P.O.V. Third

King smiled as he sat down in the stadium King smiled as he watched the two contestants walk into the arena. Pyrrha and Penny, and while he had never seen what Penny could do in a fight he knew that she had to have been rather skilled to have made it this far in the tournament. Especially when her opponent was someone as skilled as Pyrrha. King saw what she was capable of first hand in her fights so he had little doubt that this fight would be an entertaining one, to say the least.

"Begin!" One of the announcers said causing the two to begin. Penny started the fight by using several of her swords starting with a display clearly meant more for show than effectiveness before sending them towards Pyrrha. As she did Pyrrha ran towards the female before jumping over most of them with a flip using her shield to block one before landing on the other side and continuing to run towards Penny.

As she did the swords all turned and once again began to follow Pyrrha before moving past her and surrounding Penny. As they did Pyrrha's javelin extended and she began to clash with Penny and her several swords. However, Penny was eventually able to send her back. As she did Pyrrha ran towards her and jumped up landing on one of Penny's swords before jumping off of it and pulling her javelin back and attempting to hit Penny with it, her blow being stopped short by several swords in front of Penny.

Pyrrha was once again pushed back by this causing her to flip in the air and Penny did the same flipping back to put some distance between the two of them before she immediately dashed forward with her swords dancing around her as she did each one clashing with Pyrrha's staff as she was slowly pushed back. King couldn't help but whistled as he stared at the two in front of him. He had to admit Penny was putting on a much better showing than he originally thought she would.

For the most part, people that fought against Pyrrha had trouble keeping up with her movements, and that usually led her to winning the fight, but Penny was not only able to keep up with Pyrrha but she also seemed to have an answer for nearly everything that was sent her way. King found it hard to believe but this was the first fight that he saw where Pyrrha was actually on the defensive rather than the offensive.

Eventually, Penny was able to gain the upper hand by using her swords to knock both Pyrrha's weapon and shield out of her hand. Pyrrha attempted to use her semblance to once again regain control over them. However, Penny just used her sword to keep them away from her. Penny's swords then began to float above her for a few seconds and King smiled as he watched the fight. He couldn't wait to see how Pyrrha managed to get out of a situation like this.

However, the next moment his smile immediately faded as he watched Penny's swords move forward and Pyrrha use her semblance to push the swords back resulting in the wires that were attached to them wrapping around Penny and dismembering her. After this happened King's eyes widened in shock and several others gasped in the crowd at the sight in front of them. King was so shocked that he couldn't look away from the sight in front of him until all the monitors began to flicker in the arena.

All the monitors suddenly change becoming red with a solid black chess piece on the screen. "This is not a tragedy. This was not an accident," A female voice said from the speakers. It was a familiar voice, one that King and many others recognized but couldn't place despite their efforts. "This is what happens when you hand over your trust, your safety, your children to men who claim to be our guardians. But are in reality nothing more than men," The voice continued causing several people in the crowd to become on edge.

"Our academies headmasters wield more power than most armies, and one was audacious enough to control both. They cling to this power in the name of peace, and yet what do we have here? One nation's attempt at a synthetic army mercilessly torn apart by another's star pupil. What need would Atlas have for a soldier disguised as an innocent little girl? I don't think the grimm can tell the difference," The female voice continued causing them to just become more and more discouraged.

"And what I ask you, is Ozpin teaching his students? First a dismemberment now this? Huntsmen and huntresses should carry themselves with honor and mercy. Yet I have witnessed neither. Perhaps Ozpin thought that defeating Atlas in the tournament would help people forget his colossal failure to protect Vale when the grimm invaded its streets," The voice said causing King to place his hand over his stomach. He was starting to feel sick, having a feeling that something was very wrong.

"Or perhaps this was his message to a tyrannical dictator that has occupied an unsuspecting kingdom with armed forces. Honestly, I haven't the slightest clue as to who is right and who is wrong. But I know that the existence of peace is fragile. And the leaders of our kingdoms conduct their business with iron gloves. As someone who hails from Mistral, I can assure you that the situation there is . . .equally undesirable," The female said as King stood up and began to look for a way out.

The feeling in his stomach was just getting worse and he wanted to be ready for whatever was happening. As he walked out of the building he saw several screens with the same symbol playing the same message as the ones in the stadium. "Our kingdoms are at the brink of war. Yet we, the citizens are left in the dark. So I ask you when the first shots are fired. Who do you think you can trust?" The female said as the message finally came to an end.

After it did King sighed but the same feeling persisted in his gut before a loud siren began to play. "Alert incoming grimm attack, threat level nine. Please seek shelter in a calm and orderly manner," The message said only for several people to begin screaming as they tried to make their way to somewhere they thought they would be safe. As they did King saw a nevermore fly over them only for another message to play.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please, there is no need for panic," The message said as the nevermore let out a loud screech attempting to break into the stadium. King shook his head and reached into his pocket to pull out his scroll before calling Weiss. As he did King began to become a little impatient as he saw her answer.

"Hey, King are you alright?" Weiss asked making sure that he was fine after the announcement she just witnessed.

"Yeah, I'm fine. What about you?" King asked returning the thought.

"Yeah, I'm with Blake. Are any of the others with you?" Weiss asked as she looked at the scroll.

"No, I was by myself before . . . well I'm by myself," King said trying to avoid what happened. "I'm going to make sure that others get out safely. I'll meet you by the docks alright?" King asked as he looked at his scroll.

"Yeah, sounds good. Just . . . be careful, alright?" Weiss asked a small amount of concern showing in her voice.

"Yeah, you too," King said as they slowly ended the call. King then began to run towards Beacon while making another call. As he did he once again heard a small click as another face appeared on his scroll.

"Yo?" Ace said into the scroll.

"Hey, things are uh . . . well not good. I'm coming towards you. How many do you think will need help?" King asked as he continued to head towards the medical wing of Beacon.

"Uh, I don't know. But there's a lot we're all walking in the halls to try and find somewhere safe," Ace said as he looked at his scroll.

"Alright, I'll be there as soon as I can," King said as he looked at the scroll before ending the call. King continued to run towards the building hearing screams slowly become worse as the destruction around them continued to quickly escalate. However, when he reached Beacon he stopped as he saw several airships landing in front of the building. The airships then opened up and he saw several members of the White Fang pouring out of the ship.

"Go! Bring them to their knees!" A male with bright red hair said as he looked at the others clearly the leader of the group. Doors to the ship then began to open letting more grimm out of the ship and into the building. King grabbed his weapon ready to attack before stopping himself and running around the building. If he stayed where they were then the grimm that had already left couldn't have been stopped.

King then ran over to the side of the building and began to use his semblance to make himself float up several floors. At least this way he knew the others that were in the medical wing would be safe. He could just deal with whatever threat came their way while making sure the others were safe instead of worrying about whether or not staying to fight the white fang was the right choice or not.

When King thought he was high enough he used his weapon to break the window before moving in. However, as soon as his feet hit the floor he felt it shift beneath him causing him to lose his balance and nearly fall over. As King righted himself he felt another small tremor beneath him. He could feel the ground shaking violently but wasn't sure what was causing it before he heard a loud explosion in the distance.

When he heard this King looked towards the area he heard the sound from and saw a massive grimm letting out a screech before flying towards Beacon. King's eyes once again widened seeing this before he shook his head and ran towards Beacon. He didn't even know a grimm like that existed let alone that it could get this close to Vale without others noticing. As King walked out of the room he was in he saw that the floor was empty and began to walk down to the other floors. As he did, however, he heard some banging from one of the floor.

King then followed the sound and saw that it was coming from an elevator shaft. It seemed as if it stopped working while they were still inside of it. "Somebody! Please help us!" A voice said from the door.

"It's okay, I'm here," King said as he looked at the doors in front of him trying to open them for a moment.

"Oh thank you! Please you have to do something!" Another voice said.

"I will don't worry, how many of you are in there?" King asked as he looked at the door readying his weapon.

"King, it's me!" Ace said from the door. "There's twelve of us in here. Please hurry, and be careful. The elevator's been shaking every so often I think the support capable are about to give out," Ace said as he looked at the door. When he said this King's weapon began to float in the air before spinning violently.

"I will don't worry just . . . stand back a bit," King said as he looked at them. When he said this he heard several others move and began to move his weapon forward cutting a massive hole in the door. King's weapon then stopped spinning and King once again began to use his semblance to rip the hole open making it large enough for the others to fit through. As he did a massive amount of smoke began to pour out of the doors.

King then sighed and looked at the others in front of him. "Alright come on," King said as he looked at the others in front of him. King watched as each of them slowly crawled out of the elevator. "Is everyone alright?" King asked as he looked at the others causing them all to nod.

"King, what's going on?" Ace asked as he looked at the male causing him to shake his head.

"I don't know, one moment everything's fine in the arena the next every possible bad situation has become a reality. Grimm are invading Vale, the white fang are here bringing grimm in, and there's this massive grimm heading here that I've never seen before," King said as he looked at the male.

"O-oh," Ace said as he looked at the male in front of him. "I . . . well what's the plan?" Ace asked as he looked at the male in front of him.

"Get everyone to the docks, it'll be the safest place to be at the moment," King said as he looked at the male in front of him. "Alright, everyone be quiet, stick together and follow me," King said as he looked at the others in front of him and began to guide them through the building. He knew that most of them were huntsmen in training so chances were they could handle themselves in a fight.

However, they were all also injured otherwise they wouldn't be in the medical wing of Beacon. And while he was sure that they could still put up a good fight, when it came to facing a horde of grimm and a miniature army of White Fang soldiers he didn't think they'd be able to make it out alive especially when both were attacking at once. King and the others then began to make their way through the building trying their best to not alert any grimm or White Fang members.

However, as they were walking Ace got a glimpse of an all-to-familiar green-haired female turn a corner before disappearing. Ace stopped seeing this and looked at the group in front of him as they all continued to slowly get further and further away from him. Ace then looked in the direction that Emerald had gone before walking in the same direction. He might not have been in the best shape of his life but if any trouble came their way he was confident that Emerald could protect him.

When he turned the corner he saw Emerald a male that looked oddly familiar talking to each other. Ace was certain he had seen him somewhere but couldn't figure out from where, and the only thing Ace could figure out was that he might have seen him around the school at some point or another. Ace was about to speak but stopped when heard what the two were talking about.

"Any idea how things are going?" The gray-haired male asked as he looked at Emerald only for her to nod.

"No, but from what I can tell Cinder seems to be happy with the results thus far. Or at the very least she's not upset about it. The white fang have come to drop off the grimm and Adam seems to have found whoever it was he was looking for," Emerald said as he looked at the male in front of her. Ace felt his heart drop hearing this, the thought that his sister could have something to do with all of this. It was more than horrifying.

"And I can only guess that massive grimm is what she was talking about when she said she had a special surprise for the academy. I wouldn't be surprised if the entire kingdom fell and not just the academy," Emerald said as she looked at the male.

"Right, well I guess we head to the rendezvous, let's get going before someone sees us," Mercury said as he began to run down the halls. Emerald nodded hearing this and was about to follow him before she noticed the male that seemed to have been watching them. The two stared at each other for a moment before the silence was finally broken. "Em, you coming or what?" Mercury asked as he looked back at the female in front of him.

"Uh, yeah, just give me a minute. I'll be there with you in a second," Emerald said as she looked at the male.

"Alright," Mercury said as he looked at her before he began to walk away. As he did Emerald turned to look at her brother. "So how much did you hear?" Emerald asked as she looked at the male in front of her. Although she could probably guess how much just from looking at him.

"Why?" Was the only thing Ace could bring himself to say. He couldn't believe that his sister, the girl he has spent nearly his entire life looking for, was somehow capable of doing something like this, or at the very least had some part in doing this. Emerald sighed hearing this and looked at the male in front of him.

"Look it's not that simple," Emerald said as she looked at the male in front of her.

"Y-yeah, I'll say. I- Wh- I just-" Ace said as he shook his head in disbelief clearly searching for the words to convey how he felt about the situation. "I mean . . . people are going to die. Good people, people that never did anything. People that were just trying to live their lives just us. Why would you do something like . . . like this!" Ace said as he gestured around him to all the destruction that was surrounding them his anger and frustration beginning to show near the end of his sentence.

"Again it's not that simple," Emerald said as she looked at the male.

"Then help me understand damn it! Help me understand why my sister, the sweet and innocent girl that I used to know is suddenly committing crimes like this! I spent my entire life looking for you! And the moment I finally find you, the moment I finally have you back in my life, you do something like this?" Ace said as he looked at her his frustration showing itself full force now. However, there was something else behind his anger something that Emerald could see in his eyes. He felt betrayed.

Emerald sighed hearing this and looked at the male. "Look, after you were gone we had no one. We needed to find a way to survive and it took a while but eventually, we found that way. Neo found Roman, and I Cinder. She . . . she like the mother I-we never had. She took me in and cared for me when I had no one else go to," Emerald said as she looked at the male in front of her. And while Ace's gaze did soften some he still seemed to be searching for an answer.

"But . . . why? Why do all of this? Why go along with a plan that you clearly know is wrong?" Ace asked as he gestured around him.

"Because she was there for us!" Emerald said as she looked at the male. "You were gone! You weren't there for us and she was! We thought you were dead! We waited years for you to come back but you never did! So we-I moved on. You can try to guilt-trip me all you want, but let me ask you this. Where were you when I needed you?" Emerald said as she looked at the male in front of her. When she said this Ace was at a complete loss for words as he looked at the female in front of him.

"Where were you when we were alone and hungry? Where were you when we had to sleep outside on rainy nights? Where were you when I needed you most? When I was alone, scared, and needed a shoulder to cry on where were you? You were nowhere to be found! Well, she was! She was there when I needed her most. I know what she's doing is wrong! But . . ." Emerald began as she looked at the male before calming down a bit. "But it's too late to turn back now," Emerald said as she turned around clearly prepared to walk away.

"No, it's not!" Ace said as he called out to her. "It's never too late to do the right. You're right, I wasn't there for you. And it's selfish of me to think that you'd be the same person you were when we were separated. But that doesn't mean we can't still be together. I . . . don't know what we'll do but . . . I still love you. Your my sister after all, so how can not?" Ace said as he looked at her causing Emerald to turn around and look at him.

"Look just . . . just come with me, and I swear I will be there for you. I will be there every day for the rest of your life if I to be. No, I want to be there. Just . . . please come back home to me," Ace said as he extended his hand towards her. When he said this tears began to build up in her eyes and she walked toward him taking his hand. Ace smiled seeing this and began to hold her hand with his.

"I'm glad to have you back. Now . . . let's get out of here," Ace said as he looked at the female in front of him. 

A/N: Alright everyone so I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and for those of you that are curious I am still currently accepting OC's for this story so if that's something you're interested in then please PM me. Now I hope you're all ready because the next vote of the series is about to begin. 

What happens in the next chapter?

1. Ace and Neo find each other
2. King gets an unexpected visitor
3. King visits Jack's house
4. King fights a grimm
5. Other (suggest what you want)