than Qrow, going as far as to prostrate himself before her. However, the reason he had been so calming then, was solely on the fact that he had been so sincere and open emotionally. What she needed to know to suppress her warring emotions now, were immovable facts. What exactly was the Order planning to counter the enemy forces? She knew that Huntmaster-General Ironwood was heading the defences of Albion by bringing troops and new mechanized armour, which truly did give her some comfort, but it was the overarching plan she desperately wished to know. And now, if Qrow was being truthful, was the time to be aware of those plans, as they were meant to go into motion today. Just remain calm and continue as if all is normal. How laughable that statement now sounded.

"Pyrrha" came Jaune's voice, which the fraught young woman only heard after feeling him grasp her right hand. She looked up to see him gazing at her with concern in his eyes, and she instantly realized that he had been trying to get her attention the entire time she had been lost in her thoughts.

"Yes?" she managed.

"What's wrong?" the blond asked directly, no longer interested in trying to be subtle with his worry for her wellbeing.

"It's nothing, Jaune. I'm just a bit nervous about today" she lied. "The Singles bracket will be far more difficult than we expected since my upperclassmen have been invited to compete."

That normally would have been a convincing argument, but Jaune wasn't being fooled. He had been as patient as a saint thus far, but now, seeing her this anxious, had drained all the patience he had left.

"No, it's something else" he said firmly. "You've been like this since after you went to talk to Huntmaster Ozpin, and it got worse after Coco and Yatsuhashi's match yesterday. Please tell me what's wrong."

Pyrrha felt her stomach twist, knowing now that her attempts to keep Jaune unaware of her distress had completely failed.

"It's...it's nothing. I'll explain when the tournament is over." Before Jaune could interject, Pyrrha laid down her fork and rose to her feet. "I'm going for a walk" she announced to the others, who thankfully had been overly engrossed in their own conversations to notice the exchange with her captain. "I'll see you all at the Coliseum."

"You OK? You barely ate" Nora commented.

"I'm fine, just a bit anxious for today" the redhead lied once again, and promptly left, feeling more like a coward with every step, distancing herself from the friends she so desperately wished to protect. Jaune kept his eyes on her, the emotions he had been struggling with for the past two days raging to a boil.

"Is something wrong with Pyrrha?" asked Nora, starting to become worried about her friend.

The blond continued to stare at the end of the dining hall, hardly noticing the others looking at him and expecting a response. At last, the final grain of patience he had dissolved, and he slammed his fist on the table.

"Fucking Hell" he cursed and got to his feet, nearly running after Pyrrha, which only made the others grow in concern, but ultimately decided not to follow.

"OK, what's going on?" demanded Yang, looking to Ren and Nora.

"We don't know" the ginger replied, a concerned expression on her face. "Pyrrha's been like that since yesterday, and she looked exhausted before we got ready for breakfast."

"We've noticed" added Weiss, her face now serious and focused. "Have you not spoken to her about this?"

"I tried, but she said it was nothing. What about you two?" Nora asked, pointing to the Xiao Long sisters. "Why did Pyrrha talk with your uncle?"

"We asked!" the blonde defended, throwing her hands in the air. "All we could get out of him was that she wanted to know why had her mentors been asked to join the tournament; which when we asked him about that, just repeated with Huntmaster Ozpin said."

"Uncle Qrow can be a bit secretive" added Ruby, though her tone and expression suggested it was a rather common occurrence, "but it can't be something really bad, right?"

While she came across a tad naive, her voice revealed a slight hint of worry, fearful if there was indeed something to be concerned about. Their previous conversations about Team CLME and the White Fang began to surface in their minds, for despite Pyrrha's insistence she had been wrong, the lack of detail was worrisome.

"I personally would like to know the reason behind her countrymen being asked to enter the tournament as well" Weiss continued. "Her match with René was questionable."

"What do you mean?" asked Blake. "It was a good match from what I could tell."

"As it would to the rest of you, but not to me" the heiress explained carefully. "As I mentioned, I have a great interest in dueling and swordsmanship, and have trained in it for years. I followed the leagues even before my sister competed, and I know very well how René fights, as well as how two highly skilled swordsmen engage. They held back."

"What do you mean?" demanded Nora. "That Pierre guy hit pretty hard yesterday."

"Oh I am certain of your fight being legitimate, but I am equally certain that Pyrrha and René were not fighting at their full potential."

"That isn't surprising" Ren said at last. "We've been training with her since we became a team, and if she were to fight us seriously, then we would have been severely injured or worse. Pyrrha is the most disciplined person I know other than yourself, so I suspect that she's being careful for the Singles bracket. She's a veteran of Mistral's Gladiatorial circuit after all, so she of all people knows what she's doing. Furthermore, given that René is someone whom she trained with in Mistral, there most certainly be some sort of understanding we aren't aware of. Neither used their Semblances, if you recall."

"I suppose..." Weiss conceded, though she wasn't entirely convinced.

"Why don't we ask her when she gets back? Or when Jaune comes back" offered Ruby. "She'd tell him what's bothering her; she loves him."

The others Huntsmen-in-training nodded in agreement, though nonetheless maintained their worry for the Mistralese champion. Whether it large or small, they didn't want to see her in distress. But if anyone could make her happy, it was Jaune.

λΛλ

Jaune left the dining hall and was now walking northward towards the lecture dome. He had already lost sight of her, so he began to run in hopes of covering the ground between them fast enough to see even a glimpse of her. Thankfully luck was on his side, and he saw the redhead walking between the water and the kitchen when he turned the corner, causing him to sprint towards her.

"Pyrrha!" he called, causing her to turn around in shock.

"Jaune..." she began, but the blond wasn't having any of it, and walked right up to her, placing his hands on her shoulders.

"What's wrong?" he asked again.

"Everything is fi–"

"Pyrrha, stop" he cut her off, raising his voice more than he wanted to, but his emotions were now getting the better of him. "You're a terrible liar and I know you've been hiding something from us. I tried respecting your privacy and wait for you to tell me when you're ready, but the way to you were acting at breakfast was killing me."

Pyrrha felt her heart fall into her stomach, as his words hurt in ways she couldn't describe.

"I'm so sorry, Jaune. I never wanted to make your worry like this. I was trying in every way possible not to" she lamented, bringing her hands to his cuirass. "Everything's fine. There's just something that I need to manage on my own. I'll be alright."

"Pyrrha" Jaune yearned, cupping her right cheek with his left hand, making her look into his blue eyes. "You've stood by me this whole time, helping me with everything and anything. I want to do everything in my power to be the same person to you. Not as your captain or as your friend...but as someone who cares about you so much, you're all I think about. Please, let me help you with whatever it is you're dealing with."

The redhead swallowed anxiously. Her heart beat faster at his words, and even harder as she could see the sincerity painfully reflected in his eyes. How badly did she want to tell him the truth. How badly did she want his help, to confine in the person she loved most and was doing all of this to protect. More than ever Pyrrha wanted to be in his arms, and feel safe from all the uncertainty that had been plaguing her ever since she had learned the truth from the Order. However, that was the very reason why she had been keeping things from Jaune and the others. She had made her oaths and she would keep them, as she could never forgive herself if something where to happen to any of her friends, especially the kind blond whom she loved.

"I want you to help me" she confessed, placing her right hand on his left. "But I have to do this alone for now."

"Why? At least tell me that. I'm here for you, Pyrrha."

"I know you are" she tightened her grip on his hand. "But I can't. I promised that I wouldn't tell anyone; but I promise I'll tell you when the tournament is over."

Jaune looked into her beautiful emerald eyes that normally shone so brilliantly, but were now glassy and full of dismay. He felt as if a knife was being twisted into his heart, which now only spurred him onward to help her. What was causing her such distress that she still felt the need to keep it from him? Then it clicked in his mind.

"It's about Cinder and her team, isn't it?" he stated more than asked. "That's what your meeting with the Huntmaster was about." He didn't need her to confirm his assumption with words, as her eyes widening were confirmation enough.

The anger he had felt when he and the others had suspected that something was off about the supposed Mistralese team, had now returned in full force. If this was what was bothering her so much, then it may have something to do with their Huntmaster. Was he not taking any action against them? If their identities could not be confirmed, then they had to be an enemy of the Kingdom, and most likely were in league with the White Fang in some capacity. Why else would they try to hide who they were other than for evil intent? He knew that was partially hypocritical given Ren, Nora, Blake, and himself, but each of them had good honest reasons for coming to Beacon, and every piece of evidence pointed to foul play in regards to Team CLME. If they were working with the White Fang, then they needed to be dealt with before they did anything like what occurred in Mantle. Pyrrha's own words about them taking advantage of the Vytal Festival came instantly to mind, and he knew that with today being the potential last day of the tournament, if they were going to make a move, now would be the time.

"Let's go."

"W-What?" she managed.

"You're worried sick because Ozpin told you not to attack them, right? It's why you were so stressed yesterday after Coco's match. Well, if they aren't gonna do anything, then we'll do it ourselves. Hell, it's not like we haven't been doing that already. Let's finish what we started and take them down before they can hurt anyone else."

Jaune began to turn, planning to get Ren and Nora as back up before marching straight for the Mistralese guest lodgings. From Pyrrha's point of view, it was as if he were moving in slow motion, as a thousand thoughts rushed through her mind. She was indeed frustrated that the imposters were allowed to walk freely, despite being known by her superiors, and what their intentions were. Pyrrha was of course privy, as least to a certain degree, that the Order did have a plan to deal with Cinder and her lackeys, but it was the unwillingness to share that plan and their strange idea of calling for her upperclassmen to help by throwing matches, that distressed her so greatly. There was then the pressing issue of Amber and the Fall Maiden's power. Not only were innocent civilians in danger from the enemy's forces, but if successful, the enemy would then have claim to a power gifted to the world to protect them from the forces of Darkness. This was as much of a security endeavor as a holy one, making it far more vital and pressing for Pyrrha. The image of Amber, injured and comatose in the special pod below the school was clear in her mind, before morphing into the horrific image of Jaune covered in blood; what could be his fate if he faced Amber's assailant. That final thought instantly took her back to when she was a girl, standing beside her mother, and staring at a white casket covered in Asters, Tulips, and Sunflowers.

She would not let that happen to him. She would not.

"No!" she screamed, reaching out to him with her right hand, but used her Semblance, as he was already beyond her physical grasp.

Unfortunately in her panic, she had pulled him far harder than she planned, and caused him to fly past her at blinding speed, and crash painfully against the wall of the academy kitchen building. He cried out when he collided with the wall, and fell to the ground in a heap, stunned from the blow. Pyrrha gasped in horror at what she had done. Covering her mouth in shock, she stood frozen and wide-eyed at the slow to recover blond. She had just done something she had been doing everything in her power to avoid; to hurt Jaune. Even during their training sessions, she had been incredibly careful, arguably more than she should, to avoid injuring him. Her love for her captain was the cause, and it was what drove her to remain mum on the truth of who and what the Order was, along with their plans. But despite all her efforts, Jaune had figured out a great deal of what was going on, and by trying to protect him, she had hurt him.

Tears began to form as the blond lifted his head to look at her, and they fell down her cheeks, which unbeknownst to the redhead, caused Jaune far more pain than her accidental throw.

"I'm sorry..." she cried through her fingers, before turning and sprinting away.

"Pyrrha! Wait!" Jaune shouted, struggling to his feet, which took more effort than he thought as the shock from the impact had gone to his legs.

By the time he was up and ready to give chase, the girl who had captured his heart was gone, leaving him alone in the sunny morning, which did not coincide with the depressing gloom and pain that bogged his heart. However, if he had pushed through the pain, he might have discovered that Pyrrha, while an impressive runner given her athletic background, had stopped running when she passed the academy swimming pool, and was only a hundred or so yards further. She felt completely drained, with not an ounce of energy remaining to let her run, though her distresses made her want to run forever.

"What have I done?" she moaned, her face in her hands. "I hurt him, then I ran like a coward, and now I'm sobbing like a child. Ti me to Fos eínai láthos me ména? (What in the Light is wrong with me?)"

Truly, what had she done? Normally so calm, so well put together, so steady, and now she was shaken and afraid. What was the honest cause to all of this? Was it the call of duty that she now had the opportunity to heed by serving as a hammer of the Gods, or was it the fear of losing the first, and she hoped, the only man she would ever love? The obvious answer was that it was both, forming a volatile cocktail of emotions, topped perfectly with the correct amount of fear of the unknown; the plans of the Order and the consequences of those plans failing. More than ever she needed to clear her head, but it was spinning so violently that she felt as if she would vomit. Her heart begged her to return to Jaune; to see if he was alright, to hold him tightly and for him to hold her. But another part flooded her with shame for wanting to be comforted after what she had done. That shame won, and forced her legs that felt as if they were weighted with lead, to walk further into the forest that joined with that of Forever Fall, and she vanished within the leaves.

λΛλ

As the final minutes ticked away before the start of the Singles Round, Mercury was already in position in the Mistral locker area. He gritted his teeth as he made sure that Talaria was fully loaded, as well as that his legs were properly attached. He had taken some over the counter painkillers to help deal with his fractured ribs, but they were a drop in the bucket it terms of what was needed to dull the pain. The small amount of rest he managed to acquire had done very little to heal his injuries, which did leave him wondering just how he was supposed to pull off his part of the plan. He only needed to wait for Emerald to do her part of course, but to be this injured before the true show was to start, did leave him in a rather tight bind. At least he could say with certainty that he had concealed his injuries well enough that Cinder hadn't noticed. Emerald may be loyal to her for getting her out of life on the streets, but he was not so naive. He had alarm bells going off the moment he had met her, and he was only going along with her plans because she had given him new legs, and had promised him to give him back what he had lost if he was successful with his mission. He wasn't indebted to her, nor did he feel any inclination to be, but he would continue, as she had kept her side of the bargain thus far.

Furthermore, there was something odd about the relationship between Cinder and Neo. It had developed after they had convinced Roman to join them. Well, she had convinced him. How Cinder had managed that partnership, he didn't know, but ever since, when Neo wasn't with Roman, she was by Cinder's side; which was at a constant these past several weeks. She was like a loyal lapdog, always at the half-Maiden's heels, and doing what she was told. It was more than Emerald's level of obedience, but what made him wonder what was truly going on, was the fear she would let slip every so often. Her face would never betray her, but her eyes were a different matter. What Mercury wasn't able to shake, was that he felt as if he knew exactly what kind of fear she was hiding; and that it was uncomfortably familiar.

He would have remained consumed with his thoughts until his match began, when a voice emerged from the silence.

"Merc?"

The crippled assassin snapped to attention and looked over his shoulder to see Emerald standing in the frame of the entrance of the waiting area.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded in confusion. "You're supposed to be in position."

"I know" she replied walking forward. "I just wanted to check on you. You've been acting weird since our match yesterday."

'Fuck' he groaned internally. "I'm fine. Just worry about what you need to be doing today. Give me the signal when you start making your illusions so we can get the bimbo exactly where we want her."

Mercury rose to his feet and began stretching his legs, keeping his back to the green-haired thief so that she couldn't see his face if it betrayed him.

"You're hurt, aren't you?"

'Fucking damn it.'

"Let me see."

"I'm fine!" he growled as she walked around the bench to stand next to him, but stopped when he snapped at her. He looked at the girl and saw that her concern was oddly genuine, and strangely felt a pang of guilt when he saw the look on her face. "Sorry...I'll live. You just worry about making your illusion is seamless, and I'll worry about throwing the match and crying for the cameras. They'll start calling for me soon so you better get going. Good luck."

Emerald remained where she stood for a few moments in silence, before finally turning and walked back to the exit. She then stopped and looked over her shoulder.

"Hold out for as long as you can. I'll make sure that it'll look like she hurt your ribs too; to cover your ass" she said, adding the last comment to erase the tension and return the situation to normal.

Mercury actually smirked at that.

"Thanks, good looking; you better. Cuz if you fuck up, we all die. So no pressure" he remarked.

Emerald's red eyes remained on the kick-boxer, before finally turning for the exit, and walked down the hall towards the stairway that led to the stands.

λΛλ

In the Valian reserved seating, Teams RWBY, JNPR, and SSSN sat side by side, waiting for the final set of matches to be determined. Unfortunately, they were no longer as eager for their matches as they had been this morning. Jaune hadn't told the others what had happened between Pyrrha and himself, and had only returned to the others an hour before they left Beacon for the Coliseum. They asked where Pyrrha was of course, which only caused more anxiety for the blond, as he had hoped she would have returned before he did. He lied and said that she wanted to be alone to mentally prepare herself for her match, using her faith as a smokescreen and avoid further questions. However, with only a few minutes before the Singles bracket was set to start, she had yet to appear. Jaune desperately wanted to call her, but he felt such shame for what had happened, that he decided against it, wishing to give her as much space as she needed.

'You're such a coward' he told himself, tightening his folded arms closer to his armoured chest.

He felt like he was a child. He had been so impatient with her, jumping to a conclusion without working his way up to it steadily, and then provoked her into accidentally throwing him with Polarity. This obviously didn't put his fears to rest about Cinder and her team; if anything, it only cemented that his assumptions were true. What ate at him now was that he was missing key details that Pyrrha knew, and because he didn't know them, he acted impulsively, and caused her to panic. What was most likely the case was that Pyrrha had been asked to remain quiet for security reasons, and General Ironwood would handle the situation when the time was right. But because he placed his feelings for Pyrrha before thinking things through, he made her cry, instead being the supportive boyfriend he was supposed to be.

'Some leader I'm turning out to be' he thought, cursing himself as he shut his eyes.

Indeed, that was the core of the issue. That morning, he wanted to be a good boyfriend rather than a good leader. And while he was striving for both, the latter was far more important at present; and when it mattered, he misjudged and chose the former, and paid for his error with her tears. What had he said to Ren weeks ago? That one of the jobs of a leader was making the right decisions at the right times? If what had happened that morning was proof that he was not at all behaving like a proper leader, then he wasn't sure what else would.

Jaune's eyes suddenly snapped open as he sensed someone moving behind him, and he looked over his shoulder, hoping to see Pyrrha. Instead, from the stairway appeared Team CFVY with an injured Coco, whose forehead and part of her face was bandaged.

"Coco!" called Ruby, getting the attention of the others. "How are you?"

"I certainly don't look stylish, but I'm alright" she replied, smiling despite her injuries.

"I told her she should be resting, but she wanted to watch the Singles Round in person" explained Yatsuhashi, clearly not pleased with his captain.

"I told you I'm fine, you big lug!" she fired back, wrapping her knuckle across his chest plate armour. "Anyways, I wanted to cheer on whoever is going to kick that kid's ass."

"Em you mean" suspected Yang. "I doubt they'll send her to the Singles. It's probably gonna be Mercury."

"Whichever; I wanna see'em lose, either by you, Wukong, or Nikos" Coco dismissed with a wave, before looking at her underclassmen. "Speaking of which, where is the champ?"

Jaune could feel his teammates' eyes rest on him, causing his guts to twist with guilt.

"She's still getting ready" he lied quickly.

"Well she better hurry up. It's the last day of the tournament, and they're gonna be selecting who's going first soon. Everyone's looking forward to seeing her fight" the older Beaconite lamented, before she and her team took their seats further down to the left.

"Where is she?" asked Ren, leaning towards the blond, starting to show his own worry about the redhead.

"Don't worry, she'll be here" Jaune replied, dodging the question. While he honestly didn't believe that Pyrrha would suddenly ditch the tournament, he also didn't have much confidence in his ability to make correct judgements.

"But the tournament is about to st–" chimed in Nora, visibly worried, but was cut off by their fears coming to life.

"Good afternoon one and all!" boomed Professor Port over the speakers of the Coliseum. "I am your commentator, Professor Peter Port, joined once again by my friend and colleague, Dr. Bartholomew Oobleck, and we warmly welcome you to the final day of the Vytal Festival Tournament!" The crowd erupted in cheers and applause, clearly eager to see how the four day competition would conclude. "My, aren't you all eager today. But before we begin, we must give everyone a quick recap. Over the course of the past three days, we've made our way through the Teams Round and the Doubles Round. Sixteen teams cut down to eight, and cut down again to four, where the remaining four combatants will fight one on one for three spots on the podium. However, due to the special nature of this year's tournament, we allowed the favoured competitors from Beacon and Shade to face some high ranking special guests from Mistral. They all put on some incredible bouts, and despite the stacked odds, defeated their more experienced opponents, allowing them both to progress to the Singles Round. This has given us an odd number of combatants from all four Kingdoms. To balance this, more special Huntsmen-in-training from Haven Academy will be entering the Singles Round; with special pot bonuses as compensation."

'No you won't' smirked Cinder villainously, gingerly cradling her tablet on her lap, having already set the matches so that their plan could go into affect smoothly.

"The combatants that survived the first two rounds are Pyrrha Nikos of Team JNPR and Yang Xiao Long of Team RWBY of Beacon, Sun Wukong of Team SSSN of Shade, Mercury Black of Team CLME of Haven, and Penny Polendina of Team PKTS of Ýdalir! But I will allow Bart to give you the skinny on how the Singles Round will progress!"

"Indeed and thank you, Peter! The Singles Round is different than the previous two. Firstly, and most obviously, it shall consist of one on one matches between the remaining combatants; no ally support of any kind. Secondly, there will be no added biomes to affect the outcome of the matches; it's skill or nothing. Thirdly, to win the tournament, the combatants must win two matches; semi-finals and grand-finals. Fourthly, for this special case, new combatants from the aforementioned Teams RROI and LION will join the Singles bracket to even out the odd number of combatants. Fifthly, due to these modifications, all Huntmasters have agreed to add pot bonuses so that all finalists who made it on their own strength, will receive a cash prize; an apology for any and all inconveniences. And lastly, there will be no dividing of the Round; you must fight till there is a victor" explained Oobleck in a single breath without becoming winded.

The two professors continued to banter between one another, but Jaune wasn't paying attention. They would be selecting the first students to fight soon, and Pyrrha still wasn't here. What were they going to do if she was called? Was she actually not going to show?

'There's no damn way' he thought, fighting against the anxiety that was reaching a fever pitch.

"Good afternoon, everyone" came a soft voice behind him. His head once against snapped over his shoulder to see Pyrrha at last standing before him; a soft smile that stopped before her eyes.

"Pyrrha!" cried Ruby in relief.

"Where the fuck have you been?" demanded Yang hotly. "They're about to announce the first match!"

"I'm sorry to make you all worry. I was just taking my time to collect my thoughts" she partially lied. "It just took longer than I expected."

The others looked at her suspiciously. This time it was far clearer that there was something wrong, but they weren't sure of what it could be. They suspected that Jaune knew something, but he had been rather vague about the whole thing. The only one who had any form of inclination was Blake, who was still worried about Cinder and her team. Nevertheless, they all wanted to ask the redhead questions, but were also aware that there was no longer any time to do so.

Pyrrha silently sat next to Jaune, which caused the blond's chest to tighten as she didn't even look at him. Was she angry at him for what happened that morning? The thought of her hating him for any reason was more painful than he could describe, and he desperately wanted to apologize and atone for his mistakes. He couldn't do so in front of everyone, not to mention he had proven that he was hopeless with getting his feelings across with words. Jaune moved his right hand slowly to take hers, hoping that how they had been communicating their feelings for one another through hand holding would convey how sorry he was. However, the moment his fingers touched the top of her hand, she recoiled. His heart instantly lodged itself in his throat, now fearing that he truly had angered her, and anxiety flooded his thoughts.

What he didn't know was that Pyrrha's recoil was not intentional. She desperately wanted to hold his hand, to be comforted by him, as she knew he was the only one who could. Pyrrha had just been taken by surprise, deep in her own thoughts, trying to both anticipate what would transpire, and to calm herself. When she looked over at the blond, she saw the pained expression on his face, which only appeared even more hurt by his saddened azure eyes. An arrow driven into her heart would have hurt less. More than ever she just wanted to confess everything; anything she could do to take away his pain, she would do in a heartbeat. But she knew she would be breaking her oath if she did, and now that today was the crucial moment of truth, she couldn't break it now. If words could not be spoken, then she would convey her emotions as she always had; for both their sakes.

Unfortunately, that chance had already passed them by.

"And the first match will be between Yang Xiao Long and Mercury Black!" announced Port.

Pyrrha looked to the holoscreens wide-eyed, as one of her fears had just become a reality.

"Alrighty! Let's do this thing!" grinned the blonde, rising to her feet excitedly.

"Good luck, sis!" cheered Ruby, earning a quick head rub.

"Keep a clear head out there" advised Weiss, knowing that was probably asking for too much.

"And be careful" added Blake.

"Don't worry, I got this" Yang assured, making her way towards the stairway.

"Avenge me!" Coco shouted.

"I'll kick him right in the head for ya!"

"Please be careful" Pyrrha managed, her tone causing the elder Xiao Long to halt. "Keep your hands up and don't over commit to attacks you aren't certain will land. And don't let him set the pace."

Yang eyed her friend for a moment before smirking in comprehension.

"Got it. Thanks, Pyrrha" she replied before continuing on her way.

Jaune looked at his lieutenant, noticing the tone in her voice had not been as steady as it normally was; as if there was some part of her pleading to Yang, rather than advising. Indeed, that was what Pyrrha was doing, as there was nothing else she could do. Her eyes rose to the private skybox that overlooked the arena, and saw the Huntmasters in their seats. She didn't know what their plan was or when it would go into effect, but she knew that time had run out. It was now or never. She shut her eyes and began to pray, succumbing to the truth that it was out of her hands.

Below, Yang and Mercury entered the arena, both grinning eagerly.

"You better not go easy on me" she warned. "I need to the warm up before I take on Pyrrha."

"You wish" laughed the kick-boxer, playing the part as best he could.

"Fighters ready?" Port boomed, causing them both to take stances. "Three...two...one...BEGIN!"

Yang immediately bolted at Mercury, reeling back her right fist before throwing a heavy punch at him. The crippled young man performed a spinning back kick to meet the blonde's attack, his boot connecting with her fist, causing a loud impact and shockwave. The force of the collision reverberated up Mercury's robotic leg and continued up his torso, going straight for his damaged ribs. He gritted his teeth as the pain rocked him, but he refused to give in. He only had to keep this up for a few minutes, just to give Emerald enough time to create her illusion.

In another part of the Coliseum, the girl in question was sitting amongst the crowd, watching the fight with care. She was sitting near one of the exits, knowing she would need a quick escape route once Cinder would activate the full force of the trojan. Until then, she knew that she would have to keep a very close eye on it in order to know when she could begin her part of the plan. Mercury had been right that if she messed things up, then the entire plan would collapse. She didn't want to think of the consequences of failure, either what would happen to her or how Cinder would react. She wouldn't fail. No matter what happened, she would succeed. Taking a breath, she began to gather her Aura, and locked eyes with the arena, unblinking.

"I wouldn't try that if I were you" came a gruff voice behind her.

Emerald flinched in shock, and looked over her right shoulder to see Qrow sitting behind her with a stone cold face. She then felt something just as cold touch her right arm. She looked to see that the older Huntsman was pressing the flat of an ornate dagger against the lower part of her bicep. She was too shocked by the situation to ask why he was using the dagger that way, instead of pressing the tip against her back, but she was able to feel him grip Thief's Respite and remove it from their holsters.

"Interesting situation we find ourselves in, Qrow Branwen" she managed to say, knowing she needed to buy time to think of a way out of this.

"Oh, you know who I am? I'm flattered" Qrow replied, his tone not quite matching his words, for it was cold and slightly venomous.

"You shouldn't be. Your reputation doesn't seem to precede you. What exactly do I need to be afraid of again? Ozpin's drunk bird."

"I don't think you know who am I am then. That's fair, I don't exactly know who you are, other than your Semblance can create illusions; which is why I decided to pay you a visit."

'You son of a bitch' she cursed, biting her bottom lip. "So what are you going to do? Kill me?"

"That's yet to be determined" Qrow admitted. "I'll leave that to you. Now, while we sit and watch the match, why don't I take a page out of my old profession and teach you how you messed up. I used to be a teacher, did you know that?"

"No thanks. I'm not much of a student" Emerald shot back, watching her window to cast her illusion slowly shrink.

"Too bad. So your first mistake was not covering your tracks. You, a small time thief, and that kid, the son of a top assassin; you should have covered your tracks before entering this tournament. Then again, gathering intel on you wasn't too hard given what we had at our disposal."

"Roman...that bastard" she realized aloud. 'Did you break or did you sell us out?'

"No, actually" Qrow corrected, half-respectfully. "He never said a word. Jimmy's been working on him for weeks, and he never gave you up. We're kind of impressed by his toughness and loyalty. It's a shame he's a gangster cuz it's hard to find resolute men like that these days. Anyways, what I meant by intel was confirming that you and your team aren't from Haven. Other students have told us they don't know who you are, so we had to expand our search to get an ID on you. Black wasn't hard as I had a run-in with his old man years ago, and I can see the resemblance a mile off. You on the other hand came up in some police records; petty thievery and other small offenses. What an elite task force.

So that was your first mistake. The second was that shit trojan you used. After your friend Cinder uploaded it the night of the Dance, Jimmy's and our cyber teams did a full scan of our networks and found it. Instead of taking it down, we decided to just watch it, see what you were up to, and just plan around it, letting you think you were still in control of the situation. Also, I'd hate to forget quoting the head of the cyber division telling us about it, where he said 'The fuck is this? Amateur hour?'. He was actually annoyed. Your third mistake isn't technically your fault, as there was no way you could have known. But since they're working with you, I figured you should know. We knew that you teamed up with Taurus and his branch of the White Fang, and are planning to attack the city from the south with a large swarm of Grimm pincering from the north. Jimmy's been working on that along with the Valian Generals, which are no doubt laying waste as we speak. That's why we asked those nice kids from Haven to join the tournament; just to buy Jimmy's boys enough time to clean up the mess without the poor festival goers knowing. Am I missing anything? No, I think that's it."

Emerald sat there sweating, feeling her heart beating faster and faster as Qrow explained just how much hot water she was in. She watched the fight between Yang and Mercury continue without interruption, before her eyes moved to the crowd where she saw Cinder, completely unaware that her great plan was already dead. What was she supposed to do now?

"That was a nice story" she said at last. "So what happens now, Branwen? You going to arrest us? Toss us in prison and throw away the key?"

"No, that wouldn't work" Qrow replied. "Given that all of this is off the books, you and your friends are ours to deal with as we see fit. And since you've decided to work for Her, letting you live after nearly killing Amber is not in the cards."

"You don't scare me, Branwen. I don't care whose clan you're the heir to" Emerald hissed back, not wanting to back down. To her discomfort, Qrow merely laughed a slow and coarse three-pronged laugh that sounded even more sinister than Cinder's.

"You really don't know who I am, do you?" he stated more than asked. "Since your friends decided not to clue you in, I might as well tell you. I am indeed the heir to the Branwen clan, despite abandoning them nineteen years ago. Even though I left with my sister, may she rest in peace, as we planned to leave our past behind, for a while she still secretly carried the family name with pride. I don't. I wear it in the open like a brand, so that any and all who know of us will stay clear. What a vile clan we are. Assassinating any and all for those who pay us enough coin, or whom we deem too dangerous to be left alive, and doing so for centuries. Lords, ladies, Knights, holy men, royalty, men, women, children, babies in their cribs; it never mattered, for life is cheap when the bounty is high. To match our taste for death, we perfected our craft as apothecaries, developing poisons that only we could cure. So talented have we become, that our poisons can kill without leaving a trace, instead leaving a trail of death wherever we go. Mysterious deaths throughout history were blamed on us, whether we had anything to do with them or not, granting us a supernatural and unholy reputation. Our clan motto reflects that unholy union with death: Við ristum dauðann með eitruðu víni (We toast death with poisoned wine)."

"H-Harbinger of Death..." breathed Emerald, growing more panic-stricken, and was now sweating profusely. As Qrow monologued, he spoke in a cold, ashen voice, in a way she had never heard anyone speak before. His voice made the young thief feel as if something dark was creeping up behind her, about to swallow her whole, plunging her into a vile abyss.

"Ah...so you have heard of me?" he remarked in a manner that caused the girl to shiver despite the heat of summer at noon. "Did you also know that while I walked away from my family, I haven't given up on the family trade? There's a particular cocktail we like to use called Eitrun Höggormsins; Poison of the Sea Serpent. Its normal potency is so strong that in can kill in less than five minutes. It's not a fast five minutes by the way. It shuts down your motor functions so you can't run, it nearly shuts down your entire respiratory system, making you feel as if you're drinking rather than breathing. You'll start going blind, you're unable to focus your Aura, and according to our records, it makes you feel as if all your organs are on fire; no doubt some ancestor of mine forced some poor test subject to describe what he was feeling as he died. If you lower the potency however, it becomes a useful subduement tool. It makes the poisoned individual lose motor functions and use of their Aura, but doesn't kill them; it just takes hours for it to pass through their system. So the only question that you should be asking me is which recipe of Eitrun Höggormsins did I coat my dagger in?"

"You said I was just a petty thief" she said, her voice now coming out shaky. "And I'm just seventeen. You would really kill a minor?"

"I also said that we Branwens have no problem killing babies" he reminded emotionlessly. "What's a seventeen year old assassin?"

"I'm not an assassin!"

"Tell that to Amber."

"Cinder's the one that did that! I just created the illusion that let her get the jump on the Fall Maiden."

"I don't care" Qrow hissed, pressing the flat of his dagger harder against the fearful girl's arm. "You are working for Her. You came to my Kingdom to start a war to engulf the world and put innocent lives at risk. You attacked my friends. You are putting my family at risk. In fact, that's my niece your friend is fighting against; a fight that you were planning to interfere with. So let me ask you this, what are the chances that I chose the weaker version of that poison now?"

A world war? That wasn't what she was told was going to happen. She was just doing this because she owed Cinder for saving her from living on the streets. This wasn't what she signed up for. Her breathing was now coming in sporadically, as fear began to take full control.

"You have two options, kid" he said in a tone that indicated that he was done talking. "Surrender or die. Pick your poison."

Emerald looked back and forth between Cinder and Mercury, feeling torn between betraying them, and securing her own safety. But the cold and sickening reality was, there was no real option if she wanted to live. If she surrendered, then there was at least some chance that the crow that had caught her in his claws, would not be her judge and executioner. It was over. She shut her eyes and dropped her head forward, acknowledging her defeat.

In the arena, Mercury was swearing up a storm in his mind. He was drenched in sweat, though not from exertion, but from having to deal with the growing pain emanating from his damaged ribs. He had been forced to draw out the fight for far longer than he had planned to, waiting for Emerald to give him the signal that she had begun her illusion. Why it hadn't come, he didn't know, and only now was he able to look into the stands where she was seated. At the current moment, she looked like she was just watching the fight, not bothering to do her part.

'What the Hell are you waiting fo–' he began to shout in his mind, when he saw her drop her head, revealing the grimfaced Huntsman that had stopped them from finishing off Amber.

He froze when he realized what was going on, as they both stood up and slowly began to walk to the exit, which even from that distance Mercury could see she had been disarmed. They had been discovered after all, and now he had to fight his way out.

"Fucking damn it!" he swore just as Yang charged at him twisting her body into a spinning back kick. Growling through the pain, Mercury performed the same motion, and would have landed his kick before hers, as he was taller, and thus had longer legs. Unfortunately for him, Yang fired Ember Celica behind her just as she was extending her right leg, giving her not only enough speed to land her attack first, but drastically increase the power. When her boot collided with Mercury's face, he did a full 270° back flip before crashing onto the tiles of the arena, unconscious before hitting the ground.

"Mercury Black has been knocked out by Yang Xiao Long!" announced Oobleck with gusto, knowing that the plan was now in motion. "The winner of the first match of the Singles Round is Yang Xiao Long of Team RWBY!"

The crowd cheered in approval whereas the Mistralese groaned as their last student had been knocked out of the tournament. The aforementioned blonde pumped her fists in triumph and held them to the sky, taking in the cheers of the spectators. Team RWBY jumped to their feet and cheered with glee, happy to see that their teammate would advance to the next match. Teams JNPR, SSSN, and CFVY were happy as well, with the exception of Pyrrha, who sat there stunned.

'She...won?' she thought, feeling a mix of emotions at this unexpected result.

She of course felt incredible relief that Yang had won without being injured by the imposter, as well as the fact that he was no longer in the tournament. However, what continued to feed her anxiety, was the question of what was to come next. Come to think of it, what was the plan of Cinder and her assassins by entering the tournament? To distract or cause a disturbance, to hurt her friends, or was she their target? Did they know she was the next candidate to inherit the Fall Maiden's powers? Regardless, she was now wondering if the Order assumed that Yang was strong enough to defeat Mercury. With all due respect to her friend, she was certainly not disciplined enough as a fighter to defeat an enemy strong enough to face a Maiden. And yet, she had defeated him. Pyrrha was aware that he had been holding back when they had sparred, but perhaps he wasn't much stronger than she believed. There were many questions that needed answering, but the one that was still at the forefront of her mind, was what was the Order planning?

This strain of thought was not unique to the Mistralese champion, as on the other side of the Coliseum was a dumfounded Cinder Fall, staring in stunned fury as her defeated assassin was placed on a stretcher and carried out of the arena.

'What is going on?!' she screamed in her mind. 'Emerald!'

Her eyes flew to the spot where she knew her illusionist was seated, and nearly shrieked when she barely caught a glimpse of her being escorted by Qrow through the exit. She couldn't see what happened next, though it certainly would have infuriated her further. A pair of Atlassian soldiers lying in wait stunned and shackled the girl, before whisking her away into their custody as Qrow tapped the earpiece attached to his right ear.

"We got the green one" he announced. "You got eyes on Black Bishop?"

"Roger, sir" came a voice through the secured channel.

In a hidden spot atop the Coliseum, a White Army sniper was overlooking the entire building, and began to swivel his scope away from the exit where Qrow had used, over to where Cinder had been.

The false-Maiden was now on her feet and storming away as she tapped her Scroll angrily, placing a call that connected near instantly.

"Neo! Forget the plan! Meet me at the east wing of the arena, now!" she hissed before ending the call and putting both her Scroll and her tablet away. The sniper had caught her halfway before she reached the exit, and called in she had become aware of her plans failing.

"Black Bishop is moving, I repeat, Black Bishop. Permission to engage?" he asked, his thumb resting on a switch to disengage his rifle's safety.

"Fuck no! We need her alive!" Qrow spat, sprinting through the halls of the Coliseum. "Your job is recon only; so look out if she runs back out the exit. Hold her till I get there!"

As soon as Cinder entered the exit, she saw that the lights had been shut, so that only the sunlight from the exit itself illuminated the first dozen feet or so of the hall. What caused her to halt however, were the figures that emerged from the darkness of the four-way hall intersection. From the right came Robin, Ian, and Allen, and from the left came René, Pierre, and Ivoire.

"Cinder Fall" said Robin coolly, knocking an arrow into his bow as his teammates drew their polearms, while Team RROI leveled their rifles. "In the names of the Kingdom of Vale and the Kingdom of Mistral, you are under arrest for espionage, sabotage, impersonation, conspiring against a foreign Kingdom, treason, and undoubtedly many more charges. Surrender any and all weapons..."

Cinder wasn't going to sit there and listen to the bowman's monologue, and quickly turned for the exit, when something dropped from above and blocked her path. It was Diego, who had been camouflaged due to his attire, and now stood before her with his revolver drawn; his right hand resting on his parrying dagger.

"...for there is no escape" Robin finished.

"You've been outfoxed, chiquita" Diego remarked with a smirk.

Cinder looked at the smirking Fox Faunus with disgust, before turning to look at all the other senior Huntsmen-in-training.

"If you think that any of you can stop me–" she began to hiss.

"You've lost, bitch" came Qrow's rough voice from the darkness. His eyes glowed red, and remained so as he stepped into the light from behind the first six students, a sombre scowl on his face. "I'm not in the mood to explain again just how badly you fucked up. Just know that we've been planning a counter-attack for weeks, and every step you took, we were watching and planning five steps ahead. The trojan, the Grimm, the White Fang, the CCT, everything. Make things easy for yourself and surrender."

Cinder stared at the Branwen heir with teeth bare and the fury of a thousand suns in her eyes. She had made the call to continue going forward with the plan, truly believing they were still operating undercover. She thought that Ozpin's bizarre inclusion of other Mistralese students was nothing more than his and Ironwood's hubris. The fact they had been aware of everything that she had spent months planning, and without her knowing strategized around it, filled her with wroth. Cinder could hear the comments of her critics echo in her mind, warning her that she was over her head, and she would disappoint Her. If she did fail, the consequences were painfully easy to imagine; her Queen's face materializing in her mind, painted with disapproval and disappointment.

That realization caused Cinder to make her decision, clenching her hands into trembling fists. She had not come this far, crawling through years of pain, to be denied all the power she had been owed.

"No..." she growled, as fire began to burn from her left eye. Qrow instantly reached for Harbinger as Robin brought his bow to full draw. The others all took stances, ready to subdue her by any means necessary, though remembering that they had strict orders to capture her alive. "No I won't surrender! If I can't bring about the fall of Albion and Beacon Academy by using your own men and weapons against you, then I shall do it myself." Fire began to form in her hands and she spread her arms wide, almost in a taunting manner. "I will burn every man, woman, and child in this Coliseum, turning this place into the largest funeral pyre the world has ever seen. Then I will take the remaining half of the Fall Maiden's power, and burn this city to the grou–"

Suddenly, Cinder stopped speaking and began to choke, clutching at her throat and gasping for air. A green ball of Aura had materialized around her head, along with a complex green sigil below her feet, snuffing out the flames she had summoned. The Mistralese students were confused at what was happening, as they all knew that none of them were doing this. Qrow of course knew exactly what was going on, and relaxed his grip on his weapon, as he waited for the caster to make his appearance.

"You shall not harm a single soul in either this arena or the city..." a voice emerged from the darkness.

The senior students turned to look behind them as something green and glowing approached. They then realized that it was Huntmaster Ozpin, walking steadily with his right hand outstretched and eyes glowing green, his face stony and cold. They began to part to allow him passage, while Qrow continued to watch the struggling false-Maiden, who was staring at the silver-haired Huntsman in fearful anger.

From her perspective, and possibly hers alone, Cinder could have sworn that she saw a figure standing behind and above the Huntmaster. It was faint, but she could make out the form of an armour clad man, wearing a tattered monastic scapular, a longsword at his hip, and a torn cape around his shoulders. Was this his Semblance, or was it a hallucination brought on by the lack of oxygen? She would never find out the truth, as Ian took advantage of the situation by grabbing her with his right hand, and drove her back-first into the wall. He did so with such force that Cinder created a spider web crack that reached to both the ceiling and the floor. It did its job however, as she was unconscious upon impact, and fell to the ground in a heap.

"Hey, we need her alive, amigo" Diego remarked, noticing that the blow had caused her nose to bleed.

"You expected me to be delicate with her after she threatened children?" Ian shot back, obviously agitated by the imposter's comments.

"I fully understand your feelings, Mr. Oak" Ozpin said calmly as he knelt beside Cinder, and passed his hand over her, green runes emerging from it before vanishing into the air. "However, as much as she deserves death for her crimes, we need her alive to answer for them."

Suddenly, all present turned around to see a mortified Neo staring at them. Before anyone could speak, she opened her parasol and jumped backwards.

"Stop her!" shouted Qrow, causing the others to raise their weapons. However, Neo then stumbled and began to fall, but was stopped from hitting the ground by a tall man everyone recognized, accompanied by two White Army soldiers.

"I see that you have ended the party before I could attend" he said with a smirk.

"Fantastic timing, Olivier!" chimed Allen.

"Is she the last of them?" the captain of Team RROI asked.

"Within the Coliseum, yes. The rest shall be dealt with by Huntmaster-General Ironwood. You two" Ozpin said to the soldiers "take the girl into your custody. Qrow and I shall take Cinder Fall. The rest of you, get to your positions."

All complied and set about their tasks as Qrow grabbed the now unconscious Cinder, and threw her over his shoulder, before tapping his earpiece.

"Black Bishop and Torchwick's second in command are down. Operation Rat Hunt is complete. Ball's in your court, Jimmy" he said.

In the private skybox, the General, strangely still seated next to Ozpin, pressed his own ear piece closer to muffle the sound of the crowd, and nodded in approval.

"Roger that and well done" he replied before pressing a button to switch channels. "Major Schnee."

"Yes, sir!" Winter replied on the other end.

"You have permission to commence Operation Fox Hunt. May the Gods be with you."

"Yes, sir. Over and out."

At the other side of the city, Winter was standing before a battalion of four hundred Atlassian soldiers, all armed to the teeth and ready for combat.

"Soldiers! On your feet!" she bellowed, causing them all to snap to attention and perfectly form into ranks. "Our mission is now in motion! Are you ready to fight against the vile hordes that slew our brothers and countrymen?"

"Ma'am, yes, ma'am!" they sounded off.

"East Battalion, sound off!" she ordered into her earpiece.

"Captain Derfflinger, ready."

"South Battalion!"

"Captain Seydlitz, ready."

"West Battalion!"

"Captain Karl, ready."

"Advance onto the target!" Winter ordered. "For the glory of Atlas!"

With pride and determination, the soldiers of the White Army marched towards where the White Fang forces were located, planning to surround them and achieve total victory.

"Shame we couldn't bring the Wolf Pack with us on this mission, eh Major?" asked a soldier just behind Winter. "Given the mission is called 'Fox Hunt' and all."

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Winter laughed.

"Indeed. Ulfhi would have loved to join us on this hunt" she replied. "Let us bring them plenty of White Fang pelts as souvenirs from Vale, men!"

The soldiers under her command responded with one united shout of approval, more than willing to adhere to their Major's suggestion, for their mission was more than just defending Albion and the millions that lived there. It was more than subduing a wanted terrorist that wished to repeat his crimes in another Kingdom. It was a deep-rooted desire to right the wrongs done upon the innocent; a righting that had been so long overdue. To avenge the fallen at Mantle, they would crush Adam Taurus, once and for all.

λΛλ

Aboard the Atlassian flagship, the KAAS Veðrfölnir, Roman Torchwick sat in his cell within the brig. All things considered, he rather enjoyed his near daily chats with the General, playing the game of debate with him. He hadn't revealed a single detail about Cinder's plans, nor her true identity or that of the others. He was doing his part of course, which was to wait until the overall plan went into motion, to which he would then get to work on the task he was given. He knew that today was that day, and waited for the signal. However, it was taking longer than he knew it should, and he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. He began to tap his foot, trying to calm himself, knowing that panicking would do nothing but make the situation worse. Nevertheless, he knew what was at stake, and what he could lose if the plan failed.

'Neo...' he thought forlornly, his hands balling into tightly clenched fists.

λΛλ

In the reserved seating of the Coliseum, Yang returned triumphant once again.

"Now that was a good fight!" she sang, grinning from ear to ear.

"You were great!" cheered Ruby, hugging her big sister proudly.

"Yes, you did quite well" acknowledged Weiss, nodding slowly.

"Good job" added Blake with a small smirk.

"Thanks for the advice by the way, Pyrrha" the blonde noted, punching the redhead lightly on her right shoulder.

That tap pulled Pyrrha out from her thoughts, and helped her manage a small smile.

"Happy to help. Congratulations" she said genuinely.

"So..." continued Yang, sitting down with her team, "who's next?"

"We don't know yet, but they should announce it now" answered Sun eagerly.

As if on cue, Professor Port began to speak to the crowd.

"Let's begin the selection for the second match of the day!" he announced, as the digital roulette wheel spun. After a few seconds, the wheel landed on its two combatants. "And it shall be between Pyrrha Nikos of Beacon and Penny Polendina of Ýdalir!"

The crowd began to cheer excitedly as Pyrrha took a deep breath, before rising to her feet.

"Good luck, Pyrrha!" said Nora with a toothy grin.

"Do your best out there" added Ren, also smiling.

The others gave her their best wishes as her eyes finally met Jaune's.

"Good luck..." he said quietly, only getting a nod from the redhead before she walked away.

Everyone looked at the blond captain in confusion, noticing just how off things were between the normally romantic couple.

"OK, what the Hell was that?" asked Yang. "What's up with you two?"

"Did you two have a fight?" asked Ren more quietly, so that only Jaune could hear him.

"It's..." he began, not even certain where he would begin to explain, "I don't know."

There was a moment of silence before Ren looked at his friend with serious eyes.

"Go after her" he advised soundly.

Jaune looked at him with uncertainty, remembering what happened the last time he had done that, and it was now causing him to hesitate.

"I..."

"Jaune" said Nora, looking at him with the most serious expression that he had ever seen her make. "Go."

The captain swallowed nervously before at last getting to his feet, and sprinted after Pyrrha.

λΛλ

Pyrrha stood with hesitation at the entrance to the arena, doing her best to steady herself before the match. She had to keep calm and let the Order do what they must. While she had been obsessed with the match, fearing for Yang, she had managed to notice that the entirety of Team CLME had vanished from the stands. It was unsettling not knowing where they were, but she hoped it meant that the Order had finally taken action and arrested them. This of course was the case, though she did not know it, but nevertheless forced herself to accept it as the truth for the time being. If anything were to change, no doubt she would be informed; therefore, her entire focus should be on the match and nothing else. However, that final interaction with Jaune had caused another wave of guilt to wash over her. To quash it, she swore to herself that she would tell him everything when the tournament concluded, and she would pressure the Order to give her permission.

While nowhere near calm enough for her liking, Pyrrha nevertheless forced herself to enter the arena, and was about to step forward, when she heard someone enter the waiting area.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune breathed, his face filled with worry.

"Jaune..." she whispered, the guilt she had managed to tamp down, albeit slightly, returning in full force. 'Please...not before the match. I can't bear to fight with you again...'

The blond looked at her with clear torment in his eyes. He wanted to drop to his knees and beg for her forgiveness, take her into his arms and embrace her, and demand to know the truth, all at the same time. And yet, the words were lodging themselves into his throat, leaving him mute. He would have remained there silent for far longer, when he saw the panic in her eyes, which gave him the kick in the pants that he needed. He walked up to her, which caused Pyrrha to take a half step back, as she did not know what he was going to do. He placed his hands on her shoulders, though far more gently than he had that morning, and kissed her on her right cheek.

She looked at him stunned as he pulled away, blushing deeply.

"F-For luck" he stammered. They locked eyes in complete silence for a moment, before he continued, no longer able to contain his feelings. "I-I'm sorry for this morning. I should have been more patient and waited for you to tell me what's wrong without being forceful. I didn't have enough information and just acted on instinct, and I made you cry because of it. I just couldn't stand seeing you so stressed and scared. I'm sorry for how I acted, but I meant what I said about being here for you no matter what. Whenever you want to talk about it, I'll be right here. I just hope you aren't mad at me or hate me for how I acted–"

Pyrrha cut his rambling off by jumping into his arms, and wrapping hers tightly around his neck. He instinctively hugged her back, it feeling more right than anything he had ever experienced before. She pulled away slightly and kissed both his cheeks, before touching his right with her hand. He was stunned by her sudden show of affection, and was about to speak, but when he saw her warm genuine smile, his breath was taken away.

"Thank you, Jaune" she said softly, feeling the anxiety in her chest being lifted. "That means the world to me."

"Y-You're not mad at me?" he asked, taken aback.

"I could never be mad at you; if anything, I was mad at myself for how I acted" Pyrrha replied. "Did I hurt you?"

"Not much more than you usually do when we train. I'd rather the bruises than seeing you cry like that, so don't hate yourself for what happened; it was an accident."

"Alright. And I meant that I would tell you everything when the tournament is over. You have my word."

The blond gazed into her emerald eyes, and saw the fear that clouded them was no longer there.

"I guess it's my turn to wait, huh?" he sighed with a small smirk.

The redhead giggled, causing her captain's heart to beat, realizing just how much he missed her laughter.

"It looks that way" she said playfully. "Will you cheer me on?"

"Of course. I'm your biggest fan, after all."

"You better be!" she laughed, hugging him again. "I have to go."

"I know" Jaune sighed sadly, wanting this moment to last forever. "Give it all you've got out there."

"I will" Pyrrha promised, pulling away and allowing him to reluctantly walk back to the entrance to the locker area. She watched him go, and maintained her gaze to the door way, feeling the happiest she'd been in what felt like ages. "Se agapó (I love you)" she said quietly, praying for the tournament to come to an end, so she could say it to him directly. Taking one final breath to steady herself, she touched the golden chain that hung around her neck, her fingers resting on the pendant of a bursting star encircled with a laurel wreath. "Se aftó to simádi tha kataláveis (In this sign thou shall conquer)" she vowed before removing it, and stepped into the sunlight.

As Pyrrha walked up the path that led to the arena, she saw that Penny was already standing in her starting position. The ginger robot stood patiently with a pleasant smile on her face, when she suddenly heard a voice in her head.

"Penny."

'Yes, sir?' she replied in her mind.

"I am aware that you've been looking forward to this match, but I think you should take it a little easy today" Ironwood advised.

'Is this for the success of the mission?' she asked.

"It is."

Penny remained silent for a moment before replying. 'Understood, sir.'

"Is everything alright?"

'Oh, yes! It is simply...Miss Pyrrha Nikos is Miss Ruby's friend, and I don't want to hurt Miss Ruby's friends, but I want to fight her to test my abilities, and I must fight her as it is my duty as a soldier of Atlas...' Penny expressed. '...I feel...conflicted, sir.'

Ironwood chuckled. "I know, but Miss Nikos is involved with this mission, and she must move on through the tournament. Your original purpose for entering has been fulfilled, so now we're simply modifying the objective. I'm sure that we can arrange a private match between the both of you after we complete the mission."

'I would like that very much!' Penny chimed happily. 'I will not fail, sir!'

"Atta girl" the Atlassian Huntmaster encouraged. "Have fun and good luck."

They concluded their call just as Pyrrha arrived at her starting position.

"Good afternoon and salutations, Pyrrha Nikos!" Penny greeted with a right handed salute.

The redhead smiled humorously at the ginger. She was certainly an odd girl, but she obviously was a good person at heart.

"Good afternoon, Penny" she returned politely. "You seem eager for today's match."

"Of course! I finally get to have a proper challenge" she said honestly, her smile then fading slightly. "Although, I am not so eager to fight a friend of Miss Ruby."

Pyrrha nodded. "I understand fully. I don't want to hurt any of my friends or the friends of my friends. However, this is a tournament after all, and I wouldn't want to disrespect you by not treating you as a serious opponent."

Penny's smile then returned in full.

"Then we have come to a mutual understanding and compromise."

In the reserved seating, Jaune returned at last and took his spot next to Ren and Nora.

"Is everything OK?" they asked in unison.

"Yeah" he replied softly, smiling honestly. "We cleared things up and we're good now."

"Did you give her a good make-up kiss?" asked Coco.

"Yeah" Jaune replied, but instantly realized what he had said as everyone's eyebrows lifted. "O-On the cheek! For luck, ya know?"

"Are they seriously still at that stage?" the injured captain asked the others.

"Embarrassing, isn't it?" remarked Yang.

"It's beyond me why they're taking so long" added Nora.

"I kinda respect it; ya know, the childlike innocence of it" smirked Sun.

"Alright! Will all of you just shut up and watch the match?" snapped the blond, folding his arms and leaning back in his seat, as the others laughed at his expense.

"Fighters ready?" announced Oobleck, causing Pyrrha to draw Akoúo and Miló, and Penny to take a fighting stance. "Three...two...one...BEGIN!"

λΛλ

In an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the Industrial District, members of the White Fang were moving about at a steady pace. A command post had been established to direct their forces within the city as well as abroad, and were now tying any and all loose ends before they received the signal to launch their assault. A high ranking member of the revolutionary group was leaning over a C2 station beside the designated watchstander, coordinating with their signallers. Behind them, sitting on a steel crate, was a tall Bull Faunus at 6'4", wearing an asymmetrical black, long-sleeved, double-breasted stylized high-collared blazer with slit sleeves, along with red thorn sigils adorned with a white crest that lined up on his left shoulder. His suit jacket had crimson lining atop his red shirt, with red thorn sigils atop a black flap attached to the bottom of the left hem. A wilting rose emblem was on the back, set over an emblazoned white sigil resembling the curved stems and flower of the Atropa belladonna plant; commonly known as deadly nightshade. His blazer was half-buttoned, exposing a red shirt with a black line running parallel to his collar under it. On his face was a modified White Fang Grimm mask with red symbols that sat below a pair of black and red horns, surrounded by spiking auburn hair. He wore long black dress pants and black shoes, with matching black gloves with red Omega sigils sown into them.

He was leaning over a long red sword, an elongated chokutō, running the edge of the blade on a whetstone with long slow strokes; making sure that it was razor sharp, for he planned to use it well. With every stroke, he felt his own focus sharpening; the image of a young girl materializing in his mind. Before it was complete, he heard commotion coming from the C2 stations, and he turned his head slowly to look at them.

"Report" he ordered in a steady but commanding voice.

The high ranking White Fang member turned to look at his commander with a venomous expression, frustration clearly visible in his amber eyes, as his pupils were black vertical slits. He was tall, even more so than the Bull Faunus, but much thinner, with shoulder length white hair and pale complexion.

"We're getting reports that the Grimm in the north are being engaged by Valian and Atlassian forces" he hissed.

"How many?"

"Six brigades between the two Kingdoms; estimations of thirty thousand men" he answered, twitching at the final word before pushing away from the station and walked towards his commander. "Either they redirected troops from Albion, or they deployed more troops from Atlas directly. But if that was the case, they would have been attacked by the Grimm hordes!"

"There aren't even a thousand soldiers apiece stationed at the capital, and no reinforcements have been ordered" the Bull Faunus pointed out, continuing to examine the condition of his sword. "There's normally only a single border brigade defending the northern coastal border of Vale. Reinforcing their guard with two more as opposed to their city defences is suspicious enough as it is, but six with half coming from Atlas..."

"Commander Taurus! Vice-Commander Sterling!" shouted one of the watchstanders. "Reports are coming in of two tank battalions emerging from the forest! They and the soldiers are being supported by field artillery; between twenty and forty batteries!"

"What?" hissed Sterling. "Have they fully mobilized for war?"

"The Atlassian armour have specific designated markings. We're cross referencing them now" the watchstander informed, typing into a terminal as he repeated what he was being described through his headset. "A Hagalaz H-rune on the forehead of a white wolf with a spear in its mouth."

Sterling leaned back wide-eyed. "The Ghost Division..."

"Well well. What an honour" smirked Adam. "Atlas' most elite armoured division."

"How could they have all mobilized without us knowing?" demanded the taller Faunus.

"They must have crossed the Sea of Souls and deployed near the border of Vale and Vacuo" Adam mused, turning the blade over slowly. "There they would have moved east-southeast until they cleared the mountains before heading north."

"Such a detour would be hundreds if not thousands of miles long. Through such dense forests no less. That just isn't feasible, my lord."

"It is very much feasible, as it falls completely in line with their past achievements" the amber-haired man reminded. "Over two hundred miles before twilight would take them a week at most using that route. The weather reports indicated thick cloud cover; the very cover we were planning to utilize today. Of course, the weather reports did not hold for us, as the uninterrupted sunshine proves. Such poor luck."

"A Carrier Air Wing has been spotted in the southern Vytal Sea!" reported another watchstander.

"The Jörmungandr..." sneered the Vice-Commander. "It's supposed to be patrolling in the north. It doesn't matter. Even if it gets close, it can't support them unless–"

"There are an unknown number of fighter jets on the carrier; several groups, possibly a full wing!"

"Fully mobilized indeed" remarked Adam. "Terrible luck."

"We still have our objective within the city" Sterling reminded. "Contact Fall and demand to know what is going on!"

"We have White Army soldiers advancing on our position!" cried a scout from above, standing on one of the catwalks near the roof of the warehouse.

"What?!"

"How many?" Adam asked calmly.

"Four battalions led by Major Winter Schnee" said a White Fang member in a raspy voice, who bore a Beowolf Grimm mask, standing in the doorway of one of the warehouse entrances. "They were made aware of our relocating and moved into position during the night."

"And how do you know all of this?"

"I was the one that told them."

Everyone present looked at the one Faunus, frozen in shock.

"And for what reason have you committed this act of treason?" Adam asked slowly.

The traitorous Faunus had only one answer, and it was not the one Adam wanted to hear.

"Long live Commander Belladonna" he said, his voice now clear and deep.

Adam instantly flicked his sword and sent a thin crescent projectile of Aura at the traitor, who barely avoided it, allowing it to pass him and cut through the metal stairs and half of the warehouse wall.

"After him!" ordered Sterling.

"Belay that" countered Adam, attaching his sheath to his left hip. "We have more pressing issues at hand."

"That was–" he began, but immediately shrunk at Adam's knowing look, and bowed apologetically. "Of course, my lord. Do we engage the White Army?"

"No" the Commander said flatly, sheathing his weapon. "Order a full retreat."

"My lord?"

"Enough Faunus blood has been spilt for this frivolous campaign. I will not waste any more. We are leaving, now."

The taller Faunus nodded and signaled to the others to bug out. As they began to move, Adam started walking slowly towards the other end of the warehouse, with Sterling walking in step to his right.

"What an unbridled disaster" hissed Sterling.

"Yes. I am sorry for all of this" Adam apologized, taking his second-in-command by surprise.

"My lord! This isn't your doing! It is those vile Humans who have failed us."

"There is no denying that. However, I failed in not arguing more effectively the issues with the overall plan" the Bull Faunus said regrettably. "I warned Lady Salem that Fall was too green, and lacked the experience to handle such a mission. Honestly, utilizing unknown brats and a local gangster as one's cohorts. Humans can be so foolish. Perhaps Lady Salem will listen to me now."

"This will no doubt get back to High Leader Khan" Sterling lamented. "She will not be pleased with any of this. And then there is Belladonna..."

"You leave Sienna to me. After all, this whole venture was in preparation to our overthrowing of her. As for Ghira, he is too busy playing statesman to do anything; getting too comfortable and lazy in Menagerie. Regardless, with the bumbling of Fall and Torchwick, and the tactical prowess of General Ironwood, it will not be difficult to argue my case until the right time to begin our coup arises."

Sterling eyed him carefully. "You sound almost respectful of the White Army General."

Adam chuckled heartily, and he plucked a rose from a bush he had been trimming as he passed it.

"My dear Saphed, of course I respect him. He may be a conceded, wretched Human, he is still the youngest General in Atlassian history. Huntmaster-General James Tiberius Ironwood; a brilliant tactician with a lengthy list of achievements over his near twenty year long military career. Killing him will add a tremendous feather to my cap."

Saphed paused for a moment before cautiously asking a question that he knew needed to be asked, but wasn't certain of what reaction it would invoke.

"And what of Lady Blake, my lord?"

Adam examined the rose in his right hand and sighed.

"Unfortunately, that will have to wait for another time." He turned the rose over, carefully avoiding its thorns, before bringing it to his nose to take its scent. "My love, our fated reunion must tragically be postponed. But have no fear..."

He threw the rose high into the air, where it hung for a moment before it began to drop. Just before that return to earth, the rose was cut just below the sepals, separating the flower from the hip and stem. This caused the red pedals to disperse in all directions, and gently float down. They all suddenly then became sliced to ribbons, before at last being left alone to float to the cold ground of the warehouse.

"...there is nothing in this world that can keep you from me."

At the other end of the warehouse was a recently constructed tunnel. Their current location was their fallback position that they had been working on for the past half year. The tunnel connected to the Vimy River, the river that divided the upper and lower half of the city of Albion where one end reached the academy, and the other fed into the Sea of Souls. This would be their escape route, as they had built a secret submarine dock at the other end of the tunnel. They were using it far sooner than they had planned, but it would be used nonetheless.

Suddenly, before them opened a red and black portal, ten feet across and ten feet high. From it emerged an individual standing at 5'9, dawning a red and black duster coat, as well as armour, and an imposing black metal plague mask helmet that enclosed the head. The first half of the beak was blood red, as were the rings around the glass eyeholes, which were pitch black, making it impossible to see the eyes. Above them was a human skull, drip painted in the same shade of red, with a pair of Perthro runes facing one another in the centre of the forehead. Lastly, raven feathers poured out the back of the helmet, joining to form a mantle on the warrior's shoulders. A long odachi was attached to the left hip, covered in a black metal scabbard with thin red claw marks down the sides.

While the figure would appear horrifying to the average person, Adam merely smiled in amusement.

"Well well. The red carpet treatment" he remarked. "I'm flattered."

"Get in" the macabre person spoke in a distorted voice, folding its arms to reveal their clawed black gauntlets.

"Certainly. Take enough with you to get all the equipment aboard and man the sub, then set sail immediately to our main base" ordered Adam his men. "The rest of you use the portal."

The White Fang members followed their orders immediately, with a smaller group of them descending through the tunnel entrance carrying the C2 stations, maps, and other equipment, and the remaining group entering the portal. Adam and Saphed did not leave just yet, as the shorter Faunus walked towards his "saviour", maintaining his amused smirk.

"And what do I owe this wonderful and most generous gesture, Lady Branwen?"

"These are Lady Salem's orders" she answered coldly. "And cut the false pleasantries. If it were me, I would leave you to die, brat."

Adam chuckled, moving even closer to her.

"Yes, you certainly would. And leave my body to be feasted on by crows, no doubt. How many have you killed today, eh? How many left to die slowly as carrion birds circle above, waiting for them to expire?" As he spoke, he drew ever nearer, leaning forward so that the slit eyeholes of his mask lined up with the dark pits of hers. "And you Humans call me a monster."

"Get in" she repeated venomously, but calmly. "I will not tell you again."

The Bull Faunus held his position for a moment longer, before smiling a little wider and bowing to her courteously.

"A pleasure talking to you as always, Raven. Till the next" he said finally, before standing straight and walking into the portal.

Saphed took a single step forward before looking at Raven, towering over her by well over a foot, and opening his jaws wide, revealing a pair of inch long metal fangs. He emitted a menacing hiss, as a long forked tongue flicked out at her, his eyes becoming very narrow slits. After his point had been made, he closed his jaws and followed his commander, disappearing through the portal.

Allowing her arms to drop to her sides, Raven entered the portal herself, leaving the Kingdom of Vale behind.

---

"Hello, boys! I'm baaaaaaack!~" —Roman, probably.

So. If you guessed that Qrow confronting Emerald was one of my favourite moments, congrats; you get a gingerbread cookie. As you could tell by that scene, I've changed a great deal regarding Qrow as a character, as well as his past. I've been making hints to it for several chapters, but forgive me if it wasn't clear enough. We're only at the tip of the spear, and there will be more moments to flesh this out, but I hope this has peaked your interest.

To put it bluntly, I hated what Qrow became, and was disappointed at what he was, for so much potential was wasted. Thus, I've done a lot of work on him. Speaking of which, that's why this chapter is late, as I had a late breaking realization that Adam and Raven's scene would be better if included in this chapter, rather than to open the next. My editors agreed, so I had to double check that segment before uploading. My deepest apologies.

Before I go, I must comment on the RWBY situation. RT announced that RWBY will be going on a 2 month break (December 17th till February 6th). Now, this isn't the end of the world, as this gives me more time to edit in peace, but what is interesting, is the reason RT gave. They said that they need to do this to avoid crunch and make V8 the best it can me.

Here's the problem with that statement: they've been saying for MONTHS that V8 was already done, and they were moving onto V9. This was said many times over the course of months, for they said last year that V8 and 9 were being simultaneously worked on. Now a theory is that RT is trying to trick people to maintain Members First subscriptions by baiting them to renew and watch the rest of V8. I wouldn't put it past them, but who knows.

I can only hope that my fic can serve you well in the meantime :)

Cheers, and see you next time.