The spectators were shocked and disgusted at the scene, making a terrible noise.

I looked down at Ruby, who was still knelt on the ground.

I walked up to her and asked,"Did you notice something? Is that why you got up?"

Ruby kept staring and remained silent.

The voice of a woman came over the colosseum.

"This is not a tragedy..."

No, this was a plan. A setup...and we fell for it!

My first guess as to who could be behind this were none other than the White Fang, which would mean that Gabe could be right about what he said the night before; that we have put innocent citizens and students in danger.

"...This was not an accident." The woman continued.

"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."

I looked down at Ruby again.

"I'll be back." I said, before going back through the previous corridor.

A quick flight to the opposite end revealed the absence of Mercury. Worrying, but it couldn't possibly be worse than the current situation.

"Our academies' headmasters wield more power than most armies, and one was audacious enough to control both." She was referring to Ironwood.

Atlas could be the target and it may have nothing to do with us at all. However, that does not help to calm me down in the slightest. It only means that even more people are involved and are at risk.

I quickly walked to our seats. Gabe was in the process of getting up to look for me just as I arrived.

"Where did you go? What happened?" Gabe asked.

"I'll tell you guys after this is over." I said.

As I tried to walk past him, he stopped me and asked, "Does it have something to do with us?"

I looked at him and answered, "I don't know, but from the way things are looking, it probably doesn't."

"You know the deal." He said.

"Yes. I know."

"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."

Penny was a robot. She seemed pretty...legit. She had a personality and made friends with Ruby.

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

"They're targeting the headmasters, leaders, those with power..." Cyan commented.

The team nodded in agreement.

"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 that the existence of peace is fragile, and the leaders of our kingdoms conduct their business with iron gloves. As someone who hails from Mistral, I can assure you the situation there is equally undesirable."

"This thing has been in motion for a while, they were just waiting for everything to fall into place. Mercury could be a part of this." I said.

"Mercury? The one that Yang fought?" Gabe asked.

"Yeah, me and Ruby ran into him back there. He's completely fine, the whole thing yesterday was a fake." I explained.

"Our kingdoms are at the brink of war, yet we, the citizens, are left in the dark. So, I ask you, when the first shots are fired, who do you think you can trust?"

The colosseum was filled with the murmuring of people.

"War?" The air in the colosseum was filled with tension, disbelief and panic.

Another voice came over the speakers.

"Everyone, please, there is no reason to panic-" The general's voice was interrupted by the screeching of a large Nevermore trying to penetrate the colosseums' force field.

The colosseum shook as everyone tried to evacuate all at once.

Some of the students, including us, remained in the colosseum. There were still civilians in the seats trying to get into a ship out of the vicinity, Ruby was nowhere to be found and Pyrrha was still in shock of the events that had just occurred.

The team looked at me suspiciously.

"Guys..." I had no idea how I would deal with the situation at hand.

"...listen, I don't know if I have anything to do with this. Me and Ruby did come across Mercury, but I doubt he was behind this." I said.

Their gaze did not move from me.

"I don't think that's important right now. We'll talk about it later. For now, let's get everyone out of here." I instructed, trying to keep my cool.

I've been in situations like these before and know well that staying calm is important.

We could hear Jaune shouting to Pyrrha, who was still in the middle of the arena.

"Pyrrha that thing's going to break in you have to get out of there!"

I looked back to my teammates.

"Let's go." I nodded.

I ran in Jaunes' direction. He jumped into the colosseum after Pyrrha. The Nevermore prepared to dive down and break through the barrier.

I jumped in after them, charging up the O-Drives.

The Nevermore broke through the barrier, landing with such a strong gust of wind that all of us in the arena were blown backwards.

The Nevermore gave a screech and proceeded to rush towards Pyrrha.

I lunged forward to stop it, but a red blur flew past me and into the Nevermore.

Ruby jabbed one of Penny's swords into the dark body of the Nevermore.

"Leave her alone!" Ruby shouted.

The team caught up to me, their weapons drawn.

"We got your back Ruby!" I shouted.

The Nevermore screeched once more as it flew upwards, circling around the colosseum.

The Grimm circled down towards us. Ruby was prepared to defend Pyrrha at all costs.

Our team rushed forward to back her up, standing beside Ruby.

The Nevermore screeched as it swooped low, gaining speed.

We prepared for the impact of the giant Grimm, but that did not happen.

A wave of projectiles came down onto the back of the Nevermore, causing it to drop to the ground where it lost its momentum.

Another wave of the projectiles fell onto it, then another, stopping it right in front of us.

The projectiles appeared to be lockers, the ones which were used at the academies.

We stared as several students, including those who participated in the tournament like Drayce and his team and Andromeda, strode forward onto the Nevermore and collected their weapons.

"Damn! Who called in this squad?!" I exclaimed.

"Doesn't matter. They're here when we need them." Gabe said.

The Nevermore began to move again. The Grimm rose up with a bunch of students still on its back.

Ren climbed up to its head and attacked it while Nora brought it back down to the ground with one swing.

Yatsuhashi was carried up by another student and Sage leaped into the air. The two swordsmen crossed at the peak of their ascent and dropped down, decapitating the Nevermore, leaving the rest of it to scatter and dissolve.

Ruby turned to Pyrrha.

"Ruby, I-" Pyrrha looked down on the piece of cloth she held in her hands. Pyrrhas' eyes began to water and tears fell from her eyes.

"I am so sorry..."

"Me too..." Ruby replied.

"But this wasn't your fault."

"She's right." Jaune assured Pyrrha.

He carried her weapons with him.

"Whoever was on the microphone, they're the ones that did this."

He held out her weapons for her.

"And we have to make sure, they don't take anyone else."

------------------------------------------------

Yo! Everyone, the update was a bit short and a bit late, but I honestly could not have ended in a better scene.

Just wait for the next chapter, ho ho! Boi, do I have plans!

Thank you everyone for staying with me and reading this fanfic!

Welcome Coco, our German Shepard to our family!

Trying hard to keep updates constant and biweekly!

--Marc