Yang, Ren, and Ermac were the last to enter Ozpin's office, led by Ruby who was then handed a bottle of water by Glynda. The three new arrivals were shocked when they saw the CRDL boys in front of Ozpin and three amulets showing the other headmasters before Jaune briefed them on everything. Soon after, the lack of shock on their faces made it clear they were now up to date.
"Is everyone here Mr. Arc?" Ozpin asked.
"Professors Oobleck and Port will not be coming; they are currently holding Seido back in the frontline. Professor Peach and others were successfully stunned, but secured by students. Other than that, we are all here sir!" Jaune answered back.
"Anything else you want to ask?" the headmaster then asked the other students. They shook their heads in return. "Good! Any ideas then?".
With that said, Weiss jumped in. "If the academies and the four of you are the main targets, shouldn't we evacuate you to a safe location?".
Glynda and the headmasters, however, answered the same thing. "NO!".
The shock and confusion on the students were something that made Glynda give a quick explanation. "Please understand, the destruction of the academies is something that we must not allow to happen. Call it as you may, but they can't be left alone either. We must stop Seido before they deploy those ships". The students were not entirely sure of the reasoning as to why the headmasters wouldn't leave for safety, but right now it wasn't the moment to fight the chain of command.
Unknown to them was that if the academies were destroyed, the chance of the vaults being discovered was more than certain; and without academies to fight back, Salem was certainly to be given half of the information she needed without moving a finger. Also getting themselves exposed in the open was a greater risk than waiting indoors anyway.
After Glynda's explanation, Qrow took charge of the conversation. "Ok, so we have one of two options: We either destroy the scramblers to help stop the Grimm attacks and gain our troops back; or we go to their place and stop the ships from departing. If you ask me, I say we go trash them!".
"I vote against!" Ironwood said soon after. "Just like us, Hotaru must be keeping control of everything from somewhere; and I am more than willing to bet he is commanding all from inside the Night Beetle".
"Meaning?" Yang then asked, and Ironwood answered.
"Meaning, that there are more than just guards in there".
At that, Fujin, using his own amulet, spoke. "And by that, he means Hotaru… and Onaga, will be there".
Silence fell upon the room. They all had known or seen Ryu one way or another, but the warnings from Raiden and Fujin about the dragon monster were more than enough to make them unsure about a fight against him.
Ironwood then spoke once again. "Attacking them is also only half the job. We might enter, but if we are delayed in any way, then we might also be giving them enough time to get the ships ready".
"May we, General?" everyone heard a male voice say from behind Ironwood. James, in turn, moved away until Johnny was now in his place.
"Ok, as far as we see it if we get back communications not only will we be able to help the situation at the walls; we can also call for backup to head towards the academies". Before anyone could remind him of Maurice's warning, Johnny continued. "IF! There are more people in the academies then Seido will at least have to reconsider; nonetheless I don't believe in betting all on one horse either!".
At the mention of that, everyone understood he was suggesting going on both fronts. Raiden was the first to further elaborate on what Johnny Cage was saying. "If we can stop the ships, then the armies will be defeated in due time; and if we re-establish communications then we can both defeat the Tekunin faster while also being able to attack Seido!".
"While also helping the kidnapped students!" Johnny added.
To the surprise of many, it was Yang who took over the discussion then. "Ok, we know what to do. How will we do it then!?".
She was followed by Hanzo. "Onaga's generals can only be subdued by force; fighting them is inevitable". He then looked at all the students. "None of you will fight them! Neither the ones here at Beacon, nor the ones in Haven!". As the students began to complain, Hanzo spoke once again, addressing the students from Beacon. "But you will be needed on the other front!".
Everyone was shocked, but neither Ironwood nor Winter expected Johnny Cage, the loudmouth flamboyant narcist with a golden tongue they knew, to suddenly smash the General's desk. "NO! YOU WILL NOT SEND THEM-!".
"THAT IS A STEALTH MISSION!" Hanzo screamed back. While Johnny was still livid, he allowed Hanzo to continue. "They will not go alone! It is us who will need to fight Onaga's followers, I agree, but we must take care of the ships!".
After that, Sub Zero decided to be an intermediary. "We have a map and know how to access the hotel. Not everyone will be going".
Johnny's image was then replaced by that of Jax's. "Still, I agree that they should not be going alone".
At that, Qrow stepped forward. "I'll go with them. I'm already out of my original mission anyway. I also have my own ways around if that calms you all".
And with that, gods, warriors, huntsmen, and all others agreed that a team lead by Qrow and composed of Ruby, Yang, Blake, Jaune, and Nora would head over to the Night Beetle. Then came the second matter at hand, pointed out by Ozpin. "Now, how are we going to find the scramblers and Onaga's people?".
"Way ahead of you Oz" Ironwood said before Jax returned.
"If fighting Sektor has taught us anything is that Tekunin use a hive mind, and that means they are sending a signal that is not being affected by the scrambler".
"They will also not risk leave it at the care of just drones, but they will need a way to amplify the signal; that means equipment" Sonya added in the background.
Jax then resumed. "We already sent for a Tekunin drone to be retrieved. Give me a few minutes and I'll be able to make locators. Raiden can then deliver them; after that, it's up to you to get the hell to wherever they are ASAP!".
"It is settled then" Raiden concluded. "I'll be heading towards Atlas shortly," he said before the call ended and all amulets stopped showing images.
In Atlas, all present at General ironwood's office were those who knew of the full situation. "Are all communications really down?" Sonya asked. "Not even radio? Landlines? Anyway, to know the ETA of the Tekunin body?". Not soon after she said that two soldiers entered the room carrying an armless robot, still throwing sparks occasionally. Once they were dismissed, Jax got to work.
"If anyone has a weak stomach, better turn away now!" he warned before removing by force the faceplate, revealing a lip-less pale face with an eye being barely kept in place by wires. The process had also removed pieces of skin which also revealed that the muscle under it was no longer red but turning dark blue. The pull also made a tube on the neck crack open, and it began to spray the oily black substance they used instead of blood all over the General's desk and the part of his office where Jax was working.
Ironwood and Winter were disgusted, sure, but they managed to keep composure until Jax had to go through the exposed brain. That's when Winter had to turn around before gagging. "Easy there, soldier!" Johnny told her, patting her back.
"How much longer Jax!?" Sonya asked impatiently.
"Just… a little… gotcha!" he finally said, pulling out a chip covered by the blackish liquid. "General, your computer and open any text program! I'll also need four scrolls, any model! … Now, people!" he commanded as they all went to do as he needed.
The Special Forces' blue portal materialized in the hotel's steam room. Wasting no time at all, the six huntsmen in training emerged from it, followed lastly by Qrow. The portal then closed as soon as he came out of it.
They had to remain still for a moment, however, as Jaune, Yang, Nora, and even Qrow recovered from their first time through a portal. Poor Jaune had to take a moment to puke on the room's furnace.
"Live up to your nickname, why don't you…" Yang joked, trying to lift the mood.
"Not… now…" Jaune said, panting, before puking again.
"Behave yourselves!" Qrow warned them; and when everyone seemed to be back and ready, he slowly opened the door towards the hall of the hotel's wet zone. "Everything seems clear" he commented before pulling radio earpieces and giving one to each. "This is just to be used as a last resort if we are discovered and get separated, got it!?" he asked all and they in turn nodded. Radio waves worked, but only on distances no greater than forty feet. Done with that, he then looked out the door and signaled for the others to follow him on a single line.
Nora was the last, and the worry on her face was more than obvious to all. "Relax, Nora" Jaune said to her, knowing that the girl was not comfortable with the idea of Ren getting kidnapped.
"I know why he stayed… but still…" she answered, surprisingly in a whispering voice.
Weiss and Ren decided to be left behind, leading the effort of getting back the imprisoned students while also serving as scapegoats, convincing Seido they were still being fooled into fighting the Tekunin drones.
That in itself made Yang wonder something out loud to Blake. "We know what Beacon's plan is, what do you think the others will do to find the scramblers?".
"Signal getting weaker! Turn left! Turn left!" Jax screamed to Winter.
The signal coming from Sektor revealed he was somewhere in downtown Atlas. General Ironwood and his allies had then decided that finding him was the top priority, but since air vehicles were too much of a risk, they concluded that the next best option was finding him by land.
As a result, Winter, Sonya, Johnny, and Jax were now riding an armored truck through the, thankfully, mostly empty streets of Atlas, trying to find Sektor's location with Winter and Sonya as the driver and codriver, respectively. "Closest road Blade!?" Winter yelled.
"Highway entry! Three blocks away!" the blonde woman yelled back. A sharp turn later, they found themselves in front of a squad of Tekunin drones. "Six bots at twelve!" Sonya screamed towards the back of the truck.
"On it!" Johnny said back, arming the turret and firing once. The robot ninjas managed to jump away from the shot, but Winter used that moment to speed away. Unfortunately for them, the robot ninja began to run towards the truck.
"Johnny!" Both women yelled while looking at their rearview mirrors.
"I know! I know!" he screamed back, making the turret turn around to then try and shoot the robots.
"Good news is that those must be from a security ring. The signal is getting stronger!" Jax said, trying to lift the mood inside the vehicle.
"Great, so there will be more than these asshats following us!" Johnny complained, and just on cue, they heard three thumps coming from the top of the truck. "Seriously!? They are messing with my turret!?" Johnny screamed, wasting no time, and opening a vent to the top of the truck.
Two of the Tekunin were cutting the turret with buzz saws while the last was pulling and pushing the weapon. They stopped, however, when a green energy ball pushed one of the robots cutting the gun off the vehicle.
"I can leave Winter and Jax looking for the hideout, need any help!?" Sonya offered as the top part of one of the Tekunin fell on the front window.
"I have this! Keep doing your stuff! FUCK! WE ARE WITHIN FIRING RANGE!".
Looking left, Sonya and Winter saw as the highway turned into a bridge that got them at the level of a turret. "Get back in the truck!" Winter ordered; and just as Johnny landed face-first back in the cabin, Winter turned right and slammed the armored vehicle against the security rails, breaking them just as the turret had fired.
The fall had made Jax land on top of Johnny, but other than that and some back pains from the women, they all seemed ok.
"Good news and bad news!" Jax said after looking at the tracker. "Signal is getting weaker, but that means we have narrowed it down!".
With that information in hand, Winter looked at Sonya. The blonde woman understood and went on to look at the map. "Commercial district! A fully functional mall, fencing academy, opera house… and a warehouse!". When Sonya said that everyone looked at her with eyes wide open. "Owned by Seido Industries!".
With that final statement, Winter turned the steering wheel and went through another wall with her objective in mind.
Liu Kang, Kung Lao, and Kitana were aware of the risks Raiden's teleportation brought when they appeared on the other side of the light wall. Within minutes Tekunin drones arrived at the place where the lightning hit next to the fallen airships from Mistral.
As they waited for a patrol guard to move away, Kung Lao kept looking at the detector. "We have not moved at all," he told the others.
"There is not much we can do about that, Lao" Liu Kang told the other monk, not looking away from the drone until it made a turn. "GO!" he then ordered.
"I am sorry Liu, but I agree with Kung Lao. It will take us forever to find where Triborg is hiding, and time is something we don't have".
Liu understood the concern of his companions, but the last thing they needed was to lose hope. "Professor Lionheart gave us this authorization. Once we find a member of the army, they will help us. Do not worry". Gunshots were then heard by all three and they then saw as the Tekunin secured and dismantled assault vehicles from Mistral. "Well… guess their help is also out of the question".
They had to hide once again as another Tekunin drone passed next to them. Unfortunately for the trio, their medallion began to glow; and that in turn caught the attention of the Tekunin in the distance.
They were willing to take down one, but the light seemed to have been caught by an entire squad and the time they wasted fighting, was the time Seido had to build their ships. They tried to run but soon they were being surrounded by more patrolling Tekunin. Once they were sure there was no other way out but to fight, their problems were resolved when a bolt of lightning hit close to them, making the drones look at Raiden who swooped his staff to knock some of the drones down and allowing Liu Kang and his team to escape towards a safe location.
"Lord Raiden! What happened!? Why were the amulets activated!?" asked Kung Lao. "And why did you return?"
"We know that Seido is hiding the scramblers on buildings of their property!" the thunder god answered with joy; a feeling that was not present on his companions.
Kitana was the one to explain. "The army was overwhelmed by the Tekunin. Even with a narrower search, there is still much ground to cover".
"Which is why I brought help" Raiden then said with a smile.
The others were confused, but sure enough, they heard an engine from behind a fallen airship. They all ran towards the origin of the noise and found Sun hijacking a car crushed by a light post. "Do any of you have moral problems taking a car that is not yours?" he asked them. Truth be told, they did; but then again, this WAS an emergency, so they shook their heads. "Then allow me to be your driver tonight!" Sun said, throwing a scroll in the air, catching it with his other hand, and then showing them a map with the locations owned by Seido.
Raiden was on board with the plan. The other three did not look so enthusiastic. "Are you sure about this, Lord Raiden?" Liu Kang asked. "He is still just a child, and we promised for him not to fight Triborg".
After that, a Tekunin drone arrived; and just as it managed to sound an alarm, Sun activated the shotguns on his nunchakus, hitting the drone a couple of times while creating a light clone that got close enough to then slam it in the head with a light version of his staff, making the robot fall to the ground.
"I agree, but he also knows his way around; and as far as he does not fight Triborg, we are not breaking our agreement. 'Bending our promise' I believe he called it". The others did not hide their shock. Raiden? Bending the rules? Remnant had really done a number on him. "His soul is not evil, but he is also not pure of thought. Even a child of the streets can teach new things to royalty, Wisemen, and gods. Go now, I will take care of the Tekunin!" Raiden finally said as they all took off the light post over the car, removed the broken glass and roof, and drove off.
Sun then threw his scroll to Kitana who was in the passenger's seat. "Can you read the map!?" he asked her. Kitana gave it a quick look before nodding. "Good! Lao, you will tell us if we are getting colder or warmer. Lui, is that ok with you!?".
"Lead the way!" was all Liu Kang could say, not fully embracing the faunus' attitude, but liking his dedication to the mission.
It took some time, but Fujin, Jade, Smoke, and Kenshi finally arrived on Vacuo with their scanner in hand. Nonetheless, they were all worried about the same thing: No one knew how to move around the city. All they could see was that they were close to the solid light wall, some drills on the inside and others on the outside.
"You remain here and begin to look for the Kollector, maybe Professor Theodore has information about-" Fujin began to explain his plan but was interrupted by an explosion coming from Shade.
"What is going on in there!?" Jade asked in disbelief.
Smoke then took out a telescope and after some of the dust clouds cleared and he was able to see students firing against one of the drills getting closer to Shade's walls. "Either Kollector has gone rogue, or he believes he can take down Shade before the airship arrives… which I think he will".
Fujin wasted no time in teleporting, everyone knowing he was heading towards Shade either to help or get information. Not a lot of time had passed before Fujin returned, but his face showed he brought anything but good news.
"Professor Theodore did have a list of businesses used by Seido. Unfortunately for us, all of them are too small to house Kollector and the required equipment".
"Things look bad in there. Should we help?" Smoke asked.
"The headmaster believes he can handle them. If he needs our help, he has agreed to give us a signal that 'we will know when we see it'".
"Then what should we do now?" questioned Jade.
Smoke and Fujin were then trying to think of something until they saw Kenshi standing at the edge of the building with his sword drawn. "What are you doing?" the grey ninja asked.
"The drills… they are acting… off" answered Kenshi.
Everyone was confused at first until they noticed they were never running past a certain group of blocks. Fujin then pulled out the tracker, and sure enough, it pointed towards the sector the tanks were circling. "Everyone, grab on to me! Do not let go!". Once everyone had a strong grip, he flew from roof to roof, careful not to alert the turrets or foot soldiers.
They kept on going until the device told them they had gone too far, and the signal was now being transmitted from behind them. that happened three more times when they finally decided to remain hidden on a roof.
"Ok, what is going on!?" Jade asked everyone. "There is no way they can be playing a trick on us… right?".
Kenshi then considered a possibility. "There is a chance they could have noticed how the other groups are acting, but there is no way for them to know about the devices".
"Arrg! There must be something we are not considering!" Smoke said in anger. He then walked towards the edge, but all he was able to see was what they had all noticed: The square where the device went the other way that had a small record shop owned by Seido; but again, that was too small, and the big windows showed there was nothing inside. He then looked side to side and noticed a hole; maybe the one from which the drills must have come. After a long silence, he then saw a second hole on the other side of the block. A thought then occurred to him. "What if Kollector knew there was no place to store his equipment in the city".
That managed to make everyone then look at him with confusion, but they followed the idea, nonetheless, beginning with Kenshi. "Then… he would need to build one…".
Jade continued "Maybe with… the drills!".
If that was true, then that meant that Kollector was hiding his operation underground with the record shop working as a coverup for just an antenna. The four of them then went down and managed to get to an alley on the block. Once they were then sure no patrols were looking for them, Kenshi went on to test their theory. He stuck his sword on the ground and focused all his energy on it. Fortunately, it did not take long for the results to come in. "I don't know how deep… but… it feels like it is hollow… it's a tunnel!" he said excitedly.
They were all then ready to storm into the open hole, but a giant white flare temporarily stunned Fujin, Jade, and Smoke. Looking back, they saw a second one coming from Shade.
"My guess is that you are all looking at the headmaster's signal?" asked Kenshi, afraid that he already knew the answer.
"Find Kollector! I will head back and help. Shade will not fall!". With that, Fujin turned into a gush of wind and left the other three warriors.
"No point in complaining…" Jade said before sighing. "Ready gentlemen?".
Kenshi and Smoke did not answer, they just headed to entry and waited for the coast to be clear before running and getting into the hole with Jade close behind. Smoke turned into a cloud while Kenshi used a fallen street sign to lower himself and Jade.
Unlike the other teams, the one from Beacon had it the hardest. Only one thing was for sure, and confirmed by the radar device: Frost had to be hiding somewhere in the Emerald Forest.
The Tekunin were busy fighting against the students from Beacon, so the remaining ninjas, Glynda, and team CRDL were now on the catapults; Glynda operating the three devices that would launch the ninjas while Cardin and his team kept guard in case they were discovered.
"The catapults will put you on the route, but we are not sure how far away she is. We will send you as far as they can throw you" Glynda told them.
"Good enough" Sub Zero confirmed.
With the final taps on her tablet, Glynda pressed the launch button, sending Sub Zero first, a moment later Hanzo's catapult threw him, and finally, Ermac was sent into the skies. Before reaching the ground at a deadly speed, Sub Zero created a slide that helped him slow down. Hanzo used his teleport ability to get to a safe distance while Ermac slowly descended towards the other two.
Once they were all together, they wasted no time following the signal. They had been running for some time, Hanzo holding the tracker while Sub Zero had a compass. Everything was going fine until Ermac felt like he heard something. He immediately stopped to look at his surroundings, making the other two ninjas stop soon after.
"What are you doing!?" Hanzo said, reprimanding Ermac. The red ninja only raised his hand and pulled Sub Zero towards him as an explosion at the base of a tree close to where Sub Zero was standing went off.
"We were being followed!" he then told them as they all got their backs together.
Sure enough, a Tekunin drone got down from a tree branch, smoke still coming from the launchers in its arms. Surprisingly to all, however, the robot's head began to produce a light that showed the face of a blue-haired woman wearing a white and neon blue mask. "Took you long enough, old men!" she said mockingly.
"Frost…" Sub Zero answered back, his fists shaking with rage.
"Good to know dementia hasn't caught on with you yet, Shifu".
Sub Zero then decided to take the high road, ignoring Frost's taunts. "Surrender now, and I will ask for your punishment to be reduced!".
Frost just laughed at that. "You are more stupid than I thought! Sektor has done in weeks what you couldn't do in years, and you want me to betray him AND Orderrealm!? Oh, but don't worry; once we take over this pathetic world the Lin Kuei will be mine! Don't think for a moment that I'll allow you to reach me and get the scrambler, though!". For what was worth, Frost loved the shock on the faces of the three ninjas. "Have to give it to you, Kuai Liang; you always told me to be prepared for a surprise attack, so expecting you to figure out somehow that I got the scrambler made me realize that a grid was needed…".
As soon as Frost finished that sentence, another drone landed on a branch some feet away from them. the robot then prepared a dagger, but Hanzo merely turned around and threw his spear at the drone who also threw the sharp object shortly after. Hanzo moved away from it, but was shocked, as were the others when the knife split in two and the second one landed on Hanzo's hip.
They all knew his hip was fine, but they were now afraid because of what the projectile hit. "Oh, I knew of your little trinket. What did you always say? 'Analyse your enemy'. Must admit, I was just dying to send my troops to kill you, but waiting and guessing what that thing did was not a bad idea. Now you are all sitting ducks; you can either wait until my troops get to your exact location, or you can run around this entire forest trying to find me!".
They all hated to admit it, but Frost was right on both fronts. "Oh, it will all be so sweet!" she yelled with a twisted pleasure. "I will keep your head and the Shirai Ryu's adorning my throne room as your bodies do whatever I order them!" she then laughed aloud once more before the transmission was cut off; to make matters worse, the robot then shocked itself off, taking with it the pleasure of at least killing it.
Ermac pulled out the dragon medallion and called Ozpin to give him the bad news, hoping they could come up with a plan before Frost's elite troops arrived.
The headmaster was sitting in his office with Glynda and team CRDL, waiting for good news. With Ermac's latest report, that was far from happening.
"Unfortunately, the best thing we can do is head straight down the path we were following and hope to find a trace of Frost" the grandmaster suggested.
Everyone knew that was a far-fetched idea, but it wasn't like they could bother Jax to make them a new detector right now.
"Very well, based on your speed and the time it took you to call us we might have an idea of where you are" Ozpin began to say as he pulled up a map of the Emerald Forest. "Which way were you heading again?".
"North-West" answered Ermac. He then jumped on a treetop and kept on reporting. "We can only see plateaus and clearings. She could be anywhere".
"We need to move fast; the first horde might be arriving soon" then added Hanzo.
Before they could, however, Cardin immediately got next to Ozpin and pushed him away to look at the map. The rest of team CRDL was ready to reprimand him until they saw him tapping the map with a clear fixation until he saw a specific point. "I know where she is!" the boy screamed, making everyone look at him with shock.
Cardin then zoomed into the ruins of the temple that Beacon used for initiation and then went west towards a small structure. "The old observatory?" asked Russell.
"How can you be so sure?" then asked Glynda.
"Back in initiation, we used that point to catch our breaths after retrieving the chess pieces. The building is gone, but the base structure and the basement are still holding and are habitable. It is still strong against Grimm attacks; the catacombs are perfect for any kind of storage and there is a clear view of Beacon from the top of the ruins!".
"And how did she come to know of that place?" then asked Glynda.
After everything that had happened, Cardin had forgotten the first night he had gotten drunk with Frost. They had bounced around with a silly idea of having a boot camp with the observatory being a point far away from school for the teachers to know Frost was there but also close enough for him to return and get food or show up if needed.
With that, Ozpin and Glynda then listed landmarks that could help them get to the observatory and the ninjas were once again in their way. Cardin however, seemed to be bothered by something.
"Everything ok, Mr. Winchester?" Ozpin asked. Cardin seemed to be ready to lie, but Ozpin interrupted him first. "Does it have to do with the fact that our target played with your feelings and then tried to kill you?".
It hurt Cardin that Ozpin had hit two out of three reasons on the first try, but there was also one last thing. "Sir… I know they said we shouldn't get involved, but I believe I… no, WE can help them!".
Ozpin just looked at him with a raised eyebrow, not one of skepticism, but of curiosity. "Do tell, Mr. Winchester".
From up in the ventilation ducts, Qrow in his bird form was able to see that the robots left guarding the building were moving in specific patterns. Luckily for him, none of them were remotely interested in the vents. Sadly, however, the main duct leading to the top floors was closed, meaning that he wouldn't be able to get to the Dragon Room or the basement lair on his own.
Done with his reconnaissance, Qrow then returned to the wet zone, turning back into a human before jumping out of the system. "Bad news is we have to take the stairs. How long is the journey going up?".
Jaune then pulled out the burner scroll from Haven with the information Sun gave them to look at the map. "We are on the tenth floor. Restaurant is on floor eighteen".
They all then got close to the door, waiting for Qrow's signal. He cracked the door open and waited for the patrol robot to turn the corner before going out and signaling the others to follow him.
It took them a while, but they finally arrived at the emergency stairs and got in without guards noticing them. Once Nora, the last, was finally in they began their tour upstairs. After five floors, everything seemed to be going perfectly, that was until Blake stopped, holding back Yang and Nora.
"Yo, Blake, what gives?" Yang asked.
Blake then turned around and moved the other girls out of the way while looking at one point on a wall specifically. Before any other person could ask anything again, they saw her ears moving underneath her bow. She then pulled out her blade, but instead of throwing it at the platform of the stairs or the wall, she threw it at the lightbulb above.
To everyone, that was an act too random to process; but to Blake, it was confirmed they were being followed. She had managed to hear the slightest thump on the metal staircase, and when the lights went out, she was able to see strange light refractions in the shape of one of the robots, but it just stood still. "It's a trap!" she then yelled at the others.
Blake's scream was immediately followed by explosions from the floors above and below. Before they began to fall, Jaune tackled Ruby to the platform above and while Qrow smashed the door open. Yang had shot her immediate door open and pulled Blake, Nora sprinted towards the other girls, but the shockwaves made her fall, and when the blonde girl went on to save her, three of the bars holding the stairs broke, leaving Nora hanging. Before that tube broke, however, Qrow jumped down and grabbed Nora with one hand, held his sword in shotgun mode with the other, and placed his feet on the platform. He then shot the door on the floor under Yang and Blake open and jumped in, never letting go of Nora.
Things were not over, however, as immediately after entering their respective floors, thick metal walls with glowing blue symbols closed each of their doors; the faint echoes coming from behind the walls also suggested that the same was happening on all other floors.
It took Ruby and Jaune a moment to recover from the shock of what just happened. Once they were finally able to look around at the office cubicles, they saw a fancy '15' at the far end of the floor's hall.
"Just the fifteenth floor!?" Ruby asked in disbelief and anger, knowing Seido was also following them.
They both then put the earpieces in place and activated them. Lucky for them, the short-range radio devices were working. "-ar me!? I repeat can anyone hear me!?" they both heard Qrow's voice ask through the device.
"Jaune and I are here, uncle Qrow!" Ruby said, relaxed by knowing that if her uncle was alive, then Nora was also.
"Blake here, Yang, and I landed on floor fourteen," Blake said a little later.
"Fifteen" Jaune then added.
"Thirteen…" Qrow then said, sighing. "Jaune, Ruby, don't move until we are all back together. Now everyone, try to find a way to get to the fifteenth floor!" he instructed.
Everyone then began to look around, until Blake looked at a wall in the middle of her floor and remembered something. "Yes!" she said excitedly, running towards it and then turning around the corner, looking for something. "There it is!" Yang then heard her say before opening communications with the others. "Everyone, check if there is a garbage shoot on your floor!" and sure enough, they all did, and as luck would have it, there was one on each floor.
"Yeah! Alright, Blake!" Ruby yelled with excitement.
"Good. We'll wait for you four up here!" Added Jaune.
"Wait… can you repeat that Jaune!? I didn't get the last part" Jaune and Ruby heard Nora said although there seemed to be a little bit of static now.
"What do you know?" both team leaders then heard someone say. A voice they had grown to hate. "Frost was right… you all were up to something" Hotaru commented while walking towards them. When Jaune and Ruby turned to face him, they were shocked to see their enemy wearing what seemed like robot armor. Turquoise metal plates with a yellow and turquoise mask that had a black 'T' shape where the face should be. "You should consider yourself lucky. You will be the first field test for the fully functional Firefly armor!".
There was no way to hide it; both Jaune and Ruby were terrified. Jaune and Ruby then activated their weapons and Ruby hid behind Jaune and his shield to call the others. "Everyone, come quick! Hotaru is here with us!".
"Rub- can't talk ri- Hotaru is- … with us!" Yang said, the interference getting stronger.
"Yang, Blake, get to- and Jaune; Hotaru just sho- nowhere and… fight!" Qrow then said shortly after.
Although they were being cut, they still got the urgency of the situation. All three pairs were going to fight Hotaru at the same time somehow.
"My, my… You can't all be fighting the same person now, can you? But who is real and who are the robots?" all three versions of Hotaru asked mockingly. The radio devices then finally began to produce nothing but static noises; Hotaru having done something to kill communications. "Well, I can't have you ruining the surprise now, can I?" he said through all versions of himself; and just as everyone was ready to fight him, he began to charge the lasers from his hands, unexpectedly, however, was how rockets on his boots and devices on his back allowed to float in the air. "I have better things to do; so, let's make this quick!".