NegaiFreak: Well, this is it. After all this time, we're finally at the last chapter of this adaptation's volume. I'm really excited to give you all a fantastic finale before moving on to my next project.

Ruby Rose: That said, NegaiFreak's gonna give you all a special preview at the end of the chapter!

Gaara: The future isn't completely set in stone, so we're hopeful things can get better as we go along.

Erza Scarlet: We've all done our part to make this story feel epic and have you all excited for what's to come.

Trafalgar Law: NF's likely gonna be back at work soon, so writing's gonna be slow for a while…

Sunset Shimmer: But he'll be back soon enough. He always is.

Ben Tennyson: So with all that said, please enjoy the chapter.

RWBY: OMNI FORCE

Sirens continued to go off from the airships hovering above the Haven Academy quad. Down below, Kim threw a White Fang soldier over her shoulder onto the ground, knocking him out upon impact. Another was about to fire on her from afar, only for a robotic arm to wrap around his body and yank him away in a yelp. Kim glanced over and grinned to see that Jenny had taken care of the White Fang member, shooting her a thumbs up. Meanwhile, one of the searchlights of the airships shined upon a trio of soldiers.

"Cease fire, immediately!" an officer yelled over the P.A. on one of the airships. The three of them attempted to run away, but stopped as they found themselves confronted by the combined platoon of Menagerie Faunus and Mistral policemen. Ilia stood in front of them with her Lightning Lash raised. Their foes raised their weapons, ready to fire… but they didn't flinch. They were prepared to fight if they had to. As more forces surrounded the trio, two of them dropped their weapons and put their hands up in surrender. The third was prepared to go down fighting, but before he could fire his weapon, Ilia whipped it out of his hand and tackled him to the ground, restraining him by his left arm as he struggled to try and free himself.

"Thank you," a female rabbit Faunus said in gratitude to the once-White Fang member. She looked back at her and smiled with a nod. Elsewhere, sand was encasing more of the defeated terrorists as Gaara held his hands out, manipulating it consistently.

"How many are left?" he asked as Genji zipped up to his side in a green blur.

"A couple of squadrons," he answered simply, "Mirko and that bird Faunus are dealing with them now," he pointed out.

"Have the airships land so we can load up the prisoners," the Kazekage instructed afterwards. His cybernetic comrade nodded in response, hurrying off. In the meantime, Rumi kicked a White Fang member in the face, making him fall to the ground in a pained groan as he dropped his gun.

"So Mirko," Keigo began, catching her attention as she slightly turned her head to see him clashing his blade-like feathers against the sword of another terrorist Faunus, "how'd you like goin' on the spy angle?" he inquired curiously.

"Heh," the rabbit-eared woman chuckled, stomping down on her foe's chest to keep him pinned to the ground, "Honestly, I like just kickin' ass better…" she confessed, "Spy stuff's more for you and Shimmer," she noted.

"Funny you should mention her," Keigo remarked with a laugh, "She's actually here," he pointed out, gesturing towards the grand hall. Rumi perked up. "You wanna go say hi?" he offered teasingly. A blush crossed her cheeks.

"Seriously?" she uttered in surprise as she shook her head. Her winged ally nodded. "Heh," she chuckled again, "I was gonna grab a drink with her back home after all this was over," she mentioned, "Let's hold off on that 'til we've taken these bastards down," she insisted as she kept her foot planted on her foe.

"You got it, Mirko," Keigo replied as he knocked down his opponent with a single swipe of his blade-like feather. Kevin was snapping guns and swords in half as Danny, Genji and Sabo helped to surround more groups of the White Fang members with the Menagerie Faunus and the Mistral police. That left Blake with none other than Adam. She stood firm as he got back to his feet. He was seething with rage.

"I'm going to make you regret ever coming back…" he declared ominously. Blake didn't flinch.

"More police are on their way, Adam," she pointed out, "Huntsmen, too," she added. The White Fang leader chuckled evilly.

"Still too afraid to face me on your own…" he proclaimed with a grin.

"I'm here for Haven," Blake retorted, "not you," she said firmly. Letting out an angered grunt, Adam drew Wilt from Blush as he pointed the latter at his foe, who quickly drew the katana of her Gambol Shroud.

"Heh," the White Fang leader chuckled, "you are still afraid," he realized as he grinned, "and you should be," he advised, "I've made powerful friends while you've been away," he mentioned.

"Oh yeah?" Sun voiced out, catching his attention as he saw the monkey Faunus approach with Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang in their staff form, "Where?" she asked, glaring at Adam. He merely pointed Wilt towards him.

"Tell me," he began, "does Blake make all of her classmates fight for her?" he wondered.

"Nah, it's a volunteer gig," Sun answered with a shrug, spinning his staff into his right hand, "I'm just sayin', for someone who claims to have such great friends," he continued as he glanced around, "there doesn't seem to be a lot of people here willing to fight for you," he noted. Adam grimaced. He looked to see that his followers were being overwhelmed, surrendering to the combined forces of the Menagerie Faunus, the Omni Force, and the Mistral police. All of them were being led into one of the airships, each encased in a sandy cocoon. Gaara looked over to see that the White Fang leader was the only man left to stand against his comrades. A searchlight shined down on him.

"You can try and make me regret coming here, Adam," Blake began, getting his attention, "but honestly…" she continued, narrowing her eyes, "I've got more important things to deal with," she bluntly admitted. Letting out a frustrated growl, the White Fang leader swung his sword at Sun… only for Keigo to zip in and block it with his blade-like feather.

"Can't have ya doing that, Taurus," he remarked. What followed was Rumi rushing over and kicking Adam in the back, sending him tumbling forward in a yelp.

"RAH!" he roared, getting back to his feet as he lunged out at Sun. He quickly detached Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang from each other, firing off blasts from the shotgun-nunchaku form they assumed. Adam managed to deflect the shots, but then found himself having clash blades with Blake as she dashed up to him. Sun then ran around and smacked the bull Faunus upside the head with his weapons now in their staff form, causing him to fall and bolt off. The searchlight followed him along with his four enemies as he went into the bushes and trees.

"Guys, wait!" Blake called out, enticing the monkey Faunus to grind to a halt alongside Rumi.

"But he's getting away!" Sun yelled as he turned around, "We could take him!" he claimed confidently.

"No," Blake replied as she ran over and sheathed her katana, "we can't," she admitted to him, "He wants to lure us away so he can pick us off," she pointed out, "We need to protect the school and the people here," she insisted firmly. Rumi smirked.

"I think Hawks' got the runner," she assured, catching their attentions as they blinked in surprise before looking up to see that Keigo had flown off in pursuit of Adam.

"But Blake just said—!"

"Hawks isn't that easy to pick off," Rumi interjected with confidence, "And I doubt Taurus can get away from him," she added, putting her hand at her hip.

"Besides…" Blake continued as she glanced off towards where Adam had left, "now he can see what it feels like to run away," she noted, turning to Sun and giving him a smile, "Thank you," she said in gratitude. The monkey Faunus smiled back.

"Eh, we all need help sometimes…" he admitted sheepishly. Gunfire caught their attentions as they looked towards the opening in the grand hall. Ruby and Starlight were battling against Hazel right in their view. "I think there's a few people who could use yours," Sun noted.

"Me and Wukong'll handle the rest out here with the others," Rumi promised with a nod, "C'mon, monkey!" she beckoned as she ran off. Sun was prepared to follow her… but was stopped as Blake put a hand onto his shoulder.

"Be careful," she advised to him. He smiled again.

"No promises," he remarked in response. Blake grinned at the remark, hurrying off towards the grand hall to help her friends…

X

"AGH!" Starlight yelled as she tumbled down onto her back beside Ruby, gritting her teeth.

"Are you okay?!" the scythe-wielding girl asked as she crouched down next to her. She sat up from the floor and growled.

"I am so kicking that big guy's ass…" she muttered, enveloping her arms entirely in a turquoise light as she hopped to her feet. The battle in the grand hall had certainly turned into their favor. However, their foes were persistent. Even with reinforcements in Peter, Wendy, and Carla against them, the trio of Hazel, Mercury and Emerald continued to fight their foes off. Leonardo was also still battling, but he was fighting from the safer position of the terrace, launching flaming rocks down at his opponents.

"Sky Dragon Wing Attack!" Wendy shouted, coming down towards Mercury with her arms enveloped in swirls of wind. Unfortunately, her target spotted her coming, blasting himself away with a shot from his boots as she struck nothing but the floor in a fierce burst of wind.

"Web Sling Attack!" Peter yelled from above as he shot a web line that attached to the ground right in front of Emerald's feet. She took notice and quickly leapt back to avoid getting struck by the superhero's right foot as he zipped down. "Huh…" he sighed in frustration, "Okay, I don't think the whole 'calling out our attacks' before we actually attack really works for me…" he pointed out to his teammate, "Or anyone…" he corrected bluntly.

"Ugh…" Carla groaned as she stood beside Wendy, putting her hand over her face out of annoyance, "Just do what you do best, Peter…" she insisted.

"Will do!" the spidery hero replied as he lunged forwards. As Weiss' Queen Lancer summon was evading the fireballs shot from Hazel's Dust-enhanced arms, Jaune ran over in front of Nora and Ren, drawing the shield and sword of his Crocea Mors and using the former to block bullets sent their way from Mercury and Emerald.

"You guys okay?" the blonde teen asked his teammates as he defended them. Ren coughed, while Nora groaned in exhaustion.

"Surviving…" the former of the two breathed out, lowering his tired arms.

"I don't know how that big guy's still standing…" the latter muttered, catching his attention, "He recharges his Aura faster than I've ever seen!" she pointed out. In the meantime, Ozpin watched as a crow flew around behind a pillar, transforming into Qrow.

"Ugh…" he grunted in pain, "He's sheer willpower…" he noted, quite stunned. Before Ozpin could say anything, he was almost hit by a flaming ball of electricity that struck the floor at his feet. He quickly took cover behind a nearby column.

"We just need to get him to his limit!" he called out to his allies.

"HAH!" Wendy roared as she swung out her arms in midair, creating a torrent of wind that blew Mercury and Emerald back in yells. Unfortunately, Hazel stood firm. But just as he was about to attack the Sky Dragon Slayer, Peter zipped in and landed a right hook to his face, followed by flipping back from a right cross. He shot out a rapid series of webs at his foe's feet as he tried to approach, trapping him to the floor. His arm glowed in a red light as he was prepared to burn the webbing away, only for Carla to suddenly lunge up at him and land a fierce roundhouse kick to his face, followed by Wendy diving down. Her right hand was cloaked in a whirlwind as she struck his head fiercely with her fingertips.

"Kids don't seem to be having much trouble…" Smoker grumbled as he got to his feet.

"Don't think they're up to lose another fight…" Qrow noted in response.

"HAAAHHH!" Hancock bellowed as her right leg collided against Mercury's in midair. Carla found herself having to fall back with Wendy to avoid the shots from Emerald's Thief's Respite.

"RRRAAAAAGGGHHH!" Hazel roared, ripping the webbing away from his feet as he charged towards Peter.

"Uh oh," he uttered out with widened eyes, flipping back to evade the attempted swipes from his brawny foe. Meanwhile, Weiss' Queen Lancer summon had cornered Leonardo, firing off spike-like projectiles from the openings at its head towards him. He used Stalwart to defend himself, spinning it again to make another glyph form over it. With a swing of his arm, he unleashed a flaming torrent from the weapon to knock the summon back into the range of his three allies.

Taking the opportunity, Hazel reeled his arms back as they crackled with yellow and red sparks. He let out a grunt as he thrusted his fists forward, launching a flaming ball of electricity that struck the Queen Lancer summon, causing it to instantly dissipate into white ashes. Weiss was stunned by how easily her summon had been dealt with. But just the ashes started to fade…

"HAAAHHH!" Blake yelled as she leapt in, kicking Hazel to the floor before landing down and sliding over to be beside her teammates, "Are you hurt?" she quickly asked while standing up. Ruby and Weiss were astonished.

"N-No!" the former heiress stuttered, "I just remember you being more of the quiet one…" she admitted sheepishly. Hazel, Emerald, and Mercury slowly advanced towards them.

"Not today…" Blake retorted, drawing the katana of Gambol Shroud.

"That makes two of us," Wendy agreed as she landed down beside her with Carla. Peter swung himself over via a web line, Hancock hopped to her squadron leader's side, and Starlight floated behind them, cloaked entirely in a turquoise light.

"Alright…" Weiss uttered out, holding Myrtenaster defensively as she took a ready stance, "Well, what's the plan, Ruby?" she asked her team leader. She gave off a grin and nodded. From afar, Leonardo attempted to fire off another attack from his weapon… only to be shot in the shoulder as his yellow aura shimmered afterwards. He frightfully looked to see that it was Ruby with her Crescent Rose in its rifle form as she cocked back the shaft to reload. The Haven headmaster hurriedly turned tail and ran through the doors behind him.

"I'll take him!" Smoker called out, rocketing himself up to the terrace in a burst of smoke.

"Hey!" Qrow shouted.

"Let him go!" Ozpin advised, stopping the alcoholic huntsman from following, "If he can restrain Leonardo, we can finish the rest of this fight more easily…" he assured with narrowed eyes. In the meantime, Mercury scowled at the sight of the Haven headmaster on the run.

"You've gotta be kidding me…" he grumbled out. All of a sudden, Hazel let out a fearsome roar beside him and Emerald, much to their surprise as they looked on at him in confusion.

"Checkmate!" Ruby called out, enticing Blake and Weiss to dash forward. Their leader followed, spinning her weapon into its scythe form. Hazel charged on, prepared to take them all by himself.

"Arms!" Wendy yelled, aiming her hands out at Weiss and Blake. The two of them suddenly found themselves cloaked white and violet light respectively. As Hazel attempted to slam his fists into them, they countered fiercely with their blades, causing him to stumble back. He was then overwhelmed with furious slashes from his foes, much to the shock of his allies.

"Mercury, the girl!" Emerald cried out, tilting her head towards Wendy. Her silver haired comrade nodded, blasting himself forward in an attempt to strike the Sky Dragon Slayer with his left foot. However, he was stopped as Hancock dashed in and slammed her leg into his.

"Ergh!" he grunted out, evidently strained as he tried to push through. She merely smirked, blowing a kiss to create a small, heart-shaped pink projectile onto the tip of her index finger. Before he could even do anything, she shot him in the shoulder with it, making him tumble back. Emerald growled in frustration at how overwhelmed her allies were… Without Cinder, they were practically sitting ducks in the grand hall. She then saw Ruby charging towards her with her scythe at the ready. Drawing the sickle blades of her Thief's Respite, Emerald was prepared to face the silver-eyed girl.

She fired off a shot from her Crescent Rose, which her foe managed to easily deflect. But to her surprise, she saw that Peter had attached a web line to the handle end of the scythe, being swung around to kick Emerald aside before she could even counter. Weiss and Blake were continuing their bombardment on Hazel, with the former casting glyphs to fire off shards of ice, beams of light, and balls of fire.

"Erghhh…" her opponent growled in frustration, charging his arms with the energies from his Dust crystals before slamming his fists against the floor. A flaming shockwave emanated from the impact, which Weiss and Blake jumped back from to evade while also making the glyphs disappear.

"What the heck's with this guy?!" the Faunus of the two wondered loudly, astonished by how resilient Hazel was.

"I don't know!" the former heiress yelled back. Just then, they saw Starlight fly by them, firing off rays of turquoise light from her hands towards their brawny foe. He blocked them with his arms, letting out another fearsome roar.

"Rubes, help 'em out with Mister Hulk over there!" Peter advised to Ruby, who nodded before jogging off to assist, "I've got Miss Illusion…" he assured, crouching into a ready stance. Propelling herself upwards with a shot from her weapon, the silver-eyed girl lunged out and slashed at Hazel.

"RRAAAHHH!" he roared angrily, attempting to stomp on her. Hancock slid in and countered his left foot with her own, causing him to start falling backwards. That gave Starlight the opportunity to fly up and blast him hard against the floor with a powerful turquoise beam of light.

"Watch out!" Carla yelled, gaining her angelic wings upon her back as she grasped Wendy by her shoulders and flew her away from taking an axe kick of Mercury's.

"Running away again, little girl?" he guessed as he watched them fly around.

"Wendy… we need a plan," the humanized exceed pointed out to her friend.

"Yeah," she agreed with a nod, "We've gotta figure out a way to take out his legs long enough to land a good shot…" she mentioned seriously. At that moment, they noticed that Mercury was being confronted by Weiss. She was forming glyph after glyph, firing off bursts of wind and shards of ice that he flipped back to evade. The two Fairy Tail members looked to each other and nodded. They had a plan.

"HAH!" the former heiress yelled, thrusting her Myrtenaster forward to launch a trio of fireballs towards Mercury, who kept cartwheeling away before landing on his feet with a smirk.

"Aim hasn't gotten much better for you, huh princess?" he mockingly inquired. She let off a grunt in frustration. Suddenly though, Carla flew in and attempted to kick Mercury, only for him to jump back. As they started to fight, Wendy landed down beside Weiss.

"We need to hold him in place!" she instructed to her. The former heiress grinned.

"I can do that," she assured, raising her Myrtenaster as its revolver spun before clicking a blue Dust dial into place. Carla had let her wings disappear as she dodged Mercury's kicks, ducking and backing away.

"Aw, don't be scared, little kitty…" he mockingly said, causing her to glare back at him, "I'll make this quick…" he promised with a sinister smirk.

"So will we…" Carla remarked back. Mercury arched an eyebrow in confusion… and then looked to see that his feet were trapped in ice.

"What?!" he exclaimed, turning to his right to see Weiss with her Myrtenaster drawn. Beside her in a lunging stance was Wendy, who let her hair grow out and become pink as it curved and pointed upwards. White scales protruded from her back, ankles, and legs as well. She opened her eyes to reveal they had become pink as well, fiercely glaring at Mercury. In a burst of wind shot from her feet, she launched herself forward and slammed her right fist right into her foe's face. Though the ice over his legs shattered, his silvery aura shimmered as he tumbled back and collided hard with the wall, letting out a pained grunt.

"How's that for quick?" Carla wondered, crossing her arms as she saw Mercury fall to his hands and knees. Elsewhere, Peter found himself seemingly surrounded by Emerald and seven other clones of her. But he didn't seem scared... or even impressed…

"Oh no… whatever will I do…" he muttered out sarcastically, closing his eyes. The real Emerald tried to shoot at him from behind, but he moved his head aside and flipped over to avoid her shots. "You know, there's a guy back in my world that does the same thing you do," he told her, firing a flurry of web blasts behind him without looking. They almost hit the green haired girl, who quickly ran off to the side to evade them, transforming her revolver shotguns into their sickle-bladed forms. "Difference is, he kinda did his tricks with a little more… flair than you," her foe pointed out.

She growled, charging out at him. He ducked forward to evade her swipes, followed by curling his fingers into the trigger of his web shooters to fire lines that attached to the ceiling. He reeled himself upwards to evade another swipe, followed by firing off another web line that attached to her feet.

"Huh?" she uttered in surprise before being yanked up upside down in a yelp.

"Gotta say, Miss Illusion," Peter continued, "between you and me, I don't think you're a good match…" he remarked. She gritted her teeth, using her sickles to slice the web line as she fell to the floor. She quickly cut the webbing at her feet apart, standing back up as her opponent landed behind her. "Oh, and one more thing…" he said as she drew her blades on him and had more clones of herself and Grimm appear around her enemy, "your Semblance only works on one person at a time, right?" he inquired. Emerald blinked.

"What?" she uttered in confusion. She didn't realize there was someone coming up behind her. Someone who wasn't the target of her illusions, and therefore could not see them.

"HAH!" Blake yelled as she roundhouse-kicked her in the back of the head, knocking her onto the floor. With that, Peter quickly fired off a few web shots onto her, trapping her where she was.

"Thanks for the assist, Kit-Kat," he said in gratitude. Blake blushed a little.

"Please don't call me that…" she pleaded with a shake of her head.

"But… Ben called you that back on Menagerie…" Peter pointed out, rubbing the back of his head in confusion.

"Er… ergh!" Emerald grunted as she struggled to try and free herself from the webbing entrapping her.

"How long is that gonna hold her?" Blake asked out of concern.

"Long enough," Peter replied assuredly, "Right now, we—" He was interjected the moment the Hancock crashed down to the floor beside them. They looked over to see Ruby and Starlight struggling to hold back Hazel by themselves. "…need to stop the Hulk over there…" Peter finished. Blake nodded in agreement before they hurried over. Weiss and Wendy also made their approach, closing in as Ruby and Starlight jumped back. Carla was standing guard, being joined by Ren and Nora as they surrounded Mercury. Meanwhile, Jaune had gone over to Emerald to make sure she stayed trapped.

"Any ideas on how to stop this guy, Rubes?" Peter asked his silver-eyed friend, who seemed unsure. As she was about to answer…

"The Dust crystals in his arms!" Weiss suddenly exclaimed, causing her team leader to blink in surprise, "If we can take those out, he probably won't be able to use them again," she explained.

"But what if they explode?" Blake asked out of concern.

"The ones Nora hit out of him earlier didn't seem to go off…" Ruby noted, chiming into the conversation.

"If we remove the crystals, we might be able to put a better dent in him," Weiss mentioned.

"We'll have to work fast," Wendy realized, looking back to see Hazel driving a floating Starlight back with the furious punches he threw out at her.

"Alright, all hands on deck…" Peter said as he took a ready stance. The others followed suit, with Ruby readying her Crescent Rose.

"Go!" she yelled. She and her comrades dashed forwards, heading for Hazel. As he noticed them coming, he gritted his teeth and balled his fists. Peter zipped up to the ceiling with a web line as his allies continued their charge. Ruby and Blake ran over to opposite sides of their brawny foe. "Ladybug!" the former called out. Shooting herself forward thanks to having her scythe aimed back, she and the cat Faunus slashed at their enemy in alternating sliding maneuvers, repeating the pattern again and again. Hazel's legs started to buckle as he breathed heavily. He didn't notice Peter looming right above him.

"Arms!" Wendy exclaimed, aiming her hands up towards the spidery hero. A red light cloaked his body as he stood upside down from the ceiling.

"Oh, ho…" he chuckled, cracking his knuckles, "Now we're talking!" he yelled, firing down a pair of web lines that attached to the ground next to Hazel's feet. He looked up and widened his eyes to see Peter there. He suddenly zipped down and slammed his feet right into his brawny foe's back, pressing him down against the floor. Adjusting his left web shooter afterwards, Peter fired off a spray of webbing that attached to each of the crystals stabbed into Hazel's arms. "Rubes!" he called out.

"On it!" the silver-eyed girl responded, launching herself into the air thanks to a shot from her Crescent Rose, spinning around rapidly. Peter fired off a web line to attach to its handle.

"This might hurt a bit…" he confessed sheepishly to Hazel, getting his attention briefly. Ruby yanked him away, resulting in him tugging on the crystals hard. Unfortunately, only one of the red crystals ended up being pulled out as the rest of the webbing snapped. But it seemed to be enough…

"AAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!" Hazel bellowed in pain, grabbing at where the crystal was removed on his arm as he breathed rapidly. He growled over towards Ruby and Peter, who glanced at each other worriedly as the latter caught the red Dust crystal in his hand.

"Uh… Plan B?" he inquired to his comrade. The silver-eyed girl nodded.

"Blake! Wendy! Starlight!" she called out, catching their attentions as they nodded back in understanding. The cat Faunus executed the plan by firing off several shots from the pistol form of her Gambol Shroud at Hazel, knocking him back as he was still recovering. Wendy and Starlight then rushed in and bombarded him with kicks and punches, causing him to stumble back even further.

"ERRAAAAAHHHH!" he roared, slamming his fists against the floor to make another electrical shockwave surge out. The Sky Dragon Slayer and the counselor moved back to avoid it, grimacing in frustration. Their foe would not allow them to get close enough now…

"Ice Flower!" Ruby's voice shouted.

"Huh?" Hazel uttered in surprise, looking over to see the silver-eyed girl crouched down with Weiss beside her. She grinned, looking into the scope of her Crescent Rose before pulling the trigger. Her bullet was fired through a white glyph Weiss had formed before striking their target at his chest, causing ice to build up over it. Ruby launched more shots, striking Hazel and freezing most of his upper body. He managed to move his right hand over to grasp the ice. A reddish light coursed through his arm as it started to melt the ice over his body.

"Now!" Ruby called out. Throwing her weapon, Blake had Gambol Shroud wrap around and firmly wedge itself onto the fire Dust crystal at her foe's right arm. Wendy dashed over and grasped the ribbon attached to the pistol form of the weapon, tugging it hard with the cat Faunus. Slowly but surely, the crystal was being pulled out of his skin before it was finally freed.

"AAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!" he bellowed in agony. However, the ice over his body shattered at the same time. He started to buckle forward as blood dripped down both of his arms.

"I got the last two!" Starlight declared, floating out speedily towards him.

"Starlight, wait!" Ruby yelled. Unfortunately, her comrade didn't listen as she proceeded forward, making her hands glow brightly as they became cloaked in a brighter light. Peter fired off two web shots at Hazel's feet, trapping him to the floor with the webbing. Starlight landed in front of him, holding out her glowing hands. A turquoise light shrouded both lightning Dust crystals stabbed into her foe's arms. She clenched her teeth and shut her eyes as she tried to pry them out. But suddenly, Hazel grabbed her hands. Before she could even do anything, she found herself endlessly zapped by his Dust-enhanced arms.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" she screamed out in pain. Jaune heard, whipping around to see her faltering as Hazel pushed her back, causing her to fall onto her knees.

"STARLIGHT!" he exclaimed. She glanced over to see the fear in his eyes. And she didn't want that. She didn't want him to have to be afraid. Not for her. Or anyone.

"Ergh…!" she grunted as she pushed back against Hazel as hard as she could, getting to her feet. He looked on with astonishment in his eyes as she stood up, clenching her teeth. Her eyes suddenly flashed a bright white. A silver-white streak appeared upon her hair as it lengthened out, and kite-like markings with wavy tails showed around her eyes and upon her knuckles.

"Whoa…" Peter uttered in shock as everyone else looked on with widened eyes. In an instant, Starlight fired off a powerful turquoise beam of light from her hands to shoot Hazel straight up into the wall. He crashed into it and fell to the floor upon his stomach in an instant.

"Ugh…" he groaned, being slow to stand up. He looked out to see the powered-up counselor approach him with her fists clenched. Ruby and Peter joined her, standing by her sides as they nodded at each other. As Emerald finally freed herself from the webbing entrapping her, Blake and Wendy joined with Jaune to face her. Weiss went over to assist Nora, Ren and Carla with dueling Mercury. Watching from afar, Qrow cracked a grin.

"They're makin' us look like chumps over here…" he grumbled out.

"Indeed," Ozpin agreed with a smile, glad to see the young huntsmen and huntresses working together alongside their allies to face down their enemies. Even Hancock couldn't help but be impressed. Ruby's leadership had shined throughout this whole ordeal, especially now. She hopped over to join her group in facing Hazel as they took ready stances. The battle seemed to be nearing its end… but on the outside… not so much.

X

Adam was still running. He had no idea how far he had gotten after escaping his foes at Haven and leaving his comrades to be captured. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his scroll.

"This is your High Leader!" he quickly communicated into the device, "I'm calling for all reinforcements to—!" All of a sudden, a stray object flew in and knocked the scroll out of his hand, shattering it to pieces as it hit the ground. "No!" he exclaimed angrily, growling as he drew Wilt from Blush, aiming the latter at his surroundings, "Who dares to face me?!" he asked as he turned around. A figure landed behind him.

"Guess I dare," Keigo replied nonchalantly with his hands stuffed into his pockets. Adam whipped around to face him.

"You…" he growled. Some feathers zipped by him, reattaching to the wings of his foe's body.

"I wasn't wrong when I said this was all on you," he pointed out, causing Adam to perk up in surprise, "If you hadn't called out that hit on Ghira and Kali," he continued, drawing a pair of blade-like feathers in his hands, "then there wouldn't be this much of a force going against you," he mentioned with a shrug, "And now here you are… running away from everything you fought for," he added. Adam was seething.

"You were the messenger they failed to kill…" he realized, clutching his weapons tightly.

"Honestly, it didn't seem to matter at first," Keigo admitted, "I wasn't able to get to the Mistral Council since I felt the school's headmaster had taken control and was gonna let the school go down…" he told him, "but thanks to that little insurgence your friends pulled, they got an army together to take the Fang down… and leave you running," he explained. Rage bubbled in Adam's veins.

"Your name…" he growled, pointing Wilt at his foe, "What is your name?" he asked angrily.

"You can just call me Hawks," Keigo replied, taking a ready stance, "That's the only thing you need to know…" he said with a smirk.

"Hawks…" Adam repeated, "I will kill you…" he declared fiercely with clenched teeth.

"Take your best shot, Taurus," his opponent retorted. They lunged out at each other, clashing blades. Feathers shot out from Keigo's wings, nicking his foe as he stumbled back. He deflected more of them away with Wilt's blade, making it glow brighter with each impact. But at the same time, some of them sliced at his arms and legs. He could feel his Aura deplete as he breathed heavily.

"ERRRAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" he roared angrily, firing off a few shots from Blush that Keigo flew up to evade. He launched more feathers from his wings down at Adam, who failed to block them all with his arms and legs were sliced at, making him falter to his left knee. He sheathed his glowing blade and glared up at his foe. "I will not be beaten after everything I've strived for! After everything I've done to make humanity pay for its crimes against the Faunus!" he shouted angrily.

"You're doing this just for yourself, not the Faunus," Keigo retorted as he shook his head. Adam let out a frustrated shout, drawing his blade. All his enemy could see was red. He swung his sword, unleashing a massive beam of dark red light at the winged man. He shut his eyes… and fell. He landed safely on his feet, though his wings severely lacked many feathers.

"Heh, heh…" Adam chuckled afterwards, sheathing his blade into Blush, "You've lost your advantage, bird…" he remarked confidently.

"Have I?" Keigo wondered in response with a tilt of his head. The White Fang leader appeared to be confused, placing his hand onto the hilt of Wilt. Suddenly, he heard rustling.

"Huh?!" he gasped, glancing around. Surrounding him from almost every direction was a huge array of red feathers. Each seemed to ready to speed down at him upon command. And that's when he realized… he hadn't hit Keigo with his last attack.

"Ultimate Move…" he uttered out. The feathers suddenly zoomed out at Adam. He drew Wilt to swat some of them away, but was unable to stop the others as they slashed at him from all directions. "Hundred Feather Dance," his foe said as one last feather sliced at the White Fang Leader's back, causing him to fall to his knees. His mask fell off… and his red Aura flickered out like fading embers. As all of the feathers flew back and reattached to Keigo's wings, he stepped forward. He drew one blade-like feather in his right hand, aiming it towards his enemy. And he lifted his head up. Keigo widened his eyes. "Oh…" he uttered out in shock.

As he lowered his arm, it gave Adam the opportunity to grab his mask and run into the shrubbery. The winged man didn't give chase. He was too stunned by what he saw. Suddenly, a searchlight shined upon him, causing him to shield his eyes with his right hand as he looked up to see the lead airship of the Mistral Police Force.

"We've lost Taurus," the pilot inside told the captain and Kali as they were in were in the hull. Keigo flew into it, landing next to the feline Faunus.

"Did you find him?" she asked the winged man. He had a solemn look.

"I saw his face," he answered simply, stuffing his hands into his pockets. Kali blinked in surprise. "Guess I understand why he's the way he is…" he noted. The feline Faunus gave him a sympathetic look, placing a hand onto his shoulder.

"Captain, we've got bogeys on radar!" the pilot cried out. The masked woman hurried up into the cockpit.

"What is it?" she asked quickly.

"There's over a hundred new targets closing in on the campus," the co-pilot answered as he looked at the radar, which showed several red blinking dots heading towards their position.

"Reinforcements?" the captain guessed.

"Possibly Grimm…" the co-pilot added in response.

"Wait, there's something up ahead!" the pilot yelled. Keigo and Kali overheard and peeked out from the side of the hull. Those in the cockpit also looked towards the starry horizon. Floating out far before them was none other than All For One.

"Is that… a person?" the captain inquired as she and her comrades stared ahead in disbelief.

"It's… a man…" Kali realized, blinking in shock, "And he's wearing some kind of mask…" she mentioned to Keigo. His eyes were widened with disbelief. The advantage he thought he and his allies had suddenly vanished at the mere revelation of who they had found. The floating man raised his right arm.

"What's he doing?" the captain asked. Dark sparks of lightning outlined in red sparked off of his arm.

"Air Cannon," he said. From just the palm of his hand, an air shockwave blasted forward.

"We gotta move!" Keigo yelled, grabbing Kali from behind and flying off with her in a yelp.

"Abandon—!" The captain's cry was cut off as her ship was blasted apart instantaneously by the powerful burst of wind, splintering to pieces. Kali looked back in horror at the destruction.

"We need to evacuate the school, now!" Keigo concluded, flying off hurriedly towards the campus with her. All For One curiously watched on.

"Interesting…" he uttered out. Down below on the ground, the captain was still alive as she tiredly pushed herself up from the ground. The moment she lifted her head however, it was grabbed by a shadowy hand of one of the Fallen, who roared in her face. Sounds of disembodiment echoed amidst pained screams. It was almost time for them to enter the fray…

X

Orange petals continued to flutter down from the tree in the cavernous vault. Raven glared ahead at the four reinforcements. Specifically, her daughter. However, the others weren't so focused on the Spring Maiden.

"Ben…" Erza grunted out, grabbing her lightsaber hilt as she grimaced. After having her weapon disappear in a flash of golden light, she took deep long breaths, trying to calm herself from the pain she was enduring. The Omni Force leader glanced over at Law and nodded to him. He nodded back, jogging with him past Raven as they crouched down beside their comrade.

"You're gonna be okay, Erza," Ben promised assuredly, "Law?" he said, getting the doctor's attention as looked over at the open wound at her back.

"Looks like this went straight through her abdomen," he concluded after a moment, "Probably got her intestines at the very least," he mentioned.

"Could you two… not discuss the vulgarity of my injury?" the requip user requested bluntly in between breaths. Ben took a moment to think.

"Bear with me for a sec, Erza," he advised as he stood up, "I'm gonna stop the bleeding," he told her. In a flash of green light, he transformed himself into a magma-based lifeform whose body was composed of a bright yellow inner magma body covered by a dark red or brown rocks. As a fire-based entity, his body radiated high amounts of heat with his head enflamed. His feet had a slight oval-like design with only two toes and one back toe. To top it off, the Biomnitrix symbol was at his chest. He knelt down.

"Just one finger, Tennyson," Law instructed. Heatblast shook his head and chuckled.

"I'll be careful," he promised. He moved his right index finger to hover over Erza's wound before expelling a small flame onto it.

"GHRRKKK!" she grunted out, clenching her teeth and fists tightly out of agony, "GAH!" she screamed out, panting heavily. Yang was stunned. Someone like Erza, who had apparently just fought against her mother, Vernal, and Cinder, was now bearing the great pain of getting her wound cauterized. And it looked excruciating. By the time the Pyronite finished, she looked ready to pass out.

"Easy, Erza…" he said pleadingly, "We need to get her back upstairs for treatment," he told the pirate.

"Huh…" he groaned.

"What?" the Pyronite inquired, tilting his head to the side.

"You just flew me down here!" Law complained, "I swear, I'd rather just use my Room and head up there myself…" he grumbled out. Heatblast sighed.

"Well, you're the only damn doctor around…" he pointed out bluntly as he stood up, "Erza, stay awake for us, okay?" he insisted.

"Huh…" she exhaled, "I'll try to…" she tiredly remarked, managing to grin. The Pyronite smiled back. He then was enveloped in another green flash. When it subsided, it revealed that he had become a technological humanoid with a black exterior that had green stripes resembling circuitry all over him. His front torso was green with black circuitry patterns, and the Biomnitrix symbol had now moved to the ring of his eye. He oozed his body over the armor Erza had on, merging with it as it formed fully, becoming black with green circuitry patterns. With his control, Upgrade pushed Erza up to her feet.

"I'll leave the rest to you two," he told Sunset and Yang. They both nodded. Grabbing Law's right hand, Upgrade engaged the repulsor boosters at his feet, firing off a greenish light like flames before flying off in an instant. He went up the tunnel as the pirate he carried yelled.

"Huh," Raven chuckled before breaking out into a fit of laughter. Sunset and Yang looked over at her with incredulous expressions. "That was your reinforcement, wasn't it?" she inquired as she looked back at the tunnel, placing her hands at her hips, "Huh," she laughed again, "You really are just delaying the inevitable…" she muttered out.

"If that's true, then why bother taking the Relic?" Sunset inquired, "Aren't you doing exactly what you didn't want to?" she asked her. Raven frowned again.

"I don't see why that's any of your concern, otherworlder..." she grumbled back.

"Isn't it?" Sunset asked, "Weren't you the one who said you didn't want any part in this?" she paraphrased in question. Raven grimaced for a moment. She then looked over at her daughter.

"I warned you, Yang," she said, "I gave you every opportunity to walk away from Qrow and Oz," she mentioned, "So you can believe me when I say this wasn't personal…" she snarled, narrowing her eyes. Her daughter glared back.

"You opened the vault," she pointed out. Sunset crossed her arms as she looked around, seeing Vernal's corpse and Erza's broken helmet lying on the walkway next to each other.

"Thanks to the chaos you and your friends caused upstairs," Raven responded after a moment, "I knew you could handle it," she added with confidence in her tone as she walked off to the side, "You're my daughter after all," she pointed out.

"Qrow and Oz told me how the Maiden powers are transferred," Yang said, causing her to stop, "The girl you found…" she continued, "she would've had to have trusted you if you were in her final thoughts," she noted, "cared about you a lot," she added with a wave of her arm.

"I'm sure they told you plenty," her mother replied, "and you just sat and obeyed…" she grumbled, not batting her daughter an eye.

"No," she answered, "I'm starting to ask questions like you said," she stated firmly, causing Raven to give off an angered expression. She turned around.

"What is she still doing here?" she asked, glancing over at Sunset.

"I'm here to finish what Erza started in case you're still up for a scrap…" she replied with balled fists. Raven grabbed Omen's hilt. "But there's no need for that…" Sunset assured, letting her magic dissipate from her body as her amber skin, wings, pony ears and long ponytail all disappeared from her form in a flash of light, "I'm just here to moderate," she admitted, crossing her arms. She looked over to Yang, who nodded to her in gratitude before turning her attention back onto her mother.

"So tell us," she began, "what happened to the last Spring Maiden?" she asked curiously, "Did she die in battle?" she questioned, "Was it sickness?" she wondered. There was a brief silence as they awaited an answer. Sunset noticed the hesitance in Raven's eyes.

"What does it matter to you?" she asked back, arching an eyebrow. But Yang wasn't thrown off. She widened her eyes.

"I can already see the answer…" she realized, "It's all over your face," she sadly pointed out, "How could you?!" she asked accusingly. Raven knew she couldn't keep this façade up. Her daughter was too smart to fall for it now.

"She was scared when we found her!" she recalled, crossing her arms defiantly, "Weak…" she mentioned in a growl, "No matter how much training I put her through, she never learned!" she pointed out angrily as she stepped towards Yang, "She wasn't cut out for this world! And with those powers, she would've been hunted her entire life!" she exclaimed emphatically, "What I did—!"

"Wasn't personal," her daughter quoted, interrupting her shout.

"It was mercy!" she claimed in response.

"Huh," Sunset scoffed.

"Which is it, mom?" Yang questioned, "Are you merciful… or are you a survivor?" she asked on as she started to walk around her, "Did you let me walk into that trap because you knew I could handle it, or because it meant you could get what you wanted?!" she wondered out of anger.

"It's not that simple," Raven responded, "You don't know me, you don't know what I've been through; the choices I've had to make!" she listed off to her daughter.

"You're right," she replied while stopping as her voice somewhat broke, "I don't know you," she agreed, "I only know the Raven dad told me about," she noted to her mother, "She was troubled, and complicated…" she listed off in remembrance, "but she fought for what she believed in, whether it was her team or her tribe!" she pointed out, "Did you kill her, too?" she wondered after a brief pause. Raven was left stunned. She actually widened her eyes before looking away. Sunset remained standing off to the side with her arms crossed. It wasn't time for her to intervene. Not now.

"I've stared death in the face over and over again!" Raven angrily yelled as red flames billowed out from her eyes, "And every time I've spat in that face and survived, because I'm strong enough to do what others won't!" she proclaimed fiercely.

"Oh, shut up!" Yang yelled back to her shock, "You don't know the first thing about strength!" she pointed out as she walked around her mother, "You turn your back on people, you run away when things get too hard, you put others in harm's way instead of yourself!" she listed off in frustration. She balled her lone hand into a fist, which shook. "You might be powerful…" she admitted, "but that doesn't make you strong," she said, pointing at Raven.

"Who do you think you are lecturing me?!" she roared back out of rage, "Standing there, shaking like a scared little girl?!" she questioned on as she glared ahead. Sunset uncrossed her arms and balled her fists defensively.

"Yeah, I'm scared…" Yang confessed, "But I'm still standing here!" she exclaimed fiercely. She then trotted forward. "I'm not like you," she said, "I won't run," she added as she approached her mother, "which is why you're going to give me the Relic," she stated in a firm tone.

"And why would I—?!"

"Because you're afraid of Salem!" Yang interrupted loudly as she leaned forward, "And if you thought having Maiden powers put a target on your back," she continued while standing upright, "imagine what she'll do when she finds out you have a Relic…" she noted, causing her mother to turn away and seethe in frustration, "She'll come after you with everything she has," she noted. Raven's expression turned solemn with regret. She finally understood what Erza was saying in their battle. "Or she can come after me," her daughter suddenly suggested, causing her to widen her eyes as she turned back to face her, seeing the determination in her own expression, "And I'll be standing there… waiting for her," she promised firmly.

Sunset felt great pride in Yang. She not only stood up to her mother, but also did so without having to throw a single punch. The orange petals continued to flutter around them. Yang took another step forward, facing Raven as she let the flames trickling from her eyes dissipate.

"You don't want to do this, Yang…" she advised somberly. Her mannerism had drastically changed.

"Nope," her daughter agreed, "But I'm gonna do it anyway," she said, walking forward and bumping into her mother's shoulder to move her aside as she passed by. Raven looked down in shame. Yang was right about everything. And she was willing to bear such an impossible burden… She looked back to see her daughter approaching the chamber doorway. She stopped for a brief moment. A tear then hit the ground before the Spring Maiden's feet.

"I…" she uttered out, holding her left arm as tears were welled up in her eyes, "I'm sorry…" she finally apologized. Tears were building in Yang's eyes as well.

"Yeah…" she responded, "Me too…" she said simply. At that moment, she heard the sound of one of her mother's portals opening along with flapping wings. She turned back to see a black feather fall gently to the ground, landing at Sunset's feet. Yang could only assume that Raven had left through a portal, having transformed herself into a black bird prior to departing.

"Okay," Sunset said, walking up to Yang's side. Both of them understood that there was much riding on their success. They headed into the vast desert of a chamber, walking onto its sandy surface. Sunset noticed how particles of sand appeared to float up into the air with each step they took, finally approaching the pedestal where the relic resided. It was an ornate, gold and cyan lamp, floating over the stone formation.

Yang took a moment before grasping the relic by its handle. As she lifted it up, she started to hear some small, indistinct whispers from it. Tears built up in her eyes again. And she couldn't stop them as she fell to her knees, breaking down into sobs. Sunset looked on sympathetically. She walked over and crouched beside Yang.

"I know that was hard," she pointed out, catching her attention as she looked over at her with tear-filled eyes, "But the fact is…" she continued, "you did something incredible," she complimented, "And not just for yourself," she added with a shake of her head, placing a hand onto Yang's shoulder, "For everyone fighting to save this Relic," she told her. She managed to smile after a moment.

"Yeah…" she agreed softly. Smiling back at her, Sunset brought her into a warm embrace out of empathy. She understood the turmoil Yang had gone through. And she had overcome it.

X

The last two airships departed from the campus as they were transporting the last of the White Fang members that had been detained. The Menagerie Faunus were regrouping, guarding the CCT towers within the quad from any potential reinforcements. In the meantime, Rumi and Ilia jogged over to Ghira and Sun.

"Looks like we got everybody," the chameleon Faunus pointed out, glancing back to see the Omni Force members gathering alongside the others.

"What about the others outside the school?" Sun asked out of concern.

"They've likely retreated back to their headquarters for reinforcements," Ghira replied, "Fortunately, the police and Huntsmen have been dispatched to that location to apprehend anyone attempting to invade the school grounds," he explained to them assuredly.

"Sweet!" Sun exclaimed, "That means we won!" he noted excitedly.

"And what about Adam?" Ilia wondered curiously.

"Keigo and Kali are trying to track him down now," the chieftain replied, "Though knowing Mister Taurus, he'll find a way to escape them…" he grumbled in admittance.

"It won't matter," Rumi chimed in, catching their attentions, "We've already beaten his White Fang," she noted with a grin. The others smiled in agreement. Elsewhere, Gaara was talking amongst his fellow Omni Force as they were gathered by the west tower.

"Guess now's a good time to go help Tennyson," Kevin suggested to the team as they perked up.

"Wendy and Peter already got a head start," Kim noted with a chuckle.

"Then let's go," Gaara advised. But before they could head off…

"Hey, what's that?" Danny asked as he floated over, pointing towards the sky. Flying down was Keigo with Kali still in his arms.

"Kali!" her husband exclaimed, hurrying over with Sun, Ilia and Rumi. The winged man came down and let go of the chieftain's wife as he embraced her warmly. "What happened?" he asked worriedly, "Where's the airship?" he wondered as he glanced around.

"It got shot down," Keigo quickly answered as Danny and Gaara came over, widening their eyes upon hearing.

"What…?!" Ilia exclaimed. Sun let out a frustrated growl.

"I should've known that jerk would call in reinforcements…" he muttered.

"No… it's not the Fang," Keigo chimed in, getting their attentions, "It's worse…" he said. Rumi blinked in surprise, noticing how his fists were shaking. It was like… he was afraid.

"Ghira, we need to evacuate the Faunus from the school," Kali insisted suddenly.

"What? Why?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. All of a sudden, Danny gasped out a red breath of air.

"Grimm…" he realized as he widened his eyes, causing the others to do the same.

"Not just Grimm," Keigo noted, "There's someone else…" he pointed out as he glanced back in fright, "Someone a lot stronger than any of us…" he added grimly.

"Hawks… you're not talking about who I think you are, right?" Rumi inquired. Unfortunately, his current demeanor seemed to answer that for her.

"Greetings," a voice suddenly said, catching their attentions as they turned to see All For One floating overhead. The way he came down made it seem like was actually walking on invisible steps of air. "Congratulations on defeating the White Fang," he complimented, clapping slowly to the people before him. Keigo drew a pair of blade-like feathers from his wings immediately. Everyone else present took ready stances.

"Who are you?" Ghira asked, narrowing his eyes. All For One chuckled.

"I suppose you could refer to me as… evil incarnate," he answered, holding his hands together behind his back, "But do note… I'm not exactly what you would call the 'final boss' of this world…" he mentioned in correction.

"You're with Kronos in this timeline…" Keigo concluded, catching his attention. Everyone else except for Rumi looked confused by the remark. All For One noticed the winged man's undershirt.

"That's the emblem of the Hero Safety Commission, isn't it?" he guessed. Keigo grimaced slightly as a bead of sweat rolled down his head. "So they bred a new hero that probably will come to be long in the future…" he realized, letting out another chuckle, "I must say, they've planned well," he confessed.

"The… future?" Sun repeated, glancing over at Keigo with a raised eyebrow of confusion.

"Stay focused, monkey…" Rumi insisted quietly.

"And you must be one as well," All For One noted, looking over at the rabbit-eared woman as she perked up, "You seem a little older…" he mentioned, "Perhaps I do know you…" he concluded curiously. Rumi scoffed.

"Listen, ya old fart," she began, balling her fists, "I regret not being in Camino that day to help kick your ass," she admitted as she took a lunging stance, "But now I'm gonna make up for it…" she declared with a wide grin.

"Mirko, easy…" Keigo quietly advised.

"Ah, an event from the future that you were part of?" All For One inferred, "Why tell me if you know I won't perish here?" he wondered with a tilt of his head. Rumi smirked back.

"'Cause maybe I'll soften you up for him to finish things!" she yelled, dashing out at him.

"Mirko, wait!" Keigo cried out. But it was too late. The rabbit-eared woman flipped over, aiming her feet like an arrow towards her target. He merely raised his left hand… and caught her feet. Everyone looking on gasped in disbelief.

"Th-The hell?!" Rumi stuttered out.

"You're definitely strong…" All For One admitted, "But you're not a match for me alone," he pointed out, "Kinetic Booster…" he uttered out as dark red electricity sparked over his arm. Rumi grimaced, trying to free himself from his grip to no avail. "plus Air Cannon," he said. In but an instant, the rabbit-eared woman found herself blasted away by a powerful shockwave of air. She tumbled across the ground before crashing to a stop beside the half of the Menagerie Faunus guarding the west tower.

"RUMI!" Ilia screamed in fright, hurriedly running over. As the dust settled, it revealed the rabbit-eared woman struggling to push herself off of the ground as blood dripped down her head. The others were stunned. Rumi had been easily doing away with White Fang members for so long… and she was just easily thwarted by their lone foe.

"Kali, go get the people out of here!" Ghira ordered quickly to his wife.

"I'm afraid you're too late to do that, Belladonna," All For One mentioned, catching his attention. He and the others widened their eyes to see the Fallen Grimm saunter onto the quad. They lined up in rows of ten, having 15 in total.

"Wh…What are they?" Sun stuttered in question, shaking a little. He had never seen Grimm this mobilized together. They were like… an army.

"Allow me to introduce you to the Fallen," All For One said, gesturing towards the group of human-like Grimm, "A fitting name for the once brave Huntsmen and Huntresses of Mistral…" he mentioned to their shock.

"No way…" Danny uttered in disbelief, remembering how the group in the grand hall had discovered that the huntsmen Qrow and Smoker had been looking for were all killed. And the Grimm before them… were their corpses?!

"You vile, twisted son of a…!" Ghira growled out, managing to stop himself... but barely.

"This wasn't entirely my doing," All For One noted, "Though I do admit, I found the creation of this new breed of Grimm quite fascinating," he confessed, turning to face his legion of undead soldiers. They appeared to be standing to attention like an actual battalion. "They're not like the other Grimm you've faced," he pointed out as he turned back around, "They… are much more capable," he stated, snapping his fingers. The first two rows of Grimm charged forward.

"Kali, go!" Ghira yelled as he tossed aside his coat. His wife quickly took off towards where Rumi was. Sand shot out from Gaara's gourd, spiraling about him and his allies. The Fallen came closer.

"Push them back!" Keigo yelled, firing off several of his supple feathers from his wings. Sun formed Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang into their shotgun-nunchaku forms, launching off shots towards the oncoming Grimm. Their attacks struck… but the Fallen kept coming.

"Sand Shower Barrage!" Gaara bellowed as he manipulated the sand to fire off pieces like bullets at their foes. Some of the Fallen actually got in front of their fellow Grimm to take the attacks. Those facing them widened their eyes at the sight of the red Auras shimmering off of them.

"That's… impossible!" Danny exclaimed in disbelief.

"Is it now?" All For One wondered upon overhearing, "How many universes have you been to, Fenton?" he questioned, catching the half-ghost teen's attention, "What you consider impossible in one world could be made possible thanks to another," he told him, "Reality may not be perfect," he continued, "but it can be reshaped," he said, waving his right arm forward. The next three rows of the Fallen rushed out towards the west tower. The three rows after went to the east. Danny growled, flying upwards as he formed his legs into a ghostly tail.

"Phantom, don't be hasty!" Keigo advised, but the half-ghost teen didn't seem to be listening as his green eyes glared down at All For One. He merely floated upwards to meet his foe.

"You're controlling them…" Danny realized, seeing that the other 70 Grimm had yet to make a move.

"Technically, I only give them the go ahead," All For One joked in correction, "After that… anything they do is out of my control," he noted. Danny growled as he could tell his foe was smirking behind his mask. He flew out at him with both his fists at the ready. Sticking out just his right hand, All For One didn't move. "Plasma Hand," he said. His extremity glowed a bright green before he grasped Danny by the neck with it. Without warning, he felt himself suddenly get zapped by a powerful surge of electricity.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" he screamed in agony. He lost consciousness once the electrocution ended, letting a ring of light flow up his body, transforming him back to human.

"Hmph," All For One scoffed, tossing him down towards the ground. Gaara reacted quickly, forming a mound of sand large enough in midair to catch his teammate. "Now let's make this a bit more interesting…" their foe decided. The muscles in his arms and legs coiled and expanded. "Spring-like Limbs…" he began as black lightning with red outlines sparked around them. All of a sudden, sharp, drill-shaped bones shot out from his knuckles and elbows. "Spear-like Bones…" he continued, "and High Quick…" he finished as he took a lunging stance in midair, "I think I'll start with you, Belladonna…" he declared, launching himself downward in an instant.

"GAH!" Ghira exclaimed with widened as he was suddenly struck square in the torso by All For One's right foot, sending him flying back as he crashed through the wall into the grand hall.

"Dad?!" Blake yelped in surprise, seeing him grimace in pain as he tried to sit up from the floor he stopped upon. Ruby took notice and glanced over towards the opening to see the conflict appearing to continue. What was happening outside?

"Here they come!" Kevin yelled as he, Genji, and Kim took ready stances in front of the Faunus they'd been fighting alongside. The cyborg of the group was the first to dash out at the oncoming Fallen, slashing by most of them with his wakizashi. However, none of them appeared to falter for too long as they kept charging towards the Faunus. They were very frightened as they backed away.

"I need to borrow this," Kim said as she grabbed one of the staffs from their allies, spinning it around before holding it steady. Kevin quickly hurried out in front of the oncoming Grimm, crouching down and grasping the concrete surface beneath him with his fingers. With a loud grunt and clenched teeth, he lifted part of the surface before slamming it down. That resulted in a surging shockwave that blew most of Fallen back. Genji circled around and slashed by more of them, causing their red Auras to shimmer.

"They've got Auras!" Kevin exclaimed.

"Okay… this is gonna take a while…" Kim realized before smacking back one of the Fallen with her borrowed staff. With the press of a button, Genji drew his katana and slashed at another Grimm, causing its Aura to flicker out like fading embers. He then pierced its neck with his wakizashi, making it cry out before its entire body faded into black smoke. However, more of the Fallen converged onto him, with one brawnier one expanding its muscles before smacking him aside with just a swing of his left arm, causing him to tumble back over to his teammates.

"And it seems they have powers…" he pointed out as he stood up. Electricity crackled on one Grimm's hands. Another had flames billowing off of his body. One more was letting his arms stretch out to great lengths.

"FIRE FIST!" Sabo bellowed, launching a powerful column of fire onto all 30 of the Grimm coming towards him and the others. However, most of them endured the flames and pushed through them, charging on.

"So not good…" Jenny muttered out, forming both of her arms into machine guns before firing off stun pellets at the Grimm. They didn't seem affected by them as they were struck however, continuing on their course. The robot girl and her teammate did their best to hold them back as Kali and Ilia helped Rumi stand back up, holding her by her shoulders.

"Are you okay?" the chameleon Faunus asked worriedly. The rabbit-eared woman let out a pained grunt.

"Yeah… peachy…" she muttered out as a reply, forcing a grin. Meanwhile, Kali watched on as Keigo and Gaara battled against All For One, firing out feathers and sandy projectiles respectively as their foe was quick to evade them.

"You know that man, don't you?" she inquired to Rumi, getting her attention.

"Yeah…" she responded, "Guy's got tons of powers he can use," she pointed out to their shock, "And there's no telling how many more Grimm he's got at his command…" she added as she removed her arms from the two Faunus women, taking a step forward.

"Well… how are gonna stop him?!" Ilia asked frantically.

"The real question is…" Rumi began as she looked back at her comrade, "how are we gonna stop him… and his army?" she wondered with narrowed eyes.

"Multiplier," All For One said. More drill-shaped bones sprung out from his arms as his sleeves were torn off, giving him the appearance of having wings.

"Are you freakin' kidding me?" Keigo muttered in question, having to fire off more of his feathers. His seemingly omnipotent foe easily evaded them with his own speed, also evading the sand sent his way from Gaara.

"Ergh…" the Kazekage growled in frustration as he blasted back the Fallen coming his way with sandy waves. The masked man was evidently difficult to restrain, especially with how quick he was. But then he noticed how the other 70 Fallen remained stationary. Now seemed like the perfect opportunity to take them out before they could do any more harm. He thrusted his hands forward, causing a wave of hand to surge towards the stationary Grimm. But All For One took notice.

"Ah, trying to whittle my forces down?" he inquired, retracting the bones from his fingers before aiming his right hand out towards Gaara, "A bold tactic…" he commented, "Force," he said. All of a sudden, the Kazekage and the monkey Faunus felt a sudden weight come upon them as they fell onto their hands and knees.

"Wh…What?!" the former of the two stammered out in disbelief. His wave of sand fell apart onto the ground. He felt like something was pressing him down, though nothing was actually upon him.

"Didn't know you had a Quirk like that!" Keigo yelled as he zipped in from behind, prepared to slash at All For One's back with his blade-like feathers. However…

"Gravity," the omnipotent man uttered. All of a sudden, Keigo yelped as he was suddenly forced towards the ground below, crashing against it hard beside the unconscious Danny.

"Ow…" he grunted out in pain, trying to push himself up… but to no avail as the sudden change in gravity was pressing hard against him.

"Oh, so sorry," his foe apologized from above, getting his attention, "I only obtained some of these powers recently," he pointed out, "Some of them require fine-tuned precision, it seems…" he grumbled in admittance, "Hah… oh well…" he sighed, raising his right arm. Keigo and Gaara gasped. "It's time I gave them a little hand on the inside…" their foe concluded, swinging his arm down. The remaining 70 Fallen instantly ran forward. And unlike their earlier brethren, they looked to be able to easily trample over the ones in front of them. Amidst the fighting inside, Ruby looked out and gasped.

"Hawks!" she screamed. He clenched his teeth in frustration. There seemed to be no way for him, Gaara, Sun or Danny to evade their foes. He could see the groups at both towers being overrun, with some of the Faunus getting attacked by the Fallen as the Omni Force members couldn't stop them. Things seemed grim…

But suddenly, something zoomed down and struck the ground in front of him and his friends, causing an explosion of dust as the oncoming Fallen stopped. All For One curiously looked down. The dust subsided to reveal that it was an armored red fist that collided with the stone walkway. At that moment, a large figure landed down, reattaching the fist to its arm. It turned around and loomed over Keigo, who was stunned. But then he grinned.

"Boy, am I glad we got more backup," he admitted. The figure turned out to be none other than the armored Baymax.

"Hello," he greeted with a wave to the winged man. Jumping off of his back was a costumed Hiro Hamada, who looked out at the growling Fallen.

"Guess Erza's mission was really that serious…" he realized with a grimace. His healthcare companion turned around to stand beside him.

"My scanner indicates she is inside that building," he noted, pointing towards the grand hall. From there, Ruby looked on in surprise.

"Who… is that?" she asked curiously. Floating over after blasting back Hazel with another turquoise beam of light, Starlight glanced back and grinned.

"That's Hiro," she answered, getting Ruby's attention, "And if he's here, so's our squad," she realized in addition, floating back into the fray. The silver-eyed girl looked curiously at the scene before her. The Fallen at the east tower were suddenly washed away by a rush of water. Everyone there looked to see Juvia Lockser with her hands extended out as she approached alongside Jack and Meliodas.

"Heya!" the latter of the group greeted with a salute of his left hand, "Heard you guys needed some help," he noted with a cheeky grin.

"Heh," Kevin chuckled, "Yeah, did we ever…" he admitted sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. As some of the Fallen arose from the ground, Jack drew his sword.

"Let's put a swift end to these creatures," he advised to his teammates.

"Don't have to tell us twice," Kim agreed, taking a ready stance. The Faunus lined up with them to their surprise.

"We'll fight with you!" one finned Faunus promised firmly.

"Much appreciated, friend," Genji responded, aiming his blade forward. Meliodas pulled out Lostvayne from behind his back.

"This shouldn't take too long," he assured, spinning the shortsword before taking a tight grip on it with his left hand. Some of the Fallen roared as they charged out at them. At the west tower, the Grimm there were suddenly flung back by some indescribable force.

"What?" Ilia uttered in surprise. The Fallen that remained tried to attack them, only to be slashed back by two incoming figures. They were Asuna and Kirito, who held their respective blades in hand as they glared out at their foes.

"Are they… with the Omni Force?" Kali wondered aloud.

"Yeah…" Rumi responded, letting off a grin, "Guess we got the extra help we needed after all…" she noted.

"Sorry for showing up late," a voice apologized as a figure approached through the crowd of Faunus. Sabo and Jenny looked back, blinking in surprise. Having arrived was Ahsoka Tano.

"Looks like these guys aren't exactly easy to take down…" Asuna realized upon seeing most of the Fallen get back onto their feet, steadying her rapier in her right hand.

"We'll just have to keep at it," her boyfriend advised, "Erza did say they go down eventually," he pointed out. Meanwhile, Ahsoka looked up at All For One. He looked back. Out of all the surprises this evening, he hadn't expected the fourth squadron of the Omni Force to involve themselves in the fray.

"You two help the others deal with these ones," the former Padawan instructed to her virtual gamer allies, "I'm going to help Hiro and Baymax," she said, walking towards her teammate and his robotic companion.

"You got it, Ahsoka," Kirito replied, readying his blades as he and Asuna were joined by Sabo and Jenny in facing the Fallen. Rumi and Ilia walked over to their side with a few of the Faunus, still willing to fight. In the meantime, the Togruta took a deep breath, holding her hands out before two curved lightsaber hilts detached from her belt and flew into her extremities. She gripped them tightly as she made her approach, stopping as she curiously looked up at All For One.

"I must say, I am surprised," he admitted, "I didn't think I'd be facing a Jedi tonight," he noted, turning towards her. She held up her hilts before pressing the buttons upon them, causing white blades of radiating light to shoot out. One was shorter than the other as she held them in a defensive stance. "Hm," All For One chuckled, "Laserblade…" he uttered out. A purple beam of light emitted from the palm of his right hand.

"Hiro! Baymax!" Ahsoka called out, catching their attentions, "Help them deal with the Grimm before giving me a hand with this guy," she advised quickly.

"Right," the young tech genius replied, while his healthcare companion nodded. Keigo, Sun and Gaara arose from the ground along with Danny, who shook his head to regain himself after becoming conscious. He let rings of light flow up and down his body as he assumed his ghost form again, glaring out at the Fallen ahead of them. Most of them let out mighty roars as they charged towards their foes. As the battles raged on outside, Ruby gave off a firm expression. She was determined to finish the fight and join her friends to defeat the enemy once and for all…

X

Back inside, Leonardo burst into his office upon slamming the doors open. He ran behind his desk as only a lamp illuminated the room from. Desperate to find something, he frantically opened drawer after drawer in hopes of getting what he needed.

"Hey!" a voice suddenly yelled, causing him to look up and gasp to see Smoker there. Before he could even react in time, the former marine shot his right fist out in a burst of smoke, having it collide with the headmaster's face as he slammed back into the wall. He slumped down it onto his rear end, shuddering with fright. Smoker's fist returned to his body as he slowly walked over.

"Please… please…!" Leonardo begged, putting his hands over his face. The former marine stopped, standing over him. After what Ruby had said earlier this night, maybe there was a good reason the headmaster turned traitor. The way he acted, how desperate he seemed… it made sense to think it was all because he had no choice.

"Get up," Smoker advised immediately. Leonardo didn't respond, still shaking with fear. "I said get up!" the Devil Fruit user ordered, causing the headmaster to yelp as he instantly shot to his feet, bracing himself against the wall.

"Wh…What does Ozpin even want from me now?" he asked, "I've done all this…" he pointed out sadly, "There's no reason he should ever give me another chance…" he added, disappointed in himself. Smoker grabbed him by his left arm.

"We're taking you in for starters," he told him, "The kid'll decide where to go from there," he mentioned, ready to walk out with him in hand. But suddenly, they both heard ominous clicking noises. They looked over and widened their eyes to notice a Seer floating menacingly in front of the desk.

"And where might you be going?" Salem's voice asked accusingly from it. Leonardo freed himself from Smoker's grip, stumbling back before regaining his footing.

"Uh, your grace!" he stammered out, nervously chuckling, "I was just looking for something…" he claimed. Smoker drew his jitte from his back. However, it seemed the Grimm was more focused on the headmaster. Rather… Salem was.

"Leonardo…" she began, "do you have something you wish to tell me?" she inquired. The headmaster ashamedly looked down, thinking of how he could tell her what was happening. What was likely to happen.

"It was Cinder!" he exclaimed frantically, "She altered the plan! Huntsmen showed up here! Qrow! Several students, one with the Silver Eyes! The Omni Force!" he listed off loudly, trying desperately to plead his case, "The White Fang attack, it was stopped!" he mentioned, "I-I don't know that they'll be able to recover the Relic…" he stammered, pausing for a moment to await a response. None came. "Your grace, I can still be of assistance!" he proclaimed to the Seer, "If I leave now, I-I can avoid the authorities and come find you," he stuttered in explanation as he walked around his desk to approach the Grimm, "I'll do whatever it takes!" he promised desperately. Still no response. "Your grace…?" he uttered out, frightened to think that Salem hadn't even taken his idea into account. It seemed like she had made up her mind.

With no other alternatives, Leonardo let out a grunt as he attempted to aim Stalwart at the Seer, only for it to instantly knock it off of his wrist with one of its tentacles. The weapon landed at Smoker's feet as he realized that the headmaster had made a grave error. He desperately tried to run in a last-ditch effort, but was thwarted as the Grimm wrapped one of its tentacles around his ankle, causing him to trip and fall onto the floor in a pained yelp.

"Please, ma'am!" he begged pathetically as he lifted his head up, "I'll do anything! I can still be useful!" he claimed, only for the Seer to aim its sharp tentacles towards him.

"Stop!" Smoker yelled, about to charge out at the Grimm. However, it shot the remainder of its tentacles towards him, causing him to go on the defensive and block their sharp ends with his jitte. In the meantime, more of the tentacles wrapped around Leonardo's body as he attempted to crawl away.

"Please! PLEEEAAASE!" he pleaded desperately. Despite that, he was dragged towards the Grimm as his fingers clawed at the wood floor. Smoker widened his eyes upon hearing the sound of him being stabbed. "Please…" he weakly begged. He let out a dying breath before he was stabbed again.

From within the Evernight Castle conference hall, Salem stared at the Seer in front of her. She leaned her head onto her right hand in disappointment. She had known all along that Leonardo was a man that would've always been willing to please her. So she was somewhat surprised when he actually tried to turn against her. But as always, he turned out to be exactly what she thought he was.

"Coward…" she muttered out, staring at her reflection from the Grimm.

"So that's what you do to the people who turn on you, huh?" Smoker's voice guessed, catching her attention as she perked up. A grin crossed her face.

"White Chase Smoker…" her voice echoed from the Seer back in the office as it turned to face the former marine.

"It's just Smoker…" he retorted, holding his jitte tightly.

"You were once a leader of many soldiers…" Salem noted to him as the Seer floated closer, "so what changed?" she wondered curiously.

"…I did," Smoker answered after a moment, "And I changed because I knew what was right," he added firmly, "There's no honor in living lies anymore…" he mentioned, glaring at the Grimm before him.

"So that's it…" Salem realized, "And yet… will you be able to lie to protect your team?" she questioned.

"What?" the former marine uttered in confusion. All of a sudden, the Seer imploded into a dark mist that spread throughout the office. Smoker coughed as he accidentally inhaled some of the substance, running out of the room as quickly as he could. Fortunately, the mist didn't spread far as he looked back, seeing that it was confined to the office space. He let out another cough before proceeding back towards the entrance to the grand hall, ready to help his teammates…

X

"Water Nebula!" Juvia exclaimed, making two waves of water spring upwards, rotating in the shape of a helix as they blasted a trio of Fallen into the air with tremendous force. Their red Auras flickered out like fading embers. With that opportunity, Genji, Jack and Meliodas lunged out and slashed at one each, slicing them in half before their bodies faded into black smoke. Back on the ground, Kevin formed his arms into sharp blades to attack the oncoming Grimm alongside Kim and the Menagerie Faunus, keeping them back from the tower.

Meliodas was quickly hopping around, cutting by more of the Fallen with his Lostvayne. Four of them tried to attack him from behind as their arms sparked with red lightning, but the demon cracked a grin, pivoting around. Three clones of himself appeared as they all slashed back the Grimm, causing their Auras to shimmer out. That gave Jack the chance he needed as he slashed past each of them in an instant, causing them to all fade away.

"Thanks, Jack!" Meliodas yelled out in gratitude as he hopped off, letting his clones fade away.

"Huh…" the samurai sighed, "I'm always cleaning up your messes…" he grumbled, rushing out to face more of the Grimm. Jenny transformed her hands into spiked, giant fists as she punched at the Fallen coming towards her and the others. Sabo fired off flaming columns from his fists, incinerating the enemies before him. Kirito and Asuna were slicing past the Fallen they faced with ease, causing their Auras to flicker. The couple nodded to each other with grins, using their blades to slash at their necks, disembodying them as they completely disappeared into ashes.

Elsewhere on the battlefield, Ilia and the Menagerie Faunus were managing to drive the Fallen back in spite of their powers. The chameleon Faunus swung her Lightning Lash to strike some of the Grimm, causing their Auras to shimmer out after being attacked so much. Rumi then charged out at one of them, hopping up and mounting herself onto her target's head. She gripped it tightly with her thighs, twisting her body with all of her might.

"Luna Tijeras!" she roared, instantly ripping the Grimm's head off before crushing it against the ground underneath her right foot. Ilia's mouth gaped open.

"Whoa…" she uttered out. She was brought back into focus by the bright flashes occurring above the quad. Ahsoka's lightsabers clashed fiercely against All For One's blade of purple light as they fought in midair. Danny and Keigo flew up to assist her, firing off green rays of luminosity and feathers respectively. The omnipotent man fell back, evading their attacks while also continuing his clash against the Togruta, who was jumping to his level thanks to the sandy platforms Gaara had formed for her in midair.

"Heads up, Gaara!" Sun cried out with a nervous grimace on his face. He and the Kazekage saw the large legion of Fallen charging towards the grand hall. The latter of the two held out his hands before slapping them against the ground.

"Giant Sand Burial!" he roared. Huge waves of sand burst up from the ground, converging onto the oncoming Fallen before they crashed fiercely into them. They kept compressing and grinding down upon the Grimm until they finally settled. Some of the Fallen emerged from the sand, crawling up in spite of their flickering Auras. Gaara held out his left hand. "Sand Coffin," he uttered, closing his hand into a fist. The Grimm that survived suddenly found themselves getting their bodies crushed by the compressing sand, dissipating into black smoke.

"Nice!" Sun exclaimed with a pump of his fist. Gaara sighed in relief. From above, All For One saw and sighed with frustration.

"Salem will be so disappointed…" he realized with a shake of his head. Ahsoka tried to catch him off guard as she leapt above him and swung her lightsabers down, only for him to block them with his blade of light. "Impact Recoil!" he yelled. All of a sudden, Ahsoka found herself flung back by the same amount of force she used in her attack.

"Whoa!" Keigo yelped, speeding over and catching her from behind in his arms, "You alright, Tano?" he asked the Togruta.

"Fine," she replied, hopping onto a sand platform. All For One noticed Baymax flying towards him with Hiro atop his back.

"Hiro, my programming prevents me from injuring a human being," the healthcare robot pointed out to his companion.

"I don't want you to hurt him, Baymax," he responded assuredly, "We just need to distract him long enough for the others to—"

"Polarity," All For One uttered out, having a black aura outline his right arm. All of a sudden, Baymax stopped in place despite his rocket boots still being active.

"Uh, what just happened?!" Hiro exclaimed in disbelief.

"It appears that man has caught us in a magnetic field," the armored healthcare robot answered, unable to move.

"Oh no…" his companion said, grimacing in fright.

"Gravity," All For One uttered. In an instant, Baymax and Hiro were forced hurdling towards the ground below. Fortunately, Gaara manipulated a wave of sand to catch them, softening their fall in the nick of time. The change in gravity also affected those in midair, causing Keigo, Danny and Ahsoka to fall down. The Kazekage used the sand to catch them as well.

"Ergh…" he grunted in frustration. Their foe was much too troublesome.

"Spring-like Limbs…" All For One began as he coiled the muscles in both of his arms, aiming his hands downward as black lightning outlined in red crackled around them, "plus Plasma Hand…" he continued as his palms glowed a bright green, "and Inferno!" he exclaimed, firing off a huge column of bright green flames down at his foes below, who all widened their eyes in shock. Reacting as quickly as she could, Ahsoka stuck her hands upward. The incoming flames were slowed, but she was looking rather strained with trying to stop them completely, clenching her teeth. Just then, Sabo ran over.

"Fire Fist!" he yelled, unleashing a flaming column from his balled extremity into the air to counter the green fire. The bright flash that emitted from the collision was blinding, causing everyone to shut their eyes to shield themselves. All For One's flames seemed to be at a deadlock with Sabo's. And with him occupied, he didn't notice the two figures lunging towards from opposite sides.

"Ryūjin no ken wo kurae!" Genji roared as a greenish aura in the shape of a dragon swirled around his blade, which was swung towards his foe's right arm.

"Luna Arc!" Rumi yelled as she raised up her right leg for a front-facing axe kick to her target's left arm. He scoffed upon noticing.

"Multiplier plus Hypertrophy!" he shouted, causing multiple arms to spring out from his own, which grew larger as they bared down on the two approaching. But they didn't stop. Genji's blade slashed through the arms, and Rumi's leg crushed those coming onto her. All For One grimaced as he quickly made his extra arms disappear before he could take more serious damage. The locked flames below subsided.

"Now!" Keigo cried out, firing up a good multitude of his feathers. Danny took a deep breath before unleashing a powerful sonic scream with green waves of energy from his mouth, while Gaara clapped his hands together to make huge columns of sand shoot up and head for the omnipotent man above.

"Now that's more like it!" he exclaimed, blasting Genji and Rumi off of him in a burst of wind before taking the incoming attacks head on, crossing his arms to defend himself.

"Sun, go help escort the Faunus off campus!" the Kazekage ordered.

"Got it!" the Monkey Faunus responded, running off towards the west CCT tower. Kevin, Kim and Juvia were helping those injured from fighting the Fallen as Jack and Meliodas were dealing with any that remained. The same was happening on the other side, with Kirito and Asuna still fighting back the Grimm coming towards them, allowing for Kali and Jenny to evacuate the Menagerie Faunus. Ilia and Sun stayed behind, doing whatever they could to assist their allies. As the fighting raged on outside, inside the grand hall was a different story…

"Huh…" Qrow exhaled out of exhaustion as Oscar stood in front of him, acting as a guard. Ahead of them was everyone else in the middle of the room, facing their trio of opponents. As tired as they all were, so were their foes.

"That's enough!" Ruby yelled out, "Just… give up…" she insisted in between breaths, not wanting to make things harder on her teammates or her enemies. Crouched down, Mercury snarled and then yelled in frustration, slamming his right fist against the floor.

"It's not over!" Emerald proclaimed, still standing as she held her Thief's Respite tightly in her hands, "Cinder will come back, she'll have the Relic, and she'll stop all of you!" she listed off confidently to her foes, taking a brief pause, "She won't let us down…" she added.

"Hmph," Hancock disdainfully scoffed, "Having to rely on others before yourself?" she inquired, bending over backwards as she pointed at her, "How pitiful…" she remarked. Her mannerism caused Weiss to look to Ruby and raise an eyebrow in confusion, to which she responded with a sheepish grin and shrug. The pirate empress was certainly an odd one…

All of a sudden, they heard something reverberating within the passageway to the vault. Everyone glanced over. It didn't sound like the platform.

"Cinder?" Mercury uttered as a guess. He was wrong. Flying out from the hole was none other than Upgrade armored over Erza, who dropped Law onto the floor as they both landed down.

"Erza!" Ruby exclaimed excitedly. However, her glee was replaced with confusion as the Mechamorph oozed off of her, allowing her to fall back and be caught in Law's arms.

"Ben?" Blake guessed, blinking in surprise.

"Yeah, it's me," Upgrade answered in a techno-sounding voice, turning his head back to the group, "Wendy, help Law take care of Erza," he advised.

"R-Right!" the Sky Dragon Slayer stuttered in response, jogging over to help the pirate move Erza back from the fight. A green flash of light enveloped the Mechamorph, turning him back into Ben. He glared down his three foes.

"So…" he began, balling his fists, "who's first?" he inquired with a tilt of his head. Hazel, Emerald and Mercury all glanced at each other. The latter stood up.

"HAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" he yelled, blasting himself forward with a shot from his left boot. Taking a ready stance, Ben enveloped himself in another green flash of light. As Mercury attempted a flying kick at the mass of light with his right foot, it was suddenly grabbed. "Huh?" he uttered in confusion as he blinked. The light subsided, revealing a humanoid hawk with green eyes that had sharp black claws on his toes and talons on his hands, as well as two larger talons protruding from his arms. He had a short yellow beak and was covered in brown feathers. He also had a white-brown mohawk and belly. Over his eyes, he wore a green mask. Around his waist was a green belt with a white stripe, and black underwear. He also had a green a strap vest with the Biomnitrix symbol on the vest hooker. His right foot had taken hold of Mercury's boot.

"Tough break, kid," he remarked, spinning him around before chucking him away in a yelp. He slammed into the terrace railing, falling down onto his stomach with a pained grunt. "Anyone else?" Kickin Hawk inquired. Hazel growled, balling his fists. The lightning Dust crystals stabbed into his arms were still pumping his veins with electrical energy, sparking loudly.

"RRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" he roared as he charged towards the humanoid hawk alien. He merely narrowed his eyes, enveloping himself in another flash of light. Hazel thrusted his fists out… but they were caught. He blinked in surprise to see that his foe had become a creature that had a black body with one green eye in the middle of his head, two antennae and a tail with round plugs on their tips, four-fingered hands with square plugs on the tips of his fingers, and feet with only two front toes. He also had gold battery bolts on his shoulders, arms, and hips, bearing the Biomnitrix symbol upon the center of his chest. The plugs on his fingertips appeared to take in the electricity coming from Hazel's arms, much to his shock.

"My turn," Feedback said with an electrical sound crackling in his voice, aiming his antennae forward. They fired off blue electrical beams that struck the brawny man in the face, sending him tumbling back a great distance before slamming into the wall. He fell onto his knees, breathing heavily. Emerald was stunned. Her two comrades, in spite of already being exhausted, were dealt with so easily by their foe. "You next?" he guessed, turning towards her. She took a defensive stance.

All she could think about was Cinder. Since the Omni Force members had arrived from the vault first, the only way she could assume the Fall Maiden had handled her foes was by escaping through another route. But Emerald knew she wouldn't do that. And it frightened her to think that Cinder had fallen…

A rumbling interrupted her thoughts. She and everyone else looked outside. It was like a chaotic storm with wind rushing by, blowing sand and rubble about fiercely.

"What the hell?" Feedback uttered in confusion, concerned as to what was going on.

"Ben!" Ghira cried out, catching his attention as he turned back towards the chieftain of Menagerie, "The man they're facing outside… he's a monster!" he pointed out desperately, "You have to help them!" he pleaded. The Conductoid was shocked. He'd never seen Ghira sound so scared. Whatever was outside… was hellish.

"Kit-Kat, help 'em finish things here!" he called out to Blake before running out towards the opening. In another green flash of light, his body morphed into that of XLR8 as his visor came down over his face. He dashed outside… and saw the chaos ensuing.

All For One was creating a gigantic thunderstorm as dark clouds swirled overhead, raining lightning down onto the Omni Force members and their allies. Danny, Baymax and Keigo flew about, narrowly evading the bolts sent their way. On the ground below, Gaara had quickly formed a large sand spire to act as a lightning rod, absorbing the lightning coming down. XLR8 zipped over to him.

"Situation?" he asked simply as he let his visor come up, getting his attention.

"It's bad…" he responded, looking to see Genji, Sabo and Ahsoka getting blasted back by a shockwave of air, followed by those flying about being struck by a torrent of green flames, "That man has so many powers…" the Kazekage pointed out in between breaths, "It's almost unfathomable…" he confessed to the Kineceleran. A serious expression came upon his face.

"…I'll get his attention," he told Gaara after a moment to think, "Once I get him down to the ground, you guys help me take him," he advised, letting his visor come back over his face.

"Sounds good, Ben," the Kazekage replied. He then swung his arms to make waves of sand surge up. XLR8 sped out, running along the building sand before hopping onto platform after platform to get higher and closer to his target.

"Oh…" All For One uttered as he noticed his new opponent, recognizing the symbol upon his chest. In a green flash of light, the Kineceleran transformed his body as skin became green and started to gain an insectoid-like appearance. He greatly resembled a mix between a grasshopper and a praying mantis with significantly large three-jointed hind limbs. He had a green film connected to the tibia and tarsus of his legs. He had green skin, a large segmented horn on top of his head, and two smaller horns on the sides of his head where his green eyes were placed. Each horn had three tiny spikes behind them. There were also three spikes on each forearm and the back of both tarsi on his legs. He had two sharp fingers, a thumb on each hand and two light-colored claw-like toes on his feet along with one on the back. His chin was quite small with two lines, he had gill-like structures under his armpits, and his segmented neck extended from a green collar that was fused with the torso. His suit represented green overalls with three black stripes and a green tip. The green stripe on his stomach had a large green hexagonal patch where the Biomnitrix symbol was located, along with a smaller white stripe.

"Woohoo!" he exclaimed as he took a great leap from one of the formed sandy platforms, slamming head first into his foe as he barely managed to block with his hands. But thanks to doing so…

"Impact Recoil!" All For One exclaimed, suddenly blasting Crashhopper back with the same amount of force he had taken. Thankfully, the Orthopterran was caught by another sandy platform, standing back up. "Well, well…" the omnipotent man uttered as he kept floating overhead, "I'm honored to finally have the chance to face you, Ben Tennyson…" he admitted in greeting.

"Huh…" Crashhopper sighed in frustration, "Look pal, you're the second guy tonight that talks like you know me," he pointed out, "but I don't know you…" he grumbled, narrowing his eyes.

"Oh, I'm sure you'll want to know all about me…" All For One responded with a sinister chuckle. His Orthopterran opponent glanced at his surroundings. Below, Jack, Meliodas, Kirito and Asuna had joined the others as they were gathered together. Crashhopper knew most of them wouldn't be able to fight a foe such as theirs so long as he was in the air. So in order to give them a better advantage… A green flash of light enveloped his body.

Reddish-brown rocks formed over him as he grew, enticing Gaara to widen the sand platform he was upon so that he wouldn't fall. He had become a large, bulky, reddish-brown alien with rocky skin, a giant mouth with teeth that were also made of rocks and a molten lava planet core at the center of his body. His feet were tan with three toes, and he had three fingers and one thumb on each hand. He wore black shorts with green stripes, a green belt with white stripes and had the Biomnitrix symbol on his forehead.

"A Galilean, hm?" his opponent inquired curiously, "I guess you're planning to increase the gravity around myself and force me to fight on the ground, no?" he inferred. Gravattack rolled his eyes.

"Gee, you know me so well…" he remarked disdainfully, alighting his hands in a greenish aura.

"Unfortunately, I won't submit that easily…" All For One responded, raising his right arm and swinging it down. With the crack of thunder, a lightning bolt suddenly soared down and struck the Galilean fiercely.

"BENNNNNNNN!" Gaara cried out, seeing his comrade fall helplessly towards the earth. Manipulating another wave of sand, the Kazekage caught him before he could hit the ground. His teeth were grit, grimacing in pain from the sudden attack.

"That's not good…" Keigo realized as he and the others glared up at their foe.

"I assume the rest of you will last for… how long, I wonder?" All For One inquired, coiling the muscles in his right arm as black lightning outlined in red sparked around it, "Possibly three, maybe five minutes?" he guessed. He then fired another powerful shockwave of air downwards. The others grimaced in frustration, unsure of how to stop it. But at that moment…

"Full… COUNTER!" Meliodas roared, slashing at the shockwave with Lostvayne. It suddenly was redirected back towards the omnipotent man above. And it seemed twice as strong as before.

"Oh…" he uttered out, sounding impressed, "I almost forgot about that ability of yours…" he admitted, holding his hands out to fire off a burst of green flames in an attempt to counter the shockwave, resulting in a massive explosion.

"Dammit!" Rumi cursed in frustration. No matter what they tried, it just seemed like All For One was able to stop or withstand anything. Meliodas landed back down, glaring up to see the fire and smoke blow out to reveal their foe still floating about overhead.

"Strength Enhancer plus Gravity!" he exclaimed as he aimed his hands downward. Everyone below suddenly found themselves pressed hard against the ground, falling onto either their backs or hands and knees. "The Fallen may have not produced the results Salem was hoping for…" their opponent admitted from above, "but I'm sure that receiving a taste of my power will suffice…" he noted confidently. Below, he didn't notice Gravattack slowly reaching for the Biomnitrix symbol on his forehead. He managed to tap it with just his finger, causing a green light to suddenly flow over his body as spikes sprang out of it.

"Ben?!" Gaara gasped as he managed to look back at the Omni Force leader. His reddish-brown body grew, losing his legs as he floated upwards. His skin crust became more jagged, as crests and peaks formed on the surface. His planetary core was engulfed in his mouth now, with a green spiral circling outwards. His hands were now much larger than his original form. The most notable change, however, were the three smaller orbiting planetoids that spawned around him, caught in his gravitational field. They each had a little face on them that resembled his original form. The evolved Biomnitrix symbol had moved to his chest.

"ULTIMATE GRAVATTACK!" he bellowed as he lit his hands up in a greenish aura. All of a sudden, All For One found himself hurdling towards the ground as the gravity increased around him.

"Gah…!" he grunted out, "I forgot about your ultimate transformations!" he admitted, struggling to break free of the gravitational hold he was caught in.

"Now!" the hyper-evolved Galilean shouted to his teammates. Kirito and Asuna were the first to attack, jumping up and drawing their blades towards their foe. He made a multitude of drill-shaped bones spring out from the skin of his arms, using them to counter the slashes of his opponents as he continued to be pulled towards the ground. As he attempted to pierce Asuna through her torso, Ahsoka lunged up and sliced off the spear-like bones aimed at her teammate. That gave Kirito the chance he needed as he brought both his Elucidator and Dark Repulser back before swinging them down fiercely at All For One, slashing at his chest and sending him crashing into the ground.

"Yes!" Danny exclaimed with a pump of his fist.

"It's not over yet…" Genji pointed out as he drew his Dragonblade again, "Sabo!" he called out as he rushed forward.

"We're really doin' this, huh?" the Revolutionary Army chief guessed with a smirk, forming his right hand into a claw-like shape. Flames ignited upon it. "Burning Dragon Claw Fist…" he began to echo, throwing his arm forward, "Flame Dragon King!" he roared, unleashing a plume of flames in the shape of a dragon's head as it soared out towards the cybernetic ninja. It enveloped the blade of his sword as it glowed, growing larger as he got into a lunging stance.

"RYŪJIN NO KEN WO KURAE!" he bellowed, leaping forward with his enflamed blade towards All For One.

"Iron Body plus Impact Recoil!" he exclaimed, crossing his arms. As the flaming sword struck him with tremendous force, Genji found himself suddenly blown back off of him by that same exact force. However, the omnipotent felt the blood drip from his arms as he uncrossed them. In the same way his combinations had been devastating to his foes, theirs were now becoming a problem for him. He suddenly noticed several large rocks and projectiles of sand coming his way from Ultimate Gravattack and Gaara respectively.

He brought forth a purple blade of light from each palm, slashing through each object sent towards him. Without warning though, glowing yellow clones of Sun jumped off from some of the rocks, slamming into him from behind as he faltered forward only slightly, while they disappeared into thin air. As quickly as he recovered, the omnipotent man was suddenly met with Danny's green glowing fist as he emerged from the ground, striking his head. His mask cracked.

"How annoying…!" he grunted out in frustration, making his hands glow a bright green as his blades of light dissipated. As he attempted to grab the half-ghost teen, Ahsoka rushed in and swung her lightsabers for him to catch in his plasma-induced hands. She gritted her teeth as they remained at a deadlock, trying desperately to push each other back. At that point, Jack and Sun rushed in and struck him back with their respective weapons, causing him to slide across the ground.

He then found himself bombarded by several feathers shot out from Keigo's wings, slashing past him while also breaking off parts of his mask, revealing his mouth as his teeth were grit. The people before him had formed such a powerful combination together in spite of being from different worlds. It was rather alarming. At least it would be to anyone else…

Meliodas and Rumi both lunged out at him, with the former bringing forth four clones of himself to attack their foe again and again with punches, kicks, and slashes. More of his mask broke off, revealing his white hair. The rabbit-eared woman jumped forward, reeling her right leg back.

"Take this, ya bastard!" she roared, kicking him fiercely at his head to send him flying back before he crashed straight into a building in a flurry of dust.

"Woo…" Meliodas uttered in amazement as Rumi landed down next to him, "Those legs sure look powerful…" he commented, catching her attention. All of a sudden, she found the Seven Deadly Sins captain feeling her right leg up. "Yep, definitely powerful," he concluded with a nod.

"GET OFFA ME, YOU CREEPER!" the rabbit-eared woman yelled as she kicked at his head again and again. As the scene unfolded, Jack let off a frustrated sigh as he put his left hand onto his face.

"Should've known that was coming…" Asuna grumbled with a shake of her head.

"Look!" Ilia cried out, pointing towards the hole in the wall left from All For One's impact. He emerged from it, grinning evilly as the last piece of his mask fell off of his head.

"It's been a long time since I've had a good fight…" he confessed as he started to float upwards, "I think it's time I actually showed you all the courtesy of my true power…" he concluded, "Storm!" he exclaimed, spinning around to create a powerful tornado that tore through the concrete walkway. Everyone braced themselves, with Ultimate Gravattack using his gravitational powers to pull back everyone before they could get caught up in the vortex.

"Stay behind me!" he insisted, making the greenish aura around his hands glow brighter as he aimed them at the tornado. It slowly started to shrink, allowing for Gaara to unleash another wave of sand onto it. All For One leapt out from the vortex to evade the sand, sighing with frustration as he soared towards the opening to the grand hall. By now, he could only trust that his allies had succeeded in their main mission.

"Emerald, it's over!" Ruby yelled to the green haired girl inside, "There's no way out of this for you!" she pointed out. Her foe gritted her teeth with denial. Cinder would come back. She'd fight them all off. And they would escape with the relic. That's what she wanted to believe.

But it was all an illusion for her. She heard the platform to the vault coming up. Everyone looked over… and saw that it was Yang and Sunset, with the former holding onto the lamp. Emerald was shocked. As much as she didn't want to believe it… Cinder hadn't come back. Meanwhile, those on the opposite side of the hall looked up to their friends and smiled.

"Yang…" Ruby uttered out, grateful for her sister's return. From afar while being tended to by Law and Wendy, Erza grinned at the sight.

"Sunset…" she exhaled with a chuckle. They had succeeded. The relic had been protected. Hazel and Mercury seethed with frustration, realizing their plan was completely brought to ruin. Meanwhile, Emerald had tears streak down her face.

"We did it," Sunset remarked to Yang, bumping her left shoulder with her fist to get her attention.

"Yeah," she agreed in response with a nod. She looked down to her friends, sharing a brief glance with Blake. She looked down for a moment in uncertainty, but then glanced back with a grin. Dropping her Thief's Respite to the floor, Emerald went down to her hands and knees, sobbing quietly over the apparent demise of her friend.

"Emerald…" Mercury uttered quietly in an attempt to get her attention as he and Hazel were backing away from their foes, "get up, we need to go," he advised seriously. The green haired girl shook her head in disbelief, remaining stationary. She then looked over to her comrade. "Emerald!" he exclaimed pleadingly in a whisper. She looked around as her breathing was getting frantic. Her hands held her head at both sides.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" she screamed in dismay. All of a sudden, the room went dark. Black smoke rose from the floor as the lights in the room all went red. Blake and many of the others were very confused by the sudden change in the environment.

"Guys, it's just an illusion!" Peter yelled out in an effort to calm the others, "It's just—!" He stopped talking and widened his eyes as he saw the smoke form into a gigantic effigy of Salem. "…an illusion…" he uttered out in disbelief. The effigy had limbs that were bent and deformed, towering over everyone in the room. She then opened her eyes and let out an ear-piercing scream as the others looked on in horror. She swooped down over everyone afterwards. From outside, All For One saw the massive illusion. He grinned.

"Interesting…" he said as he floated downwards. Back inside, the room had gone back to normal… but Ruby was still shaken with fear. She was struggling to come to terms with whatever Emerald had just conjured. As a matter of fact, she was gone. So were Mercury and Hazel.

"Wha…What was that?" Blake asked, just as frightened as everyone else.

"An illusion," Ozpin answered from afar, catching her attention as she and the others looked to see him holding himself up by his cane, "But an accurate one," he mentioned, "That… was Salem…" he said. There was a slow clapping afterwards. Everyone turned to see that the source was none other than All For One, who floated into the grand hall.

"Congratulations," he complimented to those below. Outside, Hazel was running down the Mistral mountains with an unconscious Emerald being carried over his left shoulder. Mercury followed, not too far behind. They breathed frantically as they ran, trying to get as far away from Haven as possible. Up in the trees, a masked Adam observed as his allies were running, deciding to depart as well, taking off into the woods.

"And who might you be?" Ozpin asked All For One back inside the grand hall.

"Merely a man who would've stopped you all and helped Miss Fall escape had she retrieved the Relic," the omnipotent man answered as he landed gently upon the floor. Ruby and the others took defensive stances. Ghira growled. "Emphasis on would have," he remarked with a grin. Ultimate Gravattack, Gaara, Keigo and Rumi all came into the building.

"You're… with Salem?" Weiss guessed, pointing her Myrtenaster at All For One. He chuckled.

"With Salem, but not them," he responded, "My goal was simply to assist Miss Fall and her allies so long as she obtained the Relic of Knowledge," he explained, "But as you all can see, your friends have it," he pointed out, "So I am no longer needed," he remarked, putting his hands behind his back. Suddenly, the floor beneath his feet cracked. He glanced back to see that Ultimate Gravattack had caught him in another gravitational hold.

"Well, we've still got plenty of questions for you…" he noted. All For One let out a sigh, shaking his head.

"Oh come now, Tennyson…" he said in a pleading tone, "What's the fun in ruining a good surprise?" he wondered rhetorically, "Someday, we'll meet again," he promised, "Well… maybe not all of you…" he mentioned eerily. Before anyone could ask, a red portal suddenly appeared behind him. "Ah, perfect timing…" he sighed with relief. He stepped back into it, much to the hyper-evolved Galilean's surprise as he could've sworn that he still had him in his gravitational hold. "The victory is yours today," their foe remarked in farewell. The portal disappeared seconds later.

"That… wasn't your mom's…" Sunset realized as she looked over at Yang, who shook her head. Everyone was left stunned. They had plenty of questions ringing in their heads. But at least one had been answered. The battle was over.

"Ugh…" Starlight groaned as she let her magic disappear in a bright flash of light, losing her long hair with its white streak, pony ears, markings, and heliotrope skin as she turned back to normal. As she landed on her feet, she stumbled to the side.

"Whoa!" Jaune yelped, catching her in his arms, "Are you okay?!" he asked worriedly, holding onto her. She let out another groan.

"Major headache…" she grumbled out, managing to give the blonde teen a soft smile, causing him to blush a little. He grinned back though, putting her right arm over his shoulders to hold her up.

"Huh…" Blake sighed in relief. She then noticed a green flash of light nearby, seeing that Ultimate Gravattack had transformed back into Ben as he landed down next to those nearby.

"Who was that guy?" he asked, balling his fists.

"Believe me, we'd love to tell ya…" Keigo answered vaguely, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ben questioned as he arched an eyebrow. Just then, Baymax flew into the building with Hiro still mounted upon him.

"There she is!" the boy genius exclaimed upon seeing Erza being tended to. His healthcare companion landed down, retracting his wings and waddling over to the requip user.

"Hello, Erza," he greeted with a simple wave as Hiro disembarked from him. She smiled.

"I guess Ahsoka did get everyone together…" she realized. The others of the fourth and fifth squadrons entered the grand hall, with the latter group gathering by their wounded leader. In the meantime, Blake saw her mother and Sun run in as well. She and Ghira went over to share an embrace with her as the monkey Faunus looked on with a grin.

"The police rounded up the remaining White Fang members," Kali told her daughter as she pulled herself back, "Haven is safe," she assured.

"What about the Faunus?" Blake asked in concern, knowing there was a chaotic battle occurring earlier.

"A few injured, but everyone's alright…" her mother replied reassuringly to her relief.

"Unfortunately, it appears that Adam escaped," Ghira noted, causing his family and Sun to look down with frustration.

"It's okay," Ilia's voice chimed in reassuringly, catching their attentions as they saw her walk into the building, "He was the only one to escape tonight," she pointed out, "Those in the White Fang that followed him…" she continued, "won't support a leader that abandons his people," she told them as she approached, "He won't have their help after this," she noted, "He'll have no one at all," she added, "And the White Fang… will be left divided," she finished. A hand then came onto her shoulder. She glanced over to see Rumi there, giving her a grin.

"Damn right, kid," she remarked, followed by being brought into a sudden embrace from the chameleon Faunus.

"I'm so glad you're okay…" she said, keeping a firm hold on the rabbit-eared woman, who blinked in surprise. But she then smiled.

"Same to you," she replied, hugging Ilia back. Viewing the scene, Ghira smiled.

"We've been fighting amongst ourselves for too long," he pointed out, getting the attention of his family and those around him, "Perhaps it's time for a new brotherhood," he suggested, "A new family for Faunus truly working towards a better world," he added firmly.

"And they'll need a new leader," Kali mentioned after a moment, placing her right hand onto the armoring over her husband's stomach. Letting out a breath from his nose, he nodded in acknowledgement. Despite not being able to go through with the task before, he was ready to take it on again. Meanwhile, Sun peeked out behind him to notice his fellow friends from Beacon, waving to them. He quickly wrapped his tail around Blake and spun her around in a yelp, allowing her to see them, too. She was nervous. But with the resolve she had built up, she slowly walked over towards them. Her parents and Sun looked over and smiled.

"Agh…!" Erza yelped as Baymax was using his right pointer finger to spray a whitish substance onto her wound as the foam covering it had been broken off.

"This bacta spray should heal you in an estimated time of two hours and thirty minutes," the healthcare robot told her before finishing, standing upright.

"Thank you, Baymax…" she said in gratitude as she leaned back down, looking over at Ahsoka, "I assume this was why you were so late…" she noted to the Togruta, who had turned off her lightsabers and put their hilts back onto her belt.

"Better safe than sorry," she remarked as a retort, rolling her eyes with a grin.

"Okay, let's get you outta that broken armor!" Meliodas insisted as he crouched down and leaned towards his squadron leader. She glared at him.

"Meliodas…" she growled. He immediately backed off.

"I didn't touch anything," he claimed, holding his hands up in surrender.

"Huh…" Kirito sighed with a shake of his head. Sunset and Yang had come down the steps from the terrace, being met by Qrow. His niece handed him the relic.

"What happened?" he asked curiously.

"I don't know exactly," Yang responded, "When we got down there, Cinder was gone," she told him, "and Vernal was dead," she mentioned somewhat sadly.

"And Raven?" Qrow inquired, arching an eyebrow. Sunset glanced over at Yang, wondering what her answer would be.

"Gone," she said simply. Sunset knew that she had made a difficult decision. But it was something that she herself had to wrestle with. Not anyone else.

"Well," Qrow began, "we're all glad you're still here, firecracker," he assured, placing a hand onto her shoulder. All of a sudden, they heard Ruby groaned as they watched her fall onto her knees. Thankfully, Weiss and Hancock were there to catch her.

"Are you okay?!" the former of the two asked immediately out of worry.

"Huh…" Ruby sighed, lifting her head up, "I feel like I should be asking you guys…" she muttered out. Hancock blushed.

"I-I'm fine, obviously…" she assured with a stutter, turning her head away in a huff as she stood up. Her squadron leader chuckled.

"After a night like tonight, I bet everyone needs some bed rest…" Peter remarked as he pulled off his mask, brushing his hair back with his fingers. Ruby and Weiss looked over to see Blake approach, with Yang walking over and dropping tiredly to her sister's side.

"So Blake," the Team RWBY leader began to her Faunus friend, letting out a chuckle, "what're you doing here?" she asked curiously.

"I…" Blake started to reply, grabbing her left wrist, "I was gonna ask you three the same thing…" she admitted. Her teammates all shared glances with each other.

"That's… a looooong story…" Ruby admitted in reply, slowly rolling her eyes for emphasis.

"Well… I'm not going anywhere…" Blake assured to them, giving off a smile.

"That's all that matters," Ruby responded, letting out a soft giggle, "That we're all here together," she emphasized, "Right?" she inquired, looking over at Yang. She wasn't sure what to say. Blake gave off a sorrowful expression as she glanced away, letting her ears flop sadly with guilt. But Yang looked up to her, slowly nodding and smiling.

"Yeah," she agreed. Upon hearing that, Blake perked up and smiled. Weiss then offered her hand out to her, and she eagerly knelt down and joined her teammates in their first group hug in a long time. Everyone watching on smiled happily, glad to see the four girls reunited at last. In the meantime, Gaara trotted over to where the weapons had been placed on the floor, picking up his ex-girlfriend's robotic arm. He chuckled, walking towards where her and her friends were. Just then, the doors up by the terrace opened.

"Smoker!" Nora exclaimed upon seeing the former marine enter the room, coughing a little as he went down the steps. The perky, orange haired girl went over to greet him alongside Ren. "Are you all right?" she asked in concern.

"And what happened to the professor?" Ren questioned on. With a heavy breath another cough, Smoker stood upright.

"Salem got him," he answered simply to their shock, "Nothing I could do…" he confessed. The two before him glanced at each other before looking back at him.

"Well… at least you're alright…" Nora noted with a grin.

"Heh," Smoker chuckled, "Glad to see you're okay, too, princess," he remarked, patting her atop the head with his gloved right hand before walking over to join his squadron as Erza sat up, "So the whole team, huh?" he inquired, looking around at his comrades.

"Leonardo was killed?" Erza guessed, receiving a simple nod in reply, "Huh…" she sighed out of frustration. Even with every other part of tonight won, there was still a loss. Meanwhile, Qrow approached a panting Oscar, who was kneeling in the floor.

"I don't know how, but we did it, Oz," he pointed out, thinking he was speaking to the former headmaster, who seemed to be really short of breath, "You okay?" he asked in concern.

"I'm alright…" Oscar responded after a moment. Qrow blinked, realizing that it was the farmhand speaking.

"Kid?" he uttered, arching an eyebrow.

"Huh… He's resting…" Oscar told him between breaths, "Too much energy fighting…" he mentioned.

"Well… hey, don't strain yourself…" Qrow advised out of worry as he leaned closer.

"No!" Oscar grunted out to his surprise, "He had… a message…" he said, taking a few more pants of breath, "We must… get the lamp to… Atlas…" he managed to breathe out, groaning before falling to his left. Thankfully, Qrow caught him with his hand, laying the exhausted farmhand on the floor.

"So Kit-Kat," Ben began upon approaching the embraced Team RWBY, catching their attentions as they looked over to see him there, "mind introducing me to your friends?" he insisted. Yang blinked.

"Kit-Kat?" she repeated. Blake blushed madly.

"Um, I'm sure you probably already guessed…" she noted with a nervous chuckle, "but… that's Ben Tennyson, the Omni Force leader," she told them as he stepped forward.

"Pleasure to finally meet our newest squad leader," he said, holding his right hand out to Ruby. She smiled.

"It's nice to meet you, too…" she tiredly replied, managing to reach her own extremity up and grasp his. In the meantime, Yang glanced over and widened her eyes to see Gaara coming over.

"Hello, Yang," he greeted simply with a grin. His ex-girlfriend stood up and walked over to him. Everyone looked on curiously. The two of them hadn't met ever since the Fall of Beacon. "I think this is yours," he pointed out, offering her prosthetic arm to her, "It has you written all over it," he joked. Yang giggled. She took her arm and set it back onto herself with a click. She flexed her fingers before taking a step closer to her ex-boyfriend.

"Gaara…" she uttered out happily before embracing him in a tight hug. He hugged her back, letting out a relieved breath. Everyone looked on with smiles. At that point though, Keigo looked back at the starry sky, seeing the broken full moon shine overhead.

"Hey, I think it's time," he pointed out, catching Rumi's attention.

"Already?" she inquired, "Aw, I wanted to have a spar with Xiao Long…" she muttered in admittance, evidently disappointed.

"You wanna at least say goodbye to Shimmer?" Keigo offered with a cheeky grin. Rumi blushed again.

"All right, let's go…" she grumbled, walking over to him. Ilia blinked in surprise.

"Wait… where are you going?" she asked. The Belladonnas and Sun turned to see them head towards the opening of the grand hall.

"Sorry to spring this on you last minute…" Keigo apologized in advance as he turned to face them, "but Mirko and I… we're not Faunus," he confessed to their surprise.

"What?" Ghira uttered, widening his eyes.

"We're actually from another world like the Omni Force," Rumi mentioned, "And we're from the future," she added with a grin.

"…WHAT?!" Sun exclaimed in disbelief.

"Our mission was to help you guys stop the Fang from destroying the school along with anyone else," Keigo explained to them, crossing his arms over his chest, "Now that that's done…" he continued, "it's time for us to go home," he stated firmly. As if on cue, a blue portal appeared behind them. Ghira seemed somewhat upset by the sudden revelation, but he looked over to the man he assigned as a messenger.

"Thank you for everything," he said in gratitude. Keigo blinked in surprise, but then grinned back. In the meantime, Ilia approached Rumi with a saddened look on her face.

"Will I… ever see you again?" she asked worriedly as her skin turned blue with sadness. The rabbit-eared woman put a hand onto her shoulder, causing her to look up and see the reassuring grin on her face.

"You will, Cham-Ilia," she promised, "Until then, keep gettin' tougher for me," she advised, flexing her left bicep. Ilia smiled, letting her skin go back to normal. As the Team RWBY members stood up, they and everyone else looked over to see the Keigo and Rumi exit through the portal, with the former giving off a salute in farewell while the latter just waved.

As everything had settled down, Qrow stood up and looked at the lamp he was holding. It glowed brightly as he could hear the indistinct whispers coming from it. A sigh left his lips.

X

Back in Patch, Taiyang was outside of the house tending to the sunflowers in his garden. He was wondering how his daughters were doing on their current adventures, hoping they had met up with each other. Suddenly, he heard the sound of flapping wings as he stood up and turned around to notice a falling black feather. He immediately knew what it was, sighing in frustration.

END

NegaiFreak: And that's it! Well, not really. There's going to be a few shorts over the weekend that show just exactly what's been happening in the aftermath of the team saving Haven.

Ruby Rose: Regardless, we hope you all loved the chapter!

Weiss Schnee: NegaiFreak went all out here, especially with getting certain characters involved such as Erza and Gaara's squadrons.

Blake Belladonna: And now… we have another surprise.

Yang Xiao Long: Drum roll, please!

TRAILER

Opens with the Watchtower and Plumber Headquarters orbiting over Earth together. The scene then cuts to Ben Tennyson standing in the Watchtower conference room, talking with Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman.

Superman: You have to understand where we're coming from Ben.

Cuts to him as Clark Kent viewing a story at the Daily Planet about the destruction of Omnitrix City after the Marines' arrival. Bruce Wayne also sees newscasts about the attacks from his manor.

Batman: With an event like this, you're now putting a target onto not just your back… but everyone's.

We shift to a scene of Ben, Sunset Shimmer, Trafalgar Law, Erza Scarlet, Gaara, and Ruby Rose fighting off crooks in Undertown. Among the criminals are Deadshot, Copperhead, and Deathstroke.

Wonder Woman: Aligning the Omni Force with us is your best decision at this time.

Ben looks hesitant, glancing back to see Cyborg standing in the room. He's hoping Ben will make the right decision.

Ben Tennyson: Huh… I need to think about it.

NF PRODUCTIONS

COMING 2021

Insert "We Are Gods" by Audiomachine

We continue with the once-frozen Darkseid being thawed out on Apokolips by his uncle, Steppenwolf.

Darkseid: The Justice League will rue the day they crossed me and Apokolips…

Steppenwolf: *chuckles* You think too small, nephew… There's a power greater than the Kryptonian you seek vengeance against…

Cuts to Ben transforming into a Kryptonian before flying off.

Steppenwolf: The world has changed to a point where good and evil are no longer relevant. It's all about power…

We cut through various scenes of Erza Scarlet requipping into her Iron Scarlet Mark II Armor before taking off into the sky, Gaara helping catch Copperhead in his sand before he can bite Law's head, and Ruby clashing her Crescent Rose against Deathstroke's staff.

Steppenwolf: We know of an equation to give us power. Power to rule over all with but a thought…

Darkseid: Anti-Life…

We shift to hordes of Parademons swarming down into Omnitrix City. Leading the Plumbers into battle is Captain Rex, who draws his pistols.

Captain Rex: Here they come! *charges forward with his men*

As the battle begins, we shift the scene to Ben leaning over the balcony to his home at Omni Force Tower.

Ben Tennyson: What am I supposed to do now? Why isn't there a decision that's good for both sides?

Cuts to him smiling as he watches Raya take her first steps towards him, much to his delight.

Rainbow Dash: It's our team, babe. You can't let them control what you do.

Ben looks to her, somewhat frustrated that he can't come to a final decision. We then cut to him standing with the Omni Force squadron leaders as they face down the main six members of the Justice League.

Superman: Ben… we could've avoided all this…

Ben Tennyson: *shaking his head with anger* No… No we couldn't.

The scene changes to various shots of Ruby slashing back Green Lantern's constructs, Gaara using his Sand Armor to defend himself from the Flash's constant barrage of attacks, Erza wearing her Clear Heart Clothing as she fiercely duels with Wonder Woman, Law activating a ROOM and using Shambles to switch places with incoming Batarangs thrown by Batman, and Sunset and Martian Manhunter flying about and colliding fists overhead.

Joker: Oh, this is one big riot for you, isn't it?!

We cut to him looming over a frightened Ben.

Joker: The heroes! The villains! You can't trust anyone! Isn't that funny?! *cackles maniacally*

There are various scenes of Way Bads roaming through the city streets and wreaking havoc, a new Legion of Doom forming to fight against the Omni Force, and finally… the army of Apokolips being led by Steppenwolf.

Joker: And before you can even decide who you can trust more… BOOM!

Cuts to Doomsday arriving on Earth and letting out a mighty roar.

Ruby Rose: *shaking in fear* What are we gonna do?

Ben Tennyson: …Fight.

OMNI FORCE: JUSTICE

We see Parademons still swarming about the streets of Omnitrix City, overwhelming the Plumbers.

Molly Gunther: There's too many!

Suddenly, a blast of air blows the Parademons away. Everyone looks back to see All Might there with his right fist extended.

All Might: Fear not, citizens! For I am here!

We see him land a powerful right hook onto Superman's face.

END TRAILER

NegaiFreak: Thanks for reading up to this point, everyone! At some point, this story'll be back! See ya later!