Ruby sat in the airbus taking them to the arena in the sky, chaperoning the kids as they went to the "Vytal Tournament" alongside Erza and the Strongest Team. Natsu was, of course, curled up on the floor half an inch from vomiting.

"Ready for this?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah," Jaune said, "right guys?"

"We're going first," Pyrrha said, "against a team NDGO."

"Good luck," Ruby said.

—

Little did anyone save one individual in Vale know, but things were building. Burrowing Grimm dug tunnels; Beowolves, Ursa and Boarbatusks and Goliaths climbed mountains they normally would never climb; aerial Grimm turned towards the same mountains; aquatic ones swam into the gulf. All preparing for the order from their dark master.

—

Jaune stepped into the arena with the rest of Team JNPR, each of them ready for the fight ahead. The randomizer had chosen their zones, JNPR would be starting in a mountain based zone, while NDGO would be starting in a forest.

He looked at his team, "Ready, guys?"

"Yep!" Nora chirpped while Ren nodded.

"Let's go."

"And stepping into the arena is Team JNPR! They've been studying magic in Fiore, so let's see what they can show us," Professor Port announced, "And joining us in the commentary box are Misses Ruby Rose and Erza Scarlet from the Fairy Tail guild! Though I must ask, are you sure you're alright to be commentating, Miss Rose."

"I'm injured, not mute," Ruby snarked, and it was true, while she was now free of the sling, she was still wrapped in bandages from her fight with Laxus, "Just don't ask me to fight, I can do it, but my fiancees would be angry."

"Quite," Erza said.

"Very well, on the other side is Team NDGO, from Vacuo! These girls really know their stuff, they're top of the class at survival!"

"But this is a combat tournament," Ruby said, "So we'll see how that survival training translates to combat."

A holographic three appeared between the teams, then two, then one. And the fight started.

"Corpse Devil's Laughter!" Jaune yelled, launching the bolts of ash at the leader of the other team and striking true, draining a third of the girl's Aura. She came up from the forced roll, firing a bolt at Jaune, he dodged it as he still lacked his shield from that mission and sliced it in two with the blade of Crocea Mors, "Corpse Devil's Claw!"

"Corpse Devil? That sounds quite menacing!" Oobleck said, "What can you tell us about it, Miss Rose, Miss Scarlet?"

"Honestly, we don't know. To quote our guild master Makarov, there are as many magics as there are stars in the sky. Some magics are considered lost, only to be rediscovered by one or two people. My magic, White God Slayer Magic, is one example, and one of the people in our box knows Fire Dragon Slayer Magic.

Jaune glanced over to see that Pyrrha had taken control of dozens upon dozens of knives from one of the other team, surrounding her in a cage of knives before they all shot forwards, each one barely more than a nick, but all together enough to drop her into the disqualification zone.

Ren, meanwhile, was more flexible than ever, dancing to a beat only he could hear as he fired at a girl using a kris. When she got into close range, he twisted and turned with the best of them, slashing at her with Storm Flower.

And finally Nora was walking through tornadoes, pink lightning sparking off her and muscles bulging. Once she reached the last member of the other team, she slammed Magnhild into them, sending them flying into the deep forest and cracking against a tree.

Turning his attention back to his opponent, Jaune cut another bolt in two he rushed in, "Corpse Devil's Disintegrating Fist!"

The fist surrounded by ashes slammed into the girl's stomach, causing her to curl around it before flying backwards, eliminated.

"And the winners are Team JNPR!" Port called.

—

Weiss walked into the arena with the other two members of Team BSL. Almost immediately, Professor Port said, "Oh, it appears Miss Schnee has decided to switch up her uniform for today!"

It was true, Weiss had replaced her normal bolero for a heavier jacket with the Fairy Tail mark on the back; she had done so as a conscious decision, knowing her father would see it and be enraged.

They walked across the desert zone to face off with team SSSN, who were in a water zone. A blue haired boy looked uncomfortable wading through the water, she noted

The countdown went off, and the boy immediately bolted to BSL's side of the stadium. Oh, he was afraid of water, huh?

Weiss created a neutral Glyph in the air, before using Myrtenaster to write "water" in the air and throwing it into the glyph. Turning it a deep, aqua blue, and fired a wave of water at the boy, who ran away from it with wide eyes.

"Solid Script magic," Ruby explained, "a type of letter magic, it allows you to create a variety of effects by writing them in the air."

"That sounds like it could be very powerful," Oobleck said.

"Not really. Versatile? Yes, but the effects aren't as strong as a dedicated mage in a type of magic. We focus on one or types to the exclusion of everything else. I- What's with the birds landing on the top of the coliseum?"

Weiss looked up, realizing with horror the "birds" were Nevermores. Then, just as suddenly, the forcefield at the top of the arena deactivated, letting the Grimm pour in.

"We're… We're getting reports of attacks all over. At the walls, at the port, in the sky, even at Beacon," Port said voice kept with a force calm that somehow didn't hide the horror in his voice.

"Erza, take Gray and go to the Port! Natsu, get your butt to Beacon and help shore up defenses there! Lucy, you're coming with me to the walls. BSL, JNPR, find the place you would be most useful at and get there, let's go!"

Weiss watched as Griffins flew in, only for three attacks to go off at once.

"Fire Dragon's Roar!" Natsu called.

"Corpse Devil's Rage!" Yelled Jaune.

"White God's War Cry!" Ruby roared, a torrent of light that made White God's Bellow look like a flashlight swallowed anything Natsu and Jaune missed.

"I'm going to the walls," Yang said.

"Me and Weiss will guard Beacon," Blake said, and Yang took off then, at the same time Ruby disappeared in a flash of light.

—

Erza flew through the Grimm, slicing them down with one sword as the other arm gripped Gray tight. They landed in the port to see giant serpentine sea monsters threatening the ships with snapping teeth and blasts of water exitingtheir mouths. Changing into the Heaven's Wheel armor, summoning swords to shoot down several of them while Gray created a sheet of ice over the water's surface, allowing Huntsmen to run out and cut their way through the trapped monsters.

Nora came rushing over, Magnhild in grenade launcher form, and began to fire electricity enhanced grenades at the Grimm, blowing them up in puffs of pink smoke. Qrow landed on one's head and drove his greatsword in, before a woman with the same glyphs as Weiss sent a storm of ghostly Nevermore at another.

Then the waves began to crash against the ice, water bulging before slogging off the Grimm that rose from the water. It was a giant, towering above the buildings in the port, with a dolphin-like head. Around Erza, Huntsmen took a step back as the Grimm raised its head and roared. Immediately, automated defenses turned their attention to it, firing missiles and lasers at it.

"A Leviathan," one whimpered, "What are we supposed to do against a Leviathan?"

"Kill it," Erza said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, requipping the Giant Killing Spear. Flying towards it, she watched the Grimm breath in, chunks of ice breaking off the edge of Gray's floor and going down it's gullet, before breathing out a beam of electricity that destroyed several buildings.

As Erza approached, she requiped more and more swords, before firing them at the Leviathan. Most bounced off its hide, but several found purchase in its eyes. Throwing the spear, she watched it punch through the Grimm's throat.

—

Ruby announced her presence on the wall with a Guillotine that lived up to the name, slamming her left leg through a werewolf like Grimm's neck and decapitating it. Spinning on her right foot she kicked down, blowing the bear like Grimm clawing it's way up the wall to pieces. Ruby breathed in, so deeply that her ribcage protested and her chest bulged; then, she released a War Cry, swallowing the Grimm approaching the walls and knocking down trees.

Which didn't really matter, as four giant, elephantine Grimm were approaching the wall, moving slowly but purposefully. Ruby pulled back a foot, light shining from it before she kicked out, smashing into one of the Grimm's skull and shattering it while cannon fire took down a second. Before they could move on to the third and fourth, seven beams of light rained down on the Grimm, Yang's voice calling "Grand Chariot!"

The light exploded, swallowing the Grimm whole while Yang landed, gasping breaths of air.

"That… That still takes too much outta me," Yang said.

"Can you still fight?"

"Yeah," Yang said, standing up and coating herself in Meteor.

Behind them, they heard someone call "Grimm burrowed into the Vytal memorial square! We need men there now!"

"Lucy, Jaune, go!" Ruby called to the duo who had just arrived. As a fifth Elephant Grimm appeared, Ruby formed a Gouging Greatsword above his fist.

—