Fandom Distorted Mirror [IC]

[Gus Gungus]

"Your turn. And don't worry, I doubt there are any lapdancers around, so you should be just fine." Robyn frowned at that dig, a barely audible indignant hiss escaping her lips.

"Nah, I'll be waitin' right outside for ya. The hell else am I s'ppose to do? I don't know anyone here."

"You know me."

"Shut the heck up, Cookie. You're 16."

And unlike the previous two, Robyn had no idea how long she was going to be there or how long she even wished to be present.

"Hey, snow princess."

"That's a new one." Weiss replied mildly. She was standing by the windows at this point, one of them opened and a cigarette elegantly clasped between two fingers as she leaned back on her elbows with the back of her head facing the outside. She found it helped to let the cool Solitas breeze caress her skull when it ached sometimes. Dawn had started to break by now, the ghost of Remnant's shattered moon still faintly visible as the sun crested over the distant peaks.

"What can I do for you, Hill? Come to ask if my sister can join the Happy Huntresses? Or am I getting one of your rousing speeches about how Mantle won't stand for my tyranny any longer? I'm polling well there, by the way. Despite the best efforts of you and the Shadow Fang."

There was a slight glower on her face as she said that, letting the company Robyn kept in smearing her name among impoverished communities speak for itself.​

 

[MyrtenRose]

For her own sake she ignored the faunus barmaid to the best of her ability.​

"That's a new one." Weiss replied mildly. She was standing by the windows at this point, one of them opened and a cigarette elegantly clasped between two fingers as she leaned back on her elbows with the back of her head facing the outside. She found it helped to let the cool Solitas breeze caress her skull when it ached sometimes. Dawn had started to break by now, Remnant's shattered moon still faintly visible as the sun crested over the distant peaks.

"What can I do for you, Hill? Come to ask if my sister can join the Happy Huntresses? Or am I getting one of your rousing speeches about how Mantle won't stand for my tyranny much longer? I'm polling well there, by the way. Despite the best efforts of you and the Shadow Fang."

There was a slight glower on her face as she said that, letting the company Robyn kept in smearing her name among impoverished communities speak for itself.

"Nicknames. They're my thing."

That was all she offered in explanation before she continued more seriously: "...…..no. Not any of that." Robyn was slow to admit but she did it nevertheless. "I've come here with something else in mind. Something I've kept to myself and my team until now. See, I've been going over it in my head. The state of things, it's been on my mind for some time. The fight in the cellar, how people who know you...or this other you, how they talk about you and are willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. Some think that's just you being manipulative and pulling wool over their eyes or exploiting their feelings to gain what you desire...but I'm not convinced. Not entirely. Maybe I'm wrong but I'm thinking trying to find out for sure is worth the risk. So you should know, before you interrupted that underground arena death brawl, if by some chance I did make it to the end and I actually won that prize? I intended to approach you with it and see if we could work something out." The leader of the Happy Huntresses took a few steps closer and crossed her arms.

"If your intentions are truly what you say they are, it's a good goal. A real game changer. If you really want to make it better, everything, then...I think it might be better to stand with you than against you. And not just against Ozpin, but with all the rest too. Mind you, I do think that you deserve a long prison sentence for a lot of the things you've done or been party to when all is said and done, but I recognize now isn't the best time to deal with that. If by some miracle we do live through the fight that's coming, and our kingdom remains relatively intact...I believe you and I can do a lot of good for both the people of Atlas and the people of Mantle. I stand in support of you and your goal..." and I do my best to keep you on the straight and narrow, she left unsaid. "...and together we do all we can to help the people that need it. The people that look at both of us fondly." She uncrossed her arms, stepping over to one of the windows and peering out and down over the kingdom.

"So there it is. That's what I came here for. What do you think?"​

 

[Gus Gungus]

"Nicknames. They're my thing."

That was all she offered in explanation before she continued more seriously: "...…..no. Not any of that." Robyn was slow to admit but she did it nevertheless. "I've come here with something else in mind. Something I've kept to myself and my team until now. See, I've been going over it in my head. The state of things, it's been on my mind for some time. The fight in the cellar, how people who know you...or this other you, how they talk about you and are willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. Some think that's just you being manipulative and pulling wool over their eyes or exploiting their feelings to gain what you desire...but I'm not convinced. Not entirely. Maybe I'm wrong but I'm thinking trying to find out for sure is worth the risk. So you should know, before you interrupted that underground arena death brawl, if by some chance I did make it to the end and I actually won that prize? I intended to approach you with it and see if we could work something out." The leader of the Happy Huntresses took a few steps closer and crossed her arms.

"If your intentions are truly what you say they are, it's a good goal. A real game changer. If you really want to make it better, everything, then...I think it might be better to stand with you than against you. And not just against Ozpin, but with all the rest too. Mind you, I do think that you deserve a long prison sentence for a lot of the things you've done or been party to when all is said and done, but I recognize now isn't the best time to deal with that. If by some miracle we do live through the fight that's coming, and our kingdom remains relatively intact...I believe you and I can do a lot of good for both the people of Atlas and the people of Mantle. I stand in support of you and your goal..." and I do my best to keep you on the straight and narrow, she left unsaid. "...and together we do all we can to help the people that need it. The people that look at both of us fondly." She uncrossed her arms, stepping over to one of the windows and peering out and down over the kingdom.

"So there it is. That's what I came here for. What do you think?"​

"OH."

The exclamation was delivered with such loud, startling volume by those singer's lungs that it sounded almost angry, which when coupled with the fact that the councilwoman's face was naturally suspicious throughout much of the words might not have seemed very promising. It wasn't quite that by the time she finished, though, and it wasn't anger either. It was just pure, unbridled shock, the confusion that arose from feeling it; the sheer sincerity that poured from everything Robyn was saying swinging straight through the layers of paranoia, mistrust and skepticism the heiress had erected in defense of herself from what she saw as a deceptive and unforgiving world from an early age to slam into her gut like a ton of bricks, throwing her for an unexpected loop. Weiss was finding herself flummoxed with frustrating regularity lately (by her standards), particularly by the actions of some of these otherworlders, but this was different. Nothing Robyn was saying was altogether baffling, it was just... something she didn't see coming. An unexpected turn that was making her have to reevaluate a plethora of things in both the long and short term, all at once. In a word, it surprised her.

That never happened. Apparently Yang had made a stronger case for her than even she could've anticipated.

"Well, for a start I think perhaps I misjudged you. Maybe I should've had more faith in someone gifted with seeing the truth to understand the necessity of everything I'm doing. If I'd been able to persuade you a long time ago, it's possible I could've avoided some... unnecessary steps."

She tutted. Despite some ironic overlap in their views on Mantle's state, Robyn's anti-authority rabble-rousing schtick meant Weiss had never even considered her as anything other than a probable thorn in her side; a view that cemented itself when Ironwood's snooping forced her hand and the subsequent battle lines were drawn. In her past self's defense, it wasn't as if she could just start pitching her revolutionary ideas to people. Carnelian had been the first step in initiating others, then Ector, followed by Ruby; yet all of them were still in the dark about some things. She planned on keeping it that way. If she really were to entertain this, Robyn would be no different.

Was she going to entertain it? She used the momentary pause after her preceding sentence to crystallize her thoughts.



"...Before I answer, I'd like you to consider something. I'm not delusional by any stretch of the imagination. I'm aware I've done bad things. I'm not proud of it, but it's true. Some you may have heard about, some you definitely haven't; because I buried the evidence so deep it'll never see the light of day again. But here's the truth: The world we live in is rotten to its core, and it's appalling how quickly the rulebook became a weapon wielded by the ones who seek to keep it that way. Remorse, mercy, empathy... all wonderful concepts in principle, but the way things are now? They're nothing more than weak points those who've enabled the sorry state the kingdoms are in have learned to manipulate. It's why things have stayed so bad for so long—Human decency will always offer an inherent advantage to them, because most people have it and they don't. I'm not cruel; I have no particular intention of hurting anyone I don't have to, and I've never done anything I didn't consider a crucial step in my designs. But know that I'm far from done."

She let that sentence hang, brought the cigarette to her lips and pulled, exhaling its toxins in a wispy cloud a moment later.

"Learning of Ozpin's existence... derailed things. Loathe as he'd be to hear it, he's a distraction. My plan for Remnant is only in its early stages, and once I'm done with him I intend to begin in earnest. There's going to be more deceit. More bad things you never hear about. A few you even might. First in Atlas, then in the other three kingdoms; While it'd be hypocritical of me to claim I don't intend to mete out justice to myself for that eventually, it's a long ways off, and I'll tell you right now that I have no intention of going to prison. Sad as it is, my new paradigm's going to be built off a foundation of lies. If those lies are ever exposed, if the things I did come to light... It could all unravel, and all of it will have been for nothing. I can't allow that."

The steel in her voice was like something forged in the heart of a sun, a resolve wholly singular in all of Remnant. Pinning Robyn with a shrewd, analytic stare, she huffed out a final cloud of smoke let the remains of the spent cigarette burn up in her hand with a blue flare of light around the corners of her eyes.

"With all that said, knowing everything I've just told you... can you be party to it? Is your proposal still on the table? Think carefully before you answer. And if you don't mind..."

Frigid eyes narrowed.



"I'd like you to use your semblance on yourself while you do."​

 

[MyrtenRose]

The steel in her voice was like something forged in the heart of a sun, a resolve wholly singular in all of Remnant. Pinning Robyn with a shrewd, analytic stare, she huffed out a final cloud of smoke let the remains of the spent cigarette burn up in her hand with a blue flare of light around the corners of her eyes.

"With all that said, knowing everything I've just told you... can you be party to it? Is your proposal still on the table? Think carefully before you answer. And if you don't mind..."

"...That is the million dollar question, isn't it?" She remarked with a bitter, forced chuckle. "Can I live with that? A chance at making a better world, a more fair and equal one, but one built off lies and horrible things. Is it worth sacrificing your integrity, your moral fiber...your soul? In other words, do the ends justify the means?" Robyn didn't look over at Weiss, didn't move an inch, she just remained utterly still standing by that window overlooking the kingdom. She was silent for a really really long time, her mind pondering so much about that question. She tried her utmost to look at it from every angle she could think of, thoughts racing with the weight of it all. Eventually though, she slowly clapped her palms together and moved her head to stare over at Weiss.

"This is likely not the most helpful of answers but the honest truth of it is...I don't know. I'd still like to consider it on the table, but I truly don't know if I can be party to it. Not without knowing what exactly "it" is beyond the vague description of bad or horrible things. I'm just somebody who's always tried to do right by people, even if the law says otherwise. But is it right to lie and do...those sorts of things, for good intentions? if it costs that price? I honestly can't say." Her arms glowed green with her semblance's effects, though obviously and predictably so with the nature of her answer. I don't know would have been a really lame lie. "I won't know what I can live with until I'm there and the moment's in front of me and life demands a choice. That's all I can give you." Her head tilted in curiosity.

"If you don't mind me asking, or taking my hand..." She pulled her hands apart and extended one out over to her. "Might be a ridiculous question given a lot of stuff recently, but are you sure you can live with all of that?"​

 

[Gus Gungus]

Weiss's stare flattened into an exasperated smirk at that, though it was one ultimately accepting of the answer for what it was. The councilwoman rolled her eyes and turned back to observe the horizon herself, smoothing out her skirt with her hands and clasping them before her politely as the two were framed by a sea of Atlesian blue, the sights and sounds of a city waking up.

"A copout, but despite everything you'll never hear me fault anyone for their honesty." She exhaled. "Let's call it a tentative understanding, then. Most of Mantle's dissidents think they have a reason to hate me, but they all rally behind you. Your word would be more than enough to defuse the last of the hostilities plaguing the kingdom through far less severe methods than what I had planned. Take some time to think about it; you may find some information coming to light shortly that influences your decision some. Either way, this little rebellion ends tomorrow. It's been weeks since I told Ozpin where to go. He'll be along soon, and when he arrives it cannot be to a kingdom that stands divided."

On that veiled, somewhat cryptic note, she left her to mull it over.

"If you don't mind me asking, or taking my hand..." She pulled her hands apart and extended one out over to her. "Might be a ridiculous question given a lot of stuff recently, but are you sure you can live with all of that?"

Given her self-confessed leeriness of potentially incriminating herself via exposure to Robyn's 'party trick', it may have come as a surprise when she reached over and took the hand without hesitating. Weiss's words were calm, sharp in their forthrightness.

"I can live long enough to see it realized. That's all that matters."

Her aura shone green as it registered the words, verifying it as the unmitigated truth. The kingdoms would need time to adjust to her societal restructuring, a stint under the non-partisan oversight only she could provide to see it through, before the likes of Colonel Ector could ensure it sustained itself. After that, well...

Weiss had been seventeen when she decided she didn't much care for living in the world. So she threw herself headlong into improving it, her perfectionist's nature finding the will to continue amid the doldrums of loneliness in the belief that she could fix the cracked, flawed system that made her feel that way to begin with. Her words to Nora had been no less true: she had little regard for her own life. Her purpose was what mattered; her place in history. Her legacy. Her value. Once it all came to fruition?

It was like she said.

She had no intention of going to prison.​

 

[MyrtenRose]

Weiss's stare flattened into an exasperated smirk at that, though it was one ultimately accepting of the answer for what it was. The councilwoman rolled her eyes and turned back to observe the horizon herself, smoothing out her skirt with her hands and clasping them before her politely as the two were framed by a sea of Atlesian blue, the sights and sounds of a city waking up.

"A copout, but despite everything you'll never hear me fault anyone for their honesty." She exhaled. "Let's call it a tentative understanding, then. Most of Mantle's dissidents think they have a reason to hate me, but they all rally behind you. Your word would be more than enough to defuse the last of the hostilities plaguing the kingdom through far less severe methods than what I had planned. Take some time to think about it; you may find some information coming to light shortly that influences your decision some. Either way, this little rebellion ends tomorrow. It's been weeks since I told Ozpin where to go. He'll be along soon, and when he arrives it cannot be to a kingdom that stands divided."

On that veiled, somewhat cryptic note, she left her to mull it over.

“It’s a beautiful sight, isn’t it?” She couldn’t help but comment. “Yeah, it isn’t the most straight answer but it’s the only one I can give right now.” Robyn turned more fully over to Weiss after that, eyebrows raised. “Either way, this little rebellion ends tomorrow?” She repeated. “I would ask what exactly you mean by that but I figure you’d give me an even less straight answer than I just gave you right now. Besides, I suppose I wouldn’t have to wait long to see whatever it is you’re about to do. With a cryptic reference like that? Doubt I’ll miss noticing it.”​

Given her self-confessed leeriness of potentially incriminating herself via exposure to Robyn's 'party trick', it may have come as a surprise when she reached over and took the hand without hesitating. Weiss's words were calm, sharp in their forthrightness.

"I can live long enough to see it realized. That's all that matters."

“...I see.”

...

She didn’t quite know what else to say so she just awkwardly coughed and moved on to a different topic. “So.....what’s it like to sit at that bastard’s table alongside thugs and terrorists and whatever other nightmares that may or may not have been around?”​

 

[Gus Gungus]

“It’s a beautiful sight, isn’t it?” She couldn’t help but comment.

"I never cared for it. It's why I keep my eyes on the horizon instead." She answered frankly, letting her chin rest in her hand as her eyes roved up over the city to watch the sun rise over the mountains. She was as tight-lipped as Robyn predicted with regards to clarity on any of her other statements, simply tapping her nose once she pulled her hand away from the human lie detector.

She didn’t quite know what else to say so she just awkwardly coughed and moved on to a different topic. “So.....what’s it like to sit at that bastard’s table alongside thugs and terrorists and whatever other nightmares that may or may not have been around?”

"Not so different from an SDC shareholder meeting. Or family gatherings when I was a girl."​

 

[MyrtenRose]

"I never cared for it. It's why I keep my eyes on the horizon instead." She answered frankly, letting her chin rest in her hand as her eyes roved up over the city to watch the sun rise over the mountains. She was as tight-lipped as Robyn predicted with regards to clarity on any of her other statements, simply tapping her nose once she pulled her hand away from the human lie detector.

“Oh.”​

"Not so different from an SDC shareholder meeting. Or family gatherings when I was a girl."

“Oh. Oh damn.” She wasn’t sure if that meant the Oz meetings were not as bad as she was imagining them to be or if the SDC/family ones were much worse than she was imagining and honestly she was not all that eager to find out for certain. Her eyes flickered about as that really sank in and she shook her head sadly. “Damn.” She repeated in a low whisper. That was fucked up either way. Robyn paused, briefly wondering if she should try to change the subject once more...and just decided to go with it.

“So hey, if I did want to try asking your sister to join, what would be the best way to go about it, you think?”​

 

[Gus Gungus]

“Oh. Oh damn.” She wasn’t sure if that meant the Oz meetings were not as bad as she was imagining them to be or if the SDC/family ones were much worse than she was imagining and honestly she was not all that eager to find out for certain. Her eyes flickered about as that really sank in and she shook her head sadly. “Damn.” She repeated in a low whisper. That was fucked up either way. Robyn paused, briefly wondering if she should try to change the subject once more...and just decided to go with it.

“So hey, if I did want to try asking your sister to join, what would be the best way to go about it, you think?”

She could practically feel the atmosphere in the room ice over at that, Weiss planting a hand on her hip and affixing her with a look that could've frozen someone to the spot.

"What am I, an advice column? You want the truth? She's a military puppet. Winter spent our whole youth resenting a man who barked orders at us like we were animals, then when the opportunity presented itself she crawled out of that and straight under the command of the first one she met who happened to be nicer about it. She's not an independent thinker. Obeying is all she knows. So, start treating her like a lesser or find a way to shake her faith in the chain of command and you might be in with a chance. Otherwise, I don't see it."​

 

[MyrtenRose]

View attachment 747725

She could practically feel the atmosphere in the room ice over at that, Weiss planting a hand on her hip and affixing her with a look that could've practically frozen someone to the spot.

"What am I, an advice column? You want the truth? She's a military puppet. Winter spent our whole youth resenting a man who barked orders at us like we were animals, then when the opportunity presented itself she crawled under the command of the first one she met who happened to be nicer about it. She's not an independent thinker. Obeying is all she knows. So, start treating her like a lesser or find a way to shake her faith in the chain of command and you might be in with a chance. Otherwise, I don't see it."​

If the sudden tense shift in the atmosphere of the room or the look on Weiss's face even remotely alarmed/concerned/worried her, it didn't show at all on her boldly amused face. "What would that even be called...Weiss Answers? Know-it-all Schnee? Talk time with the Snow Princess?" ​

 

[Gus Gungus]

If the sudden tense shift in the atmosphere of the room or the look on Weiss's face even remotely alarmed/concerned/worried her, it didn't show at all on her boldly amused face. "What would that even be called...Weiss Answers? Know-it-all Schnee? Talk time with the Snow Princess?" ​

"Those are all terrible names. What is it about your specific combination of hair and eye coloration that makes people completely forget the gravity of who they're speaking to?" She demanded with lips twitching into a scowl, though it was one that channeled disapproval with a hint of fascination more than true, outright annoyance.

"...'A Word to the Weiss'?"

​

 

[MyrtenRose]

View attachment 747756

"Those are all terrible names. What is it about your specific combination of hair and eye coloration that makes people completely forget the gravity of who they're speaking to?" She demanded with lips twitching into a scowl, though it was one that channeled disapproval with a hint of fascination more than true, outright annoyance.

"...'A Word to the Weiss'?"​

"Heeeey, that's actually pretty good." Robyn snickered. "And people say you're above it all. Pfft." ​

 

[Gus Gungus]

"Heeeey, that's actually pretty good." Robyn snickered. "And people say you're above it all. Pfft."

"Yeah, well. They're not wrong." She hummed.​

 

[MyrtenRose]

"Yeah, well. They're not wrong." She hummed.​

"If you say so." She remarked, sounding not at all convinced but not really about to press the issue. "Right, well anyhow I have nothing more to say and I get the distinct impression you don't have all that much else to say either, so unless I'm wrong, I'm going to go now." The leader of the happy huntresses gave it a few seconds as she looked over the kingdom before turning and heading for the door out of the room. And did her best to avoid making eye contact with the faunus lapdancer if she did indeed stick around. Though if they were both around, she did have one question. Namely, how the hell is Cookie only 16?!​

 

[Gus Gungus]

"If you say so." She remarked, sounding not at all convinced but not really about to press the issue. "Right, well anyhow I have nothing more to say and I get the distinct impression you don't have all that much else to say either, so unless I'm wrong, I'm going to go now." The leader of the happy huntresses gave it a few seconds as she looked over the kingdom before turning and heading for the door out of the room. And did her best to avoid making eye contact with the faunus lapdancer if she did indeed stick around. Though if they were both around, she did have one question. Namely, how the hell is Cookie only 16?!

"Sorry, am I not bringing enough to the conversation? It's not like I invited you for tea. You're the one taking away from my time."

The cheek. Letting that final note of stately heiress sass usher Robyn out, Weiss watched her go in silence and craned her neck when she reached the door to catch a glimpse of the hallway and see if by some chance her preferred choice of blonde-haired, lilac-eyed company was also hovering outside for the chance to speak to her. Pulling a mild scowl of consternation at the lack thereof, she exhaled softly, shook her head clear of such nonsense and returned to her work.



The barmaid didn't seem to appreciate Robyn's efforts to ghost her, and the Mantle politician found her path impeded by the woman making a very blunt effort to force eye contact, bushy tail swishing rapidly in vexation.

"Whatcha mean how? Aren't ya meant to be smart or somethin'? She was born sixteen years ago, that's HOW."

The behemoth loomed silently in the background, her shadow enough to block out the two other women both.​

 

[MyrtenRose]

The barmaid didn't seem to appreciate Robyn's efforts to ghost her, and the Mantle politician found her path impeded by the woman making a very blunt effort to force eye contact, bushy tail swishing rapidly in vexation.

"Whatcha mean how? Aren't ya meant to be smart or somethin'? She was born sixteen years ago, that's HOW."

The behemoth loomed silently in the background, her shadow enough to block out the two other women both.

"Look I appreciate the backwards sorta compliment there but that's not what I meant--you know what, just nevermind." Robyn shook her head. "Is there something you want...? I'm pretty sure you could have just gone off by yourselves over to the Academy and done...well, whatever it is you two wanted to do."​

 

[Gus Gungus]

"Look I appreciate the backwards sorta compliment there but that's not what I meant--you know what, just nevermind." Robyn shook her head. "Is there something you want...? I'm pretty sure you could have just gone off by yourselves over to the Academy and done...well, whatever it is you two wanted to do."

"Um, correct me if I'm wrong cuz I ain't never been to Atlas but aren't we IN the frickin academy??? And didntcha hear the councilwoman???? YOU'RE responsible for me! Why the hell are you askin' me questions, ain't it obvious I have way less of an idea what's happenin' than you????????? I never asked ta get lumped in with your dumb rebellion!"​

 

[MyrtenRose]

"Um, correct me if I'm wrong cuz I ain't never been to Atlas but aren't we IN the frickin academy??? And didntcha hear the councilwoman???? YOU'RE responsible for me! Why the hell are you askin' me questions, ain't it obvious I have way less of an idea what's happenin' than you????????? I never asked ta get lumped in with your dumb rebellion!"​

"I meant SOMEWHERE ELSE in the academy!! And no just because she said that doesn't mean I'm responsible for you, I hardly know you!!! I am not responsible for you or your ignorance of what you've accidentally gotten yourself into! YOU are the one who lied to her face and said you're part of my team when you very well are not, so don't give me that crap about not asking to get lumped in."​

 

[Gus Gungus]

"I meant SOMEWHERE ELSE in the academy!! And no just because she said that doesn't mean I'm responsible for you, I hardly know you!!! I am not responsible for you or your ignorance of what you've accidentally gotten yourself into! YOU are the one who lied to her face and said you're part of my team when you very well are not, so don't give me that crap about not asking to get lumped in."

"F-FINE!!! THEN JUST KEEP YER STUPID, FLEXIN', HOLIER-THAN-THOU WAD'A PITY CASH AND LEAVE ME ALONE!!!!!!!!!!! BOO HOO HOO HOOOOOOOO-"

Before Robyn could say anything further, if she even wanted to, the woman had dug around in the back pocket of her jeans, pulled out her wad of lien, flung it into the huntress's face and torn off down the hall and out of sight. Cookie stood there sheepishly for a second, slowly levying her titan's gaze back to Robyn herself before she opened her mouth and issued forth a booming declaration.

"I must go call my mother."

She made to lumber off in turn.​

 

[MyrtenRose]

View attachment 747994

"F-FINE!!! THEN JUST KEEP YER STUPID, FLEXIN', HOLIER-THAN-THOU WAD'A PITY CASH AND LEAVE ME ALONE!!!!!!!!!!! BOO HOO HOO HOOOOOOOO-"

Before Robyn could say anything further, if she even wanted to, the woman had dug around in the back pocket of her jeans, pulled out her wad of lien, flung it into the huntress's face and torn off down the hall and out of sight. Cookie stood there sheepishly for a second, slowly levying her titan's gaze back to Robyn herself before she opened her mouth and issued forth a booming declaration.

"I must go call my mother."

She made to lumber off in turn.​

"......…" She stood there for some time after the two were out of view, staring blankly down at the lien scattered across the floor. A sigh escaped her lips. She did feel bad, there was no escaping that. But May's and Raven's words echoed in her memory and she sighed again but she wasn't going to go try chasing down that faunus to apologize or try and give the money back again or anything else in regards with the faunus. She'd tried and nobody could say otherwise. Robyn took the time to scoop up every individual lien off the ground and slip them into one of her pockets before she strode down the same hall as the two but turned down a different direction than they went. She did her best to move her thoughts away from them and back over to what Weiss had said and everything going on there.​

 

[Schnee Corp Lawyer]

And there they were, standing in front of the holding cell of one Lupin the whatever.

View attachment 744431

"Hey man, didn't you say before you had a cool semblance or something? Show us."

"Yeah, and it better be good. 'Or else what?' You die. That's what."

They waited expectantly.​

The man blinked a few times in surprise as he sat up from his nap, before he stood to his full height and crossed his arms, somehow managing to look imposing despite his god awful facial hair.

"I can't. If I activate my semblance, there wouldn't be a survivor within three blocks. It is a terrible curse that I, Lupin the sixth, thirty third of his name, have carried all my life! But know that if you force my hand... I will do what I must..."

 

[Schnee Corp Lawyer]

"...How much of that did you see...? BUT YES OF COURSE SHE CAN!"

"Yeah!" Ruby agreed, though she was no less concerned/curious about what Ironwood may or may not have seen.​

"SENSATIONAL!"

The excited shout came from behind them, how exactly Penny got past two huntresses who were leaders of their respective Beacon's top teams and differing flavors of deeply magical badasses a question that wasn't going to be answered in time to save them from the heart attack as she leaned in between them to glance at them both in turn.

"What exactly am I joining?!" : D

 

[Gus Gungus]

The man blinked a few times in surprise as he sat up from his nap, before he stood to his full height and crossed his arms, somehow managing to look imposing despite his god awful facial hair.

"I can't. If I activate my semblance, there wouldn't be a survivor within three blocks. It is a terrible curse that I, Lupin the sixth, thirty third of his name, have carried all my life! But know that if you force my hand... I will do what I must..."

The only thing that could really be said about the looks on their faces was that it was very, very hard to tell if they were genuine. A subtle squint in Merc's eyes signaled Emerald to take the lead since cons were kind of her thing, and a subtle squint back told Mercury to go screw himself in case this guy was telling the truth. Regardless, they fell into an effortless routine a second later.

"...No, that's okay."

"Yeah, that's good enough for us, man. See, my partner and I came up with a proposition we thought a low-rent thug with his foot caught in a bear trap, namely you, might be interested in. A lot's changed in the one day since we hauled you in here. Almost feels like it's been months. We walked into this bar a couple of bounty hunters; Now? We pretty much call the shots around here."

"Yeah. And being the ones calling the shots makes us a lot like... magicians. You know?"

"You like magic, guy?"

"And being magicians means we can make stuff like that bounty on your head... Disappear."

She waggled her fingers, and the bars on Lupin's cell all vanished right before his eyes. If he tried to walk out he still found himself getting a faceful of very real, very solid metal, though.

"Here's the rub of it, though. A little something's come up and we're looking for able hands. You were almost able to get away from us, sorta, not really."

"Yeah, not really."

"But, I dunno, we like you. You're pretty funny. And you seem like you know your way around these streets, which might be useful for what we have in mind. So here's the offer: that bounty of yours does a vanishing act, you get to walk outta here a free man, and all you have to do in exchange..."

They both leaned forward at once, arms crossed and sinister gleams in their eye.

"...Is help us hunt... the Mistral Murderer."

"Whoa, is that what they call him? Cool. Alliterative."​

 

[Gus Gungus]

"SENSATIONAL!"

The excited shout came from behind them, how exactly Penny got past two huntresses who were leaders of their respective Beacon's top teams and differing flavors of deeply magical badasses a question that wasn't going to be answered in time to save them from the heart attack as she leaned in between them to glance at them both in turn.

"What exactly am I joining?!" : D

"No idea. Have fun."

There was just nothing to be accomplished by deploying her to the skies or streets at this particular moment, he had a very important adult general call to go take, didn't need Penny around for it, and with that he stiffly turned and made his way off to go take it.

Since his error led to the destruction of their own world's model he'd come to accept that the most important stage in the defender of humanity's growth was her being given the chance to be human, anyway.​

 

[MyrtenRose]

"SENSATIONAL!"

The excited shout came from behind them, how exactly Penny got past two huntresses who were leaders of their respective Beacon's top teams and differing flavors of deeply magical badasses a question that wasn't going to be answered in time to save them from the heart attack as she leaned in between them to glance at them both in turn.

"What exactly am I joining?!" : D

There was a point in their lives when the exuberant yell and the out of nowhere sudden appearance of Penny would have had both the red-clad, dark haired huntresses jump up in shocked surprise but both were familiar enough with the super friendly robot that now it didn't faze either of them as much. Not nearly as much as it would have in the past. Their hearts were still racing some, mind, but outwardly they hardly conveyed that. "Weeeeeeeeeeeeell, we were kind of doing something serious--"

"Semi-serious."

Cinder ignored that and continued on as if it hadn't been said. "--and she was helping me make these arrows--"

"Left out the "really cool" part that shoulda gone between these and arrows."

"--but when I went to test one out, it blew up in my hands, which was totally rude by the way--"

"It was completely hilarious and she knows it. She wouldn't have been nearly as angry if she'd done it to me."

"-so I was gonna grab her and I dunno, shake her a little? Would that be appropiate? Whatever--"

"Except she's too slow to catch anything but air."

"--and then she went on about her best idea for an arrow yet--"

"Oh yeah wait for this, it's so genius it hurts."

"--a boxing glove arrow. I agreed, reluctantly--"

"Wholeheartedly."

"--And we were about to go start trying to make one."

"So, you in on us goofing off some with that? Unless you have a better idea."​