Two White Fang members slowly walked down a lane in the warehouse, guns raised. They were the only ones that remained within warehouse as the intruder took out the others. A shuffle was heard behind them, and they both turned around. They found nothing behind them and sighed in relief. Suddenly, one member's head was slammed against a metal beam, making the other quickly raise his gun to shoot, but something grabbed his gun and smacked him with it multiple times before he fell unconscious.

Locus then slowly appeared from thin air, throwing away the weapon. He then made his way to the office of the building, pulling out a pistol. He entered, scanning the room before lowing his weapon after seeing it empty. All he saw was a letter on the desk, addressed to "Partner." Locus opened it up and became more tense as he read.

Professor Ozpin himself walked to his desk and poured himself a drink from his teapot as he watches the Vytal Festival Tournament's roulette system deciding the next match.

"Alright, it's now time to begin the randomization process for our next fight!" announced Oohbleck

"It looks like our first contender is... Penny Polendina, from Atlas! And her opponent will be... Pyrrha Nikos, from Beacon!" announced Port.

Ozpin seats himself behind his desk and takes a sip from his cup as he stares at the "randomized" fight to be.

Down in the arena of Amity Colosseum, Pyrrha is still looking hesitant and distracted while Penny politely salutes her opponent. Ceil stood at side-lines watching, with slight smile on her face.

"Sal-u-tations, Pyrrha Nikos! It's an honor to finally meet you!" greeted Penny, excitedly. The troubled Pyrrha doesn't respond, looking at her hands as she clenches them in attempted determination. "This is going to be so much fun!"

In the same structure behind closed doors, Ruby and Church is still facing down an up-and-standing Mercury who's smugly smiling at the younger girl's confusion.

"Mercury, what are you doing? You were hurt! Why...What's going on?" Mercury doesn't answer, still grinning with malice. "Fine. If you're not going to tell me..." She attempts to move around him, but he blocks her path, then does it again when she sidesteps.

"IT'S TIME FOR A FINALS BATTLE!" boomed Boomstick through the speakers. Ruby became more worried as Mercury smirks.

Penny beams widely in anticipation, but Pyrrha is still looking around as if in a daze, though she manages a small scowl at her opponent, her weapons Miló and Akoúo̱ already in hand.

In the stands, General Ironwood calmly sits to observe the fight. Near him, the Director sat with two Choursian gaurds, Carolina and President Kimball. A row below them, sat Wash and Tex, both uncomfortable knowing who's above them. 

Lower down, Nora and Ren cheer for their teammate while Jaune and Lopez nearby simply watches anxiously, one of them knowing the danger, and Emerald leans forward with a glare as Oohbleck starts the countdown. "3, 2, 1... BEGIN!"

Suddenly, Penny is surrounded by Floating Array, gesturing the swords around to her command before launching a volley of them at Pyrrha, who runs towards them and leaps though or deflects each aimed blade. The swords fly into the air until they turn around and come back to the fight.

"Showtime." said Mercury. He goes forward, blocking Ruby's path with his arms outstretched, restraining her movements no matter where she moves. However Church then opened fire before he could do anything. Sadly, every shot missed, making Mercury look genuinely disappointed. Panicked, she grimaces and spins forward, becoming a blur of red and petals rocketing toward Mercury, only for the villain to kick her twice mid-dash with Talaria and knock her to the ground. He advances on her just as she gets out her Scroll, about to push the button to call for help when a bullet sends the device flying out of her hand.

"Let's just keep this between us friends," said Mercury as he lowered his leg before moving forward.

Pyrrha, now having returned the shield to her back, twirls the javelin to block each sword swipe of Penny's, dropping her weapon when she needs to somersault away after being hit by a slash, only to magnetically return it to her hand as Penny readies another wave of blades.

"My word! What a tremendous display by Miss Polendina!" commented Port.

Fully glowering, Pyrrha rushes forward and jumps on an incoming sword, swinging down on Penny, only to have the assault halted by a collection of blades, though she leaps away from the retaliatory slice as Penny backs away as well. She tries to defend against the multitude of swords with the length of her weapon, but is forced back regardless, prompting Pyrrha to roll the shield from her back onto her arm with her polarity.

"Whoo, yeah! Goooo Pyrrha!" cheered Nora

Despite the cheers, Pyrrha isn't doing well, looking down to see her Semblance's black energy bend the weapons in her hands unnaturally for a split second. Emerald narrows her gaze further, continuing to concentrate on Pyrrha.

Meanwhile, Ruby attempts to block a kick from Mercury with her arms, but gets a face-full of boot. He then did a spin kick to Church's face, sending him into the ground. Next he fires a shot at Ruby but she manages to duck then barely misses being hit by his downward kick and leaps over his leg, spiralling past him, this time getting much father down the corridor. She kicks off of the wall and falls to the ground, pumping her arms as she runs for the exit. Mercury gives chase but he was then tackled by Church, who then possessed him, made him go into the nearest wall and hit his head multiple times really hard. Satisfied, Church then left his body to return to his and ran to the exit as Mercury stumbled around.

Pyrrha spins wildly as she deflects and dodges each sword, until she gets close enough to Penny to deliver a few slashes with the spear, sending her flying back as Pyrrha bats aside the blades called to their wielder's aid. Penny slides to a stop and makes a new series of motions, the weapons folding up until she's circled by several laser rifles, a few of which open fire on the approaching champion. Pyrrha avoids the blasts and fights off the remaining swords with her blade until she slides into position to charge at Penny and knock her back. Pyrrha straightens with a victorious grin that disappears into dizziness, just as she sees Penny rocketing forward, weapons firing behind her like a jetpack so she can leap into the air, then come down as an energized meteor on her opponent.

Rolling back to her feet, Pyrrha doesn't expect a sword to knock her shield off, then another to do the same for her blade. She tries to get the latter back with her magnetism, but has to use the power to send a flying sword back at Penny's side. It disappears behind Penny, only for her to grin and raise her arms as several appear above her, aimed to strike.

Tex watched as Penny and Pyrrha fought with her noticing something wrong with the latter. Suddenly, Wash's scroll rang, making him picking it up quickly. "Hello?"

"Emerald Sustrai! Stop her!" blared out Locus' voice, much to Tex and Wash's surprise.

"Locus?! How did you get this number?" asked Wash.

"Never mind that! A green haired girl has the semblance of causing hallucinations, stop her!" Tex immediately scanned the surrounding area, and there she was. Emerald was a couple seats to her surrounding. She quickly pulled out her gun and aimed at her, much to the shock of the people behind her. However before she could fire, Carolina quickly grabbed her gun.

"What do you think you're doing?!" she shouted.

"Let go, Carolina!" shouted back Tex.

With Tex struggling with Carolina and Emerald still squinting down on the arena, Penny's eight swords began to double, then triple, multiplying into an unreal thicket of blades. At the sight of this, Pyrrha unsteadily steps back, both in reality where the eight swords are ready to go forth and in the hallucinated world, where the cloud of weapons thicken to even block the crowds around her.

Penny sends them all forward, few in reality and hundreds strong in Pyrrha's mind, who is left with no choice but to spread her arms and send out a magnetized shockwave. Each blade is sent reeling back to Penny, who is also unintentionally affected by the Semblance attack clutching her chest in pain. Pyrrha only has a brief moment to understand what's happening before Penny's arms are spread wide as she gasps, the strings attached to her own weapons curling around her left arm and midsection, which are crumpled by the force with the ease of an aluminum can.

The sounds of wire ripping and metal tearing filled the stage. Pyrrha, shocked, Ciel and the entire stadium watched the now unmoving swords drop to the ground. A piece of fabric flutters to the arena floor, only to be pinned by the point of a falling blade, away from the torn halves of Penny Polendina.

Tex slowly pulls away from Carolina as Pyrrha below stares in abject horror, eyes wide and mouth agape.

"¡No!" shouted Lopez, standing up as Kai next to him clasped his mouth.

While the remains of Penny's missing arm spark with electricity from the exposed wiring inside, her big green irises, now looking like camera shutters, slowly expand so her dark, lifeless pupils take up most of her eyes with the sound of a machine shutting down.

In an Atlas laboratory, a balding white-bearded dark man watches the live footage on the news, his hand gripping the armrest of his chair tightly.

People around Vale are still terrified by the sight, and miles away in Mountain Glenn, Grimm of all kinds turn toward the Colosseum, and begin to charge.

Finally, Ruby and Church turns a corner and emerges from the service tunnel, only to see with her own eyes that she is far too late. She fell to her. "Penny..." She begins to cry, the tears fall as she sobs miserably.

The levitating arena is lowered back into place under the spotlights, and Mercury appears behind the weeping Ruby and shocked Church, grinning widely at his success in delaying her before stepping back into the Colosseum's maintenance area. Ruby tenses slightly as she hears his footsteps, but slumps forward once again as the door noisily swings shut.

"Kill the feed!" shouted Wiz, into his ear piece.

"Something's wrong!" shouted an operator. "We don't have control of the cameras! We can't even stop the broadcast!"

"What!? How is that possible!?" asked Oohbleck.

In answer, the background behind the them changes to the video feed of the sight before them, tinted an ominous bright red with a black queen chess piece hovering over the scene. They turn back to the arena as a familiar voice rings out throughout the Colosseum and the rest of the world watching these events.

"This is not a tragedy," began Cinder. "This was not an accident. This is what happens when you hand over your trust, your safety, your children, to men who claim to be our guardians, but are, in reality, nothing more than men. Our Academies' Headmasters wield more power than most armies, and one was audacious enough to control both."

Ironwood, realizing who she's talking about, grimaces and rises from his seat, marching up the steps.

Meanwhile, Locus had watched the match on his scroll, gritting his teeth before running towards an unattended Atlas airship.

"They cling to this power in the name of peace, and yet, what do we have here? One nation's attempt at a synthetic army, mercilessly torn apart by another's star pupil. What need would Atlas have for a soldier disguised as an innocent little girl? I don't think the Grimm can tell the difference."

Pyrrha continues to stare at the remains of Penny in dread and guilt. Lips parting as she raises a hand to cover her mouth. Then her eyes start watering, a single tear falling.

Back in the fairgrounds, a gaping Tucker, Weiss and Blake watch the hacked screen of the Shopkeep's stall. The owner and several others including Roy Stallion are gathered nearby. Blake's expression becomes a glare as the speech continues.

"And what, I ask you, is Ozpin teaching his students? First a dismemberment, now this? Huntsmen and Huntresses should carry themselves with honour and mercy, yet I have witnessed neither."

Yang was hunched over her dorm's windowsill listening to the speech before she straightens and turns as Zwei barks behind her.

Donut exited the CCT tower, shocked at what's happening when he noticed a crowd gathering near him. He shoved past them, and gasped at the sight of Grif kneeling over scarred and damaged Simmons.

"Perhaps Ozpin felt as though defeating Atlas in the Tournament would help people forget his colossal failure to protect Vale when the Grimm invaded its streets. Or perhaps this was his message to the tyrannical dictator that has occupied an unsuspecting kingdom with armed forces. Honestly, I haven't the slightest clue as to who is right and who is wrong. But I know the existence of peace is fragile, and the leaders of our kingdoms conduct their business with iron gloves."

Ozpin watches the screen intently, The Long Memory at his side and Atlesian Airships hovering beyond his window. Amid the silence over the Colosseum as they absorb the revolutionary words, no one notices Emerald exit the stadium.

"As someone who hails from Mistral, I can assure you the situation there is... equally undesirable. Our Kingdoms are on the brink of war, yet we, the citizens, are left in the dark."

Two blue Atlas Soldiers watch the message on their Scroll, not noticing the wave of Grimm coming out of the mist shrouded treeline until they hear growling. Both turn and open fire the best they can, shooting down a few. But many more rush past them with Cinder's voice still stirring up trouble from her position with a malevolent smile.

"So I ask you: When the first shots are fired... who do you think you can trust?"

In the Colosseum, the screens cut from red and black to complete static.

"The feeds are all jammed! We can't get a message out!" said Oohbleck

Port to the people working behind the scenes. "Will somebody tell me what in the world is happening!?"

The question is answered with the sound of a wailing alarm throughout the structure, with humans and Faunus and even a Henchman holding a tub of popcorn looking up in alarm at the orange flashing screens reading "CAUTION".

"Alert." said the announcement voice. "Incoming Grimm attack. Threat level: Nine. Please seek shelter in a calm and orderly manner."

The crowds begin to flee, wild and screaming, through the exit tunnels, while Ironwood enters the announcers' box and grabs the microphone from between Port and Oobleck.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please. There is no need for panic," reassured Ironwood.

With that said, a Giant Nevermore appears atop the arena's domed force field, giving a series of deafening screeches as it claws and pecks at the defence with its beak.

"I disagree..." said Kimball.

"A Nevermore!?" shouted Sun

"How did it get past the Kingdom's defences!?" shouted Coco.

"It wasn't alone," answered Ren.

In the headmaster's office, Ozpin is gripping his cane tight, watching the city come under attack with a horrified expression. Qrow ran in with Glynda. "Oz!"

"Get to the city!" ordered Ozpin.

"But-"

"NOW!"

Qrow and Glynda exchange a look before going back the way they came. Meanwhile, Mountain Glenn is almost silent, as every monster lurking there from Beowolves to Boarbatusks, Ursai and Nevermores, and even lumbering Goliaths with wide red eyes rush forward.

Back at the Colosseum, Ironwood watched the Nevermore attack the shields as the Director nearby ordered his guards and Carolina. "Take out that Nevermore and escort the President out!" They nodded and went of the room.

Ironwood continues watching until he answers his Scroll, stammering. "Ozpin, the girl... I-I can explain!"

"You brought your army to my Kingdom, James," said Ozpin, gravely before sounding angry. "Use it." Ironwood's worry turns to determination. Outside, his fleet of ships are being attacked by even more giant Nevermores though to minimal effect. Soldiers inside are scrambling to enter commands inside the bridge around their commanding officer.

"Dammit!" shouted the Captain, pulling out a scroll. "This is Blue Four! Blues Two and Three, fall into defensive position!"

"Roger! Blue Three, in position!"

"Blue Two, what's your status?" No response was made. "Blue Two, come in! Someone answer me, dammit!"

He doesn't know that the bridge of the last ship is wrecked, computers sparking and the men stationed were being thrown like rag dolls a pair of high boots walk through the destruction. An officer got up and tried to fire at the intruders before Felix stabbed his firing arm and his throat, ramming him into a wall.

"You know for officers, I thought you guys would be alot more impressive." said Felix, pulling the knives out and letting him fall to the floor, bleeding to death. "But hey, there's only so much a white clean suit, rich background, and bribery can do."

Nearby, his helper was dressed in an Atlas uniform and holding both Hush and Melodic Cudgel with a feathered hat on top. Neopolitan opens the door of a familiar-looking cell with a devious grin.

"Well... it's about time..." Torchwick leans out of the shadows and into the light.

Outside the Airships, where the furthest craft suddenly turns towards its allies and fires several bright red lasers at the engine of the one closest to it. "We're hit! What's going-" Before its officer can finish speaking the flaming ship crashes into another in a series of explosions and sends both of them tumbling toward the waters below.

"Woo-hoohahahaha! Oohh, it is good to be back!" shouted Roman at the controls, manically as only Felix stood near him with his orange shades on.

Finally, at Beacon's cliffside landing platforms, three Bullheads arrive, the middle one opening its hatch to reveal four members of the White Fang, and their leader.

"Bring them to their knees!" ordered Adam. Another Bullhead opens its door, this time with several creatures of Grimm inside. They all spewed out of it, seeing the guards and scared civilians near them and at once, they roared terrifyingly and lunged at them.