Jaune is sleeping in the team dormroom with the rest of his teammates. It's the dead of the night, a soft glow of moonlight lighting up his features as he sleeps contentedly.

"Waffles..." He mumbles

Suddenly he wakes up to a call on his scroll, with the ringtone "It's a Big Ursa!" playing.

"Hello?"

Jaune hears noise for six seconds from Ruby's scroll before the call abruptly ends.

"Uh, Ruby?"

The next day, Team JNPR walks at dawn towards their Bullhead.

"I'm sure they're fine." Pyrrha says, trying to put her leader's concerns at ease.

"You think?" Jaune asks

"Probably a butt dial..." Nora suggests

"Team LLAK has always performed exceptionally in the field, team RWBY will be alright with them. We should be focusing on our own mission." Ren says

Nora smiles. "We're gonna be deputies!"

"I just got this feeling... I don't know." Jaune mutters

"Jaune..." Pyrrha says

Suddenly, alarms ring out as they see the city up in smoke.

"We're changing our mission. Everyone on board!" Jaune orders

As the team heads toward their Bullhead, Jaune does a headcount. "Ren, we'll make it to that village another time. Take us into the city!"

As the Bullhead takes off, Mercury, Sheik, Emerald, and Cinder watch nearby.

Emearld looks at Cinder. "You don't think..."

"Sure looks like it..." Sheik mutters

"That's still days away!" Emerald exclaims

"So? What do we do?" Mercury asks

The trio looks at Cinder as she makes her decision.

Team LLAK and RWBY are surrounded in the middle of the pavilion by Beowolves, Ursai, and a massive King Taijitu. They each deploy their weapons, almost simultaneously, ready to attack. The King Taijitu unleashes a mighty roar, signaling the grimm to attack. Lilly takes Apollo and slashes at three Beowolves, taking them out instantly, their remains turning to ash. Klaus points Alpha's blade skyward while a large ball of dark energy forms at the tip of the blade. He then slings it forward, with the orb detonating hitting a couple of Ursai. Aracel creates a light bow and shoots a series of multiple light arrows straight into the sky. The holy arrows then rain down from the sky as pillars of light in two paths directly in front of her, attacking three giant Nevermores. Layla slashes a Beowolf with Vígdis before switching to Bellona, using the revolver to fire at another approaching grimm giving it an electrifying death. Melog joins in on the fight as well, aiming beams from it's mouth on impending grimm. As Lilly finishes slashing at a grimm, she notices the King Taijitu ready for the attack, until she also sees Nora flying on Magnhild towards the King Taijitu, slamming it on the head and killing the beast.

"Nora Smash!"

Jaune, Pyrrha Nikos and Lie Ren soon follow.

"Let's move!" Pyrrha calls out

"Okay, who's first?" Jaune asks

Jaune turns around to notice a giant Ursa standing behind him.

"Oh-oh-okay, you're first, huh? Okay, no, that's fine. Totally fine, done this before, done this before..." He rambles

With a mighty scream, Jaune slashes the Ursa several times before it falls. Pyrrha smiles, as she notices his improvement. A few feet from the fallen Ursa, Sun and Neptune arrive, flashing their newly earned badges.

"Nobody move! Junior detectives!" Sun exclaims

"We have badges so you know it's official!" Neptune says

A fleet coming from the Atlesian Military, consisting of dropships deploying Atlesian Knight-200 units and the flagship of James Ironwood. Sun and Neptune react in awe of the fleet as Sun drops his badge to the floor. As Team LLAK and RWBY look up in the sky, an Ursa takes the opportunity to attack Ruby from behind. However, it is gunned down by a dropship's machine gun. As the robotic Knights deploy, they start gunning down the grimm. Two of the Knights are stampeded on by a Boarbatusk, but a separate group of three Knights fire on an Ursa and another Ursa has fallen from a Knight's punch. Cinder nods her head, signaling Mercury, Emerald, and Sheik to attack the grimm as she walks off. As an Ursa receives the business end of Talaria, at least half a dozen assorted grimm stand in front of Emerald. It turns out that Thief's Respite is actually a pair of bladed, revolver-shaped pistols firing dust particle lasers at the grimm. The grimm pack learn this the hard way when all but a single Ursa fall while charging at Emerald. Emerald quickly transforms her pistols into kopis blades, flipping and slashing at the rampaging Ursa to kill it. Sheik grabs his harp and begins playing a tune that soon surrounds him around grimm. The tune creates a ring of energy with a reflective rainbow, the ring of light turning grimm in the surrounding area to ash instantly.

Out of the opening comes Zwei, followed by Dr. Bartholomew Oobleck in a damaged Atlesian Paladin-290. Port and Oobleck regroup at the opening, nodding their heads. They fire their weapons at the approaching grimm, while Glynda Goodwitch swats away grimm with the Disciplinarian. Across the battlefield, she makes eye contact with Aracel who sheepishly shrugs.

"Why it that you and your peers can never stay out of trouble?" Glynda asks, beginning to repair the damage caused.

"Umm... I don't have an answer for that." Aracel says

Later on, everyone meets in the pavilion as Roman is escorted by Cinder's trio towards an Atlesian airship.

"Oh, I can't believe that you caught me, you've really taught me the error of my ways." Roman says. "Hey, watch the hat!" He exclaims, as he's grabbed by the arm.

Emerald, Mercury, and Sheik then approach Lilly and they smile at each other. Team JNPR is exchange smiles amongst one another while Sun and Neptune bump fists and Port and Oobleck do the same. Aracel comes up from behind Neptune and he hands her the badge that he got for her. He leans in for a kiss only to end up kissing the air as Aracel had already moved on to go brag to Lilly about her badge. Klaus is with Yang and Ruby, blushing as the two sisters poke some light fun at him. Layla snickers from the sidelines while Glynda watches them from behind.

Afterwards, team RWBY and Zwei are sitting on the edge of Beacon's landing platform, overlooking the City of Vale from across the lake. Team LLAK, minus their always missing teammate, walk up from behind the girls. Blake's ears twitch, hearing them coming up, she turns around. Her teammate notice this and also turn around to see what grabbed her attention.

"You guys hungry?" Lilly asks them

"Yes!" Ruby exclaims, the rest of her teammates simply nod.

"You're always hungry." Weiss tells her

"Great! Sun and team JNPR are meeting us at Pizza Mega." Lilly says

"Where's Aracel?" Blake asks

"She went on a date with Neptune." Layla says

Blake tries to hide her disappointment, as they get up from the ground. Ruby is too tired to walk all the way, so she jumps on Klaus' back. Ruby hangs on tightly, but Klaus still keeps a hand on her leg to prevent her from falling. His other hand was interlocked with Yang's, their fingers woven together. She held Zwei with her other arm, his little legs having become tired just like his owner's. Klaus smiles at Yang and the two lean in, only for Zwei to lick the side of his face. Layla and Blake conversed, trying to heal past wounds despite having different narratives on what happened. It was a slow process given they were still coping, but both of them still had hope in repairing their damaged friendship. Lilly talked with Weiss and Ruby about the grimm invasion and the upcoming Vytal Festival. Ruby was more focused on the monsters while Weiss believed she and her team were absolutely ready for the tournament. Though Ruby was tired, she never seemed tired enough to talk. Lilly began thinking about her team's odds, but she didn't have to think about it too much because her team was ready and determined to win.

And in the moment, all seemed to be looking up for them. At least, for now...

Vale's Government Council calls on Ozpin, who responds in his office. The headmaster aloofly stares outside his window.

"Ozpin? Ozpin!"

Ozpin turns his chair towards his desk. Aracel sits on the far side of the desk so that she wouldn't appear in the frame of the call. She idly munches on some apple slices, having lied to her team about going on a date with Neptune when she was really going to train some more.

"Yes, Councilman." Ozpin says

A video feed of the councilmen is shown on a holographic screen with Ironwood's video feed in the corner. Aracel leans closer, but still remains careful to not risk being seen.

"You've left us no choice! The Vytal Festival tournament cannot be broadcast, let alone held, if we are unable to ensure the safety of the citizens."

Ozpin merely sips from his cup.

"Ahem... Therefore, we have reached out to the Atlas council and together have decided that the best action is to appoint General Ironwood as head of security for the event."

Aracel cringes at the mention of the Atlas council causing Ozpin to discreetly glance at her.

"Thank you, Councilman. Our Kingdom is happy to lend as many troops as it takes to ensure that the event runs smoothly and safely as possible." Ironwood says

"And we thank you, General."

"Will that be all?" Ozpin asks, sounding a bit irritated.

"For now. But after this festival comes to a close, we are going to have a serious discussion about your position at Beacon Academy. General Ironwood's reports over the last few weeks have left us somewhat... concerned. I am sure you understand."

The councilmen's video feed disappears, leaving Ironwood's video feed alone with Ozpin. They silently stare at each other for a moment.

"This is the right move, Ozpin. I promise, I will keep our people safe, you have to trust me."

Aracel rolls her eyes as Ironwood hangs up the video call. Ozpin then turns his chair around to look at the large Atlesian Ariship outside his window. Aracel offers him an apple slice, Ozpin takes the offered slice from her and eats it.

"I don't want to overstep, but Aracel... could you-"

"No worries, I planned to pull an all nighter anyways." Aracel says

"Thank you, Aracel. I know you're scared, but your dedication is most admirable." Ozpin says

Aracel gets up, ready to leave. "I won't let you down!"

Ironwood, looks towards Beacon and Ozpin's office through a window. He turns away from the green glow of the headmaster' office, shifting his focus back to the criminal in custody. Ironwood then walks toward a heavily guarded Roman in his holding, albeit without his signature hat.

"You brought this on yourself." Ironwood tells him, before addressing the guards. "Leave us."

The soldiers leave Ironwood alone, so that he can talk to Roman in private.

"I've been informed that so far you've refused to co-operate with the authorities." Ironwood says

"I know this might be hard to believe, General, but uh... I'm not the biggest fan of local law enforcement."

"How about the world's strongest military power?" Ironwood asks, attempting to intimate him.

"Hmm.. first impressions... not great." Roman says

"I'm going to give you one chance. Who's really behind all this?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Roman asks

Ironwood leans his ear toward him to hear his answer.

"You're looking at him." He responds, though not to Ironwood's liking.

"Hm.. Very well then." Ironwood starts walking away.

"What's the matter, General? I thought you wanted to talk."

"The council's given me custody over you for as long as I see fit. So you can make yourself comfortable. I can be sure that you'll have plenty of time to talk." Ironwood says

"Oh, wonderful." Roman laughs, as his cell is closed.

Cinder and the rest of her crew meet discreetly at a rooftop after the area was cleared of the military and huntsmen.

"All in all, I call today a success." Cinder smirks

"Those stupid kids really made a mess of things." Emerald says

"Yeah. A lot of Faunus didn't make it out the tunnels. You still think the White Fang's gonna listen to us?" Mercury asks

"No, but they'll listen to me." Adam says, stepping into view.

《☆☆☆》

Oh Lord, Oh Lord, what have I done?
I've fallen in love with a man on the run
Oh Lord, Oh Lord, I'm begging you please
Don't take that sinner from me
Oh don't take that sinner from me

Oh Lord, Oh Lord, what do I do?
I've fallen for someone who's nothing like you
He's raised on the edge of the devil's backbone
Oh I just wanna take him home
Oh I just wanna take him home

Oh Lord, Oh Lord, he's somewhere between
A hangman's knot, and three mouths to feed
There wasn't a wrong or a right he could choose
He did what he had to do
Oh he did what he had to do

Give me the burden, give me the blame
I'll shoulder the load, and I'll swallow the shame
Give me the burden, give me the blame
How many, how many Hail Marys is it gonna take?

Don't care if he's guilty, don't care if he's not
He's good and he's bad and he's all that I've got
Oh Lord, Oh Lord, I'm begging you please
Don't take that sinner from me
Oh don't take that sinner from me

《☆☆☆》

Elsewhere, in a distant land, an apparent lifeless body is suspended in midair. The dormant figure rests inside ancient ruins. A woman in an old dress is binded by an invisible force, as she rests in the middle of a golden triangular emblem. Three separate pieces make up the triangle, leaving its middle hollow with only her being taking up the space. An outside force intervenes with her eternal slumber, awakening her forthwith. Gold piercing eyes snap open, hues overcome with hatred and vengeance that undoubtedly was the reason the ruins were littered with grimm.

A soft glow comes from gloved right hand displaying the same triangular emblem. The bottom left piece glows significantly more than the other two. As she descends down below, the glow slowly fades away. And golden eyes go back to their regular blue hue that put the sky to shame. The woman creates an orb of light that makes the image of Lilly, Layla, and Klaus appear before her from the day they discovered the summoning gate revealing them to be the outside force that awakened her.

"It's a shame you're allied with him, otherwise I would have spared you."

She swipes her hand over the orb, the image now shifting to one of Ozpin.

"As for you, I'm about to make it rain blood!" She growls out

END OF VOLUME TWO