The command center buzzed with activity. To the uninitiated, it resembled nothing more than a particularly busy military office. Orderlies and Signals Operators running to and fro, passing information to whatever officers demanded such things. To anyone who had spent more than a passing time in the service, the scene was decidedly less mundane.

The urgency which everyone worked...

No chit chat between the operators...

And a center panel that glowed with hundreds of red icons, forming a crimson tide that took up the vast majority of the dust-crystal display. Blue icons were scattered in small clusters surrounding and ahead of the red wave, looking as small and isolated as everyone thought they were from this vantage point.

Ten thousand Grimm. And counting. An almost unimaginable force, unseen in the annals of history. Before it stood a mere thousand hunters... and that classification could be considered generous for many of them, especially given the incredibly short notice they had been given to prepare a reactionary force to this incursion.

General Ruondo shook her head and looked around at the rest of her command team. Goodwich from Beacon, looking as ragged as her forces, the last remaining hunters to escape their thrice-doomed school, exhausted by their long flight from the Grimm legion fast approaching. General Ironwood was also here, fast-tracked with as many soldiers as the Atlesian military could spare, obviously chafing at not having been put in charge of this venture, but equally necessary to its success. The General hid her further surprise at the presence of Weiss Schnee, supposedly sent to represent of the interests of her family's empire. Word was that the path of the monsters would swallow up several large dust operations run by their empire on this continent. Yet others whispered she was here more to verify the supposed sightings of a rogue Atlas Mech seen amidst the Grimm army. Then there was the delegation from the White Fang...or at least the faction not openly at war with humanity at the moment. Blake Belladonna and her personal retinue of Faunus Hunters stood apart from the others, more by unspoken agreement than anything else, their piercing eyes locked upon the main display like most of the others assembled in the room.

In any other time it would be a formidable force, one of the greatest unions of military might Remnant had seen in generations but would it be enough? Ruondo turned back towards the map as the most recent scouting report concluded. "...the Grimm army continues to march in formation, any drones that we send are swiftly shot down, the only hunter scout teams that have returned are those that fled immediately upon engagement with the enemy. At their current pace we estimate the vanguard is mere hours away, the bulk of their forces will have overrun this position within a day if we do slow them down." The huntress providing the report finished and wiped a speck of blood off of the data slate. Her team had been the closest to the eastern flank, and had barely managed to pull away before being overrun.

"Thank you, dismissed." Ruondo stated with a nod before turning to address the rest. "We have a day, even ignoring their previously unseen levels of organization we have no chance against their number in open battle, our only chance is to fortify this pass, funnel their numbers, delay and destroy while other forces arrive to-"

The explanation was interrupted by a dark-haired hunter rushing into the room followed by a shorter orange-haired woman. Her eyes narrowing at the disruption, Ruondo yet noticed a flash of recognition come over the Weiss girl. "Madame General," the intruder breathlessly stated, barely remembering to throw up a salute. "The front line of the Grimm, it has stopped, you have to-"

He gasped for air as he clutched his chest. His companion gently supported him while he recovered himself. Turning to face the general, the girl continued." It doesn't make much sense ma'am but...they've raised a flag of parley. A freaking Alpha is holding a flag!"

Shock spread throughout the room. The behavior of the Grimm had already caused mass confusion amongst all of the nearby governments. The militaristic organization, the way the nigh-endless force's path had woven to avoid major population centers and now this? Looks of puzzlement and fear bounced between the various commanders.

"Show me." Ruondo stated, the first to move she walked out of the tent, the two interrupting hunters at her side and the rest hurrying to catch up. Making their way through the camp they headed up the ramp of one of the parapets, one of many makeshift fortifications currently being erected by a fleet of Ak-200 bots provided by the Atlas military. Soldiers and hunters pressed into service made a path for the delegation, the shimmering array of medals and brass was enough of a warning for even the youngest hunter trainee to get out of their way.

At the top of the tower, another faunus was present much to everyone's surprise. This one was blonde with scraggly blonde hair with a matching tail that swished back and forth in excitement or fear, the General couldn't tell which. Turning on hearing them approach, the hunter nodded grimly before leading Ruondo to one of the windows and handing her a pair of binoculars.

"Hard to believe it myself ma'am, but...well take a look..."

Her breath caught in her throat. Looking down the valley to a massive floodplain beyond, the horde stood before her. Seeing it through her lenses, the pict-slates and reports hardly did it justice. Less a horde and more a demonic battering ram, the Grimm phalanx was just as organized as had been reported. A bulwark of Goliaths and Deathstalkers formed abreast on the front lines with packs of smaller Alphas and other Grimm equally dispersed between them. If the sight of these vile beasts wasn't making her stomach clench into an acid filled ball, she would have praised the tactical disposition as a work of art.

As her spectacles panned across the mass of Grimm, she finally laid eyes upon what the two hunters had been talking about. Out in front of the center of the formation, she could barely see a massive alpha waving a bright, crimson flag.

"Started doing it just a few minutes ago...never thought I'd see the day but-" the faunus began.

"Something's happening." Ruondo interrupted. Silence descended amongst them as others crowded around the observation platform, somehow the two interrupting hunters and the Weiss girl had made it to the front to look on with their own spectacles. As they watched, the front ranks of the Grimm parted, revealing three small and one large humanoid moving to join the flagbearer. Even from this distance Ruondo could make the largest was indeed some kind of Atlas mech, but the make and model eluded her. And she was positive that Atlas HK bots did not have dirty blonde hair as one of their features.

Glancing sideways at the Heiress, she could see fear creasing her face, her alabaster skin going yet more pale in the late afternoon sun.

Suddenly a sound washed over the entire camp. A wailing, bone-chilling voice, as if a million Grimm calling out in unison, their animistic cries somehow converging to form something that sounded like a womans voice, yet filled their hearts with existential dread. A wave of nervous murmuring from Hunter and Atlas trooper alike followed. Only the AK bots managed to match the quiet stoicism of General Ironwood and Ruondo as they continued to survey the scene, their knuckles white as they gripped their binoculars.

"To the Commander of the Hunter forces. My name is Pyrrha Nikos, Fall Maiden, Guardian of Remnant. My quarrel is not with you, but you are in my way. As a gesture of good faith I return to you those of your people who refused to flee before my forces."

As the words echoed through the valley, another gap formed in the Grimm line. Surrounded by a circle of Alphas, a large group ofthoroughlybedraggled troops and civilians became visible. An Alpha near the front motioned to the closest soldier wearing a bloody bandage over his eye and pointed towards the defensive line. Though the General could not hear what was being said, the expressions of the troops told it clear enough. Walking slowly at first, then breaking into as fast a run as their injured bodies would allow, the freed prisoners crossed the no-mans land towards the humanencampment, amazed and confused at their salvation.

As the prisoners crossed the halfway mark, the unearthly powerful voice echoed across the valley once more.

"We all know that we did not have to spare those people. In any other time, they would be our enemy, and dispatched accordingly. However our true enemy lies beyond your lines, beyond the petty squabbles of your kings and borders. The choice is now yours - disperse now or join forces, you have one hour to decide your fate."

As the unearthly words echoed through the pass, the assembled forces froze in shock. At the center of it all Ruondo and Ironwood stood side by side, each more shocked than the next even as additional humans streamed out from the Grimm lines, sprinting full-speed across the field...

"General Ironwood..." Ruondo's voice croaked. To her mounting horror, Ironwood looked about as frightened as she felt. "...what do we do?"