Chapter 10: Heroes Don't Always Win

"Warning: safety barriers failing." The mechanical voice droned out over the empty arena.

"PYRRHA!" Jaune screamed in panic, wide blue eyes locked onto the shaken form of his partner on the battlefield below, simply… staring at the remains of Penny. "Pyrrha, that thing's going to break in! You've gotta move!"

The warrior didn't even respond, not flinching as the mammoth grimm continued to smash into the barrier high above, the invisible shield flashing urgently. Letting out a growl of frustration, Jaune leapt the railing, falling down to the tile below, making a beeline towards Pyrrha.

"Pyrrha!" He cried out, ignoring the shocked yells of his friends still in the stands. "Pyrrha, please snap out of it!"

Then the nevermore shattered the barrier, careening down to the floor, the impact sending the two huntsmen flying. The grimm let out a victorious screech, and lunged towards the still hardly responding Pyrrha-

Only to get smashed aside by a red blur, rose petals falling to cover the tile. Ruby dropped down in front of the Mistrali huntress; gripping one of Penny's swords tightly in her hands.

"Ruby?" Pyrrha whispered, still shaken.

"Leave her alone!" The shorter huntress yelled at the grimm, pointing the sword furiously.

The nevermore rose back to its talons, and lunged at the leader of RWBY, the short huntress preparing to defend herself.

With no need though, a volley of roaring metal boxes falling from the newly made hole in the ceiling, smashing into the creature and pinning it to the ground with one last ear-piercing screech, before it went still.

The lockers began to click and open one-by-one, as dozens of huntsmen began to climb from the stands, fighting against the still-escaping tide of bystanders: Team SSSN, CFVY, Coal and Katt of FNKI, ABRN, DRAB; alongside the remnants of JNPR, DRGN, and SOUL.

The teens all marched forwards to the locker-laden nevermore, collecting their weapons, a cacophony of clicking sounds filling the battlefield as they prepared themselves for a fight.

Suddenly, the grimm screeched back to life, shaking the remaining huntsmen on its form, trying desperately to climb back to its feet.

Ren was the first to react, wasting no time, leaping off of its back, spinning, dagger-bearing pistols swiping into the massive raven's face, before falling to the ground.

The leader of ABRN scowled, planting the end of her rope dart in its wing, before dropping lowly, swinging through the air and snatching Yatsuhashi off of the ground. Sage of SSSN and Nora leapt ahead of her, the ginger huntress running along its back before falling into a slide, leaping and flipping through the air, greathammer crashing down onto the crown of its skull-mask, sending the grimm smashing into the tile below.

Arslan released Yatsuhashi as they reached the climax of their swing, Sage joining them in the air, duel greatswords gleaming in the light as they fell.

With two fell slashes, the head of the nevermore fell limply to the floor, the rest of the grimm going limp, smoke beginning to curl off of its form.

Then a round of bullets ripped into its inky flesh. Delta turned to his fellow huntsmen, giving them a thumbs up.

Pyrrha, though, still refused to rise from her place kneeling on the ground, tears welling in her eyes as she looked back and forth from Ruby; to the strip of cloth held in her hands, the remnants of Penny's dress. "I…" She sobbed out. "I'm so sorry."

Ruby stared at her for a moment, face falling in despair. "…Me too…" Then her features lit up with fury. "But it wasn't your fault."

"She's right," Jaune said as he walked up to the huntresses. "Whoever was on that microphone… they're the ones behind this. And we have to make sure they don't take anyone else." He offered her her sword and shield, eyes pleading.

After a moment, Pyrrha grit her teeth together, and rose to her feet, taking the bronze weapons, and nodding back at him determinedly.

Oracle strode forwards, revolvers and her form glowing golden, a scowl planted on her face. "So; what's the plan, then?"

Ruby wasn't given a chance to answer, as several hippogriff-like grimm landed on the rim of the colosseum, dozens more flying passed as they let out a screech, flying down towards the students below.

"Griffons." Ren muttered.

Lance popped his neck from side to side. "Nah, we can take them."

"All fourty- no, fifty- no- you know what I mean, of them?" Neptune asked, bewildered.

"It'll take a minute, but yeah."

"Okay, anyone else got a plan of attack?"

"Sun?" Ruby called over. "Scroll!"

The faunus acquiesced without a second thought, dexterous tail pulling the device from his pocket and tossing it over to her. She caught it out of the air, quickly tapping in a series of numbers. A short moment later, her locker came rocketing back in, nearly hitting one of the descending griffons, the grimm screeching as it bared its talons at the huntsmen below.

Then it was gone, and Rainier fell in its place, landing on top of Ruby's locker. He looked down at the assorted warriors, and sighed, a strained, coy smile finding its way to his face, dark bags hanging under his eyes. "Well, look at all of you. If I knew any-"

He wasn't given a chance to finish the thought, though, as another grimm came swooping down towards him; only to disappear as well, a massive gunshot echoing around the empty arena.

The eyes of the teens shifted to the side; to where Port and Oobleck were standing, the former holding his axe-cannon high, while the other held a suspiciously thermos-like club. "Students!" The professor called out. "I think it would be best for you to leave."

"But-" Ruby began.

"Miss Rose!" Oobleck cut back in sternly. "This day will surely go down in Remnant's history. I'd prefer it if my students could live to tell the story."

The leader of RWBY nodded as she retrieved her Crescent Rose, turning to the other students with a nod. "Then let's go."

Rainier hopped down from his perch on the locker, marching up resolutely to join his friends. He matched pace with the short huntress, face filling with remorse. "Ruby, I-" He began.

"Rain- not now," She cut back in sternly, giving him a hard look. "We have a mission to do."

The faunus watched her for a moment, before nodding, following the mob of huntsmen in evacuating the arena, Port's maniacal, giddy laughter echoing behind them.

Gail loosed another arrow, the missile finding its target, a beowolf howling in pain as its head snapped backwards, falling to the ground. She nocked another arrow, turning over her shoulder. "Ulysses!"

The hulking huntsman grunted as he skirted around her, Avenger flying out to smash through another boar-like grimm behind her, the creature pancaking into the ground mid-charge.

She sucked in a breath as she wheeled around, staring in daunted horror at the dozens of grimm rampaging through Beacon's courtyard, several other huntsmen spilling from the school and the city to help fight them off.

"Ul…" She said quietly, sharp eyes picking something out across the courtyard. "Are those-"

"Cerulean," He barked, before following her gaze. A snarl crept its way across his face, morningstar coiling back into his hand. "White Fang."

They watched as a bullhead touched down, the bay doors opening; several grimm leapt from the craft, followed by a handful of White Fang members, before it took flight again, soaring to safety.

The archer swallowed hard, eyes meeting her impromptu partner's. "They're… they're letting grimm into the school."

He growled, cocking his head to the side. "We need to move."

She nodded in agreement, the huntsmen taking off further towards the edges of the campus, fighting off grimm as they ran.

A few moments later, the archer's Scroll buzzed urgently, glowing brightly with Rainier's smiling face. She answered the call- the faunus' tanned visage was, instead, drawn together in a stressed grimace, the halls of Amity Colosseum whirring by behind him. "Rain-" She began.

"We're fine up here," He spat, cutting her off, gaze turning off to the side. "Who else is with you?"

She looked over to her hulking companion. "Ulysses is still with me."

"Good; are you two still at Beacon?"

"I- yes-"

He let out a groan. "Fine- what does it look like?"

"It's…"

"It's not good." Ulysses grumbled.

Rainier sighed, shaking his head. "Do what you two can. We're coming to you."

"Rain," She began, searching his face. "What's happening?"

The faunus stared at her for a moment, before sighing. "I'm… I'm not sure. Whatever happens, though, we…" He trailed off, and a smile sprung to his face, no matter how strained. "We can handle it. We've dealt with a grimm invasion before, haven't we?"

She gave him a tiny smile back. "O- of course."

"I'll talk with you soon. And, for the love of everything… please. Be safe. Both of you."

Gail nodded. "We will."

And the line went dead.

"Atlesians." Ulysses muttered, inclining his head to the side. Lo and behold, dozens of Atlesian androids and soldiers were touching down in the school, guns blazing as they fought back the grimm and White Fang as well as they could.

"That's promising," She whispered, before adding more audibly. "I- let's give it a shot."

The fleeing huntsmen came to a sudden stop as they reached the colosseum's docking bay, looking around at the chaos that had consumed it.

Atlesian soldiers and huntsmen rushed to and fro, battling off as many grimm as they could, the bay awash with gunfire and gleaming blades, while the air buses worked as quickly as they could to evacuate as many people as they could.

"Oh, this ain't good." Lance muttered.

"No sweat!" Delta barked, storming forwards, gun braced against his shoulder. "Come on! What are we here for exactly, soldiers?!"

"Not that." Rainier muttered.

The teens took off, dodging through the melee- and watched, as a bullhead instead rose up to the bay, doors opening- White Fang firing out at the crowd, grimm leaping to the colosseum, before it flew off again.

"They're seriously-" Oracle began, before shaking her head, spitting onto the ground. "Rubes-"

She didn't get the chance to finish, roaring filling the space around them.

Marching towards the emerging teens was the furious visage of General Ironwood, staring down a hulking alpha beowolf, heavily armored in bone. One either side of them were the remains of two androids. The grimm roared again, taking off in bounds towards the general.

He, for his part, let out a battle cry of his own as he charged towards it, ripping a huge revolver from his jacket, firing shots as he ran. The grimm leapt in the air, viciously sharp claws swinging for his head. Ironwood fell into a slide, narrowly dodging the attack, the beast flying over him, shots ripping into its midsection as the combatants passed each other.

The beowolf crashed into the ground, writhing as it struggled to scramble to its feet. The general came to a stop, turning on a dime, massive revolver raised steadfastly. It charged him again, roaring in fury, Ironwood loosing shot after shot at it as it neared. It swung again with a heavy paw, battering Ironwood a few feet to the side, then swung again-

The Atlesian simply raised his right arm, stopping the limb in its tracks with a dull 'whoomph'. Ironwood fired a shot into its knee, bringing the grimm crumbling down; and then lifted the creature by its arm as if it weighed nothing, smashing it into the metal floor, before hefting it back up so that it rested on his back, head hanging backwards.

A single shot to the skull sent the beast limp. The general dropped it to the ground and simply began to stroll away. The huntsmen jogged up to him, watching as the airbuses began to escape the colosseum. Ruby was the first to reach him, arms thrown to the side to catch his attention. "What's going on?!"

He looked over the students, before sighing, turning his gaze to the night sky. "…Grimm are crawling all over the city, the White Fang's invaded beacon, and to make matters worse, someone has taken one of my airships. Until we regain command, the skies are out of our control, so I'm-" He stopped mid-sentence, raising his revolver and shooting a leaping ursa out of the air. "Going to take it back."

"What should we do?!" Jaune called out, voice tinged with desperation.

Ironwood stopped in his march towards one of his ships, pausing on the ramp and turning back to the huntsmen, hands folded behind his back. "You have two choices. Defend your kingdom and your school… or save yourselves," The teens all looked to one another, unsurely, and he sighed, face falling into a look of sympathy. "…No one will fault you if you leave."

Poof.

The huntsmen coughed and waved their hands in front of their faces, purple smoke filling the deck before being whisked away by wind.

Shinai stood before them, purple eyes dark with fury. He turned over his shoulder to Ironwood, the general nodding to the warrior. "Kyani," He turned and entered the craft. "Let's move out!"

The ramp shut, and the Atlesians soared off into the sky.

"Nice of you to join us, captain." Oracle nodded, walking up beside him.

The samurai nodded back, looking over the faces of his friends and peers. He drew Shi En from its sheathe, eyes falling onto Ruby. "Our foes are closing in. Grimm in the air, White Fang on the ground. But I won't turn my back. Not tonight."

Sun shrugged, a beaming smile crossing his face. "I mean, come on."

Jaune nodded in agreement. "We can take a shuttle down to Beacon, come on."

The huntsmen let out a chorus of assents, the vast majority of them jogging off to find a ship to evacuate in; with the exception of Rainier, Shinai, and Ruby, the short huntress watching Ironwood's ship disappear into the clouds with wide, silver eyes.

"Ruby?" Rainier asked quietly.

She opened her mouth to reply, before a roar cut her off. The trio turned on their heel, to a hulking beringel, barely fitting into the bay, beating its paws against its chest. Another bellow from it preceded the beast beginning to bound towards them.

It never made it, a ship flying through the air, crashing into the grimm, nearly cleaving it in half. The craft skillfully stopped before impacting with the colosseum, coming to a stop on top of the creature's corpse. The cockpit opened- and Remy hopped out, wicked silver glaive held behind him. He looked around with furious yellow eyes, before meeting Rainier's own.

The younger Platina nodded, before turning his gaze to his fellow huntsmen. "I'm going with him. I'll see you two on the ground, yes?"

Shinai and Ruby looked to each other, before nodding. The latter took off after her friends- but the samurai stalled for a moment, purple eyes boring into his former opponent's. "Stay safe."

The faunus grinned. "But of course- would you expect anything less?"

The duo clasped hands, before going their separate ways.

Rainier nodded at Remy again as he reached the ship, both Vacuoans climbing in. "We're going down there, you know this, yes?"

"...Fine." The White Wolf growled as they took flight, racing out into the night sky.

The escaping huntsmen sat around the airbus, clutching their weapons tightly, looking to one another- not one of them choosing to look out the window at the city below.

"Hey," Lance called out, leaning back. "I like you dumb bastards. None of you die, aight?"

"Tonight, we dine at the mess hall! Ah, I mean hell! Ah, I screwed that up!" Delta called out.

"…Yeah, sure, dude!"

Oracle snorted, looking across at her teammate- before her emerald eyes slowly shifted to the window next to him, widening. "Oh my gods.

All eyes turned to the night sky beyond; and General Ironwood's ship. The ship was rocking wildly in the air, its interior filled with the telltale flashing of gunfire. Then an explosion rocked the craft, fire consuming it as it began to plummet out of the sky.

Without a second thought, Ruby shot to her feet, marched towards the exit, and threw the ship's ramp open, taking off sprinting, leaping out into the air.

"RUBY!" Oracle cried out, rushing forwards to grab her, before skidding to a stop.

"What is she doing?!" Sun screamed, throwing his hands up.

Lance peered out of the window, watching the short huntress land safely back onto Amity's docking bay, shrugging. "Dunno, but she looks like she's got a pretty good idea of it."

Gail and Ulysses skid to a stop, eyes wide as they watched two Atlesian Knights open fire on one of the huntsman outside Beacon, the boy's eyes widening before he flickered away in a panic.

"That's not good." She whispered with wide eyes.

Ulysses charged out after them, roaring as he swung Avenger out around him in wide swings, taking one android's legs out from under it, before stopping the flail's direction, swinging back to smash through the other's body, it's head and legs falling lifelessly to the cobble floor. The hulking huntsman snorted, black smoke beginning to rise from his body as he looked around. "Well?" He called back out, and the archer strode up to him quickly.

"These are…"

"Atlesian." He finished in a mutter.

"They're firing on us? …Do you… think they're-"

"Don't know. Don't care. Just another thing on this pile of shit."

She looked up to him in concern. "This… this isn't good."

Ulysses grunted in agreement. "Plan stays the same."

"Plan?"

"Keep moving forwards and kill everything that gets in the way. Same plan as the breach."

"That… that's a good point."

He nodded confidently. "Ladies first."

"My gods." Rainier whispered as he and Remy neared the city, wide, pale yellow eyes filled with shock as he stared down at the melee below.

Both Vale and Beacon were filled with bonfires, dozens of thick, black plumes of smoke rising into the sky. Grimm, White Fang, huntsmen, soldiers, and renegade Knights and Paladins buzzed around the city's streets, the sounds of fighting and panic echoing throughout the night.

Remains of all of them littered the cobblestone and asphalt roads, along with the painfully obvious lifeless forms of civilians. Across some of the buildings' rooftops, people waved up at the air ship, desperately looking for someone to carry them to safety.

Remy growled in distaste. "This is bad."

"How bad, exactly?" Rainier asked quietly.

"I've never seen one of the four cities attacked this badly. That bad."

"But-"

The White Wolf turned to glare at his brother. "Pup, the only cities I've ever seen that look like this are ones that get taken off of the maps. This is Vale, and one of the four cities, and its different, and I get that; and maybe this is salvageable. But this. Is. Bad."

Rainier's eyes hardened in response, leaning forwards. "And what? You want to just leave?"

"This isn't our fight, Rain-"

The younger faunus glowered, and hit a small button to his side, his half of the cockpit rising up. "Fine then. I'll do this on my own." Without another word, he flung himself from the ship, careening to the ground, his cannon firing at the last moment before he hit concrete, soaring through the sky, aware of Remy's ship landing a short ways away.

He came crashing to the ground, lacking even the energy to make a clean landing. Still, though, he scrambled to his feet, taking off towards Beacon Academy at a dead sprint; still a brilliant blur, but slowing frighteningly quickly.

Phalanx let loose a distorted bellow as it swung a massive fist, battering the beowolf ahead of it several meters to the side. The mech carved its way through the grimm ahead of it, massive hands striking out with thruster-enhanced speed, ripping anything that got too close to it apart, never ceasing its movement.

Inside the mech, Nash's face was a mask of concentration, teeth grit together, sweat beginning to bead on his forehead, staring through his monitor at the melee unfolding before him. In the top right of his screen, Daria's face appeared as a call came in, features pulled into a goofy look. He answered the call, her face appearing, filled with concern. "Nash! Are you alright? You just disappeared!"

"I'm good," He muttered. "Needed to pick some things up."

"Are- are you in Phalanx."

"Does it look like I'm in Phalanx?"

"Nash, please, this isn't-"

"I'm fine!" He said with a harrumph. "Is everyone else?"

"Yeah," His partner said with a sigh. "Hon- be safe. Okay? I'll find you later."

"Fine," Nash muttered, before adding more softly, "…Please come back."

"I will. I love you."

The line went dead, the blonde huntsman's head falling for a moment, taking a deep steadying breath in. "WELL?!" He called out, throwing his hands up, beckoning any grimm or Atlesian androids to come to him. "I HAVEN'T GOT ALL DAY!"

He rocketed forwards, fist raised to strike.

Daria skittered backwards, clutching her Scroll tightly in her hand, dodging a stray attack from a grimm, trying not to drop the device. "Lance!" She called out, a bite of irritation filling her voice.

"I got it!" He yelled back, appearing by her side quickly, cleaving the beast in half. "You got all your calls done?"

"No! I gotta call Rainier!" She snapped.

"Fine! When he answers, tell him to get his furry ass over here!" The swordsman was gone, dashing back into the fray.

The dark-skinned huntress' eyes scanned over the battlefield that had become Beacon, dashing backwards to a spot of relative safety, Scroll ringing yet again. After what felt like eternity, the Vacuoan picked up, absolutely exhausted gaze falling to the screen.

"Daria!" Rainier cried. "Where are you?!"

"We're at the school!" She called back, not stopping her strafing.

"Good! I'm on my way!"

"No- Rain-"

"Dar-"

"Rain," She took a deep, steadying breath. "I need you to get as many people to safety as you can."

"D-"

"This isn't negotiable!" She cried. "Please. You're the only one fast enough to help… please."

"I…" He went silent for a long moment. "Alright. Be safe." The line went dead.

"DARIA!" Jaune cried, grabbing the other leader's attention.

The diminutive huntress turned on her heel, eyes going wide at the sight of the beowolf lunging towards her, claws outstretched- and then it was gone.

Standing where it was, massive slab of a greatsword buried into the ground; was Adrian Black. He slowly looked over to her, baby blue eyes meeting brown. He inclined his head. "Miss Copper."

"Daria!" Gail shouted, dashing forwards and pulling her leader into a hug.

Said huntress was staring owlishly passed her still, as the other members of BLCK stalked forwards, Ulysses in tow. Adrian let loose a sharp whistle. "Boys!" He barked. "Protect this godsdamned city,"

Lanu let loose a whoop, before dashing forwards, Kuro and Caid in tow. Black, though, stalled for a moment, looking to the huntresses. "…Respect, Miss Copper." He inclined his head again, before taking off after his teammates, their gazes locked on a rampaging Atlesian mech.

Daria and Gail shared a sigh, looking to one another.

"You're alright?" The former asked, looking her taller teammate over.

"I'm fine. Are you?"

"I'm… getting through this."

The archer nodded, pulling her bow from her shoulder, and the two huntresses turned back towards the fight.

Nash skid to a stop, staring across the courtyard at an Atlesian paladin- an enormous, bipedal mech, larger than Phalanx itself. The boy cocked his head to the side as it noticed him, stiffly turning towards him.

"You don't have a pilot, do you?" He called out. It wordlessly began to march towards him, claws lifted and aimed towards him. "Good."

He dashed forwards, thrusters clearing the gap in moments, throwing his shoulder into the other mech's. It immediately began bashing its claws into his red armor, bringing them crashing down. Nash grunted from the impacts, lashing out with another fist, colliding them with the glass of the Atlesian mech's cockpit. Another roar spilled out from Phalanx as he bashed its arms away, a fist colliding with its midsection, the Paladin sliding backwards a few feet.

It took the opportunity and extra space to let loose with a flurry of bullets from its cannon, the shots doing little against Phalanx's armor as he dashed forwards again, a thruster-boosted punch crashing into its cockpit again, the glass shattering to litter the floor below. He reached out, grabbing the now exposed frame of the cockpit, and ripped away, the top half of the mech beginning to crack and tear from the force, its arms crashing into the huntsman's mech over, and over again.

Nash let go of his grip, beginning to rain punch after punch down into the interior of the hacked Atlesian bot, pummeling the driver's amenities into rubble-

Then, with one last yell, the thrusters on his right arm lit up even brighter, the lightning fast punch punching through the Paladin with relative ease. The bot went limp around the limb, sparks flying out into the night air. Nash pulled his fist back, letting it fall to the ground-

And then curbstomped it once more, the metal crumpling under the blow. He snorted. "Atlesian efficiency, my ass."

He turned on his heel- and then stopped in his tracks, the boy gasping in surprise, looking down the interior of the mech; where a molten hot golden blade had buried itself into Phalanx's midsection, stopping just short of the huntsman's own body. He looked back up to Vegas Gold's grinning face.

The killer ripped his blade free, dancing backwards out of range of Nash's swinging fist. "I'm ten and o' tonight!" He laughed out. "Let's shoot for eleven! Neeext up on the list; wolfie's little friend!"

With another mad cackle, Gold sprinted at the young huntsman, Dragon's Fang raised high.

BLCK fell upon the Paladin like a pack of banshees, Lanu reaching it first, leaping up high, Qatar cutting into its armor, dashing out of reach as it swung a heavy cannon at the Mistrali. Caid was right there, blade wreathed in lightning, leaping up onto its cannon towards the top of the mech, slashing away at the cockpit, skin covered in shadow. Lanu dashed back in, sliding between its legs with a laugh, cleaving through the joints of its legs in a flurry of steel.

The mech reached a claw up, moving to swipe The swordsman off of its head- the limb stopped in place, Kuro's chain sword wrapped around it, pulsating with electricity, the Mistrali digging his boots into the ground to hold the mech still, slowly giving ground.

A blur of black fell from the sky, Adrian letting out a shout as he swung his massive sword through the air, the slab of metal cleaving cleanly through the joint of the arm, letting it fall to the ground. The other arm swung hard for the Mistrali leader, instead making impact with the sword, stopping in its tracks as he put his shoulder into it.

Lanu dashed back around the mech, qatar cutting through its armor in broad strokes. Caid growled, whipping his sword to the side, wind swirling around it as he continued to try and break through the cockpit's protection in vain-

Before a great arrow pierced the glass, cracks spider-webbing across it. He looked back across the courtyard, making eye contact with Gail, the archer nodding. He faltered for a moment, before nodding back, plunging his blade into the cockpit, shattering the glass, giving him enough room to hop in, sword swiping across the control board as he began to rip it apart from the inside out.

Adrian, meanwhile was gritting his teeth together, holding back the Paladin's fist as best as he could, slowly being pushed backwards. Then, a white blur flew over him, Daria planting both boots into the massive sword, the impact bucking the mech's claw away, enough for the Mistrali to dodge to the side. Kuro let out a growl and whipped his segmented blade forwards again, yet again wrapping it around the offending limb of the Atlesian bot.

The two leaders locked eyes for a split second, before turning back to the rampaging mech, dashing forwards in unison.

Adrian's blade swung horizontally, cleaving through the thin midsection of the mech several inches. Daria dashed to the side, leaping over the blade, two waves of green energy further exacerbating the damage.

The gash was enough for Caid's sword to pierce through the mech's armor. Lanu let out a victorious whoop, dashing towards the wound, digging both qatar in, and ripped with all of his might to either side, beginning to pry the mech apart.

"Move." Ulysses growled, pushing him to the side. The hulking huntsman gripped either edge of the wound, letting out a roar as he jerked with all the strength he could muster.

With the cracking and tearing of metal and electronics, the midsection of the Paladin tore nearly in two, wires crackling dangerously in the night air. Caid stared through the rent metal at the black-eyed huntsman, leaning back in impressment.

"Godsdamned!" Adrian hollered as he resheathed his sword. "Glad we didn't fight you."

"I still think it was a fluke," Kuro muttered, making eye contact with Daria, Gail jogging up to join them. "But I never got to say congrats on the win."

"Ooh!" Lanu laughed out as he swaggered back towards his team. "Where's the little man at? I gotta give him some love for that shit talkin' he was spittin'."

"…I dunno," Daria muttered, rubbing the back of her head. "Are we going to sit here making pleasantries, or are we going to go fight?"

Adrian gave her an impressed look, head cocked to the side. "Well. Damn the gods, little miss! After you!"

She rolled her eyes, taking off back into the fray.

A grin found its way to Lance's face as Delta leapt over his swinging blade, the duo whirling around each other in a whirlwind of sword and bullets, carving their way through the grimm.

The Atlesian nodded at his new friend. "Friendship- UH!"

The swordsman snorted, shaking his head. "Where's your-"

"DELTAAA!"

Both huntsmen turned to the panicked scream of Romeo- the Atlesian in the grips of a griffon, being whisked away into the air. The leader of DRAB stared for a long few moments, before sighing. "Alright, fine! Best friend! I WILL SEE YOU ON THE OTHER SIDE, SOLDIER!" He gave an aggressive salute, before turning on his heel, racing off after his endangered teammate, firing bullets at the fleeing grimm. "I'M COMIN' CHEGS! IF YOU DIE, DIBS ON YOUR SWEET ASS ROCKET LAUNCHER!"

Lance watched him go for a few seconds in disbelief, shaking his head.

"Lance!" Oracle called out. "Stop gawkin' and help, will you?!"

He sighed, turning on his heel as he raced back towards his teammates and the battle. His eyes met green as he reached the gunslinger and Shinai, massive greatsword flying out around him, a White Fang going flying from the impact.

She leapt forwards, falling into a slide, golden shots flying from her revolvers with reckless abandon, both arms smoking from the overuse of the guns. "Captain!" She barked.

The samurai turned on his heel, Shi En flying through an Atlesian Knight to land back in his hand. "Oracle!"

"This ain't great!"

"You don't say!" Lance said, voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Not talkin' to you, blondie! What are we gonna do?"

Shinai twirled in place, observing the school grounds around him for a moment- looking further into the campus, where more White Fang and grimm were rampaging. "We hold this school until they tell us otherwise."

"Ooh, I don't like that."

"We don't have much choice. Oracle-" She looked up at him, deadly serious gazes meeting. "I'm going back into the school. There are still others trapped in there. You, Lance, do what you can. Don't be heroes."

The blonde whipped Iron Maw forwards, shifting it into its cannon form, loading a glowing blue shot, shaking his head with a less than sincere look. "Shame."

"Keep him alive." Shinai said, exchanging a nod with Oracle.

"Don't get ganked." She called out as he took off running.

Poof.

"Gods, I hate that man." The gunslinger muttered as she rose to her feet.

Lance strode forwards, looking around at the huntsmen surrounding him. "You lot heard the captain! Let's hold this damned school, eh?!"

Sun threw his fist up in a lone whoop. "Y-Yeah! Y…eah…"

"Nice speech." Neptune muttered.

The swordsman shook his head as he and Oracle marched onwards. She looked up to him with a raised eyebrow. "Got any plans, blondie?"

"Truthfully? Probably go find some stuff to kill. What about you?"

"Oh, really? The same!"

"Wanna come along?"

"Thought you'd never ask!"

With that, the duo took off further into the school, searching for any battle that needed their aid.

Phalanx backstepped quickly from Vegas' attack, narrowly dodging the wild swing, the killer's manic golden eyes staring up into his visor as he struck out again, the mech's armored mitt coming up to push Dragon's Fang away. The boy let out a frustrated growl, his thrusters activating as he bodily slammed into the criminal, hands wrapping around Gold's waist, rocketing forwards to slam the killer into one of Beacon's great columns.

Snarling, Vegas lashed out with his blade, the golden sword impaling through Phalanx's visor with ease, Dragon's Fang coming dangerously close to Nash's face, drawing a shocked gasp from the boy. He dropped the criminal, rocketing a few meters passed him before turning on his heel-

The killer was a step faster though, dashing to the side, golden blade carving through Phalanx's leg with ease, the sound of metal grinding on metal filling the courtyard. Despite their depth into the campus, the rampaging grimm and White Fang gave the combatants a wide berth, rushing around them instead.

Gold drew his blade back, the mech's leg sparking urgently as Nash tried in vain to retreat, the limb refusing to move; simply dragging across the pavement lamely instead. He yelled in frustration, pulling one arm in to pound at the screen in front of him, Phalanx's other arm swinging with the aid of thrusters at the criminal. Vegas ducked underneath it, sending a stab at Phalanx's midsection with a sick grin.

Dragon's Fang was instead redirected towards the ground, carving through the stone like it was butter. Nash took the opportunity to swing out with a wide backhand, sending Vegas tumbling away; his moment of respite gained, the mechanic took the opportunity to continue to feverishly work on getting the disabled leg to reactivate, even if only slightly.

Gold growled, smile dropping, as he charged forwards again, blade soaring through the air. He feinted as Phalanx swung again-

But this time, he stabbed up and through the limb, piercing all the way through, nearly taking Nash's own arm with it, if it weren't for the boy's aura, a scream nonetheless distortedly piercing the air. With a victorious grin, Vegas ripped his blade to the side, cleaving Phalanx's arm cleanly from the rest of its body, more sparks flying through the air as the boy pulled his limb back into the safety of the mech, the red-armored hunk of metal falling to the floor, motionless.

The criminal didn't let up, blade flying through the air to carve into Phalanx's chest, ripping through the armor and wiring with ease, the gash wide enough to peer into the mech's interior.

Vegas let loose a satisfied cackle. "And that's game, kiddo!" He leapt into the air, sending a vicious stab straight towards Phalanx's visor.

Rainier skid to a stop, a panicked scream catching his attention, turning to the closed door next to him. With one well-placed kick, the door went flying off of its hinges, a wave of heat and smoke crashing into him, drawing a coughing fit from the faunus. He stepped in, ducking as lowly to the ground as he could. "Hello?!" He called out.

"HELP!" A man screamed, and he took off in a blur, dodging around the fire as he followed the source of the voice. In a back room, a man was laying on the floor, a burning beam pinning him to the ground, even as he tried in vain to lift it off, one arm trapped awkwardly under him.

The Vacuoan skid to a stop, mind whirring, before finally settling on bringing his claws down in an axe kick, carving the beam in two, alleviating enough weight for the man to free himself, letting loose a coughing fit as he crept to his hands and knees- and pointed at the other end of the room. "B-Baby." He managed.

Rainier's eyes widened, and he dashed towards the crib in question, a frighteningly unconscious baby laying in the bed. He ripped it from its covers, then leapt back to the man, helping him to his feet, and dragging all three of them to the relative safety of the outside.

The man took the baby as the faunus doubled over in a coughing fit, smoke spilling from his lungs. "Is it okay?" He asked shakily.

"I- I don't know!" The man yelled, panicked.

Rainier summoned all of the strength he could, extending his arms urgently. "I can get it out of here- you have to trust me!"

Without a second thought, the man handed the child over, and Rainier was gone, racing through the city streets as fast as he could force himself to go.

After what felt like an eternity, the Vacuoan stumbled to a stop next to one of the evacuation points, roughly shoving the baby into an Atlesian soldier's hands, the others in the area starting in shock as the teen fell to his hands and knees, coughing hard. "Help it!" He snapped, stumbling back to his feet.

The soldier looked the baby over. "We- he's alive. We can help him."

"Good!"

Then Rainier was gone again, dashing back into the city, forcing his exhausted limbs to move as fast as they could.

There was a flurry of movement, metal grinding against metal, before Nash messily popped out of the back of Phalanx. Mere moments after escaping the mech, Vegas' vicious stab made contact, cleaving through the armored construct's head with ease, half of the boy's helmet falling to the ground, its visor blinking for a moment before going dark.

Nash hit the ground scrambling, trying to climb to his feet to escape as quickly as he could. He didn't make it far, the killer leaping forwards, tackling him bodily to the pavement below. Vegas grabbed the back of the boy's head, smashing it into the concrete, before climbing to his feet, his opponent still held tightly, now on his knees.

Gold, a manic, smug grin cladding his face, stabbed forwards, the blade soaring towards Nash's sternum.

An audible 'tink' rang out through the courtyard.

Vegas' smile dropped in confusion, stabbing forwards again to the same result. "Gods, what are you made of, metal?!"

Nash gave him a nervous smile. "I- aha, that's probably my semblance."

"Hm," Gold mused to himself. "That's concerning. Well… we'll just have to keep trying until something works, huh?"

The boy, though, took the opportunity to scramble to his feet, making a dead sprint to the relative safety of the interior campus.

"Thirty-nine, thirty-eight, thirty-seven, thirty-six." He whispered feverishly under his breath as he ran.

Vegas leapt forwards again, tackling the boy to the ground before he could get far. Nash, though, hardly reacted, writhing in the killer's grasp, trying his hardest to free himself.

The golden-haired criminal growled in irritation, throwing the boy into the bench surrounding the fountain- the stone cracked under the blow, but Nash continued fervently trying to climb to his feet and escape. Vegas grabbed the huntsman's ankle, turned on his heel, and hurled him away, crashing into one of the columns with the shattering of marble. Nash hit the ground, then immediately sprang back to his feet-

His blue eyes widened in horror.

Gold was to his side in a heartbeat, vicious knee strike stopping him in his tracks. This time, it seemed to stick, the boy recoiling with a yelp of pain. Vegas grinned. "Now, that's more like it, kiddo!" He dashed forwards again, grabbing the young huntsman by his face, hefting him up and slamming him back into the column, more stray marble falling around them. The killer tossed him to the ground, they boy groaning in pain as he pushed himself to his hands and knees.

Vegas lashed out with a sharp kick, cracking it against Nash's jaw, sending him tumbling further away. "Man," The criminal mused as he lethargically began sauntering towards his opponent. "Not much of a fighter, eh? No mech, and- what do you know? He's just a scared little kid after all. Semblance has a time limit, huh? That's a shame- I was kinda hoping it'd let me just beat the shit outta ya till it gave in.

Nash put a hand onto the fountain's bench, slowly pulling himself to a knee. Gold, though, didn't give him a moment of respite, instead grabbing him by the shoulder, turning him around, terrified blue eyes meeting giddy golden.

"Game! Ovah!" He shouted, before thrusting Dragon's Fang forwards.

At the last moment, Nash brought his hands up in a last ditch effort to guard against the glowing blade.

Vegas ripped his sword away, the boy falling to the ground, screaming in pain, hands clutched tightly to his chest, blood splattering across the pavement. The killer took a step back, leaning to the side with a frown, grimacing in disgust. "Oh- oh, man," He muttered. "That's- that looked like. Gods, that looks like that hurts. Ah- jeez. That's disgusting, kid. I-" He looked away. "Oh, man, I think I'm gonna puke," The killer shook his head, blinking his eyes, mockingly taking a moment to recenter himself.

"Please." Nash pleaded in a sob, shaking his head, body trembling in pain as he continued to clutch his arms close to himself, tears streaming down his face.

"You know what?" Vegas mused, cocking a hip to the side. "You gave me a lot of fun tonight, kid- more than any of the other brats here did. So you know what? I'm not gonna kill you,"

The young huntsman slowly dared to look up, meeting his opponent's gaze.

The killer's sickeningly sweet smile dropped into a frown of remembrance. "Ah, actually, you know what? Orders are orders. Sorry, kid." The grin found its way back to his face as he swung Dragon's Fang down towards the base of Nash's neck.

And then he was gone.

The blonde huntsman stared up at where the criminal was- meeting Shinai's purple eyes, burning with hatred as he stared at his young friend. The samurai kneeled down to the boy. "Nash," The young huntsman didn't really react, curling into himself. "Nash, I need you to help me get you up."

Slowly, Shinai helped him to his feet, the mechanic's arms clutched tightly to his stomach. The duo began to make their way towards the remnants of Phalanx, the samurai ever aware of Gold watching on leerily, face filled with giddy anticipation- but not budging an inch. "I'm being polite here," The killer called out. "I'm being very polite here!"

"Does this thing autopilot?" The samurai asked Nash, ignoring his enemy entirely, the boy shakily nodding yes. "What do I need to hit?" The younger huntsman simply turned his gaze to the array of buttons on the mech's shoulders silently. Shinai helped him up to Phalanx's broad shoulders, letting Nash show him what he needed to press. "Will this take you to Daria?"

Nash nodded.

"Go then."

One last button, and the mech's thrusters lit up, lifting the broken Phalanx off of the ground and carrying the boy away as fast as it could. Shinai watched it go for a long few moments, before it disappeared from sight.

Vegas began to clap. "Very good! Nice timing on the save! Wait, were- were you waiting for that? Just to make the last minute heroic entrance? Cause, man, if you were that's- that's more fucked up than what I did,"

Shinai looked to the ground, shoulders beginning to tremble, not yet turned towards his enemy.

"Oh, come on, what? What was I supposed to do- hey, he was the one who held his hands up! If anything, I'm the victim here!"

The samurai turned on his heel, ripping Shi En from its sheathe, purple eyes burning with intensity as he began to march towards the killer, face a rare scowl.

Vegas' grin widened, golden eyes shrinking manically, Dragon's Fang coming to rest on the ground, simmering. "Good. Now let's finish this rightly."

Rainier continued to run, muscles screaming in protest as he pushed himself further and further, trying in vain to keep up his frenzied pace. He skid to a stop, turning into an alleyway, sucking in a breath as a handful of beowolves bounded past him, letting out a haunting unified howl. The faunus took the opportunity to catch his breath, doubling over and bracing himself against the wall, huffing in exhaustion, sweat pouring down his face.

He closed his eyes, nodding to himself as he built the remnants of his resolve back up, before straightening, taking a deep breath- and then burst away again, sucking wind as he ran.

The Vacuoan warrior didn't make it a few hundred meters before the ground shook beneath him, nearly causing him to lose his balance and fall, pale yellow eyes wide. The cacophonous cracking of rock filled the night air, getting him to turn on his heel, looking to Mountain Glenn in the distance.

Oracle let a yelp, nearly tumbling to the ground as the earth shook beneath her boots, only keeping her feet as Lance grabbed hold of her wrist, spinning the duo around, the gunslinger stopping at the end of the motion to unload a cylinder into the nearest grimm. "Aight, what the hell now?!"

"Why is the mountain shaking." Lance asked out loud, shoulders slumping.

She followed his gaze, mouth falling agape. "That's… a great question, hon."

Remy slowly straightened up off of the hulking alpha ursine, wisps of black smoke rising off of his wicked silver glaive, shaking his head as he looked around at the remains of the ursa's pack- and then nearly fell from his perch as the ground trembled under him, yellow eyes snapping to the far off mountain, widening in horrified realization.

"No…" He whispered. "No, no, no, NO!"

The whole of the hulking mountain trembled, cracks rising from the base, spider-webbing up towards the peak, boulders beginning to fall from its face. Then, all at once, the top half of the mountain shattered.

And rising from the husk of the landmass was a unfathomably enormous grimm, shaped like a dragon, two massive red-lined wings unfurling and blocking out the moon, white-skull prominent even from the city and academy. It let loose an ear-shattering screech, the heavy beats of the wings painfully audible as it set glowing gold-and-red eyes onto Beacon's clocktower, taking off at an insane pace.

Worse, though; where it flew, enormous black drops of liquid fell from its body, crashing to the ground below- and slowly forming into the shapes of other grimm, letting loose roars of their own as they followed their progenitor to the city.

Gold cackled as both he and Shinai lost their balance with the Wyvern's entrance. "That's the biggun!"

The samurai looked passed his opponent, hissing in a breath. "Why?! What purpose does any of this serve?!"

The killer froze, mulling it over. "I'm conflicted! I either tell ya, because you're going to die anyways. Or, I don't tell ya, cause you're going to die anyways. I… you know what, samurai? I'll humor you. You did the godsdamned impossible and beat the wolf, so I think you've earned that much."

"You…" Shinai's eyes widened. "You rigged the fights."

"Gods, you kids are smart. And we would have gotten away with it too, if it wasn't… well, we're going to get away with it anyways, but, y'know. No, yeah! We totally did! Blondie's attack on poor little Mercury? Us! Your fight that should have turned into a bloodbath, if the wolf wasn't such a pissing coward? Us! Pyrrha and the dead bot?! Us! Everything you kids have ever done… was because of us!" He cackled. "We're friggin' rockstars!"

Without warning, he charged forwards, Dragon's Fang nearly making contact with Shinai, before the Patch warrior backstepped away, the sizzling blade carving through the concrete like butter. Vegas looked back up to him with a manic smile, ripping his sword free. "See!" He swung wildly, missing again. "After tonight, everything comes crashing down! Everything!"

Shinai dodged away again, before dashing forwards, Shi En gleaming in the pale moonlight as it swung through the air, nearly catching his opponent before Gold similarly dodged away, the duo going back and forth.

"These schools, these kingdoms! They're all coming crashing down!"

The samurai teleported away at the last moment, a vicious stab hitting nothing but smoke, before the teen reappeared a few meters back, purple eyes narrowed. "Be that as it may- you're not going to be here to see it happen."

Daria stared in awe at the Wyvern flying overhead, dozens of fresh grimm falling from its body. She swallowed hard, looking to the other horrified students around her. "WELL?!" She barked. "Fight or leave, I don't care which!"

The other huntsmen jolted back into action, weapons flying through the air as they worked to fight off the ever-increasing grimm threat, while dodging stray Atlesian shots, and the odd White Fang thug, the school grounds devolving into a wild melee.

The leader of DRGN perked to attention at the familiar whirring of Phalanx, turning on her heel to the sound- and then sucked in a shocked breath. The mech floated through the air towards her, head carved in half, one leg limp, one arm missing entirely, its green lights faded and flickering, thrusters on the back spluttering. It came to a stop a few meters from her, crashing to the ground with the loud clatter of steel on concrete and asphalt.

Nash went tumbling down with it, small form curled onto the ground, sobbing softly.

Daria disengaged from the fight, making a break for her partner, eyes wide. "Nash- Nash, baby, talk to me. Talk to me!"

The boy slowly looked up to her with red-ringed eyes, face streaked with tears, hands held tightly against his chest, and the diminutive huntress gasped in horror at the sight of him, ringblades attached back to her belt.

"Nash?" Nora asked in quiet shock, slowly walking up to the duo with wide, blue eyes.

"Help me get him up!" Daria barked, tears welling in her eyes. The ginger huntress nodded, swallowing hard, hefting the boy up as if he weighed nothing.

"What- where-"

"Anywhere but here! And we need to hurry!"

Nora nodded. "Right. Ren!"

The ninja turned from his current battle, ducking under a wide swing from a beowolf. "Yes?!" He barked, looking irritated with the distraction.

"Daria and I are leaving!"

"…Why?!"

"Nash…" She swallowed hard. "Nash is hurt!"

Ren's pink eyes widened, and he nodded. "Be safe!"

"Come on." Daria hissed, pushing the ginger forwards as they took off at full sprints from the battle, weaving their way from the school to the city beyond, the leader of DRGN fighting off any hostiles that got too close to the trio, green discs and waves of energy flying through the air.

Nora ran a step-ahead of her friend, clutching Nash tightly to her chest, blue eyes scanning frantically for any sign of an evacuation or safe point.

She jolted on a whim, instincts screaming at her, turning to Daria in horror. "Catch!" She yelled, hurling the boy away. Nash crashed into his leader, the girl barely keeping a standing base as she turned to the ginger huntress in confusion.

She didn't get a chance to question Nora- as a beringel came charging through one of the buildings, colliding into the Vale huntress bodily, sending her flying away, before catching her in a mighty paw, slamming her into the ground. Daria's eyes widened, looking back and forth between Nash and her fellow huntress.

Ren came flying over the grimm's shoulder, StormFlowers ripping into its flesh, firing round after round, Nora coming crashing to the ground; on the other side, more huntsmen were charging forwards to join the fight, and the ninja turned furious pink eyes to Daria. "GO!" He barked, voice louder than she had ever heard it.

The girl nodded shakily, then turned and ran, the sounds of battle fading behind her.

Vegas came charging through the purple smoke, bellowing out manic laughter, swiping wildly at the samurai. Shinai continued to dodge away from the killer, using the flat of his blade to roll off any attack that came too close, the heat of Dragon's Fang radiating against his skin. Finally, the huntsman found an opening, planting his boot squarely across his opponent's face, sending him sliding meters backwards.

Gold came to a stop, turned away from the blow; and slowly craned his face back towards Shinai, grin not dropping. "…Got another one in ya?"

The samurai held Shi En at the ready, refusing to take the bait, steel blade aimed steadfastly at the psychopath. Vegas began to saunter tauntingly closer, swaying as he walked. "How long'd you fight the wolf for, huh? Ten minutes? Twenty minutes? Twenty-five? Thirty? How much aura did you even have left? It's been, what, an hour? Two, since it ended? How much you really got left, samurai? You couldn't even beat me when you were swingin' at a hundred! You really going to throw your life away? Here? Like this? To me?!"

Shinai scowled. "I may fall. But not today. And it won't be at your hand."

Vegas stopped, chuckling. "You sure about that?!" He charged forwards again, Dragon's Fang soaring through the air, missing the samurai's face by mere centimeters; the Vale huntsman responding by spinning around his opponent, boot planted into the small of Gold's back, sending him hurtling forwards to crash into a column, the pillar shattering from the impact.

The killer, though, quickly shot back to his feet, irritatedly marching towards his opponent, smile dropped. "Fine then! No more playing around!" He roared and leapt into the air-

Poof.

Shinai reappeared beneath Vegas, grabbing him by the ankle and ripping back down to the ground, face meeting concrete. The samurai flipped over the killer, boot stomping down brutally on the back of the blonde's head, ground splintering under the blow. Gold was quick to respond though, clambering to his feet and slashing viciously at the samurai, blade meeting blade as the older fighter pushed his entire body weight against Shinai's.

The huntsman's eyes widened as he stared at the spot the blades met, the glowing gold of Dragon's Fang slowly beginning to carve into Shi En's steel, and he slipped to the side in desperation, letting Vegas' force carry him forwards to carve through the bench of one of Beacon's fountains, steam rising through the air as his blade plunged into the water. Gold growled in frustration, turning on his heel with a steaming arm, the two fighters reaching another impasse, staring one another down.

"You're going to die here! Just accept it!"

"'Accept the things that you cannot change; change the things that you cannot accept.'" Shinai spat back resolutely, katana unwavering.

Vegas began to tremble in rage- then rushed forwards with a scream of fury.

The sound of metal clashing against metal spilled out into the night, the two warriors fighting desperately against one another, neither the killer nor the samurai giving an inch.

Daria stumbled to a stop, body screaming at her in agony, nearly dropping Nash to the ground. The Atlesian soldiers manning the safe zone jolted in surprise at the sudden appearance of the girl. "Ma'am!" One called out, rushing towards her. "Are you alright-"

"Help him." She muttered tiredly, letting him take the unconscious boy from her arms, collapsing so that she was laying on her forearms, trying her hardest to steady her breathing. Another soldier came over to her side, throwing a blanket around her.

"Are you alright?" She asked. "Are you hurt?"

The diminutive huntress shook her head shakily. "I'm fine- Nash. Nash is hurt. Help him. Please."

"We've got him. Come on," The Atlesian helped her up, taking her towards one of the airbuses- before the short huntress shook her head.

"No," Daria muttered. "Not without my team."

"Okay," The soldier said comfortingly, helping her sit down. "We can't wait too long, though."

"That's… fine." The leader of DRGN managed to utter, shifting over so that she was sitting next to Nash, the Atlesian medics seeing to his injuries. She reached a shaky hand out, burying it in his hair, head falling as the stress finally washed over her, tears welling in her eyes, shoulders beginning to shake.

Even as the sounds of battle continued to rage in the background.

"You get the feeling this night's not even close to being over?" One soldier asked, voice filled with exhaustion.

Another one sighed, shaking his head. "I've got the feeling this night's not gonna be over for a long time."

A/N: I. AM. ALIVE.

I HAVE RETURNED.

THE RUMORS OF MY DEMISE HAVE BEEN GREATLY EXAGGERATED.

I'm back and all is right with the world.

Right, so, update! For those of you who don't follow my Tweeter account- I got a concussion! It was great and I never want to do that again. It's been a hella slow recovery, but we have made it, blessed be.

There are those of you who may be sitting here thinking... 'haven't I read this before'? Yeah, you probably did. I needed to redo it because I was embarrassed to have this on the internet. My hands had been sullied for even writing it. Now I'm happy with it. Hooray.

But, while I was recovering from smashing my noggin against the pavement- I have been keeping busy! I went through and cleaned up a lot of things I noticed in my extended forced vacation, so that's nice. I also rewrote the first two chapters of Volume 2! So they're actually readable now. Again, like the Vol 1 rewrites, you don't have to go back and reread them if you don't want to. There's nothing *new* per se.

Alongside that, I finally finished all of the concept arts for Teams DRGN and SOUL- all of which can be found at my twitter account, Infernokota.

Other than that, I'm finally starting to get better, so fingers crossed that we can finish Volume 3 before something else horrible happens.

In the meanwhile; I've been Infernokota,

Cheers.