Lyra acted quickly, grabbing the prop sword that had been lying backstage before immediately leaping off the stage towards the conflict. The fake weapon collided with the man's wrist blades. Golden eyes glared at each other, but one pair was flecked a dark shade of scarlet.

Pyrrha stood, taking hold of the railing and ripping it off before jumping down from their box seats. The rest of Team LJNT froze before moving into action.

"I'll call the weapons! Help Lyra!" Janelle frowned, bolting toward the door. Nico took after her as Tanya mimicked Pyrrha's actions.

Lyra was struggling against the mysterious 'Scorpion' as he was faster than her. Dealing with the much lighter sword was strange to her, but she managed to keep her grip on it because of the time she had using Tanya's staff. As she blocked Tyrian's blade once more, she had to focus more aura into the prop sword to stop it from breaking.

Tyrian swiped his leg out, and while Lyra managed to jump over, his tail plunged under the clashing blades. Lyra somehow managed to block with one aura protected arm, and she flipped away to avoid Tyrian's wrist blades.

He rushed at her, a wild smile on his face. Pyrrha jumped in, blocking the blade with her makeshift weapon; the railing. She twirled it rapidly, keeping up with each of Tyrian's quick blows. She ducked, swinging her blade upward and using her semblance to subtly move Tyrian's blade to the side. Her blade sliced his stomach, but he only grinned wider.

He moved in a flurry, and while Pyrrha barely managed to hold him off, his tail swung, knocking her to the side before kicking her to the ground. As Tyrian moved around, his blades hit Tanya's weapon. He quickly slashed his blades, hitting Tanya's fingers and she gasped in pain, with him easily kicking her away.

"Here!" Janelle shouted, tossing a bunch of weapons from her arms clumsily. Pyrrha quickly used her semblance, sending each weapon to everyone. Lyra smirked, twirling her axe before leaping and slamming it downward.

The mysterious man blocked the blow with one blade, withstanding even Lyra's strength with ease before quickly flattening himself to the ground, causing Tanya and Nico to smash into each other as they tried to attack. He shot back up, blocking Lyra's next blow and using his tail to quickly push Tanya and Nico into a wall. As Lyra lunged forward, prepares to flip him into the air, his tail wrapped itself around her, slamming her spawn into the ground before using his blades to slice against her. Lyra's aura flickered as he sliced again and again until Pyrrha flung him to the side with her semblance.

A pair of bystanders ran out, but their attention was focused on a purple haired girl with darker skin that looked similar to them. As Janelle caught sight of them, she lost focus.

What were her parents doing here-?

She didn't have time to contemplate as Scorpion was upon her, quickly overwhelming her blocks with the bow. Splitting her bow into two, she attempted to stop him, but she still couldn't keep up with him. She gasped as Scorpion's tail plunged down on her, her parents looking on with disappointment when her semblance kicked in, blocking the blow for her.

A chain scythe shot forward, grappling onto a pillar and sending a young boy with purple hair flying through the air toward the mysterious murderer. Scorpion just grinned and blocked with his arm, and the boy flipped off his arms in order to kick once more. Chains went flying as his scythes tried to slice Scorpion. However, the Faunus had no problem evading the boy, ducking and toying with him with a grin on his face.

A couple of arrows shot out, sending electricity coursing right toward Scorpion. At the same time, Nico took used Janelle's arrows as a distraction and dashed up with her weapon, Fenrir, to slash back and forth. While Scorpion managed to evade all of them, sending Nico backwards after catching her midair, he couldn't move to stop Lyra's blade from slamming toward him-

Well, he could.

Scorpion blocked the blow effortlessly with his arm, a maniacal smile on his face as he twisted Midas and whirled his arm backward, punching Lyra square in the face. His blade pressed into her skin, making her aura flicker.

Scorpion abandoned the effort as the boy with the chain blades attacked once more, his scythes and chains flying everywhere. Scorpion blocked everything with his tail or blades, and even as Pyrrha, Lyra, Janelle, Nico, and Tanya joined in, the murderer managed to fight them off with ease.

He quickly whirled in a circle, using his tail to disarm Janelle before throwing her bow at Tanya, who stumbled to catch it. Scorpion kicked his leg out, knocking Tanya down and into Janelle. Lyra's eyes grew red as she swung her axe, but Scorpion deflected her once more. He grabbed her blade, pulling her forward, and Midas' blade slammed into the boy's chain, stopping whatever the hunter had planned as his weapon was pinned to the ground. Nico was fast, but this man was smart. He feigned a blow, making Nico activate her semblance before winding his blade back. As Nico flickered back into existence, he sliced his blade powerfully into her chest, breaking Nico's aura in one blow. Pyrrha used her semblance to stop Scorpion from plunging his blade into Nick's chest. Scorpion flipped away, a maniacal grin on his face as he quickly fled the theater, running into the cold, rainy streets of Vacuo.

"Goodbye for now!" He cackled loudly, charging away. The trainees ran out, trying to shoot at Scorpion, but the man blocked every shot with his tail easily.

"Lyra!" Pyrrha shouted.

"On it!"

Lyra suddenly went flying by her axe, being flung through the air as Pyrrha used her semblance. With the smoothest control, Lyra yanked her axe and slammed it toward Tyrian. There were multiple airships surrounding the two fighting as Pyrrha hoisted herself up the roof. Everyone else followed, climbing up ladders or grappling to the top.

"Janelle, ice dust!" Tanya ordered, and Janelle forced herself to focus. She hurriedly armed her bow, but just as she fired, her parents emerged in her peripherals. Her aim wavered just the slightest, and the arrow flew. Instead of hitting Scorpion, it flew to the right, just barely missing Lyra. She dodged, but misstepped because of the unexpected distraction and rain, giving time for Scorpion to smack her in the face with the side of his tail. Lyra fell backwards, and Pyrrha blocked Scorpion's hit with her shield.

Janelle's next couple of arrows flew, but the points landed at Scorpion's feet. Tanya's icy three rockets fired, glueing one of Scorpion's feet to the ground as the young purple haired boy swung his scythe. Tyrian just barely leaned back to avoid the blade, freeing his foot and quickly dispatching the warriors up there before fleeing with a laugh, the airships following them.

"We...We've got to go after him!" Lyra huffed, panting to try and catch her breath. Everyone's aura flickered as she spoke. "We can't just..."

"I think our first priority as future hunters and huntresses is calming everyone down," Pyrrha said firmly. "We can't fight any further without endangering our own safety. We can't risk our lives for something that the police can handle. It's up to them now, we did the best we could."

"Pyrrha, you don't understand...We can't give up, people are counting on us to get him!"

"No, people are counting on us to help them right now," The purple haired boy said. "We have to stop the confusion, or the Grimm will come."

At the mention of those monsters making an appearance, Lyra's eyes reddened and she nodded. The three of them rejoined the others down there, where people outside of the theater cried or hugged their loved ones. The young trainees all worked to try and help people calm down, even as most of their auras flickered.

"Lyra, I...I can't believe this all happened," Tanya said quietly. "This is so crazy...I...It
feels like some sort of terrible nightmare."

"I know. But these people need us to stay calm."

Nico stayed quiet. She had seen death too many times while in the White Fang's base, but that didn't mean her experience made the sight any easier. Janelle was just as silent as she tried to keep herself from crying.

Thankfully, with the help of Team LJNT, Pyrrha, and the young boy everyone was starting to calm down a little.

Unfortunately...it couldn't stay that way.

Janelle's parents finally made their way to their daughter...and the looks on their faces weren't happy in the slightest.

"Miss Torres, your missed shot and failure to hold your own allowed that murderer to escape!" Her mother said disappointedly, and Janelle lowered her eyes. "Look at me when I am speaking to you! This is why we did not what you to become a huntress, we knew you could not hold your own!"

"I-I-"

"Your mother is right. What if your brother had been here, and he had been slain?" Her father jumped in. "It would have been your fault. You should count your blessings he was not here!"

"Hey, what are you saying about my partner!?" Tanya butt in, a disgruntled look on her face. She couldn't just stand by and watch Janelle get bullied into submission. "Janelle did the best she could've! You should be proud!"

"Janelle, who is this?" Her mother asked, a disapproving look on her face. Janelle pursed her lips. She couldn't tell her mom that her partner was Tanya, they'd rip her apart...

"I do not know," Janelle said, keeping her eyes concentrated on her mother's face so that she didn't have to see Tanya's expression fall. "No one, I assume."

"W-What!? Janelle, I'm your partner!" Tanya said, a crestfallen look on her face as she gestured to Lyra and Nico, who had approached as well. "We're your team!"

"You also have a Grimm on your team?" Janelle's father shook his head, and Nico's ears drooped sadly as she pulled her hood back over her ears. "Janelle, this nonsense is unacceptable!"

"She's so much more than just a damn Grimm! I, of all people, know that," Lyra said tiredly, her eyes glowing a slight red, but not burning bright enough. "Please leave my team alone."

"Oh, Janelle. So your endeavors at Beacon Academy were not a complete waste since you managed to land a seat on Miss Ng-Nikos' team," Janelle's father completely ignored what Lyra had said. "You all should count your blessings."

"We are all incredibly grateful to be on Lyra's
team," Janelle said monotonously. "The rest of you should shape up."

"That is more like the daughter I know," Janelle's mother sighed a breath of relief. "However, it is high time you quit Beacon Academy now that you have seen your own incapabilities. Honestly."

"I...I will consider it once more," Janelle said. As her parents eyed her, Janelle placed her hands behind her back. "I will get back to work shaping my sorry other teammates into good form. Thank you for your time and opinions."

"You're welcome. We're going to head back and tell Adrian to stay safe. We'll expect you home soon."

Janelle's parents disappeared, walking away as police came and swarmed the crowd, instructing everyone to remain calm. Janelle took a deep breath, but before she could say anything, her team was on her.

"What the hell was that, Janelle?" Lyra demanded angrily, her eyes flickering between gold and red. "Shaping us into form? What are you talking about!"

"It is true. They are right," Janelle said, but her tone was flat and disbelieving of even herself. "As a team, we fail in every way possible. Tanya is too excitable, Lyra too crazy around Grimm, and Nico is...is a Grimm. We are lucky to have survived this long."

"I-I-I'm n-not j-just a G-Grimm!" Nico finally shouted out, tired of people throwing that in her face all of the time. "I-It's n-not something I-I wanted...I-I thought t-that a-at least m-my team accepted me...b-but I g-guess I s-see that w-wasn't the case."

"Hey! We are here for you!" Tanya said immediately. "I don't care if you're a Grimm or a fish, I'll still like you!! Janelle, how could you say something like that!? I thought you didn't care!"

"I never said that. All I said was that I would give her a chance since Lyra did," Janelle said quietly. "But my parents do not approve of Nico, so...I may not either."

"You...How could you say that!?" Tanya turned away from her partner. "You...You...!"

"Tanya-"

"No, you were right earlier!" Tanya huffed. "Who did you say I was? No one? Yeah, you're right! I'm no one to you, and you're no one to me! Don't talk to me or Nico like that ever again!"

Tanya stormed off, feasible anger on her face for the first time. Nico quickly followed, pulling
the hood further over her ears. Janelle just stood there, a surprised and uncertain look on her face.

"Janelle...How could you say that?" Was all Lyra could say as she stared at her teammate with disappointment. Janelle swallowed the lump in her throat.

"I was only saying what was true. We are not fit to be a team."

"...No, we aren't. Not with that attitude. I'm...disappointed. Thats all."

As Lyra ran to catch up with the rest of the team, Janelle sighed, a frustrated look on her face.

By pleasing her parents, she had completely upset the rest of her team.