A/N:Hey guys! Sorry the update is late… very late. Anyway, I thank you for your support and hope that you enjoy chapter 11. Anyway, without further adieu… Open The Game.

-Third Person P.O.V.-

the Emerald Forest as the camera pans down into the misty underbrush, where Yang Xiao Long is walking and looking around. Yang calls out, not seeing a shadow quickly pass by, "Is anyone out there? she then heard a rustling in the bushes behind her and turned, "Is someone there?" the rustling continues as Yang comes over and peaks inside, "Ruby, Dio, is that you?" A low, inhuman growl is heard, and Yang's head rose up as she stared at the creature, "Oh my…!"

Before Yang could finish, she quickly rolled to the side as an Ursa charged out of the greenery. She got up and activated Ember Celica, staring at the monster before another Ursa ran out behind her. She leapt over it, and its companion rushed toward her again, only to get knocked back by a fiery punch. The other Ursa and Yang charged at each other, and Yang managed to get under it and deliver several punches and a kick to send the creature back.

"You guys wouldn't happen to have seen a girl in a red hood or a good looking blonde that radiates flamboyant masculinity, would you?" Yang rhetorically asked, as the Ursai merely growled at her, "A simple ''no'' would have sufficed."

One of the Ursai stands on its legs and swipes at her twice, Yang dodged the attacks with neglectable ease.

Yang started laughing at her opponents, "Oh my god, you two couldn't hit the broad side of a barn!" she exclaims before a single strand of her golden hair falls in front of her face and lands on the forest floor.

"You…" Yang closed her violet eyes, before opening them to reveal that her eyes had changed to a burning red, making the Ursai look at each other confusedly before Yang screamed, "You bastards!"

An inferno surrounds Yang for a moment, and she rockets forward, unleashing a devastating combo of flaming hits and blows on the offending Ursa, making it fly through several burning trees. The other monster runs over, but stops short at Yang's gaze while a tree falls to the ground behind her.

"Bring it on!" Yang shouted as she charged at the Ursa rearing up and preparing to strike… when a whirring sound is heard and the monster makes a befuddled noise, before falling down a second later to reveal Blake with her Gambol Shroud in the beast's back. Yang halts her attack while Blake recalls the weapon back to her hand, sheathing it on her back and smiling to the side. Yang, now purple-eyed again, speaks to her new partner over the disintegrating remains of the monster, "While your help wasn't really necessary and I could've easily taken him, I do appreciate the help."

Blake gave a nod of the while saying "Your welcome."

As Ruby and Weiss were making their way through the forest, they began to have a conversation.

"So, Weiss… why did you want to attend Beacon?" Ruby asked, looking fairly inquisitive. A look that was quite an odd expression to see on someone like her.

"Why should it be any of your business?" Weiss huffed out.

"Well, no matter how you look at it we are partners now, for better or worse. So I think it would be good for us to try and get to know each other."

There was a moment of tense silence, before Weiss spoke, "This is only temporary, until I find someone who is better."

"You know that isn't exactly a healthy way of thinking." Ruby pointed out.

"What could you possibly understand?"

"My brother taught me this lesson a long time ago. That there is no such thing as 'perfection'; that the indiscriminate pursuit of 'perfection', whatever it might be, ultimately leads to simple mediocrity."

Weiss held a look of complete shock at the wisdom that was held in the words of the young reaper. Another moment of silence follows as Weiss contemplates Ruby's words before she gives her answer, "I came to Beacon because it was the best academy out of the four. However, I also joined because… because I wanted to put some distance between myself and my family."

"I take it that you don't exactly get along with them." Ruby observed, keeping her face somewhat neutral, though she was trying her best to lighten up the mood a little.

"With the exception of my older sister… not really." Weiss confessed as the pair continued to walk.

"Well if it makes you feel any better… I think you should continue to strive." Ruby stated.

"Didn't you just say what your brother thought about that?" Weiss questioned, giving her an inquisitive look.

"Well, that's what he thinks, but I believe that if you keep going… you'll catch excellence," Ruby says before continuing, "Besides, continuous improvement is always better than delayed 'perfection' or whatever."

There was a brief silence that wasn't nearly as tense as last time, Weiss hesitated before she said, "You're… smarter than you look."

"Philosophically, maybe. But, when you have a brother like Dio, you tend to learn a thing or two." Ruby remarked.

"I suppose."

"But he can be a little weird, like this one time where he had this scholarly talk about 'gravity' or something."

"Uhm… okay?" Weiss noted as she stared at Ruby in confusion.

"By the way, do you have any idea where we're going?" Ruby asked.

"…No" Weiss answered after a moment's hesitation. Overhead, the call of a Nevermore was heard and Ruby looked up and saw the giant avian Grimm flying over the area.

"Weiss… I have an idea."

Professor Ozpin has been watching the students on his Scroll at the Beacon Cliff overlooking the Emerald Forest when Glynda Goodwitch walks up behind him, holding her own tablet.

"Another pair has been formed, sir." Glynda said as she taps the screen to show the ending Nora hanging upside down and booping Ren on the nose, "Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren. Poor boy... I can't possibly imagine those two getting along. Still, he's probably better off than Miss Nikos." She said as the video changes to both Pyrrha and Jaune's trek through the woods

Ozpin acknowledges what she said with a hum, "Mmmm…"

"I don't care what his transcripts say. That Jaune fellow is not ready for this level of combat," she stated as she deactivates the tablet, walking back a little, "Though I suppose we'll find out soon enough. At their current pace, they should reach the temple within just a few minutes." However, upon noticing that Ozpin hadn't been focusing on her she endeavored to try and get his attention. "Professor Ozpin?" she asked, as Ozpin continued to look at the video on his tablet.

The video showed Dio, walking through the forest with an unnatural sense of maturity. Ozpin's expression hadn't changed from calm interest. However, Ozpin had only one thought in mind, 'This initiate… Dio Branwen… just what part would he play in all of this…'

That's when smoke started to rise some distance away. The two professors saw this, they tried to get video feed as to what was going on, but all that they could pull up was either static noise or smoke that had no chance of being seen through. The professors could only wonder just what was going on down there.

-(Fight) Song Start: Most Wondrous Battle Music Ever: Blitzkrieg by HDSounDI-

A raging battle could be heard as smoke and blue flames could be seen spreading throughout this portion of the forest. The clashing of steel was prevalent in the air, and any outsider would be excused for mistaking this as a warzone. However, only two combatants could be seen. One was Eerie and the other was Tangelo. The clash between their weapons was only rivaled by the sheer hatred that permeated the air. Grimm from all around were drawn in like moths to a flame, however the Grimm were killed as quickly as they came. All of them had been casualties in the crossfire.

"You little bitch! You ruined everything!" Tangelo screamed as the fire was reflected off of his weapons and metal horns. His muscles were becoming more and more defined as time went on.

"Shut up and die you pathetic pile of garbage!" Eerie shouted as she charged with Dark Age raised overhead. The two had clashed but Tangelo was clearly overwhelming her thanks in part to his semblance. Eerie was pushed back as thoughts rushed in at a million miles-per-hour, 'DAMN HIM! That stupid semblance of his is ridiculous. If I remember correctly, his semblance allows him to use negative emotions of others to affect his abilities. Fear from others boosts his speed, anger increases his strength, despair raises his durability, and things like that. But hatred… the hatred I feel towards this bastard gives him a drastic increase to all of his aspects. Speed, strength, durability and much more… all of it is given a drastic boost. Especially this asshole's insanity.'

"I DON'T CARE WHAT OUR MASTER WOULD DO TO ME, BUT I WILL TAKE YOUR HEAD AND PAINT THIS GROUND IN RED! I HAVE CLAIMED BLOOD AND GORE BY THE SCORE YOU USELESS WHORE, AND ALL OF REMNANT WILL HEAR MY ROAR!" Tangelo roared as he charged towards Eerie, intending to impale her on his horns.

Eerie grunted as she dodged Tangelo's charge. She grasped Dark Age and pointed the tip of it at Tangelo's form before unleashing a torrent of blue flames at him. He turned and took the attack head on, but the flames might as well have been bug bites for all the damage it seemed to do. The only thing that came to Eerie's mind was a simple phrase that described her situation perfectly, 'SHIT!'

-Song cuts out-

DIO hadn't been trekking through the Emerald Forest for too long, and had been disposing of any Grimm unfortunate enough to cross his path. Of course with no one in sight, DIO had only his thoughts to occupy himself and that's when he beheld the smoke and blue flames rising from a distance away. After looking at his scroll, he could only sigh with something akin to disappointment and mild annoyance, 'It appears that Eerie and Tangelo have found each other. I'll be sure to have a word with them once this is all over.'

He let out another tired sigh before resolving to find a partner for himself. That's when he heard another sound, the sound of fighting that was close by. He made his way towards the origin of the fighting and was actually surprised by what he found… or rather whom he found.

It was Ivory, firing arrow after arrow at her opposition. Three Ursa Majors and a few Boarbatusks. DIO, wishing to see her capabilities stood back and enjoyed the show. Ivory quickly transformed her weapon into its Twin Swords form before rushing in. She moved with grace as she seemingly danced around the Ursas and with an equal amount of grace and efficient brutality while twirling her blades. One by one, the Ursas fell to Ivory's blades. Then the Boarbatusks joined in the fray, spinning forward along their spines to dispatch their opposition. However, Ivory dodged out of the way before changing her blades back into its Bow form and quickly unleashing two arrows on the ground.

The Boarbatusks charged once more but as they were about to make their way past the arrow, a beeping noise resounded. Immediately, a wall made of Hardlight Dust was created and since they had been right over the arrow heads when they activated, it had the effect of bisecting the Boarbatusks. The fight was over, and DIO had come to a decision.

-Ivory's P.O.V.-

The fight was over, and I was glad about that. Though I was a little upset that I had to waste my Hardlight Dust arrows, it was nice to know that they proved my theory to be true. I allowed myself to relax… Then a sound reached my ears, it was the sound of… clapping?

I turned around, drawing an arrow back before I realized that the person that I had been looking for, the man that I have been searching was standing there, clapping. He was just as beautiful as when we first met. He approached me slowly, and I couldn't help but notice that even the way he walked would leave an impression on anyone for the rest of their days. Once he was only a few feet away, he spoke, "Aw, so it seems that fate has decided that we must meet again. This is quite the surprise, but not an unpleasant one."

"Dio Branwen!? What are you doing here?!" I shouted, unable to contain my surprise.

"Hmph, the same reason as you, I would imagine." He replied as he locked his gaze held me in place. I thought he was going to say more, but he simply turned and wordlessly walked away. Seeing as he's my partner now, I followed behind. Making sure to keep up with him.

-Third Person P.O.V-

From the forest, Yang Xiao Long and Blake Belladonna steps out into a clearing that reveals the circular stone temple, broken and decrepit but for the platforms around its inside, holding several black and gold objects.

"Think this is it?" Yang asked.

In response, Blake gives Yang an incredulous look and heads down the hill, her partner following. They walk across the floor and observe the items on each pedestal, now shown to be in recognizable shapes.

Blake took a black king to examine it and was somewhat confused, "Chess pieces?"

"Some of them are missing. Looks like we weren't the first ones here." Yang noted, as she looked around as well.

"Well, I guess we should pick one." Blake announced.

Yang approaches one of the relics, "Hmmmm…" as she studies the golden knight, then picks it up and shows it to Blake, "How about… a knight?!"

Blake gives a small smirk, "Sure." she responds as they walk towards each other to the center of the temple floor, "Though I didn't think you'd know that piece was a knight."

"You can thank my little twin bro for that, he tried to teach me how to play." Yang stated.

Blake let her confusion be known, "Tried?"

"Hehehe… Let's just say he stopped after I let out a 'bit' of a temper tantrum." Yang explained, and Blake let the topic slide, "This was surprisingly simple!"

"Well, it's not like this place is very difficult to find." Blake stated as Yang gives a toothy grin while Blake has a small smile.

Jaune and Pyrrha continue onward through the cave until they see a large glowing point of gold right in front of them, illuminating Jaune's excited features, "That's the relic!" he exclaims as he slowly reaches out to grab it, but it moves away from his swipe, "Hey! Bad... relic!" he tries to get it again, then jumps forward and hangs onto it as the object raises him above the ground, "Gotcha!"

"Jaune...?" Pyrrha asked worriedly.

Jaune's catch lowers itself so he is dangling right in front of the now-glowing red lines and eyes of a very old Death Stalker. Pyrrha rushes out of the cave entrance right before the Grimm crashes through the hole, roaring and waving its grass-encrusted claws as Jaune hangs from the stinger, calling for help and continuing to scream. Jaune sobbed, "Help! Whoa-ah-ah-ah-ah! Why?! Pyrrha! He-e-e-elp! Pyrrha, this is not the relic! It's not!" he continues to cry and get shaken around pleading to Pyrrha, "Do something!"

Pyrrha wielding Miló in front of the creature, "Jaune! Whatever you do, don't let-"before she can finish, the Grimm hurls its tail back and launches a still-screaming Jaune across the forest as she watches in dismay, "... go." she turns back to the Death Stalker as it continues to snap its claws at her, and she shows an embarrassed smile before turning and rushing away in a burst of green leaves.

Jaune's scream is heard all the way from the temple, where Yang turns towards the direction of its source. Yang shouted, "Blake, did you hear that? I think some girl is in trouble!"

Blake doesn't answer, staring at something in the sky. Blake is still staring at something above them, but Yang is focused on the forest.

"Blake, did you hear that?" Yang continued to ask as she turned to her partner, "What should we do?"

Finally, the faint-but-growing-louder scream of "Heads uuuuuuuup!" is heard as Ruby is falling right towards them, finally getting Yang's attention. Just as she's about to hit the ground panicking, Jaune Arc comes flying through the air and crashes into Ruby, knocking her off course and sending them both into a tree to the left of where Blake and Yang are standing. Ruby is dazed by the rough landing (as evidenced by the cutesy Beowolves and stars circling her head).

"Oohhhh... What was that?" Ruby questioned as she shakes her head to dispel the dizziness.

"Eh-hem!" Jaune coughed as Ruby looked up to see him hanging upside-down in a tree branch above her, "Hey, Ruby…"

Back on the ground, looking at the tree, Blake voiced her question, "Did your sister just fall from the sky?"

"I…" Yang was about to reply, but before she could continue, several crashing noises were heard in the forest ahead of them, and an Ursa came out, claws swiping, just as a pink blast of energy hit it in the back and it crashed to the ground, depositing its rider.

"YEEEE-HAAAAW!" Nora shouted as she rolls off of the creature's back, then gets up and groans, saddened, "Awwww... It's broken." she then dashes onto its neck and observes the carcass as Ren comes up behind her.

Ren was panting and leaning on the Grimm as he verbalized his dismay, "Nora! Please... Don't ever do that again." he then looks up again and notices by the pink dotted outline of where his partner should've been. It turns out that Nora had run off again, and he looked around frantically.

Nora, now in the Temple, stared at a golden rook relic in wonder, "Oooohh…" she remarked before she suddenly grabs it, and she dances and sings with the chess piece, "I'm queen of the castle! I'm queen of the castle!"

"Nora!" Ren shouted in a tone that conveyed his annoyance.

Nora stops dancing with the rook on her head, then salutes, dropping the relic into her hand, "Coming, Ren!" she shouts as she skips off to her friend.

"Did that girl just ride in on an Ursa?" Blake asked as her confusion continued to increase.

"I…" Yang is interrupted once more as a screech is heard from their right, and Pyrrha Nikos comes onto the scene as the Death Stalker uproots entire trees in its chase after her. Pyrrha narrowly dodges its giant claws and keeps on running.

Pyrrha shouted, "Jaune!"

"Pyrrha!" Jaune called back.

Ruby stands up, looking at the monster below, "Whoa!"she exclaims before she starts running off of the branch and landing in a roll.

Jaune called out to her, "Ruby!" as the scorpion Grimm continues to follow Pyrrha as she runs.

"Did she just run all the way here with a Death Stalker on her tail?" Blake questioned.

Yang was starting to become angrier by the second, she lets out a few growls and erupts in a small burst of fire,with eyes flashing red, but then she began to take deep breaths in an attempt to cool down before she said, "This is getting out of hand, I suggest we do something about it before things escalate any further."

Ren runs over to a ditzy Nora, and Blake and Ruby look up.

"Umm... Yang?" Ruby asked as she tugs on her sister's sleeve, getting her attention before she points up above to Weiss, who was hanging on a talon the size of her entire body. Which just so happened to belong to a gigantic Nevermore.

Weiss yelled towards her partner down below, "How could you leave me?!"

Ruby shouts back up at Weiss, "I said "jump"!"

As a commentary of Weiss's predicament was going on, Jaune is finally out of the tree. He was panting heavily until he looked up and grins at the sight of Weiss falling through the air. This gave him the opportunity to jump off the branch with arms outstretched and caught her.

"Don't worry, I got you." Jaune announced.

"That's fine and all but… who's got you?" Weiss asked. Jaune is speechless at the question... as their predicament finally settled into the young boy's mind.

When they both looked down, Jaune had only one fitting thing to say, "Oh, God." They hang onto each other, wide-eyed as their moment of suspension ends, their weapons flying behind them "Oh, noooooooo- Oomph!" Jaune does a faceplant into the dirt, limbs splayed out, and serves as the perfect landing spot for Weiss as she falls into a seated position on his body.

"My hero." Weiss mockingly said.

"My back…" Jaune groaned out.

The Death Stalker was still hunting Pyrrha, but she managed to land on her side at the feet of the heroes.

"Great! The gang's all here! Now we can all die together!" Yang commented sarcastically.

Ruby thought about charging the Death Stalker but was distracted by the Nevermore as it caws above them, flapping its wings and releasing lines of sharpened feathers with points at them. Weiss and Jaune managed to make it back to the group.

"Guys? Those things are coming right at us! What are we gonna do?" Jaune asked, as panic started to edge into his voice

"Look, there's no sense in dilly-dallying. Our objective is right in front of us." Weiss pointed out as the group stared at the che- I mean, relics.

"She's right. Our mission is to retrieve an artifact and make it back to the Cliffs," Ruby said as she gave a nod to Weiss. "There's no point in fighting these Grimm."

"Run and live - that's an idea I can get behind!" Jaune remarked. Ruby goes over and grabs a gold knight and Jaune takes hold of a gold rook, with the pair smiling at each other. The Death Stalker is marching forward slowly, wanting to be cautious around the sizable group.

"Time we left!" Ren declared

"Right. Let's go!" Ruby ordered as she waves to the others to move. Everyone followed with the exception of a smiling Yang, and Blake as the latter approached her partner.

Blake asked, "What is it?"

Yang stares proudly at Ruby as she leaps onto a boulder and motions the group onward, "Nothing to be worried about…" she moves on as Blake smiles in realization and leaves as well.

Soon after DIO and Ivory arrived at the ruins having just missed most of the excitement. After their initial meeting, the two hadn't encountered any resistance on the way to their destination. Though this was hardly a comfort to the two. In fact, the ease of the initiation put both of them on edge.

"This was easy. Way too easy for my liking." Ivory stated as she instinctively drew Freccia Divina and notched an arrow.

Dio drew his sword from the scabbard on his back, "I couldn't agree more, the only question that remains is-"

Before he could finish the question, Eerie came charging out of the bushes, followed soon after by Tangelo. Their attires looked fairly torn as well as burned, though the two gave no indication of whether this bothered the pair or not.

"What is going on?!" Ivory asked, though the pair's gaze were directed solely on DIO.

"Lo- We were being chased by-" Eerie began to explain, before being cut off.

"A shit ton of Grimm, some old, some rare and all pretty powerful ones at that!" Tangelo interrupted, causing Eerie to glare at the faux deer faunus. Before turning her gaze back to her Lord and his partner. Though the latter was treated to small but intense glare from her.

"It would seem that we must grab our relics, before making a tactical retreat." DIO declared, as he gave a look that went unnoticed by his new partner. This look sent a chill down the pair's spine and they got the message clearly. 'I know what the two of you have done. We will speak of this later.'

"Yeah, it simply wouldn't do for the other relics to get smashed during the scuffle either." Ivory stated as she grabbed two pieces before tossing them to DIO and Eerie.

They were two white king pieces. Something that DIO found most appropriate. All four of them quickly ran off to find a more suitable location to fight against their foes. As they ran off, many red eyes followed their retreating forms.

After running for around 12 minutes, they arrived at a clearing. The trees here were very much different from the rest of the Emerald Forest because unlike their lively brethren, these trees were dead and bore no leaves whatsoever. Even the moss was dry, old and yellow. Though this did little to detract from the sheer size of them. While not as tall as their healthier brethren, they more than made up for it with their sheer width, with the biggest one being worth ten people with their arms splayed out at the very least.

"I'd say this is as good a place as any to make our stand." Tangelo commented as he prepared Blessed Damnation for combat.

"So what are we dealing with, in terms of numbers and Grimm types?" Ivory inquired, as she mentally prepared herself for the answer.

"Oh, I'd say fifteen Alpha Beowolves, ten Ursa Majors, and a few King Taijitus. Now these wouldn't be so bad on their own if they weren't accompanied by a-" Tangelo answered, before being interrupted by his "favorite" person.

"Frankly, I blame you for all of this!" Eerie shouted as she pointed an accusing finger at Tangelo, who only grinned in response.

"Okay, never mind… Oh! I almost forgot to ask," Ivory said before she asked, "Who are you?" directing an inquisitive look at the new pair.

"My name is Eerie N. Blazevolts. The… odd bastard next to me is Tangelo Sanguine." Eerie introduced as she slung Dark Age over her shoulder.

"Hey! While I don't take offense to nor deny that statement. That's still a bit mean, don't you think!" Tangelo shouted as he quickly pointed his weapons in Eerie's

"I wouldn't be surprised if you took it as a compliment you whack-job." Eerie rebuked, as she got into a stance.

However, before the two could come to blows in round two, a powerful voice full of authority screamed, "BE SILENT THIS INSTANT!"

And silence, there was. No one dared to utter a word, nor to move a muscle, especially not the hated rivals turned to force partners. The command had come from no other than DIO himself. His sword was drawn and planted firmly in the ground in anticipation of what was to come. Everyone's gaze was upon him, and soon he turned his head to look back upon his partner and followers.

"They'll arrive in two minutes, perhaps less. So I'd advise that all of you get ready." DIO announce. As if on cue, the ground started to tremble, ever so slightly. Then, red eyes bore into the group.

It was a standoff, a game where the winner is decided by one simple question. Who will be the first to strike?

-(Fight Begins) Song Start: Franco Miquio - They Come For You (2018 Epic Dark Gothic Vengeful)-

The Grimm charged from the forest, their numbers and perverse form of confidence brimming. Our heroes stood their ground. DIO flourished his sword in challenge, and two Alpha Beowolves and Ursa Majors answered the provocation.

Tangelo laughed, and charged headfirst into the horde. Quite literally, as he had impaled one of the King Taijitu's two heads with his false horns. He soon dislodged himself from the skull before he turned and fired shots from his weapon at the second head.

While Ivory provided cover fire for everyone, Eerie worked on bashing the skulls or burning to ashes, any Grimm that got too close. However, our future team wasn't fooled into thinking they had the upper hand just yet.

"I thought you'd say there were twenty five to thirty Grimm!" Ivory shouted over the carnage, transforming her weapon into its Twin Swords form, before rushing in, cutting down the weaker Grimm.

"I only listed the notable ones, obviously the small fries came after us as well. A shit ton of them as well." Tangelo replied as he fired shot after shot from Blessed Damnation as the Grimm just kept coming.

"They'll start to overwhelm us if we're not careful. Eerie! Create a ring of fire to surround the area! Ivory, you protect her while she gets her job done! And Tangelo… continue to be Tangelo." DIO commanded.

Eerie went to work right away, with Ivory following close behind. Though keen observers would notice that Eerie performed the task with an uncommon level of zeal, if they took their eyes off of Tangelo, whose ferocity in battle would have put the most dangerous beasts to shame as he sliced, stabbed and shot at the horde of Grimm as he laughed like a child at an amusement park.

DIO was far more methodical and efficient by comparison, as he cut through a small number of Grimm simultaneously with each horizontal swing of the large sword. Enemies at a distance weren't safe either as DIO threw a generous amount of knives at any Grimm that was out of his immediate reach.

You could almost feel sorry for the Creatures of Grimm. Since they were being massacred by the score. Which confused Ivory quite a bit. She wasn't one to brag, but she was fairly skilled in combat. But her future teammates? They were on a level all on their own!

Over time, more and more Grimm came to meet their end at the hands of these future huntsmen. Just as the last remnants of the Grimm were being finished off, the fifteen Alpha Beowolves and ten Ursa Majors rushed into the fray, eager for the kill. They were quickly followed by a few King Taijitus. DIO saw this and decided that his sword and knives might not do the trick for this fight, so he sheathed his sword and activated Glacial Celica. Eerie and Tangelo were quick to back their master up and Ivory provided cover fire as well as killing any of the remaining minor Grimm.

The Alpha Beowolves were the first to make contact with this team, as well as being some of the first casualties. DIO rushed in, meeting the charge headon and grabbed one of an Alpha Beowolf before freezing it solid. He then threw the frozen Grimm at its brethren. This shattered the unfortunate Grimm against two others, who were shredded to bits by the shards despite their armor. Four of them attempted to flank DIO, which was immediately responded to by an enraged Eerie, who burned the lot to ashes for attempting to kill her beloved master through such underhanded tactics.

However, this left Eerie exposed to three Ursa Majors, who were about to crush the young Faunus girl. Except three arrows found their way into three necks. Now normally, Ursa Majors would shrug off such things as little more than mosquito bites. However, the arrow heads were in fact, Water Dust crystals. So once they had found their targets, water was forced down their throats and into their lungs and stomachs. The Ursai began to drown as water kept pouring out of their mouths as they drowned. Their movements became more sluggish, before they stopped completely. They disintegrated, leaving behind nothing but a giant puddle.

The King Taijitus had the unfortunate luck of being the opponents of Tangelo, who was shredding the snakes apart with the precision of an expert surgeon, and the ruthlessness of a madman. Needless to say, the King Taijitus didn't stand a chance, and you would even be excused for feeling sorry for them. None remained, and now it was down to the Alphas and Majors.

Ivory, who was hanging back, fired arrow after arrow into the parts of the older Grimm that were unprotected by armor with very degrees of effectiveness against them. Three Alpha Beowolves were taken down after taking two to three Dust Arrows to kill, depending on where the arrows found their marks. Ursa Majors on the other hand had extremely tough hides which, unless the arrows found their way into their necks or eyes, simply popped out like corks from shaken champagne bottles with the Dust propelling them out. After witnessing the deaths of their fellow Ursai, they made a point to constantly move in order to throw off Ivory's aim.

"These damn things are really starting to annoy me!" Eerie exclaimed as she smacked an Ursa Major in the skull with Dark Age before burning it to a crisp.

"Then let's dispatch them as quickly as possible." DIO suggested, as he froze two Ursa's in his grasp before Tangelo jumped over him and blasted the frozen heads to bits with Blessed Damnation. Once Tangelo landed, he went to confront the remaining Alphas. But not before whispering something to Eerie. Neither Ivory nor DIO heard what he said, though it was pretty bad if the reaction Eerie gave was anything to go by.

Her complexion went from its usual pale color, to bright pink, almost red. Her expression morphed into an angry, almost hideous snarl, and everyone could tell that it took all of her willpower not to bash in Tangelo's skull before burning it to ashes. Tangelo found it very amusing, and charged at the Alpha Beowolves.

The Alphas were weary around this particular Faunus that stands before them. These Alphas have seen and killed many humans and Faunus in the past, from men, to women and children, to Huntsmen and Huntresses. They all met their end at their claws and teeth. But this creature was somehow different from the others. This looked like a Faunus, without a doubt, but the smell was somehow… off. It was like there were two different scents to be found in the Faunus, that were clashing violently with one another. Not to mention the killing intent that was radiating off of this… thing.

They didn't live this long by charging into danger when they saw it. With grudging acceptance, the Alphas fled from the battlefield and went their separate ways, not caring that their fur was singed and their bone armor was somewhat charred. They would live to fight another day, and for as long as they would roam the entirety of Saunus, within the recesses of their minds, bent on destruction and death, they would wonder to themselves if they could, if what they had felt towards that Faunus was fear.

The Ursai were far more stubborn, and were more than ready to continue the fight, until they turned their heads to stare in the direction they came from, staring beyond the blue flames that encircled themselves and their quarry. They charged out of the flames, eager to get away from whatever they thought was coming.

Although the Grimm were now fleeing, there was one thing that nagged at the back of Ivory's mind, "Why were we running in the first place, these guys are way too easy. Annoying, but easy."

It was Eerie who answered after burning a few Grimm to ashes, "These were just the prelude."

"What do you mean by 'prelude'?" Ivory questioned. Of course, the answer came immediately, not by her partners but by a mighty roar that shook the earth they stood upon, coming from the direction that turned the heads of the Ursa Majors before they fled.

-Song Change: The Army of Minotaur [Epic Battle Music] by 魔界Symphony-

Breaking through the fire like a demon from Hell, a Minotaurus Grimm rushed into battle, brandishing a giant stalagmite as a makeshift club, which it swung with ease. DIO and Eerie managed to get out of the way, but Tangelo took the full force of the attack. It sent him spiralling into a tree, though the disturbing thing was that Tangelo was laughing, even after hitting the tree. He soon got back up and made a show of dusting himself off.

This Grimm was over twice the height of DIO and three times as muscular. It's back was completely covered in spiky bone armor and various bone plates took the shape of it's muscles and riblike armor connected the plates to it's back. (A/N: Imagine the Taurus Demon from Dark Souls, if it was a Grimm, and that's basically what it looks like)

Minotaurus Grimm are as rare as they are dangerous. Normally, they dwelled within complex cave systems found on Saunus, and some parts of Anima and because of this fact, these Grimm were rarely encountered. Despite this, they're very bloodthirsty, with the only traits that matched this being their brute strength and their hatred for anything and everything that isn't a fellow Grimm, and they can barely tolerate them either.

This one must've been somewhere nearby, wandering from its home territory, when it was drawn to the sheer hatred generated from Tangelo's and Eerie's "dispute", which led it here all the way here.

"NOW THIS IS WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT, A GRIMM THAT'S ACTUALLY WORTH SOMETHING!" Tangelo exclaimed with a smile that was all teeth, and a mad gleam in his eye. He brandished Blessed Damnation before charging in head first to meet the Grimm in bloody conflict.

While this occurred, DIO's mind began racing to come up with an effective strategy to put this maggot down. A smile slowly made its way across his feature at what he came up with.

-Song Change: Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle OST - DIO's World ~ Dio Brando (Part 3) ~ Extended-

"Eerie, assist Tangelo in keeping that maggot busy. Ivory, you come with me." DIO ordered. Eerie nodded. Normally she would voice her distaste about such an order but thought better of it, and joined the fray.

Eerie used her speed to run circles around the Grimm and whenever it's eyes diverted their focus on her, she would jump and bring down Dark Age onto it's armored backside. THis had the effect of taking small, splinter sized pieces off of said armor, as well as breaking off some of the smaller spikes that populated the creature's back. Tangelo on the other hand, took to making precise cuts onto the Grimm's legs, as well as shooting at any part of the Grimm that wasn't protected by the armor. The Minotaurus was becoming more and more enraged as the fight progressed, swinging more wildly and more frequently.

As this was going on, DIO led Ivory to the biggest tree in the immediate surrounding. That was when DIO asked, "How many Water Dust arrows do you happen to have left?"

"About… four, maybe five, why?" she asked as she gave him a curious look.

"I need you to shoot at the trunk of that tree, and make sure to space them out as well as embed them as deep into the trunk as you can. I'd also appreciate it if you fire just above my head height." DIO instructed, though he didn't necessarily answer Ivory's question.

Ivory was about to point that out, but after taking one glance at the Minotaurus, she shrugged and said, "Whatever you say. Just hope that your plan works."

"It will work, now do as I say." DIO commanded.

Ivory fired the arrows, each hitting the trunk exactly as DIO had instructed. Water soon gushed violently out of the tree in the path of least resistance like hoses, which so happened to be the freshly made holes in the trunk. DIO approached the pseudo fountain and immediately froze the water with Glacial Celica.

The ice covered over half the tree width and was just one meter taller than DIO. Once his plan was ready to be set into motion, he called out to his subordinates, "Eerie, Tangelo, relieve our friend of his 'weapon', after that you must get out of the way."

The pair quickly answered in unison, "Right." and went to work. Tangelo stabbed his weapons into the Minotaurus' right calf. The Grimm was forced into a kneeling position. Once that was done Eerie unleashed a torrent of blue flames onto the hand that held the makeshift club. The Minotaurus roared in pain as it was forced to let go of its weapon. Once they were done, They got out of the way, DIO threw a knife at it's head.

This was ineffective, as the knife simply bounced off its skull, but it did earn it's fury towards DIO. DIO, for his part, began to mock the beast, "Oh? Did I make you angry? A walking piece of over glorified ground beef such as yourself probably can't even comprehend what I'm saying, and yet you have the audacity to glare at me!? Come! Approach me, so that I, DIO, may put you out to pasture!"

If it could, the Minotaurus would have been foaming at the mouth. Instead, it settled for charging at DIO, fully intent on goring the man with its horns. DIO waited, calmly and patiently for the last possible moment. The Grimm was getting close now, gaining more and more speed as its momentum built up. When the time came, DIO dodged well out of the way and it was too late for the Grimm to halt its charge. He made sure to move clear of the tree as well.

The Minotaurus slammed into the ice, shattering the ice that encased the tree and its horns became stuck in the wood, right where two of the arrows were. The Minotaurus began to struggle to get itself free, meanwhile DIO's subordinates and partner looked on in amazement he just did. DIO noticed this and only said one sentence, "I suggest you watch closely."

The Grimm finally dislodged itself, but it was still quite disorientated. Which was unfortunate because when it did, it had unforeseen consequences. For you see, by freezing the water that was coming out of the tree due to the arrows, DIO had forced into motion a natural phenomenon, frost weathering. Frost weathering is when the water inside the cracks of various objects such as rocks, soil, minerals as well as wood and artificial materials freezes into ice. It comes in many forms such as frost shattering, frost wedging and cryofracturing. The ice creates these phenomenons which result in the materials being broken apart.

So when the Minotaurus impaled itself into the tree, right where two of Ivory's arrows were, frozen by DIO's weapon, this had caused the wood to be horizontally split apart. The cracks that formed snaked their way to where the other arrows were impaled, which caused a chain reaction of more cracks forming and continuing the horizontal split, until the cracks were over the halfway point of the tree, causing it to become more than likely to fall. So when the Minotaurus finally dislodged itself, the tree began to fall down, right on to the damn thing.

The tree landed with a resounding boom, and a cloud of loose earth. When it settled, amazingly, the Grimm was still alive, though it was quite obvious that it wasn't going to be able to escape. That didn't stop it from trying to do so anyway, as it tried desperately to move it away, but the tree wouldn't budge. DIO approached the fallen tree and jumped on top, using Wind Dust to assist him to the top.

DIO looked down upon his fallen opponent, "You have been quite the amazing guinea pig to test this new team's ability in combat. SO AS A SHOW GRATITUDE, I WILL PUT YOU OUT OF YOUR MISERY, HIS IS YOUR END!" DIO proclaimed with a grin as he started a rapid barrage of punches down on the tree, all while screaming, "USELESS, USELESS, USELESS, USELESS, USELESS, USELESS, USELESS, USELESS, USELESS, USELESS, USELESS, USELESS, USELESS, USELESS, USELESS, USELESS, USELESS, USELESS, USELESS, USELESS, USELESS, USELESS, USELESS, USELESS, USELESS, USELESS!"

-(Battle End) Song End-

With that final word, DIO sent one final punch that pushed the tree downward enough to crush the Grimm. As it disintegrated, everyone was in stunned amazement at what they had just witnessed. DIO jumped off and landed gracefully on the ground before making his way back. His new team collected themselves and followed suit.

Eerie thought to herself, 'Lord DIO… you are more powerful, more wise, and more beautiful than anyone, anything upon this world. What I have witnessed only cements my belief. That you will be someone who will affect the world in more ways than any deity could possibly hope to do. I hope to help you reach that goal, as your most loyal subordinate… and maybe, just maybe… as unlikely as it may be… something more.'

As this was going on, Tangelo had thoughts of his own, 'To think, I would serve someone like Lord DIO. Someone who had shown me how to change from the true, savage beast that I once was and partially still am, to an artist who has been touched by enlightenment. I swear to you, I will make sure that all of your enemies who dare to oppose you will know your greatness, as I make them into works of art.'

Ivory walked side by side with DIO and wanted to break the silence, so she said, "We sure make one hell of a team."

"Hmph, I concur with that sentiment," DIO said, before doing something unexpected, "I also wanted to say… thank you… for listening to me, Ivory."

Now, DIO had expected many replies to what he said, such as "Your welcome…" or "No, thank you…". But what he got, completely surprised him as Ivory simply said, "Isabella."

"Come again?" DIO asked, taken off guard, though he made sure that he didn't show it.

"My name, Isabella. Isabella Luxligna to be precise. Though I prefer my nickname, thank you very much." Ivory explained.

"If you say so, though we have a long way to go." DIO remarked. The silence once again settled on the group, as they all knew the trek back would be long and tedious.

-Some Time Later-

"Russel Thrush. Cardin Winchester. Dove Bronzewing. Sky Lark," Ozpin called as the screen of the auditorium showed each of their profiles while the little bastards young men lined up for the applauding audience to see as Ozpin continued, "The four of you retrieved the black bishop pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team CRDL, led by... Cardin Winchester!"

The audience gives one more wave of ovation, while four students walk up to the stage to take their places in front of the headmaster as their faces fill the screen.

"Jaune Arc. Lie Ren. Pyrrha Nikos. Nora Valkyrie. The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team JNPR," Ozpin stated, as everyone gave a round of applause. Amid the clapping, Nora laughs and gives Ren a hug.

"Led by... Jaune Arc!" Ozpin announced, surprising the aforementioned blonde.

Jaune held his hand up to his chest in disbelief, "Huh? L-Led by...?"

"Congratulations, young man." Ozpin interrupted.

A grinning Pyrrha offers a friendly shoulder bump to Jaune, but her "fine leader" is knocked over and falls to his butt in front of the laughing audience.

"Blake Belladonna. Ruby Rose. Weiss Schnee. Yang Xiao Long." Ozpin called, as he motions for the four as they stand before him, "The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team RWBY. Led by... Ruby Rose!

Weiss looks to her right surprised, where Ruby is obviously in shock as Yang goes over to hug her sister, "I'm so proud of you!" she exclaimed.

The last four to come up stage were none other than DIO, Ivory, Eerie and Tangelo.

"And finally: Dio Branwen. Isabella Luxligna. Eerie Nero Blazevolts. Tangelo Sanguine. The four of you retrieved the white king pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team DETI (Destiny). Led by... Dio Branwen!" Ozpin announced.

DIO gave himself a satisfied smirk, and Ivory had a big smile on her face as she put her hands on her hips. Eerie and Tangelo allowed themselves a sigh of relief. Hoping that their master would be in a good enough mood to forget about their little fight.

Ozpin looks amid the last round of cheers and remarks to no one in particular, "It looks like things are shaping up to be an... interesting year."

The scene pans over the auditorium's structure until it escapes into the open sky and shows the scattering crescent moon amid the day's clouds...

... Before going into the night and seeing the moon through a window, providing a view to the outside for a shadowy room filled with shelves and a desk in the back, where Roman Torchwick is getting a call on his phone.

"…"

"Look, things aren't exactly easy around here on my end. Cops and Huntsman are bad enough on their own. But now, we have a criminal empire that spans the entirety of Vale that I'm somehow not a part of, after my hide!"

"…"

"Well, let's go over the list shall we. First, these guys have a nearly endless supply of resources, as well as connections in places even I can't get to. Two, if the attack on me says anything; it's that they're looking for me and if the freak that was sent was able to push even Neo to her limit, then who's to say they don't have someone better. Thirdly-"

"…!"

"If you hadn't interrupted me, then you would know that we can't just kill the guy because no one knows what his name even is, let alone what he looks like."

"…"

"Oh yeah. Well good luck with that!"

The muffled conversation ends, and Roman angrily slams the phone down, before letting out a sigh. He held a cigar to his mouth and put his symbolized lighter to the end of it before lighting it.

He takes a puff before a member of the White Fang comes in with a trolley. Roman holds out a collection of Lien, which he places on the table and the man takes.

"Open it." Roman ordered. The grunt does so with a crowbar, revealing a large amount of Dust crystals of varying colors. Roman picks up a Blue Dust cyrstal in his hand and looks at the loot, before the White Fang grunt makes his exit.

"We're gonna need more men… and a lot of fucking luck."

-DIO's P.O.V.-

On normal occasions, Eerie and Tangelo were the best followers I have at my disposal. Their proficiency and skill in battle, undeniable. Their loyalty to I, DIO, unquestionable. However, recent circumstances have led to this very moment. Right now, all three of us were gathered outside in a location that wasn't under video surveillance and couldn't possibly be found unless some idiot stumbled upon it.

Right now, my servants haven't even made an attempt to raise their heads or move an inch from their bowing, let alone made an attempt to break the silence. So I took it upon myself to do so.

"Do either of you have even a clue as to why the two of you are kneeling before me tonight?" I asked. Neither moved, not a single syllable was uttered from either of them, so I continued, "I hope the two of you know that it's considered to be rude to not face someone when they're speaking."

This got a flinch from the pair, before they raised their heads to face me simultaneously. I saw that they both had troubled expressions on their faces, although Eerie's was quite a bit more prominent. However, the two maintained their silence.

"I'm still waiting for your answer to my question." I pressed, feeling my patience slipping

"We may have gotten into a… little scuffle-" Tangelo began.

"A scuffle?" I interrupted.

"Lord DIO… Tangelo and I fought each other as soon as we encountered each other." Eerie admitted, looking away in shame.

"I think you're being a little modest, because from what little I could see, I might've mistaken it for a war zone," I stated. Another flinch was their only response, "Very well then, I would like to have a little… discussion about a what-if scenario with the both of you, however, a little context is in order."

"As you wish, Lord DIO." They said, speaking in unison.

"As both of you know, it has taken quite a lot of time and effort into taking over and establishing my organization here in Vale." I began, turning my back to them as I held my gaze towards the shattered moon.

"Of course, Lord DIO." They said, one again speaking in perfect unison.

"I also intend to extend said empire to engulf the entirety of Remnant. The two of you will be instrumental with this." I stated, not once breaking my eye contact with the moon.

"You honor us greatly, Lord DIO." They responded, still speaking at the same time, though if the malicious aura I can feel behind I, DIO, was any indication; I'd say they were getting sick of it.

"I have set out many plans for the future, and all of them can and will work."

"As befitting for an intellect, such as yourself." Tangelo complimented.

"However, not all of these plans require me to be around." I continued, and I finally turned to face them.

"W-what?" Eerie questioned, not entirely sure where this was going.

"I'm… not sure that I follow, Lord DIO." Tangelo remarked, as a nervous laugh followed soon after.

"What would happen… if I were to die?" DIO questioned.

"NO!" They both screamed. Tangelo looked as though he saw a Stand for the first time, or ghost depending on your preference. Though Eerie's expression was far more unfamiliar. While the expression itself did have the same amount of horror as Tangelo. I could see that there was something else there, something that was bubbling beneath the surface of it all.

In the end, I wrote it off as little more than drivel from my own imagination, so I continued, "While I appreciate your loyalty, as well as the fact that my passing had actually inspired such a reaction, I'm afraid I must continue," I stated, before pressing on, "If I were to die, a number of problems will occur. Firstly a power vacuum will happen, with no heirs to my little empire of crime, many of my subordinates will either claw for my place, sit on the sidelines and observe, or break away entirely. That can be remedied if I were to name the two of you as my successors, but another problem arises," I approached them and with each hand, I tilted their heads upwards until they could look me in the eyes.

That's when I continued, "As you have so kindly demonstrated, it is the fact that the two of you have an inability to work in cooperation with one another that is beyond any form of measure. Once I die and you take my place, the two of you will argue and fight. The next thing you know, factions will form under your ideologies and the criminal empire; everything that I, DIO, had worked for will be torn asunder faster than either of you can blink. Do I make myself clear."

"Absolutely, Lord DIO." They answered, speaking at the same time once more. Although I had a hunch that right now, they couldn't care less about it. I retracted my hands, and their heads lowered once more.

I turned my back to them, and stated, "The two of you must move on from this petty rivalry. It's nearly cost me greatly, not to mention that should this continue, I'll have to take countermeasures. As it stands, while I'm not angry with either of you… I am disappointed, very disappointed." Now that I have said my piece, I walked away. Our new dorm room, my destination.

Those two… I wasn't lying about those two being the best followers I have at my disposal. However, their burning hatred of one another leaves much to be desired.

But, if I waited patiently, and played my cards right, I will soon become so much more powerful than any mortal could possibly dream of. Soon the stage will be set, and this world shall look to I, DIO, as its beloved ruler and savior.

To Be Continued…

A/N: OH MY GOD! IT'S FINALLY DONE! Thank you guys for having the patience to wait for this chapter. Anyway I have an important announcement. The Poll will be taken off on APRIL 20th, so get your votes in.