Chapter 14 - Things Fall Apart


Journal Entry of Trevor Belmont

Sypha you better not burn this, I know your family has a phobia of paper or something. For once, I want to write something that I think is important and it's not different types of alcohols or knowing which trees are good enough to sleep under.

Survival skills will be on another page. You never know if my grandkids or someone close might end up alone like me.

Anyways kid, assuming that Sypha hasn't burned this document already and wasted MY hard work. I got some things to say, mostly stuff on my mind so it's up to you to decide what's important and worthwhile. By now you ready my note to Sypha and I can tell you, that being the last Belmont has taught me a lot about survival. Primarily, what trees you should sleep under, when to travel by road and to wear something to protect the groins. That last part being the most important when you find yourself at a pub full of angry drunks, but that's me assuming that you're not a woman.

Again Sypha, if you're reading this, don't burn it. I'm sorry for saying that beer is better than sex. Remember kid, don't say that beer is better than sex and I guess vice versa or whatever. When you're alone, making friends is important but very difficult because you can never tell who wants to mug you or straight up kill you. If you had some kind of honesty semblance or some way to read hearts, then you're practically golden when it comes to all kinds of scum.

But here's a real tip kid, you don't have to train to be this badass from a novel that knows everything. Learn everything you CAN do! Try picking up some knowledge, I don't look like it but I am quite good at reading the situation. Okay, Sypha is definitely better but this is my journal, not hers. Oh yeah, when you do make friends (even snarky and smart Alec's like Sypha), sometimes sharing the knowledge is good. It definitely helps considering that she's the one that taught me how to control my chakra.

Kid, this power is the closest thing we have to magic. There's a lot of specific and needlessly complex techniques, but we don't have magic to snap our fingers and make things happen. Old man Leon isn't around anymore, so you gotta build your craft since I never got the chance. I won't give you a poem about chakra like other people do about aura, but just think of the power as a shiv.

When the Grimm bite you, bite 'em back! I'm Trevor F*** Belmont and I've never lost a fight to a man, nor f*** Grimm.

Arguments don't count as fights Sypha, so technically I still haven't lost a fight.


Several years ago

Naruto was holding Ruby by the hand as they walked down the trail of a forest. As the cousins traversed through the lumpy road and passed by all sorts of animals. Ruby stopped and broke away from Naruto's hold as she heard a bird call. Naruto looked at his adopted sister as he assumed the girl was scared by the noise that the croak sound of a bird.

Ruby immediately grabbed a rock and threw it at a blackbird that flew away. Naruto immediately grabbed the girl's arms as she tried picking up more rocks.

"Ruby no." Naruto said as gently as possible.

"I hate that bird." Ruby said bitterly.

"I know it was scary, but..."

"It's not scary, it's stupid!" Ruby interrupted as her eyes welled up with tears. "I hate blackbirds! I hate ravens!" she said.

Naruto sighed, "Ruby, I know you don't like birds..."

"Just ravens." Ruby interrupted.

"Okay, you just hate ravens, but you can't be throwing rocks at everything you see. You might hit something that will try to fight back." Naruto explained to that girl.

Ruby was still a small child and her mental development was all Naruto could worry about. The boy was already lost and scared when the witch killed his family and the townspeople. He could only imagine what was going on in Ruby's head with the realization that her own parents are gone and Yang just abandoned her. The last thing Naruto wanted to do was scare away his only family and leave her to die in the cruel world.

"Look, if a raven does bad things to you. I'll handle it." Naruto said.

Ruby's fists tightened, "You better beat them black and blue!" she said.

"I will, now let's keep going. I don't want the next blackbird to be a Grimm." Naruto said as Ruby nodded.

The two continued their walk down the trail together for some time. Ruby ended up breaking the silence as she was trying to think of a good way to ask Naruto a certain question.

"Naruto? Can you show me how to fight?" Ruby asked.

"I can fight for you." Naruto answered.

"No! I wanna fight too!" Ruby argued.

"Ruby, you're still too little." Naruto said.

"I'm not gonna be little forever! I don't wanna lose you too!" Ruby said as her eyes welled up again.

Naruto really hated it when Ruby started threatening to cry. He doesn't want to put the girl in danger, but he also doesn't want her to rely on crying to get whatever she wants. So he had to think of a compromise to satisfy Ruby for a while.

"Get stronger first, you have to build muscle." Naruto said.

Ruby started to calm down, "Build muscle?" she asked.

"You don't have to make them big like a superhero like in cartoons, but someday you have to use weapons. Weapons are super heavy, so you need to learn to pick them up." Naruto explained which Ruby understood. "Even more, sometimes you won't have a weapon or you might lose it or it might break. So you have to learn how to punch and kick." he continued to explain.

Ruby smiled, "Okay! I'll build muscle first! Then you have to train me how to fight monsters!" she said.

"How about smashing candles and light bulbs first? Easy practice." Naruto suggested.

"Why? Candles and light bulbs can't fight." Ruby asked.

Naruto laughed, "Because Belmonts have to break those when we fight the bad guys and monsters. Even my mom had to do the same after she married my dad." she said.

Ruby frowned, "Fine, but that's not fun." she said.

"Fighting isn't meant to be fun Ruby." Naruto said as they continued their journey.

Modern Day

Naruto understood Ruby's hatred towards Raven and it's understandable that a narcissist isn't exactly anyone's favorite individual. Kushina Rose never liked Raven from her own days in the academy up to her final moments when the "monster" attacked. Raven's character is something that Kushina could never agree with Summer on.

How right she was.

"You shouldn't get distracted." Raven taunted as she nearly cut Naruto's chest.

Naruto quickly blocked the attack as well as the next incoming attacks. He then formed a single hand seal before letting out an air bullet. Causing Raven to slide backwards towards the edge of the rooftop. Raven cursed Minato's bloodline, that man wasn't as liberal as Naruto when it came to using all of his power. It always bothered her that a smart but wimpy man had power that could have rivaled the maidens while Raven herself couldn't gain anything else.

However, as she avoided Naruto's sword strike, she remembered a big detail. Unlike the maidens that Ozpin told her about, the Belmonts can't freely manipulate their powers.

'I need to aim for his hands. He can't use any fancy magic tricks that way.' Raven thought as she hopped around the rooftop. "Come on! Show me that power! I thought that sissy father of yours had a lot of power!" she taunted as she dashed towards Naruto.

Naruto ignored her, despite missing his parents dearly, Naruto still thought of Minato as a bit of a wimp when compared to Kushina. It didn't help that Kushina described Minato in such a way when they were young.

"Too scared? Don't tell me you lack the control." Raven said before landing a blow that sent Naruto into the air. "Maybe you're pathetic. Especially for taking in that little brat." she said.

Now Naruto was feeling annoyed and Raven could see it. Now she would hope that Naruto would leave himself open, thinking that he can't fight and use hand seals at the same time. Even the rare abilities that didn't require them either took up a lot of energy or functioned as supplementary skills. However, Raven was too focused on the wrong thing that she was exposed to Naruto's other ability.

As Raven brought down her sword onto Naruto, parts of his body broke apart into petals. Raven didn't have the chance to register what to do next and swung at him two more times. Instead of triggering Naruto's aura shield or even drawing blood for that matter, petals kept flying out from him as more of his body broke down. That's when Raven was surprised to find herself enveloped in a wave of petals that confined her into a sphere made of them.

Where she was sent flying around in the air for a solid minute before being dropped hard onto the ground. Raven gritted her teeth as she rolled around before getting back onto her feet. Where she witnessed the red rose petals combine into Naruto once again.

"What the hell?" Raven asked. "You can copy a semblance?" she asked.

"I don't need to lecture some hillbilly that brainwashes little girls." Naruto answered.

"It's not my fault my daughter turned useless." Raven said without any care.

Naruto closed his eyes and took a deep breath, "Then it's not Aunt Summer's fault for having faith in you." he said as he opened his eyes.

Raven narrowed her eyes before noticing Naruto's own eyes flashing red. Not in a metaphoric sense that he was angry, but they changed drastically. Unlike her own or Yang's eyes when she becomes furious, Naruto's irises were a bright shade of red and were defined by the sclera turning as black as the night itself.

Those eyes bore into Raven and it left the woman feeling paralyzed with fear for reasons she didn't know. Before she realized it, Naruto used Ruby's semblance again and rushed at her. Upon being hit again, Raven snapped out of her trance and tried slashing at Naruto with no result as the sword went broke through the petals but didn't harm Naruto in any way.

and to Raven's shock, the woman soon realizes that the petals were sharp as razor blades, chewing through her Aura in seconds, leaving her forced to dodge each attack until Naruto returned to his base form.

Upon seeing the cuts on Raven's body, Naruto got back to his feet and with a mocking smile, decides to say.

"The strong live and the weak die... isn't that what you told Ruby after tricking Yang?" asked the boy. "let's see what you can do against someone who can defend himself."

The boy's response was the woman glaring at him with her eyes furiously as the cuts on her body closed with part of the rest of her Aura.

"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Jutsu!" Naruto shouts, nearly hitting Raven with a giant blast of fire.

Raven gritted her teeth as her aura protected her from being singed by the technique. She quickly moved around as she was then forced to avoid a large fireball. Once Raven thought she had an opportunity to strike, Naruto slammed his hands onto the wall.

"Earth Style: Earth Wall Jutsu!" he shouted as Raven's attack was stopped by a wall of earth.

Raven quickly pulled her sword out as the wall stopped her attack's momentum. Soon enough, a part of the wall moved directly at Raven and sent her crashing onto the ground again. Raven gritted her teeth at how frustrating chakra can be as her initial plan became more difficult. Even more so as Naruto started chucking rocks at her with high speeds.

Raven raised up her sword and quickly sliced through each rock with moderate difficulty. Where she quickly dashed around the area around Naruto and jumped high into the air. Naruto raised up his sword and launched his chain attachment at Raven. Only for the dark haired woman to swerve around the chain swing down her weapon. Which Naruto managed to block in time before pushing Raven away, but not very far.

The downside of this, is that Raven is much faster at wielding her sword. At best, Naruto himself has fair speed and skill with his sword while Raven herself is more quick and aggressive. Naruto cursed his slower sword style as Raven landed a kick on his chest. As Naruto staggered backwards, Raven's sword color had suddenly changed to yellow as she ran towards him.

"Earth Style: Rock Fist Jutsu!" Naruto yelled as his arm was coated in stone.

As Naruto tried punching Raven, Yang's incubator aimed for the stone covered arm. At this moment, Naruto realized that Raven's sword utilized dust in a similar manner as Weiss' Myrtenaster. As Raven's color changing blade was currently utilizing lightning dust and destroyed the stone coating. Damaging Naruto's arm as a result and one that Raven did not expect either.

Naruto gritted his teeth as his aura revealed itself to be all black. Most huntsmen and huntresses took damage, their aura would show an effect similar to electricity. In Naruto's case, it did the same but the wasted energy also started to wave around him like smoke.

"What the hell are you?" Raven asked.

She would never know as she narrowly avoided a projectile aimed for her head. Being forced to focus on all of her surroundings. Raven quickly turned and blocked more incoming projectiles that could drilled holes in her head had she not paid attention.

"Leave him alone!" yelled Josuke as he arrived with the boys.

Raven cursed her luck at being found as Josuke used his semblance to reinforce his arm. Using this, his arm was far stronger and he capitalized on this by launching small projectiles to be as fast and deadly as bullets. Forcing Raven to retreat and escape in a portal with her own semblance.

"She got away." Squall said as he couldn't feel Raven's presence anymore.

Josuke immediately got to work on Naruto, "Who was that crazy lady?" he asked.

"I'll explain later. Did something happen inside?" Naruto asked.

"Not really, but you've been gone a while. We got worried since you weren't around for Yang's accident." Josuke said.

"She attacked some kid while he was down." Squall said.

"That's not Yang's style. Something must have been going on in her head." Naruto said.

"You can ask her yourself." Squall suggested.

Before they could further question each other, Adam pointed something out, "Guys, I think Yang isn't the only one going overboard." he said.

"What do you mean?" Josuke asked.

That's when they heard a loud crash from the monitor showing the Vytal tournament fights. There, they saw Pyrrha's fight with Penny but things didn't go well. Pyrrha used her magnetic semblance to manipulate Penny's swords and it resulted int Penny being stabbed and losing an army. With the crowd not being shocked by the brutality, but the revelation that Penny was not human.

She was a machine.

"I couldn't sense her all this time." Naruto muttered.

"Me neither." Squall said, garnering attention.

"Aren't you two able to sense people?" Adam asked.

"I can sense people but they only stand out because of their negative feelings. Anger, sadness, deceit, all of that." Naruto answered.

Squall shook his head, "My semblance senses everyone I think is a threat, including their actions." he said. "It didn't make sense. I never liked or disliked that girl, but it felt like she wasn't there at all." he further explained.

Josuke started to feel sick, "Something is wrong guys." he said. "Something really big is going on here," he said.

That's when the speakers were hacked, "This is not a tragedy. This was not an accident. This is what happens when you hand over your trust, your safety, your children to men you claim to be your guardians." a voice said.

"Who is that?" Adam asked.

Naruto's fists tightened, "Cinder Fall." he said, recognizing the voice. 'Is that why she felt like a threat the other day?' he mentally asked.

Then, feeling as if he could hear the howl of angry wolf. Naruto turned the other direction as he sensed a lot of hostility.

"We're not alone." He said.

"What?" Josuke asked.

Squall was the first to recognize the threat, "White Fang!" he cursed.

With Ruby, a few minutes ago

After Yang was detained by the Atlas soldiers and put under house arrest in her dorm room. Ruby returned to the stadium but found Mercury blocking her path.

"Going somewhere?" Mercury asked.

"Mercury? What are you doing here? Your leg was broken!" Ruby said.

"I got legs of steel." Mercury said as he kicked.

Ruby narrowed her eyes, "Move." she said, but Mercury ignored her. "That wasn't a request." she said.

Mercury smirked as he heard Oobleck announce the next fight, "Show time." he said.

Mercury dash straight for Ruby who blocked his kicks. Ruby jumped back as Mercury started firing from a projectile within his leg. Ruby didn't have time to waste on this arrogant asshole. Better yet, this jerk got Yang wrongly accused of assault and there was likely more to it. It only further annoyed Ruby as Mercury was adamant about blocking Ruby.

"What's wrong? Are you only good for hitting hard like that blonde bitch?" Mercury asked as he kept shooting at Ruby.

"And all you're good for is running your mouth." Ruby said as she used her semblance and flew directly at Mercury.

Having not paid attention to her skills and not seeing Naruto do anything with Petal Burst other than being a taxi. Mercury assumed Ruby needed all of those petals to stay whole and not split apart. For when he tried to deliver a heavy punch to the petals. Ruby broke apart into fragments over Mercury and appeared behind him in one piece.

She then coated her arm and threw a punch at Mercury who quickly blocked it. Unfortunately for Mercury, Ruby hits harder than Yang and Nora who are deemed the most physically strong in their year. At the same time, had Ruby been more serious, she would have dealt more damage than Yang when she uses her own semblance. Mercury realized this once he felt his arms dislocate as he crashed into a wall.

"I don't have time for games." Ruby said, sounding like an adult scolding a child.

Mercury snarled as he stood up, "We're not done yet!" he yelled as he tried kicking her from behind.

Ruby groaned as she switched on the blade hidden in her ring. The sharp tool pierced Ruby's finger and it resulted in her entire arm sparking with yellow energy. At that moment, Mercury would have preferred that Yang had broken his legs and sent him to the emergency room.

At the arena

The entire arena shook in place, causing the the spectators to almost fall out of their seats. However, that didn't stop the fight from finishing in the worst way possible. As everyone including General Ironwood wanted to question the sudden tremor, Pyrrha's magnetism semblance caused Penny's swords to cut off her arm and bisect her at the torso.

Pyrrha and the crowd were horrified, but Pyrrha was in the same position as Yang. She thought she saw Penny summon dozens of swords rather than about six or so. Nobody would blame Pyrrha for anything wrong because they were shocked to see that Penny was a machine the whole time. It was at that moment that Ruby came out of the destroyed hallway to witness Penny's death/deactivation.

"Penny…" Ruby murmured as she fell to her knees.

Ruby wouldn't have time to mourn or feel bad for the loss of her mechanical friend. As she heard Cinder starting her speech.

"What is going on?" Ruby asked as she looked around.

"But in reality, they are nothing more than men. Our academies headmasters wield more power than most armies and one was audacious enough to control both." Cinder continued to speak.

"Is that Cinder?" Ruby asked.

"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 mercilessly torn apart by another star pupil. What need would Atlas have for soldiers disguised as an innocent little girl?" Cinder continued to ask, further adding despair to the atmosphere.

Causing everyone to fear for their safety, their trust in their governments and confusion as to what they had witnessed. Meanwhile, the Grimm were making their way directly to Vale and Beacon Academy by extension. When Cinder finished her speech, a Nevermore landed on top of the shield that covered the stadium. With the security system alerting everyone that the Grimm were detected and on their way.

General Ironwood already made his way up to where Oobleck and Port were doing their commentary. He attempted to calm everyone down, but it was far too late for crowd control. As the Grimm overpowered the Atlas forces at the borders and the wyvern broke through the ceiling. Causing everyone to run away in terror as the massive Grimm made it's way in. It's first target: Pyrrha Nikos.

With the trauma of Penny being a robot that she killed. Pyrrha was paralyzed from shock and unable to move. Forcing Ruby to dash towards Pyrrha and protect her from the Nevermore. As Ruby prepared herself, several projectiles came crashing down onto the Nevermore like shooting stars during a meteor shower. The Nevermore let out a cry of death as the projectiles revealed themselves to be the lockers of the students. Ruby sighed in relief as she saw the Nevermore stay still and the students arrive to pick up their weapons.

Ruby then turned to Pyrrha, "Pyrrha, I know it hurts." She said.

"Ruby, I… I'm so sorry." Pyrrha said.

Ruby took a deep breath before using her semblance and moving back and forth over the neck of the Nevermore. The Nevermore let out another scream before completely disintegrating while Ruby approached Pyrrha and hugged her.

"Pyrrha, none of this is your fault. I know you, you would never want to hurt Penny or anybody." Ruby said as Pyrrha hugged her back.

Jaune agreed with Ruby as he picked up Pyrrha's weapons, "She's right, that person on the loudspeaker is responsible." he said as he hands the weapons over to his teammate.

Pyrrha slowly began to collect herself and regained her composure. Ruby helped her stand up as she took her weapons from Jaune. Soon following Ruby and the others out the doors.

As everyone left the arena, no one noticed a very injured and crippled looking Mercury dragging himself out of the corridor. At least it used to be a corridor until Ruby briefly revealed her power to Mercury. Which resulted in the destruction of the corridor and nearly killing Mercury who lost his legs.

His legs were metallic and so he lied about Yang injuring him badly. However, while Ruby is willing to cooperate with Yang at this moment, it looked like she indirectly received vengeance for her sister. Mercury would have really lucked out if Yang really did break his legs.

"There's no way Cinder could beat her." Mercury whispered. "That kid is definitely stronger than that maiden." he added.

Outside of the stadium

The Grimm had already started surrounding the arena and ran into the civilians that were attempting to leave. Luckily for them, Jiraiya arrived before anyone fatalities could occur.

"No need to fear! The Valorous Jiraiya has arrived!" the eldest Schnee announced as he lands behind the Grimm. He then extended his palm to reveal the Schnee family Glyph, "Wintry Icicles!" he yells out.

In mere moments, the Grimm are all impaled by a large wave of icicles with deadly accuracy. Leaving no civilian injured once the wave has been eliminated. At that moment, Ironwood arrived with some soldiers following him.

"Report Schnee." Ironwood commanded.

"Oh no, I am not your drone Jim." Jiraiya said, earning a glare from Winter who was there as well. "But if you're that curious, the civilians are safe. Now call them some Bullheads, this place won't be safe for too long." he said.

Ironwood nodded as he started calling in for airships to begin evacuating the civilians. At that moment, Ruby and the rest of the contestants arrived.

"Speaking of which, how's the situation on your end? How's Atlas handling this?" Jiraiya asked.

For once, the sophisticated pervert was glad that Ironwood's paranoia and militaristic personality became useful. Now they were heavily armed and ready for the Grimm invasion.

"We've lost control of the situation and recently, we've lost control of the skies." Ironwood answered.

"Huh?" Jiraiya asked.

"Our infrastructure is compromised, but I'm taking it back." Ironwood said.

Jiraiya was now annoyed by Irnowood's paranoia and militaristic personality. Now the weapons and resources they had are either working against them or just unresponsive and useless.

"The one thing you prepared for Jim! How do you screw that up!?" Jiraiya angrily asked.

"Jiraiya, don't raise your voice at the general!" Winter scolded.

"No, he needs to hear this! He was all for "protecting the common man" and now he can't protect anything!" Jiraiya replied angrily.

Ironwood looked unfazed, "I said, I will take back the skies." he said.

"And what about us? What do we do?" Jaune asked.

Jiraiya sighed as he turned to face them, "You kids should just evacuate." he said, surprising them. "You can fight if you want, but I discourage it. This is too much and most of you are still pretty green." he said.

"He's right." Ironwood said. "You can stay and fight or retreat to safety. There is no shame in the latter." he said as he entered his own airship.

"I recommend evacuating as well." Winter said as she boarded a separate Bullhead with her own squadron. "General Ironwood, I will attempt to assist within city limits." she said.

"Good Winter, I'm counting on every soldier who can still fight." Ironwood said before he left.

Jiraiya began to walk before hearing the students following him, "Did you all make your choice?" he asked.

"We're going to Beacon!" Jaune said.

"Our friends are still there!" Nora said.

"And we can still help! It doesn't matter how "green" we are!" Ruby said.

A smile crept around Jiraiya's lips, "Then you better scrunch up. My airship isn't designed to be a party bus." he said, revealing his intention to go to Beacon as well.

At Beacon

The White Fang of all people were here, of all the time they chose to attack in the open. They were striking the academy when a massive Grimm outbreak was occurring. Whether or not they were aware of this attack didn't matter, it looked like these terrorists want to spill some blood. Team JASN appeared to be the first line of defense because Atlas was not available.

"I'm not sure how military protocol works, but shouldn't we be expecting some support from Atlas?" Adam asked.

"I guess they're on their coffee break or something." Josuke said before punching a White Fang member with his armored fist. "Just us and anyone else willing to fight." he said.

As mentioned earlier, JASN appeared to be the only visible ones fighting. However, it looked like the White Fang were spreading all over the Beacon.

"There's more of them, but they are moving far." Squall said as he can sense dozens of Fang members.

"Are they trying to flank us?" Josuke asked before ducking under some gun fire.

Then Naruto created a wall of earth to cover his team, "I can sense them too, they're just spreading all over the place." he said.

"Damn it. Then we're no good just sitting here." Josuke said as he watched the incoming White Fang members. "Naruto, do you think you can box them in or maybe divide them?" he asked.

"Sure thing boss." Naruto said as he jumped over his wall.

"You better not be thinking of some last stand crap." Squall said.

Josuke shook his head, "I'm not, I don't wanna die and we need some real cover." he said.

"Anything beats being out in the open." Adam said as he switched Wilt to Blush and started shooting. "Though I doubt we have much of a chance to escape." he said.

With that said, Josuke's team did their best to hold out until more students arrived. Luckily, there were also a couple instructors nearby that were also here to help. However, things weren't much better as the Grimm started to arrive.

"I don't think these walls are going to hold against those things." Squall said.

"This is the worst school year ever." Adam said with a sigh.

"You can't remember anything, what are you talking about?" Squall asked.

They were then interrupted by an Ursa breaking through the upper half of the earth wall. The large bear-like Grimm roared as it attempted to claw at them. Luckily Josuke took advantage of the giant clumsy Grimm and proceeded to bash it in the face with his fist.

"It's open!" Josuke said, allowing Adam to slice through it's exposed chest.

"That's not all of them." Squall said as more Grimm started tearing through the wall. "Where is Naruto?" he asked as he sliced off the head of a Beowulf.

Suddenly, the whole ground was shaken by a loud explosion. Naruto jumped right beside them again as they saw some smoke in the distance.

"Things got more hectic once the Grimm showed up." Naruto said as he sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "Still, I managed to put up more barriers. So that should slow them down a bit, but at a cost." he said.

"What cost?" Squall asked before noticing Naruto's broken sword.

"Hang on, I got this." Josuke said as he put the broken parts together.

"Thanks boss." Naruto said gratefully.

Adam quirked a brow as he saw the flawless repair, "Hey Josuke, you can heal people and repair objects. Can you also rearrange things that are already broken?" he asked.

"It's more tricky, but the answer is yes." Josuke answered. "Why do you ask?" he asked.

Naruto snorted, "I can try to summon more earth or you can use the broken wall fragments in any way you wish." He said.

Josuke smirked, "Let's see what I can do." he said before breaking the entire wall that covered them.

As the Grimm started to run towards them. Josuke quickly started putting the fragments of the earth back together. Where he used the earth to create spikes to pierce the Grimm once they came close enough.

"That took some effort, but it's also useful." Josuke said as he grabbed some rocks and turned them into a spear.

He then used his amplified strength to throw the spear at an incoming Razorwing and pierced right through it.

"I can't believe we forgot that." Adam said.

"There are Atlas airships incoming." Squall pointed out.

The boys looked up at the sky to see some mini military airships flying towards Beacon. Where their underbellies opened and dropped off several Atlesian Knights. The machines quickly began to mow down the incoming Grimm that moved towards them.

"Ah right! Thank you Atlas!" Naruto exclaimed.

Suddenly, the Atlesian Knights directed their attention onto Team JASN. Where they began to open fire onto them without warning.

"Woah! What the hell!?" Josuke asked as they took cover.

"Screw you Atlas!" Naruto yelled.

"Are these things blind or something?" Squall asked.

Naruto shrugged, "I think Atlas IT might be on strike." he said, causing Squall to sigh at his bad joke.

If it wasn't bad enough that a bunch of human hating terrorists were attacking alongside monsters that hate humans and faunus. Beacon was being attacked by out of control killer robots with no grasp of camaraderie. Naruto could see Josuke trying to flick rocks as projectiles while Adam continued to shoot back at the Atlesian Knights. Leaving Squall to stay in cover while Naruto himself was feeling stressed out.

What was meant to be three years of education and opportunity for Ruby to achieve her dream had turned into a nightmare in under a year. Naruto's hands curled into tight fists as his red eyes started flashing again. He gave Squall a squeeze on the shoulder, grabbing his attention.

"What are you doing?" Squall asked.

"Squall, I know you think I'm annoying but deep down. I wanted to be your friend." Naruto said.

"I'm not in the mood for sentimentality at the moment." Squall harshly replied.

Naruto sighed, "Squall, just promise that whatever happens today. Learn to trust people, there are lots of bad people but there's also good. It's a balance, even if one side is tipping over on the scale." he said.

"I don't understand what you're trying to tell me." Squall said, being the ignorant one for once.

"It was nice knowing you buddy." Naruto said before dashing towards the incoming waves of Atlesian Knights.

"You idiot! What are you doing!?" Josuke yelled. "What is he doing Squall?" he asked.

"Being an idiot! Some suicidal heroic idiot or something!" Squall said as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Seconds later, a black fog appeared over where the Atlesian Knights were. Then they heard a loud animalistic howl followed by the sounds of metal being crushed.

Upon realizing that the machines were no longer fighting. The remaining team members witnessed the fog clear up and revealed some sort of Super Grimm that looked as big as an Ursa, had the body of a muscular Beowulf and could move around on two feet as red flames came out of it's breath.

"What is that?" Josuke nervously asked.

With Ruby

Ruby was anxiously waiting in Jiraiya's cramped airship. She knew that the Schnee family was rich and despite the content of his work, Weiss' brother is an accomplished writer. So it did make sense that he had some lavish devices and other toys. Although she would have preferred being on an airship that put luxury over space because of how cramped it is.

'It's a good thing that a little squeezing won't trigger my transformation.' Ruby thought as now would be the worst time to transform.

"How are you holding up Pyrrha?" Jaune asked his partner.

"I'm trying not to focus on it. I don't know how else to think about it." Pyrrha answered, still feeling terrible for killing Penny.

"I'm sorry I asked." Jaune said, feeling bad.

"It's fine, I know you're worried about me." Pyrrha replied.

Ruby smiled at how close the two were. At the same time, she felt concerned for her teammates that were still at Beacon. Since she had left to stop the fight, Weiss and Blake stayed behind with Yang who were watching over Yang who got put under house arrest.

"Hang on kids, I think the mess just started." Jiraiya said as they approached Beacon. "I'm not sure I can land this thing without crashing. So you're gonna have to get ready to jump once I'm close enough to the ground." he explained.

"Do you have parachutes by some chance?" Jaune asked.

"Kid, you have a pretty girl sitting next to her. That's all you need in life." Jiraiya said, making Jaune blush.

"She's just my partner!" Jaune exclaimed.

"That doesn't contradict my statements." Jiraiya said as he lowered the airship. "Now hang on tight, pray to Oum and roll if you lose your footing and fall!" he said.

Ruby put on her mask and raised her hood as she prepared to jump out the door. At the same time, she could hear the many Razorwings and other Grimm capable of flight trying to strike the airship.

"No you don't you glorified mass of gunk! It's bad enough I had to cancel my date with Glynda! I'm not letting you break my airship!" Jiraiya yelled as he flew through the wave of Grimm.

"Glynda? You're dating Professor Goodwitch?" Ruby asked.

"Don't get into my personal business kid. I don't ask what you and Weiss are up to, so don't ask about me and Glynda." Jiraiya said.

"I would rather not hear anything at all." Ruby said before reaching the front of the line. "Also, you're a more nice guy than Winter! Bye!" she yelled as she jumped out the door.

Jiraiya snickered, "Me a nice guy? I guess Winter screwed up and said something stupid again." He said as he shook his head.

Winter has had a difficult childhood, at least when it came to Jacques. Jacques puts as much priority on fatherhood as General Ironwood puts priority on on talking things out with the enemy. By Weiss' tenth birthday, their mother Willow would practically give up on being a mother when she finally realized her husband's true colors.

Not that it wasn't already obvious and it took slightly longer for Winter to see it too. That's the sad part really and it doesn't help that Winter has a poor amount of social skills. Even if she was nice, Winter's words can immediately sound like insults or criticisms.

'At least Whitley is doing well. Though why hasn't he responded to my letter?' Jiraiya wondered before moving the airship towards the safest ground he could find.

On the ground

Beacon is filled with chaos, the once proud institute that promoted peace and worked towards the future of building guardians to combat the evils of the world is falling. Breached by dangerous terrorists, surrounded by the beasts they sought to combat and the machines meant to work as guardians have become another danger themselves. All around, Beacon is on it's last limbs as everyone battled to survive.

Among them, another creature stands among the chaos as it fights to protect the denizens of Beacon. As Atlas had failed to protect everyone, a creature that looked like the enemy has become an ally.

"Is that a Grimm?" Josuke asked.

"It's unnatural, it's fighting it's own species." Squall said, looking surprised for once. "Something is different about it. It's only focused on the other Grimm." he said.

"But aren't Grimm territorial? They've fought wild animals before, so wouldn't they fight each other?" Josuke asked.

Adam shook his head, "No, this was not covered and I don't know of any evidence that proves this." he said before hearing a loud roar.

The Super Grimm that appeared after Naruto disappeared was roaring as it ripped through a wave of Beowulf's. The Super Grimm released a massive torrent of green fire from it's mouth, destroying the wave that charged in it's direction. Before focusing it's attention on an Atlas Paladin that made it's way to Beacon.

As the Paladin had a lock on the Super Grimm, the beast jumped high into the air and pounced on the machine. As it opened fire, the Super Grimm used it's strength to tear off an arm before digging it's claws through the wires and circuitry. With both the present students and incoming students witnessing the beast continue to fight.

"What is that?" Yatsuhashi asked.

"Another Grimm isn't it?" Coco asked as if it were obvious.

With the incoming students having been unaware of Atlas' machines being hacked. They assumed the Super Grimm to be a threat before watching it sprint into another direction. They then saw it running towards Cardin who was struggling to fight a Death Stalker.

"it's going after the idiot!" Coco pointed out.

"I'll get him!" Nora yelled as she chased after the Super Grimm.

She really didn't like Cardin, but he was another student like her. Just as Nora chased after the Super Grimm, she saw it pounce of the Death Stalker. Where it grabbed the scorpion shaped Grimm by the tail and used a lot of force to rip it off before jumping into the air and spinning in a circle. The creature then crashed back down onto the Death Stalker and continued to spin like a shuriken before finishing the creature off. Once done, it picked up Cardin's mace as the boy had dropped it during the fight.

The Super Grimm focused it's attention onto Cardin as it approached him. Cardin slowly backed away in fear as Nora attempted to bash Magnehilde over it's head. Only for the Super Grimm to catch the hammer with one hand gently hand the mace over to the bully.

"What?" Cardin asked as he looked at the weapon. The Super Grimm shoved the weapon into his arms, "You're giving it back?" he asked.

The Super Grimm ignored Cardin and put Nora down before pointing at the incoming Atlas Paladins. The abnormal Grimm let out a howl as if it were communicating before running off to stop the incoming waves.

"It doesn't want to attack us." Cardin said with a face full of shock.

"What the heck was that? Is that thing on our side?" Nora asked.

With Ruby

As she was one of the last few to arrive on the ground. Ruby started burst into a tornado of petals that rushed around several waves of Grimm. Unlike her adoptive brother who could manipulate his petals into cutting deeper than any knife. Ruby relied on mixing the use of her semblance and her own skills to quickly decapitate any Grimm with exposed flesh.

After clearing out a good number a Grimm with her run and gun tactic. Ruby spotted her teammates fighting several Atlesian Knights that were shooting at them. As she dashed towards them, Weiss already froze the androids up to their neck in ice ice. Which allowed Yang the chance to come close and shatter them with her fists. With Ruby arriving only seconds after the destruction.

"Ruby!" the girls yelled out.

"Guys, how bad is it here?" Ruby asked.

"I think it's obvious." Weiss said as she gestured towards the chaos around them.

Ruby shook her head, "Fine, bad question. Where is everyone? I thought Atlas was supposed to have this place protected or whatever." she asked.

"I think they're on strike or something. One of those airships opened fire on each other and now these robots are fighting us." Yang said. "Also, why didn't you pick up your scroll?" she asked.

Ruby checked her pockets, "I was… damn!" she cursed.

"What?" Yang asked.

"Mercury, he was at the arena and he was blocking my way." Ruby answered.

"But Yang put sent him to the ER. No offense Yang." Weiss said.

"You're cool Weiss." Yang said, adding a pun to this serious moment. "No really, I broke his legs. How would he have been there?" she asked.

Ruby groaned, "His legs are made of metal. I think they're prosthetics or something." She answered.

"So he faked his injury and framed Yang." Blake said, realizing this once Ruby explained the situation.

Yang's eyes flashed red, "I hope you didn't go easy on him." she said.

"I broke his fake legs if that's what you're asking. Whoever gave them to him better have a spare." Ruby said, making Yang's heart melt.

Their talk immediately came to a halt when they heard a loud screech from the sky. The girls looked up and saw a wyvern hovering over the academy. The Grimm was much more massive compared to the Nevermores and is likely much stronger than them or any Grimm currently on the ground. Ruby bit her lip as she looked at her ring, which Weiss noticed.

"Ruby, you're not thinking about your power are you?" she asked.

"I have to Weiss. There isn't anything strong enough to fight that thing and Atlas won't help us." Ruby said before Yang grabbed her wrist.

"Ruby, you can't! No one else knows about your secret! They'll think you're a threat!" Yang said, pleading for her sister.

(Halo 3 OST - Never Forget)

Ruby can tell that Yang genuinely cares. Her testament towards redeeming herself as a sister was cutting her hair. Something that Yang has cared about since she was a child and even losing a single strand has made Yang tap into her semblance. It sounded stupid, but it was just Ruby's way of knowing.

"I know the risks Yang. I'm not a little girl anymore. I'm your team leader." Ruby said. She then removed Yang's arm, "You three regroup with the other students, I'll deal with that overgrown bird. A monster can save people too." she said before leaving the area a burst of petals.

Yang reached out towards Ruby only for Blake to pull her back, "Yang, we have to go." she said. "I know you're worried about Ruby, but she's made up her mind. We can only trust her for now." she said.

"But…"

"Yang! I know Ruby is a dolt and can be childish, but she doesn't need book smarts or anything like that to know what to do." Weiss said. "She's an adult in a girl's body. Ruby experienced more on her own that we have in the academy. We just have to trust her." she said, deep down feeling some doubt.

Or perhaps it was concern for her only friend. A part of Weiss wanted to call out Ruby on being arrogant and thinking she can do anything by herself. Maybe that part of her was just Weiss wanting to yell at Ruby for running off on her own and not depending on her teammates to help her. It was funny really, Weiss could think back to the time Ruby left her alone in the Emerald Forest to scout ahead and then returning later just as Weiss prepared to fight Grimm in a non-controlled environment.

"People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones."

'Now I'm the one throwing stones in a regular house.' Weiss thought before doing as her leader and friend said.

As the girls ran to regroup with the rest of the students. They felt the immense power fluctuation that came with Ruby's Titan powers. They briefly looked back as they saw the giant streak of lightning exploding in the distance.

'You're going to get a long lecture, dolt.' Weiss thought, but her face betrayed how she felt.

'Please Oum, don't take away my sister.' Yang mentally pleaded.

Blake just looked away and tried to focus on the mission at hand. That is until the White Fang decided to appear. Along with a familiar brown haired girl with dog ears on her head.

"You have to be freaking kidding me!" Yang angrily said.

Blake on the other hand, looked terrified as she recognized the girl, "Seryuu?" she asked.

"Hey Blake! I saw you in the fights earlier!" Seryuu said in a cheery voice "So I thought that the whole gang could do a reunion! Especially with how our other friends got off on the wrong foot with the train!" she said, still sounding friendly.

"Seryuu… I thought you were…" Blake tried to say as she trembled.

"Still alive! You know, I think Koro has been the most eager to see you." Seryuu said as little dog came from behind her.

"Guys, we need to run!" Blake said before hearing a loud crash.

Everyone including the White Fang looked up in shock as they saw Ruby's Titan transformation. Ruby let out a loud roar as she generated a crystal hammer into her hands as she attempted to swing at the Wyvern. Though with great difficulty as the large dragon like Grimm clawed at her face, causing her to stumble back.

"That thing again?" Seryuu asked.

At that moment, her entire squadron was ambushed by a wave of Grimm. Seryuu immediately whistled at Koro who began to transform into the monstrous dog that attacked Blake on the train. As it the wild mutt attempted to fight the Grimm, the Super Grimm appeared and tackled Koro onto the ground.

"Koro!" Seryuu screamed before being kicked in the face by Blake.

"Run!" Blake yelled as her teammates ran away.

Seryuu gritted her teeth as her aura healed a bruise on her face, "Damn you Blake! You won't get away from me!" she screamed.

As she promised to chase after Blake, Seryuu heard a loud cry from her dog. She witnessed Koro hit the ground while clutching the Super Grimm's arm between it's teeth. Seryuu glared at the Super Grimm as it clutched it's arm.

"That's what you get for hurting my dog!" Seryuu yelled only to witness something unnatural.

The Super Grimm's arm regenerated and then the severed arm did something unique as well. Koro let out a pain filled scream as the entire arm started to grow and through some metamorphic process, became a person. Not a human by any chance, but was shaped like one. Seryuu stepped back in surprise as she saw a pale red eyed humanoid with horns coming out of Koro's mouth.

"What kind of Grimm are you! You're some kind of monster!" Seryuu yelled. "And worse, you hurt my poor Koro!" she added.

"Shut up, you stupid bitch." the humanoid Grimm said.

Lightning struck behind Seryuu, "It talks!" she yelled.

The humanoid Grimm and the Super Grimm both glared at Seryuu while Koro slowly recovered. Seryuu jumped by the side of her monster dog as she prepared to deal with two abnormal and very strong Grimm. It didn't help that the other Grimm who came with them had already ripped her teammates apart.

With Esdeath

Esdeath watched the conflict unfold from a Bullhead. Having already organized a team and properly set up various points take back the city. Esdeath found her gaze focusing solely on Ruby as she fought the Wyvern.

"Colonel Esdeath, we've detected the Titan. Do we regroup to combat the monster or do we open fire with our artillery?" a lower ranking officer asked.

"Hold your horses you fool. We already have our job." Esdeath said.

"But the general said…"

"General Ironwood is not present and is currently radio silent. We do not have the resources to waste on firing on the Titan." Esdeath said. "I hate dealing with mindless animals, but someone has to clean up." she said.

"Yes ma'am." the officer replied.

"If we there is an opportunity, we will engage the Titan or at least approach it with caution. It's not as stupid as you think." Esdeath said.

"Yes ma'am." the officer repeated.

Then another officer spoke up, "Colonel Esdeath, reports are saying that an abnormally shaped Grimm was seen at Beacon. Only it's been reported to be commanding the Grimm to only attack the White Fang and Atlesian Knights." they said.

Esdeath gritted her teeth, 'Oum is testing my patience. No matter, someone has to clean up Vale while James remains absent.' she thought. "It doesn't matter, focus on cleaning up and escort every citizen in preparation for artillery fire." she said.

"Yes ma'am!" the second officer replied.

Esdeath was not going to be satisfied by the end of the night, but at the end of the day. She had her duties and those came before her lust for battle… unfortunately.

TO BE CONTINUED…


World of Remnant Secret: Having grown up with Naruto as her older brother figure. Ruby has developed enough admiration to almost mimic him. Similar to how she dresses like her mother, Summer Rose, Ruby has attempted to use hair gel to make her hair spiky. It resulted in several messes much to her embarrassment, but it doesn't mean Naruto loves his little sister any less.

Next Time: Chapter 15! Bloody Tears!