AN: Well, this chapter finally happened. Next chapter won't take as long to put up…hopefully. Though my Primal Fate muse finally woke up…

Chapter Four: Scythe and Blade

It was a scene of pure chaos.

Galvanised by Ruby's sudden, and televised, transformation, most iron-willed Huntsmen and Huntresses looked at each other in a moment of incredulity and awe…before high-tailing it out the nearest exit. For a brief moment, the levels of fear and anger exploded to make Amity Colosseum a magnet for all Grimm. A brief moment was all the time needed for the armies of Grimm waiting on the outskirts to charge the small contingents of Atlas security that were patrolling for such an event. However, none of them stood a chance against the onslaught. The last sentry died screaming for backup as a massive Goliath bore down on him. Crowded around a screen at Beacon Tower, Ozpin, Ironwood, Qrow and Glynda watched in horror at the massive wave of Grimm bearing down on the unsuspecting city – the residents still transfixed at the scene inside the arena.

"This is bad." Qrow's voice was extremely tight. "The citizens…can't you do anything to help?"

Ironwood stepped back and looked at the skies to where the battleships were. He would have been at the Colosseum if Ozpin hadn't called him to discuss the future of the Maiden Plan now that the Belts were active. He could have taken charge and turned around this impossibly grim situation into something of strength. Instead, the lives of hundreds of Huntsmen and Huntresses in training were in the hands of a fifteen-year-old girl with more power than she knew what to do with. The only good thing he could think of to come out of this situation was that one of the cameras on the transport ships had captured Kenzaki accompanying her. If worst came to the worst, he could use his abilities to take down the monster before it caused too many casualties. Yet, all of that was in the nebulously defined future. What he needed to worry about now was crowd control. Pulling out his Scroll, he tapped in a set of commands to allow the autonomous security force to act on their own, as well as activating the fail-safe program that his Chief Technician had worked on.

"It is done." He sighed. "The Atlas Forces should be activating to combat the advancing Grimm. I've even activated the fail-safe protocol that, if needed, will wipe any external programming from their systems. I hoped that never would have to be used."

Back at the arena, the remaining Huntsman teams were left speechless as the transformed Ruby slashed the creature over and over again with Crescent Rose; the strikes seemingly doing little to no damage despite her increased strength. Darting away with her Semblance, Ruby shook her head as she tried to banish the irritating pop-up displays that kept tabs on her abilities and the world around her. She didn't like the fact she had no idea what she had done, nor did she like the fact that Ken was just standing there looking at her like a stunned mullet. She was about five seconds from freaking out and nothing seemed to be helping. Speeding away to the very edge of the arena, she looked back to see the spider thing tracking her with its cold and dead stare. Although it had previously moved towards Pyrrha, it now looked as though it was gunning for her. For all she knew, that was the case. Closing her eyes, she took in a deep breath and attempted to calm her mind. She was in a suit that had appeared around her that probably had abilities she'd never get to use if she kept panicking. It would be good if there was an instruction booklet but, knowing her luck, things wouldn't be that easy.

Opening her eyes with renewed determination, she looked at the creature again. Honestly, it didn't look so tough but her strikes had bounced off its armour like nothing before. Flicking her eyes over the monster's form a few more times, she suppressed a frustrated groan as more menu options started popping up. She didn't want to know anything about 'Scythe Blades', the 'Hopper Gun' or something called a 'Blaze Burst'. She wanted to know how she could use Crescent Rose to defeat the creature. There had to be a way that…and the monster was almost on top of her. Rolling away as four arms embedded themselves into the floor, she looked around for the wayward weapon. It was, frustratingly enough, on the other side of the arena. There was a gauge on the display that, interestingly enough, tracked her remaining Aura and it was worryingly dipping into the red. Running a few calculations off the top of her head, she reckoned she had enough juice left for one more Semblance burst. After that, she wouldn't have her Aura to protect her anymore.

"Take this!"

Ruby launched herself at the Spider monster, fists swinging wildly. Her left hand connected with the side of its head and knocked it back to collide with the wall. It struggled to get back to its feet as she looked at her hands in awe and amazement. The last time she had tried to go hand-to-hand with someone had been underneath Mountain Glenn and that had been a total bust, even without whatever freaky strengthening the suit had given her. Now, it seemed as though something was guiding her movements and ensuring her hands were in the places they needed to be. She would have called it a second-nature but it seemed to be more than that. Leaping away as an acidic glob splashed against her boots, she wondered how she had known such an attack was headed in her direction. Shaking her head, she continued making her way to the Crescent Rose, never noticing the words "Safe Mode On" running at the top of her HUD.

As she reached her weapon, she took it in her hands and swung it in an arc on instinct. Luckily, the weapon impacted against the chest armour of the Spider monster and knocked it away yet again. From his position in the bleachers, Kenzaki rubbed a hand over his face as he realised that one of the properties of the Scythe Belt was making itself known – the ability he had hoped would be the final one the manifest. He knew what properties the Belts had as he had been the one to sign off on the completion but this ability was too dangerous if used improperly. He had a very strange feeling he would have to set aside a few weeks to train the girls. Of course, that was hoping they didn't kill him with their questions after the full truth was revealed. As Ruby lunged at the monster again with her scythe, he wondered what hurdles they would have to overcome in the future. Although, if he was fully honest with himself, it seemed Ruby was shaping up to be quite a good Arms Type user.

"Nothing seems to be working!" she cried in desperation. "This thing is too strong!"

Pyrrha looked at the criss-cross of cracks and holes in the armour of the monster and had to agree with her friend. Ruby had been hammering the monster with her scythe for a good few minutes and its armour hadn't even shattered. The rather concussive blasts of her sniper rifle also hadn't slowed it down or broken off as much as she thought it should have. And, yet, her warrior's eye was able to pick out something rather interesting about the way the suit seemed to work. When Ruby found herself disarmed, either through a lucky shot or her weapon slipping out of her hands, the blows she managed to land with her fists and feet seemed to do more damage than the Crescent Rose. It was almost as if the suit itself contained all the weapons needed to defeat the creature…but that would mean that the belts were created around the same time as the Grimm. Shelving that curious nugget in the back of her mind, her eyes raked over the monster once more before she saw it. There, on the armour that covered where its heart would be on a normal human, was a large indentation that seemed to have been made by a lucky kick of Ruby's. It would be close and would require a strike made at the right distance, angle and force but she knew the girl could make it easily.

"Ruby!" She called, pointing to the cracked armour over its chest, "aim there!"

Ruby looked to where the other girl was pointing and nodded as text began scrolling over her eyes. It was going too fast for her to read but she had a strange feeling it would be repeated as many times as she needed. Checking her Aura gauge once more, she noted it had regenerated enough to be just in the yellow. She had taken huge risks before but never as large as the responsibility that was weighing heavily on her shoulders. If she missed, even by a fraction of an inch, the monster would massacre everyone around her within moments. As she had done previously, she closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. She could feel her body shifting in preparation and, for the first time, didn't fight it.

After a few more breaths, she struck. Legs pumping on the floor, she ran full speed at the monster, not bothering to use her Semblance until she was within striking distance. In the blink of an eye, she thrust the tip of her scythe through the armour of the Grimm and, finally, used her speed to smash the monster up and down onto the ground. A violent burst of heat so hot she could feel it through her uniform later and the monster was nothing more than a pile of ash. The Crescent Rose clattered to the ground as Ruby took a moment to look up at the screens to see her transformed state for the first time, unawares of the Huntsmen that had stayed coming to ground level.

"What was that thing?" Jaune asked, looking at the scorch mark with some fear. "I've never seen anything like it before!"

"A Grimm Monster; a Grimm infused with human intellect and animal cells." Ken intoned gravely. "It must have sensed the awakening of the Belts and come out of hiding."

Kenzaki shook his head. He should have known this was going to happen but he hoped it would have occurred at a later date. While the larger part of his mind was running through the implications of the appearance of the Grimm Monster, the rest of it was feeling relieved that it had been the Grimm Spider…and not the arachnid creature that still haunted his dreams. The only positive thing he could think about was it had only been a one-off occurrence and no other creatures of its ilk had come since. Of course, he wasn't going to tell the Huntresses and Huntsmen how such an infusion had taken place or of how he had been used as an unwilling test subject by those who wanted to topple the business that would eventually create the Belts. Still, he would have to impart all the wisdom and teachings to the quintet that he could before the Joker Grimm came calling.

"Wait," Pyrrha asked, "you're saying there are more of these things out there?"

He sighed, knowing what was coming.

"Unfortunately, yes." He shook his head as his senses began to tell him something was dreadfully wrong. "There were around seven experiments of this nature that were frozen at the same time as the criminal. At the time, we thought this was for the best and that they wouldn't menace society again."

"Well, we can't just…" Ruby's voice trailed off as she ran Ken's words over again in her mind. "Wait. We?"

Kenzaki swallowed hard as he realised he had slipped up. Now was not the time for the truth; not here and not in front of a crowd of Huntsmen and Huntresses. Opening his mouth to attempt to diffuse the situation, he let out a surprised gasp of alarm as his Joker senses flared to life. As if in his mind's eye, he could see a massive tsunami of Grimm stampeding towards Beacon Academy and Amity Colosseum. At their current strength, the Huntsmen and Huntresses stationed in the Academy would be able to defeat the Grimm but only if they cast aside their vows to protect the innocent. There were also masses of unauthorised airships flying in from the West carrying more Grimm in their cargo bays. His lips curled in disgust as he 'spied' the logo of the White Fang emblazoned on one of the ships before his breath caught in his throat. Ozpin had told him of the rather convoluted relationship one of the members of team RWBY had with the White Fang and their leader. If Blake had to go toe-to-toe with Adam, she would rip him apart without thinking about it. A dark shadow streaked over the energy field covering the roof, causing everyone to look up.

"We have incoming." Jaune almost wanted to hit him for stating the obvious. "I didn't want to use this so soon but…"

He was halfway through pulling out the Blay Buckle when the energy dome cracked and shattered, allowing a giant Nevermore to land in the centre of the arena floor. Dropping the Buckle back in his pocket, Kenzaki thrust out his hand to shield the stunned Huntsmen behind him as rocket-powered lockers began slamming into the beast. The Nevermore collapsed, temporarily stunned by the impacts, and the remaining Huntsmen and Huntresses clambered on the back of the beast to gain their weapons. Jaune opened his locker to collect his Crocea Mors, when a dark shadow rose up behind the compartment.

"Well, this is a surprise." The voice was thin and reedy, carrying a malicious note. "The Scythe Belt is active. Very nice for a human."

Jaune yelped and stumbled back with his shield held in a defensive position. Nora scooped up Magnhild in its launcher form and pointed it at the creature. Whatever it was, it looked for all intents and purposes like a humanoid bat with leathery membranes stretching from the pinkie fingers to its armpits. Its head was as black as the blackest night she had ever seen with only two small pinpricks of red for eyes while the body was brown and furry with white streaks on the wings. It flexed its right wrist once and a wet tearing sound filled the air as a thin blade dripping with gore rose from the joint. Ruby backed up in fear as she finally managed to disengage the Safe Mode, opening up several options that had been inaccessible.

"What is that thing?" Ruby's voice was strained.

"The Bat Grimm Monster." Kenzaki intoned, reaching in for his Blay Buckle once more. "You will have to utilise everything you can in order to defeat it."

Ruby nodded and launched herself at the monster. As she had done before, she aligned the Crescent Rose to the chest of the creature and smashed the blade up into its…awaiting hand. Barely having a moment to comprehend what had happened, she was lifted into the air and smashed down onto the ground in a twisted parody of her final attack on the Spider Grimm. The impact knocked the wind out of her and caused her to lose her grip on the Crescent Rose. The Grimm Monster clutched its left hand around her throat and squeezed hard, lifting her up as she struggled to breathe and beating her fists and feet against the unyielding armour of the monster. Out of the corner of her darkening vision, she could see Ken placing a device on his waist and rummaging around his coat for something. A blur of movement later and she was soaring through the air, sucking in air desperately to her lungs. She could see the final moments of the Nevermore that had crashed through the dome and could also hear the shrieks of the Griffon Grimm as they began to descend to the arena.

Tumbling on the ground, she struggled to right herself and turned to face the Grimm flying towards her. Lifting her arms up in a fighting stance, she threw a few punches at the monster but knew it wasn't going to hurt it. That notion was cemented in her mind as a jump kick from the beast left her sprawled on the floor again as several Huntsmen and Huntresses began to test their luck (and weapon strength) against the Bat monster. As she thought, their powerful weapons and techniques did nothing against it. Concentrating her energy into her legs, she activated her Semblance and streaked towards the creature with her fists outstretched, hoping to at least catch it off-guard. As her right fist connected with the face of the monster, she allowed herself a brief moment of victory and quickly followed up with another attempt but, like everyone else around her, was blasted back by a wave of sound that came from the mouth of the monster.

"Ruby, your fists won't do anything to it!" Ken sounded extremely desperate. "You need to use the built-in Scythe Blades!"

Nodding as she flipped onto her feet, Ruby wordlessly activated the weapons. A sizzle of electricity was all the warning she received before light green energy blades with a yellow edge slid out of the boxes on the undersides of her wrists. Marvelling at the weapons for a split second, she only had time to settle into a relaxed position before the world fell away around her. Blinking at the sudden change in location, she gaped openly as images began to form around her. She could see figures fighting monsters that looked freakier than the Grimm, holding up strange objects to the air and transforming into brightly coloured – yet dangerous – warriors. Giant monsters towered over an archaic city and were struck down by equally giant robotic things. Her eyes widened as she saw nine people, including one who looked like Ken, standing in front of a line of nine girls and transform into warriors that looked thematically similar to the armour she wore. Looking behind her, she could see a group of ten men being menaced by a group of purple things and one of the men holding up an ornate staff.

"Whoa…" she breathed. "What is this?"

There was no answer but more images appeared before her. She saw a long line of armoured warriors charging into battle against silvery creatures, monsters that leapt from place to place with catlike agility and several bursts of light as they exploded under the combined attacks of the fighters. A surge of energy entered her body and she knew, somehow, that she had been connected to a power supply that these armoured warriors – Kamen Riders – drew from. Blinking her eyes, she found that she was back in the arena and Ken was looking at her with a serious look on his face, nodding once as if in acceptance of her joining.

"This ends. Now." She said, pointing at the Grimm Monster.

Racing at the monster again, she dodged the sound blasts emitted by the monster with expert ease and leapt up into the air to bring both blades down on the chest of the creature, the shockwave ripping its wings to shreds. The energy separated the armour like a hot knife through butter and cut deeply into the inner organs of the monster. Jaune and Pyrrha watched the scene with their mouths open at the brutality their friend possessed and wondered if it was a by-product of the belt or her deeper nature. Ripping the blades free in a spray of golden ichor, she planted a side kick to the ruined chest of the monster and readied herself for the final attack. Pressing down on the scythe on her belt for a few seconds, she heard a muted click as her right leg and foot began to tingle with a burning sensation. Sweeping it behind her, she ran towards the monster and leapt up with her right leg held in front of her. The words that followed next were met with an approving nod by Ken.

"Rider Kick!"

Although she had slightly misjudged her aim, her right leg connected with the shoulder of the Bat Grimm. Smoke billowed from its chest for the briefest of moments before it collapsed and exploded with such ferocity that it struck all of the descending Griffon Grimm from the skies above the Colosseum. As she began to realise what had happened in the past few minutes, she was unaware of three figures outside the venue looking at the swarm of Grimm approaching Bastion Academy. All three had felt the Joining of Ruby to the Grid that powered and sustained their lives and had granted her, and the other Bearers, their approval.

"He will bring them here eventually." The first figure said; placing a hand on the red belt on his waist, careful not to touch the cover switch.

"We will need to be prepared for that." The second agreed, tugging on the belt around his waist and wishing the twin stones on the front didn't reflect as much light.

"They need to know their lineage." The third nodded, tossing a small green lock into the air.

"Until then, we wait."

TBC…