AN: ARC Alpha 12 here. A couple of things: first off, this chapter was meant to be released mid August, but first I got extremely busy and then had several incredibly stressful family emergencies that wound up sapping all of my time and focus away from everything that I have been working on. If you follow my TikTok or YouTube channels, you may have seen me talk about them.

I deeply apologize for seeming flaky or unmotivated. Truth is, life's just been hard, and I know that for the longtime fans and the newcomers, that can be difficult when this series went from a monthly release to basically whenever I don't have something massive keeping me from writing and posting. I can't tell you how honoured I am that many of you are still here.

Finally, This chapter is a little shorter so we can get to some fun stuff that isn't relevant to the theme of this chapter. I have plans, but they don't all fit here. but I promise the next couple of chapters should make up for this guy (and even this isn't little-it's 3,642 words, but seeing as many of my chapters are 5,000-10,000 words, it's small in comparison). Still, I hope you enjoy!


The battle had come to a close, eliciting applause that rained down on all four combatants. Penny couldn't help but smile as Ruby and Weiss emerged from their cockpit holograms, their faces grinning with the thrill of victory. Watching Ruby compete like this filled her with immense joy, a feeling so intense she was almost ready to burst and tackle her friend on stage.

Across the field, Blake and Yang looked at their victorious friends with a blend of pride and disappointment. Yang was on one knee, clutching her side, but as the applause swelled, she slowly stood up, the pain visibly fading from her face.

"Well…we lost," Blake said, sighing deeply. "At least it was a good fight."

"It was an awesome fight," Yang corrected her before shaking her head. "But dammit, Ruby and her gimmicks…"

The duo walked over to Ruby and Weiss, enveloping them in hugs—Blake embracing Ruby warmly and Yang nearly lifting Weiss off the ground with her enthusiasm.

"Ugh! Release me, you brute!" Weiss gasped as Yang's strong grip nearly squeezed the air out of her.

"Awww, you enjoy it," Yang replied with a snicker, loosening her grip and setting Weiss fully back on the ground.

Weiss tugged on her shirt to straighten it but couldn't resist a grateful smile at Yang. "You both performed admirably. I'm impressed," she conceded.

Yang shrugged. "Not well enough, I guess. But thanks." She looked at Ruby, planting her hand firmly on her hip. "So spill, how did you nullify my attack with a palm cannon?"

Ruby giggled at the question. "I didn't really. When we had the chance to repair our Gunpla, I swapped out my left hand for one equipped with a beam absorber and installed a new back cannon I assembled last night. I figured you'd have some kind of heavy artillery after seeing your move against Messiah. So, I knew I had to counter it or get roasted."

Yang's jaw dropped. "Wait, you built an entirely new set of equipment just to counter me?"

Her sister grinned, her eyes twinkling. "Yeah, pretty much."

"Unbelievable," Yang murmured, shaking her head. "Of course, you'd do that. Why am I even surprised?"

As the group started to gather their Gunpla models, Penny prepared to join them but was stopped by Ciel. The carrot-haired girl turned and gave Ciel a disappointed look; she knew what was coming but actively wished that she was wrong.

"Penny, we must report to your father and Uncle Nils. Immediately," she said, her voice tinged with urgency.

Penny looked back at her sadly but nodded. She couldn't ignore the strange sensation she had felt during the battle. Something was amiss, and it could interfere with her functioning in the future.

Feeling a twinge of sadness, she turned back to see Ruby looking inquisitively at them. "Are you guys coming with us?" Ruby asked. "We're probably gonna go get sundaes and celebrate with our friends. Did you want to join?"

Ciel caught Penny's eye, sensing her hesitation. "Penny has been asked to return to her room; I believe her father wishes to explore the city with her," she lied smoothly.

Ruby nodded, a slight frown crossing her face, though she shook it off in an instant. There would be more than enough time for the group to meet up with Penny and Ciel later on. "Ah, okay! Have fun then!" She waved energetically and jogged off to catch up with her friends.

"Do you think she's suspicious?" Penny whispered, guilt creeping into her voice.

Ciel shook her head. "It's irrelevant. Your father and Uncle Nils need to run diagnostics. I'm growing increasingly concerned. The incident that happened during the Plavsky Particle spike may be an indicator of some internal malfunction with your core."

Acknowledging the gravity of the situation, Penny nodded. She followed Ciel as they exited the bustling central stadium area, her mind racing with thoughts. She couldn't afford to have some kind of malfunction happen, especially not in such a public setting.

—-

Pietro's eyes darted between the examination table and Nils, his fingers tapping impatiently on the armrest of his wheelchair. It had been several hours since the battle, and once he had gotten Pietro's concerning message, he locked down the stadium's Battle System OS with his personal codes and headed immediately to his lab.

Penny had described what she had heard, the argument between Ozpin and Salem. The conversation alone was almost frightening, but it only brought forth more questions. Pietro had no clue what any of it meant, and he would have simply written it off as some kind of radio drama or random signal interference if it hadn't been so vividly detailed.

"Find anything?" Pietro finally broke the silence.

Nils glanced up, his eyes unreadable. "It's too early to say."

"But you have theories."

"A few."

"And you're not sharing because?"

"I'd rather not speculate."

For some reason, Nils acted as if he had some of the answers to the most pressing questions, namely, who were the two in the argument and why was their conversation so threatening in nature? Yet, despite that, he offered no explanation to either Ciel or Pietro.

Pietro sighed, looking at Penny lying on the table. Her Plavsky Particle crystal core was missing, her mechanical chest mimicking the rise and fall of breath. She didn't need to breathe, but the sight was a small comfort to Pietro. It meant she was still okay and that, for now, her mechanical functions were intact.

Ciel pushed his chair closer to Nils, who stood engrossed by the monitor's glow, casting his face in a pale, spectral light. A web of lines of code played across the screen, tracking the black box in Penny's skull and the wavelengths emitted from her core, which sat humming softly on an adjacent scanner.

"So? Is there any indication of why Penny would be hearing voices?" Pietro's voice wavered, tinged with desperation. His mind spun with theories—corrupted data, stored memories, some inexplicable audio hallucination.

Nils remained silent as he studied the data from the core. Penny's core was a marvel—perhaps the most perfectly engineered Plavsky crystal the PPSE had ever produced. It was his magnum opus, built on data painstakingly gathered from the Yajima Tradings' incident nearly a year prior—an incident he had overseen from its inception to its still-unexplained conclusion.

As Nils compared the readings, a chill ran down his spine. They were hauntingly familiar—reminiscent of the Scramble Gundam's haywire event, an anomaly he still couldn't explain. The one saving grace was that the current readings were less intense. But whether that was a blessing or a prelude to a greater calamity, he couldn't say.

The Scramble Gundam had been a project filled with disaster. It had nearly annihilated his island laboratory and everyone in it. The thought of a similar incident unfolding in the stadium was unbearable. He could already hear the cries and feel the chaos; it would be a catastrophe to rival the Mock Battle of A Boua Qu.

His lips pursed as he looked down and scrolled through the telemetry. He was almost positive that this must be something that was connected to the Arista gems that Ozpin had mentioned during their meetings previously. Which means it wasn't a malfunction.

Penny had somehow been overhearing the telepathic link between Ozpin and someone else. Most likely, Salem, if what Penny had told them was to be believed.

"Nils!"

The urgency in Pietro's voice yanked him back to reality. He met the gaze of his old associate, whose eyes were pools of apprehension.

"Is Penny going to be alright?" Pietro's voice was barely above a whisper, almost as if he feared the answer.

Nils smiled. "Yes," he replied. "It appears that she gained some kind of resonance feedback when the Battle System began to overproduce Plavsky Particles during the first battle. You didn't re-enable her limiters after her fight earlier, did you?"

The older man shook his head. "No. Penny asked me not to. She wanted to see what she could do, uninhibited."

"For now, I think it's best to re-enable them." Nils minimized the window on his screen and took Penny's core back to the table. He set it into her chest, pressing down until the small metal orb that held the crystal clicked into place, and closed her chest up before disconnecting the cable from the base of her skull and reactivating her.

Penny's eyes flickered open, their initial haze clearing as her internal systems ran their startup diagnostics. She caught sight of her creator and beamed. "Father, Is everything okay?"

Pietro's face softened at the sound of her voice and nodded. "Yes, my dear. Nils believes that you suffered some kind of resonance with the crystal in the stadium during the fight due to excess Plavsky Particles. Errr…think of it as an oversaturation, if you will. He suggested turning your inhibitors back on to limit your own Plavsky generation. Until now, we can better shield you from outside resonations."

Penny nodded. "Of course! You may turn them on at your leisure."

Relief washed over Pietro as he patted Penny's hand. "Once we get back to the hotel, then. I'm just relieved you're safe, my dear."

Penny nodded, then turned to Nils. "Was there any confirmation of the conversation I seemed to pick up? I do not believe it was something carried over radio waves or other variations of wireless communication…"

Nils hesitated. "I have a lead, but pursuing it would mean exposing your true nature, which carries its own risks."

Ciel's eyes lit up in a panic. "You can't!" she cried out suddenly, standing up between the two of them, voice tinged with desperation. "If you do that, there's a chance Penny could be taken away!"

"Which is why I'm not sure if I should yet," Nils clarified. "It's okay, Ciel. Penny isn't going to be needlessly put at risk. I promise."

Ciel relaxed slightly, but her eyes looked over at Penny. "Good. I don't want her to have any more problems if we can help it…"

Penny turned on her table and hopped off, pulling Ciel into a tight hug once she was on the ground. "Oh, Ciel! I am elated that you're so worried about me! I know my father and your uncle will take good care of me, though. We don't need to concern ourselves."

Ciel uttered a muffled cry for help as she was smothered by Penny, her arms comically flailing as Penny's hug tightened. Once she was released several moments later, she gasped for air, eyes almost bulging.

Nils watched his niece and her friend interact, but doubt crossed his mind. He was concerned. If what she had experienced had been the same thing that Ozpin had described, then it meant she wasn't immune to the effects of the Arista gems after all. He thought he had adequately shielded her from the worst that could happen, but without more data on their full capabilities, he was, at best, navigating through uncharted waters.

The stakes were high. For Penny, for the future of Gunpla Battle, and potentially for the world itself. He needed an Arista gem for study—and he needed it soon.


Oscar rapped his knuckles against the door to Ozpin's skybox. The stadium had long since emptied, but Ozpin and Qrow remained, deep in conversation about the looming threat of Salem.

Though it shouldn't have surprised him that Salem was willing to manipulate the tournament battles to the degree he suspected she had, Ozpin couldn't shake the feeling he was missing a critical piece of the puzzle. Hopefully, he was bringing a solution, or at least a new avenue to explore.

Hopefully, Oscar was delivering a possible solution to one of several problems.

Qrow opened the door and looked at the boy before stepping aside. Oscar entered, clearing his throat as he stepped into the skybox. "Ozpin, sir, I brought the person you requested."

Ozpin looked over at the doorway at the young boy and his guest. "Excellent. Thank you, Oscar."

Oscar moved to the side, making room for the tall woman behind him. Ozpin gave her a warm, welcoming smile and waved his hand to usher her in. "Miss Nikos. Thank you for meeting with me."

Pyrrha looked at Qrow, who was eyeing her with suspicion as he took a swing of his flask. She knew him only as Ruby and Yang's uncle, but the two had yet to meet officially. She noted the lack of anyone else in the room, which seemed odd. "Principal Ozpin," she said courteously, "thank you for the invitation, but I'm slightly confused. Why did you need to speak with me?"

Ozpin sat down on the couch and motioned to the chair across from him. "Have a seat."

Pyrrha did as she was asked, walking over and sitting down gently before her school principal. Her mind raced with possibilities, though none of them seemed to fit the current situation.

"Tell me, how badly would you like to enter the Battle Royale for the World Tournament?"

That was the last thing she had expected. With her and Jaune losing their match against Jack and Evelyn, she assumed it would be impossible to enter the Battle Royale. "More than anything, right now," she admitted. "But Jaune and I are out of the running."

"Hmm." Ozpin tilted his head slightly. "Indeed. And I have already exhausted my ability to sponsor anyone else. Which leaves us in a unique predicament."

He leaned forward, elbows on his knees. He peered over his small glasses directly into Pyrrha's eyes. "However…what if I told you I found someone who was willing to give up their slot in the Battle Royale if you managed to defeat them in an exhibition match?"

Pyrrha was stunned. Would someone honestly let her in? "But why?" She blurted out. She hadn't given herself time to think. The question was an almost instant reaction to Ozpin's offer.

Ozpin smiled. "My assistant, Glynda Baker, will be back soon with the person in question. He's been quite excited to have the chance to meet the two-time former European Champion in person."

The mention of her past accolades made her shift uncomfortably. He noticed this but didn't change the topic, instead choosing to press forward with it.

"As your initial sponsor, I feel obligated to give you the opportunity to win back your spot in the Battle Royale. And, while I can no longer directly endorse you, you have more than earned a chance to gain that spot. Are you interested?"

Pyrrha looked him over cautiously. His offer seemed genuine, honestly admitting to wanting to help his students reach the end. Yet she got some kind of unnerving feeling from him as if he wasn't telling her everything. As if the opportunity came at some kind of cost.

Still, how often do second chances come around?

She nodded. "Yes."

He gave her a thankful smile. She felt as if he had been worried about what her answer might have been, which only added to her wariness. "Good. I'll let him explain the situation, then."

And so, Pyrrha waited. She sat rigid and uncomfortable in the room as Ozpin sipped his tea. She kept glancing at Qrow. Ruby and Yang spoke rather highly of him, but he was nowhere near what she had imagined. He was already partially drunk and seemed almost lazy, but she could see the sharp edge in his gaze as he watched everything, as if he was dissecting the situation at hand. And he knew Ozpin on what seemed like a personal level, which seemed even weirder to her. And, to top it all off, they all sat here casually, almost like they were just hanging out.

Ozpin broke the silence by offering her a cup of tea, which she accepted with a polite smile. Questions swirled in her mind, yet she was hesitant to voice them, unsure of how to navigate the complexity of the situation.

She took a deep breath, finally finding the words that she wanted to use to ask her questions when the door clicked open. All eyes turned to face the woman who entered, whom Pyrrha recognised as an associate of Ozpin's, and a young man that Pyrrha immediately jumped at seeing.

"Lucas Nemesis," she muttered.

"Pyrrha Nikos," Lucas said back with an elated grin.

An amused expression flashed across Ozpin's face. "Ah, I gather you two are acquainted?" he inquired, though his tone suggested he already knew the answer.

"Only by reputation," Lucas replied. "Lucas Kankaansyrjä, or Lucas Nemesis. Whichever you prefer, I know Finnish names can be difficult for many people."

Ozpin leaned back in his chair. "I presume your presence means you're considering my proposal?"

Lucas shook his head. "Not yet. Because I wanted to meet the former European Champ first."

Qrow smirked, glancing at Glynda. "Nice catch, Glynda. I heard he wasn't going to be in Japan until next week."

"He said he was coming early because he wanted to have some warm-up matches prior to the World Championship," she explained, pushing her glasses up her nose.

Lucas nodded. "Exactly. Which is why I'm here now." He turned to face Pyrrha. "Pyrrha, I have a question for you. One two-time European Champion to another: Do you want to get into the Battle Royale for a shot at the World Championship?"

The question, though the same as the one Ozpin had asked, was blunt and to the point and took Pyrrha by surprise. She was obviously going for that exact goal while in the Doubles Tournament. But it seemed he wanted to hear it out loud.

"Yes," she answered. "I wanted to have my chance to compete on the world stage again, which was why I tried to enter the Doubles Tournament so that my boyfriend Jaune and I could compete with the best of the best."

Lucas closed his eyes, listening, chin between his thumb and forefinger as he thought. "You know, you and I haven't ever had the chance to meet," Lucas commented. "You were the European Champ at ages fourteen and fifteen before moving to the US, which let me come in and take your place. It has always been my sincere hope that I'd get the chance to fight you in some big tournament, to test and see which one of us was the superior champion."

Pyrrha tilted her head slightly. "I'm…sorry that you and I have never gotten the chance to meet in battle," she replied, mulling over his words in her mind. "From what I understand, you're undefeated in one-on-one tournament competition. You didn't compete in the World Tournament last year because of your grandfather's health, but winning five tournaments, including two European titles, is a feat I believe only I have done."

"And now, here we are." He shoved his hands into his pockets and turned to Ozpin. "Your sponsor told me that you might be interested in a little trade of sorts."

Pyrrha's gaze now shifted to Ozpin, he watched them both intently. "I offered Lucas a match of his career. Lucas Kankaansyrjä versus Pyrrha Nikos. The former European Champion against the reigning European Champion."

Pyrrha looked back at Lucas, even more confused. "I don't understand. If you wanted a battle, you could have just asked."

Lucas was looking at her with a charming but almost excessively cocky smirk. "You don't get it, Pyrrha. I don't want A match with you. I want THE match. You and me, in the opening ceremonies of the Gunpla World Championship, a match that for the last few years has mostly just been a fun little exhibition between the Meijin and Lady Kawaguchi. With the stakes being that the winner gets my spot in the Battle Royale. As well as bragging rights over which of us is the superior champion, of course."

Pyrrha was left momentarily speechless, her eyes widening and her mouth slightly agape.

"I believe I can convince the Meijin to give up his spot in favour of this arrangement," Ozpin added. "It would be quite the bout to kick off the opening tournament. However, because it would take place right before the Battle Royale, you wouldn't have much time to repair your Gunpla."

Pyrrha realized she was holding her breath. She exhaled quickly, sitting down in her chair to avoid collapsing from surprise—a second chance.

Perhaps her only chance at the championship she wanted so badly.

It took her a moment to compose herself. She looked up at Lucas, who waited expectantly for her answer.

"I'll do it," she stated after a moment, gripping the arms of her chair in both fear and excitement. Her face was etched with a resolve as unyielding as a Spartan shield.

Lucas's eyes sparkled with excitement of his own, and he nodded. "Alright then. Ozpin? I accept your offer. If I lose, I give up my spot and become Pyrrha's sponsor."

Pyrrha's face fell suddenly when it dawned on her that this entire arrangement was rather one-sided. "Wait. What if I lose?"

Lucas raised his eyebrows as if he hadn't considered that. "Huh. I hadn't considered that. Well, I'd ask you out on a date, but I noticed you have a boyfriend, I think, during your recent battles. So instead, how about you become my teammate and maintenance team for the remainder of the tournament?"

Pyrrha felt relieved that he didn't ask for that date because she knew Jaune would not have taken kindly to that. Becoming part of his crew wasn't a big thing to ask, so she agreed. "That should be sufficient. You'll become my sponsor, or I'll become your partner and crew member for the tournament. I feel like that is fair."

"Then I'll make the proper arrangements," Ozpin said. "I think this battle will be one the fans and combatants won't soon forget. However, until things are finalized, I'd advise both of you not to talk about this. The fewer people who know, the greater the surprise."

Lucas nodded. "It's a dream scenario; I wouldn't dream of spoiling it."

"Okay. I'll tell Jaune once I know the battle is going to happen." Pyrrha looked at Lucas one last time. "Speaking of which, I should probably return to him. I feel like he might start asking too many questions if I stay any longer here."

"Of course. Thank you for coming, Miss Nikos." Ozpin bowed slightly, Pyrrha and Lucas shook hands, and the agreement was set.

Once she left, Lucas turned to Ozpin. "I owe you one. I'm so excited I can't wait."

Ozpin chuckled. "No need to thank me. I recommend you bring your best, Mister Kankaansyrjä. Pyrrha will be doing the same."

"Oh, I know. I saw what she did to Jack, and Jack is one of the few people who has actually taken me down a notch a few times in the past, outside of tournament battles. So I'm aware that this isn't going to be easy." His grin got wider with excitement. "It will be fun, though."

Lucas left not long after Pyrrha, leaving the three adults standing around, thinking. Qrow shot a look at Ozpin. This had to be a plan on his end.

"I assume you're wondering what I'm doing," Ozpin asked, returning his attention to Qrow.

"Oh, I think I know what you're doing." Qrow leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. "You're trying to make sure that the best people with the best opportunities can stand up to Cinder and Hazel in the Battle Royale and World Tournament."

"Do you disapprove?"

Qrow sighed heavily. "I only wish that we didn't have to rely on kids. I don't like having to keep working things around for the kids to do the job of unknowingly saving the world."

"I know. But some of the best Gunpla fighters in the world are simply teenagers looking to have fun." Ozpin's expression grew sad and solemn. "I, too, would prefer not to have to use them in this manner. I wish I could just open up and admit all of this to them. But they are, as we just said, kids. It's my hope that they won't need to worry about the pressure I am putting on them from behind the scenes and just fight to their heart's content without fear of failure."

Qrow pulled out his flask and took a long swig of his whiskey. "Yeah," he replied simply. "If wishes were fishes…"