Fandom Distorted Mirror [IC]

[MyrtenRose]

"How humble you are. Clearly these powers come with an equally powerful ego" He drawled with a sidelong glance. "But yes. Together."

"Hey, it isn't ego if you can back it up! Then it's just confidence. I mean, c'mon, it took Nikos and Valkyrie together to do it. That's one hell of a pair." She snickered into the hug. The fight had ultimately cost her, but she didn't regret it for even one single moment. Not like those two would regret it when she found them again. Cinder had no idea when that would be, but she knew that she'd be strong enough to make them pay.​

That said... he wasn't exactly sure if the knowledge about the maiden and the vault was weirder or if this was. He was rigid at first, before his hands slowly unclasped from behind his back and he used one to return the hug with an awkward pat as he rolled his eyes, yet his most valiant efforts to keep up a front couldn't keep the sincerity out of his response. "Always."

"...But seriously, get a hold of yourself. We have important business to attend to and I have a reputation to maintain : |"

Well, the first word of the response anyways.

How Arthur responded to the hug was about what Cinder had expected, stiff and 100% awkward, but she didn't care. In its own way it was nice. Growing up as she had didn't come with many hugs. Barely any, really. She had a lot of catching up to do on that score, and stiff/awkward definitely still counted. Still... "Yeah, okay." Cinder relented, pulling back and resuming her walk. "For where would any of us be without your fearsome reputation? :|"​

 

[Gus Gungus]

You could almost feel the enthusiasm drain out of Neo at the start of Mercury's spiel, because its opening seemed a lot less like a 'let's do this' and more like a 'well it was nice knowing you guys'. Was this goodbye? Did he think that's why the headmistress wanted to see them??? There literally wasn't anything farther from what she wanted, not when it was finally starting to feel like there was maybe more than one human being in the world who got her as a person, even if they were a pair of dweebs who drank way too much of their own cool-kid-kool-aid-

-except that wasn't it at all, and by the time Merc and Em had finished, Neo's hands were clasped in front of her mouth to cover a slightly watery smile, and she suddenly bounded forward to wrap them into as strong of a hug as a 4'8' girl not tapping into her aura could. When you couldn't just agree or give your own cheesy yet inspiring speeches, physical affection was your only real route, and they'd just have to deal.

Not wanting him to feel left out but still very leery about his broken ribs, Roman also got a Neo hug except from a clone who just sort of draped herself over him in a no force hug.

"So... corny..."

"Shut up, tool."

The jabs the two partners landed on each other—and the rest of the team, for that matter—were always playful, but these two lacked even a sarcastic bite as they shared an earnest smirk over Neo's shoulders and squeezed back. Emerald's embrace was a touch so deft it was hardly present, but soft all the same, while Mercury's was a grip clad in iron, like the kind warriors exchanged to show camaraderie in a time before academies and kingdoms.

The wink Emerald gave her partner was a bit more mischievous as she held up the wallet Neo lifted from Roman between two fingers, furtively slipping it into her own back pocket before the little huntress released the hug.

Mercury shot Roman a finger-gun, since he was way too far away to reach and he wasn't lame enough to do this twice.​

 

[MidwayLives]

As it happened, he knew exactly how he sounded. Nothing like a little Black family-style tough love to keep a discussion rolling. They'd thank him one day. His eyes scanned the paper as he spoke, and those in the room could read that his face was doing that thing Mercury's face did sometimes. When just a little of that cocky, cool-guy persona cracked, and the depth of the shadows waiting underneath could be surprising. He tossed the paper on the bed, letting the headline speak for itself.

A GRIMM OMEN - BEACON'S DARKEST DAY?

"Thing is, we also just got our asses kicked. Hard. And you know what? I've been thinking it over, and I decided I'm pretty ticked off about it, and I plan on kicking back. So why don't we shelf the cute little talk about our feelings on that note and figure out who we need to put in the hospital to make this right?"

"You read my mind, Merc.~"

Fighting to stand up for his friends was one thing. Getting bodied fighting for who the fuck knows was another thing.

Time to get to the bottom of this.
​

"Now this? Quality entertainment."

"Wait, wait is he saying troll toll or boy hole...."
​

He shot him a look. "As a matter of fact, I haven't stopped thinking about her."

'Don't say same. Neo will think you're a pervert. Don't say same, whatever you do, GOD, don't say same.'

"Same."

Eh, he tried.
​

His delivery wasn't exactly hostile or anything, but something about the way he said it did leave Emerald looking a little awkward as she crossed her arms with a rebuffed glower. He drew in a breath before producing his scroll and setting it on the table, where snippets of footage from the multi-Neo were playing.

"You can take my word for it, there isn't a semblance in the entire world that could make someone look like Neo, move like Neo, and have the same effect as Neo's. It just doesn't exist. And she knew you, or sure acted like she did." The glance he sent Roman was analytic, speaking to the amount of thought he'd been giving this. A lot. "So I'm gonna go with my gut and say something insane, which is that was Neo. And you know what that means?"

He held them in suspense a moment before breaking the tension.

This was all very bizarre and Roman was understandably confused.

Maybe Neo's semblance had gotten out of control and she'd made an entire clone rather than just one that'd shatter to pieces? In theory, creating another person entirely. Freaking scary if you thought about it that way. Would also explain how 'jealous' she seemed to be of the Neo that Roman knew. She didn't wanna go back to just being nothing.

....Okay, maybe that was a stretch.

Roman hung on Merc's every word, waiting in anticipation.
​

"Because I sure as hell don't. But I bet I know exactly which socially crippled hacker's already looking into it."

"Watts DID seem a little put off when Evil Neo went the extra mile of breaking that one guy's nose. Wouldn't shock me at all if the nerd's already got video feed on where she's being held and what not. Let's go bug him!"
​

"Team MTEN were the slickest crew in Beacon Academy, and let's make sure none of these suckers ever forget it. Now, far as I'm concerned all this means is my schedule for the next year just cleared up. I got a lot of anger to work out and nothing to go back to, and if that sounds familiar to any of you guys, then I say we can still make someone pay for this. Not as a team of mismatched students forced to spend time around each other 'cause of some completely random partnering system that makes no kind of actual sense. As friends-"

"Bored of this. Obviously we're with you," Emerald interrupted, rolling her eyes as she read through the headmistress's summons for the third time. "But if you start turning into the friendship speeches guy I swear we will all abandon you, one by one, and I'll be first."

"Damn, Emerald! Okay. Roman, you mobile yet?"

"Don't worry, Merc! You don't need a license to boss ME around!~" Roman teased before looking at his IV thing. It was just a syringe or needle stuck into his arm. Would it really hurt if someone yanked it out and he just decided to up and make his way out of here?

Oh, uh, he'd also have to change out of his hospital attire too. Ugh.

"Ribs are still sore but only thing that's really bugging me is the black eye. " Roman gestured to it and then looked at Neo. "Heh, somehow I don't think it tooks as gnarly as the one you got." Man, whoever socked Neo got her good. Wonder who it was....ah well!

"Weeeelll I could nag the nurse to come in and take this thing out of my arm and I can change and we can be out the door. Or, OR if you guys want, you can just yank this thing out and I can get dressed and we can be on our way." Roman suggested, his hand already reaching for the call button.
​

-except that wasn't it at all, and by the time Merc and Em had finished, Neo's hands were clasped in front of her mouth to cover a slightly watery smile, and she suddenly bounded forward to wrap them into as strong of a hug as a 4'8' girl not tapping into her aura could. When you couldn't just agree or give your own cheesy yet inspiring speeches, physical affection was your only real route, and they'd just have to deal.

Not wanting him to feel left out but still very leery about his broken ribs, Roman also got a Neo hug except from a clone who just sort of draped herself over him in a no force hug.

"Aw, c'mon Neo! I'm not made out of paper skin and glass bones! Gimme a hug!"

The second she did...

"AGH! My glass bones! All...crushed..." He whined before seeking to tightly hug onto his diminutive partner.


​

 

[Schnee Corp Lawyer]

"Aw, c'mon Neo! I'm not made out of paper skin and glass bones! Gimme a hug!"

The second she did...

"AGH! My glass bones! All...crushed..." He whined before seeking to tightly hug onto his diminutive partner.

He might not have been made of that but Neo's clones were so it pretty much immediately shattered.

 

[Gus Gungus]

"Don't worry, Merc! You don't need a license to boss ME around!~" Roman teased before looking at his IV thing. It was just a syringe or needle stuck into his arm. Would it really hurt if someone yanked it out and he just decided to up and make his way out of here?

"Oh, I know."​

 

[Schnee Corp Lawyer]

So at the shoulder squeeze, Qrow quirked an eyebrow and smirked in a way that, while a bit of a smokescreen, radiated sincerity and genuine warmth.

"What could be worse than this mug?

She studied her uncle’s eyes as she met his gaze, before she broke it with a huff and a small smile. Well. At least he knew she was there for him. When her eyes came back up, it was with a morose frown that had no weight behind it as she answered.

“Having to see it every day. I was trying to spare you, but your sacrifice will be remembered.”

He gave a minor sigh through his nose, having the sinking feeling they were about to get into one of the stickier parts of all this. He crossed his arms and leaned over towards Yang, seeming to teeter and almost fall off his chair as his odor served as a reminder of his apparent relapse. "Try to remember whose table we're sitting at right now. No one in this room is who our instincts say they are, except Goodwitch who seems pretty much the same is that kinda weird or what. I get it, it's not exactly easy."

He leaned back out and cleared his throat, returning his focus to Raven.

"It's a whole thing. You can bend my ear all you want, but Yang doesn't even have to look at you if she doesn't wanna. Sorry. Anyway, like she said, she has something to take care of here first, and there's no way of telling how long we'll be out there—what say we do this at sundown?

That got a far less warm reception, Yang's frown somehow souring even farther as she looked away. It sucked that he was right. It sucked that Blake was how she was, that Ruby had been like that, and it sucked that this Raven wasn't beholden to the sins of the one she knew. Also probably that Neo she socked, but she adamantly refused to feel bad about that one until it got dragged out of her. Maybe it was the real Neo anyways.

"...Fine." was the only response she gave both the Branwens, and she watched her not-mom go before she let out a low growl of a breath and pushed herself off the desk.

"Right. Well, if that's all settled, I'm gonna go do that interrogation now." she said, giving her sis a smile and a two fingered salute before she strode off.

----------------------------------------------

Blake was meditating when the doors opened. She wasn’t a very spiritual person, not when there were so many worldly injustices to right. It was almost vindicating to learn what she did about the world’s creators when she was brought into Ozpin’s inner circle. There would be no saviors in prayer, only action. Yet solitary confinement didn’t exactly leave her with many options for how to spend her time. So she sat. Thought. Planned.

And stewed in her indignant, burning fury over what had happened. Over Eve’s betrayal, putting her personal feelings over The Fight. Over her so called allies failing to achieve even one of their goals. And over the freakish, insanity spewing mirror image of The Dragon who’d gotten her captured in the first place.

“Heeeey there grumpy cat!”

To say Blake’s eyes were not amused when they cracked open at that nickname was an understatement. A surgeon who had to look a family in the eyes and tell them that the grueling, ten hour surgery to save their dad’s life had ended in failure had more amusement in their eyes than Blake did. Yang didn’t necessarily look surprised at the reaction, but her winning smile slowly dampened under the sheer awkwardness of the situation, and she let out a nervous chuckle as she approached. There was a single chair to go with the cot in the cell, and Yang spun it around so she could rest her arms atop its back when she dropped into it. She dropped her chin over her arms and stared at Blake with a thoughtful frown, and Blake couldn’t help but feel like she was being picked apart under that gaze as the blonde looked for something.

“...why are you here?”

“M’sposed to interrogate ya. Give you a good ol’ verbal one two ‘til you drop your secret, nefarious plans.” Yang said with a slight grin.

Blake couldn’t help but snort, and she uncrossed her legs to push back to the wall and rest her head against it, refusing to make eye contact. So that was it. Torture. “Then you’re wasting your time.”

“Well, yea, obviously. Pretty sure I know all the important stuff already anyways. You work for Ozpin, who’s incredibly old, because he ticked off the twin gods way back when and can’t die, he and Salem are exes who have been going through like, the worst breakup ever for going on a thousand years. He’s after the relics, which means he’s also after the maidens, which is why Ruby and you were here, along with an attempt to knock out Vale’s CCT tower and sow a bunch of distrust between the kingdoms by making Atlas look like the aggressor via some hacking and a bunch of viral video stuff-”

Blake couldn’t stop the facade of indifference draining from her face as the blonde continued to babble, and her eyes shot up to the camera, wondering who else might have been listening in. She shot to her feet desperate to shut the girl up as she yelled “If you know all this then WHY ARE YOU HERE?!”

Yang let Blake cut her off, and the cheeky grin through all that faded into a serious calm. “...I’m here to talk about you. Because while I know all ‘important’ stuff-” she said with literal air quotes via her crossed arms “-you don’t make any sense. I’m gonna drop something crazy on you, so don’t freak out, but I’m not from here. Like, this timeline or world or whatever. I’m from a different one.”

Blake’s thoughts churned as she processed that sentence. It sounded like absolute nonsense, obviously. Yet this girl was a dead ringer for The Dragon (minus approx~ 8 pounds), and she knew things they’d been told Salem would never tell her agents. Did Blake fully buy into it? No, it was literal sci fi nonsense that didn’t make any sense, even with everything she’d learned about the world.

Did she decide to accept it for the remainder of this conversation? Sure. Why not? She slowly sat down on the cot and rested her hands in her lap, her eyes studying Yang as she slowly parsed a few extra details from that. “And in this other world… we’re close.” She suggested.

Yang’s eyes brightened as she sat up and nodded. “Yep! Partners! We went to Beacon together before this-” she gestured vaguely into the air “-all happened and went, way, way worse. Instead of you, Nora, and Ruby though, it was some punks named Torchwick, Adam, and Cinder who orchestrated it. I lost this-” she continued, waggling her prosthetic’s fingers “trying to protect you from Adam. Who uh, I guess is named Eve here, and still works for the White Fang sooo... “

“...?”

-----------------------------------------------

She didn’t actually have anywhere to go with that so, and just cleared her throat as she gripped the front of the chair to rock it slightly as she studied Blake’s eyes. The hostile tension in her shoulders had faded, and her beautiful amber eyes were whispering curiosity rather than screaming murder.

“...Even if that’s all true,” Blake eventually cut into the silence with a somber frown “it doesn’t change the fact that its not how it is in this world. Cinder Fall is a student here, and I might as well guess that you already know she’s the maiden-”

She gasped in utter shock “WHAT?!”

Blake’s face scrunched up in confusion that drifted towards panic. “...uh-”

“-nah I’m just messin with you, I knew that.”

Ah, the murder gaze was back, and Yang immediately regretted that joke as she glanced to the side with a huff of a nervous laugh and motioned for Blake to continue. The faunus didn’t quite un-narrow her eyes, but her tone was serious as she did “...and I’m no beacon pawn. I’m not your partner Yang. If your partner couldn’t even work with the weaklings in the white fang, then it doesn’t sound like she’s anything like me.”

“Wrong” Yang said with an earnest frown as she shook her head. “Because that night, I was positive I saw her in you, in the most important thing; what you fight for. Justice for the faunus, and to fix the way this world works. You think you’re doing the right thing, just like she did!”

She was just... really, really wrong about what the right thing was in this world, that was all.

Blake seemed taken aback, and she leaned forward slightly on the cot as she met Yang’s gaze. “...You’re right. I do. This world is broken, Xaio Long. It needs to be fixed. Salem has been leading the kingdoms for centuries from behind the scenes, and she’s fixed none of it. Did Ozpin do any better in your world? Are the faunus free? Can your Blake walk through the streets of Atlas without being sneered at or derided?”

“...Yes.”

“...”

“...because I’d break the teeth of anyone who did that.” She begrudgingly admitted. “B-but its still getting better! After the Belladonnas helped save Haven- Oh, crap, I’m gonna have to tell Salem about that” Yang suddenly murmured under her breath before she cleared her throat “- uh, that probably doesn’t make any sense, but the faunus recently helped with a major victory and relations have been improving. There are other ways to make it better than making a deal with the devil Blake.”

“Again.”

“...huh?”

“You forgot to say relations have been improving ‘again.’ Just like it did the last two times faunus ‘earned’ their place at the table.” Blake said with a bitter smirk as she leaned backwards into the wall behind the cot. “Your Blake is falling for the same nonsense that generations of faunus have.”

“That’s not…”

“She’s an idiot. The cycle will continue, for as long as Salem keeps her power. Ozpin’s path might be bloody, but one generation of war is better than the faunus continuing to suffer for eternity.” She closed her eyes as Yang’s thoughts stumbled over each other in an attempt to mount some counter argument, but before she could even reach some of the obvious ones Blake continued.

“Your heart’s in the right place, Xiao Long, and your Blake’s probably was to. But if she was here instead of you, if she stood in my way, I would still cut her down. Just like I have every other salem acolyte who stood in my way, who holds up this world order without understanding how much blood keeps its gears turning.”

The eyes cracked open, and despite neither of their auras working in this room, Yang felt in more danger under those eyes than she had the entire night of the battle.

“And if you stand in our master’s way, you’ll be cut down too. It's inevitable.”

“...Blake-”

“Go.”

“But-”

“I said go. We’re done here.”

Yang grit her teeth as she looked away, fuming. She stood up and paced a bit before she finally gave a frustrated sigh and started towards the door. She paused as she grabbed the handle, unable to help as she looked back with a determined glare. “...I’m not gonna let him win while we’re here. But I’m not giving up on you either.”

Blake’s shrug was unconcerned. “Good. It means that the next time we meet, you’ll hesitate.” her smile was almost kind as she met Yang’s eyes, the contact as easy for the faunus as it was hard for her.

“I won’t”

 

[Gus Gungus]

The White Fang were not terrorists.

Participants in a war that had been raging long before the organization's inception, yes. But not terrorists. That was the line that Sienna, that Blake, that the Shadow Fang as a whole had chosen to cross, the one she never would. Eve's White Fang would fight their enemies, which amounted to all those who sought to keep their boot on the faunus' neck, and, yes, many of those enemies would die—but some of the faunus they oppressed would become free. That was the battle Eve Taurus had chosen to fight, one justified in her mind every time she saw the eyes of a child who didn't have to choke down lungfuls of dust and coal anymore. She wasn't the big picture type. She may have hated the ones who stood by and watched while the boot descended, but they weren't the aggressors in the conflict, and the White Fang could not seek retribution for a crime never committed if they ever wanted to truly command respect in a world dominated by humanity. Those were the words she barked with unwavering confidence to any under her banner who ever questioned their direction, who wondered why she refused to lead them to the 'greater war' waged by their Shadow Fang brethren. There were never any follow-up questions.

The final nights before she and Blake slipped away from each other spoke to different, more personal motives. When the unified White Fang were at their most brutal during her involvement with them, and the innocent death toll was rising. The sleepless nights born of nightmares, where the faces of the children left behind judged her in tormented silence, demanding why they had to suffer for a war they couldn't even wrap their heads around. Why their years of innocence had to be warped by misery and hate. She just kept thinking about who those scarred, traumatized children could grow up to be, what might rise from the ashes of their torment. What they might become in the pursuit of revenge.

And now, in her darkest moments, typically alone in her quarters with her thoughts, she pondered the active hand she may have played in how the conflict developed. In the earliest days of the White Fang's turn towards a more brutal path, she'd been as fierce as any of them. The savage enjoyment she reaped from raiding Schnee company transports and attacking faunus detainment camps was all real. Her methods, her bloodlust, had emboldened her brothers and sisters, earned the praise of High Leader Sienna, maybe even the affections of Blake. The mask she wore, once a symbol of hope for the faunus, had been adopted en masse and become a symbol of fear to the humans. Was it her fault? Did she lead them to the brink of the abyss and prove too cowardly to step off alongside them?

She hoped the nightmares might stop after she deserted, but they never did.

The White Fang had descended on the Battle of Beacon and scattered just as rapidly, slipping into the alleys and backstreets of Vale while its protectors dealt with more pressing matters. That wasn't to say their losses had been insignificant. The week since had been a period of mourning and laying low, his operatives reassuming their civilian lives where able and taking refuge in safehouses and hidden camps where they were not.

One such safehouse was where the Red Masque found herself, a dimly-lit, musty room with a perennial drip, bound to a support pillar with steel cable and a bully collar around her neck. As Eve maintained, the White Fang were soldiers, not terrorists, and as such she hadn't been harmed over the six days.

She just hadn't been fed either.

"You must be wondering about the collar."

Eve's commanding, husky voice was the only one Ruby had heard since her confinement began, becoming so familiar it was starting to drown out all others. It always preempted the commander stalking through the shadows, her mask's grimm engravings always more visible than the rest of her features.

"In Atlas, when they need to suppress a prisoner's aura, they use cuffs and specialised cells. But that technology is expensive. Modern. Did you know what private corporations do when one of their labor camps grow unruly?" Her ominous, predatory pace circled her behind Ruby, out of the red masque's field of vision. "Far outside the kingdom walls, where everyone is poor enough that they can get away with it? Do you know what technology their soldiers use?"

She came back around Ruby's front, and she was far closer than her arc had carried her previously as she lifted the assassin's chin with her hand.

"It's been weeks. If anyone was going to find you, they would've. Ready to talk yet?"​

 

[Gus Gungus]

Qrow waited until Salem's entire speech played through the elevator speakers before he reacted, propped against the back wall with arms crossed in a slouch and one eye shut, squinting in contemplation.

"That's a bummer. Guess you and Yang were never getting your diplomas either way."

He joked, but there wasn't much heart in it. He let his eyes settle on his niece's back for a few seconds, waiting to see if she'd bring up the elephant in the elevator first.​

 

[MidwayLives]

Darkness.

That's all he'd seen for a while.

At least until they got him to the hospital and started working on him. He came too just long enough to see doctors, nurses, all crowding over him. Lights shining overhead so they'd get a better idea of what they were working with. It was a farcry from the 'doctor' he'd go to see after each of his fights in that underground circuit.

'Hey, uh, Doc? I've got a real bitch of a headache if you could-'

My tail lashed out quicker than I'd ever seen it go before as it wrapped around what'd been thrown at me. Most likely just a reflex but I was getting used to-and tired of-opponents who tried throwing things at me. The audience, mostly made up of humans, wasn't much better. Coiling my tail up, I looked over what I'd grabbed. Looked like...a nondescript bottle of pills.

'Take a couple of those before you go to bed. Should clear up your headache. Make sure you eat something before you take em or else you'll be spending your ringtime in the bathroom.' The doc had such a way with words.

''Are you sure these are ok-'

'Look, Tyrian's your name right? You wanna go to the hospital and explain how you got all those cuts and bruises? You wanna sit down and have the talk that'd come of that?'

He had me pegged. If I could help it, I never wanted anyone finding out about this. Not the authorities, not hospital staff, and certainly not my parents.

'Alright. Sorry.'

Most of what needed to be done to help him had been done. Now, he mostly just needed time to relax and get some rest. If there was anything positive he could think of: He'd have a gnarly scar on his shoulder when this all panned out.

But, it was a genuine challenge for him to think positively.

Tyrian prided himself on his fighting ability. For many years it was the only bright spot in his life. That night, Nikos had robbed him of it.

He'd heard after the fact of the 'fight' that Roman tried to put up. It was amusing enough and although Tyrian often saw Roman as a a nice guy enough guy but poor fighter, he had to give him credit where it was due. Still, his pride burned more than any stab. He'd made it his new goal:

Find out what Nikos and crew wanted and make them pay for what they'd done.

As if on cue, Tyrian read the message he and his teammates had been sent and broke out into a bright grin.

"Hehehe, this just got a touch more interesting!~"​

 

[MyrtenRose]

Qrow waited until Salem's entire speech played through the elevator speakers before he reacted, propped against the back wall with arms crossed in a slouch and one eye shut, squinting in contemplation.

"That's a bummer. Guess you and Yang were never getting your diplomas either way."

He joked, but there wasn't much heart in it. He let his eyes settle on his niece's back for a few seconds, waiting to see if she'd bring up the elephant in the elevator first.​

She would indeed. “Why, Uncle Qrow?” Ruby questioned, preferring to get right to the heart of the matter. She didn’t turn around to face him, but her eyes were looking off to the side and keeping him in her peripheral vision.​

 

[MidwayLives]

One such safehouse was where the Red Masque found herself, a dimly-lit, musty room with a perennial drip, bound to a support pillar with steel cable and a bully collar around her neck. As Eve maintained, the White Fang were soldiers, not terrorists, and as such she hadn't been harmed over the six days.

She just hadn't been fed either.

Ruby Rose was a lot of things.

She was an assassin, she was a butcher, and although she hated the feel of it:

She was a killer.

But there was one thing that she wasn't: a bigot.

When he'd mentioned that the Shadow Fang would willingly join their alliance, Ruby accepted it without question. What would be gained from treating those fighting on the same side as her as lesser beings? Nothing. It'd simply sow discontent among their ranks and possibly have lead to something like this happening sooner. Whenever she saw the talent of a Shadow Fang member, she always made sure to compliment them. But given who and WHAT she was, they always took her words as just that: empty nothingness. It was something she truly regretted. Perhaps things could have been different if she'd focused on aiding Blake more.

Though, she supposed, debating on hypothetical would do her little good now.

As her uncle would have put it: her story was over now.

Unless she found a way out of here but as the days turned into a week, the hopes of that became slimmer and slimmer.

Still, even as her stomach growled, she said nothing. She didn't grovel or beg.

Such things would be to concede defeat in spirit and despite everything she'd been through?

The Red Masque would not break so easily.
​

"You must be wondering about the collar."

Eve's commanding, husky voice was the only one Ruby had heard since her confinement began, becoming so familiar it was starting to drown out all others. It always preempted the commander stalking through the shadows, her mask's grimm engravings always more visible than the rest of her features.

Ah, there she was. Right on time.

If she were a wittier person, she might have made a crack about how 'we've gotta stop meeting like this! People are gonna start talking~'

But she wasn't so she simply sat in silence.

Her eyes narrowed and looking straight ahead. Her entire body ached from the fight with her "other' but at least, her stump had been bandaged. Probably just a pragmatic gesture if nothing else. Didn't need to get blood all over the place if it wasn't necessary. Ruby could understand that much.
​

In Atlas, when they need to suppress a prisoner's aura, they use cuffs and specialised cells. But that technology is expensive. Modern. Did you know what private corporations do when a labor camp grows unruly?" Her ominous, predatory pace circled her behind Ruby, out of the red masque's field of vision. "Far outside the kingdom walls, where everyone is poor enough that they can get away with it? Do you know what technology their soldiers use?"

She came back around Ruby's front, and she was far closer than her arc had carried her previously as she lifted the assassin's chin with her hand.

"It's been weeks. If anyone was going to find you, they would've. Ready to talk yet?"

"..."

Ruby's eyes looked off to the side, refusing to meet Eve's.

They were cold, and the general feeling one might have gotten from them is that the look simply felt...distant. As if Ruby was staring past you.

Her mouth slowly opened before closing once more.​

 

[Gus Gungus]

She would indeed. “Why, Uncle Qrow?” Ruby questioned, preferring to get right to the heart of the matter. She didn’t turn around to face him, but her eyes were looking off to the side and keeping him in her peripheral vision.

"Hmmm... You're gonna have to be more specific." He eventually returned in that lighthearted, gravelly tone that had been the source of so much reassurance in Ruby's life, though right now it almost seemed to be blowing her off.​

 

[Gus Gungus]

"..."

Ruby's eyes looked off to the side, refusing to meet Eve's.

They were cold, and the general feeling one might have gotten from them is that the look simply felt...distant. As if Ruby was staring past you.

Her mouth slowly opened before closing once more.

The display didn't go unnoticed, and Ruby's self-preservation instincts were suddenly bombarded by an incredibly dangerous aura rolling in waves off the one she refused to look at, who took an ominous step closer in response with teeth clenched and bared like a wolf.

"Who do you work for?"
​

 

[MidwayLives]

The display didn't go unnoticed, and Ruby's self-preservation instincts were suddenly bombarded by an incredibly dangerous aura rolling in waves off the one she refused to look at, who took an ominous step closer with teeth clenched like a wolf.

"Who do you work for?"

Ruby slowly turned her head back to look at Eve. The aura she was giving off was intimidating for sure. If she were unbound and hadn't needed to destroy her arm to escape, she'd still think it'd be a pretty close fight.

But, she was at Eve's mercy now. For better or for worse.

She opened her mouth again.

"Go to hell."

She closed it again.​

 

[Gus Gungus]

Ruby slowly turned her head back to look at Eve. The aura she was giving off was intimidating for sure. If she were unbound and hadn't needed to destroy her arm to escape, she'd still think it'd be a pretty close fight.

But, she was at Eve's mercy now. For better or for worse.

She opened her mouth again.

"Go to hell."

She closed it again.

"...Tch."

That was when Eve's glare turned really ugly, and the hand poised at her hip tightened into a fist. She took a sharp, fluid step back, drew Wilt in a flash of red, and immediately thrust forward without so much as a sound, save for the faint whistle of folded steel cutting through air.

The whistle halted, as did the blade. It came to a perfect stop barely a centimetre from skewering the Red Masque's chest, the tip so close it was actually digging into skin. Eve's face would have been unreadable even without the mask, locked in a vice of opaque iron, completely hiding her intentions until she once more spoke.

"You just don't care. That's it, isn't it? You're perfectly willing to let yourself die. Why?"​

 

[MidwayLives]

"...Tch."

That was when Eve's glare turned really ugly, and the hand poised at her hip tightened into a fist. She took a sharp, fluid step back, drew Wilt in a flash of red, and immediately thrust forward without so much as a sound, save for the faint whistle of folded steel cutting through air.

The whistle stopped, as did the blade. It came to a perfect stop barely a centimetre from skewering the Red Masque's chest, its tip so close it was actually digging against skin. Eve's face would have been unreadable even without the mask, locked in a vice of opaque iron, completely hiding her intentions until she once more spoke.

"You just don't care. That's it, isn't it? You're perfectly willing to let yourself die. Why?"

"Why were you so quick to chain me up like a dog?"

Ruby's body shuddered a little, showing the discomfort of Wilt pressing against her chest.

"I've done nothing to you. I don't even know you."

Blake had little interest in pretending that she and Ruby were anything but allies of convenience. To Blake, they simply served the same master and that was all.

Ruby didn't see him as her 'master.' She saw him as her friend.

So the little killer in the red cloak didn't know who she was dealing with.

But Eve was right about one thing.

She didn't care.​

 

[Gus Gungus]

"Why were you so quick to chain me up like a dog?"

Ruby's body shuddered a little, showing the discomfort of Wilt pressing against her chest.

"I've done nothing to you. I don't even know you."

Blake had little interest in pretending that she and Ruby were anything but allies of convenience. To Blake, they simply served the same master and that was all.

Ruby didn't see him as her 'master.' She saw him as her friend.

So the little killer in the red cloak didn't know who she was dealing with.

But Eve was right about one thing.

She didn't care.

"Because you're my enemy. I don't need to know anything else."

She instantly retorted with a vicious scowl, looming closer for a second. She let Ruby bear the full weight of her dark stare a few moments longer before pulling away, though she didn't return Wilt to its sheathe; instead she started a slower, more hungry routine of pacing in front of her, talking with the blade the way some people talked using their hands. Her words were permeated with the occasional swish of her flicking it through air, sometimes close enough to sever one or two of Ruby's locks.

"So you're not just some common criminal. You actually believe you're achieving something; Something worth dying for."

Swish.

"You probably think you're some kind of martyr, don't you? Dangerous game for a little girl to be playing."

Swish.

"I should know."

She lunged in with a sudden snarl, gauging the human's reaction accordingly.


​

 

[MidwayLives]

"Because you're my enemy. I don't need to know anything else."

For the first time since she'd been brought here, a smile spread across her face.

"Oh? Well, I don't plan on killing you if that helps any."
​

She instantly retorted with a vicious scowl, looming closer for a second. She let Ruby bear the full weight of her dark stare a few moments longer before pulling away, though she didn't return Wilt to its sheathe; instead she started a slower, more hungry routine of pacing in front of her, talking with the blade the way some people talked using their hands. Her words were permeated with the occasional swish of her flicking it through air, sometimes close enough to sever one or two of Ruby's locks.

"So you're not just some common criminal. You actually believe you're achieving something."

Swish.

The smile quickly resumed a frown at Eve's next choice of words.

"People are free to say and think what they'd like. The Red Masque is just a name. What people do with a name is their choice. I've chosen to use it for my own reasons." Ruby glowered, her silver eyes staring straight at her captor.

"I have a dream. I will see it achieved. That's all you need to know."
​

"You probably think you're some kind of martyr, don't you? Dangerous game for a little girl to be playing."

Swish.

"I should know."

"I think I'm something. A martyr is incorrect though.."

If Ruby had any kind of reaction to Wilt's continued swishes, it didn't show on her face.

"I'm not going to die here. Neither will you if you let me go."
​

She lunged in with a sudden snarl, gauging the human's reaction accordingly.

"..."

Ruby simply glared.

"You're no animal. You shouldn't act like one."
​

 

[MyrtenRose]

When all the members of both team WTCH and MTEN were in front of her, Salem got right to it. "Okay. I'm sure some, if not all of you, are wondering exactly why I've summoned you all here. Your team-" Her eyes rested on Watts. "-has been the most involved in situations they should not have necessarily been involved with." She commented with a light, almost mischievous grin edging up at the corner of her mouth before she looked towards Mercury. "And your team might as well have been connected at the hip with theirs. It is for these reasons I called you all here. As I'm sure you are all aware, during the attack on Beacon, a strange mystery revealed itself. Doubles, dopplegangers, counterparts, duplicates...whatever you wish to call them, several people with familiar faces and unfamiliar demeanors were present. A few of them were unable to tell me how they had found themselves here, reliving this event. Yes, I say reliving because as it turns out, not only have they ended up in a world that differs from theirs in certain ways but time itself has turned back for them. They have knowledge of events that have yet to come. Now...they were unable to tell us how or why they ended up this way...for the simple truth is that they don't know." Salem looked across all 8 of her students.

"However, there is a solution. But before we could get to that, there are some things you need to know. Have you all heard the story of the Four Seasons? A reclusive woman, who refuses to leave her home, is visited by four traveling sisters. The first understands her reclusive nature and urges her to use her time in solitude to reflect and meditate. The second brings her fruits and flowers, tending to her crops and revitalizing her garden. The third warms the woman's heart, convincing her to step outside and embrace the world around her. And the fourth and final sister begs her to look at all that she has, and be thankful. In return for their kindness, the woman grants the maidens incredible powers, so that they may continue to help others all over the world. They graciously accept, and promise to share their gifts with the people of Remnant 'til the end of days. Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall; the four maidens. A fairy tale read at the bedside of many children." The headmistress rose out of her chair, stepping around her desk.

"In truth, it isn't just a story. It's truth. Four maidens do exist in this world, gifted with extraordinary magic. And we have one here, in this very room." Salem came to a stop right in front of Cinder, looking down at her. "Some of you were there to bear witness to how she threw herself at Nora Valkyrie. That display was unleashed in a moment of extreme emotional turmoil. With the proper training, she could do much more. That said, the powers themselves aren't the main topic of concern." Salem stepped back, looking over them all again.

"Each of the four Academies have a vault, concealed under the schools. These four vaults correspond to one of the four maidens, and within each vault there is a door that only that maiden can open. This is the reason why those behind the attack did what they did. They wanted to secure the power of the maiden and open the door, for there is an object of great power beyond it. A relic. They wanted that above all else. All of this, the maidens, the vaults, the relics...they are secrets most of humanity is ignorant to. We are letting all of you in on this secret out of necessity." Judging from her expression, it was not an action she relished.

"The relic at Haven is the only thing I can think of that can shed light on the mystery of the doppelgangers, and how they may return home. But if the relic is retrieved, it won't be hidden behind an impregnable vault any longer. It'll be in the open, at risk. As we can all attest to from the recent assault, our enemies will go to extreme lengths to secure these relics." Salem lowered herself back into her chair.

"Which is why I want all eight of you to go with a few of these doppelgangers, to safeguard that relic." Salem paused, a studying look given to the group at large. "Now I'm well aware that is a great deal of knowledge to be given to you all, and that you likely have many questions. I will do what I can to answer."

"..." Cinder looked towards Watts with a faintly amused look. So much for convincing.​

 

[MyrtenRose]

"Hmmm... You're gonna have to be more specific." He eventually returned in that lighthearted, gravelly tone that had been the source of so much reassurance in Ruby's life, though right now it almost seemed to be blowing her off.​

"..." She sighed, shaking her head. "You know what I'm talking about. The flask, the drinking...it...you gave it all up. After that nightmarish encounter with the Apathy, when we were all this close to giving everything up...you swore off alcohol. Why would you go back?" ​

 

[Gus Gungus]

"..."

Ruby simply glared.

"You're no animal. You shouldn't act like one."

"Great line. One more like it and you lose your tongue."

The smile quickly resumed a frown at Eve's next choice of words.

"People are free to say and think what they'd like. The Red Masque is just a name. What people do with a name is their choice. I've chosen to use it for my own reasons." Ruby glowered, her silver eyes staring straight at her captor.

"I have a dream. I will see it achieved. That's all you need to know."

The faunus pulled back with a cock of the head, the pull of her frown more thoughtful than menacing for the few seconds it took to process that. When the sentence ended, Eve shook her head, and spoke her next words with an air of what looked to be genuine pity, one hand propped commandingly on her hip.

"And yet when people speak of the Red Masque they talk about a savage. A rabid butcher, painting the map of the continent red without rhyme or reason. In my organisation, no matter which faction, someone like you would be executed."

Her bearing had changed, the dawning comprehension like a switch as she spoke to Ruby less like a prisoner and more like a disappointment, one person with a dream to another.

"Whatever your 'dream' is, sounds like you're not up to the task of making it reality."

"I think I'm something. A martyr is incorrect though.."

If Ruby had any kind of reaction to Wilt's continued swishes, it didn't show on her face.

"I'm not going to die here. Neither will you if you let me go."

"Is that right." The sheer deadpan flatness she addressed that with bordered on humorous, the faunus' lips twitching into a mocking smirk. "And what makes you so sure about either of those things?"​

 

[Gus Gungus]

"..." She sighed, shaking her head. "You know what I'm talking about. The flask, the drinking...it...you gave it all up. After that nightmarish encounter with the Apathy, when we were all this close to giving everything up...you swore off alcohol. Why would you go back?"

"Hm." He repeated in acknowledgment, one finger scratching above his brow as he strained to recall. Oh yeah. The unconcerned, almost smug look on his face didn't waver, almost seeming to double in intensity. "So I did. I dunno, Ruby. Why would I?"​

 

[MyrtenRose]

"Hm." He repeated in acknowledgment, one finger scratching above his brow as he strained to recall. Oh yeah. The unconcerned, almost smug look on his face didn't waver, almost seeming to double in intensity. "So I did. I dunno, Ruby. Why would I?"​

“I don’t know that is literally why I’m asking you!”​

 

[Schnee Corp Lawyer]

Darkness.

That's all he'd seen for a while.

At least until they got him to the hospital and started working on him. He came too just long enough to see doctors, nurses, all crowding over him. Lights shining overhead so they'd get a better idea of what they were working with. It was a farcry from the 'doctor' he'd go to see after each of his fights in that underground circuit.

'Hey, uh, Doc? I've got a real bitch of a headache if you could-'

My tail lashed out quicker than I'd ever seen it go before as it wrapped around what'd been thrown at me. Most likely just a reflex but I was getting used to-and tired of-opponents who tried throwing things at me. The audience, mostly made up of humans, wasn't much better. Coiling my tail up, I looked over what I'd grabbed. Looked like...a nondescript bottle of pills.

'Take a couple of those before you go to bed. Should clear up your headache. Make sure you eat something before you take em or else you'll be spending your ringtime in the bathroom.' The doc had such a way with words.

''Are you sure these are ok-'

'Look, Tyrian's your name right? You wanna go to the hospital and explain how you got all those cuts and bruises? You wanna sit down and have the talk that'd come of that?'

He had me pegged. If I could help it, I never wanted anyone finding out about this. Not the authorities, not hospital staff, and certainly not my parents.

'Alright. Sorry.'

Most of what needed to be done to help him had been done. Now, he mostly just needed time to relax and get some rest. If there was anything positive he could think of: He'd have a gnarly scar on his shoulder when this all panned out.

But, it was a genuine challenge for him to think positively.

Tyrian prided himself on his fighting ability. For many years it was the only bright spot in his life. That night, Nikos had robbed him of it.

He'd heard after the fact of the 'fight' that Roman tried to put up. It was amusing enough and although Tyrian often saw Roman as a a nice guy enough guy but poor fighter, he had to give him credit where it was due. Still, his pride burned more than any stab. He'd made it his new goal:

Find out what Nikos and crew wanted and make them pay for what they'd done.

As if on cue, Tyrian read the message he and his teammates had been sent and broke out into a bright grin.

"Hehehe, this just got a touch more interesting!~"​

There was a knock on his door and Arthur poked his head in, tone blithe.

"Tyrian, you're awake. Good, we've an important meeting to attend, time for you to stop lounging over one stab wound. Chop chop!"

When all the members of both team WTCH and MTEN were in front of her, Salem got right to it. "Okay. I'm sure some, if not all of you, are wondering exactly why I've summoned you all here. Your team-" Her eyes rested on Watts. "-has been the most involved in situations they should not have necessarily been involved with." She commented with a light, almost mischievous grin edging up at the corner of her mouth before she looked towards Mercury. "And your team might as well have been connected at the hip with theirs. It is for these reasons I called you all here. As I'm sure you are all aware, during the attack on Beacon, a strange mystery revealed itself. Doubles, dopplegangers, counterparts, duplicates...whatever you wish to call them, several people with familiar faces and unfamiliar demeanors were present. A few of them were unable to tell me how they had found themselves here, reliving this event. Yes, I say reliving because as it turns out, not only have they ended up in a world that differs from theirs in certain ways but time itself has turned back for them. They have knowledge of events that have yet to come. Now...they were unable to tell us how or why they ended up this way...for the simple truth is that they don't know." Salem looked across all 8 of her students.

"However, there is a solution. But before we could get to that, there are some things you need to know. Have you all heard the story of the Four Seasons? A reclusive woman, who refuses to leave her home, is visited by four traveling sisters. The first understands her reclusive nature and urges her to use her time in solitude to reflect and meditate. The second brings her fruits and flowers, tending to her crops and revitalizing her garden. The third warms the woman's heart, convincing her to step outside and embrace the world around her. And the fourth and final sister begs her to look at all that she has, and be thankful. In return for their kindness, the woman grants the maidens incredible powers, so that they may continue to help others all over the world. They graciously accept, and promise to share their gifts with the people of Remnant 'til the end of days. Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall; the four maidens. A fairy tale read at the bedside of many children." The headmistress rose out of her chair, stepping around her desk.

"In truth, it isn't just a story. It's truth. Four maidens do exist in this world, gifted with extraordinary magic. And we have one here, in this very room." Salem came to a stop right in front of Cinder, looking down at her. "Some of you were there to bear witness to how she threw herself at Nora Valkyrie. That display was unleashed in a moment of extreme emotional turmoil. With the proper training, she could do much more. That said, the powers themselves aren't the main topic of concern." Salem stepped back, looking over them all again.

"Each of the four Academies have a vault, concealed under the schools. These four vaults correspond to one of the four maidens, and within each vault there is a door that only that maiden can open. This is the reason why those behind the attack did what they did. They wanted to secure the power of the maiden and open the door, for there is an object of great power beyond it. A relic. They wanted that above all else. All of this, the maidens, the vaults, the relics...they are secrets most of humanity is ignorant to. We are letting all of you in on this secret out of necessity." Judging from her expression, it was not an action she relished.

"The relic at Haven is the only thing I can think of that can shed light on the mystery of the doppelgangers, and how they may return home. But if the relic is retrieved, it won't be hidden behind an impregnable vault any longer. It'll be in the open, at risk. As we can all attest to from the recent assault, our enemies will go to extreme lengths to secure these relics." Salem lowered herself back into her chair.

"Which is why I want all eight of you to go with a few of these doppelgangers, to safeguard that relic." Salem paused, a studying look given to the group at large. "Now I'm well aware that is a great deal of knowledge to be given to you all, and that you likely have many questions. I will do what I can to answer."

"..." Cinder looked towards Watts with a faintly amused look. So much for convincing.​

When Cinder glanced to Arthur, he seemed very intent on studying his nails, giving his hand a few quick flexes before it returned to its usual home behind his back as he glanced around at the others present and shrugged, seemingly completely unbowed by the weighty knowledge that had just been dumped on their shoulders.

"I already knew most of this, of course, save the specifics of Haven. Does Headmaster Lionheart know he has a ticking time bomb on his school?" he asked, tone wholly polite as he addressed their most inimitable headmistress even if the words didn't quite meet that standard. "Or is he going to be as surprised as Beacon was when the forces of darkness spill upon it in a rancid landslide in a bid to take their relic?"

 

[MidwayLives]

"Whatever your 'dream' is, sounds like you're not up to the task of making it reality."

"...You have such a strong contempt for me. It's so thick it's almost suffocating. Why? Blake and the others joined us and I never saw you among us." Ruby hadn't appreciated her captor's comments but the anger radiating off Eve was so palpable, a comment had to be made or else it'd keep gnawing at her. "Is your dream different from theirs?"
​

"Is that right." The sheer deadpan flatness she addressed that with bordered on humorous, the faunus' lips twitching into a mocking smirk. "And what makes you so sure about either of those things?"

"Nothing, really."

Ruby's smile slowly reappeared.

"I guess I'm just an optimist."​