Emerald stared at the rusted walls of the abandoned warehouse, her groups' temporary hideout keeping them safe from anybody that might be poking around after the trio vanished. She hadn't slept, and her head was still splitting from having to use her Semblance so excessively, she didn't need to fool the whole stadium, put on a show for them to watch the Blonde girl ruthlessly attack her defeated opponent. Instead, she simply created the illusion of the grey haired assassin attacking her, her response was easy to predict, her headstrong and more violent approach to things was her own undoing in the end. And while that would have been fine by itself, her talent for illusion also had to be used on the Paramedic that came to assist the 'fallen' competitor. She watched as Mercury toyed with his metal appendages, the robotic legs being tweaked with a screwdriver as he checked them for any damages or irregularities, and said legs needed to be shown as flesh and bone, bleeding through his clothing, and such a complex task took its toll. She placed a two fingers against her temple and rubbed it softly, trying to coax the pain away, unfortunately her associate's irritating flipping of channels on the holographic screen beside him wasn't helping.

"Hey I was watching that!" He exclaimed as the mint-haired younger woman switched the device off.

"Shut up." Emerald grunted, furrowing her brow as her irritation got the better of her, and leaning down she gripped the screwdriver in his grasp and twisted it.

"Ah! Too tight!" He yelped like a scared pup.

Any chance of him back-talking was shot down as their employer came into view, seemingly from nowhere.

"Enough. Mercury put on a wonderful show." She began, smirking with that same malicious intent she always had. "He was quite brave."

"These things aren't exactly cheap you know." The 'wounded' man whined after a pause, looking back to Emerald.

Emerald chose to ignore him. Instead she couldn't help but feel off about this whole scenario, what she thought was just a way to use her skills to keep her head above water financially was turning out to be a job with more depth than she realised. While anybody with survival instincts like hers would try to get out of their position as soon as possible, she had seen not only what her employer was capable of, but what Cinder's boss had sent her to do. The maidens were one target, of course, and the power of Grimm was on their side, but what did that mean for her? Would she even be alive by the end to enjoy the riches she was promised? She was afraid, but right now, her fear of the amber eyed woman surpassed her better reasoning.

"So what's next?" She asked, putting on her best poker face.

Cinder grinned. "You and I will ensure that out next match-up goes just as smoothly."

As their boss turned to walk out of the warehouse, Mercury spoke up abruptly. "What about me? As much as I love sitting on my ass doing nothing, I could do with something to do."

The leaders' expression quickly grew afoul, "You will rest, we wouldn't want you to be seen and have this all be for nought, would we?" Although she still had the inkling of a smile, her poorly masked snarl was far too prevalent to not be noticed. "Stay here, relax, and i'll tell you when you are needed."

"Yes ma'am." Mercury answered.

If Mercury was as scared of Cinder as Emerald was, she couldn't tell except for a precious few occasions. For the most part he was cocky and sure of himself, and seemingly immune to a serious situation. But that woman could put them both in their place with the blink of an eye, and she wasn't even the one behind everything. Emerald could only imagine what their leader was really like, to be able to employ someone so frightful to do their bidding. The mint-haired woman pondered the times she had seen Cinder lose her temper, or show the flashes of raw emotion that were so hard to come by. Most recently at the Harlequin Isles, where she rather crudely burned an entire building to ash, and refused to tell them of what she had learned. Or perhaps the time that persistent vigilante was brought into their custody, Cinder didn't act much, but there was something off about her then, too. Clearly she had some grudges, some form of temper that could be triggered, and curiosity almost overtook her own survival instincts. Almost.

Leaving with her boss out towards their parked craft to lead them back to Beacon Academy, Emerald was curious as to their next move.

"We have a plan in place, and our job is simple, create panic. We've already put people at ease thanks to your talents, so the next task will be child's play." Cinder began, "Our friend is going to tip the scales in our favour, set up the machine that calls itself a girl against the pride and joy of Beacon."

Emerald didn't respond, Cinder didn't seem to have asked a question, after all. And speaking when spoken to was a rule that she commonly reminded Mercury during most of their briefings.

"You will make the Nikos girl paranoid, afraid of her opponent, and when she uses her semblance to stop her, the result will be quite spectacular. The tournament will fall apart, and we will send an important message, thanks to our friends' little window into their system."

"What about Torchwick?" Mercury said, the fourth, mute member of their team looking a little distant and standoffish, not that they interacted much anyway.

"He still has a part to play, I've been over the details with Neo." Cinder responded simply. "But worst comes to worst, he is of course expendable, we don't have any plans unless he wants to join with us permanently."

Emerald kept her eyes fixed on Neo as she sat opposite her. Four of the six seats near the front of the ship were occupied, with the tri-coloured young woman at the helm, and though Cinder was confidently looking towards the floating Colosseum in the distance, Emerald could see her hands gripping the controls a little tighter. Emerald was contacted by her employer directly, was practically stalked until the offer was given, the same with Mercury. However while her criminal superior was given similar treatment, Neo herself followed his lead, and now that he was imprisoned, it seemed her best option at getting him out was to play along, answer to Cinder until she had a chance to get Roman out, and leave. At least, that was her plan, if only Neo could convey her thoughts, she might be able to find a helping hand.

The ship rumbled slightly as it ascended past the cloud coverage, the darkened skies over Vale peppered with streaks of grey that blocked the stars and moonlight. The silence was uncomfortable to say the least, as it always was in Cinders' company, and Emerald took to staring out the window, at the lights growing more distant every passing second, despite the hour the City was still bustling, the Vytal festival clearly keeping the citizens up till the later hours of the night, enjoying the festivities, company and companionship. Something she never had.

Cyprus paced back and forth in the luxury craft, the rich leather seats and liquor cabinet not seeming appealing in the least, proof enough things were stressful enough for him. He couldn't bear to watch any more news reports on the matter, Yang's face told enough of a story. She didn't harm him intentionally, something happened there that made her attack him. Cyprus consulted with his fellow passenger, what they knew about Mercury, as well as finding information on the team he was with. Scylla didn't have most of her equipment aboard to do much, so memory was really all they had, and it was safe to say that girl with the mint-green hair was a suspect as well in their escapades. More importantly, it seemed at least one of them could do something to make this all possible.

"What about commands? Forcing people to do things they wouldn't normally do?" Scylla asked, one of the many suggestions of their flight.

"I don't think so, I didn't see the guy say anything in the video footage, and it doesn't explain how they managed to avoid you at the dance."

"One of them could alter perception, maybe make them see things they shouldn't? Or hide from sight."

Of all the things the redhead had thought of, that seemed the most likely. But there were still far too many unknowns, and for all they knew Yang did it consciously, though her reaction and body language seemed to tell a much different story.

Scylla sat with her Scroll in hand, gazing into the well lit screen that caused her eyes to water slightly, the contact information of her former paramour highlighted. She wanted to send a message, to make sure she was okay, after all what would be the harm in that? But who knows who could be watching, listening, gathering all kinds of information. Considering her own ability to gain access to others' tech and information, it wasn't out of the question Cinder had someone else in her employment who was capable of the same thing. They couldn't give away what they knew, though who could they tell? Do they try to find out everything themselves? Or could they really trust Ozpin, despite sending them here, neither of them could shake the feeling of an ulterior motive.

It was dark now, slight winds rocking the hull of their ship, creating mild turbulence as Brandeis silently and professionally piloted the pair back towards Vale, cutting over the coastline to save as much time as possible as they worked their way back north. A television broadcast news reports in between tournament bouts as the evening went on, the singles rounds continuing in the late afternoon of the following day due to the unfortunate event that occurred. On screen, a quartet of analysts discussed the possible victors and dark horses of the upcoming fights, most putting their money on Pyrrha Nikos to win it all, the teenage prodigy who made short work of a majority of her opponents up until now. Her fight, thanks to the randomisation process, was against the unknown Penny Polendina of Atlas, the girl they had met only once before, under rather strange circumstances. But Scylla saw what she could do that night at the docks, and she was indeed a force to be reckoned with.

"You wonder who's going to win in the end?" Cyprus asked, putting in some kind of effort to distract them both. The hackers' money, however, wasn't on any combatant.

"I don't think we'll get to see who comes out on top, at least not in the tournament."

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"If they're planning something, if Cinder is working towards something big?" She paused, trying her best not to sound melodramatic. "Then I think they'll make their statement before the final round."

"Not only that but Pyrrha has the battle experience necessary to take down any opponent, I put my money on her any day."

"Well we won't need long to see what happens, it looks like the match is just getting ready to begin! Let's turn things over to out broadcasters for commentary!"

A quick scene transition revealed two new, much more familiar faces. Professors Oobleck and Port, who had been casting almost half of the matches during the Vytal Festival. Gods know where they got the experience or requirements for that kind of work, but they seemed to do alright. The screen panned across a bustling Colosseum, a menagerie of colourful and unique outfits and looks, students all around wearing a mixture of combat gear and casual clothing as they cheered relentlessly in anticipation of the next showdown.

"My, my, it looks like a full turnout today! Seems like this match-up has everybody on the edge of their seats, wouldn't you agree Professor?" The voice of the, conveniently, quite portly man said, turning the proverbial spotlight to his co-host.

"You are absolutely right, Professor! Both Miss Nikos and Miss Polendina have shown exceptional skill sets, the crowd is truly divided about who will come out on top. Pyrrha has already proven herself in the past, but Penny's complex and very successful fighting style along with her unique abilities lead her to becoming a fast favourite! I do believe some were hoping for this to be the grand final, but the randomisation process can't be changed, bringing us to this tipping point!" Oobleck chimed, his tongue almost tying itself as he rejected any chance to take a breath.

The crowd was peppered with signs of red and green, the divisive nature of the battle creating an intense yet exciting atmosphere as the combatants names were chanted against one another. And soon enough, one of the duellists had made their way onto the arena floor. Penny, the quirky girl with her lightly toned green eyes, beamed as she heard the cheers and flashes of photography. Her innocent demeanour showing as she made her way near the center with a skip in her step, happily waving to the crowd.

On the opposite end of the arena, her opponent slowly walked onto the field. However her approach was less excitable, and quite worrying to the two as they watched the screen zoom in onto her face. Though the angle was hard to gauge much, they could see her eyes darting around, her arms shaking just a little and her steps slow and a little erratic in their pacing.

"She look okay to you?" Cyprus asked, tilting his head. He leaned forward, trying to change the camera as he got a closer look.

"Nervous, maybe? but wouldn't anyone be in that situation?" Scylla replied.

He shook his head. "Pyrrha's the best fighter at Beacon, first year at least. She's probably been kicking ass this whole time. So what's got her spooked now?"

They continued to stay glued to the screen as their ship soared through the sky, and the round began. The two professors continued to commentate as best they could. As Penny's swords extended from her back and flew through the air in synchronised, delayed patterns, eventually she twisted her body to launch the blades towards the prodigy, who did her best to avoid them. A long leap to her right before she held her javelin in both hands, charged at Penny, each strike deflected forcefully as the freckled girls' blades spun around and retreated to her sides, each one twirling in a saw like motion to force Pyrrha on the defensive. Both sides taking a quick breather, Pyrrha looked pale, almost sickly as she used her semblance to slide her shield into her off hand.

Neither took their eyes off the fight, how could they? As worried as they were for the outcome, they couldn't deny the pure entertainment value, the near professional level combatants giving it their all was a sight to behold. Despite that though,it seemed Pyrrha was on the defensive, and that became no more apparent than the moment it happened. The blows traded back and forth, Pyrrha getting a few good hits between the flurries that Penny struck with, and between the dodges she had to perform to avoid the sharp, ornate blades. Though they seemed to float in mid air, a sharp eye could notice the glint of metallic string that held them to Penny's body. Even more so as their weight helped to haul her around to avoid attacks or cover great distances, and with Pyrrha forcibly disarmed at the tipping point of the battle.

To the world, what was shown was penny preparing another rush of her swords, launching them through the air at blinding speed. Only they were repelled by her opponents powerful semblance, Pyrrha's body shaking as she launched her arms forward, and the weapons were sent flying backwards. As they were repelled to the other side of the arena, their razor thin cables wrapped around their hosts' body, and the momentum instantly crashed through her Aura, and the result left the audience stunned. Penny's body fell. Not all at once, she was lifted to the air before the wires tore through several parts of her body, slicing through arms, legs and her torso, and she fell to the ground with a loud, metallic thud. Where blood should have poured, instead the sparks of electricity that soon faded to leave lifeless, exposed cables that made up the components of her form.

The pair stood in silence, eyes glued to the screen, like the rest of the audience, unable to to turn themselves away from the sight.

"What the hell did she just do?" Cyprus asked, letting out a forced chuckle like he had just witnessed a sick jest.

"Look at her, she's lost it." Scylla pointed out. True enough, the cameras, for some reason failing to transition away from the sight, focused on the redheaded girl that committed the act. Her skin coated in sweat, her eyes slightly clouded and her bottom lip quivering as she, like the rest, kept her attention purely on the mutilated, robotic creation. The vigilante ground his teeth in frustration, unable to do anything worthwhile, he rushed towards the cockpit.

"This...Is not a tragedy."

That voice.

"This was not an accident."

Cyprus retraced his steps, almost in reverse until he stopped at the screen once again. The camera feed now replaced by an eerie, uncomfortable red glow. The silhouette of a Queens' chess piece in the center, successfully and effortlessly grabbing their attention as the familiar voice 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."

Cyprus rushed to the cockpit, trying to listen to what was being said as his companion frantically attempted to get a recording on her Scroll.

"Brandeis, how long until we're at Vale?" He asked, bursting loudly through the closed door.

"Just under an hour, sir." His former caretaker said, jumping at the sight. "Is something the matter?"

"Step on it, we don't have much time."

"Sir, I-"

He closed the door and returned to the screen, biting his nails uncontrollably.

"-More power than most armies, and one was audacious enough to control cling to this power in the name of piece and yet, what do we have here? A nations' attempt at a synthetic army? Mercilessly torn apart by another star pupil. What need would Atlas have for soldiers disguised as an innocent little girl? I don't think the Grimm can tell the difference."

"Grimm? The hell's she talking about?" Scylla shook her head.

"Shh."

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

Cyprus wracked his brain trying to think of the ideals behind all of this, it seemed at first glance, to make Beacon's Headmaster to look bad. No, to make every leader look bad. To create panic and sew seeds of distrust, to attract the ancient enemy to the walls where so many had gathered. But all for what? It couldn't just be destruction, could it? It was then the Teal haired man felt his fingers drawn to the vial in his pouch, the soft heat emanating from it as he twirled it between his fingertips. Cinder was after this power, maybe there was more at Beacon than anyone knew. The way she spoke though, she was dragging this out, saying a dozen words for every one that was needed, her pauses long and bringing uncomfortable silences.

"Perhaps Ozpin felt as though defeating Atlas in the tournament would help people forget the colossal failure to protect Vale when the Grimm invaded its streets? Or perhaps...This was his message the the tyrannical dictator that has occupied an unsuspecting Kingdom with armed forces? Honestly, I haven't the slightest clue 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"

"Who is that anyway?" Scylla asked.

"Cinder." Cyprus answered, coldly.

"That's her? What is she even talking about, it's like she's trying to get people fighting against each other. Like the Great War!" The redhead ran her fingers through her hair and gripped her scalp in anxiousness. Although it seemed like she was pointing fingers, Cyprus knew her well enough that politics wasn't something she had much interest in, she only ever cared about herself, so there must be something in it for her. Regardless of his assumptions, he didn't respond, and continued, like the world, to listen.

"As someone who hails from Mistral, I can assure you the situation there is equally undesirable. 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?"

And the camera cut to black, no further message, no transition to the old footage, simply silence. Neither of the two knew how to react, and both sat in silence, wondering a million things, from what their next move was, to what would become of them by the end, either way it seemed that they were in for a long, and stressful night.

Emerald slowly made her way out of the Colosseum halfway through her superiors lengthy speech, her part of the job done, she met up with Mercury by their own personal craft. The nimble ship quickly abandoning the floating structure just as the fireworks began, their descent followed by the shrieks and calls of Grimm. Below, at the borders of the Academy, they could see the small flashes of gunfire as creatures began to overwhelm the guards, and above the looming figures of Nevermores and Griffons, but also smaller, more plate covered creatures in small, clustered flocks. Despite her eagerness to be paid, the mint haired woman wanted nothing more than the job to be done, her service fulfilled. Unfortunately Cinder wasn't very specific when mentioning how long her servitude would last, or how much more of a part she had to play in those plans. She didn't mind starting a war, there had been many in the past. But for the Grimm to come out on top by the end? That didn't strike her as very kind to her life expectancy.

Mercury held up his Scroll to his ear, the confident smirk unable to leave his face. "Hello? Yeah, it's done, I even got to kick that little red brat's a-...Right... Of course...We'll meet you there." His smirk faded and he began to gently guide the ship towards the East, down towards Beacon Academy.

"Now what?" Emerald asked, one arm placed on the window as she looked at the horrors that were beginning to unfold.

"Boss wants us at Beacon, something about waiting for the right moment. The quiet one is doing her job, so I expect to see some interesting things tonight."

She had to play along, who knew the consequences if she so much as tried to back out now, but sooner or later she needed to either find a way out of her current line of work. She was fine with being a villainous type, taking advantage of others and making life better for herself was almost second nature to the former thief. But what she was taking part in, felt almost evil, the machinations of a psychopath. Looking up at the Atlesian aircraft that hovered in a staggered line around the Arena, firing off a defensive shot at any Grimm that flew too close to their hulls.

Meanwhile, Neo's own job had come into full effect. She stalked the halls of one the Atlas ships openly, her form changed through her semblance and giving her the appearance of any other soldier, uniform and all. Around her, the bodies of it's crew lay, unconscious or otherwise incapacitated, helpless against the trained fighter. Her small stature and pink, delicate looking weapon a perfect disguise that hid relentless, uncaring intent to harm. And although her target was already conquered, she couldn't resist scouring the holding cells in the hope that she was aboard the correct vessel. Looking over the empty, uncovered spaces, her faith was rewarded, as a single capsule lay locked and formerly under guard.

With a Bowler hat and expensive, familiar cane laying beside it, the tri-coloured mute grabbed both and tapped on a small screen, releasing the locks on the door as it slid open with a pressurised hiss. A soft chuckle revealed itself from the darkness, as the captive was freed.

"It's about time, kiddo." Torchwick smirked, stepping out and gently retrieving his possessions from Neo, as they both headed towards the bridge of the ship. The short trip was uneventful at best, though a bit of enjoyment came to the pair in the form of a panicked, scared crew member. His gun shaking in his hand as he fired vainly at the criminals, both of whom taking turns to blow off steam, beating him with their weapons until his Aura flared and died, and a final shot to the chest from Roman's Cane deleted him, permanently.

"Now then, let's see what kind of a party we can have with this." He smirked, gripping the main control panel of the ship and looking it over, before his gazed turned to his right, a pair of similar vessels in tight formation beside their own.

Neo grinned, and nodded.

Slowly, the hulking warship began to pivot right, it's main gun becoming centred on it's formerly friendly target. It took Roman a few presses of random buttons, but eventually he found the correct one for his goal. And with a muffled BOOM, the primary cannon launched a devastating dust projectile at the other ship, catching the unshielded craft completely by surprise. Such a force threw it out of balance, and as their crew struggled to even fathom what had happened, it banked to the side and collided with it's sister craft, sending the pair of them into a slow free-fall towards the sea.

The mastermind howled with laughter at the sight. "It is good to be back, Neo come here, you wanna try this?" He said, beckoning the girl over who eagerly took the opportunity. Gently taking control of the ship with her companions hand guiding her, she deftly managed to land another shot against the tumbling craft as they, and their crew, plummeted to their grisly end.

The two paced in the ships' interior, unable to stop themselves as they grabbed their equipment and checked it. Regardless of the outcome, both knew they were likely in for a fight, the distant skies as Beacon neared revealed the soft glows of light as Atlesian ships fired. Vale grew near, and Brandeis expressed his concern over landing near the Academy which meant they would likely be landing in a hot zone, or somewhere too far to be of much use.

"What if we jump out as he flies overhead? Like at the Isles?" Cyprus offered, inspecting his staff for any signs of fault before folding it to it's smaller form and placing it on his back.

"That would be great, but unless a lake decides to appear out of nowhere, we'd break a bone or two at least, if our Aura doesn't hold up." Scylla replied, shrugging. The hacker proceeded to take her Scroll from her pocket, and frantically tapped on the screen until she found Coco's face.

"Think she'll answer?" Her friend asked, removing his own device from his pocket and hovering his thumb over the contact list, unsure of what to do next.

"She has to."

The wait was painful, the tone continued to ring at it's slow rhythm, as if taunting the poor girl as she tried to contact her ex, in any normal situation she would probably be thankful the universe denied her access, but right now she just wanted to make sure she, and the rest of her team, was safe. After far too many more rings than usual, the other end finally answered.

"Coco? Are you guys okay!?"

"Where the hell are you!?" The voice refuted to answer the question, instead jumping right on their own offensive.

"On our way back, what's going on over there? Please! We saw the feed but-"

"Everything's gone ass up, Grimm got into Amity but we all got out okay, heading down to Beacon to lend a hand. Apparently the White Fang have shown up, too!"

Scylla remembered the night with Torchwick at the rally, seems they finally showed their plan for them, after all. Who knows if, or how, the rogue group managed to work alongside Grimm, but it wasn't important right now. "We'll meet you down there, got it?"

"Alright, but watch the skies, something is going on with the Atlas Ships, I think they're...Oh gods, Ruby, where are you going!?"

The line went dead. Scylla made her way to the cockpit, standing behind the two seats that the others sat in, they all watched the carnage unfold as they neared the outskirts of Vale.

"They're attacking the whole City..." Cyprus said, his hand over his mouth.

"Something's wrong with the fleet, they're not attacking, look!" Scylla exclaimed. As she pointed to the line of craft in a defensive state, none of them missed the wreckage of two, flaming husks that drifted in the ocean below, the single craft above now turning towards the rest of it's former allies. "We have to stop whoever's in control, nobody else can get there. Brandeis, think you can drop us off?"

The moustache man sighed heavily and wiped the sweat from his brow. "I can try it, Miss Varun...However I might ask for quadruple my normal rate."

"If we're even alive to pay you. Come on, let's get ready."

As Cyprus stood to leave the cockpit, the soft, deep rumble echoed through the air, and a dreadful silence encompassed them all. They couldn't feel it, but the very Earth began to shake with the force of a quake as the mountain behind them burst open, and another combatant joined the already clustered, frantic war-zone with a shriek that pierced effortlessly through the sound of the engines, and only served to get closer with each moment.

"Oh, that doesn't sound good."