AN: HEY THERE! ARC Alpha 12 here! I know it's been a LONG time coming, but I'm happy to say that, while a little late, it's finally time to release the newest chapter of RWBY Build Fighters!

I want to thank everyone for their kindness, patience, and understanding. I really did not want to wait this long to continue the story, but circumstances just could not be helped. Luckily, things are looking better now, and I'm slowly transitioning back to normal operations, so with luck, I'm done with annoying setbacks for the time being. I won't waste any more of your time here, I just wanted to say that I genuinely appreciate all of your patience. Now, back to the story!

"What do you think Watts has in store for us today?" Cinder mused from Team Godslayer's box, waiting alongside Emerald for the others. The two of them had come from their hotel room and arrived early, before many of the other contestants or any of the audience.

Emerald shot her a curious look. She seemed unusually interested in today's events. She had an aura about her, one of confidence and, at least to Emerald, mischief.

"I'm…not sure," she answered, feeling a little timid. Something about Cinder had been off lately. She was being more affectionate, which Emerald originally thought she had wanted, but it felt wrong, somehow. It made her wary when she was around her girlfriend.

Cinder smiled, her hand delicately placed on her chin as she thought. Her golden eyes narrowed on the stage below. "Well, there's only-"

The door opened behind them, and Watts stepped into the booth, briefcase in hand, as usual. He was followed by Salem, Tyrion, and Hazel, all of whom wore a rather wide range of expressions, from smug to concerned, in descending order.

"Ah, Watts, Emerald and I were just talking about you."

Watts glared at her as he sat down on the couch and opened his briefcase. "I'm sure you were," he replied, aggravation in his voice.

"How was your breakfast with Sansoro?" She asked pointedly, pressing for details and causing him to pause. "I hope you had a rather enlightening discussion."

His eyes narrowed at her. How did she… "As a matter of fact, I did," he replied. "And it concerns your Empress Bertigo."

Salem glanced at him. "Arthur, is there something you wish to share with the class?"

"Nothing of import," he replied simply, his tone noticeably less edgy with Salem. "Sansoro Sato recognized my building skills when he saw the Ghirarga EVA I made for Tyrion. He sought me out to discuss things, as a member of the current generation of Shingyo Gunpla Building School students."

He brought out the prototype of a Bertigo, built straight from his personal blueprints but otherwise unmodified. The test for the functionality of the eventual Empress Bertigo. "When he saw what I was working on at the café I was eating at, he sat and offered a few ideas which I'm contemplating integrating into the final design."

Cinder, her interest peaked, tilted her head to the side and peered over at him. "Oh? And what ideas were those?"

"Well, he suggested replacing the default arm extensions. My original idea was to replace them with either physical flip out blades, similar to GN Swords, or beam sabers, but he suggested the beam blades used by the Witch of Mercury's Beguir-Beu, which has me rethinking my design."

"Consider me interested," Cinder admitted. "I'll leave you to your design choice, then, and I'll adapt accordingly."

"It shouldn't be much trouble for you, since you started our piloting a Garazzo."

Salem listened to the exchange and nodded, before changing the subject. "What do you have planned for us today?"

Watts gave her a confident look. "Simple. We let things play out as we all expected them to."

He turned his computer to show them the screen, with the various algorithms he used to enter the PPSE security systems. In it, the brackets for the day's matches were clearly displayed, and the sight made Salem smile. "So. Who will be participating on Godslayer's team today?"

Tyrion grinned excitedly, a wild look crossing his eyes. "Oh! Please, do pick me. I would love to have another chance to play!"

Watts scowled. "That will not be necessary. Hazel will be entering, and I'll be the one backing him up."

The entire room stared at him in surprise. "You, Arthur?" Salem asked, curious. "I must admit, I'm rather surprised."

He pulled out a small carrying case from next to the laptop and pulled out a Gunpla. It was a good, black, and purple version of the Grand Bull Gundam.

The design was unchanged, other than the addition of a rather elaborate, steampunk looking pistol to the left hip skirt. It's rifle was also augmented with a variety of pipes and what looked to be a couple Tesla coils on either side of the main body.

"You don't get to be the best Gunpla builder in the world without understanding how Gunpla Battle works," he responded simply. "There's a reason I asked you to sign me up as a combatant."

Cinder gave a small laugh. "I admit, I thought you did that as an insurance that we had an extra person."

Hazel shifted uncomfortably. "I have no opposition to that," he admitted, though he avoided eye contact with everyone.

Tyrion noticed this and walked up to the larger man, placing his hand on Hazel's shoulder. "Cheer up, big man. At least you'll know you have someone competent and skilled at your back, and not…well…me!"

He cackled briefly, which set shivers down Hazel's spine. The near-unhinged mentality Tyrion had disturbed him greatly.

Salem smiled at them all, then turned away. "Now then. We just have to wait."

She smiled confidently, gently playing with her necklace. "Let's see what interesting surprises we can pull out on Ozpin's little soldiers this time."

Ruby had finished Destiny Scythe just in time to get some sleep, complete with new upgrades and a more refined version of the RG System Kai.

Her fight with Hathaway had taught her quite a bit about someone could adapt her own system and use it in a new and interesting way, and just from observing his version, she had managed to retool the one she used on Destiny Scythe to be even more powerful.

She was nervous, though-Weiss had never returned to the room. She had sent a text to her, and Weiss had only stated that she was with her grandfather and she'd be at the tournament, but didn't say when.

Ruby sighed, concern washing over her as someone knocked on the door to her room.

She opened it to see her mother and uncle, waiting for her. "Are you ready for today?" Summer asked, beaming with pride.

Ruby nodded. "I am, but Weiss…" she glanced behind her, then looked back at Summer and Qrow. "She said her Gunpla still isn't ready. I don't understand why she didn't ask me for help."

Qrow took a slow breath. He knew exactly why; Ozpin had explained it to him when he and Weiss had returned from Arian. "Maybe she couldn't," he replied. "It might be something she had to do herself."

The suggestion stung, but she nodded. "Yeah…she was pretty clear she wanted this to be her Gunpla…"

Summer pulled her daughter into a hug. "It's going to be okay. Trust Weiss."

Ruby snuggled into her mother, feeling her warmth and comforting embrace. She held on tightly, before letting go, looking into her mom's sparkling silver eyes. Summer smiled excitedly. "Now, let's go meet your sister and Blake at the colosseum! Your father picked them up for breakfast."

Ruby gasped. "Yang! Oh my gosh, I forgot to check on her!"

Qrow started laughing a bit, until he received a swift tap to the gut by Summer's knuckles. "Relax," he said, settling down after a moment. "She mostly just rested yesterday. She woke up about an hour after her fight but Blake made her stay in bed and rest. I think Sekai's friends did the same thing."

That put Ruby at more ease, and she nodded. "Okay. Well, let's go then. I'm sure Weiss'll be at the stadium soon."

Weiss was waiting outside the stadium with Ozpin when Summer, Qrow, and Ruby arrived. Upon seeing the trio approach, Ozpin looked Weiss dead in the eye.

"Remember. Right now, we cannot let Ruby or the others know about Arian," he said sternly. "If Prince Reiji's plan is to succeed, and reunification is to be achieved-"

"We wait," Weiss finished. "I promise. You've done so much for me. The least I can do is keep your secret."

He nodded and gave her a satisfied and grateful look. "Thank you."

"Weiss!" Ruby called out, almost skidding to a halt next to the two of them. Weiss took a step back to avoid getting tackled.

"Ruby! Slow down!" She scolded. "There's no need to rush!"

Ruby panted lightly and looked at her principal. "Mister Ozpin! I didn't expect you to greet us here."

He gave her a kind smile. "Well, you two, as well as Miss Belladonna and Miss Xiao Long, have come a long way. As the surviving members of the teamsI sponsored, I thought it best to see you off."

Hearing her sister mentioned made Ruby blink. "Are Yang and Blake already here?"

Ozpin nodded. "Indeed. They arrived about ten minutes ago, along with Blake's parents and your father."

Ruby grinned excitedly and turned to Weiss. "And you got your Gunpla?"

Weiss nodded with a confident look, holding up a silver briefcase she was holding. "Right here."

In a flash, Ruby grabbed Weiss's free hand. "Then let's go! C'mon!" She began sprinting off, dragging her partner behind her.

Weiss protested the entire way, trying and failing to stop her. "Ruby! Stop, you dolt! I can't fight if you pull my arm out of its socket!"

Summer and Qrow approached Ozpin, the latter wearing a look of concern. "Why's Weiss with you?" He asked, his voice measured with curiosity and concern.

Ozpin couldn't help but shrug. "It seems her grandfather gave her a gift. That gift accidentally brought her to Arian. I was merely making sure she arrived home safely."

Summer stared at him, wide eyed. She went to Arian? "She what?! But, isn't that going to mess things up?" The implications of such a thing were massive; while she wasn't familiar with politics, especially from a foreign space colony, she knew that a complication like this could cause issues for everything Ozpin and his team were planning.

The herald closed his eyes, his smile waning a bit. "I'm unsure. Time will tell, I suppose."

"Yang!"

Ruby's voice and the sound of her shoes pounding the tile reverberated through the currently empty stadium halls. Yang and Blake were talking with Jack and Adeline, who had arrived moments prior, but turned when they heard Yang's name.

"Hey!" Yang waved over at her sister, who nearly tackled her to the ground in a hug so hard it winded her. Weiss was following behind, panting hard as she came to a stop, bending over in near exhaustion.

Blake looked her over and giggled a bit. "Troubles, Weiss? Did you give Ruby coffee this morning?"

Weiss dropped the briefcase she was holding and glared at Blake, clearly not amused at her friend's little barb, though the look did spawn Adeline and Jack to chuckle, as well.

"I'm sorry!" Ruby blurted out, hugging Yang tightly. "I feel like a horrible sister for not coming to see you yesterday!"

The look of surprise on Yang's face softened. She smiled and tapped Ruby on the top of the head with her knuckles. "Relax, Rubes. It's not like I was dying or anything. And Blake kind of got super possessive and kicked everyone out so I could rest, anyway, so even if you had come, you probably wouldn't have been allowed in."

Blake blushed a bit. "I…just wanted to make sure she was getting enough rest."

Jack and Adeline exchanged knowing glances, both of them smirking. "Uh huh. Rest. Suuuuure," Adeline muttered with a bit of a mischievous tone, which only made Blake blush harder.

"Anyway, Jack and I were just talking about how much fun it'd be to fight in the next round," Yang said, changing the subject. "After my fight with Sekai, she's curious to test her skills against me."

"Sekai has a reputation as one of the most wel known martial artist Gunpla Battlers in the world," Jack explained. "I've never fought him, myself, but his Jigen Haoh school has become pretty famous in just the year and change he's been battling. The fact your sister beat him to a draw has my attention."

"And I'm not gonna lie, fighting Blake's cute cat Gunpla with my rabbit one would be kinda neat," Adeline added. "Not really anything more than the motif going for it, but style can mean everything, and you know people will be talking about it because of that."

Yang snorted and rolled her eyes, smiling to herself. "Yeah, the furries," she commented, earning her a scowl from her girlfriend.

"Hey, they're still consumers too," Adeline replied. "Besides, there's nothing wrong with being a furry."

Yang realized that Adeline was giving her a slightly menacing look. She quickly realized she had never put two and two together to link the fact that Adeline's persona Evelyn was, in fact, a fursona.

"Oh! I didn't mean-"

Adeline laughed as the realization struck Yang like a brick to the face. "Relax. I'm just pulling your leg. But yeah, I know my audience. And I know how to work the crowd over as the cute bun bun who'll kick your butt if you don't take her seriously."

"Consider her Evelyn personality a form of psychological warfare," Jack said. "She's won a lot of matches just from looking cute and throwing her opponents off. Not that it would matter much here, since everyone's a lot more serious than back in the preliminaries or regional tournaments."

The exchange between her sister and Adeline made Ruby giggle. "Well, since we still have a little bit to go before they announce the next round, do you guys wanna go grab something in the cafeteria?"

"I'm game," Jack replied. "After this morning's workout, I could probably use some calories before I get into a fight."

"Yeah, otherwise Jim'll win the bet because you passed out," Adeline quipped. "Let's go grab some food!"

Tai hadn't been expecting an invite from Kali and Ghira, but he had happily accepted once he had dropped Yang and Blake off at the stadium. It had been a little bit since he'd sat down with the Belladonnas. In fact, he figured the last time they had chatted without anyone else was around the same time Yang and Blake had decided to date.

Ghira intimidated Tai a bit, but the man had a heart of gold and a noble soul, which was both admirable and soothing.

He could see where Blake got her values from, which made it so incredibly easy to accept her when she and Yang started dating. She was just instantly likeable, much like her parents. As a father, he was naturally terrified-according to Summer, perhaps a little too paranoid as well-of his daughters dating anyone. So the fact he didn't see Blake breaking Yang's heart, and her parents welcome Yang in with open arms, made everything easier.

"Taiyang!"

His name echoed through the cafeteria as Ghira bellowed over. Ghira and Kali had already taken seats with food, and he waved at them, before getting in line.

His nerves had started to soothe themselves, but seeing both of them together had shaken him up a little. Ghira was loud, and he couldn't help but be slightly embarrassed.

Ghira leaned back in his chair as Tai approached, resting his arm on the back of his chair. "I hope the girls are ready for today."

"As ready and excited as I've ever seen them," Tai replied. "I'm just grateful that Yang isn't actually seriously injured during these fights."

Kali nodded in agreement. "When we first saw her collapse after the first match, we were both really worried about her. She seems right as rain, though."

Ghira stroked his thick beard in thought. "Yes. Yang's proven to be an incredibly resilient fighter so far. And I can't believe how much skill Blake's gotten."

Tai chuckled nervously. "That's partially because of my ex wife. Raven, Yang's mother, runs a dojo for Gunpla fighters. I think I may have mentioned that once or twice in texts before we showed up."

"Oh yeah! I talked with her briefly. Such an…intense woman," Ghira confirmed. "The spirit of a warrior. She takes her Japanese heritage very seriously. I was beyond impressed."

Kali leaned in closer to Tai. "I daresay he was a little smitten," She muttered mischievously, giving her husband a wry smile, knowing how flustered he got when she did such things.

Ghira glared at her with horror in his eyes. "Kali!"

She giggled, sitting back and giving her husband an innocent look. The antics of the two made Tai burst out laughing.

"Yes, well, Raven has always been a driven and focused woman," Tai lamented. His mind briefly flicked back to their first meeting. "It'd be hard to imagine her any other way."

"Speaking of women in your lives," Kali said, drawing Tai out of his memories. "I need to talk with Summer about something, but I haven't been able to get a hold of her. She hasn't answered my texts."

"I kept telling her she's probably busy," Ghira added, "but apparently Kali heard some things at her new job that she needs to talk with Summer soon."

Tai nodded briefly. "Yeah, Sums' been up to her eyeballs in work for the Gunpla Battle Commission. Her position as a Referee has her reviewing a lot of footage and following up on reports constantly. But I can pass the message along to check in with you soon." He cocked his head slightly and gave Kali a puzzled look. "But what job are you talking about?"

Kali smiled gently. "Oh, it's not much more than a favor from a couple of old friends, but before moving to the US, I worked at a Hobby Bar here in Japan. Gunpla Battle was still in its infancy back then-I don't even think it had become an officially recognized sport at the time. I definitely know it was before the First World Tournament.

"So, when we came to Japan, I asked if I could work evenings at the bar for a few hours to get a little spending money here in Japan. It's been very fun! I missed bartending."

Tai nodded, surprised. "Oh! So you must hear all sorts of rumors and stuff."

"If she does, she's keeping a fair amount of them secret," Ghira replied. "Summer's-ears-only sort of thing."

Kali rolled her eyes dismissively. "Pish posh. It's less that and more that, while you are supporting Blake and Yang, you don't like Gunpla Battle much. Me telling you things would only bore you."

"I'll definitely let Summer know, then."

Kali looked at Tai, her eyes softening a bit. "I bet the girls are overjoyed to be able to spend time with Summer when she's got a moment. It must be hard, having her away so often."

Tai looked at his water cup and smiled. "Yeah. When she took this job a few years ago, we knew she'd be gone a lot. But they try and text or talk fairly regularly, and I know for a fact Ruby is incredibly proud of her."

He fought back a tear, thinking about his daughters. "She's working at a job in the sport Ruby loves, and is now fighting on the world stage. And Yang thinks it's the coolest thing to see her working behind the scenes. So knowing her mom is watching her has really given both of them a lot of confidence, even if they don't get to see her as much as before."

Kali gave him a gentle smile. "Both of your daughters are doing great. I'm sure both of them are excited for the next round."

The crowd was waiting with bated breath. All of the contestants had been assembled on the stage, as Mirai waved her hand down to summon the giant screen. "And now, the moment you all have been waiting for!" She announced, turning towards the giant television behind her. "We will now decide the upcoming bracket for the Semi Finals!"

The audience erupted in cheers, and Ruby couldn't help but feel nervous. This wasn't her first time in front of them, of course, but this time felt….different. Like far more was at stake, which of course was the truth.

Mirai waved her hand again, pointing at the screen, and the digital roulette began. "The first match will be…Team Godslayer, versus…."

The second roulette spun around and around, before stopping abruptly. "….Team Jackrabbit! Which means, the second match will be Team White Rose versus Team Bumblebee!"

Jack crossed her arms in disappointment. "I was hoping for Bumblebee, to be honest," she admitted, before shrugging and glancing at her chosen opponents. Hazel was staring back at her with an intense glare. "Oh well. Hazel and I have a bit of a rematch to get out of the way, so this is the best time to do it."

Jack couldn't help but notice the well dressed gentleman next to Hazel. The man wasn't anyone she'd seen thus far from Godslayer. Yet another mysterious pilot, waiting in the wings?

Having the money to sponsor so many for one team must be a blessing, she thought. They'd just have to adapt. Godslayer was even tougher than the other teams because in addition to not knowing who they would be fighting, they also had so many battlers that nobody could predict them even if the brackets were set.

Adeline tugged at her Evelyn costume and looked over at Ruby and the others. Ruby, Yang, Blake, and Weiss all had their eyes locked on one another. The expressions on their faces, where once uncertainty or worry had sat, were now filled with confidence and excitement. "Well, I can tell you they're happy about this."

Yang grinned, her eyebrows furrowing in an overly energetic look of anticipation. "You know, Rubes, this isn't going to go down like the Regionals. All the little gimmicks in the world won't save you from me wrecking your Gunpla."

Ruby returned her grin. "My dear big sister Yang, I'm very sorry for what I'm going to do to the Gunpla you worked so hard to create. With Weiss at my side, I'm afraid you should probably forfeit now."

"You guys are in for a world of hurt today," Weiss added. "I'll finally be able to truly show off what I'm capable of."

"You seem to be forgetting one thing, Weiss," Blake responded evenly. "I'm not the same person I was even a week ago. I won't let you get close to Yang or myself. This match is ours."

Watts watched the bravado coming from Ozpin's chosen soldiers and snorted dismissively. "Hazel, I should tell you now that I've adjusted the performance of your Gunpla. You may feel it's a bit heavier now; that would be because I've rebalanced it and added additional, thicker layers of plastic to increase its durability, and increased the joint strength to compensate."

Hazel glanced down at Watts. "So it should be able to withstand the Nu Preliator?"

"Withstand, overpower, and eliminate," Watts stated proudly. "While I don't recommend testing its true defensive power directly, most of Jackrabbit's weapons should have little effect on your Gunpla now."

Hazel narrowed his eyes. "I would rather have been able to fight her fair and square."

"Now's not the time for bravado," Watts hissed. "The last time you two fought was a year ago, and she was using a Gundam Tristan, not Nu Gundam, and if I recall correctly, you lost."

Hazel grunted, but Watts persisted. "It is imperative for us to succeed in this, Rainart. Do not let your pride or ego get in the way. Again."

The final word was punctuated, and he knew Watts was referring to his mentality against Nora and Ren in the last match he was in. He sighed, nodding.

Jack watched the exchange intently. She couldn't hear what they were discussing, but it was fairly clear Hazel and this new fighter weren't on the same page.

That could be useful…

Qrow, Ral, and Ozpin watched from the skybox, concern written on their faces. All of them were clearly thinking the same thing.

"Well, it was bound to happen eventually," Qrow lamented, swirling his Scotch in his glass. The ice clinked around as he thought.

Ozpin didn't seem convinced. "Remember when I asked you to look into the cybersecurity measures for the tournament?"

Ral nodded. "I had a couple people who worked on the current system double check things. They did seem to find a back door code, much like the one that was exploited by a Gunpla Mafia member named C."

"Apparently the code hasn't been accessed, but it has changed, and nobody can find out who is altering it or why," Qrow added. "There's no additional code, there's no indication any variables are changed. They even reinstalled the program this morning, after we asked them nicely."

"Which means that it's entirely possible the actual program itself is compromised," Ozpin said, slightly disheartened. "And there's no way to prove that's the case without reconstructing the code from the ground up."

"Which would take a week, at least." Ral crossed his arms. "It sounds almost paranoid to think that it was compromised for that long, but if the random selection wasn't random at all…"

"Then Salem has been in control of the entire tournament." Ozpin inhaled slowly, his grip on his cane tightening. "Which only means that she's been purposefully trying to eliminate any team that she views as a risk by pairing them against teams that can beat them."

"But then, why not just have your two remaining fight each other?" Ral asked. "Would it not be more prudent to eliminate both of them by using Jackrabbit and their own team?"

"She's toying with me by flaunting her control," Ozpin replied. "She wants to watch my sponsored teams destroy each other while I watch."

Qrow watched Ozpin carefully. He could see the tension in the man's body. The stress under the pressed black suit, his shoulders drawn up, his grip on his cane, the way his brow knitted together.

Ozpin and Salem knew each other very well, and Ozpin knew she had outplayed him right at this moment.

At this point, all any of them could do was watch this fight. One of Ozpin's teams was making it to the Finals. It was their job to try and support them however they could.