Far below the floating platforms where the Rank 1 spectators watched from above, the newly expanded battlefield had stretched across the stadium like a vast and great uneven wilderness. Towering ridges of stone carved jagged paths through the terrain while wide valleys dipped between them like dry riverbeds. From this distance the landscape looked almost natural, though every inch of it had been shaped only moments earlier through Ozpin's Master Rune.
Across this enormous arena, teams from the four kingdoms were already moving into their assigned starting positions.
Near one of the rocky ridges, four figures stood together, waiting.
Qrow rolled his shoulders as he surveyed the surrounding terrain. His eyes swept across the battlefield, briefly tracking the distant movements of the other kingdoms as they settled into place.
Beside him, Taiyang Xiao Long stood with his arms crossed over his broad chest.
The blonde man looked every bit the seasoned fighter he was. His stance was relaxed, but the thick gauntlets around his fists hinted at the kind of power he carried behind his punches.
Qrow glanced sideways at him.
"Well," he said casually, "good to have you here, Tai."
Taiyang gave a low harrumph without uncrossing his arms. "Don't make a habit of dragging me into things like this," he replied.
Qrow smirked. "Oh come on. You love the spotlight."
"You know that's not true." Taiyang shot him a flat look.
Qrow chuckled quietly, clearly amused.
"Still," he continued, glancing across the battlefield again, "it's been a while since we fought together like this."
Taiyang shrugged slightly. "Guess someone had to fill the fourth slot."
Qrow tilted his head.
"Sure. Let's pretend that's the only reason. But... its nice to have the group back together."
The last member who was missing needn't be stated. That was Ruby and Yang's mother, Summer Rose. She had passed in the wake of a Rank 3.
Taiyang ignored the comment, though the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.
Qrow followed his gaze upward.
From where they stood on the battlefield, the floating spectator platforms could be seen far above them in the sky. Tiny shapes lined the railings as the audience watched the preparations below.
Qrow scratched the back of his neck.
"You know, they can probably see us from up there."
Taiyang glanced upward. "Tell me something I don't know, Qrow."
Qrow grinned faintly.
"Sheesh. When'd you become such a hardass? Anyway, you think the girls spotted you yet?"
Taiyang snorted.
"Of course they did."
He shifted his weight slightly, still staring up toward the platforms.
"Yang probably screamed and Ruby, definitely did.
Qrow smiled and nodded with mock seriousness. "Sounds about right. Definitely tracks, for sure.
For a moment the two men simply stood there imagining the reaction.
"Wish I could've seen their faces."
Taiyang grinned faintly. "Probably looked like they'd just seen a ghost."
"Or worse," Qrow added. "A responsible adult."
"Speak for yourself, alcoholic." Taiyang rolled his eyes.
Their conversation continued easily, casual despite the enormous battle that was about to begin. A short distance away, Raven sat perched atop a large stone outcrop.
She had chosen a position slightly apart from the others, where the uneven terrain gave her a clear vantage point over the surrounding area.
Her long dark hair shifted slightly in the breeze as she calmly inspected the edge of her katana, running her thumb lightly along the spine of the weapon and checking its balance.
The blade glinted under the bloody hue of the crimson moon overhead.
Throughout the entire exchange between Qrow and Taiyang, Raven didn't say a single word. In fact, she hadn't even glanced in Taiyang's direction since they arrived. The silence between them was unmistakably deliberate. Taiyang had not looked at her either.
Not once.
It was as if the two of them had silently agreed that acknowledging each other would only complicate things.
Nearby, Glynda Goodwitch stood with her back resting lightly against a large slab of stone with her eyes closed.
At first glance she almost appeared to be asleep but the subtle tension in her shoulders suggested something else entirely.
Meditation... or perhaps simply quiet preparation. Her breathing remained slow and steady as she centered her focus before the battle.
After a moment, Qrow glanced over toward Raven.
"She's not even pretending to talk to you," he said quietly to Taiyang.
Taiyang let out a dry laugh.
"Do I look like I care?"
Qrow considered that for a moment.
"…Fair point."
Taiyang shifted his stance slightly, cracking his knuckles as he looked out across the vast arena again.
The other teams had already took their starting positions.
The air felt strangely still. Like the quiet before a storm.
Qrow followed his gaze.
"Big battlefield," he muttered.
Taiyang nodded.
"Good terrain though. Especially for Glynda and me."
Rock formations, elevated ridges, natural cover points. Plenty of places to maneuver and plenty of places to hide.
Vale wasn't going to hide, however. They were set to dominate.
Taiyang flexed his fingers inside his gauntlets.
"Let's just get this over with so I can finally get back to my girls."
Qrow grinned.
"Oh relax."
He stretched his arms lazily over his head. "Think of this as a family outing."
Taiyang looked at him like he had just said something incredibly stupid. "This is the worst family outing I've ever heard of."
Qrow shrugged. "Still counts."
A faint metallic sound echoed nearby. Raven had finished inspecting her katana. With a smooth motion she slid the blade back into its sheath and her sharp eyes lifted briefly toward the battlefield ahead.
A few meters away, Glynda slowly opened her eyes. Her calm gaze swept across the terrain in front of them.
The match would begin soon.
And when it did, the peaceful silence of the battlefield would vanish completely.
A few moments later, Ozpin's calm voice echoed across the enormous arena.
"All teams are now in position. The match will begin shortly."
Then, suddenly, massive illusory numbers appeared in the center of the battlefield. It was a countdown signifying the when the Battle Royale would begin. The numbers hovered high above the terrain, large enough for every participant to see no matter where they stood.
Across the battlefield, fighters shifted their stances and prepared their Runes. The instant the final number flashed, the battlefield erupted into motion.
In a single heartbeat Qrow's body twisted and exploded outward into a colossal transformation. Feathers burst forth in a storm of black as his form expanded at terrifying speed. What had been a man standing on rocky ground a moment earlier became a monstrous crow towering over the battlefield.
The gigantic creature easily reached the height of a ten story building.
Massive wings unfurled, casting a sweeping shadow across the terrain as the enormous bird released a thunderous cry that echoed through the arena.
Without hesitation, Glynda, Taiyang, and Raven leapt upward and landed atop Qrow's enormous back, just as the colossal crow launched forward.
The ground beneath him shattered from the force of his takeoff. A sonic boom ripped through the air as the giant bird surged across the battlefield with terrifying velocity.
Wind roared past them.
Yet, despite the impossible speed and the violent currents of air tearing past them, Raven, Taiyang, and Glynda stood atop Qrow's massive back as though they were standing on solid ground. Their powerful wills pressed against reality itself, allowing them to ignore the normal limitations of physics.
Their balance remained perfect and their footing never slipped. They simply stood there as the world blurred beneath them.
Taiyang, however, was doing something strange. The blonde fighter was slamming both of his hands into his own chest.
Boom.
The sound echoed like a drumbeat.
Boom.
And again.
Boom.
Each impact produced a deep reverberating pulse that rippled inwards into his body like the steady rhythm of war drums before battle.
While Vale surged toward Atlas, the rest of the battlefield had already descended into chaos. Vacuo and Mistral seemed to have reached a silent agreement.
Without a single word spoken between them, both kingdoms had chosen the same target.
Menagerie.
Fighters from Vacuo and Mistral crashed toward the Menagerie team like a converging storm, unleashing their Runes in brilliant flashes of power.
But Vale had their own objective.
Atlas.
And Atlas had come prepared.
As Qrow's massive crow form soared across the battlefield, the four figures waiting for them finally came into view.
The Ace Operatives.
Even from this distance, the four members of Atlas's elite specialist unit stood calmly as the enormous crow descended toward them.
In Atlas, a person could only be considered a Specialist if they fulfilled two requirements.
They had to be Rank Two and and they had to possess a Meta Rune.
The Ace Operatives were a large focus group that was carefully cultivated by Atlas over many years. A team composed entirely of specialists who fought together with flawless coordination.
And the four that were here, were already moving.
Just as Qrow's gigantic form was about to crash into their position, the ground beneath them erupted.
Massive roots burst violently from the earth.
They shot upward like living spears, twisting and expanding as they attempted to ensnare the colossal crow in a forest of wooden tendrils.
The attack came fast. But not fast enough.
Invisible slashes suddenly carved through the air.
Thin lines of force sliced across the battlefield with terrifying precision. The enormous roots were cut apart before they could fully form, their thick wooden bodies severed into dozens of fragments.
The roots collapsed in splintering heaps across the ground.
Yet the defense did not end there.
More roots surged upward immediately, replacing the destroyed ones as though the earth itself had come alive to defend Atlas.
In response, the colossal crow adapted instantly and suddenly broke apart.
The massive body dissolved into a storm of smaller crows that exploded outward in every direction.
Hundreds of black birds scattered across the sky.
At the same moment, Glynda and Raven leapt away from the dispersing flock.
Both women landed lightly on the battlefield below, their movements smooth and controlled as they prepared to engage.
Taiyang did something entirely different. He kicked off the air and borrowed the force of velocity that Qrow had generated earlier. The force of the kick detonated behind him like an invisible explosion.
His body blurred forward with even greater speed. For a brief instant he resembled a bolt of yellow lightning tearing across the battlefield.
The air around him ignited from the friction of his velocity. Flames streaked behind him as swirling currents of energy gathered around his fist.
He drew his arm back and punched.
The strike detonated with a deafening boom.
A massive shockwave erupted outward from the impact point, blasting the battlefield apart in a colossal cone of force.
Heat, wind, and explosive pressure tore through the terrain as dust and debris exploded skyward. The shockwave carved a path nearly a kilometer wide, flattening stone ridges and shattering the ground beneath it.