Crue stood in Amity, his fists clenched tight. Around him, the crowd cheered in excitement, as though the incident the night before had completely left their heads. He rolled his shoulders uncomfortably.

He was wearing his leather jacket he had bought when he first put on the guise of The Wolf. And resting on his back beneath it was his folded-up mask. He was both more and less worried about this match than the last.

He had told Ironwood about Pyrrha's Semblance, and he had hopefully put the caveat in place. All he had to do was find Emerald and prevent her from using her Semblance. Hopefully via unconsciousness. He hadn't brought his hurl with him, the jacket not allowing it, instead leaving it in his locker. Though he did have another weapon in place.

He looked down at his hands, the green gauntlets shining brightly. There was a surprising weight to them. The same gauntlets Ironwood accused of being his, and that Cinder presumably planted in an attempt to get him arrested permanently this time. Well, they were his now. And he was keen to show the sharp parts to Cinder personally.

He barely managed to convince the General they weren't actually his. But that didn't mean he wasn't keeping them. If Cinder wanted to give him weapons, who was he to say no. He was stood in the competitors seating, scanning the crowd for the tell-tale sign of green hair.

"Crue!" A voice called. The Faunus turned, seeing Ruby jogging towards him. Her silver eyes were wide as she approached. "You and Sun aren't the only ones who saw something weird! Coco saw it too!"

"How did you know about that?" Crue replied immediately. It was the wrong answer, or maybe the right one, he thought as Ruby's eyes widened even further.

"You knew?! Why didn't you tell us?! Why didn't you tell Yang!?" She looked angrily at Crue, who felt himself wilt under her gaze.

"I tried to tell Ironwood, seeing as he was the one interrogating you. And then I went to Ozpin." Crue explained. "And I told Yang I believed her, and everything else!"

"I had to hear it off Velvet!" Ruby frowned, jabbing a finger on the boy's chest. "Why couldn't you-" She suddenly fell silent, looking past Crue.

The Faunus turned but couldn't for the life of him make out what Ruby had seen. "Emerald's here?"

Crue's heart stopped, as he finally spotted the green hair. He turned on his heel immediately and grabbed Ruby by the shoulders. "Ruby, I need you to trust me right now." The young girl met his eyes, her own shining with concern.

"It's Emerald. She made Yang see Mercury attack her." Ruby's mouth fell open, but Crue continued. "She tricked her into hitting Mercury, his legs aren't even real!"

"What?! How do you know all this Crue?!" Ruby squirmed under his grasp.

"Because I've seen it happen before. Because up until a few months ago you weren't even real." Crue thought to himself. "Because Emerald isn't a good person." He said instead. "She and Mercury are working with Cinder. They want something in Beacon, and they're willing to kill for it."

"This, this doesn't make any sense! They were our friends, they were-" Ruby suddenly gasped, looking up at Crue sorrowfully, her silver eyes shimmering. Then, she whispered a word that made his heart break. "Polly?"

Crue's head dropped, unable to look Ruby in the eye, even as he heard her let out a soft: "No."

"She, she doesn't want to be a part of this." Crue said. "That's how I know. That's why I was so angry to Cinder all the time. I was meant to help her. To save her." He felt his breath catch. "I couldn't."

"But why didn't you tell someone? Why didn't you tell Ozpin, or Ironwood?" Ruby asked, gripping onto Crue's hands as they rested on her shoulders.

"Ironwood nearly arrested me because I knew what Penny was. If I told him all of this, I don't think I'd've been your brother much longer." The mention of the familial term caused Ruby to calm down, at least a little.

She nodded, almost reassuring herself. "What do we do?" She asked, her silver eyes filled with determination. Crue managed to smile genuinely for the first time that day.

"Contact everyone you can." He looked up, and realised Ruby was on her own. "Wait. Where are the others?" He looked round.

"Yang wasn't feeling up to coming to the stadium after everything that happened, so her and Weiss and Blake all stayed in the fair." Ruby explained.

"Call them. Now. Tell them everything." He said, panic seeping into his voice. If the three were together, that was good. But they were still on ground zero. Ruby nodded, taking out her Scroll and starting a team call immediately. Crue turned away to doublecheck that Emerald hadn't moved.

He located his enemy with ease. The green hair standing out once he knew what to look for. "Right. You can run round the arena to get her, right Ruby?" He kept his eyes on the illusionist.

"Ruby?" He turned round, finding the girl missing. He panicked. His head jerked every which way, before he saw it. A maintenance door swinging shut. "No." He whispered, his body moving towards the door already.

It froze, as he heard a booming voice. "It looks like our first contender is, Penny Polendina! From Atlas!" Crue span round, his eyes staring at the spinning screen. "And her opponent will be…"

"Pyrrha Nikos! From Beacon!"

"He never put in the caveat." Crue thought numbly, his arms falling to his side. His attention was distracted when he noticed a white figure suddenly shoot to their feet a few dozen seats down. It was Ironwood. He put a hand to his ear, attempting to say something.

He must have realised something was wrong, the way his head jerked up and began to quickly look around. Somehow, his eyes landed Crue. The Faunus looked at the General, and then at the fighters taking their place on the stage.

"Fighters, are you ready?!" Oobleck's voice carried far and wide.

Two girls with red hair. Two girls Crue cared for deeply. And he was going to lose them. Again. He sprinted down the stairs toward Ironwood, as the General did the same towards him. "Cullen! What do you know about-" "The Maiden is in danger!"

His words stopped Ironwood dead in his tracks. "How do you-" "There's no time." Crue swung his arm angrily. There was no time for his fears anymore. No time at all. "Penny is in danger! All of Vale is in danger!" Ironwood's jaw was firm as his eyes scanned Crue's.

"Talk."

"Cinder Fall, Mercury Black, Emerald Sustrasi." Crue rattled off. "They're trying to get the Maiden. They're all working for her." Crue emphasised. Ironwood's eyes widened, his hand briefly going to his hip, where Crue saw an absolute hand-cannon of a gun.

"You are The Wolf…"

"I am." Crue met the General's gaze, unblinking. "You were right. But I've only ever been trying to stop them!" His pleading gaze was interrupted by Port.

"My word! What a tremendous display from Miss Polendina!" Crue and Ironwood looked to the battlefield. Pyrrha's weapons had been torn from her grasp, and Penny was on the opposite side of the stage, her arms raised as her swords were poised behind her.

Crue watched as Penny thrust her swords towards Pyrrha, and the Faunus acted without thinking. He reached forward, shouldering the General as he ripped his gun from its holster. His eyes found green. He took aim at Emerald from across the stadium and fired.

The bullet flew, as Pyrrha threw her arms out with a wave of magnetic force. The world seemed to move in slow motion, all noise drowned out as Ironwood ripped the gun from his hands and grabbed him by the scruff. He watched, as Penny's blades were flung back at her.

The bullet impacted. Missing Emerald.

Instead, it struck her seat, sending whatever innards the chair was made of across the girl. The impact startled her, causing the thief to leap out of her seat and look at the impact. Crue dared to look at the battlefield.

He felt like throwing up.

Penny's arm and leg were torn clean off, her body lying in a heap on the ground with her swords scattered. "NO!" He screamed, gripping the railing as Ironwood let him go, his own body slack from shock.

All around him, the crowd let out shocks and gasps of horror. Crue's eyes began to water, but they dried quickly. Before his very eyes, Penny moved. An erratic flailing of her arm, but she moved. The body attempted to right itself, falling over multiple times as it was missing two of its limbs.

The Faunus felt a wide smile appear on his face. "She's alive!" He said, glancing up to Ironwood. The smile died as the world turned red.

"This, is not a tragedy." Crue's blood turned to ice, as he looked up to the screens. The symbol of a queen's chess piece stood out against a red background. "This was not an accident. This is what happens, when you hand over your trust, your safety, your children, to men who claim to be our guardians. But are, in reality, nothing more than men."

Crue turned to Ironwood, who was looking up at the screens equally as angry. The Faunus got his attention, and quickly gestured to the communications booth. Ironwood nodded, before shooting Crue a dangerous glare that suggested he wasn't done with him.

"Our academies' headmasters wield more power than most armies, and one was audacious enough to control both." Crue quickly looked around, the various students that surrounded him all looking up at the screens.

"They cling to this power in the name of peace, and yet, what do we have here? One nation's attempt at a synthetic army, maimed and dismembered by another's star pupil." Pyrrha hadn't yet managed to come out of her shell shock, as Penny was desperately trying to balance on one foot, the rest of her body jerked unsteadily.

"What need would Atlas have for a soldier disguised as an innocent little girl? I don't think the Grimm can tell the difference." Crue quickly ran along the competitors stands, taking out his Scroll.

He didn't know how far along Neo was in her mission to free Roman, but he needed to reaffirm she wouldn't implant the virus. He rang her number as Cinder continued to speak. "And what, I ask you, is Ozpin teaching his students?"

"Well, this shouldn't be a surprise from a man who would allow dangerous individuals into a school." Crue froze, his Scroll at his ear. "Certainly, no one would give refuge to a Faunus who simply appeared out of nowhere, with a combative nature and a convenient excuse of amnesia to prevent questions about his past."

Crue stared up at the screens. "A Faunus who was already under suspicion of Atlas." He saw himself fighting Winter Schnee on multiple screens, still with the red glow. "But, Professor Ozpin protects his favourites, and ignored what valid reasons Atlas had to arrest him. Even if they lead to this very moment. Isn't that right…"

"Crue Cullen."

Crue was looking at himself once more, and so was everyone in Remnant. Each camera had turned to show the Faunus, whose face was frozen. In fear. "I pissed her off too much." He realised, much too late.

She was blaming him. For everything. Faced with the sudden awareness of what Cinder was doing, and that he had no way to stop it, Crue did what he did best.

He swore.

"Oh, you lying cunt."

His swear repeated, his voice coming through as loudly and clearly as Cinder's did. There was a moment of silence, as the entire world heard him insult Cinder Fall directly. Crue turned his head to look at his Scroll at a glacial pace.

It was bright red, with the virus' symbol on it. Several things clicked into place at that moment. The Virus had been uploaded. It had to be from someone else within Salem's circle. He stole a Scroll from Watts. It had a duplicate of the virus-

Crue could've shot himself right then and there. He had the controller to the virus in his Scroll this whole time?! He acted quickly and brought the Scroll back to him. "Awfully convenient for you to throw the one person who knows who you are under the bus."

His voice echoed once more, as he glared directly at a camera, pouring all his hate and rage into his next words. "Cind-." His words cut out with a hiss of static.

"And more proof." Cinder's voice came through once more, though thanks to the constant hours he spent badgering her, Crue could hear her anger seeping through. "That who our leader's allow into their schools is flawed."

"I'm not done with you!" Crue yelled into the Scroll, but none of his words were repeated. He glared at his Scroll, before turning around and freezing. Several students from Beacon, people he considered friends, were staring at him.

With distrust.

"Crue?" He looked to the one who spoke. It was Velvet, the Rabbit Faunus' ears nearly curled up as she stared at the one she thought was her friend.

"I-" His voice caught. He swallowed. "I'm not who you all think I am." He admitted. Every eye analysed his move, and Crue reminded himself these were trained fighters. Who could, and just might, destroy him. "But I'm not with her!"

He jabbed a finger back to point at the screens, where Cinder was continuing to talk. He saw a few bodies shift, reaching for something Crue could only assume were their weapons. The Faunus closed his eyes as he awaited their judgement.

"I believe him."

Crue opened his eyes at the gruff voice that spoke up. To his amazement, Cardin stood before him. His indigo eyes bored into Crue's. "You're a lot of things, Crue. But you're definitely not someone who would do all this."

The mace wielder turned round to face the crowd. "And none of you should've doubted that!" He yelled. At his words, the rest of his team joined him in standing before Crue protectively. Russel, Dove and Sky all dared the crowd to move.

"No duh." Another voice spoke up. Crue looked to the side, seeing Nora raising a fist. "He's the 'Unwavering Wolf', he wouldn't help bad guys." Next to her, Ren nodded in agreement. The Faunus' eyes landed on Jaune, who was still staring at Pyrrha.

Crue would've said something in gratitude, but a blaring alarm had other plans. The entirety of the stadium looked upward, as the screens suddenly flashed orange. "Alert. Incoming Grimm attack. Threat level: Eight."

The colosseum was plunged into chaos. "Please seek shelter in a calm and orderly manner." The stadium goers did not seem keen to follow that set of instructions, as civilians herded themselves towards the exists with no regard for each other.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please." Ironwoods voice came through the speakers. "There is no need to panic."

The Nevermore that screeched in anger from atop the stadium disagreed. Crue glanced upward and felt himself fill with rage. It had been a while since he'd fought a Nevermore, and he was eager to pluck its feathers.

"Pyrrha!" His rage vanished, as he turned to see Jaune yelling to the stage. Pyrrha was still there, now holding onto a one-legged Penny. The two were slowly making their way off the arena, but it wasn't fast enough.

The shattering of glass echoed around the stadium, as Crue leapt over the barrier alongside Jaune. His Scroll was already out, summoning his locker to him. It would take a moment to get there, and as the Nevermore dove down, Crue realised it was a moment he didn't have.

The Grimm slammed down, creating a shockwave that sent those on the stage flying back. Crue hit the ground rolling and managed to look up in time to watch history repeat itself. A terrifying bird, attacking two redheaded girls that were holding onto each other for dear life.

"No." Crue's breath came out as barely a whisper, as his eyes suddenly shone gold. The ground beneath him cracked as he surged forward, rocketing towards the Grimm with a roar. The claws on his new weapons shot out, as he intended to skewer the beast that dared attack his sist- Penny and Pyrrha.

Someone beat him to it. A blur of red shot by, impacting the Nevermore and causing it to screech in pain. Crue hit it a second later, his claws digging into the Grimm as he looked to the side. Silver eyes met his and stared at him in determination.

In sync, they pulled their blades out and leapt back from the Grimm, Crue sheathing his claws mid-air, landing in front of the prone redheads. "F-f-f-riend Ru-ruby? F-friend Cr-cr-cr-crue?" The two spared a glance behind them, seeing Penny's broken form.

Green sparks of electricity rained from her severed arm and leg, as she struggled to move without aid. Crue looked to Pyrrha, her green eyes wide in terror.

Crue felt himself fill with rage, as Ruby brandished one of Penny's swords at the Nevermore and screamed. "LEAVE THEM ALONE!" The avian Grimm took off with a screech, beating wings filling the air.

It circled once, before diving down towards the four. Crue's entire body tensed, as he waited for the moment to strike. It never came, as a barrage of lockers suddenly struck the Nevermore, clipping its wings and sending crashing against the ground.

It came to a grinding halt, just in front of Ruby and Crue. The two looked up, as the lockers opened, revealing an arsenal of weapons. He spotted his own hurley, and quickly concentrated on it with his Semblance.

It flew towards him, as he caught it once before swinging it round. Numerous other students stood proudly atop the Grimm, their weapons ready for action. The action appeared immediately, as the Nevermore shook.

The Huntsmen instantly sprang into action. Crue leapt up as Ren slashed down, both of them taking out an eye each of the Nevermore as Nora slammed her hammer down on the Grimm's head. Yatsuhashi was brought up high, alongside Sage as they brought their claymores down, carving the Nevermore's neck off.

It hit the ground with a sick thump, before dissolving into nothingness. Once the adrenaline had worn off, Crue turned to see Ruby holding Penny. Next to her, Pyrrha had tears in her eyes. "I-I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I tried to stop but…"

"D-D-Do not wo-worry P-Pyrrha Nikos." Penny's voice slurred. "This-this-this wasn't your fault." One of her eyes began to grow and shrink, as the noise of motors whirred. Crue leaned down to pick Penny up, placing her broken side against his body and holding his hand under her functioning arm.

"She's right." Jaune stated, both his weapons and Pyrrha's in hand. "Whoever was on the microphone. They're the ones that did this." He held the Spartan's weapons out to her. "And we have to make sure, they don't hurt anyone else."

"It was Cinder Fall." Crue spoke up. The crowd turned to him observing the Faunus uneasily. He was in no position to fight, with Penny leaning against one shoulder for support. "Her, Emerald Sustrasi and Mercury Black. Emerald made Pyrrha see things that weren't there."

Crue turned to look at Sun, then to Coco. "And it wasn't just Pyrrha." The eyes of those who had fallen for the trick as well widened.

"Hey that's right! You looked like you were gonna stab me after the match ended!" He remembered.

"And she singled out you, specifically." A Huntsman with dark skin and pink hair spoke up, gripping his weapon tightly.

Crue swallowed once. "I've gotten in her way a lot, and because of that she tried to have Atlas arrest me and have me hurt a friend." He met the accusers' eyes. "This was probably her last 'fuck you' to me."

Whatever the boy was going to say in response was cut off by several loud roars. The group looked up, as Ren stated the obvious. "Griffons…" Several large Grimm prowled the rim of the Colosseum. They were quadrupedal, but also possessed wings, talons and a beak.

And as far as Crue was concerned, that was enough like a bird to warrant some anger. "P-P-Please lea-leave me." The Faunus froze, turning to look at Penny. "I will-will onl-only slow you dow-dow-down."

Crue's mouth was dry as he spoke. "Can't do that Penny." He told her, forcing his voice to remain steady. "Can't. Won't. Won't lose you again." The sound of a gunshot echoed, as Crue whipped his head round to see the barrel of a blunderbuss smoking.

"Students. I think it would be best for you to leave." Professor Port instructed, placing a hand on his hip as his colleague stood next to him. Ruby tried to speak up, to say they could fight. But Oobleck interrupted her.

"Miss Rose! This will surely be a day that goes down in Remnants history. I'd prefer it, if my students could live to tell about it." His words said, Ruby grew a small smile.

She nodded, grabbing Crescent Rose from her locker and shifting it into it's scythe form. She slammed it down as she gave her instructions. "Let's go!" With that, every student made their way out of the arena.

"Mr. Cullen." Oobleck spoke up, causing Crue to freeze in place. He turned back to look at the Doctor, swallowing as he wondered what accusations he may have. The taller man's blue eyes shone over his spectacles as he spoke.

"Do well to remember the reason you became a Huntsman, even if you made the reason up on the spot." The Doctor smiled kindly, before turning back to back with Port.

Crue swallowed once, nodding as he quickly made his way out of the arena, ignoring Penny's requests to leave her behind. Finally, the android asked a different question. "What are your reasons for being a Huntsman?"

Crue nearly stumbled but managed to carry on. There was a brief moment of happiness, that Penny could speak properly now, but it was drowned out by everything else going on. "To protect the ones I care about."

"I see." Penny answered. "You care for me? But your knowledge of me got you in trouble."

"Doesn't matter." Crue answered shortly. "I'm not letting you die. Not again…" He whispered.

"I have not died before."

Crue cursed as he realised Penny had heard him. "You have to me. And I refuse to let history repeat itself." He made the mistake of looking at Penny's face. Green eyes, framed by ginger hair. His heart ached, as he was back in his own world, watching his sisters die. And now, he might experience it all over again.

"You appear to be in distress." Penny stated. Crue couldn't help but let out a soft laugh.

"Are you sure you're one to talk? You're down an arm and a leg." He nodded to her missing parts.

"This is detrimental, yes." She nodded. "But I have closed my circuits, and therefore am I able to run at close to full power." She glanced downward. "I suppose hop at close to full power would be more accurate in this instance." Her eyes, one of the pupils dim and mechanical, suddenly met Crue's as Penny smiled.

"I believe I just made a joke. Was it a good one?" She tilted her head as she looked at the Faunus. Tears welled up in Crue's eyes, as he let out another sad laugh.

"It was a great one, Penny."

…

"When Crue said something bad was gonna happen, I didn't think he meant this!" Yang exclaimed, firing off a blast from Ember Celica into a Beowulf that was about to sink its fangs into another student.

Yang vaguely recognised her as the sniper that had fought against Team JNPR in the tournament. The girl looked up in shock, not realising how close to death she had just come. Her eyes met Yang's, some form of recognition showing on her face.

She mouthed a 'thank you' before raising her own rifle and taking out a Nevermore that had someone in its talons. "He always under exaggerates the seriousness of things." Weiss agreed, several spinning glyphs appearing on the ground as they impaled a multitude of Grimm.

"Ruby said he knew who was behind this. At least, that's what she was saying before the call ended." Blake spoke up, appearing from the shadows as three Creeps dissipated into nothingness. Her words caused Yang's eyes to flash red as she clenched her fists.

Ruby had called them suddenly, explaining that Crue knew who was behind the illusions, and that worse was to come. And then, just before she could say who, a gunshot sounded out on the call as it ended abruptly. Then the broadcast started.

Whoever was behind it blamed the Academies, blamed Ozpin and Ironwood. And then blamed Crue. Yang stamped down on the tiny part of her that wondered if they were telling the truth. The Faunus came to her defence immediately when she was under suspicion, so she'd do the same.

"She'll be fine, Yang."

The brawler hadn't noticed her fist shaking until Blake managed to still it with her own hand. "She better be." Yang nodded. "Or I'm going to get Crue and recreate our first fight." She cocked her gauntlets, as several Grimm began to charge towards them.

Before any of the three could move, slashes of red and white appeared, mowing down the Grimm where they stood. "You two?!" Yang exclaimed, seeing a pair of twins in white and red appear from the dying monsters.

"Blondie?!" Melanie and Miltia said as one.

"What are you doing here? Are you part of this?!" The blondes' eyes flashed red as she shook.

"Yeah, Blondie. We're part of an evil group that wants to destroy the city we live in." Melanie responded, placing a hand on her hip as she stared at Yang in annoyance. Her twin elbowed her with a glare.

"Crue warned us about this." Miltia explained, causing the members of Team RWBY to still. "And we owe him for saving our asses. Twice." The twins looked to each other, before back to the trio. "Junior would've come too, but he's working on saving as many people as he can."

"Who knew being a mob boss with a bunch of goons would come in handy for making sure Vale would be safe." Melanie said sarcastically, before swinging a leg up as a Beowulf attempted to maul her.

"Can you hurry up and do something? Your goody-goody school is getting attacked as well, you know?" The girl in white continued.

"What do you mean?" Yang asked, still holding some level of distrust for the twins.

"There are White Fang bringing Grimm into the school." Miltia answered.

"The White Fang are here?!" Blake exclaimed. The twins nodded in sync.

"We had some guys up on Amity, and that was the last thing we heard from them." Melanie answered, her usual bite gone.

The girls remained silent for a moment, carnage and screams surrounding them. "What do we do?" Weiss asked quietly.

"We do our job." Yang said, her eyes flaring red. She looked to the twins. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry, about back then."

"You should be." Melanie agreed, her bite back in full force as she dashed off, slicing through Grimm like butter.

"Kick Cinder's ass, and we'll call it even." Miltia nodded, before running after her sister, claws slashing and swinging with abandon.

"So, it was her." Weiss realised. Yang and Blake found it difficult to breathe all of a sudden. "Crue nearly said her name. Before he was cut off. I thought, I thought they were our friends."

"Was that why he always pissed her off?" Yang wondered out loud. "Cause he knew?"

"But, that would mean Crue knew this would happen since…" Since the moment he stepped foot in Beacon, Blake couldn't bring herself to say.

"We can ask him ourselves." Weiss said, spinning Myrtenaster round. "Once we find him, we can have a long talk with our dear brother." The term snapped Blake and Yang out of their doubts. Weiss was right.

They could get answers from the Faunus once the job was done. Though, as the three ran off towards Beacon, there was a single flaw in their plan that fluttered through each of their minds.

"As long as he manages to stay alive that long."

Yeah, let's hope he manages that at least. Everything Crue has done to prevent the Fall is coming into place. Telling Pyrrha about the hallucinations to prevent her from going all out, letting Yang be able to go outside and telling the twins about the Fall.

Hell, even Mentis helped Crue here. If it wasn't for the fact he didn't leave Cardin in the hands of Alice, he probably would have been the first to attack him. Instead, he defended him. Now we just have to wait and see how well everything else will go.

Until Next Time

-Friday, The Author