AN: HELLO Everyone! ARC Alpha 12 here, and I got a couple questions on the last chapter in the review section that I wanted to address.

ALSO sorry for the delay in getting this out. After editing it, I wanted to go back and redo and add a few extra pieces to it to give it a greater punch.

First off, to clarify, since I started writing this series 3 years ago and didn't anticipate them continuing or linking Gundam Build Fighters and Divers in the Metaverse series, I will probably not be using any info coming from those episodes in this fan fiction with the exception of possibly Gunpla used. I've already established in a slight retcon that Gundam Breaker Battlelogue is an anime in the Build Fighters universe so that Yang could build the Blazing Gundam Archon, and I think already have mentioned that Build Divers is canon to this fan fic as another anime in the Build Fighters universe, so trying to go back and change that would be…complicated.

Also, I had a private message about Weiss's Gunpla. Specifically what the shield looks like. Because of the Weiss Sinanju's modular shield setup, I wound up using the Frame Arm Girl Knight Master Architect shield (which functionally works almost identical to the Weiss Sinanju shield but with a few added features) to give the Sinanju Stalritter something more visually appealing that also still has the Weiss Sinanju's gimmick. So if you want to know what the shield looks like, there ya go, just with some cosmetic changes to make it more distinct (I have a white and blue version of that Frame Arm Girl shield for a custom Gunpla and used that specifically but it's the same as the Knight Master Architect black and red shield). I did write it as Weiss creating it from scratch, so it's not that she took it and slapped it on, she actually modeled it herself in this universe.

Also, before it comes up: I wrote this chapter back in January, before RWBY Volume 9 came out. There is a small scene in here that may be seen as a reference to a scene in Volume 9-that is completely accidental, I assure you.

One last note as well: I'm going to skip next month's release due to getting busy at work again, but if things go the way that I'm hoping with my new boss, I hope that I won't have to do that again for a while.

There was one more question I saw pop up but I'm not answering it due to spoilers. But yeah, just thought I'd get those out there for people. Now, on to the battle!

Summer and Takeshi rushed down the hallways towards the server room, their stomachs falling as they got closer. After the warnings Ozpin had given, they felt like fools for not looking after things with greater intent.

"How could we have dropped the ball like this?!" Takeshi asked as they ran. "We should have listened to Ozpin!"

Summer shot him a concerned look. "We had no way of knowing that Ozpin was telling the truth. We shouldn't be too hard on ourselves. Let's focus on stopping whoever is doing this."

The pair rounded the corner to the server room, and almost crashed onto Nils, who was staring at the door. He caught Summer as she lost her balance, and helped her stand upright. "You got the alert, as well?"

"What's happening?" Takeshi asked. "Is there someone in there?"

Nils shook his head. "I just had security here, and they checked every nook and cranny once I got an alert of a back door breach. There's nobody here."

Takeshi looked at the door angrily, and grabbed the handle. He pushed it open, and sure enough, the server room was empty. "So someone's accessing the servers remotely? Is that even possible?"

Nils stepped into the room and headed for a computer terminal on one of the servers. "It shouldn't be. But clearly, someone has inside knowledge and skills I didn't think were possible. I might be able to backtrace the intrusion, but doing so will alert the perpetrator."

"What could he do while he remains in the system?" Summer asked, concerned. Ruby and Yang's battle was so important to them; to know someone was interfering with it bothered her greatly.

"I've contained many of the individual systems that haven't been breached already," Nils responded. His hands flew over the keyboard, eyes watching as lines of code streamed over the screen. "As of right now, he can't do more than what he's already done. However…"

His hands stopped and he turned to Takeshi and Summer. "He's locked me out of the Plavsky Particle manipulation system. I can't do anything with it, even from here, which I suspect was his only intended target."

"We need to stop the match!" Takeshi pulled out his phone, but Nils shook his head.

"I can't. Not yet. Without control of the Plavsky system, I have no way to shut the battle table down. Left unchecked, the worst case scenario is it runs haywire, like the Mock Battle of A Boua Qu."

Memories of what happened on his private research island flooded his mind. The prototype Plavsky Particle crystal exploding with potential energy, the damage to the facility…

It was all too similar to the Seventh Tournament, and the possibility here was great enough to not be ignored.

"However, if the Gunpla in the battle can damage Messiah's main reactor, we can, at least, prevent that outcome. Even if the battle system goes out of control, we can mitigate the damage by destroying Messiah on the field."

Weiss and Blake continued to clash, using their speed and agility against each other in brutal blitz attacks. Their sabers bounced off each other's shield, causing each of them to rapidly turn and reposition for another strike.

Blake was trying to use her Gunpla's quantum teleportation to confuse Weiss, but her White Rose bits continued to thwart this strategy. Whenever she'd emerge near Weiss, the bits would give her position away almost instantly, reacting to her change of position by backing away from Blake and firing.

The Sinanju Stalritter pointed its rapier at Blake and lashed out with several blue beams. Blake dodged the first two and blocked the third with a GN shield, which caused her power to fluctuate.

She glanced at her power output; if this kept up, the 00 Bella would drop out of Transient Burst and Weiss could finish her off in seconds.

Weiss smirked. She watched as the third beam rippled against the GN shield. It appeared Blake's power was starting to run low. Perfect.

Meanwhile, near Messiah, Ruby skimmed across the surface of the fortress while Yang gave chase. She had surprised Ruby several times now, revealing that the Blazing Gundam Archon could, in short bursts, actually overtake the speed of the Gundam Destiny Scythe.

Ruby turned just as Yang did this exact thing, dashing forward in a diving kick. She halted her advance as Yang missed, unfurling her beam scythe and slashing at the Blazing Archon's head, trying to distract her.

Yang caught the swing, however, ducking inside the scythe's blade and catching its handle, preventing Ruby from moving.

This was the same move Yang had pulled during the Regionals, which had led to the Crimson Strike Noir losing its dual beam polearm.

Ruby growled in frustration and slammed her knee into Yang's stomach, the pointed kneecap armor of the Destiny Scythe driving itself into the Blazing Archon.

Yang grunted, but returned the favor with a powerful burning fist to the face, which sent the Destiny Scythe flying backwards, losing its grip on its weapon. Ruby's cockpit shook relentlessly as she struggled to regain control, lifting her hand up and opening fire with her palma fiocina cannons.

Yang deflected the first two shots with her forearm gauntlets and dodged the third, but was hit in the shoulder pauldron by the fourth shot. She winced in pain and spun around, rolling to the side to avoid any more incoming fire.

As she came back around to face Ruby again, she barely had enough time to duck as the Destiny Scythe blitzed her. She turned her face to the side and took another knee to the cheek, which crunched the plastic around her right eye and made her recoil.

Her hand moved to her face, the skin stinging as if she herself just got hit. She silently cursed in her mind. Assimilation could suck, sometimes.

Ruby used the moment of pause to dash back towards her scythe, which was floating off to the side of her present locations and away from the two Gunpla, drifting into deep space.

She grabbed the weapon just as she took a shot from behind, which sent her down to the rocky surface once more. Yang swung her right leg in a wide kick, launching her Laser Bullet crescent attack outward at Ruby, before completing a full revolution and firing a second one off.

The Destiny Scythe pushed off of the surface of Messiah and headed upwards, avoiding the first Laser Bullet, and slashed the energy wave of the second with her beam edge on Crescent Rose, cutting it in half and disrupting the attack.

She grinned happily, but was panting a bit and sweating. Nerves, combined with excitement, were coursing through her veins with the adrenaline. She knew fighting Yang again would be tough, but she wouldn't have it any other way.

Then, a pop up alert caught her attention. She glanced down at the power levels of her RG System Kai. The system was registering a spike in Plavsky Particle absorption. She should have been operating at approximately eighty percent, but presently it was…one hundred twenty-two?!

"Yang! Hold up a moment!"

The Blazing Archon halted its rush, and Yang gave her sister an impatient glare. "What is it? I'm trying to win, here!"

"Did your power meter just spike?"

Yang gave her a confused look, and glanced at her power readings. "Yeah…I was at ninety-two, but now it says one hundred and forty-seven? What the hell?!"

"Weiss-"

Weiss interrupted her before she could say anything more. "Same here. My power readings are elevated now. What does this mean?"

"I'm not getting any abnormal readings," Blake commented.

"You probably won't, because the 00 Bella doesn't use my RG System," Ruby replied, "but what it means is, our Gunpla are absorbing more Plavsky Particles than what should be possible under our current conditions."

Yang shrugged, seemingly unconcerned. "So what? That just means we have more power to spare, right?"

Ruby shook her head. "The problem is that the system shouldn't allow for this level of Plavsky Particle generation to be possible." She looked around. "They put in fail safes after the Seventh World Tournament to keep the system from going haywire with creating too many Plavsky Particles."

She looked at Messiah, remembering what had happened to the last stadium when A Boua Qu broke through the stadium roof after numerous crystals made from Plavsky Particles formed throughout the building.

Unlike A Boua Qu, however, Messiah wasn't completely static. If the system went out of control, the Neo-GENESIS super weapon on the fortress, using the hardlight of the Battle System, might actually hurt people.

In the perfect situation, this was a catastrophe waiting to happen.

Her phone buzzed, catching her off guard, and she reached into her pocket. "Mom?"

"Ruby, listen." Summer's voice was frantic. "There's something going wrong with the battle system. I'm here in the server room with Nils Yajima. He says that you need to damage the reactor of the space fortress in the battle and try and destroy it so that if something happens, it won't cause too much damage.

"However, if the power rises too much, the reactor might explode, and it could cause a complete overload of the system and damage all of the electronics in the stadium-and the feedback might injure anyone near the stage, so you need to hurry!"

Ruby nodded, her concerns rising. But she knew if they didn't do something now, it could hurt a lot of people. "Okay, yeah. We can try and stop-"

"Ruby!"

Weiss's voice interrupted her, and she looked at her HUD to see her face. "I'm reading an energy build up in Messiah! What's going on?!"

Ruby turned and looked at Messiah, and her heart sank as a brilliant reddish glow began to emanate from the station. "We're too late…"

Cinder chuckled as Watts inputted the activation code for Messiah's massive super laser. "Oh, what fun."

Salem toyed with her glowing necklace, watching Watts with intense interest. "So, you have full control of the battle system? I would prefer not having an incident that harms civilians."

Watts glanced up at her. "I wasn't aware you were concerned about that."

Salem scoffed. "Civilian deaths or injuries would complicate matters and stop the tournament completely, thus derailing my plans. I'd prefer not to damage our chances of getting close to the PPSE headquarters."

The technician seemed unphased by Salem's callousness, but he just gained a glimmer of information on the woman-information he'd been looking for for a while.

She didn't care about what happened here, so long as she won. To a point, he could respect that. And ultimately it did little to dissuade his own interests, so he set the thoughts aside for now.

"The safety protocols are engaged," he replied. "The super laser won't harm anyone except the Gunpla in the fight. Although, the system itself will be under maintenance for a solid day after this-more than enough time for us to address other, more pressing matters."

Cinder raised an eyebrow. "Such as?"

"The fact that I suspect that the Sinanju Stalritter was made of plastic not developed on Earth."

Salem and Cinder both stared at him, and he spun his laptop around. A live camera feed and several tabs of live data were all scrolling across his screen. He tapped on one of the data numbers. "The density of the plastic and reaction to the Plavsky Particles matches no other Gunpla in this tournament so far, save for one-Tyrion's mech, which had been built using pieces created with Arian plastic."

"Is there really such a difference?" Cinder asked skeptically.

His eyes narrowed. "Very much so. Plastic used on Arian is made differently in order to make it more recyclable, to avoid pollution. In my analysis of the materials he provided me, I also found that it's far more responsive to Plavsky Particles, making it's reactions more instantaneous-similar to an assimilated user, minus the drawbacks."

Salem confirmed his assertions. "Arian uses plastic with greater reactive potential for all manner of things, from mining equipment to computers. It helps ease some of the burdens. Building a Gunpla out of that plastic yields more potent results."

Watts' eyes locked with Cinder's as he noticed a wicked smile creeping over her lips. "And before you ask, yes, I have enough for your main Gunpla, plus a few replacement pieces. I took that into account while crafting Tyrion's machine."

Cinder closed her eyes and smirked. "Anticipating our needs, as always. Thank you for your consideration."

He grunted and turned back to the computer. "Now. To finish this fight."

Ozpin closed his eyes. His mind was filled with frustration and concern as he watched what was playing out before the entire stadium and, indeed, world.

This shouldn't be happening.

He reached out, letting his mental state resonate with the Arista crystal in his cane, and he found the connection he needed almost immediately.

"Salem, stop this."

He felt a pause of surprise and irritation, yet also the feeling of expectancy. Clearly, Salem knew he'd try this.

"What makes you think I have anything to do with this, Ozpin?"

"Your coy act is getting tiresome. Whatever it is you're doing with your Arista gem, it needs to stop."

He felt a dismissive sensation wash over him from Salem. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Salem-"

"Before you go accusing myself or anyone on my team of tampering with a legitimate Gunpla Battle, perhaps you should consider the idea that something else is going on."

Ozpin scowled. "Like what, exactly?"

"Like the fact that one of those girls down there is creating a resonance field on her own."

Ozpin's eyes opened and he looked down. His gaze fell on Penny and Ciel; what exactly what Salem trying to say? Neither of these girls were from Arian, and they wouldn't have access to Arista gems.

And yet, his gem was seemingly responding not just to the increased Plavsky particles or the gem Salem held, but to something else. Something unknown.

"Qrow, what can you tell me about Penny Polendina and Ciel Soleil?"

Qrow looked at him, confused. "I….know Ciel is Nils Yajima's niece and that Penny is the adoptive daughter of a former PPSE engineer named Pietro Polendina, but I haven't really looked into them besides what was on news coverages and in my files while looking into PPSE. Why?"

His eyes followed them as he saw Penny clutch her chest and then look up at the skyboxes. Their eyes met briefly. "I'm not sure. But something is going on, and I'm not fully convinced all of this is Salem's doing, now."

Penny stared up at the skybox behind her. She couldn't see who it was, but she did see a bright orange light coming from a man standing at the window, and felt his eyes on her.

How could she feel this? And those voices? A man and a woman arguing?

"Penny? Perhaps we should go see your father."

Ciel's words pulled her attention back to the ground floor, and the android looked at Ciel, seemingly dazed.

"I…felt something," she admitted. "A man and a woman arguing about this match. Confusion and frustration, I think. And I think the woman…knows something. The man, now, too. About me."

Ciel gave her a skeptical look. "That sounds insane, Penny. How can anyone know about you? And how can you hear voices?" She paused and appraised Penny. "Perhaps you're picking up on a phone signal or something. Though I'm not entirely sure how you could…"

Penny looked back at the battle. "After this fight, I'll go see Mr. Yajima and my father." She turned fully back to the table. "I wish to see this out."

Ciel watched her carefully but nodded. "If you feel or hear anything else, tell me. Okay?"

Penny nodded. "Understood."

Ruby's mind raced as she tried to think of what they could do. While she was sure the safety precautions would protect the stadium, that didn't mean that the four of them weren't in immediate danger.

The audience was mumbling around them, confused. Clearly, they didn't understand what was going on. She was sure most of them just wrote this entire thing off as a performance, which was for the best-a panicked mob wouldn't be good for anyone.

"Okay. We don't have time to find an opening to fly into the core." She turned to Weiss and Yang. "Both of you-deactivate your RG limiters! Weiss and I will flood the area with Plavsky Particles. Yang, I need you to absorb them and fire off your special attack at the cannon to destroy it!"

Yang and Weiss did as they were instructed, and the silver, light blue, and gold particles began exploding from the machines, saturating the field. Ruby then looked at Blake. "I need you to re-enter Transient Burst mode. GN Particles are just modified Plavsky Particles. They won't give Yang as much of a boost, but they'll still help."

Blake nodded and activated her Transient Burst. Brilliant purple sparkles filled the ocean of black, mixing with the others to create a cascading rainbow that was being visibly absorbed by the Blazing Archon.

"Okay," Yang said, watching her readouts skyrocket. Her palms slammed together in front of her, and she forced them open, molding a vibrant, golden orb of pure power between them. The incredible energy draw began to spark and launch electrical discharges after only a few moments, as Yang focused all of the excess power into a concentrated form.

"Jīnlóng…Bàozhà!"

The group watched as the ball of raw energy launched a titanic beam out from her hands as she thrusted her arms forward, as if throwing it at the space station.

Ruby watched the beam lance forward, coming closer and closer to hitting the station. Mere seconds before impact, though, the station returned fire, sending warning alarms and pop up alerts all over the four Gunpla's HUDs.

They watched as a vibrant blast of energy, red in the core and brilliant white along the edges, traveled outward towards the team.

It looked as if the plan would work. The focusing lense of the Messiah's Neo-GENESIS cannon was within striking distance, and Yang was pumping out so much power that her attack should nullify the danger in a matter of seconds.

It wasn't until the flash of white and red that launched from Messiah collided with Yang's finisher that Ruby realized they had timed it wrong.

The massive fortress's gamma radiation cannon formed a devastating blast of power that pushed back against Yang's Gold Dragon Blast. It advanced quickly, struggling slightly but making steady headway towards the four Gunpla.

Ruby flew up in front of Yang and activated both of her beam shields. Weiss and Blake followed suit, the former raising her physical shield and activating a psycho frame resonance barrier in front of her, while the 00 Bella created a GN particle shield around Yang's attack to shield the Gundams from residual power discharges from the incoming energy blast.

Yang gritted her teeth; the strain on the Blazing Archon was incredible. Alerts were beginning to spring up as her wrist, elbow, and shoulder joints struggled to hold together from her own attack, and her power levels were fluctuating wildly.

"Rubes, I don't know how much more I can take!" She cried out. Pain was beginning to shoot up her joints as her Gunpla started to buckle under the strain. She intensified the attack, doing her best to hold the Neo-GENESIS cannon at bay, but it was starting to appear hopeless.

Blake glanced at her friends' faces in her HUD. Yang, especially, looked stressed, pain etched on her face as she struggled. Ruby was frantically trying to think of something to turn the tide, while Weiss simply scowled, determination and stubbornness refusing to let her surrender to fate.

An idea clicked on her head, but she knew she'd need to break formation to do it. "Hey, girls? I need all of you to hang on for just a couple of moments without me, okay?"

All of their faces turned to sudden surprise, and they looked at Blake, confused. "Wait, what? What are you going to do?" Ruby asked, beginning to panic and pour additional power into her beam shields.

"Fixing our issue." Blake quantum teleported out of formation, causing the GN barrier to drop with her. The approaching attack began assaulting all three machines with raw, unstopped power, electrical and positronic bolts of energy lashing out and slamming into the Sinanju Stalritter and Gundam Destiny Scythe's shields.

Ruby and Weiss's cockpits immediately switched from blue to red as the damage piled up rapidly. "What is she thinking?!" Weiss asked. "Is she sacrificing Yang so she can win?"

"No way! Blake must have a plan!" Ruby shot back. "I think she wants this fight just as much as we do!"

"Trust Blake!" Yang screamed through gritted teeth. "I know she's got something planned!"

Blake reappeared outside the blast zone, next to Messiah. She inhaled sharply and extended her GN Sword, launching her sword bits and her modified Exia shield and forming them up around the blade. They extended outwards several dozen meters from the sword, following her movement as she raised the blade and the bits up above her.

She transferred power from the 00 Bella's reactors to her sword, and a titanic purple/pink blade of energy erupted from the GN Sword. The bits contained the power, creating a titanic beam saber that seemingly pierced the heavens.

The 00 Bella swung the sword downward, crashing the blade straight into the exposed neck of the main dish of the Neo-GENESIS cannon. At first, she met resistance from a beam shield, but the shield became overwhelmed from the extensive power output of the giant saber, flickering out after only a few seconds as Blake cleaved through the asteroid and into the cannon.

The gamma radiation-fueled beam sputtered and went out, fading just as it had almost claimed Blake's friends.

Yang's attack, now unrestricted, shot forth, engulfing the secondary mirror cone and the front of the main mirror of the Neo-GENESIS in golden, fiery rage, melting it into slag and boring its way through Messiah. The damage to the fortress set off chain reactions throughout its structure, with explosions beginning to crack the asteroid superstructure.

Yang panted hard, dropping her stressed arms to her side. Her energy was spent and her elbow and shoulder joints felt like they were on fire from assimilation.

Ruby and Weiss both let out sighs of relief, and Blake floated next to the Blazing Archon, smiling at Yang as their Gunpla hung in space.

Nils watched the events play out on screen as he continued to work rapidly to take control of the program. He had on several occasions tried to circumvent a code that prevented both an automatic and manual shutdown of the system, but he'd found that whoever created that code had made it nearly impossible to stop.

Finally, however, the server was locked down and back under his control.

"Okay. The only thing I need to do now is to reboot the system, which means we'll need to end the battle and purge the server of the malicious code," he explained. "I'd rather not have to do this, but I can't have the system compromised any further."

Takeshi gave him a distressed look. "What are we going to tell the audience?"

Nils glanced his way, thinking. "I suppose we have to to just admit there was a system error and the server needs a reboot before any other malfunctions happen."

He accessed the main control system for the Battle Tables and deactivated them, finishing the fight instantly.

In the arena, both teams hung in space, spent, most of their energy depleted. Of the four, Blake was the most energized, but even the 00 Bella was running low and slowly recharging.

When the system blared "BATTLE CANCELLED," all four girls recoiled, stunned, as the entire system shut down on them. They, and the crowd, looked around in confusion, completely unaware of the events going on behind the scenes.

"Attention, everyone," a voice began, and a moment later Nils appeared on the massive screens above the stadium. "I am Nils Yajima, creator of the current Battle System used by the PPSE for the tournament hosted today.

"I regret to inform all of you that I have found evidence of a system error in the code used by this battle today, and as such, have decided to postpone the battle. I am presently working on patching this error as we speak, but to ensure a fair and reasonable battle, I require at least twenty-four hours to completely reboot the system and test it."

The audience whispered among themselves. Waves of disappointment, dissatisfaction, and annoyance mixed with sadness and concern as they processed what they had just heard.

Weiss and Blake exchanged glances, eyes meeting with the same feelings as the audience. Yang glared in frustration at the screens above. But it was Ruby who spoke up.

She called her mother. "Mom? You said you were with Nils, right? Can you give him the phone please?"

Summer and Takeshi looked at each other, then at Nils, before she put Ruby on speaker phone. "Go ahead."

"Mister Yajima!" Ruby pleaded. "Please, don't stop this fight! Let us restart and finish this!"

"Miss Rose, I understand your feelings, but this system glitch can't be trusted," Nils responded. "If left unchecked, it could cause additional problems."

Ruby frowned sadly, before looking at the others. They all seemed to offer her support and hope through their eyes; clearly, they felt the same as she did.

"Then why not change the location?" Weiss offered. "Put us in empty space, away from all obstacles? That way, even if the glitch happens again, there won't be anything that would interfere with our battle?"

Nils paused. It made logical sense, but he still felt uncomfortable with restarting the battle with the malicious code in the system.

"Mister Yajima, you were once in a similar situation, right?" Ruby asked. "During the Seventh World Tournament, you and Reiji and Sei Iori battled, and your Sengoku Astray and their Star Build Strike were forced to restart your battle.

"I know it wasn't because of a system error, but I think we all would like that same opportunity. Please."

Nils glanced at Summer and Takeshi. Summer gave him a sympathetic smile, knowing how exciting and persuasive her daughter could be.

He knew it wasn't the smart move. But if they did move the fight to empty space, then maybe it wouldn't matter. Especially if he was keeping an eye on things in the server room.

He sighed, nodding. "Okay. I'll restart the match in fifteen minutes. Take the time you need to repair your Gunpla while I set things up. Good luck."

The girls all grinned. They looked at each other and nodded, immediately turning to get to work on analyzing what their Gunpla needed.

Nils turned off the screens and Summer hung up the phone. She looked at Takeshi, who wore a concerned expression on his face.

"Is this going to be okay?" He asked. "Technically, the rules and regulations state that if any tampering is detected, we need to lock the entire system down."

"Probably not," Nils admitted, "but Ruby reminds me a lot of a particular Gunpla builder I know, and as long as I can keep things under control, I think the risk is minimal."

He opened up the system program and began placing firewalls around the interfering line of code. Containing the threat wouldn't stop additional hacks, but he was certain it would stop the hacking attempts long enough for him to counter them as they occurred.

With the time to prepare, Yang immediately focused on replacing her Gunpla's arms. Now out of the battle, the uncomfortable pain and strain from her own attack had faded, but her muscles were still aching. She rotated her shoulders and stretched her neck, trying to loosen the tension.

Blake looked over the 00 Bella. It was damaged, and a few of her bits were destroyed, but those things were minor. She quickly added replacement bits to her Gunpla and looked to Yang, scooting over to her and rubbing her shoulders with a surprising grip.

"Are you okay?"

Yang nuzzled her left hand with her cheek and hummed. "Yeah. I'm fine. A little tired and sore, but fine." She kissed Blake's knuckles and gave her a confident smirk. "Ready for round two?"

Blake smiled and nodded. "Whenever you are, babe."

Ruby, meanwhile, looked over Weiss's Gunpla in amazement. The Destiny Scythe had taken damage, but nothing that wasn't critical for functionality. So, she took the opportunity to watch as Weiss checked her Sinanju's inner pieces, marveling at the Plavsky Particle pieces and the small but marvelously crafted psycho frame parts connected to the vents and boosters.

"You…built this?" She asked, her silver eyed absorbing everything she was looking over.

Weiss glanced at her as she analyzed her left elbow joint. "Impressed? I took a lot of inspiration from your notes on Destiny Scythe."

She looked at the intricacies of the inner design, before placing the armor plates back and pressing them down. She wanted to admit that she had built this, but she knew that would be a lie.

"I didn't suffer much damage." She finished her maintenance, rearming her Gunpla with a new rifle and standing up. "I'm ready to finish this."

Ruby picked her shield up and turned it over in her hands. "You…really did a good job designing this weapon system."

"Well, Jaune's Pale Chevalier helped a bit," she said, shaking her head with a small smile, before turning back to her with a sharp glare. "Don't you dare tell him that. He's let it go to his head."

Ruby cocked her head, before realizing what her partner meant. A grin spread across her face. "You…"

Weiss huffed. "Quiet, you. Focus on the fight."

She stood up and placed her Sinanju back onto the table. "And don't. Tell. Jaune. Or Pyrrha. I don't want to complicate their relationship."

Ruby nodded. "Okay. I promise. Just, don't bottle this stuff up. You can talk to me, you know?"

Weiss rolled her eyes. She knew that. She just wasn't entirely sure if Ruby was the right person to confide in about this kind of thing.

Ruby then turned around and waved at Penny. "Having fun?"

Penny wore a blank expression, which instantly lit up when Ruby's voice turned to her. "Yes!" She responded, before hiccuping. "You're doing phenomenal, all of you!"

Yang and Blake gave her a thumb's up. Yang cracked her knuckles and put the Blazing Archon back onto the table. "Three minutes. Then we finish kicking your butt."

"That's not how I see it," Weiss replied confidently. "I hope you don't hate us too much after today."

Cinder looked rather disappointed as she watched the situation play out. While the combatants made their repairs, she frowned and fiddled with her necklace's gold chain. "You know, Watts, I expected something a bit more…entertaining from that entire display."

Watts scoffed. "Science and study isn't about entertainment. It's about understanding."

"And what is it you've come to understand from this?" She asked, turning to face him. "Because I fail to see the point."

"And that's where your lack of observational skills fail you," he retorted curtly.

Salem warily glared at him. "Arthur…"

Watts shot her an annoyed expression. "Fine. You want to know what I've found?"

He turned his computer around. "I've learned two things. The first is that we have grossly underestimated the overall power output of their Gunpla. All of their Gunpla. And I don't know by how much yet."

Cinder raised her eyebrows in surprise. For Watts to admit he was wrong, and to admit he wasn't even sure what that meant, was huge.

"And the second?" She asked.

"Weiss Schnee's Sinanju, of course. The fact that she's been given access to superior materials is something I took into consideration with all four of these girls, but seeing her in action has destroyed all my initial estimations."

Salem and Cinder exchanged shocked glances. Cinder's eyes flicked from Watts to Salem and back. "So, that means…"

Salem inhaled slowly, realization slowly setting in. "It means Ozpin is beginning to arm his little child soldiers," she finished. "Whether they know it or not, he's beginning to modify his strategy."

"And, Nils Yajima has already locked me out of the system," he continued. "As far as my ability to further interfere with this battle goes, I am as much a spectator as anyone else. Fortunately, I already planned for this, and he can't trace my access back."

Salem closed her eyes, trying to let the tension go. "Then, I suppose, we watch."

Mirai Kamiki raised her hands excitedly into the air. "And now, I'm told that the battle system will be back up in one moment, so let's get ready to finish this rather incredible fight!"

The four girls stood on their panels as their cockpits circled them again.

The excitement as the four Gunpla launched back into space resonated through the stadium, and as the Sinanju and Destiny Scythe flew in formation, Weiss watched the faint but rapidly growing glows from Yang and Blake's machines approaching.

"We can't risk a prolonged engagement," she said, gripping her control orbs. "We both know what they can do; let's take them out fast, before either of them get some momentum going."

The excitement of getting the chance to finish this fight had Ruby on the edge, and she selected her SEED Mode from her special abilities. The Voiture Lumiere system's Wings of Light flared up, and the silvery effects dominated the area around her.

Weiss responded in kind with her RG System and NT-D mode. Her Sinanju's psycho frame vents and Sleeves motif began to open and glow, allowing Weiss to catch up with her partner nearly instantly and channel power through her Gunpla.

The two began to circle one another, spiraling in space as they closed the distance. Yang and Blake were traveling quickly, but seemed to be moving at an almost leisurely pace compared to Team White Rose.

Weiss narrowed her eyes, focusing on the incoming duo, before being alerted to a sudden object to her left. She twisted and raised her right arm and shield just as the 00 Bella came crashing down on her, its GN Sword skittering off of her shield.

Ruby glanced back at the Sinanju, but kept going. Weiss could handle herself, and Yang had accelerated as soon as Blake attacked.

She raised her rifle and fired, unleashing several golden rounds that Yang danced around effortlessly. The Blazing Archon had already begun to exude golden flames, and Yang increased her speed yet again and slammed her fist right into the Destiny Scythe's left beam shield, which flared but held upon impact.

Ruby and Yang both gritted their teeth. Both machines were generating a massive amount of thrust, and Yang had the disadvantage in this situation.

The rifle of the Destiny Scythe unfolded into its beam scythe, and Ruby took hold of it with both hands. Shifting her thrusters from forward to downward, she shot upward and swept the scythe across Yang's position, missing the Blazing Archon by inches as Yang side stepped the swing.

Ruby used the follow through from her swing to shift the weapon to her left hand, and she opened fire with her Vulcans and right palma fiocina shook her head as she boosted forward at an angle, then upwards, flipping upside down and over into and powerful axe kick.

"C'mon Rubes, that's the same old song and dance," Yang taunted as the Destiny Scythe was knocked away. She fired a Blazing Shot at Ruby, which slammed into the face and chest of the Destiny Scythe, obscuring its vision for a moment.

Ruby backed away, avoiding a roundhouse kick, and twisted her scythe in her hand, bringing it up to hook Yang. The beam blade sailed through the air and cut through the particles that made the Blazing Archon's hair like beam mantle, but otherwise completely missed Yang as she ducked under the weapon.

Ruby spun around, twirling the scythe around her to keep Yang back as she did a full revolution. She swung the scythe yet again as Yang closed in, but Yang caught the weapon in her right hand. Ruby ducked a left hook, and then boosted upwards, nailing Yang in the face with the point of her pointed kneecap armor, stunning her, before pulling her legs in and dropkicking the Blazing Archon in the chest and face and knocking it backwards.

Yang staggered, shaking the sensation of a physical blow to her chin and cheek, and boosted backwards as Ruby slashed down with her scythe yet again. She headed up, and then formed a Plavsky Particle point in space to act as a platform, where she pushed off and slammed her right fist directly into the Destiny Scythe's mouth cover.

While the sisters continued a far more intense battle than they had had before, Weiss and Blake had resumed their game of cat and mouse. The 00 Bella had evaded all of Weiss's attacks, and Weiss had opted to holster her rifle, rather than risk it getting destroyed again. She had drawn her rapier once more from her shield and slashed at Blake in an attempt to force her foe into a predictable teleportation pattern.

Weiss's NT-D Mode meant she had superior control against Blake's blade bits, so Blake didn't even try to use them. And in kind, Weiss hadn't launched her own Rose Bits, opting instead to trade blows, dodges, counters, and parries with Blake directly.

The Sinanju Stalritter scooted across space to avoid a slash from Blake, before abruptly turning and thrusting her sword into the chest of the 00 Bella, only to be met with an after image. She spun to her left, deflecting a charge from Blake, turning her blade just as Blake reached her and cutting a deep gouge into the 00 Bella's right shoulder pauldron before it once again vanished.

She spun and avoided a bladed uppercut, landing a kick to the 00 Bella's chest with the Sinanju's massive foot, rocking Blake as she was knocked away. The 00 Bella folded its blade up and fired at the Sinanju with its GN Rifle, forcing Weiss to dodge out of the way.

"So, you're getting wise to my movements," Blake murmured, backing off as Weiss barreled towards her. She teleported again, avoiding Weiss's stab from her rapier, and kicked the Sinanju square in the backpack's center point, causing it to tumble as she opened fire again.

Weiss twisted upside down and raised her shield, blocking the incoming rounds, only to be hit again from below, the 00 Bella slamming into her midsection with another kick before disappearing again. The Sinanju tumbled a bit, before Weiss righted herself and swung the bladed edge of her massive shield sideways to her right, trying to catch Blake as she rushed her once more.

The 00 Bella, however, shifted just under the shield, causing Weiss to hit yet another after image, and Blake swung her blade outward again. Weiss backed away just as the 00 Bella would have impaled her, the GN Sword carving a long gash into the chest of the Sinanju as it retreated.

Weiss assessed the damage. Overall, it wasn't anything significant, but she cursed herself for letting her guard down. Blake had managed to force her back, and as the 00 Bella disappeared again and attacked from the lower left of the Sinanju, she was having to rethink her strategy.

She glanced back up just as Blake launched at her again. The aggressiveness that her friend seemed to be channeling was uncharacteristic. Normally, Blake was the passive one, the hesitant one, but she seemed to have found some kind of new confidence. Her style was forceful, and she pressed Weiss in a way that Weiss had not expected.

The Sinanju lashed out, and Weiss expected Blake to teleport again. Instead, however, Blake backed off, releasing several of her sword bits that slashed themselves along the Sinanju's body. Two blades gouged her sword arm's shoulder pauldron, while another cut her right leg off at the knee, and a fourth impaled itself in the clavicle area of her left side. Weiss twisted as Blake recalled the blades, to avoid further damage as the mobile weapons retreated, leaving Weiss in the beginning stages of panic as the damage grew.

Ruby and Yang's battle had become equally fierce. The Destiny Scythe, back pedaling from a debilitating uppercut from the Blazing Archon, rocketed upwards and flipped one hundred eighty degrees. Ruby flipped her large beam cannon forward over her shoulder and fired, causing Yang to move out of the way to avoid the beam, before raising its rifle and lobbing a few shots down at its target.

Yang leaned to the side to dodge one shot, and slapped the other away. Its clavicle gatling guns popped out and returned fire, peppering Ruby with bullets.

The Destiny Scythe chose to dive bomb Yang, using its beam shields to deflect the torrent of gunfire. The Blazing Archon boosted backwards, letting Ruby soar past, but was stunned as the Destiny Scythe abruptly flipped around just after missing Yang and shot upwards again.

Ruby had her right hand extended, palma fiocina cannon charging and ready to deliver a point blank attack. Yang caught it with a Blazing Finger attack of her own, the two Gundams locked in a vicious power struggle as their super charged hands pushed against each other.

Yang and Ruby both noted that the power output and strain on their right arms was immense, and both Gunpla may give out simultaneously if they continued like this. The damage they'd sustain would be catastrophic, but Yang would be far worse off if she lost the Astray arm of her Gunpla.

Deciding to back off, both girls released their holds on the other to avoid any further strain. Ruby flipped Crimson Rose back into scythe mode, eyeing Yang warily as the golden flames on the Blazing Gundam Archon flickered. Neither of them were yet fighting at maximum output, but it was clear to both of them that that would soon change.

The silvery Wings of Light coming from Ruby's wings flared, and the Destiny Scythe took off, weapon raised in an effort to cleave through Yang.

The Blazing Archon's fists began to glow, and as Ruby closed the gap between them, Yang lashed out with a left jab, feinting to the right as Ruby avoided the blow, and followed up with a Zero Impact attack to her midsection. The blow knocked the Destiny Scythe backwards, the attack amplified by Ruby's own speed. The punch had left a deep, noticeable dent in her Gunpla, the impression of Yang's Astray fist melted into the plastic.

Yang took the momentary pause to press her advance, swinging her hands in a flurry of open palm strikes. "Lóng Yá Quán!" She shouted, pummeling Ruby with a debilitating series of offensive blows that forced her to duck, weave, and block them with her beam shield as she retreated.

Yang missed a right palm strike as Ruby backed off, and twisted in space, using her momentum to lash out with a Laser Bullet beam strike from her foot. The crescent wave struck the beam shield hard and shattered it, leaving Ruby vulnerable and surprised from the brutal blow.

Ruby's cockpit was a deep amber. Her Gunpla had taken a shocking amount of damage in such a short period of time, but she counted her blessings that Yang's attack didn't straight up destroy her left arm. The shield would need to be recharged, but it would be a bit before she could use that emitter again.

She watched as Yang spun on her axis, coming back around to face her. Her brilliant flames flickered against the blackness of space, before withdrawing into their Plavsky Particle parts. Yang's hands slammed together as she completed her rotation, outstretched and pointed at Ruby.

Panic rose in Ruby's chest. Yang had already begun to charge her Gold Dragon Blast. She didn't have time.

She opened fire, trying to shoot down the Blazing Gundam Archon, but Yang dodged each attack and rushed her. Ruby's heavy beam cannon flipped under her arms and launched massive beams down range, but those were avoided, as well. Yang pressed her gathered energy ball in her hands against the second heavy beam shot, skirting across the wave of intense, concentrated power, spiraling around it and pushing off of it to float over Ruby and to her left, away from her rifle and cannon.

"Jīnlóng Bàozhà!"

The gathered special attack grew in size and power, and Yang forced as much of her gathered Plavsky Particles into her finisher. She twisted over Ruby and to the side, launching the attack from the left side, where she knew Ruby couldn't block or defend herself.

She smirked as Ruby raider her left hand to defend herself, probably trying to fire her cannon in her palm, but the Gold Dragon Blast unleashed before Ruby could get off a single shot. The golden light engulfed the Destiny Scythe, bathing space in gold.

Weiss and Blake both clashed swords, but backed off when the entire battlefield lit up from Yang's attack. Both fighters watched in sheer shock, with Weiss panicking upon seeing Ruby's Gunpla disappear.

"Ruby!"

Weiss's cry snapped Blake out of her stupor. Releasing all of her bits, including her two shield bits, she ignited the giant beam saber she had just used on Messiah and swung it sideways at Weiss, trying to cover as much area as possible in case she dodged.

In a panic, the Sinanju spun around just as the saber ignited, alerts sounding off and bringing Weiss back to reality. She sheathed her rapier inside her shield, which then began to shift and transform around it, creating a giant Buster sword out of the kite shield, which she used to stop the titanic weapon Blake had unleashed.

The Sinanju stalled in space, its thrusters working at maximum just to keep Blake's powerful attack at bay. Weiss pushed forward on her orbs, trying to eke out a little more power from engines that were already being taxed in such a short period of time. In addition, the damage she had sustained were beginning to cause cracks along the Gunpla's plastic. The pressure from the attack would break her machine before Blake ever landed the killing blow.

This was bad. Very bad. If Blake kept pushing like this, the Stalritter wouldn't stand a chance, and if Ruby was done, then the match was lost.

Blake increased the power output of both her thrusters and GN drives, taking her Transient Burst to its absolute limit. She could see Weiss struggling, and with each second, the Sinanju was slowly becoming weaker from its exertion. Just a little longer…

A small blast hit the rear of Blake's machine. Her HUD displayed her rear camera, where she spotted the culprit-one of Weiss's white rose bits. When did she release that?

With all of her own bits tied up controlling the beam saber, Blake had no way of turning to face the mobile weapon without exposing herself. "No!" She shifted her shoulder shield around behind her to protect her flank, but the bit slipped to her left side, where the shield had been, and fired. It's yellow beam pierced the subarm that held the shield in place, cutting it from the Gunpla.

With the shield suddenly removed, the 00 Bella's Transient Burst abruptly deactivated. The shield contained one of her GN Drives, and without it, she couldn't use any of her equipment.

The beam saber and bits all went dead, and Blake found herself at Weiss's mercy. She watched helplessly as the now unopposed Sinanju's buster sword cleaved clean through the 00 Bella, cutting it completely in half and skidding to a stop a little ways away as the defeated Gunpla exploded.

She turned back as the golden glow of Yang's attack faded. Adrenaline clutched her heart as she gripped her buster sword on both hands, flying forward to begin combat against Yang.

The Blazing Archon's power had dipped dangerously into the red as the Gold Dragon Blast began to fizzle out. Yang panted, smiling wearily. She had been waiting for this since the Northwest Regionals. With Ruby now gone, it was down to her and Weiss.

She turned, taking a deep breath to absorb the Plavsky particles around her and replenish herself. She was going into this next fight depleted, but she was confident that her Gunpla wouldn't let her down.

"Alright, Weiss, let's go!"

Flames began to erupt from her Gunpla again, but something caught her eye.

She turned, and her eyes went wide with horror.

The Gundam Destiny Scythe…was unharmed.

Ruby's left hand remained outstretched, palm out, the eyes of the machine glowing with power. She clenched her fist and rotated her right hand around, spinning her rifle upside down and mounting it to the heavy beam cannon at her hip, before turning to face Yang.

"Sorry, we're not done!" She proclaimed, a wide grin on her face. "580%? Not bad at all!"

"Wait, how-" Yang began, but stopped and raised her arms up and curled her legs in as she saw Ruby's heavy cannon's barrel suddenly expand at the front, and extra vents pop out from the rear of it. She put up a Plavsky particle barrier just as the cannon fired, completely encompassing the entire machine and a massive area around her in a cone of absolute destructive power.

Weiss stopped in her tracks, shocked by the turn of events. Her eyes searched Ruby's machine, zooming in on it. There wasn't any damage on it at all from Yang's attack.

"A beam absorber…" she concluded, surprised and impressed at her partner. "She played Yang right into a trap. Again."

Yang roared in pain and exertion as she forced every last ounce of power out into the barrier, protecting herself from an attack that no doubt rivaled hers, but was more of a shotgun blast to the face than a piercing beam. The cone prevented any form of escape, and though it only lasted a few seconds, it felt like it was an eternity.

As the beam cannon ceased firing, Yang slowly uncurled herself from the ball she had bunched up in. Her Gunpla's joints were partially melted and fused from the heat, and her paint job had been mostly blasted away. Pain shot through her body from the damage, and she looked up at Ruby, who released her rifle from her cannon and unfurled her scythe once more.

"Sorry Yang. This is over."

Unable to move or defend herself, Yang was forced to watch as Ruby's beam scythe cleaved through the Blazing Gundam Archon, cutting it diagonally from sternum to hip.

The table's AI announcer screamed "BATTLE OVER!", and the match concluded. The entire stadium was stunned into silence by the reversal of fortunes, followed by the slow but building thunderous applause that erupted from the crowd in attendance.

Ruby panted. It was over. She looked over at the screen with Weiss's relieved face, and smiled, nodding to her with a tired but happy smile.