The Grimm were scattered everywhere.

A mess of Atlas' soldiers and personnel as well as the Grimm were scattered everywhere, spreading panic and chaos absolutely everywhere. Civilians ran everywhere while Huntresses and Hunters were scattered trying to fend off enemies or escort civilians.

Chaos.

"Where is the rest of the team!?" Tanya exclaimed as her and Janelle ran through the shambles of Beacon. "Do you think they...they..."

"I saw Lyra go off with Pyrrha and Headmaster Ozpin, remember?" Janelle said. "I do not know where Nico disappeared to, however."

"That should be our first priority..." Tanya glanced around. "But we need to help around. Let's split up. I'll go left, you go right. Let's help out, but keep an eye out for Nico!"

"Understood!"

Tanya continued running, separating from her
partner. A couple of familiar faces caught her eye, and Tanya sprinted forward to face a large, white, Atlas robot.

What was meant to protect the city had turned against them.

Tanya jumped inward toward the robot, her staff swinging wildly toward the hacked Atlas' robot. Her staff just bounced off of it, barely
managing to do anything. She backed off as she avoided a rocket before she turned her staff into it's rifle form, firing multiple fire dusted rockets at the robot. While they barely managed to dent the metal, she had successfully turned the attention away from Team GLCR.

"Thank you for the backup," Grayson shouted before he thrust his electricity dusted trident forward, temporarily disabling the bot. He was unable to take advantage of this opportunity as another bot shot it's large arm forward, sending Grayson tumbling across the floor. Raewyn quickly leapt in, her axe swinging while Lana's electric batons quickly danced around the bots. Colden's gauntlets drummed against the robot's leg furiously, while both Tanya shot dusted bullets.

They barely even managed to make a dent.

"Lana, arm!" Grayson shouted, and Lana tossed her batons to one hand before she extended her one arm out, stretching it out as far as she could. Grayson caught her extended hand. "Raewyn, Colden-!"

Raewyn dodged an attack, flipping toward them and lining herself up in the middle of the arm, while Colden got behind her. Colden pulled Lana's elongated arm backward before he let go, launching Raewyn up into the air. Her axe swung, managing to lodge between two pieces of the robot's armor. The robot began to fizzle, and Colden took the opportunity to charge forward, take off his gloves, and send explosions flying from his hands.

An arm flew off the robot, yet even the coordinated attack barely did much. A group of Ursas and Deathstalkers creeped onward, and panic only continued to rise within the group. They continued to fight, but...

No matter how many Grimm they killed, they just kept on coming.

Tanya inhaled sharply as she was hit by three rockets from the Atlas robot, her aura beginning to flicker. It wasn't just her; GLCR themselves all were breathing harshly while their auras flickered. The robot punched forward, sending Colden flying into a wall and knocking him unconscious.

"Ah-Colden!" Lana narrowed her eyes before she quickly maneuvered her way toward Colden's body. "You're not laying a hand on him!!"

Electric batons swung, sending electrocuted Grimm everywhere. She flipped over and under, trying to defend Colden when an Ursa swiped at her feet, tripping her before the large Deathstalker plunged it's stinger into Lana's stomach.

The moment seemed to happen in slow motion.

Lana clutched at her stomach as she cried out in pain, her batons trying to thrash out and hit the Deathstalker's stinger. All she managed to do was piss it off, and it lifted it's stinger and swung, slamming her downward into the ground. Blood pooled from her mouth and body as she gasped in pain.

"LANA!!" Grayson's screamed as everyone froze except for him. He charged straight toward her, his trident fending off a couple of Ursas. The same Deathstalker loomed over them, and Tanya snapped out of her shock to shoot an ice dusted bullet toward the stinger, freezing it. Raewyn's eyes glowed white, and she slid forward to block a blow for Grayson that he hadn't expected. The Atlas' robot suddenly began to spin itself, creating a whirlwind that blew everyone back. Tanya flew backward, falling into an Ursa, where she just barely managed to slide under it's large claws, completely by luck.

However, her comrades weren't so fortunate.

Blood pooled from Raewyn's arm as the claw of a Deathstalker snagged against her aura-less skin, while Grayson fell to the ground once more. He grit his teeth as he watched Lana's barely moving body slide across the ground, and Grayson forced himself forward, his trident deflecting the claw of a Deathstalker. The electricity flew through the armor-less part of the Deathstalker, electrocuting it while blood squirted everywhere. Tanya panted before she aimed her rifle, three fire dusted rockets flying and striking the Deathstalker.

The Grimm finally disintegrated into dust..yet another was there to take it's place.

As Grayson lowered his trident, the claws of the Deathstalker pinched together, piercing through his body.

Blood squirted everywhere, and time once again seemed to stand still.

The claws drew out of Grayson, and the boy collapsed to the ground. He grunted in immense pain.

"Leave...leave-!" Grayson could only scream. "Go!!"

Smoke grew from his hands, covering the entire area. Tanya could only stare in shock, completely bewildered when Raewyn grabbed her arm, pulling her along.

"Come on-!" Raewyn screamed, tears streaming down her face as she barely managed to grab Colden. "We-We have to go-!"

Tanya blinked, grabbing Colden from Raewyn's arms before the two ran for their lives. Sniffles and sobs escaped the two as the screams of Grayson could be heard, Lana's final dying breath seeming to echo through the terrorized streets of Beacon.

They didn't know when to stop running.

It was only when Tanya collapsed from exhaustion that they stopped, both of them collapsing. Blood pooled from Raewyn's wound, Colden remained unconscious, while Tanya shook from the shock of everything.

Grayson...Lana...

This couldn't be real...

"Students! Come here to safety!" Zaeya and Clarissa, Tanya's parents, quickly helped the students up to safety before they ushered them into an airship. "Thank you for fighting, but you are too injured to continue. Stay here, all of you!"

"Moms..." Tanya wiped at her eyes, not that the action did much to stop the free flowing stream of tears. "T-this...can't be real..."

"It is. There is no time to dawdle," Clarisse's tone remained frigid. "Goodbye."

The two Huntresses disappeared, leaving Raewyn, Tanya, Colden, and the medic to wait in the ruins of Beacon.

<><><>

Tanya hadn't found even the slightest place as to where Nico could be located, and Janelle was no different.

Janelle had made a detour as she saw Team CFVY and Janelle struggling against three of the large Atlas' robots as well as a whole army of the human sized, hacked robots.

"Don't worry, I've got this!" Coco pulled out her large rotary cannon, and while her confidence was astronomical, a smile didn't even attempt to reach her face. Her bullets tore through the robots, though they didn't back down. Coco looked over toward Velvet. "Hey, you're up!"

"On it!" Velvet leapt into the air, a scythe like Ruby's forming in her hands before she swung downward. Everyone watched in awe as she channeled everyone's weapons and styles; Ruby's, Weiss', Blake's, Yang's, Pyrrha's, Lyra's, Janelle's, Coco's, Penny's...

Velvet was hit across the ground, and Weiss sped her way over to block the Atlas soldier. A massive knight with a sword was summoned, blocking the blow before it tore the robot in two.

Meanwhile, Janelle's arrows rained downward on the smaller robots that shot bullets and lasers out, decimating the robots with the rest of Team CFVY. Yet, all of Velvet and Weiss' actions had only defeated one of the larger Atlas robots. Janelle's semblance blocked a punch from the robot before she shot multiple arrows at the bot. Coco leapt forward as she swung her bag, creating a large dent in the robot. Together, Team CFVY, Weiss, and Janelle took down a practical army of robots.

It wasn't enough.

Nothing was ever enough against this futile fight.

As Coco was knocked aside, the robot slammed both arms into the ground, creating shockwaves that made everyone fly backwards. The two remaining large Atlas' robots still stood strong with no sign of stopping. Coco stood, a grim look on her face.

"Alright team, time to back off. We gotta go," Coco said before she set her rotary cannon down. "I'll hold the line. Everyone, retreat!"

"But-But we must defend Beacon Academy!" Janelle protested as she panted, tired. As she glanced around, she could tell everyone was in the same state as her.

"That's enough from us. We did well, but we're putting ourselves in danger just by sticking it out here."

"No. We simply cannot leave. Look at what those robots can do to us, can you imagine what they will do to innocent civilians?" Janelle shot her arrows at the bot as she managed to freeze a leg to the ground. "We cannot leave without killing them!"

"...Just those bots, then we'll go," Velvet took Janelle's side, and Coco sighed.

"Alright, fine. Stay cautious!"

Blades and bullets flew rapidly at the robots, but despite their best efforts, nothing was getting done. Their aura was getting depleted, and the bots still remained strong...

"Weiss, do you perhaps have that knight again!?" Janelle asked as she shot more fire dusted arrows at the robot. She could see the metal beginning to cave.

"No, I...I don't know how I even did that!" Weiss confessed as dust flew from her sword, stunning the robot. Janelle sighed, inwardly thinking about how Lyra's blade could have been pretty useful right about now.

Janelle split her bow into two before she zoomed inward, her swords flying against the metal. Catching onto what she was doing, Coco's handbag swung against the robot as they ducked under and around the robot's attempts to shake them off. Once an opening had cleared, Janelle's went to grab a fire dusted arrow from her quiver...

Only to realize she had none left.

A strategical mishap on her part that she hadn't even thought about. She only had one arrow left, and it was electricity dusted. It would do. Janelle grabbed the arrow and stabbed it into the opening, causing a malfunction before Coco swung, smashing the robot into a wall.

There was only one robot left, but Janelle was out of arrows, Coco was out of bullets, Weiss was out of dust...

"...Get to safety," Coco said shortly before rushed right in. Confused, Janelle, Weiss, and Team CFVY did as she said. "Velvet, any gun will do!"

Coco rushed inward before she opened her handbag, revealing a bomb. She threw it next to the robot before Coco flew backwards from the robot's fist. Dazed, Coco stumbled backwards before she glanced over to Velvet. The ceiling was beginning to crumble, right over the bomb...

"Velvet, shoot!"

"But-" Velvet hesitated, seeing how close Coco still was. "Coco-!"

"Now!"

Velvet did as she told, shooting a bullet right at the button right before the ceiling could crush the bomb. An explosion rang out, ripping the robot to shreds and sending everyone backwards from the impact.

"Coco!" Velvet was quick to stand up search around for her teammate. "Oh, no, no...!"

Dismayed, everyone ran toward the rubble in search of Coco. Panic surged through all of them. What if...what if...

Coco's arm weakly rose from the rubble, and
everyone helped her out. Blood was pooling out all over her body, half of her leg was a mess..

"We've got to get her to a medic!" Velvet panicked. "Let's go, let's go!"

They all ran out of Beacon, but Janelle couldn't help but feel guilty.

She had been the one to insist they stay and kill the bots.

If Coco died...it was her own fault.