It was time for the Vytal Festival Tournament Finals. The final contestants, which included Pyrrha, Akito, Sun, Yang and Mercury stood in the center of the arena as the crowd went wild. Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Setsuna, Ace and the four Maiden Sisters were sitting together in the stands, all excited, minus the four sisters. Blake and Setsuna would have noticed how their moods seemed to have changed a bit. While the four sisters seemed to be carrying on like normal, there was a noticable difference in Akito's mood. While he didn't seem that hung up over everything, he was still trying to proceed the information Ozpin gave him, not only about him, but also about the Fall Maiden Amber and what he and the other adults wanted Pyrrha to do.

Port: "Now, for the moment you've all been waiting for, the one-on-one finals! Barty, why don't you explain the rules?"

Oobleck: "Ah, it's quite simple Peter! Instead of a bracket system, each round of the finals will be randomly determined immediately before the match takes place!"

Port: "Much like a good hunt, there will be zero time to prepare!"

Oobleck: "Ah, yes, yes! Now, let's see who our first match will be!" The randomizer began as everyone stared at it eagerly. Eventually, it landed on Akito... and then on Yang.

Port: "Yang Xiao Long and Akito Zara! Both students of Beacon going head to head in the finale!"

The crowd went insane for the lineup, their cheers filling the entire arena. The members of Team RWBY along with Setsuna and Ace were certainly surprised by this.

Weiss: "Is that even possible???"

Ace: "It is quite a twist."

Ruby: "I don't know but it's so cool! Good luck, you two!!"

Setsuna: "Good luck!"

In another part of the arena, Team MYLC were seated, watching how things would turn out in the match. However, Akira's eyes suddenly caught sight of three familiar figures in the crowd. It was none other than Emerald, Jet and Cinder. The brown-haired female had gotten up and nodded to the two before she began to make her way out of the stands. Narrowing his eyes, Akira got up.

Maya: "Akira?" She looked at him as he patted her shoulder and began to make his way after the female.

Akira: "Bathroom." Was all he said. The blonde blinked before shrugging.

Port: "Would all other combatants please leave the stage!" Within seconds, the other combatants were leaving the arena, leaving Akito and Yang alone as the two stepped onto the center segment of the arena that began to slowly rise up into the air.

Yang: "Man, I never thought it would come down to you vs me. Talk about a plot twist, huh?" She looked towards the black-haired wolf, who seemed to be slightly distracted as he seemed to be staring off into the distance. Noticing her friend's state, the blonde got concerned. "Hey, you okay man?"

Akito: "Huh?" he looked at her before he sighed and nodded. "Y-Yeah... I'm fine. Just had a lot on my mind for a bit. But don't worry, I won't let it distract me from making you break a sweat in this fight." He said as Alpha's blade flipped into position as he pointed it at her. The blonde was at first surprised but smirked as Ember Celica activated and she pointed her fist at him.

Yang: "Hah! Bring it on then!"

Eventually, the center platform had stopped as multiple spotlights that had risen from the ground shined down on the two. With their sights trained on each other, they slowly began to circle each other, while slowly closing the gap between them.

https://youtu.be/xrGeq0he-X0

(Play Music)

Port: "THREE!" Their weapons would slowly come in contact, metal blade against metal gauntlet as the crowd went silent in anticipation. "TWO!" The GN Shield appeared on Akito's left arm as Yang cocked Ember Celica. "ONE!"

"FIGHT!"

In an instant, Yang reared her fist back and threw a punch, which Akito instantly parried with a bash of his shield, but the impact had caused the two to stumble back. Instantly however, they both charged at each other, with Akito swinging Alpha horizontally at Yang, who jumped and flipped over the attempt before instantly retaliating with a shot from Ember Celica. The black-haired male quickly moved his body to one side, narrowly dodging the shot before quickly retaliating by transforming Alpha into Rifle mode and firing back.

Dodging the beam, Yang launched herself at him and threw another punch. Much to her surprise however, he blocked with the shield segment of Alpha before the GN shield disappeared and he retaliated with his own punch, which she narrowly dodged. The two danced in this center with each other, each throwing an attack at the other and narrowly dodging or parrying the other's attacks. It seemed as if they were evenly matched.

With a yell, Akito suddenly did a small hop and a roundhouse kick, which Yang had proceeded to backflip, narrowly dodging the attack and slightly stumbling back. As she looked back to her opponent, the black-haired wolf had leapt into the air, the GN Long Blade appearing in his left hand now as Alpha shifted back to sword mode. He did a spinning attack, coming down on Yang like a buzz-saw, forcing her to take a defensive stance and raise both her arms, blocking the attack with Ember Celica. When the attack was over however, the blonde brawler instantly went back on the offensive, throwing a multitude of punches at the male, forcing him to quickly back away but in doing so, allowing the female to change her melee attacks into ranged attacks as multiple shots fired out from Ember Celica at him.

Seeing the situation, Akito gritted his teeth and chose to charge head forwards. He began to swerve and dodge each shot, deflecting some with the GN Long Blade while converting Alpha back to rifle mode and firing at her. The blonde was forced to dodge, but never stopped her endless assault of shots. But even then, the male was quickly closing the distance between the two, moving like he had superhuman reflexes as he was deflecting and dodging each shot she made with ease.

Akito: "Gotcha!" He exclaimed, firing Alpha at the ground and giving him a sudden increase in height. Yang looked up in shock before she quickly guarded herself as he crashed down on her with an overhead kick.

Quickly pushing himself off, Akito landed back on his feet as Yang attempted to strike him there, but failed as he dodged out of the way and kicked her right in the chin, sending her flying up briefly. He aimed and shot at her, but she quickly moved herself by firing Ember Celica, the momentum taking her back to the ground. She shot herself back towards him quickly, throwing multiple punches at him, all which he was blocking with his weapons and redirecting when she tried to fire off a shot. Yang went for a roundhouse kick, but Akito did the same as the two ended up missing each other. However, Akito quickly kicked downwards, knocking Yang down to one knee as he quickly slashed down on her with the GN Long Blade. Yang quickly rolled out of the way of the attack and retaliated with her own downward punch to him, but Akito quickly kicked himself up, narrowly dodging the strike and kicking Yang in the shoulder, slightly staggering her. He went for another, but she blocked, and shoulder bashed him in the chest, causing him to grunt and stumble back slightly but quickly regain himself.

His eyes seemed to glow slightly as he made a wide swing downwards, the weight of his arm and blade creating a heavy impact just as Yang moved out of the way, shattering a small part of the ground from the impact alone. Instantly, Akito fired shots from Alpha at Yang, who couldn't dodge in time and stumbled back from the shots colliding with her, causing her aura to shimmer a bit. But instantly, she retaliated, charging back up to him. At first, she threw a few different punches, forcing him on the defensive as he blocked and parried but she suddenly threw him off with a sudden high kick, causing him to grunt and stumble as she instantaneously landed a hard punch to his chest, sending him crashing onto his back and his own aura shimmering.

With him gritting his teeth, Akito quickly got back up to his feet but was met with more shots coming at him from Yang. Thinking quickly on his feet, the black-haired Faunus quickly back flipped away but accidentally ended up falling off the platform. Quickly, he pointed Alpha behind him and fired off a concentrated beam, the recoil pushing himself back up and onto the platform, here he instantly began to charge at Yang, who was firing a volley of shots towards him.

Akito: "I'm ending this with one strike!" He exclaimed as he charged forwards towards the blonde, the GN Long Blade disappearing and being replaced by the GN Shield as he batted shots away and blocked others. 

Leaping up, he threw the shield towards Yang, forcing her to roll to the side as it struck the ground and bounced up. She looked up and was surprised to see Akito already above her. He quickly kicked the shield down, forcing her to block it which caused the shield to bounce off of her, staggering her back. Landing back on the ground, Akito threw a hard right hook, which suddenly caused Alpha to shoot off his arm like a bullet, crashing into Yang and sending her flying back a bit. When she had gotten her composure, Akito was already there, throwing a left hook that she managed to redirect this time. However, unfortunately for Yang, she let herself be distracted by his left arm. His right arm however was pointing upwards, as Alpha fell back down and reattached itself to his arm. The blonde's lilac eyes widened in shock as she realized that he had the muzzle pointed at her abdomen, point black.

Akito: "Game over!" he pulled the trigger, firing a pink beam that sent the blonde flying back and seemingly taking her out of the fight. The Crowd cheered wildly as Akito took this time to catch his breath. But he had a feeling that it wasn't over yet...

*BOOM!*

Akito: "There it is." he turned around and saw Yang standing there, flames burning around her as her hair was glowing brightly and on fire.

With her eyes now crimson red from her Semblance, Burn, activating, she charged headfirst and threw a punch instantly at him, which he blocked with Alpha, but the sheer force caused him to be pushed back. As she cocked Ember Celica, the male took the chance to attack again, transforming Alpha back to sword mode as he swung at her, but she quickly ducked underneath the attack and quickly raised her arm to block an attempted kick at her. Instantly, she retaliated with punches. One punch, two punches, three punches, four. Each one connecting with the male's face and causing him to stagger backwards. Akito knew if he didn't do something at the moment, he'd lose. As he stumbled back, Exia's gundam core around his neck began to glow as he was about to activate it but suddenly froze in place, everything around him going dark.

He was confused, looking around as he couldn't find Yang or... anyone for that matter... However, a red glow appeared in front of him as his eyes widened, seeing what looked like... a woman, standing before him. She had pale white skin that looked like Yakumo's skin when he went into his 'Grimm State', white hair and wore a long black dress. Her eyes were black with red glowing irises. Despite her appearance however, she had on... a gentle almost motherly smile...

(???)

???: "My dear son..." Upon hearing her loving voice, Akito couldn't help but mutter out...

Akito: "M-Mom...?" All of a sudden, his eyes widened as in came Yang, flying through the image of the woman and striking him down with a punch to his cheek, causing his aura to break and for him to go rolling across the ground. Instantly, the buzzer sounded off.

Port: "What a way to kick off the finals!"

Oobleck: "Yang Xiao Long wins!"

Ruby: "YEAH! YOU DID IT SIS!"

Ace: "Way a go Firecracker!"

Setsuna: "But... Why did Akito freeze up at the end like that?" She questioned, with her looking at Blake who was silent. She was happy that Yang won the match, but something about how Akito froze at the end just... rubbed her the wrong way. And it wasn't just her too. All four of the Maiden Sisters just looked at each other.

Yang looked around at the cheering crowd and pumped her fist up in victory before she looked down to Akito, who was just on the ground, looking down.

Yang: "Not sure what happened at the end there, but still, good fight Akito. Better luck next time, though~." She said a bit playfully as she winked at him, but reached her hand to him, offering him her support. However...

Akito: "Oh there won't be a next time, you bitch..." She was thrown off by his tone and words and stumbled back slightly, but suddenly gasped as he looked up, revealing the skin on his face to turn Grimm white with black veins and his eyes to turn black and red.

With a yell, he got up and charged her with Alpha, swinging at her. She dodged however and instantly retaliated with a single punch to the right side of his face, which also ended up firing a shot from Ember Celica. The crowd gasped as Akito went tumbling onto the ground, while holding onto the right side of his face and eye in pain before falling limp as he fell unconscious.

Port: "My word!"

Oobleck: "Cut the cameras!" Everyone in the crowd was stunned into shock at the sudden display, with Setsuna suddenly standing up alongside Blake.

Ruby: "YANG!?" she gasped her sister's name in shock while Weiss covered her mouth in both shock and horror.

Ace: "What the hell are you doing!?"

S.S.A.W: "BIG BRO!!!" They all yelled collectively before they began to run down to the arena, with Setsuna not far behind. Meanwhile on the ground, Yang looked down at the downed Faunus male, with an angry expression.

Yang: "What the hell was that all about!? I said good game! Don't just leap at me like tha-" She was cut off as she heard the cocking of guns around her. She quickly scanned around her and saw that she was surrounded by both Atlesian Knights and Atlesian Soldiers.

Soldier: "Yang Xiao Long, stand down!"

Yang: "What!? Why!?"

Spring: "Big bro!!" She looked over and saw the four sisters quickly running to their brother's side. Winter had propped him up in her lap while Summer began to assess the damage to his face. Upon seeing it however, she gasped in horror.

Summer: "Oh Oum... Medic! SOMEONE PLEASE BRING A MEDIC!!!"

Autumn: "What the hell was that all about Yang!? He did nothing to you!!"

Yang "What!? What do you mean??" She asked in a tone of desperate confusion. It only was until she looked up to the screen that she'd get her answer. Her eyes slowly widened in horror as on the feed being shown, Akito was on the ground, looking up at Yang as she had reached her hand out to him... before suddenly decking him right in the side of his face. Hearing some growling, Yang looked over to see Setsuna charging at her, her Semblance of Primal Fury activated as her eyes were glowing. With her Ice Wolf Claws, she tried to lunge at the blonde, but fortunately, Blake had managed to get down there and caught both of Setsuna's arms, holding her back.

Blake: "No Setsu! Attacking Yang won't do anything but get you in trouble as well! Akito wouldn't want that!"

Setsuna: "But! But..." her voice began to break as tears were falling down her eyes. "B-But... Akito..."

She looked down, crying as tears were falling down her eyes. The paramedics quickly came and loaded Akito onto a stretcher before quickly rushing off, with his four sisters by his side. All Yang could do was watch helplessly, with a look of pure regret and sadness. She looked at Blake, who had a slightly unreadable expression on her face as she just looked off. With the Knights behind her and the Soldiers in front of her, Yang was led off the arena.

>Chapter 27: The Beginning of the End<

Ironwood: "I'm sorry but you've left us with no choice." he said in a somber but stern tone as he stood in the center of Team RWBY and WOLF's shared room, addressing to Yang as her, Ace and Ruby were seated on Weiss's bed while Weiss and Blake were on Blake's bed. As for Setsuna, she sat on Akito's bed, while hugging her knees as her expression seemed dull and unreadable.

Yang: "But he attacked me!" She defended herself.

Ironwood: "Video footage and millions of viewers say otherwise." He said as he was pacing through the room.

Weiss: "But Yang would never do that! Especially not to Akito!"

Ace: "She's a hot head, that's for sure. But she wouldn't attack unless provoked. There has to be something we're missing here.

Ruby: "Yeah! And Akito would have never attacked Yang either! They're too good of friends!"

Ironwood: "You all seem like good students and the staff here at Beacon are fully aware that you would never lash out the way you did... under normal circumstances." He made a brief pause, gently putting a hand on top of Setsuna's head, to which she didn't react. "What I believe and hope this to be is nothing more than the result of stress and adrenaline. When you're out on the battlefield, your judgment can become clouded in an instant. Something you see things that simply aren't there. Even after the fight is passed..."

Yang: "But I wasn't-"

Ironwood: "THAT'S ENOUGH!" He finally raised his voice, silencing the entire room. "I'm sorry, but the sad truth is... whether it was an accident or an assault, it doesn't matter. The world saw Ms. Xiao Long attack an innocent student. They've already drawn their own conclusions and it's my job to inform her that... she is disqualified."

A look of shock crossed Yang's face before she looked down, with tears threatening to fall from her eyes. With him patting Setsuna's head once more, Ironwood turned and opened the door, revealing Winter and Autumn standing there. He gave a small nod to the two and allowed them to enter the room before making his exit and closing the door behind him. Instantly, Ruby, Blake and Weiss looked to the two sisters.

Blake: "... How is he?" Autumn just sighed as she crossed her arms and sat next to Setsuna, who slowly leaned against her. Winter walked over to the window between the two bunk beds and looked out into the cloudless, blue sky.

Winter: "He's still alive. However, doctors said that from the area he was impacted, it damaged his right eye. They're not sure if he'd be able to... see out of it again, even with his Aura healing him..." She said as she closed her eyes. Silence engulfed the room, with Yang's heart aching even more from the sheer guilt she was feeling.

Autumn: "So..." They all looked towards her. "Why did you do it?" She asked, her tone not friendly as she seemed like she was trying to hold back some genuine anger she was feeling.

Yang: "I-I didn't mean to do it! I promise! I... I just saw Akito lunge at me... He even looked like a Grimm when he did it!" That confused them a bit but the blonde just sighed. "Who am I kidding... I'm probably going crazy... But... you guys believe me right?"

Ruby: "Duh!"

Weiss: "It's as Ace said, you're hot headed but not ruthless."

Ace: "Exactly. And frankly, I find this whole situation suspicious in of itself. I wouldn't believe that you'd do something like this, Yang." The only ones that didn't answer were Winter and Autumn, for obvious reasons, but also Blake and Setsuna.

Yang: "Blake? Setsuna...?" The feline Faunus was silent for a while before...

Blake: "... I want to believe you..."

Ruby: "Huh!?"

Weiss: "What's that supposed to mean!?" Yang's eyes widened as tears began to seep through.

Yang: "... Blake...?"

Weiss: "How could you say something like that!? I know you love Akito but Yang would never lie to us!" The ravenette was silent before glancing over to Setsuna.

Blake: "... Akito, Setsuna and I... had someone dear to us, change... It wasn't in an instant, it was gradual little choices that began to pile up. He told us not to worry. At first they were accidents, then it was self-defense. Before long, even I began to think he was right. This is all just... very familiar. But you're not him and you've never done anything like this before. So... I want to trust you. I WILL trust you. But first, I need you to look me in the eyes and tell me... that Akito attacked you. I need you to promise me that you regret having to do what you did." Blake stared at Yang as she did her best to wipe her tears away and look back at her.

Yang: "I saw him attack me, so I attacked back." Blake let out a large sigh before smiling.

Blake: "Okay. Thank you." She gave a small nod to Yang before looking back at the arctic wolf Faunus. "Akito wouldn't want us to be mad at Yang... So, for him, it's best to forgive her and figure out what's really going on." There was silence for a moment before Setsuna finally looked at Yang and gave a small nod.

Setsuna: "... Right... Setsuna believes you, Yang..." She spoke. Even though she didn't sound very enthusiastic to say it, the female did truly mean her words at heart and Yang felt it at the very least.

Winter: "I believe you as well. And I know my sisters agree as well." She said, looking towards the blonde before looking at Autumn, who seemed slightly hesitant but relented as she nodded.

Autumn: "... Yeah." Yang stared at them for a bit before looking back down into her lap.

Yang: "I... think I'm gonna rest up."

Blake: "We'll get out of your hair." She said while smiling a little at her. The entire group left the room and closed the door behind them, leaving Yang to herself. Instantly, Weiss lets out a heavy sigh.

Weiss: "This is a mess..."

Ace: "That's an understatement..." There were footsteps as Team MYLC were approaching them just as the door to Team JNPR opened up, with Jaune sticking his head out.

Jaune: "She doing okay?"

Blake: "She's doing the best she can."

Ruby: "Akito's also doing fine according to Winter. But it'll take a while for him to heal up... that's if he'll heal up..."

Saria: "How could all of this happen...?" She mumbled while looking down, rubbing her arm while Lapis placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

Maya: "Even the general seemed frustrated with the situation. I can tell he's probably gonna try to do whatever he can to figure out what exactly happened, because I think he doesn't believe Yang just willingly did that to Akito without something happening."

Jaune: "Well at least that's a good thing." he said while Akira was mostly silent, with him narrowing his eyes as he thought back to when he left his team to go after Cinder.

(Flashback)

After leaving the arena, Akira quickly scanned the area to try and find where Cinder had gone off to. Unfortunately for him, she had managed to already disappear from his sights, causing him to let out a sigh of frustration.

Akira: "Always one step ahead of me, huh Cinder..."

Cinder: "Glad to know that you at least acknowledge that~" he froze as he felt a sharp blade pointed at his back, while an arm was wrapped around his neck. Behind the black-haired male was none other than the woman herself, Cinder, a smug smirk on her face as she had the male in a tricky situation. "Usually, it would have been difficult for me to pull this off on you. You've gotten sloppy over the years~" She taunted, much to the male's annoyance.

Akira: "Tch... What are you up to?"

Cinder: "Mmm? Why, I'm up to nothing! Why would you put suspicion on your old friend?"

Akira: "Cut the bullshit, Cinder. You and I both know that you can't lie for shit in front of me." The brown-haired female just chuckled.

Cinder: "Quite unfortunate for me, huh? Well, it's too bad you can't chase after me, otherwise good ol Ironwood would get suspicious of you and you'll end up back behind bars." he gritted his teeth as frost began to accumulate on his hands. "Let's just say... I'm planting the seed for a sprout of massive, world-shaking proportions. And we're all going to be stars in this magnificent performance~"

Akira: "What...? What do you-" All of a sudden, there was a gasp of horror from the crowd inside of the arena as Port and Oobleck's voices sounded through the stereo system.

Port: "My word!"

Oobleck: "Cut the cameras!" A small yet devious chuckle came from Cinder.

Cinder: "And there goes the first implantation~"

Akira: "Bitch... what the fuck did you do!?"

Cinder: "Why don't you go and see for yourself?" The male quickly managed to break free from her, frost daggers forming in his hands as he was ready to battle with her. He tensed up as she strolled over to him, her hands behind her back as she leaned forwards and whispered into his ear. "I'm promise it'll be quite the treat~"

She said, before planting a quick peck on his cheek, causing him to immediately recoil and hold his cheek as the area she kissed seemed to be burning slightly. Cinder just held her smirk before walking off, disappearing from the male's sight.

(Flashback end)

Maya looked back at her teammate, confused at his state of silence, but he just looked at her and shook his head.

Ren: "If there's anything we can do, please don't hesitate to ask."

Ruby: "Thank you... if that's the case..." She looked directly at Pyrrha, who was sitting down on her bed. "Pyrrha?"

Pyrrha: "Hmm?" Ruby flashed her a smile.

Ruby: "You be sure to win one for Beacon, okay?"

Weiss: "It's what Yang and Akito would want." The redhead was a bit silent and seemed a bit hesitant before she gave her best smile, which seemed a bit forced.

Pyrrha: "I'll... do my best!" Winter and Autumn remained silent as they shared a glance with each other. They knew what was going through the female's mind.

Ruby: "I'll be sure to watch tonight in case you're picked!" Pyrrha's smile slowly faded as she looked down.

Blake: "Sorry, but I think I've had enough fighting for one year."

Winter: "You said it..." She said with Autumn nodding.

Weiss: "Me too. Coffee?"

Blake: "Tea." She smiled. "But let me go and check on him first before we leave." The heiress smiled at her friend and nodded.

Akira: "I'll come with." The male finally spoke, taking most by surprise as he'd usually just go off on his own. Weiss and Blake shared a look while Winter smiled at him.

Winter: "Sure, we don't mind. Right girls?"

Autumn: "Yeah, I don't mind." she said with a smile, with Blake and Weiss both nodding as well. The blue-eyed male nodded before looking at Maya, who seemed to be happy for him and just shoved him over to them.

Maya: "We'll go with Ruby to the Colosseum if Pyrrha gets picked." She said, with Lapis and Saria both nodding.

Ace: "I'm going to head up with her as well." He nodded at his sister.

Ruby: "What about you, Setsuna?" They all looked at the arctic wolf female, who remained silent before she sighed.

Setsuna: "I'm... going to talk to Yang for a bit... And apologize to her for... trying to attack her..." She said while lowering her head. The members of Team RWBY and Ace looked at each other and smiled.

Ruby: "I think she'd like that." Setsuna blinked before she gave a small slightly unenthusiastic nod but began walking back towards team RWBY's dorm room. Everyone else began to scatter and go their separate ways while Jaune closed his team's dorm room door.

Infirmary...

Winter and Autumn entered the infirmary with Blake right behind them. They soon parted out of the way, revealing the sight to the feline Faunus who gasped slightly in shock. Akito laid in the hospital bed; the right side of his face completely bandaged up. On his left, Spring was sleeping, her head resting on his chest while Summer was seated on his right, holding his hand. The pink-haired female looked at them and smiled.

Summer: "Blake, you're here. Where's Setsuna?"

Blake: "Currently comforting Yang. But she gave me her regards to Akito." The female Deer Faunus was a bit surprised but smiled and nodded. She got up from her seat, allowing Blake to take the seat and sit next to her boyfriend's bed. Blake's amber eyes scanned his face silently. She could see a slight red stain on some inner parts of the bandaging, most likely from the bleeding that stopped. Slowly, she took his hand and caressed it.

Blake: "Hey babe." She started off. "I know you're not doing so hot right now and... probably can't hear me... But I wanted to let you know that... I don't hate Yang. None of us do in fact. And she deeply regrets what happened between you two. Setsuna should be talking to her right now. I... don't really know what to say, to be honest. I'm confident that you'll get through this, because you're too much of a stubborn bastard to let this keep you down." A small chuckle came from Autumn. "But when you wake up, you owe us an explanation of what happened. Cause if you really did attack Yang because you lost, I'll seriously kick your ass."

That got a light laugh out of the three sisters. Blake chuckled slightly and smiled warmly.

Blake: "But truthfully, I don't believe for a second that you did that. In fact, I'm more curious as to why you seemed to freeze up at the end there... But... These are all questions that can be answered when you wake up. Just for now... rest up. There is a chance that you'll lose your right eye permanently... but even then, that won't stop me from loving you." She slowly leaned down and pecked his lips lovingly. "I love you, Wolfie. Always has... and always will." She said, her tone soft and gentle as she closed her eyes and pressed her forehead against his. There was silence for a good while before...

???: "H-Hah... You kicking my ass? Don't make me laugh, pussy cat..." She gasped slightly as her eyes shot open, along with the three sisters' eyes widening in surprise. As Blake got up, she looked down and watched as Akito's left eye slowly opened up.

Blake: "A-Akito you..."

Autumn and Summer: "Big Bro!"

Akito: "Hey..." He said with a weak smile. He felt movement on his left and looked, to see Spring slowly stirring awake. She yawned and rubbed her eyes before blinking. Her eyes widened instantly upon seeing her dearest older brother awake.

Spring: "Big Bro!!!" She quickly hugged him, with tears of happiness falling down her cheeks. A warm smile was present on the male's face as he gently wrapped one arm around the female.

Akito: "Big Bro's right here..." He said gently before turning his head towards Blake. "I heard what you were saying by the way. Thanks... for not getting mad at Yang... If she saw me attack her, then... I fully believe her. Because... Something similar happened to me too."

Winter: "What do you mean?"

Akito: "... Right at the end of the fight, just before Yang struck me down, I saw... something... A woman in black... She called me... her son." That caused everyone in the room to be confused, but the four-Season sisters instantly seemed to put two and two together.

Autumn: "You think... that was our real mom? The one dad told us about?" Akito nodded as the four sisters gasped in shock.

Blake: "Your real mom?" She asked, confused by what she meant by this.

Akito: "It's... a long story. I'll explain later. But... I think so. But it's the sheer fact that I saw her confused me... Cause Yang managed to break me right out of that vision. It was as if... I saw an hallucination." The room fell quiet. "If what Yang said was really true, then it happened to me as well... Something's not right with this tournament... And when you add what Mio told me... We should be on our guard for the rest of this tournament, all of us."

Blake: "I understand. But for now... please rest up, you're too weak to be talking this much." The male rolled his eye and scoffed.

Akito: "Whatever..." He spoke. Blake chuckled and smiled before pecking his cheek and standing up.

Blake: "I'll be down in the fair with Weiss and Akira if you need me." She said before turning and taking her leave but before she fully did, she looked back at Winter and Autumn. She didn't need to say anything as Akito spoke.

Akito: "No need to keep yourselves in here for me. Go out and have fun with them. Same for you, Summer, Spring."

The four sisters exchanged glances with each other before coming to a conclusion. They all gave their dear brother a peck on his cheek, one by one before smiling at him and nodding. All he did was chuckle before he closed his eye and began to rest again.

>>Meanwhile<<

Team RWBY and WOLF Dorm...

Yang was seated on Blake's bed, staring out of the window silently as many things were running through her mind when she suddenly heard the door open, causing her to sigh.

Yang: "I said I wanted to be alone for a whi-" She paused as she turned to face the person who stepped in; Setsuna. She closed the door behind and slowly began to walk towards the blonde, who quickly looked away, unable to look at the Faunus in the eyes. "Setsuna I... I said I'm sorry."

Setsuna: "Setsuna knows." She spoke.

Yang: "Then why are you here? To scold me?"

Setsuna: "Nope." She said as she sat down next to her. "You want a shoulder to cry on, right?"

Yang: "I..."

Setsuna: "Yang..." She fell silent as she chose her words carefully. "I'm... sorry, for attempting to attack you back then. It's just... after seeing Setsuna's... friend, my... companion be struck down in such a manner... I saw red. But... I know you wouldn't have done it on purpose. If it were anyone else who wasn't a part of this team, I'd... probably have been locked up right now. But... I trust you. I know Akito still trusts you too. So... please now that I do forgive you for all of this."

Yang: "Setsuna..."

Setsuna: "And if you want to cry, you can always use Setsuna's shoulder." She offered with an honest smile, though looked away a bit sheepishly. "Even though it may be a bit uncomfortable considering... Setsuna is much shorter than you..." Yang was speechless for a moment but even then, she couldn't help but show a small smile as she gently placed a hand on her head, causing her to look up at her.

Yang: "Thanks Setsuna... That means a lot." The Arctic-Wolf Faunus blinked before she gave a brighter smile and nodded.

???: "How touching." The two turned to the door, seeing none other than Qrow, who was standing there with his arms crossed.

Yang: "Qrow..."

Qrow: "Hey there firecracker." There was silence for a bit as Setsuna felt a bit of awkwardness in the air before he spoke again. "So... why'd you, do it?"

Yang: "You know why."

Qrow "All I know is that you attacked a helpless kid. So, either you're lying, or you're crazy."

Yang: "I'm NOT lying." She instantly said, with utmost certainty.

Qrow: "Hm, crazy, got it." He leaned off the wall and approached as Setsuna just rolled her eyes.

Yang: "Who knows? Maybe I am." The white-haired female was about to say something, but all Qrow did was just raise his hand, telling her to not.

Qrow: "And here I thought your dark-haired friend or that Akito kid were the emo ones." He began to pace around the room slowly. Then she'd say something that not only took Setsuna by surprise, but also Qrow himself.

Yang: "I saw my mom." He stopped his pacing and looked at her. "I was in a lot of trouble. Took a pretty hard hit."

Setsuna: "Was it when you were fighting against that Neo girl on the train?" She asked, to which the blonde nodded.

Yang: "But when I came to, she was gone. And I thought I saw... her. Her sword. Like the one in you and dad's old picture." She looked at her uncle, who had his back turned to her as he released a small scoff.

Qrow: "You're not crazy, Yang." he turned around to face her. "That was your mom alright. Let me guess. She didn't say a word, did she?" He guessed as he began to approach again.

Yang: "How did you know that?"

Qrow: "I don't see my sister very often, but she does 'try' to keep in touch. Whenever it suits her."

Yang: "Wait, you mean you talked to her? That was real!?"

Qrow: "Yeah, she found me. Ace's father was there too."

Yang: "Uncle V too!?" She exclaimed in surprise, to which her uncle nodded.

Vergil was technically Yang's stepfather, considering him and Raven were the ones that had Ace after Raven's parting from Taiyang. However, she usually called him her uncle instead of stepfather.

Qrow: "Raven had a tip for my most recent assignment and wanted me to give you a message."

Yang: "Why didn't you tell me sooner??" She questioned, her frustration growing as Setsuna placed a hand on her shoulder. Qrow walked over to the open window.

Qrow: "I was trying to wait for the right time... and this sure ain't it. But I guess you deserve to know. And I'll be heading to find Ace to tell him right after to." He then looked at the blonde. "She wanted to tell you that she saved you once. But you shouldn't expect that kindness again."

Setsuna: "Hmph... What 'mother of the year' material she sounds like..." Qrow sighed and looked at her.

Qrow: "You're not wrong there... But that's Raven for you." He said before looking back at his niece. "Raven and Vergil's got an... 'interesting' way of looking at the world that I or Dante don't particularly agree with. And they're both dangerous in their own way. But you're a tough egg, kiddo." He pointed at her while giving a smile. "Shouldn't let this tournament thing get you down. You had a slip up. Sometimes bad things just happen. I say it's time you move on. And I'm sure your friend over here agrees with me."

Yang looked up at him, then at Setsuna who smiled and nodded in agreement. She then looked back up to her uncle.

Yang: "But... move on to what?"

Qrow: "Well..." he turned back to look out of the window and leaned against it. "Raven let some info slip before she took off. If you and Ace ever wanna track her and Vergil down, I think I might be able to help." Yang looked in surprise as she was staring at her uncle, then back at Setsuna, who offered her a nod.

Fairgrounds...

Blake and Weiss were walking together, with the four maiden sisters next to them. Akira on the other hand was quiet, looking down as his meeting with Cinder kept replaying in his mind. He had heard what had happened to Akito during the fight and that hallucination he saw. If he was thinking of things right, he... had to have known who was behind them...

Akira's thoughts: "Those hallucinations he faced... And if Yang was seeing things too, then... Emerald must have been behind it. But why would she and by extension... all of them gain by doing that...?" As he was thinking, he failed to realize that a certain Heiress had slowed down to his walking speed.

Weiss: "You seem to be deep in thought."

Akira: "Mmm?" He looked at her, a bit surprised to see her slowing down to talk to him.

Weiss: "Something on your mind?" There was silence for a while before he sighed and looked up.

Akira: "I feel like I have all the answers to these questions... yet it's difficult for me to answer them." She tilted her head to one side out of confusion while the male just sighed. "Just forget it... It's difficult to explain after all."

Weiss hummed to herself as she studied the male's facial expressions for a moment before an idea came to her mind. She snapped her fingers before she suddenly grabbed him by the wrist and began to pull him along.

Akira: "W-What the? Weiss??"

Weiss: "C'mon! I'll pay for your coffee. And I won't take no for an answer!"

Akira: "H-Huh!?" He was completely confused as the Heiress dragged him past the others. They looked confused and shared a look with each other.

Autumn: "Did... that just happened?"

Summer: "I... think it did."

Winter: "Well... that was out of left field." She said while Blake just blinked before she smiled and chuckled.

>Meanwhile<

Ruby and Ace were making their way to an airbus that was about to depart for the colosseum. However, they both ended up spotting Velvet and Yakumo, who were off to the side, the brown-haired Faunus taking a picture of Sun who was walking by with his weapon in hand. They shared a look before they decided to approach the second-year couple.

Yakumo: "Hmm?" he turned and looked at them before smiling and waving. "Yo, what's up?" hearing him talk caused Velvet to turn around and instantly greet her friends with a smile.

Velvet: "Ruby, Ace! How you two going?"

Ruby: "Hi Velvet and Yakumo! What are you two up to?"

Yakumo: "I was helping out Velvet here with her photography." He explained, with the female nodding happily.

Velvet: "Do you wanna see?" She showed her camera to the two, allowing them to see the picture she had taken of Sun. Well rather... it was just his weapon, which confused the two.

Ace: "You... took a picture of Sun's weapon?"

Velvet: "Yep!"

Ruby: "That's... Better!" She said with a grin as she was trying to stay nice. The two second years looked at each other, then back at the siblings.

Velvet: "We're sorry to hear about your sister. Is she doing okay?"

Ace: "Oh, well... Yang's doing the best she can. But we know her. She'll bounce back eventually, despite everything that happened. Thanks for your concerns by the way."

Velvet: "I just think it's awful what people are saying about her. Yang's such a nice person." She said, while leaning her head against her boyfriend's shoulder.

Ruby: "Well, I'm glad someone thinks so." She said while rubbing the back of her head.

Yakumo: "Yeah... Most of the people here don't have a clue on what its like on the battlefield. Things get so intense that you'll end up seeing things. I mean, it ended up happening to Coco of all people too." That caught the two teens by surprise as they shared a glance.

Ace: "Wait, it happened to ol' hype girl?"

Velvet: "Yeah. She swore she saw Yatsu with her in the forest during the fight with Emerald and Mercury. But he never even made it out of the geyser fields. Stress-induced hallucinations, apparently."

Ace: "Huh... Well, isn't that strange..." He muttered while stroking his chin, while Ruby was just thinking. She agreed that this whole situation just seemed... fishy, yet she couldn't put her finger on it. All she could do was sigh and nod.

Ruby: "Yeah..." All of a sudden, the two were hit with a flash of light as Velvet took a picture of them.

Velvet: "Ooh! Sorry."

Yakumo: "Sheesh, at least warn them first, bunny." He said as the female blushed and let out a sheepish laugh.

>>Later<<

In Amity Colosseum, the next match was getting ready to begin. Ruby and Ace had managed to get up in time and reach two empty seats. But as they sat down, Ace's hands spotted someone in the crowd. It was Emerald and Jet, and they were seated in the same spot they were during Yang and Akito's match... Everything slowed down around him as he activated his Semblance, Null Zone, with Emerald and Jet's respective colors glowing brighter as he began to hear their voices.

Jet: *sigh* "This is starting to get repetitive..."

Emerald: "This'll be the final straw to break the camel's back. Is the thing ready?"

Jet: "Yep. Epyon is ready to go."

With his Semblance deactivating, Ace quietly gasped as he began to have a sinking feeling about this all and then looked a bit over, seeing a red maintenance door. He suddenly touched Ruby's shoulder.

Ruby: "Ace? What is it?" She looked at him, only to see him with a finger over his mouth, telling her to quiet down.

Ace: "Follow me... Something isn't right..." He said as he got up and began to make his way towards that door. Ruby blinked but quickly began to follow behind him. After getting to the door, they both entered, with Ace checking for anyone watching them. They began to walk through the hall they were now in.

Oobleck: "Alright, it is now time to begin the randomization process for our next fight!"

Ruby: "Ace what's going on? Why are you..." They suddenly stopped as a door in the hall opened and out came walking, Mercury, who spotted the two and seemed a bit surprised but just smirked at them. "Mercury?"

Ace: "Stay back, Ruby."

Ruby: "H-Huh?"

Port: "It looks like our first contender is... Penny Polendina from Atlas..."

Ace: "What the hell are you and those two friends of yours planning? What do they mean by this is 'the final straw to break the camel's back'??" he questioned, more like demanded to know. The silver-haired male didn't respond as he just continued to smirk at them. Then Port's announcement could be heard again.

Port: "And her opponent will be... Pyrrha Nikos from Beacon!" Upon hearing the announcement, Ruby's eyes widened in shock and fear.

Ruby: "N-No..."

Ace: "What's wrong, Rubes??"

Mercury: "Ooo, Polarity versus Metal. That could be bad." he said, his taunting smirk growing.

________________________________________

Next Chapter: The Fall of Beacon

Cinder: "As Someone who hails from Mistral, I can assure you the situation there is... equally undesirable. Our Kingdoms are on 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 screens in the Colosseum suddenly turned to static before a loud siren began to blare throughout the area, followed by the announcement...

Announcement: "ALERT. INCOMING GRIMM ATTACK. THREAT LEVEL: NINE. PLEASE SEEK SHELTER IN A CALM AND ORDERLY MANNER."