Weiss stared dumbfounded at the screen as Cinder entered the stage, and threatened to arrest Pyrrha.

The worst came after, when Pyrrha, her friend and somewhat of an idol, lifted Penny into the air and tore her to pieces.

She had never seen such a gruesome scene before.

And it didn't take long for the transmission to cut itself, the symbol of a black queen over a dark red background as Pyrrha's voice accused the huntsmen of Remnant.

As Weiss stood, shellshocked, roars came from the outside, alongside screams.

Pyrrha had betrayed them. Pyrrha had killed Penny and the Grimm were coming.

Weiss took another breath, steadying herself. She was a proper heiress, she was going to participate in the finals. Winter would not panic in this situation!

So neither would she.

More roars came from the outside, alongside many footsteps and crashes right outside the locker room.

Weiss readied her blade.

She needed to help. She needed to find Ruby and Yang and Blake. She needed her team.

Weiss left the room in a dash, only to be met by a swarm of people trying to escape the colosseum. Airships were waiting outside, she was sure of it.

But if the Grimm were upon them, how many of them would escape?

Weiss bit her lip, avoiding the swarm of people.

Ruby would ask her to save them. She knew that much about her naive, idealistic leader.

But maybe Ruby needed her help. Her team needed her.

Her decision was made when the Atlesian Knights, once trying to control the people, suddenly shut down.

"What now!?" Weiss asked as a person bumped into her shoulder.

Just as she exclaimed that, the Atlesian Knights sprung to life, a few people stopping in fear of them.

For a few seconds they stood, and then raised their weapons against the people.

Weiss didn't want to believe that they would turn, and shoot, at innocent civilians.

But knowing of what the SDC did, she did not have much faith in Atlas.

"Out of the way!"

Dashing past the people, Weiss stabbed the first knight straight on the chest, and the two beside it moved to shoot at her.

The bullets impacted her aura, while Weiss herself used Glyphs to send ice projectiles their way, shredding their metal bodies.

The running civilians stopped dead cold, seeing here standing over the bodies of the Atlesian Knights.

Weiss looked them over. This was her moment, to save these people, to be better than her father.

Weiss uttered a silent apology to Ruby before choosing her next words. "Everyone! Follow me to the docking bay! Please stay behind me, I'll take care of the Grimm!"

The civilians hesitated and murmured amongst themselves, but in the end, they ended up falling in line, the happier ones more upfront than the rest.

Weiss set off then, leading the people in order to protect them from any incoming Grimm or Atlesian Knights.

Yang's hands shook.

Pyrrha had killed Penny. Torn her apart limb from limb.

And then the transmission cut, replaced by a crimson queen piece.

Focus.

Yang's mind required focus.

Something boomed in the far distance. Springing to her feet, Yang reached the window and observed an explosion in the distance, followed by two more.

The school grounds shook, sending a pit down Yang's stomach as the roars of Grimm and the cries of folk joined the fires.

Find her team, protect people. Find Ruby and Cinder. Protect them.

That would work, that would keep her moving.

Her weapons lay confiscated in the Academy armoury. Fists and Aura alone deal damage, but not enough compared to Ember Celica.

Loathe to admit it, Yang decided to reach for help, and it lay on the other end of the hallway.

Dashing to the other side of the room, Yang nearly smashed the door open and crossed the hallway. Locked, JNPR's door broke on contact with her body.

The three members turned their heads to her, looking haunted and huddled together.

"Guys! I need your help!" She said, loud and clear. However, they contented with remaining there, motionless. Her eyes flashed red for a second. "Did you three not hear me?"

"We heard you," Ren replied, standing up and frowning. "We just need- I mean-"

He turned to the floor, limbs shaking. That never happened, ever.

"I can't believe- why did Pyrrha do it? It makes no sense! What is going-!" Jaune ranted, shaking his head.

Seeing them in such a state broke her heart, and allowed anger to seep through the cracks.

They had to move, and so Yang stepped towards Jaune and grabbed him by the arms, dragging Nora, who remained stupefied and clung to him, up with her leader.

"I know! I know! But that is not important right now! We can't do anything! What we can do is save people, find those we care about and protect them! We are huntsmen for god's sake!" She said, staring into his shaking eyes.

Jaune stared back, face unmoving. Ren and Nora did the same, as if expecting him to do the same.

There was the possibility they would remain like that, paralyzed. That would piss her off, but she had little time left.

And then…

"Ok. Y-you're right," Jaune said, frantically nodding his head. "Can I- get down please?"

Jaune was tall, but even so Yang had lifted him off the floor.

With a 'thud', Jaune was put down.

After that, he turned back to his team, who stared at him expectantly.

"We…" Jaune stumbled on his words, opening his mouth a few times before closing it again. "...People are in danger. We cannot let everyone down, not like this. Are you with me?"

Silently, Nora and Ren nodded. Even with Jaune's little speech, the three of them still had a defeated, sullen look.

They picked up their equipment, and it seemed to weigh a ton or more to them. Yang dared not interrupt them.

Pyrrha had betrayed them.

Why?

Had she lied all this time?

Like everyone else in her life?

That thought spiral threatened to consume her thoughts.

And just then, the three members of JNPR turned to her, clad in their battle outfits.

"Alright. We're with you," Jaune said. His eyes were steely, although Yang noticed the lack of something. The lack of a certain glow to them.

"Ok. We need to get to the armoury."

Ruby saw Dark figures descend upon the colosseum and its people, breaking through the glasses with a chilling sound and roars of hunger.

Griffons and Razorclaws, normally cooped up over mountain peaks and venturing off in periodic hunts, were easy to keep at bay with ships, cannons and guns, only a threat to ground caravans.

And the people were grounded, like mice to eagles.

But her mind was overtaken. The images of Penny's corpse, Cinder's injury and Pyrrha's look of disdain, along with her glorified posture, paralyzed her in the spot.

The world was upside down, and she couldn't fly, only fall.

A Griffon descended, claws prime to rip her flesh.

"Ruby!" Blake dashed, moving her in an embrace as a clone took her place and was ravaged by the griffon.

More came, and Ruby, while awake thanks to the sudden movement, was still too confused to move.

More descended, and Blake drew her weapon to defend them both, even if such a small weapon was only designed to kill a few of them at once.

And just in time, another saviour arrived.

Two maces swung, breaking beaks and bones in a flurry. Rhodes took down each and every one that closed the distance with brutality, his body hardening to steel as if coated in it for every bite or slash.

In seconds, he was done with all of them.

"You two okay?" He asked. Both girls nodded, while Blake took Ruby's hand and helped her up. That warmth was enough to prime her to shake her head.

The images dispersed, if still present.

"We're fine. Thanks," said Blake, breathing heavily.

More roars, more Griffons came through the ceiling, while others descended to get their pickings of the injured and slain.

Ruby's instinct flared. She was a huntress, she saved people. She killed Grimm. "The… the people. We have to help them!"

"Most of them are gone. We need to leave," Blake said, looking at her with hard and strained eyes.

Ruby took a moment.

People had died in front of her.

Penny had died in front of her. A cursory glance showed her body still in the arena, if far away she couldn't make out details.

"Your friend is right. Evacuate, regroup, reinforce," Rhodes said, looking around and moving back as the Grimm began to take note of their positions.

"And the colosseum!?" Ruby asked.

"It's lost! Ruby!" Blake said, grabbing her face, making her focus on one thing. "Weiss and Yang are still out there. There are too many Grimm here, and we need a leader. Understand?"

Ruby nodded, eyes hardening.

"Gowtcha. Now… let my cheeks go?" She said, mouth getting uncomfortably pressed.

More Griffons landed near them, and Ruby drew Crescent Rose in response.

She was good at killing Grimm. That could make up for a lot.

She glanced at the arena, Cinder still grabbed her face while down on the floor.

"Let's save Cinder and get out of here," she ordered, voice low.

Her companions nodded as the Grimm began their attack.

It hurt.

There was pain all over her face, an intense pain mixed with anger and shame that kicked her down to the curb again and again.

Her left eye hurt.

Pyrrha's arrow had damaged it through her aura. So shocked was Cinder that she had forgotten to activate it.

Another of her failures.

Roars and cries came from above. Cinder dared take her hands away from holding her face.

The griffons landed on the arena, a few feet away from her.

She wasn't like Ruby, or folks that had lost people to the Grimm. She held no particular distaste or hatred of them, save the annoyance of having to simply deal with them.

But they were a threat to her life, and she was angry. Very angry.

She reached for Midnight as the black winged creatures leapt for her.

And then, they were all sliced up by a torrent of red and black roses that flew circles around them.

A bigger, larger creature landed in front of her and slashed, forcing Cinder to roll to safety.

She drew Midnight, ready to fight it. As it leapt for her, Rhodes came from the air and landed on its head, crushing its beak with steel reinforced legs, before finishing it with a shot.

She breathed heavily. Rhodes had saved her for once. Not only that, but he moved toward her, offering a hand to help her up.

Was this a bizarro world she had fallen into?

Cinder didn't know anymore, and she didn't care.

Her mind focused on her nost recent failure. The person that tricked, lied and hurt her and the people she… had grown to like.

Pyrrha.

"Cinder! You okay?" Ruby asked, snapping her out of her thoughts. She had left Rhodes hanging there with his extended hand.

Ruby came close, examining her injury. Why would anyone examine her injuries, if not to mock her for them? She didn't need help. "Get off me!" She said, pushing the girl out of her way, and walking off, ignoring Rhodes, wobbling a bit due to her reduced vision and pain.

"Cinder wait!" Ruby shouted, standing in front of her.

"Ruby… I don't have-"

"What of the people? They need our help!" Ruby said, her silver eyes glinting with anguish.

"Fuck the people! I'm going after Pyrrha," Cinder said, walking around Ruby.

"What about Yang? Weiss? Dad?" Ruby asked, once again teleporting in front of her, her eyes now sporting anger.

She rarely saw Ruby angry, and that forced her to look away.

She couldn't bear to be the cause of that.

"What do you suggest then?" Cinder asked, defeated, looking at her sister from the corner of her eyes, or single eye for now. She felt a lot of energy leave her, her shoulders and weapons feeling heavy in her hands.

Ruby took a moment to speak, while Blake, Cinder and Rhodes awaited an answer.

"Let's… get to the docking bay, evacuate everyone. Then we go to Beacon and find Yang, Weiss and the good guys from JNPR," Ruby said.

"Are you sure we can trust them? What if they are with Pyrrha?" Blake asked. Ruby glared at her for a second.

"She's right, all of them are under suspicion now," Rhodes added, his face remaining impassive.

"Listen, we can't… we can't start thinking like that, we'll just end up making things worse. Let's just get to them and figure it out as we go," Ruby said, some frustration sleeping into her voice. She was still optimistic, and after everything that happened, Cinder felt extremely irritated at that.

"Ruby that's the dumbest thing-"

"-well I don't care. We're doing this my way! And I'm going to focus on saving who I can!" Ruby said, raising her voice.

Cinder gripped her swords harder, but found that she could barely grip them. She could much less scream at her sister.

"Whatever. I'll do as you say," Cinder said. Ruby looked sideways, eyes straining.

Blake silently approached her, and put a hand on her shoulder. "I trust you, Ruby. You haven't let us down yet. Lead the way," Blake said, giving her leader a small smile.

Ruby returned it, if a little strained. "Alright," she said, then she turned to Rhodes. "Uh… Mr Rhodes? Will you help us?"

He took a moment to answer her, stealing a sideways glance at Cinder. "Of course. I cannot in good conscience leave some students on their own. I'll follow your lead."

"That's a first," Cinder murmured.

"Okay then," Ruby said, turning away from the group and towards one of the large entrances at the floor of the arena.

However, she caught sight of one thing.

Her dead friend, Penny.

She laid there, ripped to pieces, eyes open and staring at nothingness, her robotic irises no longer gleaming with life.

"Ruby…" Blake said.

"We should… do something…" Ruby answered, mouth wavering.

Cinder looked at the body. Dead people were nothing new to her.

Dead friends… bearable.

But Penny had been someone innocent.

And she had not been fast enough to save her.

After all, what good was she to save people?

Cinder didn't save people.

"There's no time," Blake whispered.

Ruby's head dropped. Cinder's first instinct was to console her. Then she realised it would not help. She couldn't help.

With a sniff, Ruby nodded.

"Ok. Let's go save some people then. We'll come back when we've saved everyone."

Glynda saw lightning.

The skies of Beacon had gone dark with ominous clouds and swarms of Grimm.

The message from Pyrrha, the gruesome death of Penny, and the loss of all communications was sure to attract swarms.

And with all teachers deployed to the walls of Vale, there was no one left to defend Beacon.

Ironwood had spent the last half hour pacing around the room, screaming into his scroll, trying to get into contact with his troops, or anyone really, but the only thing that answered was the same red background with a black queen.

Glynda couldn't blame him. They were flying blind, and could not organize anything.

The only option was to go out and help.

But that would leave Beacon tower undefended. The maiden undefended.

Glynda turned to Ozpin, who remained on his desk, had his eyes closed and mouth covered by his crossed fingers.

It gave her hope, hope that he knew what he was doing.

"Ozpin? What do we do?" She asked, more out of impatience than lack of trust.

Ironwood had no such things. "I can't get into contact with anyone. We need to move, now!"

"And the maiden? Have you thought that maybe this is all a trick?" Ozpin asked, eyes opening to stare into Ironwood's.

The general, however, was having none of it. "If it is, then we must face this head on. No hiding in the shadows! We must answer our enemy with the same strength they are showing us."

"Have you thought that maybe this isn't a fight you can win with strength alone?" Ozpin asked.

Ironwood closed his eyes, his right hand clenching and shaking. "Strength alone is what I lacked before. And now I have it, and I'm not letting it go to waste! Glynda, you're with me, right? We cannot let the people of Beacon, of Atlas, die out there. We let our enemy know we are off balance!"

Glynda looked away. She agreed, on some part.

As much as she esteemed Ozpin, his cold and calculated demeanour often lead to disastrous, if desired, results.

But she loved her students too much.

It was weak, but it was the truth.

Seeing a student such as Cinder not only reform, but come back stronger and wiser and become a teacher… made her realize how wasteful it would be to leave all those students to die out there, without mentors, without guidance, without help.

So she looked him straight in the eye. "I agree. We need to save them."

Her words were resolute, and to that, Ozpin only narrowed his eyes.

"Alright then. Go. Protect the campus, Glynda. Ironwood, make sure your ships are able to help," Ozpin said.

"Understood," Ironwood said, his face once again calm and steely. However, he gave Glynda a sideways glance, as if shocked he and Ozpin were agreeing so quickly on something.

"One more thing, if you can, find Cinder and bring her back as soon as you can, we need the maiden," Ozpin said. Glynda felt a cold pang in her chest. Becoming a maiden wasn't a decision to be made under pressure, but in reality most big decisions were made under pressure. Even if she hated the idea of forcing Cinder to decide right away, they had no choice.

They needed the power of the Fall Maiden. Everyone.

"Alright. What will you do? Will you be alright?" Glynda asked.

"I'll stay here, get things ready," Ozpin said, pulling his chair and getting up to look at the window.

Glynda was about to object, when Ironwood placed his left hand on her shoulder, and ushered her away.

The last she saw of Ozpin was a slightly lowered head, his cane gripped tightly on his hand.

A/N: So... long time no see huh? I've got no excuses. A lot happened. I got a new job, moved in alone, all the sort of things that occupied my time and mind. It made me unable to focus. That, plus RWBY's long hiatus made my interest in this story wane a bit. However, I'm going to, at the very least, continue it to the end of the Fall of Beacon. That much I promise. Anyway, enjoy!