Vili watched as one of the three riflemen from the airship tumbled down the side of the coliseum. The weapons had flown somewhere, but with their users dead, they shouldn't be a problem. Turning to look back over the ocean, he scanned the sky for the ship. As luck would have it, he'd gone through it without damaging it, so it was still out there somewhere. Unfortunately, he couldn't find it with all the background noise and the lack of the deadly red beams. As he heard a series of bangs behind him, six large black pods flew past him into arena. Turning, he found the massive aurora nearing. It possessed a cylindrical shape, casting a great pillar of darkness upon the ground with its shadow. "A mobile military town," Jager had said at the press release. It was one of the more impressive feats of the four kingdoms. Noting the bullheads leaving from the ship, he decided to focus on the ground forces. He flew down to the arena, noting that the six pods were spiderdroids.

He scanned the battles going on, looking for a place where it looked like people were in a bit of trouble. JNPR had made short work of those on the south side – he'd caught a few waves from a hammer-flying Nora a couple times, her smile going from ear to ear. He caught sight of Yang, her and Miltia seeming to work surprisingly well together. The blonde was leading the assault, Miltia more covering her back if she slipped up – which wasn't often, from the looks of it. Her face no longer had the angry and confused look he'd seen earlier, replaced by her characteristic smile.

There was an interesting disconnect there. Despite the horror around them, many huntsmen and huntresses were known to look happy in battle. It was their calling, something to escape with. For them, battle wasn't just this risk of life and body; it was also a hobby like any other. That was something he shared, and he knew what it meant.

Asylum demonized huntsmen and huntresses for women like Nora and Yang. People like him. It wasn't because they were powerful, though they were. It wasn't because they were skilled, though they were. It was because they lived and loved to fight. To face an opponent like that, who could tear you down with a smile plastered on their face, was something some lesser criminals had nightmares about. He'd seen it in Miltia's eyes when she thought Yang was going to shoot her. In the eyes of the White Fang who ran from JNPR as Nora's hammer fell upon them. In the eyes of the men he'd been dropping from high in the air after ripping them from the safety of their airships. Ignoring attempts to hurt his intangible body as he scanned the battlefield, he wondered if the students he'd befriended realized what they represented to the common folk. It wasn't like the White Fang members, mobsters, and police officers were weak; it wasn't like they didn't have their auras unlocked. They were impressive to the common civilians – especially among the humans who barely learned of aura or rarely had theirs unlocked.

Huntresses and huntsmen, he thought. That was a whole different level. The White Fang outnumbered them, even with the aid of the IRS soldiers, and yet he could safely say that there was no doubt who would win if this was drawn out long enough. They'd need to finish with what they were doing, and soon, or they'd all be dead or captured. Of course, they knew this – it was why they'd avoided open confrontation, adopted their hit and run tactics. They had but a few capable of standing against the full might of the world government. So, what was so important that they'd done this? And more importantly, why was it so important?

He spotted Weiss fighting her way through a throng of faunus. From what he could tell, some were going out of their way to target her. Not altogether surprising, he figured, considering the enmity between the SDC and White Fang. He decided to help her and lined up a flight path over top of her.

"Get into the air," he called down to her as he flew past. He adjusted his path, looping up and back. His aura flared around him, and he imagined if anyone had looked at his eyes they may have been disturbed by what they saw. In a moment, she complied, launching herself into the air as he had seen in her fights. He dived downward at high speed into the middle of them, flipping at the last second into a kick.

His foot hit the ground in an aura enforced strike, his body dropping to absorb the high speed impact. The ground shattered in an outward shockwave of shrapnel. He heard yells and grunts of pain and surprise as the fragments tore through them from the bottom up, but didn't stop. He rolled forward, his hands locked in the air as his gauntlets shot out flame. He spun in an aerial handstand, his legs wide and firing out fire. It flung out, catching on all the surrounding faunus. Then he moved in the form of feathers, reforming by Weiss, who was standing on a glyph just above them.

"That was excessive," she said with a hint of disdain. He sighed. This again? He had forgotten what it was like to work with younger warriors. It was just a matter of time, he imagined, before this would be nothing to them.

"Take a look at the IRS soldiers. Do you see many White Fang left alive by them?"

A huff. "Fair enough. So, what? Come to save the damsel in distress? I had them handled," she replied, voice still harsh. She began hopping down a series of glyphs to an open area, a spiderdroid fighting nearby attracting any White Fang attention. He followed.

"I'm sure you did – you do very well at what you do. You just had an unfair situation – they're targeting you for being a Schnee. Figured I'd lend a hand."

She turned to look toward him. He found it odd that she could still seem beautiful in such a situation. Dirt was smudged on her face, and blood spatter and singed frills also marred her clothing. Even so, those blue eyes stared at him as bright and clear as they had that first night he'd met her. Skepticism. Hatred. Fear. That was what lay in those eyes for him. For some reason, he felt compelled to change that.

"If you want to help, tell me if you've seen Blake," she said. There was concern there – in her voice and her aura. The faunus girl was a traitor, wasn't she? He supposed that would make her quite the target, especially with their current relationship to the White Fang.

"Unfortunately," he began, giving the arena another glance over, "I haven't seen her since this began. However, she looked like she was headed toward one of the doors over here when I did."

"So she's inside," Weiss said, looking toward the higher side of the stadium with a slight frown.

"You don't think…" he began, stopping when the murderous but all too familiar glare found its way on him.

"She didn't run," she said simply. Then, a flicker of doubt, and, "at least, not with the civilians. She knows they're after her – she told me to stay as far away from her as I could, but…" she continued. Her gaze went toward the southern end of the stadium, scanning for something that she seemed to not find. "Scott… he said she was over here and that they were after her as well." That was surprising.

"You had a run in with him and he didn't kill you?" he asked with more than a hint of confusion.

She nodded. "He actually saved my life. He also told me he wasn't meant to kill us, but to watch out for those that tried to. I don't really understand, but he's passed up the opportunity to kill one of us twice now – I don't know what else to believe."

"He may be telling the truth," he said, turning to the screen. It was barely operable, but the green aura reserves of Yang and Miltia were still capable of being made out. "Miltia protected Yang and the two are fighting together right now."

"What?!" Weiss exclaimed with confusion. "But… what about the thing with Melanie, or… or how we messed up their business when we went after Torchwick and Cinder?" She ran a hand through her bangs, her eyes catching something behind him. Vili turned to find a battle worn spiderdroid making its way through a group of dead and wounded faunus. She made a signal with her glyphs and the machine approached.

"Identification: Weiss Schnee. Deference marker active – open for orders. Modifier: by order of Jager Schnee, protect with life. Identification: Vili Schwarze. Grade 1 Criminal marker active – kill on sight." His eyes widened, catching a sharp glance from Weiss. "Exception – Temporary clearance granted by Tytus Alba. Deference marker active – open for orders." Vili fought down his heart rate. He'd faced one of these before, and while there were more difficult things, it was not something he was feeling up to at the moment. "Please place a request."

"Command: load file 'Blake Belladonna'," she said, her words very clear and enunciated. Then again, they were like that most of the time.

It paused for a moment, presumably retrieving the file from their database. "Done," the robotic voice returned.

"Command: by my order, search and protect. Your existence is secondary. Relegate the order throughout the network," Weiss stated.

"Done. Commencing search," it said, wandering off as scanning sensors appeared to scour the area.

"Well, that's something. Won't help if she's inside though – those things probably won't venture there. They'd barely fit," Vili commented.

"They're just in case she surfaces while we're inside looking for her," she said, walking toward the closest entrance. Vili raised a brow.

"We?" he asked.

"You said you wanted to help. They're after Blake, and she's probably inside. Stop wasting time," she replied, making motions that he now knew corresponded with her semblance. He approached her as she stood to the side of a door, concentrating on something.

"What are you doing?"

She cast a quick look toward him, making a silencing motion. She heard something. Moving his ears, he picked a couple voices inside. While she was distracted, he went through the wall for a look. Two figures in White Fang uniforms stood inside the hallway, wearing a slightly heavier form of armor with jet boosters on their back. He caught sight of a small white snowflake in the corner of the ceiling, stepping in front of it eliciting a quiet but angry "what are you doing?!" from outside. So, she could sense things with that? Interesting. He stepped into a nearby room, noting how it seemed ransacked. Quickly making his way down the hallway, much of the other rooms were in similar condition, the ones toward the end still having other faunus searching. He doubled back to Weiss, startling her when he stepped out of the wall.

"What the hell were you doing?! You could have been caught!" she whispered out angrily. He waved off her concerns.

"But I wasn't, and that's all that matters. Now, there are two right inside – but you already knew that. However, there are four more further down the hall, each searching a room to themselves. I think I can take care of the two in the hall without them noticing. I'm thinking you use ice to block one side of the hall and we can each take a room on the other side." A moment of hesitation.

"Fine. What's the signal?"

"You have the sensor – trust me, you'll know when I'm done. Just rush in and freeze over a side. Then I'll take the room furthest down and you will take the other right next to me. Then we move on – they'll get out of the room, but it'll take some time and we'll be long gone."

She nodded. He went back in, still intangible. His reserves were getting low, so he'd have to play this smart. What would be the most quick, silent, and least draining way to go about this? An aura break would be silent and quick, but he'd regret it later. It wasn't an easy technique in terms of aura usage. Raw physical strength would be the best. The flames, however, might make enough noise to alert them. Hm…

He was in the room they stood outside of, watching from a shadow. They stood with their back to him. How about a bit of mix and match? He rushed forward while intangible, committing to a partial break as he ran through them. As they doubled over with a flickering aura flare, Vili materialized. Without the shield element, the subsequent blow to their temples from his gauntlet covered hands knocked them unconscious. As he lowered them to the ground, the right side of the hallway froze over. As he dematerialized to appear in the doorway of the furthest room, a white blur and shrill sound traveled down to the room next to him. Within seconds, he heard a pair of crunches as he disabled the faunus in his room and Weiss did the same. He stepped out, the heiress coming from her room a second later.

"That worked surprisingly well," she said.

"I've been doing this kind of stuff for awhile – why the lack of faith?" he asked, walking toward the end of the hallway, ears attuned to any sounds.

"I suppose I'm just used to things being a bit more… hectic than that. I'd forgotten a plan does not need to push the limits of possibility to succeed," Weiss said. Ah, right, he'd heard of Ruby's unconventional methods before.

They wandered to the end of the hallway, Vili keeping his ear out for any sounds. Weiss' moving fingers suggested she was still placing glyphs to monitor the area as well. The place seemed oddly clear of anyone, though a few corpses littered the ground. Scorch marks and bullet holes were common, as well as cuts, scratches, cracks and other burns on the marble. As they walked, Vili found himself talking with his harsh companion. Attempts to get past small talk were returned with anger, but in inquiring about that, she explained. Why did she seem so hostile to him? Her points weren't exactly things he could deny. They knew little about him, and what they did know painted him as an extremely dangerous criminal. Raised in a world where smiling lies were commonplace, where manipulation and backstabbing was the norm, Weiss found little reason to trust him at face value. It was odd but not unexpected that she was already so cynical. The world thought her the Schnee's little angel, but whatever sweetness and innocence she may have had seemed to have long since rotted away. She wasn't all bad – after all, they were working together to save a friend she should hate: a high ranking faunus of the White Fang, a girl who'd been part of something that always threatened her family and her way of life.

"But what about Blake? Surely you've had your doubts about her, and yet here you are risking your own life for her," he'd asked.

"Blake, I'm sure, has done many things I would probably find appalling. However, we've been through quite a bit to get to the point where we are now. She's earned my trust, respect and friendship – you have earned nothing as of yet." With that, he had to admit that for now, her behavior was justified.

After that, they'd stopped chatting. Little more than the occasional echoes and tremors from explosions outside were noticed at this point. A particularly bad one not too long ago had cause them to stumble a bit, but the building seemed largely unaffected and they continued on as usual. They had a few scuffles with the odd White Fang group, but still no sign of Blake. The girl was good at hiding her tracks – she was putting that shadow aura to use. He always hated and loved dealing with people with that type. On the one hand, they were a pain in the ass to find. On the other, that made it all the more fun when you found them anyway. His predatory instincts at work, he suspected, flicking his predatory bat ears. The influence of the patron animal on a faunus was always interesting. He'd picked up that Blake was somewhat nocturnal, could see in the dark, and liked tuna and milk – he'd seen her mix some of the white liquid into her tea quite often. The bat he shared traits with was carnivorous, just as he was. He inherited its hearing and sense of smell as well. He also enjoyed night and gloom, striking from darkness at unsuspecting prey – er, foes.

Vili had his train of thought interrupted as he heard footsteps. He waved to Weiss for her to be still and quiet, creeping ahead through walls. He found a group of IRS soldiers marching out quickly toward the arena and quickly returned to Weiss.

"IRS soldiers, come on," he said, materializing in front of her and heading back to cut them off. She followed without a moment of hesitation. When they came out in front of them, they found their rifles lined up on them for a moment.

"Primary Asset Weiss Schnee and the contestant Vili Schwarze. What can we do for you?" one asked, stepping forward as they motioned for the others to lower their guns.

"Where are you going? What's going on?" Vili asked.

"That's not important. What we really want to know is if you've found Blake Belladonna," Weiss cut in.

The soldier hesitated, looking back to the others. "That's just it, Lady Schnee. A group reported in a little while ago saying they found her in the tunnels. They stopped responding after gunfire began and nearby soldiers reported hearing and feeling what they think was a collapse. Now the White Fang's radio chatter is going crazy and they're pulling out – we're trying to make our way out to catch anyone going to that ship they all came from." Shit, that did not sound good. Vili looked to Weiss, wondering if it should even be possible for someone that pale to have gotten paler.

"Weiss, we don't know what happened. She could be fine, they might be running because of the aurora heading this way," he said, scrambling something together to calm her down. He could see her emotions fluctuating from his aura perception, but it was still shocking to hear her respond.

"O-of course, s-she's probably fine," she stuttered out, the flutter telling him she was barely being held together. She was really going to be torn up if Blake wasn't okay, and unfortunately he didn't believe a word he just said.

"Come on, we should get out of their way," he said, thinking she wasn't in a condition to do much right now.

"No, no, we should go with them. We need to stop them from escaping," she said, a bit of the steel coming back into her voice. It looked like she'd managed to fight her emotions down – for now, anyway. There was definitely more to her than the cold exterior she put on. It was why he found her so interesting. Is that so? I'm not so sure… He ignored the voice, but it dug up doubts. Was it really just her contrast in appearance and actuality, or something more? What made the voice pass judgment?

"That's fine," the soldier said, "follow us out."

The soldiers led the way out, finding that the arena had long since fallen into the shadow of the behemoth airship bearing down on the White Fang. No other White Fang airships could be seen, the only bullheads being the military, chain guns firing upon the fleeing faunus and rockets targeting the massive ship. Its armor, however, was thick, and the explosions seemed to bounce off without leaving a mark. Jack was on his vine atop the judges' area again, calling out over the loudspeakers.

"All warriors, soldiers, contestants, whoever – if you've got anything that can pack a punch long range, get up here and target that submarine immediately!" he called out.

Vili looked to Weiss and the soldiers. "Got anything?" they shook their heads. "Well, I think this is where we part ways. You guys, keep an eye on her, someone might try to score a lucky hit on their way out," he said, preparing to fly off.

"I don't need babysitters, Mr. Schwarze," she called out in indignation.

"It's a fool who opens the door to folly," he replied. He caught a frown and a flush of anger as he turned, his ears picking up a huff. Ruby and Blake had mentioned her being all bark and no bite yesterday evening, and he'd seen little to dispute that at this point. He flew off, joining Jack atop the roof of the booth. On the ground, Weiss was left glowering at the soldiers.

"If it makes you feel any better, we weren't going to leave you alone even before he asked. We have orders signed by the General," one of the soldiers said after an awkward moment.

Weiss just rolled her eyes, drawing Myrtenaster as she turned around. "Whatever, just make sure you don't get in my way," she said as she went toward a nearby scuffle.

"Yes, my Lady," she heard in a chorus behind her as their boots snapped together and salutes were raised. Despite the situation, a flicker of pride brought forth a small smirk to her lips. A quick glyph and she charged into battle.

"Whitaker, have you had any luck finding her?" the General asked through the radio. He was a large and imposing individual, his thick aurochs tail swishing back and forth in mild agitation. Things had not quite gone as planned, so this was unsurprising. They'd almost overstayed their welcome in Vale and they hadn't gotten more than the brief occasional sighting or encounter with their target deserter.

"Not yet, Beta General," Whitaker responded in a much more openly irritated voice. The General knew the irritation was not directed at him, however. His head turned to the albino mouse faunus, the large horns from his mask making him seem even more menacing. He eyed the man housed within the seated device that matched that found within the cloaked airship. Whitaker switched his view to the cameras within the cabin, noting the change in bearing. "I'm trying, but… well, you know how she is. She knows how to stay hidden. Thankfully, someone has Vale's security network scanning for her – I'm getting notifications every now and then. The problem is that it's taking time to process that it's her and by the time I get there-"

"She's long gone," the General responded, his voice deep. "I may have taught her too well…" he muttered under his breath. Whitaker kept the camera on the General for a little longer, watching as he turned back to the video screen showing the approaching Aurora-class airship. The large Rakuen lion of the Shizine Order was emblazoned upon it, marking its host city. Rakuen, home away from home, he thought.

Whitaker went back to the Vale security feeds, scanning for the familiar black and white themed outfit, the black bow, the shining yellow eyes, the ribbon based kusarigama – anything that would give away Blake. In the mean time, he saw everything else – and it was not good. They'd come out strong but now the VPD, IRS, and huntresses and huntsmen were rallying against them. They couldn't hold out much longer before a retreat would be necessary. They had to find Blake. He had to find Blake. This could only be called a success if she were dead or captured. Unfortunate, he guessed – he remembered her being a sweet girl. But, that's what you get for being a traitor. No one could get in the way, no loose ends; the White Fang was finally ready to finish what Cinder Fall had started.

A priority alert in the room brought him out of the video streams he walked. His semblance eased off as he returned to his physical body. As a groundhog faunus routed the message though the speakers, he listened: "I repeat, we found Primary Asset Blake Belladonna within the tunnels. Proceeding to escort back up to the surf – what the-?!" The message cut off to gunfire and static. He activated his semblance again, feeling the comforting assistance of the ship. Tracing the call, he found it originated from the helmet radio of an IRS member. The associated tracker was no longer functional, but had placed them within the tunnels as they said just a few minutes before. Why had their tracker ceased to function before the call was made? Unfortunately there were not any cameras within the tunnels that he could exploit, having not acquired the specific codes necessary to give him access. For whatever reason, they relied upon a different system. Damn, he'd have to find the operatives that had attacked them. Just then, another alert – this time their own as opposed to an intercepted one.

"All channels – we got the bitch! She was holed up in the tunnels with some buddies and we dropped the ceiling on them!" Whitaker couldn't resist a smirk. Just in time. He tried to find the operative, but the equipment wasn't working properly. Was there something about the tunnels that made it a dead zone?

The General put his hand to his ear, activating his mask's radio. "Have you got confirmation she is dead?" There was a moment of hesitation in which Whitaker shifted focus directly to their incoming feed, popping it up on the screen to the surprise of the faunus operating it.

"This good enough for ya? I'd say the cunt's as dead as dead can be," a different voice said as an image came up on the screen. It was dark, the camera compensating with infrared imaging. Gambol Shroud laid in pool a blood, covered by a limp hand sticking out from a pile of rubble. What appeared to be a crushed skull had a few dark locks and a disconnected eyeball sticking out from another bolder nearby. Whitaker marveled at the gruesome scene as he heard some of the less hardened operatives struggle with their breakfast, one actually throwing up. Now they were one step closer to achieving their goals.

"Very good, soldier. Head back out for evac," the General said, his voice barely showing any emotion. Whitaker couldn't guess what expression he must be hiding behind that bull horned mask. He switched to all channels then, broadcasting to every White Fang receiver within range. "This is Beta General Taurus – all units, fall back! I repeat, fall back! We are leaving the kingdom of Vale!" Then, directly to Whitaker, "Watch the cameras. Help establish evacuation routes with the least amount of resistance – we've already lost too many for this operation."

"Sir, yes sir," he said, shifting back to monitor the cameras of the stadium. However, he kept an eye out for areas he suspected had entrances to the tunnels. Cameras weren't directly on them, but maybe he'd catch a glimpse of who'd taken out the well known Blake Taurus.

Sun ran toward the stadium, ignoring the calls of his IRS escorts. They'd been on him since he'd attempted to steal a boat and they assumed him a White Fang operative. After explaining the situation and having Ozpin vouch for him, they agreed to commandeer a boat to allow him passage to the island. He'd promptly crashed it as gently as he could into the pier upon arrival, intending to lose them in the ensuing chaos. So far, it was working – he was just getting inside, where he was sure they'd never catch up. Just inside was a large open area between the outer walls and inner hallways and stairwells. Glancing back, he ran left to hide among some news stands.

"He must of charged in, come on!" a soldier called, running straight through into the inner stadium. Another ran after him, waving back to the others. "Stay out here in case he comes back – and get that ship off the pier!" The other four returned to the little marina, leaving Sun alone. He smirked. Idiots, he thought.

He climbed out, heading further to the left. He didn't want to go in right after them, better to head in from the opposite end. Sprinting around the building, he caught sight of someone up ahead. They were tall, and looked familiar. They had their back to him, their jacket having the design of a red rose over a white pattern. He was speaking to someone, it looked like. And then out came the assassin, Scott Hashishon, with blood covering his hands.

Sun's heart dropped like a rock. Whose blood was on his hands? He'd been after them, right? And the man next to him… Adam. Sun knew that could only mean one thing. But that couldn't be true. She was better than that, wasn't she? But he had his doubts. This was an entire operation – how many had been after her? Even she wasn't unbeatable – that fight had been to a standstill earlier. His despair was quickly turned to anger.

"You bastards…" he muttered, clenching his hands and continuing forward. Adam's ears flicked at the sound, causing him to turn with a confused look. "You bastards!" he shouted, grabbing Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang from his back. He fired out four shots as he approached, spinning the gunchaku. In a blur of movements Adam deflected them. Going for a double swing attack as he neared melee range, Adam seized both gunchaku and twisted around in a familiar movement. Blake had used it when he'd tried sparring against her, the move sending him spiraling through the air and losing grip of his weapons. Scott stepped aside as he slammed into a wall, barely hitting the ground for more than a moment before getting up for an unarmed attack. The barrel of Blush slammed into his solar plexus, knocking the wind out of him as the red blade of Wilt touched his throat. He was pinned to the wall, a gun to his stomach and a sword to his throat in a span of time so quick he'd barely caught the movements. Shit, he thought. He'd forgotten this guy was so dangerous.

"You…" Adam said, presumably staring at him from behind his signature mask.

"Sun Wukong," Scott said, walking up with his arms crossed. "Leave him, we need to get out of here."

"You fucking bastards!" Sun spit out, literally flinging a loogey into the mask of the bull faunus. Adam responded by pressing Blush in, causing another flash of pain. "Is this… what you did… to her," he managed out. Adam's head leaned back, but no other response. He stared at Sun, who continued to struggle for air despite the offending gun on his abdomen.

"Adam! The IRS will be swarming this place any fucking second! Let him go so we can get out of here!" Scott cut in, eying both the passage they'd come from and the doors to the marinas. The masked face turned slightly to the side for a moment before facing Sun again.

"Go down this hall and up the stairs. There's an open hidden passage into the tunnels," he said quickly before releasing him. Sun crumpled to the ground with deep gasping breaths, glaring upward at him. "Look after her for me," he added before running out with Scott on his heels. What the fuck?! She was alive?!

Sun wasted no time. His body wasn't going to hold him down. With a pulse of aura to help things along, he rushed to pick up his weapons and raced down the hall. He swung around the corner on an arm, taking the steps in two bounds. He was rushing around, looking for the passage as he ran. He glimpsed it in the opposite direction, turning so fast that he nearly fell flat on his face. He had to get to her. He had to see she was actually alive. Was she hurt? Crippled? Would he need to rush her back to the hospital he'd just come from? The passage was a hole in the ground, metal rungs lining a side to climb down. He climbed down head first with a couple lunges on all fours, reverting back to two legs once he was going down the tunnel. The lights within the tunnel were blown out, his low level night vision even blinded. He finally slowed as dust began to cloud the air.

"Blake!" he began to call, hearing the voice echo. No answer. "Blake!" he called again, his heart racing. It wasn't because he'd rushed down here, either; that was child's play for him. No, he was gripped with fear. He'd taken Adam's word, but he wasn't sure he'd find anything but a corpse down here. Looking around, barely able to see more than a couple feet in any direction, he hoped he wouldn't end up the same. Anyone or anything could be in this tunnel with him and he'd never know until it was too late. "Blake! Please, if you can hear me, let me know you're alright!" he tried again. Still nothing. Then, up ahead, a small bit of light. "Blake! It's Sun! Can you hear me?!" He approached the light, noting it was from the ceiling. It was jagged, showing a few rocks beneath it. The tunnel was blocked with a cave in. The dust… it was from the ceiling falling in. He looked back the way he'd come, staring into pitch darkness. Had he passed her, still on the ground? Or…? He looked to the pile of rubble blocking the path. No… "Blake!" he called again and again, voice growing hoarse as he grew desperate. "Dammit, woman, please, just answer me!" finally rasped out, sitting on the rubble and leaning back. Then the scroll in his pocket beeped. He pulled it out and nearly dropped it.

New Message from Ninja Kitty (Blake)

Darkness. Darkness and silence. It was like the world was nothing. A wheeze. No, not nothing. Dust. Darkness and Dust. And a horrifying silence. No, that was not true either. A faint pulsing was there. Ba-dum. Ba-dum. A heartbeat? And gritty breaths of dust. Was she…?

Blake opened her eyes… and screamed. It was strained, almost inaudible, but it was one of shock and terror. An eye stared back at her, lying alone on the ground. She scrambled upright, backing away. Blood was everywhere, other organs and lumps of flesh decorating the pile of stone before her. Near it was an arm holding Gambol Shroud. What in Darkness' name? What had happened? Where was she? Why was her throat soar and voice hoarse? Where had all this blood and gore come from? Then she remembered. The stadium, the fight with Scott, the attack, the running, and… Adam. She looked around, standing up to scan the dark with her near perfect night vision. She saw no sign of the swordsman or the one who'd put her in the hold.

"Adam," she called out weakly, her voice seeming loud in the silence but still so quiet. She rubbed her neck, noting how it felt sore to the touch. She'd struggled to escape the hold, she remembered, probably worsening the damage. Who could it have been? Then she remembered the smell – oddly sweet. So they were working together. Why had they spared her? And what was with the set up here?

She looked at the scene with the cave in. It looked as though someone had been crushed by the cave in while holding Gambol Shroud. She reached down to pick up her weapon, noting how it was covered in sticky congealed blood. The ribbon was soaked through and wrapped around the arm, which she found was cut off when she attempted to unwrap it. She struggled to keep down the light breakfast she'd had while trying in vain to clean her weapon. All the while, she heard something that seemed like a voice, but was too quiet to make out. Surrendering, she placed it on the magnet clamp on her back. At least her hair was too short to get caught in anything now.

She looked at the cave in, deciding there was no way through. She went in the other direction, expecting the dust to clear as she grew further from the cave in. To her surprise, it got thicker, obscuring even her night vision. She heard the noise again, this time louder. Closer? She flicked her ears, stopping her motion to better catch it. It came again, this time in a way she could make out. It was her name, and it was definitely someone shouting. She tried to make out the voice as it was heard another time. Sun? What was he doing here? Didn't matter, she guessed, she could tell by the desperate tone of voice he was worried.

"Sun!" she called out. The voice was about as loud as his was to her. There was no way he heard it. She rushed forward, sure this was where he was. "Sun!" she tried again pitifully and painfully. She was running forward so quickly toward the growing noise she barely had time to react to the new wall of rubble that appeared before her. Another cave in? She listened, trying to see if she could still hear him.

"Dammit, woman, please, just answer me!" she heard quietly, noting his voice. He'd yelled himself hoarse for her. She called out again, but no response. Damn, he really couldn't hear her. What could she do? She sat down, adjusting to get more comfortable with her weapon on her back. She looked up. Of course! She took off the weapon, opening the magnet clamp it rested on. Inside were a few select items, one of which was her scroll. Scrolling through the contacts, she got to Sun and typed out a message.

I'm okay, on other side of cave in. Need to be dug out – get help.

She heard his scroll go off, followed by a clatter. She twitched her ears as she adopted a perplexed expression. Had he dropped it? Then, she heard more shuffling.

"Thank the Light! I was worried sick! Can you hear me!" Well, yes, but he couldn't hear her. She rapped Gambol Shroud on the stone a few times. "Sweet – uh, why aren't you talking?!" Damn it, of course he'd ask.

Choke hold. Voice lost – bruised larynx?

"That son of a…" she heard quietly. "Just hold tight, I'll get everyone to help get you out of there. Wait right there!" she heard as he seemed to run away. Why do people always say that in this type of situation? Where on Remnant could she possibly go? If she could go somewhere she wouldn't need help. She shook her head and tried to get as comfortable as she could.

Stone sucks. Then she laughed out loud, wincing from her throat. She grew up sleeping on stone most nights – there weren't too many other options when you were a homeless orphan in a city slum. She really was becoming quite the pampered little thing. She could almost imagine her teammates chastising her for thinking that was a bad thing. She looked at her hands, noting the blood from dealing with her weapon. She hadn't thought to ask him before he ran off, but she hoped everyone was alright.

She lay back, closing her eyes to wait until they could get her out. Then she felt a vibration run through her body. Her ears pricked up, noticing the slight rattle of some stones. It built up slowly, becoming truly audible with larger tremors. A sound was building with it, a deep climbing whine. What in Dust's name was going on? She stood up, backing away from the large pile of rumbling rubble as more fell from the ceiling. Then, it was gone. Was it finished? Then a roar could be heard from above, a larger tremor causing her to drop low to avoid falling over. She realized what the sound reminded her of, bringing back memories red leaves, a rushing train, and a large menacing droid. The cold grip of fear clasped around her heart – what had just happened above her?

Vili stood atop the judges' booth with a small group of warriors and some IRS soldiers. Most soldiers had large rifles like those the White Fang had been using, but a couple had custom equipment and armor. Penny was up here with him, but she was the only one he recognized by name. Jack Irving was nearby talking quickly through his headset.

"All airships, I want you to prepare a full volley of any missiles you have left. The target will be the sail. Any machine gun fire would also be appreciated. You will fire on my mark, understand?" he said. A chorus of responses came through his earpiece. He then turned to the warriors around him. "Did you catch that?" Some shaken heads. "I want you all to target the sail – the part extending up from the main body of the ship – with the heaviest thing you have on my mark. Can you do that?" Nods.

Heaviest thing, hm? Vili supposed that full force one could be risked with the White Fang retreating. Taking stock of his reserves, he tried to estimate how much could be used without aura exhaustion becoming a threat. He'd used up a good amount of energy taking out airships earlier – well, mostly their occupants, but same thing. Even so, he figured he could manage a decent hit with this technique. He flared his aura, preparing it for the attack. Beside him, Penny's swords converted into a gun form he hadn't seen before. The formed a circle, slowly spinning and building up speed. A green ball of energy manifested, seeming like it was based on the same beam technology of the spiderdroids and the red beams from earlier. The sound of that type of gun came to his ear as the soldiers charged their own to fire upon the submarine, as Jack had called it. The feathers on him stood on end, darkening as his sclera turned black like his pupil. The darkness of his hair and clothing became more pronounced as his body became fully tangible. Then his ears picked up a noise from above him.

"RAF Brave Leo, what are you doing?" Jack said. His vine was massive, coiled like a King Taijitu prepared to strike with pulsing veins of green dust and a green glow. Following his gaze, Vili noticed for the first time that the large cylindrical aurora was tilted toward the ship in the bay. Hearing water, Vili turned back to watch the submarine begin to pull away from stadium, leaving a few straggling boats that hadn't made it back aboard. It quickly began to build up speed and started to submerge.

"Jack!" a soldier said, raising their weapon. Jack turned around, eyeing the departing ship. He gritted his teeth, but turned back to the floating behemoth.

"Hold your fire! Bullheads, go land on the mainland as quickly as you can! Everyone up here, get down into the arena immediately," he said angrily.

"What? But you just told us to attack that ship! The fucking animals are getting away!" another warrior replied. Jack whirled on him, the vicious vine twisting to track him with wooden creaks.

"And now I'm telling you to get – into - the arena," he growled back, emphasizing the last few phrases. The warrior cowed a bit, but stood his ground. "Now!" he yelled, the vine seeming to growl to punctuate it. Vili turned to Penny, who gave him a small smile and shrug before jumping down. Vili gave Jack a final glance, before following. "RAF Brave Leo, this is Jack Irving of the Mythografos! Cease immediately! If you continue to follow through with your present course of action, anyone complicit in the firing of that weapon will be guilty of treason of the highest degree. They will be banished from the protection of the four kingdoms for the rest of their lives, left to fare against the Grimm in the wilds alone!" he said through his headset.

A tremor went through the arena as Vili's ears picked up the whine of an energy cannon. He quickly realized it wasn't someone here on the ground as the noise built loudly above him. He looked up to massive orbs of light materializing and travelling into the maw at the base of the great aurora. Vili looked back to Jack, whose vine was growing very quickly. Out of the corner of his eyes, seed-like wooden pods throughout the arena began to pulse with the same green pulsing. Screams and knocks began to come from them, Vili realizing they were White Fang that he'd incapacitated earlier. What was he doing? Vili didn't have to wait long.

The great vine shot out, splitting into several vines to stretch up to the lip of the ceiling over the stands. Roots cracked through the arena, linking the pods, Jack, and the plant as limbs grew between the initial vines. A canopy formed, blocking out the sky and sun. It became dark as the only light stemmed from the green pulsing veins of the plants. Jack fell limp, caught by the vines and wrapped in a wooden chrysalis. The ground shook hard with the power being gathered over them within the cannon. He motioned to Penny to lie down as he did so himself. Whatever happened next would probably not be good, he assumed as a brief moment of silence reached them. He had no idea.

A/N: So, I know I've written 9k chapters before - even longer, in fact, that I split and released in two parts. Even so, this little old 7k chapter felt more... not draining, but more work? I think it's because of all the perspective switching. On that note, I feel I should let you all know something (if you haven't picked up on it already). I don't think I've said it before, but I'm... how shall we say... coloring the world through the perspective of whoever we're following. You may have noticed with Vili I tried to stick to Glynda and Ozpin where as with students like Ruby I always said Professor Ozpin or Ozpin and Professor Goodwitch (Sun just says Goodwitch because he doesn't go there). It won't be too much because, honestly, I'm lazy and completely catering to a character would be a major pain in the ass (this also means I may slip up). It's mostly subtle stuff like that Ozpin/Goodwitch thing and word choice to give each character a bit of their own feel aside from me - which is harder for some for me to do. It does, however, allow me to lie to you because the character doesn't necessarily know the truth behind certain things. I'm not calling anything out in this chapter specifically (I probably do it somewhere in here), but just as a general warning of something you should keep in mind. I also may or may not just straight up lie (by omission) to you guys. Keep your eyes peeled, because if I can pull this off, there will be sub/side plots that will require a bit of work on your end to figure out (I'll make sure the major ones will be prominent though). Oh! I almost forgot about my second review! I know I already voiced my thanks, but to put it on the record, it does mean a lot to me that you guys like this. Thank you all for the time, and see you when I finish the next chapter - the aftermath!