Jonas and Blake didn't know how it happened. Just a while ago, they were both separated from Winter, Ren, Nona, Clarissa, and Michael. How did it happen, you asked? Well, a big chunk of debris fell from the ceiling, about to crush all seven of them. Before it could happen, Winter summoned one of her glyphs and everyone fell into it. However, everyone was separated in the process. Right now, Jonas was with Blake on the third floor of the coliseum.
Both of them were running as they called the names of their peers. So far, they got no response from any of them. But with Grimm running wild in the streets of Camena, the whereabouts of their friends completely anonymous, and Nox somewhere in the building wreaking havoc, the two were sure that so much weight was plopped onto their shoulders. They only have each other for the moment.
Soon, the two stopped running when Jonas tripped over on a fallen pipe. Gasping, an apprehensive Blake ran to his aid. Once she reached him, the Faunus grabbed him by the torso and lifted him until he was on one knee.
"Are you okay?" She asked as her ears twitched nervously.
"I'm fine. I just tripped is all. It's no big deal." Jonas said, chuckling.
In response, Blake furrowed her eyebrows at him and pursed her lips together. Also, her shoulder became tense. Confused, Jonas uttered a, "What?" Then, the unexpected happened. The cat Faunus grabbed him by the jacket before smashing her lips onto his. Jonas flinched as he felt the texture of her lips. They were soft and...fruity? He couldn't tell if he was tasting grape or raspberry, but he didn't care. He melted into the kiss, placing his hands on her shoulders until they both pulled away.
"Did you really have to kiss me at a time like this?" Jonas asked with a stoic expression. "Not that I hated it, but isn't this a bad time to do that?"
Blake rolled her eyes before they both stood up on their feet again. Before they could continue running, a familiar voice filled the hallway.
"What a touching moment, I'd give you that."
They the duo looked up, Jonas and Blake's eyes widen at the sight of Adam Taurus marching down the hallway as he approached him. Instinctively, the cat-eared girl yanked her weapon from her back and shot two energy bullets at him. But he managed to evade them by unsheathing his sword halfway. Once the bullet struck them, the crimson blade emitted a faint red light.
"I must say, I'm envious," Adam continued. "But what's the point? She wasn't my type anyway."
The two hastily shuffled to their feet and began to dash down the opposite direction of the hallway. Behind them, Adam pursued them with his hand on the hilt of his sword. Upon reaching another hallway, Jonas and Blake took a sharp right. Their pursuer stopped at where they turned before he looked up at a rectangular hanging light. Preparing to unsheath his sword, the highlights in his hair flashed red. Then, he yanked his sword from his sheath and a blood red arc went fly to the wires of the hanging light. The arc snapped the wires, making it fall until it plummeted to the floor in front of Jonas and Blake.
"What?" Jonas said as he regained his breath.
"How dare you run from me?!" Adam growled, getting their attention. "You have no right to flee!"
The boy gasped when he heard those words. He's right. I can't escape this building like this... With that in mind, Jonas reached for his blaster and pointed it at the bull Faunus. "Drop your weapon!" He shouted.
"Why should I? I don't take orders from weak humans like you." Adam replied with a scoff. "Unless you're just trying to scare me away so she wouldn't die trying to protect you."
Jonas quietly growled in response as his left hand became a fist. Adam's demeanor was beginning to get on his nerves, giving him the impulse to strike without a second thought. Yet, he knew what he meant. Jonas was an ordinary human with no powers. Contrary to this, Blake was a cat Faunus with a shadow clone ability. With that in mind, he struggled to hold his emotions back. That is until he felt something take his hand. With a hum of confusion, he turned to his left to find Blake being the one with his hand on her own.
"I'm not protecting him, Adam," Blake said. "And he is not protecting me. We're protecting each other..."
~~~~~
Ren and Nona were coughing as they slowly pushed themselves back onto their feet. The air around them was surprisingly cold, but they didn't know where they were because their eyes were closed. Soon, Ren was on his knees for a gasp of air. When he finally opened his eyes, a mix of shock and confusion filled his expression. Somehow, he and Nona ended up in Camena's park, halfway far from the coliseum.
However, he had no time to ruminate about his location. All they needed to do now was defend the town from its possible destruction. As soon as he was standing on his feet again, Ren grabbed Nona by the hand and helped her stand. When she opened her eyes, she felt the same emotions he felt seconds ago.
"How did we even get here?" Nona asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Looks like Winter's glyph separated us in the process," Ren answered. "But we can't think about that because many people are going to die if we just stand here doing nothing."
"You're right. We need to focus on everyone and not ourselves." She nodded in agreement.
"That's my girl." He said, grinning and winking at her.
The two suddenly heard the sounds of groans of pain from far away. With their eyes wide, Ren and Nona turned around to find a human-shaped silhouette teetering to a tree. They both squinted at him and noticed that his left hand was covering a medium-sized vertical gash above his right hip. They examined him closely. He appeared to be in pain, he looked like a teenager, he donned white armor lined with gold, and he had blond hair. With that observation, Ren and Nona instinctively dashed to the boy, for it was none other than Jaune Arc.
Once the two neared him, their presence got his attention. But as soon as they finally reached him, he fell over, only to be caught by them.
"Jaune," Nona said as her eyes stared at the gash on his side. "What happened to you?"
"Yeah, who did this to you?" Ren wanted to know.
"I was fighting some Dark Ones changeling when he suddenly slashed me with a sword," Jaune answered with a wince. "Speaking of slash, does it look bad?"
"It's really bad," Ren nodded. "We're gonna have to take you to a hospital, man."
"How?" Nona asked. "The hospital is at least four miles from here and Camena is being raided by Grimm. How are we going to get there without getting killed in the process?"
Before any of the boys could reply, the trio heard the sound of a revving car behind their backs. Slowly, they turned around to find a gray van approaching them. Initially, a surprised Ren expected the van to run them over. Instead, it turned itself around until it pointed its rear at them. A startled Ren, Nona, and Jaune were frozen in their spot until the rear doors opened. Inside the van was Ivor and Stevonnie. The van was driven by Cole.
"Did I hear you say doctor?" Ivor said in an upbeat tone.
The trio was silent until Ren lashed out by yelling, "What the heck is with the positive attitude?! We are literally dealing with an invasion and all you can do is go all sunshine and rainbows?! I mean, look around you! Monsters are roaming the streets wanting to eat people and criminals are most likely trying to commit fiendish acts!"
While he rambled on and on about their dilemma, Nona brought Jaune over to the van and said, "Jaune needs medical attention. He's got a really bad gash."
Nodding, Ivor and Stevonnie grabbed Jaune's hands and gently pulled him into the van before placing him on the floor. Then, Cole gestured at the two to come inside. Nona obliged before grabbing the furious Ren's wrist and walking into the van, pulling him in with her. After that was done, Stevonnie shut the doors of the van before Cole stepped on the gas. With that, they drove off.
~~~~~
Squeezing his eyes shut, Michael groaned. The ringing in his ears was the only audible sound he could hear. An excruciating ache filled his arms, torso, and head. But then, the ringing in his ears began to fade and a young girl's voice was slowly beginning to replace it. With that, he finally got the strength to open his eyes. When his eyelids steadily opened, he was greeted by the sight of a blurry shape that hovered over his head.
He swore he felt a pair of wet droplets land on his forehead and slide to his temples. He blinked twice and his vision finally cleared up. Chara's face was looking down at his. Tears were filling her crimson eyes as her bottom lip quivered. With a deep breath, Michael pushed himself into a sitting position to meet her eye level. But before he could ask her, he needed to know where he was first.
Upon looking around his environment, he realized he was inside another hallway of the coliseum. He assumed he was on the third floor, for the buildings were far below him. Nodding to himself, Michael turned back to Chara and opened his mouth to ask.
"What are you doing here, kid?" Michael gave her a questioning look. "You're supposed to be with Asriel and Kubo."
Chara didn't answer. Instead, she quickly wrapped her arms around his torso and sobbed, "I'm sorry! I lost sight of them when we were ambushed! They tried to grab me, but all I did was run!"
Michael was tense and silent, but he gave the young girl a gentle embrace in response. "Who ambushed you guys?" He asked.
"I..." Chara sniffled. "I can't remember their names, but they claimed to have known me!"
Breaking away from the hug, all he could do was look into her eyes in silence. But then, they were startled by the sound of a loud boom. Michael and Chara turned their heads to find a thick cloud of dust drifting from the hallway's wall. The teenager squinted until he spotted a hulking woman in a black and red sleeveless jumpsuit. It was Jasper, followed by Mercury and Emerald. At that moment, Chara gasped as her red eyes became wide.
As the sinister trio approached them, Mercury suddenly noticed Michael. "We never met." He said with his hands behind his head.
"Who the heck are you people?" He retorted, putting a protective arm around the young Mimic.
"Who we are is not important, boy," Jasper replied with a sneer. "You have something that belongs to us and it would be a pleasure if we took it out of your hands for the greater good."
"If you're talking about Chara, I'm not giving her up!"
"Ha! Like a scrawny human can face even the most dangerous creatures this planet has never seen before!" The tall Gem laughed.
Rolling his eyes, Michael yanked his scythe from his back and fired a blast of fire at Jasper's head. Unfortunately, he missed when she tilted her head to the left. With that, she squinted at him until she noticed the Delta Rune on the weapon's blade.
"A recruit, I see," Jasper said. "Looks like I underestimated you. Whoever was assigned to mentor you taught you everything you know." Then, she smirked. "Speaking of, I'm going to enjoy crushing you."
"Sorry! No time to dance!" Michael exclaimed before shuffling to his feet, scooping Chara off the floor and running off in search for an exit.
"Get them!" Jasper shouted.
Mercury and Emerald didn't have to be told twice, for they began to chase Michael down the hallway. The boy knew they were pursuing him for Chara, but he wouldn't allow them to rip her out of his arms. He needed to get himself and this innocent girl with amnesia out of the coliseum for good. Taking the stairs will not do, no. Michael thought long and hard as he ran until his eyes spotted an elevator.
Skidding his feet, he pressed the silver button with the arrow pointing downwards. Then, the doors slid open and he threw himself into the elevator. Michael was sure that Emerald and Mercury were about to close in on him and Chara. But he was quick enough to press the button with the number one. He waited for the doors to close until they finally did. After that, he sighed with relief, placing her on the floor until he was sitting down. With his head between his knees, he began to imagine one of his pursuers lashing out at the door out of anger. Meanwhile, Chara watched him apprehensively before turning to the door.
~~~~~
"Clarissa," Winter said to a petrified redhead who was on her hands and knees. "You have to get up."
Clarissa couldn't bring herself to get up on her feet again. She and the Atlas specialist were literally at the foot of Strange Coliseum. She didn't want to look up from the brick ground, but the sound of screams of fear and agony send chills down her spine. The experience of teleportation put her in a state of shock to the point where she was as still as a statue.
"Clarissa," Winter said firmly until she was responsive again.
Nodding, she slowly got back on her feet with the snowy-haired woman's held. Then, they both turned to the scenery of the chaos. Parents holding children and cliques of teenagers running as they recorded the pandemonium were fleeing from Grimm ranging from small to large.
"Oh no..." Clarissa muttered, giving her sniper staff a tight grip.
"This does seem like a dire situation," Winter agreed before unsheathing her sword. "But this commotion must come to an end. Come, Clarissa. Be my squire and help me defend these innocent people from danger."
"Excuse me?" The red-haired teen raised an eyebrow at her.
"Don't make me repeat myself," The woman retorted.
Rolling her eyes, Clarissa spun her sniper staff around until snapping it in half with her knee. Then, each half summoned a holographic blade once she went into a battle stance. Winter grinned and nodded and her with prestige before both ran to slay monsters. It was going to be a long night for everyone.